Historical Record of the Seventeenth or The Leicestershire Regiment of Foot: From Its Formation in 1688 to 1848

HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTEENTH, OR THE LEICESTERSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT

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 and a gallant effort was made; but the three regiments ordered to support the assault did not move forward in time, and the assailants were overpowered by superior numbers. The SEVENTEENTH advanced in gallant style; but they were assailed by a storm of bullets which nearly annihilated the regiment; Colonel Courthorpe was killed, Lieut. – Colonel Sir Matthew Bridges was severely wounded; and two hundred and fifty officers and soldiers were put hors de combat in a few minutes, when the survivors received orders to withdraw from the unequal contest. Some partial advantages were gained, but the loss was very severe.

The SEVENTEENTH had Colonel Courthorpe, Captain Coote, Lieutenant Evans, and one hundred and one serjeants and rank and file killed; Lieut. – Colonel Sir Matthew Bridges, Captains Wolfe and Du Bourgnay, Lieutenants Disbordes and Ashe, Ensigns Foncebrand, Eyres, and Dennis, and one hundred and forty-nine soldiers wounded.

King William was pleased to confer the colonelcy of the regiment on the Lieut. – Colonel, Sir Matthew Bridges, who had evinced great gallantry on this occasion.

Preparations were made for a second assault of the works, which was prevented by the surrender of the garrison. The SEVENTEENTH remained a short time near the captured fortress, and afterwards marched to the opulent city of Bruges, where they passed the winter.

1696

Early in the spring of 1696, the regiment was joined by a numerous body of recruits from England, and on the 12th of May it marched from Bruges to Marykirk, and it was afterwards encamped along the canal towards Ghent. It was formed in brigade with the third, fifth, and eighteenth regiments, under Brigadier-General Selwyn, and served the campaign with the army of Flanders under the Prince of Vaudemont; but no general engagement occurred, and in the autumn the regiment marched into quarters at Bruges.

1697

On the 13th of March, 1697, the regiment quitted its quarters at Bruges, and was afterwards stationed a few weeks in villages between Brussels, Vilvorde, and Malines; it was subsequently formed in brigade with a battalion of the royals, the fifth, and two regiments in the Dutch service, under Brigadier-General the Earl of Orkney, and it took part in the operations of the army of Brabant, under King William, until hostilities were terminated by the treaty of Ryswick, and the British monarch saw his efforts to preserve the liberties and balance of power in Europe attended with complete success.

1699

During the winter the regiment returned to England, and it was shortly afterwards removed to Ireland, where it was stationed during the years 1699 and 1700.

1700

1701

The decease of Charles II., King of Spain, on the 1st of November, 1700, was followed by the elevation of the Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV., to the throne of that kingdom, in violation of existing treaties; and war being resolved upon, the SEVENTEENTH regiment embarked from Cork on the 15th of June, 1701, and sailed for Holland, where it was placed in garrison at Gorcum. In September it was reviewed by King William III. on Breda-heath.

1702

On the 10th of March, 1702, the regiment quitted its quarters, and proceeded to Rosendael, where the officers and soldiers received information of the death of King William III., and of the accession of Queen Anne. They afterwards marched across the country to the Duchy of Cleves, and encamped with the army, under the Earl of Athlone, at Cranenburg, during the siege of Kayserswerth by the Germans. During the night of the 10th of June the army quitted Cranenburg, to preserve its communication with Nimeguen, in front of which fortress the regiment skirmished with the French on the following morning.

The Earl of Marlborough assembled the army, composed of the troops of several nations, and advanced against the French, who withdrew to avoid a general engagement; and the regiment was afterwards selected to take part in the siege of Venloo, a town in the province of Limburg, on the east side of the river Maese, with a detached fortress beyond the river, against which the British troops carried on their attacks. The SEVENTEENTH took their turn of duty in the trenches, and their grenadier company was engaged in storming the counter-scarp of Fort St. Michael on the 18th of September, when the soldiers followed up their first advantage with astonishing intrepidity, and captured the fort.

On this occasion, Lieut. – Colonel Holcroft Blood of the regiment, who was performing the duty of principal engineer, highly distinguished himself.

In a few days after the capture of Fort St. Michael, the besieging army formed to fire a feu-de-joie for the taking of Landau by the Germans, when the people and garrison of Venloo, supposing a general attack was about to be made on the town, induced the governor to surrender.

The SEVENTEENTH were afterwards employed in the siege of Ruremonde, which fortress was invested towards the end of September, and was forced to surrender before the middle of October.

Rejoining the main army after the surrender of Ruremonde, the regiment advanced to the city of Liege, and its grenadier company was engaged in the siege of the citadel, which was captured by storm on the 23rd of October. After these conquests the regiment marched back to Holland.

1703

Towards the end of April, 1703, the regiment marched in the direction of Maestricht, and it was in position near that city when the French army under Marshal Villeroy and Marshal Boufflers approached, and some cannonading occurred, but the enemy did not hazard a general engagement.

The Duke of Marlborough assembled the army, and the SEVENTEENTH took part in the movements which occasioned the French commanders to make a sudden retreat from their position at Tongres, and to take post behind their fortified lines; where the English general was desirous of attacking them, but he was prevented by the Dutch generals and field-deputies. The services of the SEVENTEENTH regiment were afterwards connected with the siege of Huy, a strong fortress on the river Maese, above the city of Liege, which was captured in ten days. Another proposal to attack the French lines having been objected to by the Dutch, the regiment was employed in covering the siege of Limburg, a city of the Spanish Netherlands situate on a pleasant eminence among the woods near the banks of the river Weze. The siege of this place commenced on the 10th of September, and on the 28th the garrison surrendered.

On the 26th of August Lieut. – Colonel Blood was promoted to the colonelcy of the regiment, in succession to Colonel Sir Matthew Bridges.

During the summer of this year, Archduke Charles of Austria was acknowledged as King of Spain, by England, Holland, and several other states of Europe; and the SEVENTEENTH regiment was one of the corps selected to proceed with him to Portugal, to endeavour to place him on the throne of Spain by force of arms.

1704

The regiment embarked from Holland in October, and sailed to Portsmouth, where it was detained by contrary winds; it put to sea in January, 1704, but, encountering a severe storm, was driven back to port, and several ships of the fleet were much damaged. The voyage was afterwards resumed, the regiment arrived at Lisbon in the early part of March, and landed on the 15th of that month. The King of Portugal being afraid to intrust the protection of his frontier towns to his own troops, the British regiments were placed in garrison.

Tardiness in the preparations for opening the campaign was manifested by the Portuguese authorities, and the Duke of Berwick attacked the frontiers of Portugal with the combined French and Spanish armies before the allies were prepared to take the field. The SEVENTEENTH were called from garrison to take part in attempting to arrest the progress of the enemy; they were employed in the Alemtejo, and in July they were encamped near Estremos, – a town situate in an agreeable tract on the Tarra; towards the end of July, they marched into cantonments in the town.

In the autumn the allied army was enabled to act on the offensive, and the SEVENTEENTH was one of the regiments which penetrated Spain, to the vicinity of Ciudad Rodrigo; but the enemy was found so advantageously posted, beyond the Agueda, that the Portuguese generals objected to attempt the passage of the river, and the army returned to Portugal, where the regiment passed the winter.

1705

The regiment again proceeded to Estremos, in the Alemtejo, in April, 1705, and it was afterwards engaged in the siege of Valencia de Alcantara, which place was captured by storm on the 8th of May. The SEVENTEENTH was also employed at the siege and capture of Albuquerque; and when the summer heats became too great for the troops to remain in the field, the regiment went into quarters at the ancient town of Moura, near the banks of the Guadiana river.

In the autumn the army crossed the Guadiana, and the SEVENTEENTH regiment was engaged in the siege of Badajoz, the capital of Spanish Estremadura; but the army not being sufficiently numerous to invest the place, the garrison was relieved on the 14th of October, and the siege was afterwards raised. At this siege the British general, the Earl of Galway, lost his hand by a cannon-ball.

1706

After passing the winter in cantonments on the confines of Portugal, the regiment again took the field in March, 1706, and in April it was employed in the siege of Alcantara, a fortified town situate on a rock near the river Tagus, in Spanish Estremadura. On the 10th of April the SEVENTEENTH and thirty-third regiments attacked the convent of St. Francis, situate near the town, and captured this post with great gallantry: the two regiments had fifty officers and men killed and wounded, Colonel Wade (afterwards Field-marshal) and Lieut. – Colonel de Harcourt being among the wounded. The garrison surrendered on the 14th of April.

From Alcantara the army advanced to the vicinity of Placencia, and afterwards drove the enemy from his position on the banks of the Tietar, – sending forward a detachment to destroy the bridge of Almaraz; but, subsequently changing its route, proceeded to the province of Leon, and the SEVENTEENTH regiment was employed in the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, which fortress surrendered on the 26th of May.

On the 3rd of June the army commenced its march from Ciudad Rodrigo for the capital of Spain, proceeding by Salamanca, through the Guadarrama Mountains; and, arriving at Madrid on the 24th and 27th of June, encamped in the vicinity of that city, where Archduke Charles of Austria was proclaimed King of Spain with the usual solemnities. This tide of success was changed by the delay of King Charles to come to Madrid from Barcelona, which fortress had been captured by the Earl of Peterborough in the preceding year. This delay occasioned his friends to be discouraged; the partisans of King Philip took up arms; and, numerous bodies of French and Spanish troops joining the army under the Duke of Berwick, the allied army retreated from Madrid to the province of Valencia, where the SEVENTEENTH regiment was stationed during the winter.

1707

Early in April, 1707, the regiment joined the allied army under the Marquis das Minas and the Earl of Galway, and, after taking part in several operations, advanced, on the 25th of April, to attack the French and Spanish troops under the Duke of Berwick at Almanza. Fatigued by a long and difficult march, and exposed to a burning sun, the soldiers arrived in presence of their opponents, and prepared for battle. The sixth, SEVENTEENTH, thirty-third, and Lord Montjoy's regiments, were formed in brigade under Major-General Wade, and were posted on the flanks of a brigade of cavalry in the front line of the left wing. The battle was commenced by the British dragoons, who evinced great bravery, but many squadrons of Portuguese cavalry quitted the field in a panic. Major-General Wade's brigade was engaged with nine battalions of French and Spanish infantry, when it was joined by the ninth foot; the five British regiments disputed the ground with sanguinary obstinacy; but while the contest was raging, a body of fresh French and Spanish cavalry drove back the allied squadrons on the left. The sixth, ninth, SEVENTEENTH, thirty-third, and Lord Montjoy's regiments, were bravely contending with seven French and Spanish corps in their front, when they were attacked on the flank by two other of the enemy's battalions, broken, and driven from the field with great loss. The two battalions which attacked them in flank were cut to pieces by Harvey's horse, now second dragoon guards, who were in turn overpowered by the superior numbers of the enemy. The fight still raged in the centre; but the flanks being defeated, the enemy surrounded the centre and made great slaughter. The remains of the English regiments were collected into a body, and were united to some Dutch and Portuguese troops; the whole retreating to the woody hills of Caudete. The men were so exhausted with fatigue that they were unable to proceed, and they passed the night in the wood without food. On the following morning they were surrounded by the enemy; and being without ammunition, ignorant of the country, and destitute of provisions, they surrendered prisoners of war. Such were the results of a battle in which wearied and faint soldiers were hurried forward to fight superior numbers of fresh troops, commanded by a skilful general!

The SEVENTEENTH Regiment had Lieut. – Colonel Woollett, Lieut. – Colonel Withers, and Major Leech, killed; Captains Fitzgerald and Foncebrand, Lieutenants Rivesson, Ingram, and Blood, Ensigns Deaven, Callon, and Bruce, wounded and taken prisoners; Captains Dudley Cosby and Loftus Cosby, Lieutenants Martin, Brown, Brooks, and Tyrell, and Ensign Bland, prisoners.

The officers and soldiers of the regiment, who escaped from the field, joined the cavalry under the Earl of Galway, at Alcira, on the river Xucar; and the approach to the town being by almost inaccessible mountains, his lordship halted there a few days to reorganize the army. The SEVENTEENTH regiment, commanded by Lieut. – Colonel Wightman, was encamped some time on the banks of the Ebro above Tortosa, and was afterwards employed in operations for the protection of the province of Catalonia: it was joined by men from command and sick absent, also by several who escaped from prisoners of war, and it mustered two hundred and sixty-six officers and soldiers.