lated to change of name; but it has always upheld the character which it had so honourably acquired as foster-brother to the old Highland regiment. This event took place at Dinapore in Bengal, on the 18th of April

1286.

I shall now proceed with a rapid sketch of the actions and services of the 73d Highland regiment down to the period when that designation, together with the ancient national dress, was changed in the year 1809.

The 73d removed from Dinapore to Cawenpore, in December 1787, and, remaining there till March 1790, moved to Fort William in Bengal. From thence the regiment was sent round, in 1791, to the coast of Malabar, and placed under the command of Major-General Robert Abercromby. During these periods several detachments of recruits joined from Scotland, and different changes took place among the officers. Major Macdowall was promoted to the 57th, and was succeeded by Captain James Spens; Captains Grant and Henry Grahame retired, and Francis Skelly was promoted to the 74th regiment.

Lord Cornwallis having resolved to attack Seringapatam, directed General Abercromby, with all his disposable force, consisting of the 73d, 75th, and 77th British, and seven Native regiments, to form a junction near the point of attack. This army commenced its march on the 5th of December 1791. The roads were much cut up with the torrents of the Monsoons, which occasioned great delay and difficulty in getting forward the heavy artillery and provisions. On the 21st of January 1792, they had ascended the Ghauts, and were proceeding on the 22d, when orders were received to halt, to place the heavy artillery in position, and to be ready to move forward in light marching order, on the shortest notice. General Abercromby remained here till February, when he was directed to move forward, and occupy a position about 40 miles from Seringapatam. He commenced his march on the 8th, and on the 11th, having received farther instructions, he crossed the

Cavery at Evalore. In the course of his march, parties of the enemy's horse made several attempts to break in upon the baggage, and on the 13th, in particular, they pushed forward with great boldness, but were never able to make any impression. On the 16th, a junction was formed near Seringapatam. On the 22d, a part of the army had a smart conflict with the enemy, which ended in the repulse of the latter; and on the 24th, the preliminaries of peace having been settled, all hostilities ceased.

Considerably reduced by sickness, but always receiving reinforcements of recruits, the 73d marched into the Carnatic. The regiment was 800 strong in 1793, when embarked on the expedition against Pondicherry, where they served in Colonel David Baird's brigade. In this service Captain Galpine, Lieutenant Donald Macgregor, and Ensign Tod, were killed.

In 1795, the 73d regiment formed part of the force, under Major-General James Stuart, destined to act against Ceylon, and remained in that island till 1797, when they returned to Madras, and were quartered at St Thomas's Mount and other parts of that presidency, till they took the field in 1799, and joined the army under General Harris.

On the 1st of February the first division of the army moved forward on an enterprise which was to decide the fate of an extensive, rich, and populous kingdom. On the 27th of March the army was at Malrilly, when the whole force of the enemy, under the command of the Sultan, was seen drawn up about two miles distant from the English encampment. Here a smart skirmish took place between the advanced picquets under Colonel Sherbrooke and the enemy's cavalry. This brought on a more general action, which ended in the rout of the whole of the enemy's force, with the loss of 1,000 men, while that of the British was only 69 men killed and wounded. The army continued to advance slowly, and, on the 5th of April, took up a posi tion preparatory to the siege of the capital of Mysore, now

undertaken for the third time within the space of a few years. The same evening the enemy's advanced troops and rocketmen annoyed the picquets, when two columns, under the Honourable Colonel Arthur Wellesley and Lieutenant-Colonel Shaw, were directed to drive them back, and establish posts more in advance. Owing to the darkness of the night, and some unexpected obstructions, this attempt failed; but the object was accomplished the following morning by the same officers. The advanced posts were established within 1,800 yards of the garrison. On the 15th the Bombay army, under Major-General James Stuart, joined and took up a position in the line. On the 17th a party, under Colonel Hart of the 75th, advanced and dislodged the enemy, and, after forcing them back, established themselves under cover within 1,000 yards of the fort. At the same time Major Macdonald of the 73d, with a detachment of his own and other regiments, took possession of a post at the same distance from the fort on the south. In the mean time, batteries were erecting, and all necessary preparations for a siege going forward with great activity, when, on the evening of the 20th, another advance was made by Colonels Sherbrooke, St John, and Monypenny, who drove 2,000 of the enemy from an entrenched position, within 800 yards of the place, with a loss to the latter of 250 men, while that of the British was only five killed and wounded. Approaches so easily accomplished must soon lead to a conclusion. On the 22d the enemy made a vigorous sortie on all the advanced posts. They were repulsed, but they renewed the attack repeatedly, till finally driven back with great loss. On the 23d the batteries opened with such effect, that in the course of the day they silenced all the guns opposed to them. In this manner the operations were carried on till the morning of the 4th of May, when it was resolved to attempt the place by assault. The command was given to Major-General Baird, who, twenty years before, had been a prisoner within those walls which he was

now to force. * The assault was to be made in two columns, commanded by Colonels Dunlop and Sherbrooke ; the Honourable Colonel Arthur Wellesley to command the reserve. The whole amounted to 4,376 firelocks. At one o'clock in the afternoon all was ready, and, on the signal being given, the troops rushed forward, and, in less than two hours the capital of Mysore was in possession of the English. The Sultan and many of the principal officers were found among the slain, and all who survived within the walls were made prisoners. This regiment lost Lieutenant Lalor, killed; Captain William Macleod, Lieutenant Thomas, and Ensigns Antill and Guthrie, wounded.

After this important service, the 73d was employed under Colonel Wellesley, who marched against an active and zealous partizan of the late Sultan. This chief was soon afterwards killed in a charge of cavalry, and the army returned to quarters.

The regiment remained stationary in the conquered country, and in different parts of India, till embarked for England at Madras in 1805. All men fit for duty, who preferred remaining in the country, were allowed a bounty. So many accepted the offer, that few came home. These few landed at Greenwich in July 1806, and marched from thence to Scotland. When they reached Perth in 1807, there were only Quartermaster Mackintosh and a few men remaining of those who were embodied there in 1780 as the second battalion of the Royal Highland Regiment. In

* History has seldom produced a more striking difference in the fortunes and circumstances of a man's life, than in the case of this officer. He now entered as a conqueror within the walls of a town where he had been led in as a prisoner, and kept in chains for three years, suffering under the most cruel treatment. As a conqueror, he showed a bright example of the difference between ferocious and generous minds. His revenge, when retaliation was in his power, was shown by endeavours to save the now prostrate enemy, and the inhabitants, from the fury of his troops, who knew what he and his brave fellow-sufferers had been made to endure, and were consequently more than usually exasperated.

1809 the ranks were again filled up to 800 men, when the uniform and designation being changed, they were no more to be called Highland. In the same year a second battalion was added, and the first embarked for New South Wales.

SEVENTY-FOURTH REGIMENT.

1787.

THE state of affairs in India, during the year 1787, requiring an additional military force, four new regiments were ordered to be raised for that establishment; two of them to be recruited in the north of Scotland, and two in the United Kingdom in general.

The establishment of the army, after the conclusion of the war, having been reduced as low as the 73d regiment, the first of those now raised became, of course, the 74th, which, along with the 75th, was to be Highland; while the other two regiments, the 76th and 77th, were to have no particular denomination.

Major-General Sir Archibald Campbell, K. B. from the half-pay of Fraser's Highlanders, was appointed colonel. The regimental establishment consisted of ten companies, of 75 men each, with the usual complement of officers and non-commissioned officers.

As the call for reinforcements to India was urgent, orders were issued to embody as many men as had been raised previously to January 1788, without waiting for the full complement. Accordingly, 400 men, of whom about one-half were Highlanders, were assembled at Glasgow, and marched to Grangemouth, where they embarked for Chatham, whence they sailed for the East Indies, under the command of Captain William Wallace; the Lieutenant-Colonel, Gordon