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The Gordon
Highlanders The Life of a Regiment |
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The Gordon Highlanders |
[317, Dec 1813] CHAPTER XXIHE rivers having subsided, the army was put in motion, and along with Hill’s Corps, the 92nd under Lieut.-Colonel Cameron left their quarters in Cambo on the 8th of December, and forded the Nive under cover of artillery fire. The current was still strong; some men were carried off their feet, and one, a very short man, William M’Kenzie, would have been drowned had not Colonel Cameron ridden in and saved him; but the enemy were surprised and offered but slight opposition. General Hill, having won the passage of the Nive, placed the brigade to which the 92nd belonged at Urcaray, to cover the bridge of Cambo, and support the cavalry which were scouring the neighbouring roads; with the rest of his troops he marched to the heights of Lormenthoa, where the Sixth Division joined him. It was now one o’clock. Soult had extended his line to bar the road to Bayonne and offered battle, but though a heavy skirmish took place along the front, no general attack was made, the state of the roads having retarded the rear of Hill’s Column. On this day the 92nd had one man wounded. The battalion bivouacked in a wood; officers and soldiers, having been wet to the middle in the river, rose cold and stiff on the morning of the 9th of December, and were put into the neighbouring farmhouses, where the inmates did everything in their power to make their unbidden guests comfortable. They remained two days with these kind people, who live in much the same style as small farmers in Scotland. The Highlanders noticed that the men wore the same flat blue bonnet then general at home (Scotland has given it up, but in this district of France it is still universal). It is evident that the Gordons had ingratiated themselves with their entertainers, whose children told me that they had often heard their parents speak of the warlike dress and of the mild manners and good conduct of “Les Ecossais.” On the 10th, 11th, and 12th, the French attacked the British on the other side (the left) of the river, but were repulsed on each occasion after very severe fighting. On the 11th the 92nd advanced to Petite Moguerre, a village near Bayonne, situated between the rivers Nive and Adour. Wellington, feeling the want of numbers, brought back the Spaniards who had been sent to the rear, at the same time taking steps to prevent their plundering; and Soult, finding he could make no impression on Wellington’s left, marched with seven divisions to fal1 upon Hill on the right. That general, who had observed a movement of the enemy on the 12th, took a position on a front of about two miles. His left, composed of the 28th, 34th, and 39th Regiments, under General Pringle, occupied a wooded hill at the Chateau of La Ralde near Villefranque. It covered the lately constructed pontoon bridge over the Nive, but [318, Dec 1813] it was separated by a stream forming two ponds and a morass from the centre, which was placed on both sides of the high road near the hamlet of St Pierre,[1] and occupied a crescent-shaped height having thick hedges on the right side, one of which was almost impassable for 100 yards. Here Ashworth’s Portuguese and Barnes’ British Brigade were posted, the 71st on the left, the 50th in the centre, the 92nd on the right. The Portuguese were in front of St Pierre, their skirmishers in a small wood covering their right; twelve guns under Colonels Ross and Tulloch were in front of the centre looking down the high road, and half a mile in rear Le Cor’s Portuguese Division with two guns was held in reserve. The right under Byng consisted of the 3rd, 57th, 31st, and 66th Regiments. The 3rd was on a height running parallel with the Adour in advance of Vieux Moguerre, where it could only be approached by crossing the lower part of a narrow swampy valley which separates Moguerre from the heights of St Pierre. The upper part of the valley was held by the remainder of Byng’s Brigade, and his post was covered by a large millpond which nearly filled the valley. A mile in front of St Pierre was a range of heights belonging to the French, but the basin between was open, and commanded by the fire of the Allies. The country was too heavy and enclosed for the action of cavalry. The enemy could only approach on a narrow front and by the high road, till within cannon shot, when one by-road branched off to Pringle’s position, the other to where the 3rd Regiment was posted. A flood on the night of the 12th had carried away the bridge over the Nive; it was soon restored, but on the morning of the 13th, Hill was completely cut off from the rest of the army; and while seven French divisions, 35,000 strong, with twenty-two guns, approached him in front, an eighth under General Paris, and Pierre Sault’s Division of cavalry menaced him in rear. To meet the enemy in front he had less than 14,000 officers and men with fourteen guns (for the Sixth Division was now on the left of the Nive), and there were only 4000 Spaniards, with Vivian’s Brigade of cavalry, to protect his rear. It was a situation to try the nerve of the bravest general. On the morning of the 13th of December, the 92nd marched from Petite Moguerre, and on arriving at the high road in rear of St Pierre, were ordered to turn to the right and halt at that hamlet. Sault had formed his order of battle in front of Bayonne under cover of a thick mist. D’Erlon, having d’Armagnac’s, Abbé’s and Darican’s Divisions, Sharré’s cavalry and twenty-two guns, marched in front, followed by Foy and Maransin; the remainder [319, Dec 1813] of d’Erlon’s command was in reserve. This formidable array was sometimes shrouded by the mist, sometimes dimly seen by the dauntless little army of Allies who waited their attack. At 8.30 the sun burst forth, just as Soult’s light troops pushed back the British pickets in the centre, and the sparkling fire of the skirmishers crept up the hills on either flank, while nearly forty pieces of artillery shook the banks of the Nive and the Adour. Darican directed his division against Pringle; d’Armagnac was ordered to force Byng’s Brigade; Abbé assailed the centre at St Pierre. Sir William Stewart commanded the troops stationed in front. Sir Rowland Hill took his station on Mount Horlope in rear of St Pierre, from whence he could see and direct the movements of all. Abbé pushed his attack with great violence, and gained ground so rapidly with his light troops on the left of Ashworth’s Portuguese, that Stewart sent the 71st and two guns to aid the latter. The French also won the small wood on Ashworth’s right, and half the 50th was detached to that quarter. The wood was retaken and Stewart’s flank secured, but his centre was much weakened, and the French artil1ery fire was concentrated on it. Abbé then pushed on a column of attack with such power that, in spite of musketry on his flanks and artillery in his front, he gained the top of the position, and drove back the remaining Portuguese and that half of the 50th which had remained in reserve. The British were now in imminent danger, when General Barnes brought forward the 92nd. As the battalion cleared the houses of St Pierre, one of the pipers was killed at its head. The right wing quickly extended on the moor to the left; the French skirmishers fell back before them, while the left wing, led by Colonel Cameron, charged down the road on the two regiments composing the column. “The charge,” says Napier, “was rough and pushed home; the French mass wavered and gave way.” The Highlanders pursued and took many prisoners. Abbé immediately replaced the beaten column with fresh troops, and Soult, redoubling the play of his heavy guns, sent forward a battery of horse artillery, which opened its fire at close range with destructive activity. Cannonade and musketry rolled like one long peal of thunder, and the second French column advanced with admirable steadiness, regardless of their loss by Ross’s guns. The Highlanders, unable to resist this accumulation of foes, were borne back, fighting desperately hand to hand, and even charging again and again with most determined fortitude and audacity, till General Barnes ordered them to retire,[2] while all the time the pibroch “Cogadh na sith “[3] rang in [320, Dec 1813] their ears.[4] Slowly, but with broken ranks, they regained their position behind St Pierre. The Portuguese guns, their British commanding officer having fallen, then limbered up and retired; and the French skirmishers reached the impenetrable hedge in front of Ashworth’s right, when Barnes, seeing that hard fighting was the only chance of saving the day, made the Portuguese gunners resume their fire. The wing of the 50th and the Caçadores gallantly held the wood on the right, but Barnes was soon wounded, the greater part of his and of General Stewart’s staff were disabled, and the matter seemed desperate. The light troops were overpowered by numbers and driven in; the gunners were falling at their guns, Ashworth’s line crumbled before the fire; the ground was strewn with dead in front, and the wounded crawling to the rear were many. If their skirmishers could have penetrated the thick hedge in front of the Portuguese, the success of the French would have been certain at this point, for the main column of attack still steadily advanced up the causeway, and a second column on its right was already victorious, because the colonel of the 71st had withdrawn that gallant regiment, and abandoned the Portuguese. Pringle was bravely holding the hill of Villefranque against Darican’s numbers, but on the extreme right, the colonel of the 3rd Regiment had also abandoned his strong post to d’Armagnac,[5] whose leading brigade was rapidly turning Byng’s other regiments; and now Foy’s and Maransin’s Divisions were coming up to Abbé’s support, at the very moment when the troops opposed to him were deprived of their reserve.
For Hill, with admirable decision, when he beheld the retreat of the 3rd and 71st Regiments, galloped down from his eminence, leaped his horse over the fence of the road, met the latter regiment indignant at being withdrawn from the fight, and turned them back delighted to renew the combat; then leading in person one brigade of Le Cor’s Reserve to the same quarter, he sent the other against d’Armagnac on the hill by Vieux Moguerre. Thus at the decisive moment the French reserve was augmented, and that of the Allies was thrown into action as a last resource. Meanwhile Ashworth’s Caçadores and the wing of the 50th held the little wood with unflinching courage, never doubting that their tried comrades of the Gordon Highlanders would soon return to their assistance; and their confidence was not misplaced, for as soon as the 92nd had time to re-form its shattered ranks, its gallant colonel, on foot—[321, Dec 1813] for his horse had been killed under him—again led the battalion down the road, with colours flying and bagpipes playing, “resolved to give the shock to whatever stood in the way.”[6] At this sight the British skirmishers on the flanks suddenly changed from retreat to attack, rushed forward and drove the enemy back on each side; yet the battle seemed hopeless; Ashworth was badly wounded, his line was shattered to atoms, and Barnes, who had not quitted the field for his former hurt, was now shot through the body. The 92nd was but a very small body compared with the mass in its front, for some of their companies were extended as light infantry,[7] and the French soldiers seemed willing enough to close with the bayonet; but an officer riding at their head suddenly turned his horse, waved his sword, and appeared to order a retreat; then they faced about and retired across the valley in good order, scarcely pursued by the victorious Highlanders, so exhausted were they by their several desperate encounters. The enemy’s retreat was produced by the bold advance of the 92nd, and the returning rush of the skirmishers thus encouraged; but the 71st had returned with such alacrity to the combat, and were so well aided by Le Cor’s Portuguese, Generals Hill and Stewart leading them in person, that the French were overthrown there also, at the same time that the 92nd came down the causeway in such gallant style. These deeds were witnessed by the French at Villefranque, where Pringle had given them enough to do, and now, disheartened, they fell back in confusion.
Colonel Cameron, in a letter dated 14th January 1814, says “General Barnes’ Brigade fought without support for eight hours. Five companies of the 92nd, with General Barnes and myself at their head, charged three different columns of the enemy in succession; no sooner had we driven one before us than they were relieved by a fresh one.”[8]
Napier, in speaking of Colonel Cameron and his regiment at the critical moment when they were forced back to St Pierre, says “How desperately did the 50th and Portuguese fight to give time for the 92nd to rally and re-form behind St Pierre; how gloriously did that regiment come forth again to charge, with their colours flying and their national music playing as if going to a review. This was to understand war. The man who in that moment and immediately after a repulse thought of such military pomp was by nature a soldier.” Wellington in his dispatch, writing of the First Brigade, says, “They were particularly engaged with the enemy at that point, and these troops conducted themselves admirably.” Next evening Captain Kincaid heard him say that” it was the most glorious affair he had ever seen.” General Sir R. Hill says in Orders, “Headquarters near Petite Mouguerre, 14th December 1813.—The Second Division has greatly distinguished itself, and its gallantry in yesterday’s action is avowed by the Commander of the Forces and the allied army.” Lieut.-General the Hon. Sir W. Stewart, K.B., in his report of the action states, “Several brilliant charges were made by the Portuguese and British, more particularly by the 92nd Highlanders and 18th Portuguese Regiment, gallantly directed by Major-General Barnes.”[9] [323, Jan 1814] In a letter from Sir R. Hill, dated January 8th, 1814, to Sir John Sinclair, President of the Highland Society,[10] acknowledging the receipt of the report of the competition of Highland pipers held at Edinburgh, for the information of the 71st and 92nd Regiments, he continues—”In justice to these distinguished corps, it affords me the highest satisfaction to state that they have on all occasions imitated the example of their warlike ancestors. The conduct of the officers and men throughout these campaigns has been so uniformly good as to render it almost unnecessary for me to select particular individuals for praise. Lieut.-Colonel Cameron of the 92nd does, however, demand that distinction. During the greater part of the battle of Vittoria he commanded my First Brigade, and also at Maya and other severe operations in the Pyrenees. I am also much indebted to him for leading the gallant 92nd in several successful charges against very superior numbers in the battle of the 13th of last month near Bayonne.” Extract from letter to Colonel Cameron, dated Edinburgh, 24th February 1814, signed R. M’Donald, Secretary of the Highland Society of Scotland—”The Directors cannot refrain from expressing their admiration of the conduct of the 92nd.” Cameron had just received General Barnes’ message to fall back on St Pierre, which he was gradually doing, when his horse was killed, and he fell under it. He was close to the French, and in the press was not at first observed, till his orderly corporal ran back to his aid, calling out that the colonel was killed. He was helping him to struggle out from under the horse, when a Frenchman laid hold of the corporal by the neck; a private ran up and shot him dead, but was himself killed immediately after. “The corporal, however, with extraordinary gallantry,” persisted in taking his colonel’s cloak and saddle with him, exclaiming as he rejoined his comrades, “Fagaidh sinn a chlosach aca, ach cha . n’faigh iad an diollaid anns an do shuid fear an Fhasaidhfhearne.” (We will leave them the carcase, but they shan’t have the saddle on which Fassiefern sat).[11] [324, Jan 1814] Alison writes: “This battle, one of the most bloody and hard-fought on both sides which had occurred in the whole course of the Peninsular War, cost the British 2500 and the French 3000 men.” Napier says—”Nor can the vigour of the combatants be denied where 5000 men were killed and wounded on a space of one mile square.” The French account[12] agrees; and Wellington declared that he had never seen a field so thickly strewn with dead. The Gordon Highlanders lost Major John MacPherson (mortally wounded), and Lieutenants Duncan MacPherson, Thomas Mitchell and Alan MacDonald were killed in action. The other officers wounded were—Captains G. W. Holmes, Ronald MacDonald, and Donald MacPherson; Lieutenants John Catenach, Ronald MacDonald, James John Chisholm, Robert Winchester, and George Mitchell; and Ensign William Fraser. I find the following twenty-six names of N.-C. officers and men killed in action:—
Sergeant-major Duncan MacPherson (who was taken prisoner), six sergeants and 136 rank and file were wounded, of whom the following died of their wounds:—
The wounded were taken to Cambo ; one sergeant and four rank 2nd file, who had also been reported dead, were found to be prisoners [325 ]
[326, Jan 1814] of war.[13] Major MacPherson was a great loss to the regiment; Colonel Cameron placed great confidence in his tact and judgment, and often consulted him when he felt his own fiery temper might lead him astray. In commemoration of this action, the Gordon Highlanders bear the word Nive on their regimental colour; an honorary badge with Nive was conferred on Lieut.-Colonel Cameron, and the senior captain, James Seton, was promoted brevet-major. When Peninsula medals were afterwards given, a clasp “Nive” represented all the engagements on both sides of that river.[14] In the evening the enemy retired to their fortified camp at Bayonne, and the 92nd went into the quarters they had left in the morning; but before leaving the field, the Marquis of Wellington personally thanked them for their manly bearing in the action, and ordered them a double allowance of rum.[15] Sergeant-major Duncan MacPherson was promoted ensign in the 92nd, December 23rd, and Sergeant David Taylor was made sergeant-major. The battle of St Pierre had important results. It cut Soult’s communications with St Jean Pied de Port, was a step towards forcing him to abandon Bayonne, and menaced the navigation of the Adour, rendering it difficult for the French to get supplies. For the latter purpose the 92nd marched and encamped at Urt, on the bank of the Adour, on the 4th of January 1814, and went into quarters there on the 8th. Here they had a troublesome time, not a night passing without some disturbance. The French supplies were guarded by gunboats, which returned the fire of the infantry pickets on the river bank. A frost at length hardened the roads and enabled some light artillery to be brought up, which sank some of their boats and rendered the passage very hazardous. There is an island in the river, on which the French attempted to establish a fortified post. Sir Rowland Hill sent a flag of truce to say that he could not permit them to do so, and, wishing to prevent bloodshed, desired that they should leave it. On their refusal, he opened on them with his guns, and the musketry of some Portuguese infantry and a wing of the 92nd, when they abandoned the island, which was occupied by a British picket. On the 20th January the battalion marched for St Jean de [327, Jan 1813] Luz, where they received their new clothing on the 23rd, and returned to their quarters in Urt on the 26th.[16] The 71st, who had relieved the 92nd, now went in their turn for clothing. The enemy had seen the 71st go, and thought it a good opportunity to make a descent on the British. They did so early on the morning of the 27th, when they were warmly received by the 92nd, whose return after dark they had not observed; their attempt proved abortive, and they were obliged to recross the river. In this affair Private W. Charles was killed.[17] After this, all remained quiet till the 12th of February, when a frost enabled Wellington to advance, and the 92nd, under Colonel Cameron, marched with Hill’s Corps, 20,000 strong, for Urcuray, in order to force the passage of the Gaves, rivers which run in to the Adour. Hill’s force was in two columns, and that to which the 92nd belonged attacked the enemy under General Harispe at Helette on the 14th. In this affair the battalion had Private Alexander Fairweather killed, and Lieutenant Richard MacDonnell and several men wounded; Cannon’s Record says seven, Sergeant Robertson says ten. The morning state of the 18th mentions ten as “sick gone to the rear.” The sergeant also says eight were killed, and particularises his “old and beloved comrade and bedfellow” as “shot through the heart and died almost instantly,” whereas Fairweather, according to the Regimental State, died of his wound next day. On the 15th the battalion marched in pursuit of the enemy, who took up a position on the heights of Garris, near the town of St Palais, closely followed by the Light Companies of the Second Division, who gained a parallel counter ridge, on which Hill’s Corps was at once established, while his skirmishers descended into the ravine as the evening closed in, and two guns fired over them on Harispe’s troops. At this moment Wellington arrived and, addressing the troops near him, said, “You must take the hill before dark”;[18] and take it they did. The 92nd, particularly the Light Company, were employed along with other regiments, and the French being advantageously posted, though many of them were conscripts, not only stood the British fire bravely, but charged them with the bayonet, many being wounded in the contest with that weapon. They were beaten off, but twice returned to the attack, till Harispe, seeing the rest of the Allies coming on, retreated by St Palais, and blew up the bridge of the Bidouze. When the combat ceased, it was so dark that men could hardly see each other. Next morning they found many knapsacks thrown away by the French. [328, Jan 1814] The enemy lost this day 500 men, of whom 200 were prisoners; the Allies’ loss amounted to 160. Of the 92nd, Major James Seton[19] was mortally wounded (he died at Cambo), and three rank and file were wounded. Major Seton had served at the age of fifteen with the 12th Regiment at the storming of Seringapatam in 1799, and was promoted in the Gordon Highlanders, where he was captain of the Light Company. His letters, which I have quoted, show him to have been an enthusiastic soldier. He was son of Sir W. Seton, of Pitmedden and Cushnie, and great-grandfather of the present baronet (1928). A monument was put up some years ago in the English Church at Biarritz, near Bayonne, to the memory of the British officers and men killed in France. As there were errors in the names of the officers of the 92nd, their tablet was replaced in 1893 by a new and correct one at the cost of past and present officers. On the 16th February Wellington repaired the broken bridges at St Palais after a skirmish, and in the afternoon the 92nd crossed with Hill’s troops and occupied a position in advance, the enemy retiring before them, but in good order. On the 17th, the battalion resumed its march, and about 2 p.m. came up with the enemy strongly posted in the village of Arriverete, on the right bank of the Gave de Mauleon, where they were endeavouring to destroy the bridge, to which they had set fire. A ford was, however, discovered higher up, by which the 92nd crossed under cover of the artillery and at once charged the troops in the village, after considerable resistance drove them out, and secured the bridge by which the rest of Hill’s troops were enabled to cross. The enemy retired over the Gave d’Oleron, and the battalion, which had ten rank and file wounded in this gallant enterprise, was cantoned in the neighbouring villages. During the action a shell fell among the 92nd while in close column, but did no damage beyond breaking a bayonet! Colonel Cameron’s horse ,vas shot on entering the river, and the tradition is that Sergeant Angus Henderson and a Private M’Intosh carried him over.[20] In memory of this occasion, Colonel Cameron was granted by Royal warrant the right to bear as his crest a Highlander of the 92nd, up to the middle in water, grasping a broadsword in his right hand, and in his left a banner inscribed “92nd” within a wreath of laurel, with the motto “Arriverete.” Extract from the Marquis of Wellington’s dispatch, 20th February 1814:d—”A ford being discovered above the bridge, the 92nd Regiment under Lieut.-Colonel Cameron, supported by the [329, Feb 1814] fire of Captain Beane’s troop of horse artillery, crossed the ford and made a most gallant attack upon two battalions of French infantry posted in the village, from which the latter were driven with considerable loss.” The following letter relative to an application to be permitted to bear “Arriverete” on the regimental colours was addressed April 13th, 1816, by the Duke of Wellington to Lord Niddry,[21] colonel of the 92 nd:— My dear lord,—I have received your letter of the 2nd regarding the desire of the 92nd Regiment to bear the word “Arriverete” on their colour, etc., to which I have no objection, and I will apply for the distinction, if after this explanation they should still desire it. Arriverete is a village on the Gave de Mauléon, at which there is a wooden bridge. We had passed the river at other points, but our communication across it was difficult, and the enemy was of such a force at Sauveterre, in the neighbourhood, that we could not venture to move along it, and I wished to get possession of the bridge before the enemy could destroy it. The 92nd forded the river, and attacked and took the village against a very superior force of the enemy in the most gallant style (in the manner in which they have always performed every service in which they have been employed), but without much loss; there the affair ended; we were not prepared at that time to do more, and we held that village as a tête-de-pont till our means were in readiness for our further operations. There is no doubt but the troops behaved as gallantly in this affair as they could in any of greater importance, but the result was not of that consequence to the ulterior operations of the army to have rendered it notorious to the army at large; and although I reported it as I ought, I know there are many belonging to the army, some even who were present, who have no recollection of the name of the place which was the scene of the action, and some not even of the action itself. It appears to me to be beneath the reputation of the 92nd to have to explain for what cause the name of a particular place has been inserted in their colours; and notwithstanding that on no occasion could they or any other troops behave better than they did upon that, I acknowledge that I am anxious that they should not press the request. But if after this explanation they continue to wish it, I will take care it shall be granted.—I have, etc. (Signed) Wellington. Lieut.-General Lord Niddry, K.B., etc. etc. It is generally considered that while Wellington had the entire confidence of his army, he had not Napoleon’s knack of gaining the affection of his soldiers by personal intercourse with them. There are, however, many instances to the contrary. While the Gordons were marching at ease one day over one of the grassy commons of that part of France, the left hand man of the rear section, one Jock Webster, from Kingsmuir, Forfar, who, as his [330, Feb 1814] friend told me, “wasna blate,” hearing the sound of a horse’s hoof on the turf, looked over his shoulder, “an’ wha but Wellington ridin’ cannily by.” Jock brought his firelock smartly to the shoulder, calling out, “ Hoo far will ye tak’ us, my Lord?” “How far do you want to go, my lad?” “To Paris, by G—d !” and Wellington rode on laughing. A 92nd pensioner at Strone, Kingussie, named M’Gillivray, delighted to relate how, at Quatre-Bras, where, though wounded, he was still trying to do his duty, Wellington spoke kindly to him, saying, “You have done enough, my man; make for the rear while your blood is warm.” The battalion remained some days in or about Arriverete, taking part, however, in an attack on the bridgehead occupied by the enemy at Sauveterre. On the 24th of February the battalion forded the Gave d’Oleron near Villeneuve, and on the 25th marched on the road to Orthes and encamped at Laas, near that town.[22] The allied army under Wellington crossed the Gave de Pau near Peyrehorade below Orthes on the 26th and at daybreak on the 27th of February, except Hill’s Corps, which remained on the left bank of the river and menaced the bridge of Orthes and the ford of Souars above. The battle of Orthes began with skirmishing and artillery fire on the right bank of the river. At nine o’clock Wellington commenced the real attack on Soult’s position on a ridge of partly wooded hills presenting a concave to the Allies, and having long narrow slopes pushed out towards a marshy ravine which covered most of his front. The battle was continued on the left and centre with unabated fury for three hours, and at one time victory seemed to declare for the French. It is said that in the exultation of the moment Soult smote his thigh, exclaiming, “At last I have him!”[23] It was a most dangerous moment for the Allies, but Wellington, seeing the critical state of matters, suddenly changed his plan of battle: he assailed the flank and rear of the victorious French. Neither fire nor the marsh, though it took them above the knees, could stop the veterans of the Light Division. At the critical moment Wellington thrust the Fourth and Seventh Divisions, Vivian’s cavalry, and two batteries of artillery through St Böes, which changed the aspect of affairs. Meanwhile Hill, who was with 12,000 cavalry and infantry before the bridge of Orthes, received orders, when Wellington [331, Feb 1814] changed his plan, to force the passage of the river. Hill, though unable to force the bridge, forded the river at Souars just above the town, which he did under a heavy fire of artillery and musketry. The First Brigade, in which was the 92nd, led the way. The French posted on the opposite side were driven back, the heights above were seized, the French were cut off from the road to Pau, and the town of Orthes was turned, and this at the very time when the fortune of war had changed at the other end of the British line. Soult, arriving at the moment, saw that the loss of Souars rendered the whole position untenable, and gave orders for a general retreat. The 92nd then moved on the road to St Sever along the rear of the enemy, whose retreat, at first orderly, now became a confused flight; and the battalion was conspicuous in the pursuit till it halted at Sault de Navailles, and the cavalry finished the business. The loss of the French was six guns and nearly 4000 men killed, wounded, and prisoners; several thousands of the conscripts, however, threw away their arms and escaped over the country. The loss of the Allies was 2300, of which 50 with 3 officers were prisoners.[24] Among the wounded were Wellington (slightly), Generals Walker and Ross. The 92nd, though they had played :an important part in the warlike game, escaped with the loss of Private Findlay Munro killed, and three rank and file wounded; one of them, Malcolm Nicolson, who lost an arm, had served with the Gordons from Corunna. Afterwards, as “Calum na rightaig “ (“Stump-armed Malcolm”), he was a well-known pensioner in Skye, where he was a tenant in Dig, and died in 1863 at the age of ninety.[25] In the pursuit they met the two other kilted regiments, the 42nd and the 79th, “and such a joyful meeting I have seldom witnessed. As we were almost all from Scotland, and having a great many friends in all the regiments, such a shaking of hands took place; the one hand held the firelock, while the other was extended in the friendly Highland grasp, and then—three cheers to go forward. Lord Wellington was so much pleased with the scene, that he ordered the three regiments to be encamped beside each other for the night, as we had been separated for some years, that we might have the pleasure of spending a few hours together.”[26] The Gordon Highlanders bear the word” Orthes” on their regimental colour in memory of this victory. The King conferred honorary badges with the word “Orthes” on Lieut.-Colonel Cameron, who commanded the battalion, and on Major Mitchell, who commanded the Light Companies of the brigade, and the latter was promoted Brevet Lieut.-Colonel.
The casualties of the battalion were-Captain W. Fyfe, Lieutenants J. A. Durie and Richard MacDonnell wounded; one sergeant and two rank and file were killed, and one sergeant and twenty-eight rank and file wounded.[27] His Majesty George IV granted permission to Lieut.-Colonel Cameron to bear on his shield the word” Aire “ and a view of the town. Division Orders AIRE, March 3rd, 1814. Lieutenant-General Sir William Stewart congratulates the division on its further advance and success against the enemy. To the admirable conduct of the Fiftieth and Ninety-second Regiments, led by their gallant commanders and by Major-General Barnes, the good fortune of yesterday’s action is decidedly attributed, which the lieutenant-general has to state to Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill for the information of the Commander of the Forces. [333, March 1814] General Orders AIRE, March 5th, 1814. Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill congratulates Lieutenant-General Sir William Stewart, Major-General Barnes, and Major-General Byng, on the brilliant part which they bore in the action of the 2nd instant. The gallant and steady conduct of the Fiftieth Regiment under Lieutenant-Colonel Harrison, and of the Ninety-second Regiment under Lieutenant-Colonel Cameron, excited the admiration of all who were witnesses of it. AIRE, March l0th, 1814. Dear sir,—The Mayor and inhabitants of this town having requested me to convey to you, with their sentiments of gratitude, the accompanying address, I feel infinite pleasure in so doing, as I deem the sentiments expressed in it justly due towards you and the distinguished regiment under your command.—I have, etc. (Signed)
William Stewart, Lieut.-Colonel Cameron, (Translation) AIRE, 9th March 1814. Sir,—The inhabitants of the town of Aire are not ignorant that if they were preserved from pillage and destruction at the close of the obstinate and sanguinary conflict of the 2nd of March, they are indebted for such preservation from that calamity to your honourable conduct, and the strict discipline which you have maintained amongst the troops under your command. Penetrated by sentiments of the liveliest gratitude towards a commander distinguished by such noble qualities, the town of Aire has charged me to be their interpreter in communicating their thanks, and to offer you the homage of their esteem.—I have, etc. (Signed) Codroy, Mayor. To Lieut.-Colonel Cameron,
In the morning the wounded of both sides were placed in an hospital, and the magistrates waited on General Hill, thanking him and his troops for their forbearance in not plundering the town, and for the general good conduct of the soldiers, which gave the general, says one of them, as much satisfaction as his victory. The battalion remained in the town for ten days, and the men were provided with shoes and other necessaries.
[1] Not St Pierre d’Irube, which is close to Bayonne, but the hamlet of St Pierre, properly called Lostenia, over two miles from the city. [2] “General Barnes had just sent me word not to advance further.”—Letter from Colonel Cameron. [3] “War or Peace” [4] A letter from Archibald Campbell, Esq., suggests that John Sinclair (President) “ought to communicate to the Highland Society the fact that two out of the three pipers of the 92 nd Regiment were killed while playing ‘Cogag na shee’ to encourage their comrades”; as one fell another took it up; and that this “should be made known all over the Highlands.” Mr Campbell was informed of this by a letter from Colonel Cameron. [5] The colonels commanding the 3rd and the 71st were both dismissed the service.—Napier. [6] Napier. [7] Two companies of the 92nd had also been detached before noon to support the troops in the left centre. [8] Cannon’s Record mentions four distinct charges with the bayonet. [9] Sir William mentions four names as distinguished among the regimental officers of the British infantry engaged Lieut.-Colonel Cameron, 92nd Highlanders; Lieut.-Colonel Leith, 31st Regiment; Major W. A. Gordon, 50th Regiment (commanding the light troops of the First Brigade), and Captain Cameron, 3rd Buffs (commanding the light troops of the Third Brigade). Major Gordon had served in the 92nd in Holland, etc. Captain Cameron had been promoted from the ranks of the 92nd. [10] Now the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. Colonel Cameron gave great encouragement to the regimental pipers, some of whom were among the best in the Highlands, and were successful at various times in the competitions held by the Highland Society of Scotland, in the Theatre or Music Hall, Edinburgh, where the competitors were the most celebrated performers, some coming many days’ journey from the distant Highlands,* before such competitions were common in Scotland. He particularly encouraged the specially Highland airs, and the high-class music (Ceol Mar). To this may probably be attributed the fact that all pipers in the Gordon Highlanders are still taught to play “Piobaireachd,” and that this ancient and characteristically Highland class of pipe music is still played every day under the windows of the officers’ quarters before dinner, according to the custom of the old Highland gentry. *Carr’s “Caledonian Sketches,” and an old officer of the 92nd. [11] This incident is still told in Lochaber, where the credit is given to Private Ewen ban M’MiIlan, Cameron’s servant, but the colonel’s letter only mentions the corporal. [12] Pellot’s “Mémoires sur la campagne de l’Armée française dite des Pyrénées en 1813-14.” [13] Cannon’s Record gives 28 rank and file killed and 143 wounded, but never mentions those died of wounds or prisoners of war. [14] The battle of St Pierre is called “Moguerre” by the French, and is alluded to in the regimental documents of the time as “the action near Bayonne.” It was the great action which terminated the five days of fighting, chiefly on the left bank of the Nive; but it was distinct from the rest, fought by a separate portion of Wellington’s forces, and is well worthy of special remembrance in the records of the army and of the regiments engaged. [15] Sergeant Robertson [16] Wellington, owing to want of transport, could not send the clothing to the troops [17] Sergeant Robertson says three men were killed and ten wounded, but they are not in any return I can find. [18] Napier. [19] This officer’s name is more properly “Seton,” but it is “Seaton” in the Army List of 1813, and also on the memorial at Biarritz. [20] Henderson was long a pensioner at Fort-William, and M’Intosh in Badenoch [21] Sir John Hope, at that date Lord Niddry, and afterwards Earl of Hopetoun. [22] Sergeant Robertson mentions that a man of another regiment was hung on the 26th for plundering and fighting with French farmers, and Napier also notices this. Wellington was not at this time uneasy as to the power of Sault’s army in the field, but he dreaded the danger of a popular rising against his troops. “Maintain the strictest discipline; without that we are lost,” he told his generals. He made a British colonel quit the army for allowing his soldiers to destroy the archives of a small town.—Napier. [23] Napier. [24] Napier. [25] “Brave Sons of Skye.” [26] Sergeant Robertson. [27] The nominal list of killed and wounded at this period is lost.
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