Read Ebook: Historical Record of the Nineteenth or the First Yorkshire North Riding Regiment of Foot Containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1688 and of its subsequent services to 1848 by Cannon Richard

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In this year Major-General the Honorable Charles Howard was removed to the third dragoon guards, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the NINETEENTH regiment by Colonel Lord George Beauclerk, from the eighth marines.

The regiment returned to England during the winter of 1748-9, and immediately proceeded to Gibraltar, where it was stationed four years.

Having been relieved from garrison duty at Gibraltar, in 1753, the regiment returned to England; in 1755 it was stationed in Scotland; in 1756 it was again stationed in England.

During the summer of 1759 the regiment was encamped at Brentwood, and in 1760 at Barham Downs.

The regiment lost Lieutenant Dougal Stuart, three serjeants, one drummer, and forty-seven rank and file killed; Major Lumisden, one serjeant, one drummer, and thirty-eight rank and file wounded; Lieutenants Scrymsour, Forbes, and Nugent, one serjeant, and eighty-nine rank and file prisoners, thirty of whom were wounded.

Another attempt was made on the 22nd of April, when Brigadier-General Lambert effected a landing on the rocks near Point Lomaria: the difficulty of mounting the precipice had made the enemy least attentive to that part. Beauclerk's grenadiers , with Captain Patterson of the regiment, gained the summit before the enemy saw what was intended, who immediately marched a body of three hundred men to attack them; the grenadiers maintained their ground till the remainder of Brigadier Lambert's troops got up. Three brass field-pieces were taken, and some wounded prisoners. Captain Patterson lost his arm, and the other casualties were about thirty men killed. The cannon was afterwards landed from the ships and dragged up the rocks; the lines which covered the town of Palais were captured; the siege of the citadel was carried on with vigour, and the garrison surrendered on the 7th of June. The conquest of the island was thus achieved, and the officers and soldiers taken prisoners re-joined their regiments.

Returning from Belle-Isle when the capture of that island was completed, the regiment was stationed in England in 1762.

The war was terminated in 1762 by the peace of Fontainebleau, and the regiment again proceeded to Gibraltar, at which fortress it was stationed during the following eight years.

On the decease of Lieut.-General Lord George Beauclerk, the colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on Major-General David Graeme, from the forty-ninth regiment, by commission dated the 25th of May, 1768.

Early in the spring of 1771 the regiment was relieved from duty at Gibraltar, and arrived in England in May.

In 1773 the regiment was stationed in Scotland; and in 1775 it embarked for Ireland, where it was quartered upwards of five years.

The American war commenced in the same year in which the regiment embarked for Ireland, and was continued with varied success. In 1781 the regiment was ordered to proceed to South Carolina and Georgia, to reinforce the British troops in those provinces; it embarked from Ireland on the 17th of March, and arrived in America in May; but the peculiar turn which the circumstances of the war took shortly afterwards, prevented the regiment having an opportunity of distinguishing itself.

A letter, dated the 31st of August, 1782, conveyed to the regiment His Majesty's pleasure that it should be designated the NINETEENTH, or the FIRST YORKSHIRE NORTH RIDING REGIMENT, in order that a connexion between the corps and that part of the county of York should be cultivated, with the view of promoting the success of the recruiting service.

Hostilities terminated in 1782, and the regiment proceeded to the Leeward Islands; in 1783 it was removed to Jamaica, where it was stationed until 1791, when it returned to England, and landed at Portsmouth in June.

No opportunity of landing in France, and of joining the Vend?eans, having occurred, the regiment disembarked on the coast of Devonshire in January, 1794, and went into quarters: the health of the men having suffered from being long detained on board of the fleet.

After a few months' repose in quarters, the regiment again embarked, and sailed with the troops under the Earl of Moira for Ostend, which fortress was menaced by a numerous French force. The regiment landed at Ostend on the 26th of June. The Earl of Moira resolved not to limit his services to the defence of Ostend, but to attempt to effect a junction with the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of York; and after a tedious and difficult march in the face of a victorious enemy of superior numbers, whose troops were overrunning the country in all directions, the British arrived at Alost, where they repulsed the attack of a body of the enemy on the 6th of July, and joined the Duke of York's army at Malines three days afterwards.

In the early part of January, 1795, it was found necessary to resume the retreat, and a series of retrograde movements, through a country covered with snow and ice, brought the army into Germany, where the soldiers obtained a short repose, and afterwards embarked from Bremen for England.

The NINETEENTH landed from Germany in May, 1795, and were stationed in England eleven months.

On the 28th of April, 1796, the regiment embarked for the East Indies, and landed at Madras in the middle of November following.

A short time previously to the arrival of the regiment in India, the large and mountainous island of Ceylon, situate in the Indian Sea, had been captured from the Dutch, who had become united with France in hostility to Great Britain. After reposing a few weeks at Madras, the regiment received orders to transfer its services to Ceylon, and it landed at Columbo, the capital of the island, in December, 1796.

In the island of Ceylon, which produces a great diversity of vegetables, the finest fruits, and spices of good quality, particularly cinnamon, the regiment was stationed twenty-four years.

About this period the officers and soldiers of the NINETEENTH regiment subscribed one day's pay, amounting to ?84, for the relief of the widows and children of the men killed in the victory obtained by Admiral Lord Nelson over the French fleet at the battle of the Nile, on the 1st of August, 1798. The regiment subscribed also 2500 pagodas towards carrying on the war in Europe.

The capture of the capital having terminated the war in the Mysore, the five companies of the regiment afterwards returned to Ceylon.

From Columbo, the regiment marched, in October, 1800, to Point de Galle, where the head-quarters were stationed several months.

In April, 1801, the regiment embarked for the harbour, town, and fortress of Trincomalee, situate in a barren tract of country on the north-east side of the island of Ceylon, from whence detachments were sent to various posts in the interior. The centre of the island appeared to be defended against the approach of Europeans by the unhealthy climate of the district, through which it was necessary to pass to enter the inland provinces, which were governed by a native chief called the King of Candy.

In 1802 a treaty of peace was concluded between England and France and Holland; but the island of Ceylon was retained by the British.

War with France and Holland was resumed in 1803, and, at the same time, it was found necessary to commence hostilities with the Candians, inhabiting the interior of the island of Ceylon, with whom attempts had been made to establish a treaty of amity and commerce, but without success.

After this act of perfidy and cruelty the Candians attacked the British settlements, and gained some temporary advantages; but were eventually driven back with loss. The surviving officers and soldiers of the NINETEENTH regiment were employed in much harassing and perilous service, and many casualties were occasioned by the climate. Captain Beaver particularly distinguished himself, and the governor, Major-General M^cDowall, expressed his sense of the captain's services, in general orders dated Columbo, 2nd September, 1803, in the following terms: "The Governor has observed, with peculiar satisfaction, the rapid series of well-judged and well-executed operations, by which Captain HERBERT BEAVER, of the NINETEENTH regiment, has hitherto proceeded, in recovering the important province of Matura from the Candians, and in bringing back its deluded inhabitants to their duty. The indefatigable activity, zeal, and ability, which that officer has displayed, since his assumption of the command in that district, has fully justified the high opinion which his Excellency had formed of him from his former services, and which induced the Governor to appoint him to that arduous station, in a time of such extreme difficulty and discouragement." The governor also expressed his approbation of the conduct of the officers and soldiers serving under Captain Beaver.

In 1804 the Candians again made preparations for an attack on the British settlements; and the English troops penetrated the provinces of Candy. Some sharp fighting occurred; and on the 14th of October Lieutenants B. Vincent and H. L. Smith were killed at Fort M^cDowall.

Another attack on the British territory was made in the early part of 1805; but the Candians were completely routed in every quarter. In October of this year the NINETEENTH regiment embarked for Columbo.

The regiment proceeded by sea to Trincomalee in September, 1806; but marched back to Columbo two months afterwards.

During the years 1807 and 1808, the regiment was stationed at the capital of the island of Ceylon.

General Sir Samuel Hulse having been removed to the sixty-second regiment, the colonelcy of the NINETEENTH was conferred on Lieut.-General Sir Hew Dalrymple from the thirty-seventh, by commission dated the 25th of June, 1810.

The four companies afterwards returned to Ceylon.

Lieut.-General Sir Hew Dalrymple was removed, in April, 1811, to the fifty-seventh regiment, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the NINETEENTH by Major-General Hilgrove Turner, from the Cape regiment.

The reigning sovereign of Candy evinced so cruel and tyrannical a disposition, that he became odious to his subjects, who experienced a total insecurity of life and property under his rule, individuals being frequently deprived of both at the caprice of the king. The governor of one of his provinces was summoned to appear at the capital; but this chief, expecting that the sacrifice of his life, and the seizure of his property, were intended, did not obey the mandate. The king assembled an army, overpowered the forces of the disobedient chief, and forced him to fly for protection to the British settlements. About the period when these events agitated the interior of the island of Ceylon, the NINETEENTH regiment embarked for Trincomalee, where it arrived in the beginning of March, 1814.

Elated with his success against the disobedient chief, the King of Candy prepared to invade the British territory; and the governor, Major-General Brownrigg, resolved to preserve the English provinces from aggression by invading the kingdom of Candy. The British troops advanced into the kingdom of Candy, in seven divisions, in the beginning of February, 1815, and the NINETEENTH regiment marched from Trincomalee to take part in this service. The soldiers underwent great fatigue in crossing mountains, passing morasses and rivers, and traversing regions inhabited only by the wild beasts of the forest; they succeeded in overcoming all opposition, and arrived at the capital in the middle of February. The king fled; but he was seized by his own subjects, ill-treated, and brought a prisoner to the British camp. An assembly of Candian chiefs declared the Malbar dynasty deposed, and the provinces of Candy united to the dominions of the British crown. Thus was an extensive tract of country, bountifully endowed with natural gifts, and producing the necessaries and luxuries of life, including spices, metals, and precious stones, added to the British dominions; a numerous race of human beings, of a peculiarly interesting character, was delivered from the power of despotism, and brought under the advantages of the just government and equitable laws of Great Britain. Every species of torture was immediately abolished; but the ancient religion of the inhabitants, and the former mode of administering justice, were preserved. The conduct of the British troops was highly meritorious, and reflected credit on the several corps employed on this enterprise: the soldiers abstained from plunder and violence, and behaved with such order and regularity as to conciliate the inhabitants, whose condition, improved by a policy founded on liberal ideas, and exhibiting enlarged views, prepared the way for their emancipation from the errors of superstition, and their introduction to the advantages of Christianity, and of European arts, sciences, and commerce.

The British troops occupied posts in the newly-acquired territory, and the corps not required for this duty returned to their former quarters.

The NINETEENTH regiment remained at Trincomalee, and other stations in that quarter of the island, until February, 1818, when it returned to Columbo.

Soon afterwards a new claimant to the throne of Candy arrived in that country, from the continent of India, and being supported by several native chiefs, who were hostile to the British interests, a rebellion took place. This event called the NINETEENTH again into the field; they marched for Candy in April, 1818, and again traversed mountainous districts and wild and beautiful regions; some desultory fighting occurred; but a greater loss of life was occasioned by the climate, than by the swords of the insurgents. The rebellion was suppressed; the regiment returned to Columbo in September; and in October it marched to Point de Galle.

After serving twenty-three years at Ceylon, and taking a distinguished part in the important events which had occurred in that island, the regiment was relieved from duty there, and embarked for England in January, 1820; it landed at Gravesend on the 19th of May, and was stationed in the south of England during the remainder of the year.

In February, 1821, the regiment marched to Weedon Barracks; and in November embarked from Liverpool for Ireland, and, after landing at Dublin, marched to Mullingar, Longford, Tullamore, Philipstown, and Maryborough.

The regiment remained in Ireland during the years 1822, 1823, 1824, and 1825; in the autumn of 1826 it was divided into six service and four dep?t companies: the service companies embarked from Cork in October, for the island of Demerara, where they arrived in December.

The dep?t companies were stationed in Ireland until June, 1830, when they embarked from Cork for Portsmouth, where they arrived in two days.

After occupying various stations in the British West India Islands, during the period of nearly ten years, the service companies embarked from Barbadoes in July, 1836, and landed at Cork in August: they were afterwards joined by the dep?t companies from England.

During the years 1837 and 1838, the regiment was stationed in Ireland; in December, 1839, it embarked from Dublin for Bristol; but returned to Ireland in March following.

In the summer of 1840 the regiment was again divided into six service, and four dep?t companies, and in September the service companies embarked from Cork for the island of Malta, where they landed on the 3rd and 13th of October.

The dep?t companies left Ireland in 1841, and were stationed a short time at Gosport; they proceeded to Brighton in March, 1842, and to Dover Castle in October.

General Sir Hilgrove Turner, G.C.H., K.C., died at Jersey, in May, 1843, and General Sir Warren Marmaduke Peacocke, K.C.H. and K.C., was appointed by Her Majesty Colonel of the NINETEENTH regiment.

The service companies proceeded in the Resistance troop-ship from Malta to the Ionian Islands on the 9th of January, 1843, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Hay, and arrived at Corfu on the 20th of the same month; five days afterwards the head-quarters and three companies embarked in the Boyne transport for Cephalonia.

In October, 1843, the dep?t companies marched from Dover to Winchester, and from thence to Portsmouth, where they embarked for Jersey.

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