Formation
George III ordered John, Duke of Argyll, to raise a kilted regiment of 1,100 men. The Duke requested assistance from his kinsman, Duncan Campbell, and on the 9th of July, 1794, they were formally gazetted into the British Army as the 98th (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot, later to be renumbered as the 91st. On the 5th of May, 1795, the regiment embarked for South Africa to capture the Dutch colony in the Cape of Good Hope.
Cape of Good Hope
The 98th Highlanders arrived at Simonstown in September of 1795 as part of a force of around 4,500 men under the command of Sir Alured Clarke, an ambitious officer who sought great military renown in the conquest of the Dutch colony, but luck fell against him. His second-in-command landed forces and had driven the Dutch off their defensive position in front of Cape Town. After a cautious disembarkation lasting ten days, Sir Alured faced the vastly outnumbered Dutch at Wynberg, who retreated after giving one volley, which killed one seaman and wounded 17 others total. So the 98th, technically, was baptized in fire, settling down as the garrison for seven unhappy years, where they faced heatstroke and disease, and a uniform change which served no better in the climate than their original.
Upon the regiments renumbering to 91st, they had left Cape of Good Hope to the Dutch after the Treaty of Amiens, and gathered at Bexhill in May of 1803. Depleted in numbers after sending men to replenish garrisons in India, it took them years to be restored to strength, as well as have their old uniform returned to them. The boosts in confidence had inspired the 91st during their return to England as part of the forces gathered in hopes to defeat Napoleon if the admirals ever allowed him to cross the British Channel. In 1805, the Highland Brigade was sent to Hannover, but they were sent back to Kent in 1806. Throughout all of these relocations, they had remained a very good regiment. They were inspected ceaselessly and earned the 'Strong Approbation' of the generals. The Commander-in-Chief, H.R.H and Duke of York, was 'Highly Pleased' with them in 1805. Even more so, Sir John Moore was 'Extremely Well-Pleased'; and before they left Dublin in June of 1808 to join the amassing army in Portgual, they paraded for the Lord Lieutenant.
The Peninsular War
The campaign in Portugal was disappointing for the 91st. The light company was engaged at Rolica, but the regiment as a whole was in reserve and had not engaged in either major battle. It was again in the reserve division for Sir John Moore's march to Salamanca which disrupted Napoleon's whole campaign; and it came into its own at last when the reserve division became the rearguard for the retreat which culminated in Moore's victory at Corunna. The 91st had more than their fair share of privations and forced marches and losses while in the rearguard. At Corunna itself, though 'in the very centre of the line and next to the Guards', they were not heavily engaged. 'Corunna', nevertheless, was a worthily won Battle Honour to be placed on the Colours beside 'Rolica' and 'Vimeira'. | |
 | | Now the 91st embarked on the Welcheren campaign. From September 3rd to 23 December 23rd, an army of 40,000 men lay encamped there because the generals could not agree on what to do with them. During these four months no less than 35,000 of them passed through the military hospitals or the grave. By September 23rd, after only three weeks, the 91st had only 246 rank and file fit for duty. From disease the regiment lost a total of 218 dead - far more than all their casualties in the Corunna campaign. They rejoined Wellington in 1812, thus missing Vitoria, but were with the 6th Division at Sorauren on 28th and 30th of July, 1813, in what Wellington called 'bludgeon work', they played a decisive part in dislodging Marshal Soult from the positions he hoped to hold in the Pyrenees. On the first day the 91st suffered 115 killed and wounded out of a total strength of 821 . On the second day, when the brigaded light companies bore the brunt, they got off lightly, but clearly played their full part in what even Wellington called 'desperate fighting', adding that he had 'never known the troops behave so well'.
'Pyrenees' was another battle honour on the 91st Colours which was well and truly earned. They were to win five more in France: 'Nivelle', 'Nive', 'Orthes', 'Toulouse', and 'Peninsula'. The first three were not costly, and the only distinction was the promotion in the field of the Adjutant, Lieutenant MacNeil of Colonsay after he had had two horses killed under him at the passage of the Nivelle.
At Toulouse, on 10th of April, 1814, Soult put up a last fight, which cost Wellington almost 5,000 casualties. Sir Denis Pack's Highland Brigade led an attack brilliantly, ending with the 42nd and 78th holding three captured enemy redoubts, and the 91st in close support in a farmyard behind. The crunch came when a French column, 6,000 strong, counter-attacked. The 42nd were driven back in disorder, but the prompt support of the 91st gave them time to reform; and the two battalions together successfully retook the position. When the 91st got back to the farmhouse the other wing was in trouble; they sallied out, restored the position, and incidentally rescued a large party of the 78th who had been surrounded. Every general present reckoned that only the prompt and vigorous support afforded by the Argyllshire Regiment had saved the Brigade. So the war ended for the 91st in a blaze of glory, with nine battle honours on the Regimental Colour.
Waterloo
At Waterloo they were left far on the right flank; and though they got the campaign medal, that great battle was never inscribed on their Colours. One more fragment of military glory nevertheless came their way.
They saw their first and last action at the disastrous night attack on the fortress of Bergen-op-Zoom in 1814, and thanks to Ottley's training did very well. All four of the assaulting columns successfully stormed the outer walls, only to be thrown back by superior numbers of veteran French troops manning the inner defenses. The battalion withdrew in admirable order, leaving 13 officers and an unrecorded number of men wounded and losing altogether 45 killed or mortally wounded. So far as is known, the Surgeon and Assistant Surgeon were the only unwounded to fall into enemy hands; and Sergeant-Major Cahill was commissioned in the field for saving the Regimental Colour when the Ensign carrying it went down. So, having unexpectedly found a niche in military history, the 2nd Battalion came home to be disbanded after sending 240 men to the 1st Battalion for the Waterloo campaign. |
