Читать книгу Historical Record of the Seventeenth or The Leicestershire Regiment of Foot: From Its Formation in 1688 to 1848 - Cannon Richard - Страница 4

1688

In the autumn of 1688, when the adoption of pernicious counsels by the Court had given rise to the preparation of an armament in Holland to support the British people in the preservation of their religion and laws, and King James II. began to entertain apprehension for the permanence of his government, His Majesty issued commissions for adding to his regular army five regiments of cavalry and seven of infantry, including two corps formed of men who had quitted the Dutch service; and of these twelve regiments, the sixteenth and SEVENTEENTH regiments of foot in the British line are the only remaining corps.6

The SEVENTEENTH regiment was raised in London and its immediate vicinity, and the colonelcy was conferred on Solomon Richards, by commission dated the 27th of September, 1688.

Great success attended the efforts made to procure men for completing the ranks of the regiment, and in three weeks after the letter of service for its formation was issued, it was embodied, armed, and clothed. It was composed to a great extent of men who had entered the army at the augmentation in 1685, and had been discharged after the suppression of the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion. The regiment was speedily reported fit for duty, and on the 23rd of October orders were received for four companies to march to Colnbrook and Longford, four to Staines and Egham, and five to Windsor, Datchet, and Slough; at the same time two companies were directed to mount guard at the Castle at Windsor: thus were the first duties of the regiment those of a guard to the Royal person.

On the 29th of October the quarters were changed to Maidenhead, Datchet, and Windsor; and on the 6th of November, when the Prince of Orange had landed in Devonshire, the regiment received orders to march to Greenwich and Deptford, to be in readiness to protect the establishments in the vicinity of those places, and to aid, if required, in the preservation of the peace of the Metropolis.

1689

The events which followed in rapid succession occasioned the flight of King James to France, and the services of the regiment were transferred to the Prince and Princess of Orange, who were elevated to the throne by the title of King William and Queen Mary, in February, 1689.

In Ireland, the army adhered to the interest of King James; but the Protestants of Inniskilling and Londonderry embraced the principles of the Revolution, and wrote to King William for assistance to enable them to preserve those places in his interest. The ninth and SEVENTEENTH regiments were directed to proceed to Ireland, to support the people of Londonderry; and the two corps sailed from Liverpool on the 3rd of April. Contrary winds forced the transports to anchor at Highlake; but they again put to sea on the 10th of that month, and on the 15th arrived in the vicinity of Londonderry. The governor, Colonel Lundy, had resolved to surrender the place to King James, who had arrived in Ireland with a body of troops from France, and this officer called a council of war, to which he stated, that there was not provision in the town for the garrison for more than ten days, and that it would be impossible to resist the army which was advancing against it, and a resolution was passed against the two regiments landing. The two colonels had received orders to obey the governor, and they accordingly returned with their regiments to England. It afterwards appeared that the governor's statements were not true; the town was defended, and King William, considering that the two colonels (Cunningham and Richards) had not sufficiently investigated the state of the fortress, and of its stores, deprived them of their commissions.

The colonelcy of the SEVENTEENTH regiment was conferred on Sir George St. George, by commission dated the 1st of May, 1689.

1690

1691

1692

1693

The regiment was employed on home service during the years 1690, 1691, and 1692. In 1693, the confederate army in the Netherlands, commanded by King William III., sustained severe loss at the battle of Landen, on the 29th of July; and after His Majesty's return to England, at the end of the campaign, the SEVENTEENTH regiment received orders to hold itself in readiness for foreign service. It embarked for Flanders, and was stationed in garrison at Ostend until the spring of 1694.

1694

During the campaign of this year, the regiment served in the brigade commanded by Brigadier-General Stewart; and it took part in the operations of the army commanded by the British monarch, – performing many long and toilsome marches in Flanders and Brabant; but it had no opportunity of distinguishing itself in action, and in the autumn it returned to the port of Ostend, where it passed the winter.

1695

In May, 1695, the regiment marched to Dixmude, where a body of troops was assembled under the Duke of Wirtemberg for the purpose of making a diversion in favour of the main army.

At this period Colonel Sir George St. George obtained His Majesty's permission to exchange with Colonel James Courthorpe, to a newly-raised regiment, which was afterwards disbanded.

The troops under the Duke of Wirtemberg encamped before the Kenoque, a fortress at the junction of the Loo and Dixmude canals, where the French had a garrison. The SEVENTEENTH regiment, commanded by Colonel Courthorpe, took part in the capture of several outposts belonging to the fort, and its grenadier company was engaged on the 9th of June in driving the French from the entrenchments and houses near the Loo Canal, and had several men killed and wounded.

While the regiment was before the Kenoque, King William invested the strong fortress of Namur, and the SEVENTEENTH and several other corps marched to join the covering army, under Charles Henry of Lorraine, Prince of Vaudemont. Against this army Marshal Villeroy advanced with a French force of about seventy thousand men; and the Prince, not having above thirty-six thousand men under his orders, withdrew to the vicinity of Ghent.

The regiment was subsequently employed in operations to protect the maritime and other towns of Flanders, and to cover the troops carrying on the siege of Namur; and after the surrender of the town it was selected to relieve one of the corps which had suffered severely in the siege, and to take part in the operations against the castle. The regiment arrived at Namur on the 11th of August, and took its turn of duty in the trenches, and in all services connected with this great undertaking; it had several men killed and wounded, and on the 16th of August Captain Hart was killed in the trenches.

When Marshal Villeroy approached at the head of a numerous army to raise the siege, the SEVENTEENTH regiment was in position at the post of St. Denis, where it was expected that the most vigorous exertions of the enemy would be made. The French not hazarding an engagement, the regiment was selected to take part in storming the outworks of the castle on the 30th of August. About midday the signal for the assault was given, when the grenadiers rushed forward, under a heavy fire from the castle, to storm the breach of the Terra Nova, and were followed by the SEVENTEENTH regiment with drums beating and colours flying,7