HLI Chronicle 1914 - The Royal Highland Fusiliers

HIGHLAND LIGH'l' INFANTRY CHRONICLE. 43ment-the 73rd (now 71st) at the Siege ofGibraltar, and after its successful defenceproceeded to India, where he was engaged inseven of the sieges and actions which endedin the defeat and death of Tippoo Saib.Twice he led the' Forlorn Hope,' and on one ofthese occasions the storming of the strongfortress of Nundy Droog is still spoken ofin India as the most desperate of the war." Accepting afterwards ot the Paymastershipof his Regiment, he was present at the captureof the Cape and of Buenos Ayres, and returnedto Europe in time to bear a part in thefirst expedition to Portugal, and in the battles0f Roleia and Vimiera. He was in the retreatto Corunna, and in the disastrous '"alcheranExpedition, and, returning to Portugal, waspresent in no less than 13 of the differentsieges and actions in the Peninsula and Francefrom the retreat of Massena from Portugalto the battle of Toulouse. He finally closedhis services in the field by being present atthe crowning victory of Waterloo. We say 'inthe field,' for although his duties as Paymasterwould 'have exempted him from much of thedanger of the war, yet when there was a prospectof his Regiment being in action the oldspirit of the soldier came upon him, and hewas constantly in the habit of joining andcharging with it. Two of his nephews werekilled in the Peninsula, but, singular enough,although so often and so much exposed, he,like the great captain under whom he servedso long, was never wounded. Being afterwards.with his Regiment in Canada, he completeda service of 44 years in all quarters ofthe globe (sharing in more battles and siegesthan perhaps any living man) by retiringfrom the Army in 1824. Among the heirloomsleft to his family are a splendid gold snuff-box,presented to him by the officers of the 7lst,inscribed with the names of 26 sieges andactions in which he was present; also aPeninsula medal, with 9 clasps, and a Waterloomedal. No officer was ever more belovedand respected in his regiment, and many ofthe officers who joined in presentin Cf thetestimonial did so with the most gr~tefulrecollections of the kind advice and of the substantialassistance they had received fromhim."In 1801 he married Miss Murray, sisterof .John Murray, Esquire of Livilands, and onretiring from the Army he settled in Stirling,but soon after the death of his beloved wife,who had shared in many of the eventful scenesof his life, cast a gloom over some of theyears in which he hoped to enjoy a rest beforehis own summons. That summons, however,was long protracted, and his latter years werespent in cheerful retirement, interrupted onlyoccasionally by the death of his old friends,nearly all of whom long preceded him to thegrave. His own death was from no disease,but simply a decay of nature, and althoughfor several years afflicted with blindness, yethis Christian cheerfulness never forsook him.The last, and not the least, thing to be said ofhim is that he died a humble believer in his­Saviour." H. IVI., buried in St. Ninian's old churchyard,Stirling. His house was in MelvilleTerrace, Stirling."Copy of letter from Hugh Mackenzie,formerly Captain and Paymaster of the 7lst,to his nephew, Captain Hugh Mackenzie.2nd European Regiment, Bengal Army ;­"Stirling, 1st July, 1844." My dear Hugh,­. . . . . . . The particulars ofyour father's* service are as follows :-Inthe year 1779 he raised men for a Lieutenancyin Lord Macleod's 2nd Battalion 73rd Highlanders,which number was changed to 7lstRegiment in the year 1786, the Regimentof this number being reduced, having servedin the American War of Independence, andwere the Fraser Highlanders. The 2nd Battalion73rd landed in Gibralter on the 16th ofJanuary, 1780, and on the 3rd of November,1782, your father was severly wounded in theleg in Willis's Battery, acting Engineer, inwhich capacity he did duty for some timebefore the accident happened. He never joinedthe Regiment after being wounded, only a fewdays at Stirling in the year 1797. He wasalwaysemployed Oll the recruiting service, andwas a successful officer. He sold out in the year1804, I think, which makes 25 years service."Maxwell fjoip.ed the 7lst Regiment from the53rd Regiment, serving in the West Indiesas Lieutenant in 1799; was Brevet Lieut.-CoLwhen mortally wounded and in command ofthe Regiment at the desperate attack made byMarshall Soult on Lord Hill's Division beforeBayonne on the 13th November, 1813;likewise for sOJ;ne time commanded the Advancof the 3rd Division, chosen from the fieldofficers of the Division by Lieut.-General... Capt. John Mackenzie of Kincraig.t Bt. Lt.-Col. Maxwell Mackenzie, ~on of Capt. JohnMackenzie.