The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-09-30 00:00:00

PRESENTATION OF COLOURS RY THE
QUEEN.

A grand military ceremony took place at Balla-
ter, near Balmoral Castle, on Tuesday afternoon' when
the Qneen presented new colours to the Ist Royal
Scots R-giment of Foot. The regiment muttered
500 strong, under command of Colonel MacGwire,
having come from Twin's parts of Scotland by
special train. There were also present along with
the (been the Prince and Princess of Wales, the
Duke of Connaught, Princess Louis of Hesse,
Princess Beatrice, Prince George, and Prince
Albert Victor. There was a large turn out of
the i;•ntry of the neighbourhood. The Princess of
Wales wore a blade bat and feather, and a grey Ulster
coat. The Prince and his sons wore Highland dresses
of hunting Stuart tartan. Her Majesty wore a black
dress and black bonnet with white feather. The
Princess of Hesse wore a dark brown bonnet, trimmed
with velvet and green feather, and had on a Paisley
shawl. Princess Beatrice wore a grey shawl and dark.
brown bonnet and feather.

The ceremony commenced at half-past three, the
regiment being put through movements appropriate
to the occasion.
Her Majesty, in presenting the colours, said, "In
intrusting these colours to your charge it gives
we much pleasure to remind you that I have
been aaa6ciated with your regiment from my
earliest infancy. My dear father was proud of his
profession, and I was always tainht to consider myself
a soldier's child. I zejgice in having a son who has de-
voted his life to the Army, and who, I am confident,
will ever prove worthy the name of a British soldier.
I now present these colours to you, convinced that you
will always uphold the glory and reputation of my Ist
Regiment of Foot—the R9yal &Jots.'
Calonel MacG nire, in a short speech, acknowledged
the honour which had been done to the Regiment
The Queen, amid loud cheers, consented to take the
old colours to Balmoral Castle. -

The Daily News, in noticing the above ceremony,
gives the following interesting historical account of
the exploits performed by the illustrious regiment in
various parts of the world t

. . . "In the past history of the corps•there is much that
makes it worthy of the distinction of receiving its colours from
the hands of her who has so often shown that she knows
how ta appreciate the courage of her soldiers. The oldest
of Euglish foot regiments, the Royals were already famous
long before their enrolment in our regular army. In
1590 some independent companies that were afterwards
formed into "Le Regiment de Douglas" were, by
permission of Jemes L, sent to France to fight
under the golden lilies against the Leaguers, and
from that time to 1610 they were retained in France. L tter
a body of gallant Scots took service under the flag of Gustavus
Adolphus, the d Lion of the North ' With tne brave Sir
James Hepburn as their leader, the Highlanders fought
through the Polish campaigns and afterwards in Prussia, the
renown of their gallant deeds bringing, year after year,
recruits to their ranks, until they had swelled into a formid-
able brigade. In March of 1631 the famous 'Green Brigade'
led the assault at Frankfort-on-the-Oder, and before they
went into action Gustavus called upon his valiant
Boots' to r,member their 'countrymen slain at old Branden-
burg.' Waist deep in mud and water, Hepburn and his seleet
body of Oren:ten waded the ditch, carried the outer wall,
and attempted to force the sally-port. Their impe-
tuous leader being wounded and his second in command
shot dead, the Scots for a moment wavered, but, rallied by
Munro and Luray:tell they returned to the charge so furiously
that the enemy gave way, and they entered the city, to find
that some cf their comre.des had already scaled the ramparts,
and, with their backs to the wall, were receiving and re-
pulsing the desperate onslaughts of the Imperial Cuirassiers.
In this fight the Green Brigade captured eighteen colours.
Again, at Leipsic, Hepburn's men distinguished themselves
by turning the flank of the enemy just at the critical moment
when the clouds of dust blowing across newly ploughed fields
made it difficult to distinguish friend from foe and received the
special thanks of the Swedish king for their timely service.
From Oppenheim, across the Rhine to Wentz, thence on to
the Danube, where, in repulsing a sortie from Donawerth,
Hepburn's musketeers entered the town and captured it
forty-eight hours after its inveatment ; always in the most
dangerous place before the enemy, and always eager to
uphold its ancient character, the brigade won fresh laurels in
every fight, and suffered so severely that after the relief of
Nordltngen it retired to rest for a while, the mere wreck of
its former imposing strength. Out of thirteen Ssotch and
five Ettglish regiments that entered Girmany in 1632 only
one remained, and this regiment being subsequently
incorporated with the Scots, who were in the service
of Louts XIIL, united thenceforth its fortunes with them,
and became known far and wide as 'Le Regiment de
Douglas.' In the reign of Louts XEV., they were
incorporated with the famous Gerdes Ecossias,' and thus
they brought back to Eugland with them in 1661
the traditions of many illustrious regiments of whose ,
glories they wersithe sole inheritors. From this time they
obtained rank in the British army, although they were sent
back to France in the following year, and remained in the
service of that country for nearly five years, until recalled to
quell the rebellion in Ireland. When France and England
became allies once more the Royal Scots were allowed to
enlist again under the banner of France, and formed Part of
Turennea division in all that illustrious leader's campaigns
until 1678, when the ambition of Louis alarmed the English
monarch, and the British reelments were recalled, never to
return to the service of fair France.
" Douglas had now become Earl of Dumbarton, and it was
under the latter name that the Royal Scots achieved their
first distinction in the racks of British soldiers. When
Tangiers was closely invested by the Moors four companies
of the corps were sent to its relief, anti the straits to which
the inhabitants were reduced is forcibly indicated by the
welcome given to this small body of brave warrior,. In the
quatut language of a chronicler of that time, after this
landed the valorous Mai r Halkett, with the renowned regi-
ment of the Earl of Dumbarton, all of them men of approved
valour, fame having echoed the sound of their glorious actions
and achievements in France and other nations; having left
behind them a report of their glorious victories wherever
they came; every place witnessing and giving large testi-
mony or their reuurill ; so that the arrival ot this illuttrieus
regiment more and more Increased the resolutions and united
the courage of the inhabitants and added confidence to their
valour. The trust of the governor and the people of
the beleagured fortress was not doomed to b 3 be-
trayed. Darnbarton's veterans stood in the trenches many
days and bore the brunt of the Mborish attacks again and
again renewed. When it became necessary to retreat within
the walls of the new fort to them was assigned the duty of
covering the moment, and receiving the furious charges of
the Moorish Lancers. In the dusk and silence of a Septem-
ber morning, whets the garrison sallied out against the
enemy's lines, without sound of trumpet, or roll of drum,
the Scots charged first, throwing the Moorish camp into con-
fusion. Hand to hand the swarthy Africans and stalwart
Sects mingled in a fight that was carried on from treuch to
trench, the Grenadiers using their batcheti with fearful exe-
cution, the pikemen bearing down all opposition by their Ina-
petunias onslaughts, and the musketeers, having clung their
muskets, fighting sword in hand. In this action the four
companies had six officers and thirty-six sergeants and men
killee, and a hundred and fifteen of all ranks wounded, but
they took a terrible vengeance for these losses, and signalised
their victory by capturing the sacred standard of Muley
Ismail.
"Four years later they returned to Ragland, and in apples"
elation of their gallant services received from Charles IL the
proud title of tee 'Royal Regiment of Foot,' and had em-
broidered on their ceieurs the motto Nemo me impune
emit. At the battle of Sedgemoor they wore tip for the
King,' and so distinguished themselves that James 11.
ordered the 1111111 of £379 to be paid to the officers and men of
the Royals wounded in the action, while one S.trjeant Weems
received the munificent sum of RAO for good service in
firing the great guns against the rebels.' Though the Royals
stood with unshaken lc yaity by James In the general defalca-
tion, and though Dumbarton followed Site King into exile, the
regiment seems on the whole to have as ;opted the new order
of things with equanimity, when tot truggle for the cause of
the Stuarts was hopeless. They kicked a little against their
German colonel, but when one of the race of Douglas was
once more at their head they fought like lions at Steinkirk,
holding their ground stubbornly for two hours while
cannon and musketry rolled continuous thunder, and
battalion after battalion assailed them in vain. At Lauden
they fought furiously side by side with the snd Queen's —their
old comrades of Tangiers—and rolled the French through
the defile back on to the plain under a terrific fire of
musketry and grenades. From the Netherlands to the
Denuhe the regiment was in nearly every action during the
next ten or twelve years. It fought at Blenheim, at Ramifies,
at Oudenarde, at Gant, and Maiplaqin t, and no regiment In
enviablei n can a
Canada
as
and
tough
hiarl
cborl
the West Indies, one or other of its battalions was
always on active service and winning fresh renown,
Marlborough's
Royals. army,
t Faotiteevueody andaf eFtnalekt7k)
At Egmont•on-Zee the Royals were led by lion-
hearted Sir Ralph Abercremble, and their gallantry wag
rewarded by the permission to bear the name of the battle
on their colours—the first on a long and glorious scroll.
Under the same leader they landed in Egypt, and fought at
Aboukir and Alexandria. At the capture of St. Lucia, two
years later, the same battalion led the assault, and carried
the redoubt at the bayonet's point. The third battalion
was in that long and worry retreat which ended In the
glorious battle of Corunna. Without resting, it found
a field for fresh distinction in Flanders, nod the follow-
ing year was tent again to Spain with Wellesley's
army. Forming part of Leith's famous fifth division,
the battalion was at Bunco, retiring sullenly be-
hind the lines of Torres Vedras, following Mu-
llane when he retreated from those frowning fortresses, carry-
ing gallantly the bridge of Balms', at Fuentes cl'Onore, at