68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry)

The 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1758. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 106th Bombay Light Infantry to form the Durham Light Infantry in 1881, the 68th Regiment becoming the 1st Battalion, and the 106th Regiment becoming the 2nd Battalion in the regular Army. It saw action during the Seven Years' War before being converted to Light Infantry in 1808, fighting with distinction in the Peninsular Army under Arthur Wellesley. It would go on to fight with some distinction during the Crimean War, served during the Indian Mutiny and the New Zealand wars before returning to India between 1872 and 1888.

Formation

In August 1756, after the loss of Minorca in the Seven Years' War, the 23rd Regiment of Foot, together with 14 other regiments was ordered to raise a 2nd Battalion, which it did while in Leicester. On 22 April 1758 the 2nd battalion was separated from the 23rd regiment as a new regiment and ranked as the 68th in order of precedence with the appointment of a new colonel as Lambton's Regiment of Foot or the 68th Regiment of foot. (The practice of referring to regiments by their colonel's name was gradually going out of fashion, being replaced by the regiments' order of precedence.)

The Seven Years War

In May 1758 it marched to the Isle of Wight as part of the forces (14,000 soldiers in five brigades and 6,000 marines) stationed on the island at the request of Britain's ally Frederick the Great of Prussia. The intention was to conduct raids (''descents'' as they were then called) on the French coast to disturb privateers in the area, distract the French army and relieve pressure on Britain's allies, the Prussians. The first expedition (3 Guards, 9 line regimentsVane p.9) anchored at Cancale Bay, near St Malo, on 5 May, the grenadier company being part of the forces that destroyed four King's ships, 60 merchantmen and several privateers in Paramé. The remainder of the regiment constructed fortifications around Cancale until taken off on 12 June. After threatening other ports in the region, the fleet returned to Britain on 6 July.

A second expedition involving the 68th on the French coast was landed on 7 August in the Bay of Ureville and marched for Cherbourg. The town was taken with little resistance from the local militia or the Régiment de Clare, and the fort and harbour were demolished. The troops left on 16 August but did not return to Britain. A third and final expedition was launched on 3 September; the 68th landed at Lunaire Bay, again near St Malo, but suffered severe defeat after the French concentrated their army and engaged the British army at St. Cast. The governor of Brittany, the Duc d'Aiguillon, led a force of 6,000 regulars, several squadrons of cavalry and the "Garde de Cote" militia against the British, who fought a rearguard action while evacuating the beach. The French claimed British casualties were 900 officers and men, with 600 taken prisoner. The 68th lost 70 men from Captain Revell's grenadiers company, who formed part of the rear guard with grenadiers from the other regiments left on the beach.

The 68th disembarked at Cowes on 19 September, and in October the regiment marched into winter quarters at Rochester. With losses in expeditions (mostly from the poor conditions aboard ship) and providing a draft of 173 men to the 61st regiment, it was very weak, and recruiting parties scoured the country to refill its ranks. On 2 June 1759, the regiment embarked for Jersey. It arrived on 21 June and remained there until February 1760, returning to England. In March, 600 men of the regiment, in three groups of 200, were drafted into the British regiments in the West Indies; this reduced the regiment to a mere 58 rank and file. The regiment was marched to Leeds, then Newcastle, and billeted at Tynemouth Barracks. At this point, recruiting had enabled it to muster nine (weak) companies consisting of 41 officers and 239 men.

There the 68th would remain through 1761, with a detachment sent to Durham to aid civil power and providing a draft of 95 men for the 70th Regiment. By May, the regiment was based at Hexham with its headquarters at Morpeth, with a strength of 42 officers and 289 men. In January 1762, the 68th had grown to 415 men and was ordered to march to Berwick, where it transferred to the command of Lord George Beauclerk, commanding in Scotland (North Britain as it was referred to since the 1745 rebellion). It was quartered at the newly built Fort George and remained throughout 1762, until July 1763 when to was shipped to Ireland.

The West Indies

In 1764 the regiment left Ireland on 2 June with a strength of just over half the establishment (250 privates, establishment: 423) and sailed for the Caribbean, arriving in Antigua after a swift passage on 21 June. Eight uneventful years passed until mid 1772, when six companies were sent to St. Vincent to fight rebellious Caribs, where more men were sick with diseases (63) than were killed or wounded in fighting (36). It was during this fighting that the motto, 'Faithful' is supposed to have been gained and placed on the colours.

In March 1773 the regiment left the Caribbean for Britain, where it over-wintered in Tynemouth. In May 1774 it returned to Scotland and Fort George, staying until December 1775, when it moved once more to Ireland. It was while serving in Dublin that disputes with other regiments arose over the motto displayed on the colours (as it could imply that other regiments were less faithful), and the motto was not repeated on later colours. The regiment was to spend seven and a half years deployed around Ireland. Near the end of that time, August 1782, it was decided to attach counties to regiments to aid recruitment, and the 68th was allotted to County Durham, becoming the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot.Vane p. 20

In 1779, the regiment was in the news when one of its former officers, James Hackman, was hanged for the notorious murder of Martha Ray, mistress of the Earl of Sandwich.

It left Ireland in September, at nearly full strength (793 all ranks), for Portsmouth. In December the regiment was brought up to full strength (a war establishment of 847 all ranks) and was destined for service in Jamaica. News of the Peace of Paris caused a mutiny, especially among those men who had signed up only for 'three years service or the duration', and the regiment was put ashore from the transport ships it was in.

After guarding prisoners of war at Winchester, in October the regiment was sent to Jersey and Guernsey. It left, after a brief return to England (June–September 1784), in early October 1785 for Gibraltar, and being briefly threatened with disbandment during the reduction of the Army's size in 1784.

The regiment's stay in Gibraltar was uneventful, except for the reduction to the peacetime establishment, and in December 1794 it was shipped to the West Indies (with the 46th and 61st regiments) as reinforcements for the British forces there. The regiment was dispersed to the islands of Martinique, St. Lucia and Grenada, where they fought against Fédon's rebellion which was being supported by the French. The Brigands were defeated on 18 June 1796, but the 68th played no part, having been reduced by fighting and especially yellow fever to 61 fit men, and after a draft to the 63rd regiment, 10 officers and 27 other ranks returned to Britain in September. After officers' leave and discharges, only seven men marched away from Portsmouth.

Recruiting began around the Midlands, and by the time the regiment landed in Ireland in March 1797 it was 202 men strong. Its strength fell, and by April 1798 when the 68th were called out to guard the guns at Dublin against the rebels, it fielded 36 men; by the end of 1799 it had grown to only 120. In February 1800 while in Trim, the regiment received nearly 1,800 Irish volunteers from the Militia, and after it had returned to England in March, it was divided into two battalions in May.

In late November the two battalions separately embarked for the West Indies, arriving between late January 1801 and March, to be stationed on Martinique, Barbados, The Saints and Dominica.Vane p. 33 Yellow fever soon hit; by the end of the year, over one quarter of the officers had died. In April 1802, 360 men of 2/68th helped suppress a mutiny by the 8th West India Regiment on Dominica, caused by the unscrupulousness of their colonel. By September the losses from disease were such that the two battalions were merged on Barbados. The Treaty of Amiens was signed in 1802, returning St Lucia and Martinique to the French. However, war broke out again in May 1803, and in June the 68th was sent (with the Royal Scots and the 64th regiment) to retake St. Lucia. The 68th was in reserve for the fighting and remained as the island garrison. In February 1805, having lost 500 dead and 170 invalided to England, the regiment was moved to St. Vincent, and in April to Antigua. Here they stayed until June 1806, when it embarked for England with 140 men.

Walcheren

The regiment spent the winter in Ripon, where by December 1807, after receiving recruits and drafts from militias from Ireland, Durham and West Yorkshire, it had a strength of 436 rank and file. It remained in and around Yorkshire, and while in Hull was ordered to convert to light infantry, as the 43rd and 52nd regiments had been, to form a light brigade. Marched to Brabourne Lees, Kent, it was to train with the 85th regiment under the master of light infantry training, Lt. Col. Franz von Rothenburg. After more recruiting, almost one quarter of the regiment's men were from County Durham by the time the regiment left for Walcheren in July 1809.

The invasion of Walcheren by an army of nearly 40,000 men in 15 brigades was an attempt to simultaneously destroy a French fleet together with the Antwerp shipyards and distract Napoleon from Austria. Landing on the island on 30 July, on 1 August together with the 85th they pursued defending forces to the walls of Flushing, which fell after a siege on 15 August. Malaria now began to infect the troops, and by 25 September it was reduced to 99 fit men, with 384 men eventually dying from the 'Walcheren fever' as opposed to only 15 in combat. The regiment left the island in December, landing at Deal.

The regiment continued to suffer from the effects of malaria, and only by October 1810 was seen to be beginning to recover.Ward p. 107 In February 1811, while three companies were billeted in Arundel, a party of officers and men assaulted some of the townsmen in return for repeated insults aimed at the officers, resulting in the courts-martial of the officers, and two lieutenants becoming "prisoners of the civil power". In June 1811 the regiment sailed for Portugal.

The Peninsular War

Landing in Lisbon on 27 June 1811, by 17 July it had reached Arronches, where it joined the newly formed 7th Division (nicknamed the 'Mongrels'). For the rest of the year the regiment marched around Northern Portugal, entering Spain in September to aid in the masking of Ciudad Rodrigo, returning to Portugal by October. The effects of the Walcheren expedition were still with the regiment, with the marches increasing the sick-list and, until February 1812, 25 men dying every month. Throughout 1812, in spite of replacements the number fit for duty rarely rose above 270.

In January 1812 the regiment deployed with the 7th division as the reserve at Fuenteguinaldo during the capture of Ciudad Ridrigo. Returning to Portugal on 19 January the regiment set off South on 20 February, crossing into Spain on 16 March, and again formed a covering force during the siege and capture of Badajoz. The regiment returned to Portugal, where in May it was inspected by Major-General John de Bernewitz, resulting in uncomplimentary observations.

Salamanca

The regiment marched back into Spain with the 7th Division on 2 June 1812, and on 20 June reached its position near Salamanca on the heights of Villares. Late in the day the regiment, reinforced with a company of Brunswick Oels (owing to its still weakened state), was ordered off the heights and down into the village of Moresco. With detachments blocking each street and lane, the regiment fought off French attempts to take the village until ordered to retire back up the hill at nightfall. One Captain W Mackay received 22 bayonet wounds but survived and later recovered. On 22 June an attempt by Marmont to take the heights above Moresco was halted by the 68th, the Chasseurs Britanniques and the 51st Regiment.

On 27 June the last of the Samalanca forts surrendered to the 6th Division, and by mid July Marmont's reinforced Army began to manoeuvre against Wellington's: Early on 22 July the 68th and 2nd Caçadores skirmished with French Voltigeures probing for the flank of the Army. Retaining control of a hill, they were subject to artillery fire until relieved by the 95th Regiment in the afternoon. By 4 o'clock it was back with the 7th Division and advanced against the French in the general action ending in their defeat.

Following the retreating French, on 12 August the 51st and the 68th were the first regiments to march into Madrid, to great excitement from the population. Late the next day the 51st, 68th and the Chasseurs Britanniques assaulted fortified buildings in the Buen Retiro Park garrisoned by some 2,000 French troops who surrendered on the morning of 14 August.

Wellington's army continued its advance besieging Burgos in September, with the 68th at Olmos covering the siege and constructing breastworks in the valley at Monasterio de Rodilla in mid October. The French now showed signs of attacking, and attempting to out-flank the British forces around Madrid, and Wellington began another retreat back to Portugal in the rain and mud of autumn. The regiment went into winter quarters at Paços de Baixo and Paços de Cima in December. Due to its weakened state, 235 men fit for duty and 247 sick, it was briefly threatened with being combined with another weak regiment into a 'Provisional Battalion'. However the regiment shared in the recovery of Wellington's army as a whole and by April 1813 had 439 men fit with only 97 sick.

The advance into Spain began in early May, marching rapidly through the North of the country, with the troops suffering as they out-ran their supply train.

Vitoria

Wellington arrived in the area of Vitoria on 20 June 1813. The 7th division, together with the 3rd, formed the left centre column of the attack the next day, advancing south across the River Zadorra. Now advancing east, the regiment, with the 2nd Brigade, came under heavy cannon and musket fire: The brigade took shelter in a ditch some 200 yards from the French guns. While the commander of the column, Lord Dalhousie hesitated, Vandeleur's brigade arrived and both brigades began the line advance into Vitoria, competing for the honour of their division. That night it camped among the remains of Joseph Bonaparte's baggage train, whom Napoleon had made King of Spain.

Pyrenees

In July 1813 the British advance continued into the Pyrenees, with the French leaving garrisons at San Sebastián and Pamplona, and the bulk of the army retreating into France to be reorganized by Soult. Soult launched a double pronged attack into Spain on 25 July. After marching and counter-marching between Pamplona and Mt Achiola, the regiment, with the rest of the Inglis's brigade, attacked two battalions of Clausel's flank guard at Ostiz on 30 July, driving the French by bayonet down into the valley, as Soult attempted to join d'Erlon after being beaten off from Pamplona. The next day as Clausel continued north, the brigade attacked the French on a steep hill near Urroz. After sequential volleys from the 82nd and 51st, the 68th fired, and accompanied by the Chasseurs Britanniques, drove the French from the hill. On 2 August the 7th Division, with the 4th and part of the Light Division, had the luck to attack the weak centre of the remains of Soult's Corps on the heights above Etxalar. At the end of the month, Soult again attempted to relieve San Sebastián, using two divisions in a diversionary attack across the river Bidasoa around Vera. Inglis's brigade arrived on 31 August to be slowly pushed back up the side of the valley by the greater numbers of French, until learning of the failure of the main attack the French retired.

Nivelle

In October 1813 Wellington crossed into France, and on 10 November attacked the formidable, but undermanned, position which Marshal Soult had been three months fortifying on the Nivelle. The 68th and the brigade took a number of redoubts at the rush, at Sare, and encountered some resistance taking those on the heights beyond Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle