Some History of the 58th Regiment of Foot

Below are excerpts from a series of articles on the 58th Regiment which appeared in The United Service Magazine in 1877-1878.

Primary emphasis here is placed on the history of the second battalion of the 58th Regiment during the Peninsular War.

http://books.google.com/books?id=jNoRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA466

The United service magazine, Volume 145

By Arthur William Alsager Pollock

p.iii

CONTENTS TO THE THIRD PART FOR 1877.

...

p.iv

Notes on The History of The Fifty-eighth Regiment of Foot, p.466-478.

p.466

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF THE FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

Of the original predecessors of this brave old corps—the regiments holding the same relative rank in the early

years of the eighteenth century—nothing can now be ascertained.

...

[Article ends with events in 1759.]

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http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081656500#page/n6/mode/1up

or

http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081656500;seq=7;view=1up

The United service magazine, with which are incorporated ... v.146 (Jan.-Apr. 1878).

[Jan., 1878, p.75-84]

p.75

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND SERVICES OF THE

FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

(Continued.)

Resuming our extracts from General Murray's Journal we find

the following:— ...

...

[Feb., 1878, p.217-224]

p.217

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND SERVICES OF THE

FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

(Continued.)

An American officer, who has lately given to the public some

interesting recollections of the siege of Paris, remarks that the

sensation of being besieged is not an unpleasant one. ...

...

p.222

Whilst the regiment was stationed at Youghal, County Cork, in

1791, the late Duke of Wellington obtained his company in

it by promotion from the 12th Light Dragoons. The 12th Prince

of Wales' Light Dragoons (now Lancers) though not nominally,

were virtually an Irish regiment, having then been quartered and

recruited uninterruptedly in Ireland for seventy years. The Duke

at the time referred to was lieutenant in charge of Major (after-

wards General) William Anne Villette's troops, of which the

Honble. Lowry Cole, afterwards General Honble. Sir Lowry

Cole, was cornet. His promotion in the 58th is dated Dublin

Castle, 30th of June, 1791, and was published in the "Loudon

Gazette" of the 1st of October following.

" Dublin Castle, 30th June, 1791. 58th Regiment. Captain

(Major by brevet) William McMyne to be Regimental Major, vice

Bromhead, resigned.

" Lieutenant Honble. A. Wellesley, from 12th Dragoons, to be

Captain, vice McMyne.

p.223

The Duke, when he joined the 58th, was in the twenty-third

year of his age and the fifth of his military service. He had been

returned for Trim in the Irish Parliament some months before.

Sir Jonah Barrington ("Personal Sketches," p. 170), speaks of

him as " ruddy-faced and juvenile in appearance, and popular

enough among young men of his age and station. His address

was unpolished ; he spoke occasionally in Parliament, but not suc-

cessfully, and never on important subjects; and evinced no promise

of the celebrity and splendour to which he has since reached." His

total service in the 58th amounted to 1 4/12 year, most of which was

spent on recruiting service in Dublin. He was then transferred to

the 18th Light Dragoons (afterwards Hussars), by Order dated

Dublin Castle, 31st Oct., 1792, and published in the "London

Gazette" of the 29th December in (he same year, in place of Capt.

Hamilton Crofton, promoted in the 13th Light Dragoons.

...

[March, 1878, p.350-358]

p.350

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND SERVICES OF THE

FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

(Continued.)

After the capture of Martinique and San Lucia, the flank

brigades (including the flank companies 58th), under H.R.H.

Prince Edward and Major-General T. Dundas, were employed in

the reduction of the island of Guadaloupe and its dependencies,

completing the conquest of the French West Indian islands,

a service which was affected with small loss.

...

p.356

...

At Rosetta Colonel Spencer's force was augmented by additional

regiments from Alexandria under the personal command of General

Hutchinson. Driving the French from the fortified post of Rah-

manie, the army advanced along the banks of the Nile, in the

direction of Cairo, arriving on the 8th of June, in the neighbour-

hood of the Pyramids, where it halted several days. Subsequently

the advance was resumed, and Cairo was invested, and a few days

afterwards surrendered.†

On the departure of the army, the 58th was one of the regi-

ments left behind to garrison Alexandria, where it remained until

the final evacuation of the country in 1802.

With the other corps engaged, the 58th received the thanks

of Parliament, and the Royal permission to bear upon its colours

and accoutrements a "Sphinx," with the word " Egypt " in com-

memoration of its services there.

______

...

† An incident connected with the 58th, recorded by General Stewart in his

account of the 42nd in Egypt, deserves mention here. A French cavalry deserter

had given his cloak, in return for some act of kindness, to a soldier of the 58th

employed as a clerk in the Adjutant-General's Department. The soldier was seized

with the plague the next night and died. Fortunately, from his duty as clerk, he

p.357

At the peace of Amiens the 58th returned home and was

stationed in Ireland, with head-quarters at Waterford and a de-

tachment at Dungannon Fort, and recruiting parties at Man-

chester, Glasgow and Paisley, and in various parts of Ireland.

Here it received some volunteers from the Irish Militia, and also

a draft from the Loyal Nottingham Fencible Infantry, when that

corps, which had been stationed in Ireland since '98, was dis-

banded.

From Waterford the 58th moved to Kingsale. Whilst the

regiment was there stationed the " Army of Reserve Act " of July

11, 1803, was passed, which directed thirty-five new battalions

to be raised in the United Kingdom for limited service therein

only. Of these thirty-five battalions, nineteen* were to form

(limited-service) second battalions to existing line regiments,

twelve being raised in England, and three in Scotland, and four

in Ireland; and sixteen were to form independent battalions, which

figured in the Army List under the head of " Army of Reserve."

Of the latter, eleven were raised in England, two in Scotland and

three in Ireland.

The 58th was amongst the regiments ordered thus to form a

second battalion in Ireland.

{The 58th being in Ireland, the 2/58th was formed there in September, 1803.}

In the following year, the " Additional Forces Act" of June

29, 1804, was passed, by which forty Line regiments, including the

nineteen double battalion regiments first mentioned, were ordered

either to form second battalions or to reinforce those they pos-

sessed by volunteers from the Army of Reserve, so as to absorb

the sixteen independent battalions of Reserve. In this way the

Second Battalion 58th was to receive Reserve men from Cork

City and County and the County Kerry. The officers appointed

to the new battalions were taken chiefly from the Half-Pay List.

Amongst those appointed to the 2nd Battalion 58th, were Majors

Buckley, half-pay, 46th, and Bradford from Captain 23rd Foot;

Captains Colquhoun, half-pay, 68th; Mahoney, half-pay, late

Irisb Brigade; Tomkins, half-pay, Royal Irish Artillery ; O'Brien,

half-pay, 46th; Price, half-pay, late 28th Light. Dragoons, &c.

Meanwhile the two battalions 58th were moved from Ireland to

Jersey.

In January, 1805, the 1st Battalion 58th proceeded from Jersey

_______

had a small tent to himself, in which he wrote and slept. This, with all that

belonged to bim was burned to ashes, and thus the pestilence was prevented from

spreading to those in the neighbouring tents, who, though quite close at hand, had

no personal communication with him.

* The nineteen second battalions authorized by the Act of July 11, 1803, were

allotted as follows :—

To be raised in England—Second battalions for 3rd Buffs, 23rd Fusiliers, 30th,

39th, 47th, 48th, 53rd, 57th, 61st, 66th, 69th, and 81st Regiments.

To be raised in Scotland—Second battalions for 26th Cameronians, 42nd High-

landers, and 92nd Highlanders.

To be raised in Ireland—Second battalions for 18th Royal Irish, 44th, 58th, and

67th Regiments.

p.358

to Portsmouth, and thence to Winchester ; the 2nd Battalion re-

maining at St. Heliers.

[note: Saint Helier is the capital town as well as one of the twelve parishes

of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel.]

In March the same year, the 1st Battalion, under command of

Lieutenant-Colonel Johnstone, and mustering 982 of all ranks,

returned from Winchester to Portsmouth, and there embarked

with a small force under command of Lieutenant-General Sir

James Craig, destined for the Mediterranean.* The objects of the

expedition were to co-operate either with the Austrians in Italy or

with a Russian army lying in the Greek Islands, if opportunities

offered, or in conjunction with reinforcements from the Mediter-

ranean stations, to undertake the defence of Sardinia or of Egypt,

should the French extend their operations from Italy in either

direction.

The expedition left Spithead on April 15, 1805, crossed the

Bay of Biscay in safety, and then learning that the French fleet

had come through the Straits, ran down the coast of Portugal

into the Tagus. On May 10, the convoy again put to sea, and

passing Nelson's fleet just returned from the West Indies, and

lying to off Cape St. Vincent, proceeded to Gibraltar, where the

troops remained till the end of June, when they went on to Malta

and disembarked.

Five months were spent in incessant drillings and inspections,

while the authorities were in communication with the Russian com-

manders at Corfu. Then, in the last week in October, 1805, the

expedition re-embarked, and after some delay from contrary winds,

joined the Russian fleet off Cape Passaro, and proceeded to the

Bay of Naples, where the troops landed on November 20—the

English at Castellamare and the Russians at Naples. On

December 9, the58th with the rest of the British contingent

moved forward via, Capua, to the neighbourhood of the fortress of

Gaeta, on the extreme left of the proposed line of defence.

(To be continued.)

----------

[April, 1878, p.480-487]

p.480

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND SERVICES OF THE

FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

(Continued.)

...

p.486

...

During this period the regiment in common with the others

engaged, received the royal permission to bear upon its colours

and appointments the word "Maida," in commemoration of its

services on that occasion.

...

p.487

The second battalion, which we left in Jersey in the summer of

1805, continued there during the next three years, with recruiting

parties at Athlone, Bedford, Birmingham, Cork, Dublin, Glasgow,

Ipswich, Maidstone, Manchester, Nottingham, Wells, &c.,—in fact

in every quarter of the United Kingdom, except that with which

the regiment waa supposed to have a local connection. Like other

similarly circumstanced second battalions, it had volunteered for

general service, the men receiving the extra bounty thereupon.

On 21st June, 1809, the second battalion 58th, numbering 800

of all ranks, embarked at Portsmouth to join the army under Sir

A. Wellesley, in Portugal. A return inserted in the regimental

pay list shows it to have been accompanied by the rather large pro-

portion of eighty-five women and 100 children—the latter in-

cluding a family of orphans.**

It is worth noting that about this time, the commencement of the

Peninsular war, the bounty paid in Great Britain for line recruits

was £40 a man—a sum which, compared with the average

earnings of even the worst paid sections of the working-classes,

was equivalent to £60 or £70 at the present day.

(To be continued.)

**This paragraph states that the 2/58th embarked at Portsmouth for Portugal,

apparently implying that at some point it had been transferred from the Channel

Islands. Other sources (see below) indicate that the 2/58th was still in the Channel

Islands and embarked from there for Portugal.

Presumably the accompanying women and children were the families of soldiers

serving in various regiments.

http://books.google.com/books?id=XusxAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA73

Memoirs and correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, second Marquess of Londonderry, Volume 7

Viscount Robert Stewart Castlereagh

H. Colburn, 1851

p.73

Lord Castlereagh to Sir Arthur Wellesley.

Draft. Downing Street, May 26, 1809.

Sir—I am to acquaint you that, in addition to the light

brigade, which has embarked, and, I hope sailed, under the

orders of Brigadier-General Craufurd, his Majesty has ordered

the seven regiments of infantry enumerated in the margin1 to

proceed immediately to Portugal, to reinforce your army. The

three first are now stationed at Jersey and Guernsey, and will

go by a separate convoy, with instructions to call off Oporto,

Aveiro, and Mondego, successively, for your orders. The

remaining four battalions will assemble and embark at Cork.

When the service will admit of your sending home the two

battalions composed of detachments, it is my wish they should

return to their regiments; but I am disposed to leave the

moment at which this shall be done to your discretion; as also

when the detachment of the 20th Light Dragoons shall proceed

to the Mediterranean; only pointing out the inconvenience

that arises from troops being long suffered to remain in this

dispersed state, and trust that it will not be unnecessarily

delayed.

Steps have been taken for collecting a remount for the

cavalry, to the numbers required in your letter of the [blank],

and for purchasing a number of aged horses for the regiments

actually on service. Hay for one month, for 6,000 horses, is

embarked and embarking for the use of your cavalry. I should

be glad to know your further wishes on the subject of forage.

_______

1 34th, 2nd battalion . . . 693

47th, do. . . . 730 [sic - should be the 2/58th. See letter of June 11. (The 2/47th left Ireland in October 1809 bound for Gibraltar.)]

39th, do. . . . 603

5th, do. . . . 718

28th, do. . . . 725

42nd, do. . . . 723

88th, do. . . . 779

-------

4,951

...

---------------

p.82

Lord Castlereagh to Sir Arthur Wellesley.

Draft. London, June 11, 1809.

Dear Wellesley—It is a lamentable proof of the uncertainty

of all military combinations, which depend on maritime move-

ments, to state that Craufurd's Brigade is still in port, having

been ready since the 24th of last month. It went to sea from

the Downs, but was driven into Portsmouth. As the trans-

ports going to Cork and the [Channel] Islands to receive the seven regi-

ments ordered from thence were also blown into Falmouth and

other ports to the westward, I fear the 23rd must have suffered

from the late gales from the southward.

...

p.83

...

The four regiments from Cork, viz., the 5th. 28th, 42nd,

and 88th, are ordered to call off the coast for your instructions,

particularly at Mondego. The brigade from the islands, viz.,

the 34th, 39th, and 58th, will proceed to the Tagus; the rea-

son for which is that the 34th and 39th have a considerable

number of men, clothing, &c, which are to embark at Ports-

mouth, on the 20th, to join them. Till these arrive, they will

not be as efficient as they ought to be, and I have promised

that you will detain them at Lisbon till the whole is put

together. The 34th was reported you at 693; it will now be

completed by Militia to 1000. The 39th, I understand, will

also be augmented, probably to 800. ...

---------------

-------------------------------------

http://books.google.com/books?id=KQJQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA134

A Narrative of the Peninsular War, Vol. I.

Andrew Leith Hay

D. Lizars, 1831

p.134

CHAPTER II.

On the evening of the 2d July, 1809, the Cham-

pion frigate, Captain Henderson, anchored in the

Tagus.

On my way to join the 29th regiment, I had em-

barked at Portsmouth with Captain Henderson, and

accompanied him to Guernsey, where he took under

convoy a fleet of transports, having on board the

second battalions of the 34th, 39th, and 58th regi-

ments, which he now saw in safety to their place of

destination. It was late when we entered the river,

and darkness prevented our enjoying a view of the

beautiful scene. At daybreak, however, the city of

Lisbon appeared in all the majesty of its picturesque

and grand situation, while the stately river bore on

its waters the ships of many nations. Close to where

we anchored was the Barfleur, of 98 guns, bearing

the flag of Admiral Berkeley, commanding in appear-

ance, as in reality, every vessel that floated on the

noble Tagus.

...

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http://books.google.com/books?id=LtoRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA84

The United service magazine, Volume 147; 1878, Part II

By Arthur William Alsager Pollock

p.iii

CONTENTS TO THE SECOND PART FOR 1878.

Notes on the History and Services of the Fifty-Eighth Regiment of Foot 84-89, 203-210, 323-330

"NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND SERVICES OF THE FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. (Continued.)", p.84-89.

p.84

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND SERVICES OF THE

FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

(Continued.)

For some time after its arrival in Portugal, the 2nd Battalion

58th appears to have remained at Lisbon or in its vicinity. The

regimental Returns for the winter 1809-10, and for some months of

1810 show it at Lisbon; at the end of the latter year, when Welling-

ton's army occupied the famous lines of Torres Vedras, the battalion,

which, like the 2nd Battalion 88th and some others, was unattached

to any brigade or division, was quartered in the town of Torres

Vedras itself;* and later again, in 1810-11, it appears as again at

Lisbon, and employed on the toilsome duty of furnishing escorts

from that city along the lines of communication with the front.

Meanwhile the 1st Battalion remained in Sicily, in the neigh-

bourhood of Messina, where extensive works, still visible, had been

thrown up as a precaution against a descent from Calabria, which

was once more in the hands of the French.

... [more about the 1st Battalion] ...

_______

* Gurwood's "Wellington Despatches," vol. iii.

...

p.87

...

In the summer of 1812, the 2nd Battalion 58th, which had

been moved up from Lisbon, was brigaded with the 1st Battalion

42nd Highlanders (lately arrived from Scotland to replace the 2nd

Battalion of the same corps), the 2nd Battalion 24th, and a detach-

ment of the 5th or Jager Battalion of the 60th, and accompanied

the army on the advance upon Salamanca.*

The French had been compelled to retire from that city about the

middle of June, having garrisons in the outlying forts around the

place. On arriving, the British took up a position on the heights

of San Christoval, which they occupied until the forts were relieved,

when they broke up and followed in pursuit of the French, who

retired behind the Douro. A series of manoeuvrings followed during

the next six weeks, resulting in the opposing armies finding them-

selves face to face in the neighbourhood of Salamanca, on the 21st

September, 1812. In the memorable action there on the afternoon

of Wednesday, the 22nd September, the battalion was present, but

was not actually engaged, and no regimental losses are recorded in

the "London Gazette."

The battalion shared in the pursuit of the broken remains of the

French army to Valladolid, the advance upon Madrid, and the sub-

sequent return to Valladolid.

Afterwards the 58th, with the brigade to which it belonged, took

part in driving Clausel's troops up the valleys of the Pisuergan and

Arlanzan rivers to Burgos, where a stand was made against the

British advance.

On the 19th September, the 7th Division crossed the river above

the town, and the Light Infantry, supported by some Portuguese

troops, drove the French outposts from the hill of St. Michael,

_______

* Cannon's " Record of the 42nd Highlanders."

p.88

about three hundred yards distant from the Castle of Burgos. On

this hill was a large hornwork with a scarp of twenty-five feet, and

a counterscarp ten feet high, but not quite finished. Orders were

given for the work to be stormed the same night.* The attack was

made by escalade with great gallantry, about eight p.m.; but the

French were numerous and well prepared; a heavy fire was opened

on the storming party, and every man who reached the top of the

scaling ladders was at once hurled down, carrying his comrades

below with him in his fall. After a desperate struggle the work

was carried by the gorge with a loss to the British of seventy killed

and 350 wounded, whilst according to the French Official Journal,

the loss on the defenders' side was only 160 killed and wounded.†

The loss in the 58th during the capture of St. Michael's is given

in the "London Gazette" as one man killed, two officers, one ser-

geant and eleven men wounded.

The siege of the Castle was then commenced, during which the

battalion was actively employed, its casualties between the 11th and

17th October, 1812, amounting to one man killed and one officer

wounded; and between the 18th and 21st October to one sergeant

and six men killed, twelve men wounded, and two missing.

The concentration of the enemy's forces and the advance of very

superior numbers, obliged the British commander to retreat to

Salamanca, and subsequently to Ciudad Rodrigo. The 58th bore

its share in the privations and suffering and in the numberless

encounters and skirmishes of that terrible retreat, and when the army

established itself in winter quarters on the Portuguese frontier, the

sickly state of the battalion rendered necessary its return to Lisbon.

Early in the year 1813, several regiments, which had become so

reduced as to be unfit to take the field again, were ordered home

to recruit. Amongst them was the 2nd Battalion 58th.

All the men fit for field-service were formed into a detachment of

four companies, under command of Major O'Brien, and left in

Portugal, and the head-quarters and remainder of the battalion,

sailed from the Tagus for England, in March, 1813. On its arri-

val home, the battalion was ordered to Battle, in Sussex, where

volunteering was opened from the militia. Thence it subsequently

moved to Hastings.

The four companies left in Portugal under Major O'Brien, were

formed into a Provisional Battalion, with four companies, similarly

circumstanced, of the 2nd Battalion 24th, and this Provisional

Battalion [called the 3rd], with the 6th Royal Regiment, fresh out from England,

and the Brunswick Oels Light Infantry, under Major-General

(afterwards Sir Edward) Barnes, now formed the 1st Brigade of the

7th Division, commanded by Lord Dalhousie.‡

In May, 1813, the Marquis of Wellington's army, augmented in

_______

* Cannon's " Record of the 42nd Highlanders."

† Jones' "Sieges," vol. i.

‡ " Records of the 6th Royal Warwickshire Regiment."

p.89

numbers, improved in organisation, and more confident than ever in

the superior skill of their commander, again took the field. Cross-

ing in rapid succession, though not without difficulties and some

losses, the Esla, Tormes, Carion, Pisuerges, Arlingan and Ebro

rivers, the enemy falling back before them, calling in his detach-

ments, and destroying his defensive works, the British penetrated as

far as the plain of Vittoria, where preparations were made by the

French for a resolute stand.

On the morning of Monday, the 21st June, 1813, the 7th Divi-

sion, including the 58th detachment, moved from its camp on the

river Bayas, and traversed the mountains in the direction of

Vittoria; but so rugged was the country and so difficult the tracts

along the hills, that the battle was raging with great violence when

they reached their appointed station* They were in time, however,

to take part in forcing the passage of the Zadorra; and the 7th

Division and one brigade of the 3rd passed the river and formed up

on the left of the British line, where they were engaged with the

French right in front of the villages of Margerita and Hermandad.

The conduct of the 7th Division on this occasion was honourably

mentioned in the despatches. No casualties are recorded in the

58th at Vittoria.

Subsequently the Division was employed in the blockade of

Pampeluna up to the time of its capitulation.

When the British Army entered the Pyrenees, the Light and

7th Divisions occupied the heights of Santa Barbara, the town of

Vera, and the Puerto de Echalar, and communicated with the troops

in the valley of Bastan.†

The French Army, reorganized under Soult, attacked the British

posts on the 25th July [1813]. Barnes' brigade was moved forward to

support two brigades of the 2nd Division, which had been forced

from their ground at the head of the valley of Bastan, and the

enemy was driven back with some loss. But the brigades at Ron-

cesvalles having been obliged to retire, the troops in the valley

of Bastan also fell back to a strong pass in the mountains near

Iruetan.

The conduct of the troops engaged on this occasion was com-

mended by the Marquis of Wellington in the following words:—

"Notwithstanding the enemy's superiority in numbers, they

acquired but little advantage over these brave troops during the

seven hours they were engaged. All the regiments charged with

the bayonet."

From Iruetan, General Barnes' brigade fell back with the 7th

Division to Lizesso; and on the 29th July, 1813, took post in the

mountains near Marcelin, to connect the main body of the army

with Sir Rowland Hill's corps.

(To be continued.)

* " Records of the 6th Royal Regiment."

† " Records of the 6th Royal Regiment."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://books.google.com/books?id=LtoRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA207

The United service magazine, Volume 147; 1878, Part II

By Arthur William Alsager Pollock

"NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND SERVICES OP THE FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. (Continued.)", p.203-210.

p.203

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND SERVICES OF THE

FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

(Continued.)

The 1st Battalion of the regiment remained in cantonments at

Valencia until March, 1813, when, Sir John Murray having assumed

the command of the Anglo Sicilian force, an advance was made in

the direction of Castalla. The enemy was driven out of Alcoy

on 12th March, and a reconnaissance made at the back of the

mountains fringing the Cove of Alcoy.

Preparations were next made for an attack on Valencia by

sea, but news having arrived of fresh troubles in Sicily, it was

considered expedient to despatch thither a portion of the troops,

and the enterprise was abandoned.

Suchet now resolved to assume the initiative, and advanced

with three strong divisions against the combined force of Anglo-

Sicilians and Spaniards in position near Castalla, having an

advanced brigade, under Colonel Adam, posted at the pass of

Biar, about three miles distant.

On the 12th April, 1813, the advanced brigade was attacked by

a body of 5000 French with a strong force of artillery, against which

a gallant defence was made for five hours, the brigade afterwards

falling back in excellent order, disputing every inch of the way, until

they reached the main body. The day following, three French

divisions, under Suchet in person, attacked the left of the allied posi-

tion at Castalla, but were repulsed after a hard contested action,

of which the historian, Napier, says, "All the success was due to

the bravery of the troops; generalship there was none, and much

p.204

blood was spilt to no profit."* On this occasion the 58th had

one man killed and fire wounded.

Six weeks later, whilst Wellington's army was advancing

towards Vittoria, all the available troops at Alicante were em-

barked for an attack upon the fortress of Tarragona. The Bay

of Tarragona was reached on 1st June, and on the 3rd the troops

were landed, and ground at once broken against the city. The

siege works proceeded und the 10th June, when some British

spies in Barcelona gave notice that a force of 10,000 French

troops with fourteen guns was to march to the relief of Tarragona

on the following day, Murray, however, continued to disembark

material, and on the 11th fire was opened upon the city in con-

cert with the men-of-war, and orders were given to storm the

outworks the same night. How the General's infirmity of pur-

pose led to the abandonment of this enterprise, how in a confused

incoherent manner† the greater part of the troops were re-em-

barked, and after a desultory attempt on the Col de Balaguer,

came back piece-meal to Alicante, need not be told. The last of

the stragglers were not debarked before the 27th June. The

troops then remained at Alicante for some days waiting for

orders. Murray had been superseded by Lord William Bentinck,

and a correspondence ensued between that officer and Lord Wel-

lington relative to the future conduct of the operations. Wel-

lington, who a fortnight previously had achieved the signal victory

at Vittoria, proposed another attack on Tarragona or on Tortoza,

means permitting, and if not, a general advance from Alicante

and the south, so as to seize the open country round about

Valencia.

Whilst this matter was under discussion, the French evacuated

Valencia, which was at once occupied by the Anglo-Sicilian army,

including the battalion of the 58th, who met with a most enthu-

siastic reception as they filed through the streets on their way to

Vinares, where the head-quarters were established. Soon after,

the Col de Balaguer was secured and possession obtained of the

mountains on the left bank of the Ebro; and on the 30th August,

1813, Tarragona itself was again invested.

But, on the approach of Suchet, Lord William Bentinck deemed

it prudent to retreat, and covered by his cavalry fell back on the

Col de Balaguer. Suchet, after blowing up the walls, abandoned

Taragona, and retired in the direction of Barcelona, followed by

Bentick, who established his head-quarters at Villa Franca on

5th September, 1813.

On 12th September, the British advance-guard, under Colonel

Adam, posted at the pass of Ordal, was attacked by a large

body of French, and compelled to retire with heavy loss. Two

days later, Suchet advanced upon the allies in position near

Villa, and some fighting occurred, in which the 58th lost one

________

* Napier's "Peninsular War," vol. v. † Napier.

p.205

man. Bentinck then fell back upon Arbos. The rest of the year

was spent in cantonments in Tarragona, Vendrellez and Arbos,

the 58th being quartered in Tarragona.

We must now return to the movements of the four service

companies of the 2nd Battalion, which we left with Major-

General Barnes' brigade, of the 7th Division, near Marcelin at

the end of July, 1813, after the fall of Pampeluna.

Soult finding himself frustrated in his attempt to relieve that

place had retired with the main body of his army, leaving a

strong corps in an excellent position in the pass of Donna Maria,

which was, however, dislodged by the advance of the 7th Division

and Sir Rowland Hill's corps, who ascended the opposite flanks of

the mountain on the 31st July, driving out the enemy in gallant

style.

The loss in the four companies of the 58th on this occasion

amounted to two men killed and two wounded. Continuing to

press on the rear of the French, the 4th and 7th Divisions then

proceeded by the valley of the Bidassoa towards the French

frontier.

On the morning of 2nd August, 1813, Load Dalhousie with

the 7th Division marched a distance of ten miles over mountains

and ridges, along paths frequented only by shepherds and wild

goats, from Sambella towards the Puerto de Echalar.* Here

were found two French divisions in a formidable position on the

height, with the main body of the French army posted imme-

diately behind them in the Puerto. Barnes' brigade was in

advance, and in face of what appeared overpowering odds, the

attack was made in the most gallant and daring style. "Barnes,"

said a distinguished officer, who was witness of the scene, "set

at the French as if every man had been a bull-dog, and himself

the best bred of the lot."†

The results are best told in the sober words of the Marquis

of Wellington's despatch penned immediately after. "Major-

General Barnes' brigade was formed for the attack and advanced

before the 4th and Light Division could co-operate, with a regu-

larity and gallantry I have seldom seen equalled, and actually

drove the two divisions of the enemy, notwithstanding the resist-

ance opposed to them, from those formidable heights. It is

impossible that I can extol too highly the conduct of Major-

General Barnes and these brave troops which was the admiration

of all who were witnesses of it."

On this memorable occasion, the 6th Royal Regiment was

leading the brigade, and the companies of the 58th and 24th in

support. The services of the detachment on this occasion are

commemorated by the word "Pyrenees," which the regiment was

subsequently accorded permission to bear upon its colours.

_______

* "Records of the 6th Royal Regiment." † Idem.

p.206

The brigade was then stationed for some weeks in the moun-

tains. The corps at Roncesvalles and Maya occupied most com-

manding positions, and the Marquis of Wellington resolved to

place his left in an equally menacing position by dispossessing

the enemy of some strong ground on the right of the Bidassoa,

the key of which was a mountain called La Rhune. This service

was executed with complete success on the 7th October, 1813.

In the attack on the enemy's position on the Nivelle on the 10th

November following, Barnes' brigade formed part of the column

under Sir William Beresford, which carried the redoubts on the

left of the enemy's centre, advanced along to the bank of the

river to St. Pé, crossed the stream there, and drove a body of

French from the heights beyond the village.

The brigade, including the 58th companies, also took part in

the passage of the Nive on the 9th December, and in the repeated

repulses of the French attacks on the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and

13th of that month.

After the latter operation, the enemy went into winter quar-

ters until the severity of the exceptionally severe winter abated.

In Catalonia, Sir William Clinton, who had succeeded Lord

William Bentinck in the command of the troops on the East Coast

of Spain, opened the year 1814 with a sort of investment of

Barcelona, in which the 1st Battalion 58th took part, and which

continued up to the declaration of peace.

In the Pyrenees operations were renewed in February, 1814,

on the 23rd of which month, Barnes' brigade formed part of a

force under command of Marshal Beresford, which attacked the

fortified posts at Hastingues and Oyes, and compelled the enemy

to retire within the tete depont at Peyrehorade. No casualties are

recorded as having occurred in the 58th in the affairs of this and

the two following days.

On the 26th of the same month [Feb.], the brigade with other corps

under Marshal Beresford crossed the Gave de Pau, and moved

along the high road from Peyrehorade towards Orthes, near

which city the French army was in position. On the following

day, the brigade took part in the attack on the enemy's right

posted on the heights of the high road to Dax and in the village

of St. Bax, where there was a good deal of obstinate fighting,

and also in the subsequent pursuit to St. Sever, and the passage

of the Adour on the 1st March, 1814.

The loss in the four companies of the 58th during these opera-

tions was three men killed and two officers, two sergeants and

three men wounded, a heavy proportion for so small a band.

On the 8th March, 1814, Barnes' brigade with other corps,

under Sir William Beresford, was detached towards Bordeaux.

The French troops withdrew on Beresford's approach, and the

British were welcomed into the city with the most enthusiastic

acclamations.

p.207

The brigade was subsequently employed in some minor opera-

tions on the Garonue and Dordogne, until the cessation of hos-

tilities, when the Provisional Battalion, including the four com-

panies of the 58th, took up its quarters at Lainon. After the

withdrawal of the British troops from France, the four detached

companies returned home, and joined the rest of the 2nd Batta-

lion, which had been employed guarding French prisoners at

Hastings.

Early in the following year, the 2nd battalion moved from

Hastings to Hull, furnishing or at least being directed to fur-

nish, for the compiler has been unable to discover if it was sent,

a detachment for duty in the island of Heligoland, as well as re-

cruiting parties to London and other parts of the kingdom.

After the peace the 1st Battalion 58th, then at Tarragona,

embarked with some other corps of the late Anglo-Sicilian army,

to reinforce the British troops in North America, where hostili-

ties had been carried on upon the Canadian frontier with varying

success for over a twelvemonth.

...

p.209

...

From Montreal the battalion [1/58] was sent to Fort Henry, Upper

Canada, where it staid until the opening of the St. Lawrence in

the following year. Peace was signed between Great Britain and

the United States at Ghent, on the 24th December, 1814 ; the

intelligence did not, however, reach the other side of the Atlantic

until some months later.

During the sojourn of the [1st] battalion at Fort Henry, the follow-

ing notice appeared in the London Gazette:—

"18th April, 1815.—H.R.H. the Prince Regent, in the name

and on the behalf of His Majesty, has been pleased to approve of

the undermentioned regiments bearing upon their colours and ap-

pointments, in addition to other honorary distinctions which they

have received previous permission to bear, the word 'Peninsula,'

in commemoration of the services rendered by them during the

late war in Portugal, Spain, and France:— 58th Regiment, 1st

and 2nd Battalion."

In the early summer of 1815, the news reached Canada of the

escape [of Napoleon] from Elba, and the 1st Battalion 58th and other corps

were ordered home. Leaving the St. Lawrence in July, 1815, the

battalion reached Ostend on 12th August, landed, and proceeded

in canal boats to Ghent, whence it continued its march, by road,

to Paris.

On arrival at Paris the 1st Battalion, 58th, with the 6th, 16th,

and 82nd Regiments, all fresh from America, were formed into

the fifteenth brigade, under the command of Major-General

(afterwards Sir Thomas) Bradford, and posted to the 7th Divi-

sion, which lay encamped at St. Denis.

Whilst in Paris, the regiment took part in the duties of the

occupation and in various military displays, amongst others, the

grand review of 60,000 British troops on the plains of St. Denis,

in the presence of the Allied Sovereigns, on 5th September, 1815.

When the treaties of peace between France and the allies had

been definitely signed, and the troops designated to remain as

the Army of Occupation, the 58th was amongst the regiments

ordered home.

The battalion accordingly proceeded from France to Ireland,

taking up its quarters at Birr in the autumn of 1815. Here in

the following March it was joined by the remains of the 2nd

Battalion, which by the reductions and the discharge of the short-

service men, had become a mere skeleton, from London.

p.210

Shortly afterwards, the regiment, now amalgamated into a

single battalion, was ordered out to Jamaica. In May, 1816,

the cadres of the late 2nd Battalion were formed into a depot,

and transferred from Birr to Chatham, and the head-quarters

and service companies embarked at Cork for the Island of Jamaica,

where they spent the next five years.

(To be concluded in next number).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://books.google.com/books?id=LtoRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA323

p.323

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND SERVICES OF THE

FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

(Concluded.)

From the latter end of 1816 to the beginning of 1822 the regi-

ment continued in Jamaica, where, like two other regiments in the

same command, the 50th and 61st, it suffered terribly from sickness.

During this period, Royal permission was given to the regiment to

bear upon its colours and appointments, in addition to other distinc-

tions already granted, the words "Salamanca," " Vittoria,"

"Pyrenees," "Nivelle," and "Orthes," in commemoration of the

services rendered by the late 2nd Battalion in those engagements.

...

===================================================================================

===================================================================================

Accounts of the August 2, 1813, storming the heights of Echellar by Barnes' Brigade.

http://books.google.com/books?id=4lgBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA161

or

http://books.google.com/books?id=MtddAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA161

History of the war in the Peninsula, and in the south of France, from the year 1807 to the year 1814, Volume 6

Sir William Francis Patrick Napier

T. & W. Boone, 1840

CHAP. V. - 1813. August.

p.160

...

During the night Soult rallied his divisions about

Echallar, and on the morning of the 2d occupied

the " Puerto" of that name. His left was placed

at the rocks of Zagaramurdi; his right at the rock

of Ivantelly communicating with the left of Vil-

lage's reserve, which was in position on the ridges

between Soult's right and the head of the great

Rhune mountain. Meanwhile Clauzel's three divi-

sions, now reduced to six thousand men, took post

on a strong hill between the " Puerto" and town

of Echallar. This position was momentarily adopted

by Soult to save time, to examine the country, and

to make Wellington discover his final object, but

that general would not suffer the affront. He had

sent the third and sixth divisions to reoccupy the

passes of Roncesvalles and the Alduides; Hill had

reached the Col de Maya, and Byng was at Urdax;

the fourth, seventh, and light divisions remained in

hand, and with these he resolved to fall upon

Clauzel whose position was dangerously advanced.

Combats of Echallar and Ivantelly.—The light

division held the road running from the bridge of

Yanzi to Echallar until relieved by the fourth divi-

sion, and then marched by Lesaca to Santa

Barbara, thus turning Clauzel's right. The fourth

p.161

division marched from Yanzi upon Echallar to

attack his front, and the seventh moved from Sum-

billa against his left; but Barnes's brigade, contrary

to lord Wellington's intention, arrived unsupported

before the fourth and light divisions were either

seen or felt, and without awaiting the arrival of

more troops assailed Clauzel's strong position. The

fire became vehement, but neither the steepness of

the mountain nor the overshadowing multitude of

the enemy clustering above in support of their skir-

mishers could arrest the assailants, and then was

seen the astonishing spectacle of fifteen hundred

men driving, by sheer valour and force of arms, six

thousand good troops from a position, so rugged

that there would have been little to boast of if the

numbers had been reversed and the defence made

good. It is true that the fourth division arrived

towards the end of the action, that the French had

fulfilled their mission as a rear-guard, that they

were worn with fatigue and ill-provided with am-

munition, having exhausted all their reserve stores

during the retreat, but the real cause of their infe-

riority belongs to the highest part of war.

The British soldiers, their natural fierceness sti-

mulated by the remarkable personal daring of their

general, Barnes, were excited by the pride of suc-

cess; and the French divisions were those which

had failed in the attack on the 28th, which had

been utterly defeated on the 30th, and which had

suffered so severely the day before about Sumbilla.

Such then is the preponderance of moral power.

The men who had assailed the terrible rocks above

Sauroren, with a force and energy that all the

valour of the hardiest British veterans scarcely

sufficed to repel, were now, only five days after-

p.162

wards, although posted so strongly, unable to sus-

tain the shock of one-fourth of their own numbers.

And at this very time eighty British soldiers, the

comrades and equals of those who achieved this

wonderful exploit, having wandered to plunder

surrendered to some French peasants, who lord

Wellington truly observed, "they would under

other circumstances have eat up!" What gross

ignorance of human nature then do those writers

display who assert, that the employing of brute

force is the highest qualification of a general!

Clauzel, thus dispossessed of the mountain, fell

back fighting to a strong ridge beyond the pass of

Echallar, having his right covered by the Ivantelly

mountain which was strongly occupied. ...

---------------------------------------

http://books.google.com/books?id=_ljcbRMR2tQC&pg=PA253

or

http://books.google.com/books?id=SVg3AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA253

The United Service Journal and Naval and Military Magazine; 1841, Part II

p.120 [May, 1841 (p.1-144)]

Barnes's Brigade at Echellar.

Mr. Editor,—Permit me to use your pages in addressing the following

memorandum to the gallant historian of the Peninsular War.

To Colonel W. F. P. Napier, C.B., &c.

Sir,—As no regiment, however distinguished it might be, not even one of

your own glorious Light Division, can afford to lose the credit of what you

term, in your sixth volume of the Peninsular War, a "wonderful exploit,"

and what the Duke of Wellington, in writing to Lord Dalhousie, described

as " the most gallant, the finest, thing, he had ever witnessed in his life,'' I

trust you will mention, in the next edition of your sixth volume, that General

Barnes' brigade, engaged in the celebrated attack on the heights of Echellar,

consisted of the old 6th Foot (which "composed two-thirds of the brigade "),

the 82nd Foot, and a party of Brunswickers, the whole about 1500 strong,

opposed to 6000 French, in a position of amazing strength.

I make this request the more readily, as I perceive, in the sixth volume,

you have in many instances (pages 340, 344, 350, 392, &c) given the names

of corps engaged in affairs infinitely less renowned.

February, 1841. One Of The Sixth.

--------------

...

[June, 1841 (p.145-288)]

p.250

GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE UNITED SERVICE JOURNAL.

...

p.254

...

Barnes's Brigade at Echellar.

Mr. Editor,—Allow me to correct an erroneous statement respecting the

Brigade of the late Sir Edward Barnes at Echellar, signed "One of the

Sixth," which I observe in the United Service Journal for this month.

The Brigade consisted only of the 3rd Provisional Battalion, composed of

the 2nd battalion 24th Regt., and 2nd battalion 58th, formed into eight

companies and commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Kelly, 24th Regt., Major

Campbell of the 58th being second in command—and the 6th Regt. The

Brigade, on the morning of the attack on the 2nd August, was formed left

in front; and the Captain of the leading company of the 58th was ordered

by General Barnes to force the heights, followed by the rest of the battalion.

The ascent was very steep: and the troops, who were compelled to climb, on

arriving at their first formation, were assailed by a very heavy fire from two

lines, one above the other, which destroyed nearly half the leading company

of the 58th, severely wounding the Captain and his subaltern. The 6th

moved by another route to the left of these troops; but the enemy were

turned before the whole got up, two or three of their companies only, I

believe, being in time to open their fire. The 82nd were in General Inglis's

Brigade, but what part they took I am not prepared to say, as they were in

a different position. Capt. Birchall [James Brickell], of the 24th, and the Captain of the

leading company of the 58th, were the two Captains who first ascended

the heights. The correctness of this statement may be relied on; and it is

offered, in justice to his brother-soldiers of the 58th and 24th, by

One Of Barnes's Brigade.

18th May.

------------

[note: Capt. James Brickell of the 2/24th was severely wounded on Nov. 10, 1813 at Nivelle.]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

********Note: casualties from attacking up Echalar ********

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/16763/pages/1610

Gazette Issue 16763 published on the 16 August 1813. Page 10 of 12

Abstract Return of Killed, Wounded, and Missing

of the Army under the Command of Field-Mar-

shal the Marquess of Wellington, K.G. in Action

with the Enemy on the 2d August 1813.

Total British loss-1 captain, 1 ensign, 4 serjeants,

26 rank and file, killed ; 3 lieutenant-colonels, 2

majors, 4 captains, 11 lieutenants, 2 ensigns, 1

staff, 17 Serjeants, 1 drummer, 278 rank and file,

wounded ; 7 rank and file missing.

Portuguese loss-1 rank and file killed; 1 ensign,

1 serjeant, 1 drummer, 5 rank and file, wounded.

Grand total-1 captain, 1 ensign, 4 serjeants,

27 rank and file, killed; 3 lieutenant-co-

lonels, 2 majors, 4 captains, 11 lieutenants,

3 ensigns, 1 staff, 18 serjeants, 2 drummers,

283 rank and file, wounded; 7 rank and

file missing.

----------

Names of the Officers killed and wounded on the 2d

of August.

British Officers killed.

6th Foot, 1st Batt.-Captain Brownlow.

...

British Officers wounded.

24th Foot, 2d. Batt.-Lieutenant-Colonel Kelly,

Captain [James] Lepper, severely; Captain [James] Brecknell,

Adjutant Fleming, slightly.

58th Foot, 2d Batt.-Major Campbell, severely ;

Captain [Lionel John] Westropp, slightly ; Lieutenants [Patrick] Shea,

severely ; [Thomas] Hayton, slightly ; [Charles] Lamprier, severely;

Ensign Baylie, severely.

[note: Capt. Westropp was later wounded at Plattsburg, NY on 11 September

1814]

Brunswick Light Infantry [Brunswick Oels]- Lieutenant-Colonel

Hertzberg, slightly; Lieutenants Koskenbar,

severely; Broembsen, slightly ; Ensign Guyer,

severely.

[note:

http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/Britain/Infantry/Regiments/c_24thFoot.html

Lt. Col. William Kelly, C.B.

Major in 24th Foot 5 April 1799; served in Egypt 1801; brevet

Lieutenant-Colonel 1 January 1805; served at Cape of Good Hope 1806;

Lieutenant-Colonel 22 February 1810; commanded 2/24th Foot in Peninsula May

1811 to December 1812; commanded 3rd Provisional Battalion December 1812 to

August 1813; brevet Colonel 4 June 1813; wounded at Echelar 2 August 1813;

served in Nepal 1816; died 1818.]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[note: the 2nd Battalion, 58th Regiment, now part of the 3rd Provisional Battalion, was part of Maj. Gen. Barnes'

Seventh Division at the Battle of the Pyrenees]

http://books.google.com/books?id=H_wvAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA597&dq=Wellington+Barnes+gallantry&lr=