CHAPTER VIII

FTER touching at Gibraltar, they arrived at the Cove of Cork on the 30th January, without further adventure, but remained in quarantine there till February 12th, when they marched for Kilkenny.  The effective strength consisted of 1 lieut.-colonel, 2 majors, 4 captains, 15 lieutenants, 5 ensigns, 6 staff, 42 sergeants, 22 drummers, and 559 rank and file.

Lieut.-Colonel Napier in Orders “trusts that the regiment will behave with the greatest order, whether on the march or in quarters,” and that they will “remember that the credit they have already gained will make their conduct the more observed,” and cautions them against the temptations of a garrison town.  The Regimental Orders show that their conduct on the march to Kilkenny was excellent, but it is not surprising to find that after a year and eight months, spent almost entirely at sea or on active service, they should have celebrated their return to the land of fair women and poteen whisky by a carouse, which the commanding officer excuses under the circumstances, but “positively assures them” that he will not do so again.

Sergeant D. Nicol in his journal says that on the march to Kilkenny each company was entertained by the corresponding company of the Lancashire Fencibles. “A merry evening but all done in good order and with sobriety.”  At Kilkenny a girl was accidentally shot by one of the men.  The regiment subscribed £50 for her parents.  There were at this time two brothers named Young in the regiment who had nine other brothers in the army, eleven in all.  The Queen gave their mother a pension.

Here the men received their new clothing and the “plaid and hose tartan”[1] due to them.  The bonnets, however, had stood the rough work, and only required to have the feathers taken down and washed, and new ribbons put on.  The regiment was medically inspected by a staff surgeon on February 25th, when many of the sick and wounded were convalescent, but 4 sergeants, 2 corporals, 1 drummer, and 92 privates were discharged as unfit for service.  There is also a list of 14 drummers and 37 privates “very stout men and fit for service, but under size,” whom Major-General Sir Charles Ross, Bart., who inspected the regiment on the 25th, recommended to be kept.  The regiment received prize-money for Egypt, but the amount does not appear.

R.O., Kilkenny, 5th April.—The following letter is published:

Royal Hospital, Dublin

Sir—I am commanded by the Commander of the Forces to acquaint you that the definitive treaty of peace was signed at Amiens at four o’clock [109] in the afternoon of the 27th ult. by the Plenipotentiary of His Majesty and the Plenipotentiaries of France, Spain, and the Batavian Republic, on which happy occasion the troops under your command will fire a feu-de-joie as usual.

I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
(Signed) S. BECKWITH.

To M.-General Ross,
Clonmell.

 

The principal features of the Treaty of Amiens were, that Great Britain restored all her conquests during the war except Trinidad and Ceylon, which were ceded to her by Spain and by the Batavian Republic.[2]  Portugal ceded some possessions in Guiana to France.  The territories of the Ottoman Porte were maintained in their integrity.  The Ionian Republic was recognised, and Malta was to be restored to the Knights of St John.  The French agreed to evacuate the Neapolitan and Roman States, and Great Britain the ports she held in the Adriatic and Mediterranean.

In March a recruiting party[3] was sent to Athlone, probably to get volunteers from the Fencible Corps quartered there; it was at any rate withdrawn soon after.

The men received an allowance in money in lieu of the clothing which they had not got at the proper time, which at this period was Christmas Day.  Recruits had blue pantaloons for fatigue.

The regiment was ordered to Dublin, to march in three divisions, under command of Major Gordon.

R.O., Kilkenny, April9th, 1802.—“From the general good conduct of the regiment, particularly on the last march, and the high character the men get in every quarter, Major Gordon is sensible the men will feel it incumbent on themselves to maintain that character, and nothing marks a good soldier more than regularity and sobriety on the march.”

There were still a good many sick, who were left at Kilkenny in the general hospital, with Sergeant Alexander Cameron to take care of them. En route, the destination of the regiment was changed to Belfast, where they arrived on the 28th; some companies were quartered in barracks, the others were billeted in the town.

B.O., Belfast, 23rd April 1802.— Brigadier-General Drummond makes known to the officers, n.c. officers, and privates who served in Egypt, the thanks of both Houses of Parliament, and also to the officers, petty officers, n.c. officers, and men of the Navy and Marines.  Commanding officers of ships and corps are respectfully desired to thank those under their command for their gallant and [110] exemplary behaviour.  The following is from the Speaker of the House of Commons:—

In transmitting these resolutions to Your Royal Highness, I have at the same time the sincerest satisfaction in bearing testimony to the sentiments of gratitude and admiration with which the House expressed its sense of those services which have raised our naval and military glory to a height unknown in former times, and have displayed so many brilliant and successful examples of valour and enterprise for after ages to admire and emulate.

I have the honour to be, etc.,
(Signed) Charles Abbott,
Speaker.

To Field-Marshal
H.R.H. The Duke of York,
Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's Forces.

 

On May 27th, 70 men were discharged, 68 of them to out-pensions; and the regiment wanted 390 men to complete establishment, the total strength being 610.

On May 29th, the regiment and a battery of artillery fired a feu-de-joie in memory of the restoration of King Charles II.

Early in June the Gordon Highlanders embarked for Glasgow,[4] this being their first visit to Scotland since they were raised eight years before.  Sergeant D. Nicol in his journal says that the regiment was happy and comfortable at Glasgow, officers and men knowing each other well, and the new barracks in the Gallowgate being the best in Europe.  Sergeant Nicol walked to Edinburgh on furlough, 55 miles, in 24 hours.

The Orders from May 1802 till July 1804 are missing, but from the monthly returns and other documents a certain amount of information can be gathered.  It appears that it was expected that the army would be reduced at the peace, and that the regiment would be disbanded.  Sir John Moore writes in September to Major Cameron at Glasgow Barracks, “I am sorry to find it is determined to reduce the 92nd.  Their gallant services entitled them to a better fate.” There were great rejoicings throughout the country at the peace, but it was soon felt that it could not last; Bonaparte evidently intended to exclude England from all Continental influence or commerce, and her statesmen did not think it safe to make any considerable reduction in the national establishments.  Consequently, the idea of reducing the Gordon Highlanders was aban-[111]doned, and they were retained in the service of their country.  To some of the men this was a disappointment; they had expected to be discharged at the end of the war, as had been the case after former wars with several of the Highland regiments; many of those enlisted on the estates of the officers so understood the terms of their enlistment.  Their experience of soldiering had been of the roughest; they had the old Highland idea of a fight, and then home again to tend the cattle, and they demanded their discharge in fulfillment of what they believed to be their engagement.  Lord Huntly, as colonel, arrived in Glasgow and inquired into the matter, which ended in a few of the men being found to be entitled to their discharge, which they received.

At Glasgow on the 24th October 1802, Archibald Campbell, Esq., paymaster in the 92nd Regiment, was appointed “our true and lawful attorney for us, and in our name and for our use and benefit to ask, demand, recover and receive,” etc., “all sums of money that are, or may be, due to us in name of prize-money, bounty, or reward, on account of the capture of the Dutch shipping lying in the Zuyder-Zee in the year 1799, and the conquests in Holland made by the British in that year,” etc., signed by 28 sergeants, 25 corporals, 19 drummers, and 297 privates.

Recruiting was now actively carried on.  The standard height was lowered to 5 feet 5 inches; the levy money was £6 6s., of which the recruit received in money and necessaries, £5 5s. ; the other payments being—for attesting, 1s.; surgeon’s fee, 2s. 6d.; postage and paper, 3s. 6d.; reward to party, 10s. 6d.; and for conducting to place of approval, 3s. 6d.  Recruits were enlisted at headquarters, and parties were sent to various places, such towns being chosen as were frequented by young men from the north in search of employment, from which they visited the fairs and feeing markets throughout the neighbouring districts.[5]  They also received volunteers from the Highland Fencibles, among them twenty-eight men from the “Regiment of the Isles.”[6]

In the spring of 1803, it became known that extensive military preparations were making in the ports of France and Holland, which [112] it was pretended were destined for the French colonies; but King George III, in a message to Parliament, adverted to the necessity of precautionary measures for the security of the country.  This message was received with applause alike by Whig and Tory, who were on this occasion unanimous in the determination to prevent the despotism of Bonaparte from becoming universal throughput Europe.  The French demanded the expulsion from England of their exiled countrymen, who had availed themselves of her hospitality since the Revolution, and insisted on the immediate surrender of Malta, which had been retained by the British till security should be found against a fresh seizure of the island by the French.  Other causes of irritation existed, and the patriotic feeling in both countries was inflamed to the highest pitch.  A spark only was needed to light the blaze of war; it was supplied by Bonaparte, who publicly insulted the British Ambassador in Paris.  Thus after a short and feverish peace, the two countries were again plunged into war,[7] and a contest was begun which was only finally decided on the field of Waterloo.  Britain stood alone to resist Bonaparte’s career of conquest, and he resolved to strike the first blow.  He assembled an army of 100,000 men at Boulogne for the invasion of Britain, and a host of flat-bottomed boats for their conveyance, while every effort was made to hasten the preparations. “Fifteen millions,” he is reported to have said, “must give way to forty millions.”[8]  “Let us be masters of the Channel for six hours, and we are masters of the world.”

It therefore became necessary for Britain to make proportionate exertions to meet the emergency.  The Government devoted all their energies to the task, in which they were nobly seconded by the patriotism and spirit of both Parliament and people.

The whole force of the United Kingdom was immediately mobilised, and stationed principally on the eastern and southern coasts. The military force of the United Kingdom, at home and abroad, consisted of 150,950 men, of which 98,314 were the regular army, the remainder militia.[9]  This number was so infinitely disproportioned to the formidable army expected to be brought against us,[10] that the Government felt it their duty to increase it by every [113] means the country could afford.  The Militia, 80,000 strong, were called out on the 25th of March; on June 28th, the House of Commons agreed to the unusual step of raising 50,000 additional men by conscription, under the denomination of the “Army Reserve Act”; a certain quota of men from each county were chosen by ballot, in the proportion of 34,000 for England, 10,000 for Ireland, and 6000 for Scotland, on condition of their serving only in Great Britain and Ireland, but with liberty to volunteer for general service with bounty.[11]  The men raised by this Act in the counties of Nairn, Inverness, Moray, Banff, and Aberdeen were sent to form a 2nd Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders, which was made up by men recruited in the usual manner.  This battalion became a nursery of good recruits to supply the casualties consequent on the more active duties of the 1st Battalion, till the peace of 1814.[12]  The 2nd Battalion 92nd Regiment (or Gordon Highlanders) was placed on the establishment on July 9th, 1803.[13]  Lieut.-Colonel J. Willoughby Cordon, from the Staff of the Army, was appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the 2nd Battalion, 4th August 1804.

Meanwhile volunteer corps were enrolled in the different parts of the kingdom, and such was the enthusiasm, that in a few weeks their number amounted to 300,000.[14]  Among them were to be found men of all ranks, professions, and classes, from the Prince to the peasant.[15]  The voice of political faction was stilled, and Whig and Tory stood as comrades in the ranks, united in one great effort for the preservation of their country.

On June 6th the Gordon Highlanders marched from Glasgow, embarked at Leith on the 9th, landed at Harwich on the 24th, and proceeded to Colchester.  On the 1st July they marched to Weely Cross in Essex, where they encamped, soon after going into Weely Barracks.  The 2nd Battalion was formed there on November 24th; officers and n.c. officers, with a proportion of old soldiers, being posted to it from the 1st Battalion.

[114]

 In 1803, field-officers ceased to hold companies.

At this time flank companies had each two lieutenants, and battalion companies one lieutenant and one ensign.

Both battalions were commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Napier.  On the 15th October the 1st Battalion had 58 English, 632 Scots, 25 Irish, and 1 foreigner[16]—-total, 716 n.c. officers and men.

The levy money was raised to £10, 10s., of which the recruit got in cash and necessaries £7, 12S. 6d., the remainder going to the party and costs.  In November 62 recruits and volunteers for general service (i.e. from the reserve) joined the 1st Battalion.  In the returns of the early months of 1804, considerable numbers of recruits are mentioned as approved at headquarters, and al so as being with the parties, and “approved by Lord Huntly,” who was then a major-general on the staff of North Britain, but who took an active interest in getting the right stamp of men for his regiment.  A great many reserve men[17] volunteered into the 1st Battalion for general service, and on March 1st the whole of the n.c. officers, drummers, and rank and file of the battalion were for unlimited service, except one drummer.

[115] Scotland was then divided into four military districts: Northern, headquarters at Aberdeen; Central, Dundee; Western, Glasgow; and Southern, Musselburgh and West Barns.  Major-General the Marquis of Huntly commanded the Northern District.

In May, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of the French.

R.O., July 23rd, 1804.—The regiment is to march to-morrow morning for Colchester, etc. etc.  One subaltern from the regiment, and I sergeant, 2 corporals, and 12 privates from' each battalion for baggage guard.

On August 1st the total strength of the 1st Battalion was 845 men.

R.O., Colchester, July 29th.—Officers of the 2nd Battalion are not to carry walking-sticks at church parade.

Battalion Order.—Sergeant Charles MacGregor is sentenced by Battalion Court-martial to be “suspended from the rank and pay of a sergeant to those of a private sentinel, for one month from the date hereof,” for not having his company muster-roll ready on the 24th inst.[18]  On account of his good character and the recommendation of the Court, Lieut.-Colonel Napier pardons him, but takes the opportunity of informing officers and n.c. officers that no excuse will be taken for neglect of public duties, and that nothing can be so unmilitary as the circumstance of trusting public documents upon a march to a common carrier, which appears to have been the case with Sergeant MacGregor.

At Colchester, where there was a large garrison, the two battalions 92nd Gordon Highlanders formed, with the two battalions 42nd Royal Highlanders, a brigade under Major-General the Hon. John Hope.  The brigade marched and encamped on Lexden Heath on the 6th August, only light baggage being allowed; the 2nd Battalion 92nd was commanded by Major (Brevet Lieut.-Colonel) Morris, who was soon afterwards removed to a veteran battalion.

Here instruction was carried on in outpost and field duties of all sorts, light infantry and target practice; but during harvest a number of old soldiers were allowed to take work with the farmers.  It appears the men sometimes did jobbing work where they were quartered, though it was not encouraged, and sometimes forbidden.

About this time pressing application was made for reinforce-[116]ments both in the East and West Indies, which, combined with the hostile aspect of affairs in Europe, made it necessary to augment the army.  The Government therefore brought forward a measure for giving an addition to the army of 78,951 men, and an immediate levy of fifty battalions for home service, so as to set the regular army at liberty for disposal abroad. The “Additional Force Act” was passed in July, and continued in force till June 1806, when it had produced to the army only 15,771 men.

In October the men of the 14th Battalion of Reserve, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Grant, who had volunteered for general service, were allowed to choose the 42nd, 91st, and 92nd Regiments.

On the 24th October, 1 subaltern officer, 4 sergeants, 4 corporals, and 1 drummer from the 2nd Battalion marched to London, en route for EIgin, where they were detached under instructions of the Inspector-General for the purpose of receiving the men to be raised under the “Additional Force Act.”

On the a.6th October both battalions returned to Weely Barracks, and before the camp broke up, Lieut.-General Sir J. Craig, commanding the Colchester District, published an order complimenting the troops on their good conduct, in which he states “that he has not received one complaint of irregular or disorderly conduct during the three months they have been on the ground.”

G.O., Weely Barracks, 13th November 1804.—“Officers commanding battalions will be so good as recollect that the original formation of their corps will always be in three ranks, unless the ten divisions fall in short of twelve complete files each.

Bat men and bat horses to be paraded daily with all they are intended to carry on service; also the carts for entrenching tools, and all are to be exercised under the quartermaster of the day.”

R.O.—The greatcoats of the men when in marching order are to be folded under the flap of the knapsack.

On the 25th October 1804, the 2nd Battalion was held in readiness to proceed by the Inland Navigation to Liverpool, and there to embark for Ireland.  It accordingly marched on the 29th, taking only twelve rounds of ammunition and one flint each man,[19] returning the rest to store, and leaving its bat horses to the 1st Battalion.

The 1st Battalion was now brigaded with the 1st 42nd (the 2nd 42nd being also gone to Ireland) and the 1st 91st.  The men were all regularly practised in gun-drill—1 sergeant and 14 gunners from each battalion “whenever ye weather permits.”

R.O.—“Ten men if possible to be in a mess, and a n.c. officer at the head of each mess, and to be ye responsible person.  The names of every man and his comrade to be posted at the foot of each berth.” (Two men slept in each berth.)

[117] The officers, at any rate, seem to have returned to the use of hair-powder, which was still fashionable in civil life.

R.O., December 22nd, 1804.—“Major Cameron directs that no officer will presume to appear on parade without having his hair tied according to regulation and properly powdered.”  And by a later Order, officers' hair to be tied two inches from the head, and the tail five inches in length.

R.O., February 7th, 1805.—The men not to wear greatcoats except on duty and never on fatigue.

R.O., May 21st.—Officers to wear the Highland dress on all duties, and when off duty white cassimere or cloth pantaloons and half-boots.

Regimental mounted officers’ horse appointments—saddle-cloth of the regimental facing, with double row of regimental lace round it.  Holsters covered with black bear-skin, the fronting of the bridle covered with ribbon the colour of the saddle-cloth.

R. O., February 11th.—The barrack guard to turn out once a day to the commanding officer of the regiment with presented arms, after which it turns out with ordered arms.  To field officers of the regiment it turns out once a day with ordered arms, after which it only stands to arms.

At this time a number of men were discharged unfit for service, and were sent home to Scotland, and others, fit only for home duty, were sent to a veteran battalion on the Isle of Wight.

Clothing was now issued in April instead of at Christmas, and the battalion received it, with one pair of shoes per man, on April 16th.  “Hose, not being now an article of clothing, will be paid for.”[20]   At this period the Sphinx was by Regimental Order adopted as the crest to be worn on the bonnets in place of a regimental button as heretofore.

On the 17th April the battalion was inspected,  Field officers and staff in white breeches and boots, the other officers in Highland dress; and Major-General Hope, in Orders of the 18th, expressed the highest approbation of the “complete and efficient appearance of the 92nd Regiment yesterday, as well as the precision with which the battalion moved,” and he “requests Lieut.-Colonel Napier to express to the officers and men his sense of the diligence they have bestowed on the several field duties, and of the proficiency to which they have attained.”[21]

Sergeants were sometimes allowed to resign rather than stand trial.

R.O., May 21st—“Sergeant Lewis MacGregor, having been [118]guilty of an irregularity, Lieut.-Colonel Napier has accepted his resignation.”

In May six officers were employed in receiving volunteers from the Scottish Militia regiments in England.  Three volunteers were al so received from the Oxfordshire, and six from the Irish Militia.

At Weely the married men were allowed to live in huts belonging to Government outside barracks, but their wives sometimes abused this privilege by selling liquor and allowing disorderly conduct.  “Major Cameron was perfectly shocked at the infamous scene of gambling he witnessed to-day in rear of the centre huts of the 92nd Regiment,” etc. “On account of the irregularities allowed by Private M’Kean, his hut is to be burned down by the pioneers, and if Mrs M’Kean continues these disgraceful scenes, she will be drummed out of the regiment.”

On the 4th of June, being the King's birthday, the battalion fired three volleys, and drill was dispensed with in honour of the occasion.

R.O.—“It is to be observed that when the open column marches past in parade order the drummers on the flanks of divisions are not to roll; the pipers may, however, be allowed to play.”[22]

At this time a few carpenters and masons were allowed to volunteer from the regiment to the corps of Royal Military Artificers with ten guineas bounty.

R.O., July 10th.—Complaints having been made in an irregular manner by Captain Watts’ company, Lieut.-Colonel Napier admonishes the men, “who know perfectly the proper mode to be adopted when they feel themselves to be aggrieved.  It appearing, however, that some negligence has taken place on the part of Captain Watt, Lieut.-Colonel Napier has reprimanded him in presence of the field-officers and captains of the battalion.”

In August a certain number of men of good character and large families are allowed to assist at harvest, but are not to solicit work from the farmers, who are to apply to the commanding officer if they want men.

At a time when the price of bread varied, according to the season and district, from 7 1/4d. to 10 1/4d. for the 4-lb. loaf,[23] it was a great help to men with children to be able in this way to add to their means of support.

On September 2nd the 1st Battalion, along with the 1st 42nd, 91st and 95th (Rifles), marched to Colchester, leaving a detachment [119] in charge of the heavy baggage at Weely, but on the 4th it was ordered to hold itself in readiness for embarkation, and returned to Weely on the 6th.  On the 8th October it was again at Colchester for exercise and field days.[24]  While there, it was reviewed at Broxted by H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief, who expressed his approval of the troops’ “soldier-like appearance and correct discipline.”  On the 18th the Highland regiments returned to Weely, and on the 29th the 1st Battalion marched to Tilbury Fort, en route for Ospringe Barracks, where it arrived November 6th.

R.O., October 28th, 1805, Weely.—In leaving the district and quarters so long occupied by the regiment, Lieut.-Colonel Napier “hopes and trusts that the regiment will conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the high character they hold in the army, and that they will not, by drunkenness or otherwise, give people reason to suppose that their present character has been established merely from their appearance in the field or at a review.”[25]

In a letter to the commanding officer in November, Messrs Greenwood and Cox, the army agents, inform him that each married woman left behind on embarkation is to be allowed £1 1s., and 5s. for each child.  In a letter from Ospringe Barracks, Faversham, Kent, Major Cameron writes—“We are waiting here till the transports are ready for us.[26]  We are all of us this morning in the most extraordinary mixture of joy and sorrow, for the loss, in the midst of such glorious achievements, of that greatest of men—Nelson.”  Again, on the 25th December 1805, “to the astonishment of every person here we are still without a word of moving; the 2nd Battalion of the 79th and we form the brigade of the Honourable Major-General John Hope, commanded ad interim by his brother Charles.”

Meanwhile Napoleon's plan by which the British fleet was to be divided, and the whole French and Spanish fleets concentrated to crush the British squadron in the Channel, and protect the vast armament at Boulogne in crossing to the shores of Britain, had been frustrated by the death of the Admiral destined to command it, and by the vigilance of the British Admirals.  Austria, Russia, and Sweden had formed an alliance to wrest Italy and the Low Countries from the French Emperor, who had reluctantly abandoned for the time his dream of the invasion of Britain; and marching the “Army [120] of England,” as it was called (now amounting to 150,000 men), towards the Danube, he forced an Austrian army to capitulate at Ulm, three days before Nelson's victory of the 21st October at Trafalgar.

“England has saved herself by her courage,” said Pitt, in what were destined to be his last public words.  “She will save Europe by her example.”[27]

The 1st Battalion 92nd marched to Canterbury on the 26th November, there to be quartered; and, instead of being sent to the Continent, the battalion, by order from the Commander-in-Chief, marched in three divisions to London, on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of January 1806, in order to attend the funeral of Admiral Viscount Nelson on the 9th.

They were to return after the solemnity, and to leave everything in their present quarters, except “only such articles as are necessary to their appearance on parade on the day of the funeral.”[28]  There was evidently some difficulty as to the “appearance” they were to make.  The men carried new hose and new jackets in their packs, but many of the latter were not ready, and the tailors had a hard time of it, and no “Sunday out” in London; they were ordered to “bring as many jackets in the waggon as they can finish on Sunday.”

On the morning of January 9th, the 92nd marched from their quarters in the outskirts of London to the Horse Guards Parade, where the troops, consisting of three brigades of infantry, with cavalry and artillery, were formed for the funeral procession, which was led by a detachment of cavalry and four companies of light infantry, under Major Cameron of the 92nd, immediately followed by the battalion companies of the 92nd and 1st Battalion 79th, the other troops following, and four Grenadier companies bringing up the rear.  “The music of the 79th to be in front of the brigade, and occasionally play a few bars of solemn and appropriate music.”

The four light companies under Major Cameron, and an officer and twenty men of the 2nd Dragoons, were formed inside the railings, to the door of St. Paul's, while the Grenadier companies lined the aisle from the door to the place where the remains of the hero were deposited.  The rest of the troops passed on to Moorfields where they fired three volleys in the air, and where refreshments were provided for them; they then returned over London Bridge to their quarters.

“Though the honour was great,” says Major Cameron, “the trouble was by no means slight, as we were under arms from six in the morning till seven at night.”

[121] While the Gordon Highlanders were in London, it was announced that their colonel, Major-General the Marquis of Huntly, had been removed to the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment, and Major-General the Hon. Sir John Hope (afterwards the Earl of Hopetoun), from the 60th Regiment, was appointed by His Majesty King George III to be colonel of the 92nd.  Although the official connection was thus severed, their first colonel by no means gave up his interest in the regiment.  The officers were always welcome guests at Gordon Castle; several spent the evening of their days as tacksmen on the Gordon Estates in Lochaber and Badenoch, where numbers of the veteran soldiers also found comfortable homes.

Up to this period the monthly returns were always headed “92nd Regiment of Foot (or Gordon Highlanders)”; the last return so headed is that of July 1st, 1807.  The title used afterwards is generally “92nd (Highland) Regiment of Foot,” sometimes simply “92nd Regiment of Foot.”  Still “Gordon Highlanders” was used colloquially in the regiment, and in the Highlands “Reismaid Gordonach” continued to be the usual appellation of the 92nd.[29]  It is remarkable that by some inadvertence there was, for many years after its formation, no reference in the Army List to the nationality of the regiment.

Instead of returning to Canterbury as they expected, where all their belongings were left, the battalion marched to Colchester in two divisions, leaving London on Saturday the 11th and Monday the 13th of January.  A sergeant of each company had to march via Gravesend to Canterbury, to collect and take particular care of the men’s necessaries, and give over the barracks.  It is no wonder that Lieut.-Colonel Napier tells them “that the duty they are sent upon requires great attention, and may be attended with much trouble.”  The officers and men must have been patient indeed, if they did not use strong language, at such a want of forethought and arrangement on the part of the authorities! However, recruits, women, and children, with all their possessions, reached Colchester, where the battalion arrived on the 15th, and was inspected on the 19th by Major-General Milner, in “their new clothing and plumes.”  Here they were brigaded with the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 79th, under Brigadier-General Dunlop.

On the 1st of February, the total strength of the 1st Battalion was 945.  Soon after, a number of men were sent to the 9th Veteran Battalion at Edinburgh,[30] and others were discharged.

[122] While at Colchester, great attention was paid to elementary drill, and the position of the soldier in marching, etc.; to the health and comfort of the men, and to carrying on the whole system and duty of the regiment with alacrity.

Men of the 2nd Battalion were encouraged to extend their limited service, and a number of volunteers were received from it in June by the 1st Battalion.

In July the garrison was reviewed by Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham.

It was ordered that soldiers’ letters should only be charged 1d. instead of the usual high rate of postage, which was, from Colchester to Scotland, 3s. for 1oz. weight.

At this time the 2nd Battalion 79th was affected by ophthalmia to an alarming extent, and steps were taken to prevent the disease spreading, the affected battalion being sent to encamp.

Lieut.-Colonel Napier keeps officers and men up to their work, and rebukes the former if the men’s rooms and clothing are not in the best possible order.

2nd August.—Men are allowed to go harvesting, particularly married men.[31]

On August 26th, the Highland Brigade (1st and 2nd 79th and 1st 92nd) marched to Weely, and Sergeants Gunn, Alexander Cameron, and Donald MacDonald were sent recruiting to Chelmsford, the Ross-shire and other Militia Regiments being in that district.

Return giving the country of officers, n.c. officers, drummers, and privates of the 1st Battalion 92nd Regiment or Gordon Highlanders, September 2nd, 1806.

 

 

On October 3rd the Highland Brigade marched to Colchester, and were reviewed by H.R.H. the Duke of York, Commander-in-Chief, who expressed his “highest approbation of their appearance in the field this day,” and desired his Order to that effect to be [123] read to the men at evening roll-call.  Next day they returned to Weely.

Horse Guards, October 27th, 1806.—Sergeants to have collars and cuffs of the regimental facings on their greatcoats.

B.O., October 21st.—Soldiers of the Highland Brigade to be allowed two months furlough to go to Scotland, to the extent of twenty men per battalion.

In November the men were exercised in firing ball, fifty rounds a man. Corporals to have brushes and prickers for the arms.[33]

In February 1807, the levy money for infantry recruits was £18, 12s. 6d., of which the recruit received in necessaries and cash £11, 11s.  The remainder went to the party and for incidental expenses.[34]

Ophthalmia now existed in the 92nd as well as in the 79th, and, with the view of checking this complaint, seven companies of the 1st 79th and the 1st 92nd marched on 3rd February to Harwich, the 92nd leaving all their ophthalmia cases behind at Weely, and every precaution being taken to prevent the disease spreading by infection, all suspicious cases being at once separated till seen by the doctor.

The men were desired to scour all their old clothing, and to wear their new kilts and waistcoats till it was dry, and also to wash their hair; “they will not be expected to wear their pads at every parade, but to tie their hair neatly with a string.”

R.O., 3rd March 1807, Harwich Barracks. —The commanding officer having observed several of the officers appearing with handkerchiefs tied with large knots in front, also the shirt appearing very much above the handkerchiefs, he particularly forbids the practice, except at evening parties, otherwise he will be under the necessity of ordering them to appear again in their leathern stocks.  Officers are requested not to leave the barracks unless dressed in every respect regimentally.

On the 4th March the battalion was inspected by Brigadier-General Warde, who expressed his approbation.

The following is the general return of their country, height, age, and time of service:—

 

  [124]

 

 

 Total n.c. officers, drummers, and privates, 1018.

 [125] On March 5th the battalion marched to Colchester, where the officers “are on all occasions to wear the bonnet, with the exception of mounted officers.”

They were inspected by Major-General Grosvenor on the 8th, returning to Harwich a few days later, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Lamont, and on the 27th April the battalion returned to Weely, where new bonnets were issued to the men, who were ordered to take down the feathers and make them up on the new bonnets, and to wear the old bonnets, without feathers, as foraging caps.  In May a draft of 32 rank and file, described as of good appearance, was received from the 2nd Battalion.

By letters from the Adjutant-General, H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief directs “that the sergeants must be taken from the regiment generally, without reference to the battalion in which the vacancy may occur, and exclusively from the men who are enlisted without limitation.  This is not, however, to have a retrospect to men engaged for a limited service who have already been appointed sergeants or corporals,” etc.  “H.R.H. is pleased to approve of your leaving it to the discretion of the officer commanding the 2nd Battalion to appoint a certain number of men of limited service to be corporals.”  “To Major-General the Hon. Sir John Hope, or officer commanding 1st Battalion 92nd Regiment.”

The corporal punishments in the army and navy were at this time very severe, especially for desertion, absence, and making away with regimental necessaries.  It seems almost incredible that it should have been necessary for the King to “express his opinion,” as he did in December 1806, “that no corporal punishment should exceed 1000 lashes”!  Corporal punishment appears, however, to have been comparatively rare in the 92nd.