Historical Record of the Seventieth, or, the Surrey Regiment of Foot: Containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1758, and of its subsequent services to 1848Cannon, Richard
History
Historical Record of the Seventieth, or, the Surrey Regiment of Foot: Containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1758, and of its subsequent services to 1848
Cannon, Richard
Great Britain. Army -- History; Great Britain. Army. Regiment of Foot, 70th (Surrey)
An armament was assembled at Barbadoes in the beginning of 1794,
under the orders of General Sir Charles, afterwards Earl, Grey, for
the capture of _Martinique_, and the SEVENTIETH regiment had the
honor to take part in this enterprise. The grenadiers and light
infantry were formed in flank battalions, and Lieut.-Colonel Coote
commanded the first battalion of light infantry; the regiment was
commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Johnston. A landing was effected, at
three different points, on the island of Martinique on the 5th,
6th, and 8th of February; and the first light infantry, under
Lieut.-Colonel Coote of the SEVENTIETH, distinguished themselves
at the capture of the heights of Morne le Brun. The battalion
companies had also an opportunity of signalizing themselves. Sir
Charles Grey stated in his despatch,--“I received intelligence
of the enemy’s landing troops, and taking post on Morne Pied, to
cut off the communication between Brigadier-General Whyte and
head-quarters at Salée, and I ordered the SEVENTIETH regiment,
with two howitzers, to march on the same night and dislodge them,
which was executed with great spirit, and the post taken possession
of early on the morning of the 9th, under the good conduct of
Adjutant-General, Colonel Dundas, the SEVENTIETH regiment being
commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Johnston, and the enemy completely
defeated at the first charge.” The loss of the regiment on this
occasion was limited to a few private soldiers wounded.
After a series of brilliant successes, possession was gained of
the greater part of the island; Fort Bourbon and Fort Royal were
besieged, and the garrisons forced to surrender,--the French troops
in the former delivering up five stand of colours, and those in
the latter two. These colours were sent to England, and lodged in
St. Paul’s Cathedral by a party of life guards and foot guards on
the 17th of May. Thus the British flag waved a second time over
Martinique, the island having been captured by the English in
1762, but restored to France by the peace of Fontainebleau in the
following year.
In these successes of the British arms, in which the SEVENTIETH
regiment had the honor to share, the commander of the expedition
stated--“The spirit, unanimity, and perseverance of the navy and
army never were more conspicuous; nor has more cordial co-operation
ever been manifested between His Majesty’s naval and land forces.
In a word, the general and field officers, and the commanding
officers of corps, have set such an example of zeal, activity, and
animation in this service, which has been so laudably imitated by
all the officers and soldiers of this little army, that they merit
the greatest praise.”
[Sidenote: 1795]
Having sustained severe loss from the climate of the West Indies,
the SEVENTIETH regiment returned to Europe in May, 1795; it was
speedily recruited, and embarked for Gibraltar under the orders of
Lieut.-Colonel Coote.
[Sidenote: 1796]
[Sidenote: 1800]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account