increased to a total of 6,000 men, two only of the regiments being over 600 strong, whilst the reinforcements of artillery brought up the strength of the Royal Regiment to 127 of all ranks; and of these Lord Portmore wrote that the gunners "are the worst that ever were employed."[2] The want of fresh provisions told heavily on the men, and all ranks and all arms were busily employed in throwing up fresh defensive works. Complaints were rife as to the guns--large numbers burst--and the Governor reiterated his complaints that the Spanish guns were far superior in range and accuracy to our own. By the end of May the garrison was reduced to 4,427 effectives, the men rarely getting one night in three in bed. Still the stout old veteran answered shot for shot, warning the Government that the Spaniards were evidently determined on wresting the position from us, and that unless reinforcements were speedily sent the place was liable to be carried by assault, as his men were not sufficiently numerous to man the whole of the works. Fortunately for the garrison, diplomacy was at work, and by the end of July preliminaries of peace had been signed, and the safety of the fortress was assured. When actual hostilities broke out, the garrison of Gibraltar, including the two regiments that had been sent from Ireland and Minorca, consisted of the 5th (Northumberland Fusiliers), 13th (Somerset Light Infantry), 18th (Royal Irish), 20th (Lancashire Fusiliers), and the 29th (Worcesters). Considerable delays occurred in despatching the reinforcements, and, as I have remarked, it was not until the month of April that these left England. The Governor, the veteran Lord Portmore, who was at home on leave, returned to his post, and at the same time a battalion of the Grenadier Guards, under Colonel Guise--a name which has ever been synonymous in the service with daring gallantry--the 14th (West Yorks), 25th (Scottish Borderers), 26th (Cameronians), 34th (Border Regiment), and 39th (Dorsets), were despatched under convoy of the fleet to Gibraltar. There would appear to have been the same eagerness amongst the younger members of the House of Lords to see active service in those days as there was in the Crimea and in the Boer War. The Duke of Richmond, who was a Knight of the Garter and a member of the King's Household, applied for leave to join the army, and so did a son of the Duke of Devonshire. On the other hand, the Duke Wharton joined the Spanish forces, and was happily wounded very early in the siege, and so spared the shame of taking a prolonged share in the operations against his own fellow-countrymen. I have experienced considerable difficulty in obtaining any records of the casualties, but the following list appears in a contemporary publication written by an officer who took part in the siege, and may, I think, be relied on as showing to a certain extent the losses incurred during a portion of the siege: