flanders and fontenoy

(1745)

hail, gallant regiment! freiceadan dubh,

whenever albion needs thine aid

‘aye ready!’ for whatever foe

shall dare to meet the black brigade!

witness disastrous fontenoy;

when all seemed lost, who brought us through?

who saved defeat? secured retreat?

and bore the brunt?—the forty-two.

dugald dhu.

on the head of frederick (the great) is all the blood which was shed in a war which raged during many years, and in every quarter of the globe—the blood of the column of fontenoy, the blood of the brave mountaineers who were slaughtered at culloden. the evils produced by his wickedness were felt in lands where the name of prussia was unknown; and in order that he might rob a neighbour whom he had promised to defend, black men fought on the coast of coromandel, and red men scalped each other by the great lakes of north america.—macaulay.

flanders was not altogether unknown in the historic sense to the men of the north, and the ‘cockpit of europe,’ as it has been named for its successive tragedies of war, has been fated to become too often the scottish soldier’s grave. campaign after campaign has raged across its fertile country-side, leaving in its trail desolation and despair.

it is outside the story of the highland regiments to discuss the political situation at the time when the stuart cause was for ever crushed. what must not be overlooked, however, is that the french appeared more interested in the jacobite rebellion than could be attributed entirely to friendly feelings towards prince charles. no more ominous sign of how the wind really blew could be cited than the way in which louis xv., king of france, hustled the unhappy young man out of the country in his hour of failure. the reason for his attitude was simple enough—the highland trouble was but an incident in the european situation, no more than a pawn in the great game of war. after many years of unbroken peace and prosperity, the fall of walpole made way for the ambitions of the earl of chatham, whom we have already quoted as pitt the elder. pitt was naturally proud of the newly coined name of ‘patriot,’ and during his time of office, which opened with the ‘war of jenkins’s ear’ and closed with the disastrous rebellion of the american colonies, there was hardly a breathing-space of peace.

the time inevitably arises when a great and vigorous country must expand or perish. england had set her heart on expansion, and at this period there was ample space in the world for the formation of colonies. the only rival was france, and a very brave and dangerous rival she was to prove. for the next half-century the struggle for supremacy was fated to carry bloodshed into many corners of the world.

in the war of the austrian succession, england assisted maria theresa to defend her throne against the forces of france, bavaria, and prussia, while from this time the rivalry with france became increasingly fierce, both in europe and america. the conflict resolved itself into a prolonged struggle on land and sea, with the main seat of operations in india and canada. the curtain went down on the long drama at waterloo.

at this period we were at war with prussia, whereas sixty odd years later wellington awaited the timely advance of blücher. again another hundred years and the british forces were to approach the same fateful field, but this time allied with their old enemies the french.

we are faced, therefore, by the history of nearly fifty years of the building of the british empire, and the corresponding downfall of france in america and india.

at this time we possessed twelve colonies along the american coast, including the township of new york. the colonists in this district were a simple, industrious people, principally descendants of those early puritans who had sailed across the atlantic in the mayflower. they lived in constant dread of the red indians, but in no less dread of the french, whose own colonies were in close proximity, while beyond the great lakes was french canada.

there were very many more english colonists than frenchmen, but the latter possessed the advantage of closer intimacy with the indians, who proved a powerful and active ally and a cruel and revengeful enemy.

we shall therefore follow the fortunes of the highlanders through the long struggle with france, first on the continent and in america, leaving the position in india for a later chapter.

there must be few, if any, to whom the name of flanders does not instantly recall in all its tragic significance the heroism of belgium.

how often will the old familiar lines, asking the old unanswered question, recur throughout the coming chapters.

“and everybody praised the duke

who such a fight did win.”

“but what good came of it at last?”

quoth little peterkin.

“why, that i cannot tell,” said he;

“but ’twas a famous victory.”

it is well for us to keep that unhappy country before our minds, for we shall return from time to time to the conflicts that have thundered themselves into the great silence.

in 1743-44 the black watch embarked for the continent, and in may 1745, after some two years’ service with marshal wade, the 42nd assembled with the allied army under the command of the duke of cumberland. the force consisted of british, hanoverians, dutch, and austrians. the french army was commanded by the famous marshal saxe, the scene of battle being in the neighbourhood of fontenoy. the duke of cumberland, who was ever an impetuous and courageous though not very skilful leader, opened the engagement, and for a considerable time pressed the french, hurling them out of their entrenchments at the point of the bayonet, while the highlanders wielded their claymores with remarkable effect. in this, their first taste of disciplined warfare the eyes of europe were upon them.

the point at which the highlanders and guards were launched was speedily taken, but things went less happily elsewhere. the cavalry under general campbell suffered a reverse—the dutch and austrians reeled back before the french fire—the fortunes of the day were dependent upon the british.

presently came the dramatic and magnificent advance of the british infantry with the black watch upon the extreme right. with measured tread and set faces they came on. their ranks were ploughed and broken with shot, but re-forming in silence they drew ever nearer to the french.

it was then that lord charles hay of the 1st guards turned to the men beside him crying, “men of the king’s company, these are the french guards, and i hope you are going to beat them to-day.”

he was not disappointed. not for the first time, nor for the last, the english guards hurled back the pick of the continental soldiers in confusion.

saxe, dreading a reverse, ordered his horse, and, supported by a man on either side because of his bodily weakness, rode forward to lead up the veteran troops of france, knowing well the inspiration that his presence would bring. and at that moment the british artillery slackened its fire, thus giving an opportunity to the famous irish brigade to win or lose the cause of france.

the irish brigade was composed of men for the most part of good family, who had left the country of their birth to follow king james into exile. they were magnificent troops, inflamed by a deadly hatred of england, and always ready to avenge the wrongs that they believed they had suffered at english hands. their advance was practically invincible, and before very long they took ample revenge for the severe drubbing they had received at dettingen two years before. with shouts of ‘remember limerick!’ they broke like an angry sea upon the english flank, which stood stubbornly until retreat was seen to be inevitable. soon the french cavalry were pouring down upon the english withdrawal, and at that critical situation the hour of the black watch dawned. it was due to the bravery of the highland regiment that the english forces were not driven into irretrievable confusion. captain john munro of the 43rd has written of the day’s work: “we got within musket shot of their batteries, when we received three full fires of their batteries and small arms, which killed us forty men and one ensign. here we were obliged to skulk behind houses and hedges for about an hour and a half, waiting for the dutch, who, when they came up, behaved but so and so. our regiment being in some disorder, i wanted to draw them up in rear of the dutch, which their general would scarce allow of; but at last i did it, and marched them again to the front. in half an hour after the dutch gave way, and sir robert munro thought proper we should retire; for we had then the whole batteries from the enemy’s ground playing upon us, and three thousand foot ready to fall upon us. we retired; but before we had marched thirty yards, we had orders to return to the attack, which we did; and in about ten minutes after had orders to march directly with all expedition, to assist the hanoverians.... the british behaved well; we (the highlanders) were told by his royal highness that we did our duty well.

“by two of the clock we all retreated; and we were ordered to cover the retreat as the only regiment that could be kept to their duty, and in this affair we lost sixty more; but the duke made so friendly and favourable a speech to us, that if we had been ordered to attack their lines afresh, i dare say our poor fellows would have done it.”[2]

so much for the highlanders. but what did the french think of them? “it must be owned,” says one, “that our forces were thrice obliged to give way, and nothing but the good conduct and extreme calmness of marshal saxe could have brought them to the charge the last time, which was about two o’clock, when the allies in their turn gave way. our victory may be said to be complete; but it cannot be denied, that, as the allies behaved extremely well, more especially the english, so they made a soldier like retreat which was much favoured by an adjacent wood. the british behaved well, and could be exceeded in ardour by none but our officers, who animated the troops by their example, when the highland furies rushed in upon us with more violence than ever did a sea driven by a tempest.”

one can appreciate how much the french were impressed by the highlanders by the exploit of one of the black watch who killed nine frenchmen with his claymore, and was only prevented from continuing by the loss of his arm.

but half the success was due to the discretion of sir robert munro, of fowlis, who allowed his highlanders to engage in their own way, a method of fighting that greatly upset the enemy. he “ordered the whole regiment to clap to the ground on receiving the french fire, and instantly after its discharge they sprang up, and coming close to the enemy poured in shot upon them to the certain destruction of multitudes, then retreating, drew up again, and attacked a second time in the same manner. these attacks they repeated several times the same day, to the surprise of the whole army. sir robert was everywhere with his regiment notwithstanding his great corpulency, and, when in the trenches, he was hauled out by the legs and arms by his own men; and it is observed that when he commanded the whole regiment to clap to the ground, he himself alone, with the colours behind him, stood upright, receiving the whole fire of the enemy, and this because although he could easily lie down, his great bulk would not suffer him to rise so quickly.”

the prospect of invasion has been so very critical within our own recollection that it is interesting to recall that, after the campaign in flanders, the black watch returned to england, and in view of the contemplated descent of the french upon the coast, was stationed along the cliffs of kent.

the dispersal of the jacobite forces at culloden left the duke of cumberland free to return to the continent, where he stationed his army to cover bergen-op-zoom and maestricht, while saxe encamped between mechlin and louvain.

the highland regiment, however, saw very little fighting during this campaign, and was shortly withdrawn to england. in 1749 the black watch assumed the world-famed regimental number of the 42nd.