A History of the British Army in Malta

Captain Ralph Smythe with the 30th Regiment in Malta 1800

CHAPTER ONE

The distinction of being the first British infantry to arrive in Malta to oust Napoleon's troops of occupation is shared between the 30th (Cambridgeshire) regiment, and the 89th regiment.  

Both sailed from the Sicilian port of Messina on 6th December 1799, the 30th regiment on board HMS Culloden-74, and the 89th on HMS Foudroyant-80, their strength at embarkation being:

                             Officers      Sgts   Rank & File  Women         Children

30th Regiment            32             37          409            20                 15

89th Regiment            32             28          414             42                Nil

Also on the Culloden were Surgeon-General Alexander Jameson, and Colonel Thomas Graham of the 90th regiment, who had been given the rank of Brigadier-General, by the Commander-in-Chief General Henry Fox, since he would command the British troops once ashore.

After landing at St. Pauls Bay on the 10th December 1799, the men of the 30th were initially based at Birchicara, and the 89th at Lija and Naxxar.

On the same day Graham set up his Headquarters at the San Antonio Palace, where Captain Alexander John Ball, Royal Navy who was governing Malta was in residence, and wrote to General Fox, based at Port Mahon, Minorca:

 General Fox sent Lieut-Colonel Lindenthal, of the Sicilian regiment, to Malta, on the 6th December, with instructions to make an assessment of the situation and report back to him directly. 

 By the 10th December Lindenthal had carried out a rapid survey and sent the following letter expressing his views:

The response was not encouraging. A Royal Artillery detachment comprising of one corporal, one bombardier and sixteen gunners under Lieutenant Samuel Reynell, reached Malta about 27th December. Even including these men, the total on Malta was still only 2 officers, 2 corporals, 1 bombardier and 23 gunners, and it was not until the 3rd of May 1800, that a further detachment of 30 NCO’s and men with Captain James Boag, Lieutenant Thomas A. Brandreth and Lieutenant David Story arrived on the transport Wakefield from Gibraltar, and landed at Marsa Sirocco.

However the following month, June 1800, they were reinforced by 102 NCO’s and men with Brevet-Major Flower M. Sproule, Captain-Lieutenant Thomas Charleton, Lieutenants Thomas S. Hughes and Thomas Gamble, plus 2nd Lieutenant Stephen J. Rawlinson disembarking from the frigate Seahorse.

 By the end of December 1799, the bulk of the 30th regiment was stationed at Zejtun, with advanced posts at Zabbar, and the battery of St. Roque close to the coast. On their left were the men of the 89th at Gudja and Luqa, with advanced posts at Tarxien and responsibility for the battery in front of it. Next came the Marines, and then the Maltese insurgents completing the encirclement of the French forces in Valletta, Cottonera, and Forts Ricasoli, Manoel and Tigne, where they had taken refuge in September 1798, after the Maltese uprising.

 Meanwhile General Graham had moved his headquarters from the San Antonio Palace to the Villa D’Aurel in the village of Gudja. This gave him a two-fold benefit. He was in direct contact with his men, but more importantly within the grounds of this estate was a 69 feet high stone watchtower from which more than half of the island could be seen, which included all the French positions. In his first letter immediately after landing, Graham had expressed his wish for more troops, which he repeated again on the 28th:

 Prior to leaving Ireland for Sicily in 1799 about 250 Irishmen, who were in gaol for various crimes including rebellion, were given the choice of enlisting in the 30th regiment or being hanged, not surprisingly they all took the former option. It is certain that a number of the men had taken part in the Republican uprising in Wexford and surrounding counties during 1798, and it was two brothers who had been implicated in the Wexford rebellion who deserted from an outpost of the 30th, to join the French Republican forces.

 These were not the only deserters. The French ship, Guillaume Tell 80-gun, left Valletta harbour during the night of 30th March 1800, in an attempt to break through the British naval blockade, but was captured early the next morning after a fierce battle. On boarding her, Captain Blackwood of the Penelope, discovered three deserters from the British forces. Two marines, one each from HMS Alexander and HMS Lion, plus Private James O'Connor of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) regiment. The marine from HMS Alexander though wounded jumped into the sea to escape but drowned.

 The fate of the other two is shown by a letter dated 1st June 1800 from General Graham to General Fox: 

 By the 1st of February, Graham was reporting to General Fox:

 He moved the companies of the 89th which were at Luqa to Tarxien, as he felt that their sickness was being caused by the contaminated air from the marshes at the head of the harbour.

 To make a reconnoitre and inspection of the French fortifications Captain William Gordon of the Royal Engineers arrived on 25th February by HMS Perseus.

 General Fox was reluctant to send more troops to Malta in spite of Graham’s repeated requests. With insufficient men to plan an attack against the French, and no indication of further British troops arriving from Minorca, Graham proceeded with the plan of raising a regiment of Maltese Light Infantry, and in this endeavour was assisted by Admiral Lord Nelson, who appointed a Scotsman, Captain James Weir of the Marines, to command it.

Recruiting amongst the Maltese men was slow, from the beginning of April till the middle of May 1800 only four companies were formed, with another four in the process of being formed.

 Officers from the 30th and 89th regiments, were called upon to join since Weir did not have authority to appoint Maltese officers.

From the 30th, Lieutenants William E. Fitzthomas, Philip R. Bulkeley, and Peter Dumas promptly volunteered, as did Sergeant Major Peter Wallace, and Sergeant Robert Thompson. Lieutenant Archibald Campbell acted as Assistant Engineer, until his death on 19th August 1800. Assistant Surgeon P. Campbell of the 89th, also volunteered for the newly formed Corps.

A few weeks later they were later joined by Lieutenants Samuel Bircham and Richard Hare of the 30th, with Lieutenants Samuel Hale, Hamilton McGrath, Patrick Agnew, plus Ensigns William Cowell, and James Brickell of the 89th. By September 1800 Captain Clement Edwards and Lieutenant John Vicary of the 48th regiment were also serving with the Maltese regiment.

 Graham wrote to Sir William Hamilton, the British Ambassador at Naples on 19th May:

 By the summer of 1800 a fever was sweeping the island, and General Graham’s men began to be affected. Since the main hospital on Malta, the Sacra Infermeria, was located in Valletta, now occupied by the French, its facilities were denied to the British troops and Maltese civilian population. The two small hospitals in Rabat, the Saura and Santo Spirito were overwhelmed, so three churches plus a priory and seminary in Rabat were taken into use as temporary hospitals for the sick, as well as the house of Count A. Formosa de Fremaux at Zejtun.

 Graham himself started to have eye trouble which was to afflict him throughout the rest of his life. Ball wrote to him:

In May 1800, Sir Ralph Abercrombie had been appointed Supreme Commander of the British Military Forces in the Mediterranean, and after discussions with Admiral Lord Keith and Admiral Nelson in Leghorn, decided to send more British troops to Malta. He arrived in Minorca on 22nd June and the following day about 1,500 men of the 35th (Dorsetshire) regiment, as it was styled at that time, with some companies of the 48th (Northamptonshire) regiment, set sail for Malta on board HMS Stately and HMS Niger.

 The Stately also carried a small Royal Artillery detachment of two corporals and thirty gunners, as well as Major-General Henry Pigot who was to take over command of the troops on Malta. Sir Ralph himself arrived on the Seahorse, on the 17th July 1800, but after a few days he returned to Minorca.

In an effort to encourage more Maltese to join the Light Infantry regiment, General Graham issued the following stirring proclamation:

The companies of the 48th (Northamptonshire) regiment which had arrived on the Charon were disembarked on the 21st and marched to Gudja where they were quartered. Other companies of the 48th arrived from Leghorn shortly afterwards, on the 28th July, on board the ships Minotaur and Genereux, adding further strength to the besieging forces.

The British fleet continued the blockade of Valletta harbour to prevent supplies reaching the French garrison by sea, and on land they were completely surrounded by Maltese and British troops.

With food stocks running low, sickness spreading amongst his men, and with relief from France becoming unlikely, the French Commander, General Vaubois, who had been in control of Valletta since September 1798, sought a cessation of hostilities. On 5th September 1800 the Articles of Capitulation were signed between General Belgrand de Vaubois with Rear-Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve for the French and Major-General Henry Pigot with Captain George Martin, Royal Navy of HMS Northumberland.

A proud Captain Crosby Joseph Riddell, of the 35th (Dorsetshire) regiment wrote to his brother George, living in Berwick on Tweed, on the 6th September 1800 from Fort Tigne:

 On the same day the Kings Colour of the 35th regiment was flown from the ramparts of Valletta.

 Captain Clement Edwards of the 48th regiment recorded in his diary:

The Commander in Chief of the British Forces was anxious to see the several thousand French troops leave the island, since apart from the security point of view, it was a British responsibility to feed them. The main body of French soldiers were embarked on transport ships, and sailed on 8th September for Marseilles. About 200 Frenchmen were left behind on Manoel Island, but these followed shortly after.

With changed circumstances General Graham felt it necessary to apply for six months leave of absence, and left Malta on the 15th September, travelling to England via Sicily and Trieste. He had to relinquish the acting rank of Brigadier-General, and was to remain a Colonel for several more years.

He departed with the good wishes of the troops, as shown in letters sent to him by Lieut-Colonel John Oswald of the 35th, and Captain William Gordon, of Royal Engineers, both written on 4th October:

The new commander, Major-General Pigot did not have the same sympathetic approach to the Maltese, which caused some unrest, and led to strife with Captain Ball. There were divergent views as to which country should have authority over Malta, as well as the terms and conditions of the British military intervention.

In later years some writers have mentioned that there were around 20,000 Maltese fatalities during the period of the French occupation, which seems highly unlikely. Apart from Maltese killed as a result of fighting with the French, it is correct that there was a shortage of food, and an outbreak of fever, both of which would have led to the death of many civilians.

However a more reasonable figure can be estimated by an extract from a letter sent by Captain Ball to Lord Nelson dated 25th March 1800:

 The same year a senior British Army officer noted in his diary:

CHAPTER TWO

General Sir Ralph Abercrombie left England on 12th May 1800 on board the frigate Seahorse-38, accompanied by a fleet of troop transports and store ships, bound for the Mediterranean, but with the fluctuating military situation and shifting political alliances on the mainland of Europe, coupled with some dithering in London, the purpose of the expedition was changed several times over the next five months.

Plans for an invasion of Italy or southern France were finally dropped, and on the 24th October, whilst at Gibraltar that he received fresh instructions from London, which ordered him to assemble a force of about 15,000 infantry, and take them to a suitable port either on the islands of Cyprus, Crete, or Rhodes, or on the coast of Asia Minor; then in co-operation with the Sultan of Turkey’s forces, make a landing and recapture Egypt from Napoleon’s Army of the East. 

The Rt. Hon. Henry Dundas, the Secretary for War, informed him that there were an estimated 13,000 Frenchmen in Egypt, and that a further 5,000 British troops would arrive on the Eastern coast of Egypt from India, so that Napoleon’s military resources would be fully stretched.

Sir Ralph Abercrombie had with him Lieutenant Aeneas Anderson, of the 40th (2nd Somersetshire) regiment, who kept a comprehensive record of all events during this period, which he subsequently published in 1802.

Malta was selected as the assembly point, and the build up of ships and men began in the middle of November, and continued throughout the next few weeks.

The first to arrive were the 40th (2nd Somersetshire) regiment on board three ships, the Hector, Romulus and Charon. The impressive sight of the Valletta fortifications, and relief at setting foot on dry land again was felt by officers and men alike: 

An officer’s diary entry:

They were followed by the 27th (Inniskilling) regiment, of which many men had contracted severe illness during their five-month journey to the Mediterranean. The austere conditions endured on their transport ships applied to many of the other troops:- 

Sir Ralph Abercrombie with his suite arrived on the frigate Diadem, and upon coming ashore occupied the Palazzo Parisio, in Merchants Street, Valletta, the same quarters as used by Napoleon during his brief stay on Malta.

Shortly after, 211 officers and men of the 23rd (Royal Welch Fusiliers), on board the Heroine with a further 310 on the Astrea, arrived at Malta on 24th November 1800.

On the 26th, Admiral Lord Keith with the second large convoy from Minorca, came into port. Several regiments were fortunate enough to be disembarked, and move into barracks ashore, like the 23rd (Royal Welch Fusiliers) regiment, 28th (North Gloucestershire) regiment, 54th (West Norfolk) regiment, 79th regiment, 90th Perthshire regiment, whilst the transport ships were cleaned, surveyed, and repairs carried out.

The men were marched to their barracks in Floriana, Valletta, and Cottonera, as well as Forts Ricasoli, Tigne, St.Angelo and Manoel, whilst many of the officers were accommodated in the private houses of wealthy Maltese.

The 79th regiment, Cameron Highlanders, were quartered just outside Valletta on the road leading to Floriana, and their numbers were boosted by the addition of 279 volunteers from the Highland Fencible Corps.

However, others were not so lucky, the 92nd (Highland) regiment, 8th (The King’s Regiment) had to remain on board their ships, but were put ashore for exercise as often as possible. At least they benefited from the availability of fresh provisions, so their general health improved.

On the 27th November, watched by a large number of eager spectators, Sir Ralph inspected the men of the 30th regiment, 48th regiment, and the 2nd battalion 35th regiment, on the Floriana parade ground.  

He expressed his satisfaction with all the men, but singled out the 30th regiment for special praise.

The accumulation of men and materials grew with the arrival of the 1st Royal Regiment, 2nd Queen’s Royal Regiment, 13th (1st Somersetshire) Regiment, 18th (The Royal Irish) Regiment, 42nd (The Royal Highland) Regiment, 50th (West Kent) Regiment, 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment, plus Foreign regiments in British pay.

During the next four weeks the Commander-in-Chief spent nearly every morning, inspecting and preparing the men of the newly arrived regiments for the forthcoming expedition, then from noon till 3 p.m. gave audiences to his officers, and transacted other army business. 

Fitness was essential since besides his musket, each man was expected to carry 60 rounds ball cartridge, 2 spare flints, 3 days bread, 3 days cooked pork, a canteen full of water, two shirts, one pair of shoes, two pairs of socks, and a blanket.

There had recently been some changes to the arms and equipment of infantry regiments. The old firelock was withdrawn and replaced by a flint musket which together with its bayonet weighed 11 lbs. 4 oz. Sergeants carried a type of pike, called a spontoon. It was a 9 feet long ash pole, topped with a metal spearhead almost 13” long, and a metal cross bar to prevent the point penetrating too deeply.    

Meanwhile, on 10th December 1800 Sir Ralph Abercrombie appointed General Pigot as the supreme authority in Malta, which led to conflict with Captain Alexander Ball who had administered Malta on behalf of Britain since the 9th February 1799. This friction between Pigot and Ball continued until Ball relinquished his position on the island and rejoined his ship HMS Alexander, on 19th February 1801.

In a letter dated 9th December, sent to the Right Hon. Henry Dundas in London, Abercrombie said:

Ball clearly unhappy at this arrangement wrote to his friend Admiral Lord Nelson:

Whilst Abercrombie was engaged in organising the Army, his colleague Admiral Lord Keith was actively preparing the fleet.

The supply of vegetables, fruit, poultry, fish, etc., was sought by the British, which the local Maltese tradesmen found attractive since the prices rose higher and higher, and the British paid without murmur. Large numbers of local men were employed by the Royal Navy in the dockyard, and on the numerous vessels anchored in the harbours.

Apart from the infantry there was a small detachment of the fledgling Corps of Military Artificers, 30 men, with Sergeant John McArthur, under the command of Captain Alexander Bryce, Royal Engineers.  

With all the regiments assembled, final preparations prior to embarkation were put in hand.

The return for 10th December 1800 was as follows:

Not included in this table was a battalion of 800 men of the Maltese Pioneers.

The 40th (2nd Somersetshire) regiment was composed of volunteers from the Militia who were to serve only in Europe, and could not be employed overseas. Sir Ralph was very anxious to take Colonel Spencer with him, so only the flank companies of both battalions were included, after they had agreed to serve.

On 19th December, all Army officers were ordered to board their ships, and were not allowed ashore again since the fleet was about to sail.

Early next morning, a signal gun was fired for the remaining officers to go on board, and the vast armada started leaving the harbour.

An officer disappointed at being left behind at Malta wrote:

It was a truly awe inspiring sight as the fleet of twenty sail-of-the-line, twenty seven frigates, and eighty four transports, got underway. 

By five o’clock in the afternoon all the ships were clear of the harbour and sailing eastwards. 

The destination was Marmorice Bay, Latitude 36’ 52’’ N, Longitude 28’ 31’’ E, about forty miles north of the island of Rhodes, on the Turkish coast, where provisions were to be obtained, and final training to take place prior to the attack on Egypt.

CHAPTER THREE

After a month of frenetic activity, those engaged in supplies and shipping was still very busy, but life for the soldiers left behind on Malta calmed down, and normal garrison duties were undertaken.

The garrison of British troops now consisted of the 1st and 2nd battalions 35th (Dorsetshire) regiment, the 1st battalion and three companies of the 2nd battalion 27th (Inniskilling) regiment, the 48th (Northamptonshire) regiment, 1st and 2nd battalions 40th (2nd Somersetshire) regiment, plus about 300 men of the Royal Artillery. A total of 220 officers, 231 sergeants, 99 drummers, and 4252 rank and file fit for duty.

Though willing to be included in the Egyptian expedition, the men of the 27th regiment were left behind as they were considered to be unfit resulting from the harsh conditions they endured on their journey from England. In the 1st battalion 327 men were fit for duty with 406 reported as sick, and of the 2nd battalion 104 were fit with 137 sick.

The other troops composing the garrison were the Maltese Corps with about 700 men, plus the Neapolitan infantry of about 600 men, and 130 men of the Neapolitan artillery.

Situated in the Strada Forni, Valletta, was a large public bakery, originally built by the Knights of Jerusalem. As well as having a large work force, 150 horses were constantly engaged grinding wheat for daily use. Each soldier in the garrison received a 2lb loaf, every second day, from this bakehouse. The Commissariat provided each regiment with a cart to collect the bread and deliver it to their various barracks. 

In 1801 the celebrations for Queen Charlotte’s birthday were held over until the 19th January since the 18th was a Sunday.

The British colours were displayed on all the Forts, with the Royal Standard on Fort St.Elmo and The Palace. At Noon all troops were drawn up on the walls of their cantonments:

General Pigot made the day a ‘Festival of Mercy’ by ordering the release of all prisoners and a general remission to all men under sentences from court martials. Similarly, commanding officers of all the regiments cleared their guardrooms and confinements of offenders.

Throughout the evening, the front of the Palace and Main Guard were illuminated and a Grand Ball with supper was given by General Pigot to all officers of the Army and Navy, and eminent Maltese. 

On St.Patrick’s Day, March 17th 1801, to celebrate the recent union of Great Britain with Ireland, the new Imperial Ensign was displayed from all towers, forts and cavaliers on the island. The troops were drawn up in front of the Palace, and at 10 o’clock as the Royal Standard and the Imperial Standard were raised, the men presented arms, officers saluted and the band played ‘God Save the King’. A Royal Salute was fired from the Saluting Battery.

Major-General Pigot gave a dinner to all officers in the garrison. This was followed, in the evening by a ball, to which a number of distinguished Maltese were invited.

The military duties were carried on with great strictness and guard mounting was a regular obligation. There were two fixed Field days per week, frequently attended by General Pigot, or his deputy General Moncrief.

The frigate Flora moored in Marsamuscetto harbour on 9th April 1801, bringing news of the British success in Egypt, but the excitement was dampened by the sadness felt when it was known that the ship also conveyed the body of Sir Ralph Abercrombie who had died from his wounds received in action.  

Quarantine restrictions were enforced, and on the 28th April General Pigot issued the following order giving detailed instructions:

The following day, Wednesday 29th April 1801, at two o’clock, the great gate of the Palace opened and the funeral procession emerged. The coffin was on a Gun carriage drawn by artillerymen, and was preceded by a guard with arms reversed, four six-pound guns and two ammunition wagons, also drawn by artillerymen.

The bands of the 40th and 35th regiments with drums muffled playing a solemn dirge. They were followed by the Guard consisting of the flank companies of the 35th regiment, the Senior Field Officer with Arms reversed, and the band of the 48th regiment.

Lieut-Colonel Dyer, Aide de Camp, and the Garrison chaplain Dr.Pargeter came next, in front of the Gun carriage bearing the coffin, which was flanked by the Pall Bearers, Lieut-Colonels Clay, Kemmis and Browne of the 40th, Lieut-Colonels Baylis, Brown and Oswald of the 35th, Lieut-Colonel Bentham, Royal Artillery and Lieut-Colonel Gordon of the 48th regiment.

Following the coffin came Major-General Pigot, Brigadier-General Moncrief,  Major-General Villettes, a grey horse fully caparisoned and covered with black, and the servants of the late General Abercrombie.

Officers from the Maltese Militia, the Maltese Light Infantry, and the Neapolitan battalion, together with officers from every British regiment in the garrison, as well as, the Royal Navy, Commissariat staff, Medical, Garrison and General Military staff also took part, the Maltese people were represented by principal members of the Civil Government.

A sepulchre had been excavated in the rock on St.John's Bastion at St.Elmo, into which the coffin was placed. From the time that the procession left the Palace until the interment, minute guns were fired from the Cavalier Bastions of Valletta, and by ships of the Royal Navy in the harbour.

A black marble tablet records his career in Latin, which translated reads:

A more personal remembrance was recorded by a senior Army officer:

Later a large memorial to General Abercrombie was placed in St.Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Whilst the British were engaged in increasing their forces in the Mediterranean area, the French signed an armistice with the Neapolitan Government in February, followed by a Treaty at Florence on 28th March 1801, which called for the removal of Neapolitan troops from Malta, so taking away an ally from the British. 

This measure was put into operation by an Order issued on 4th May,

There were about 100 men of the Neapolitan Artillery, and 665 Infantry under the command of Colonel Fardella, when they actually left on the 6th and received a tribute from Major-General Pigot, thanking them for their services.

General Pigot left Malta himself, shortly after, on board the frigate Santa Teresa in May 1801, and a few days later his replacement General Henry Fox arrived on HMS Harlaem.

After the successful landings at Aboukir Bay, on 8th March 1801, additional regiments were sent out to join the British army in Egypt, so the harbour and dockyard facilities at Malta were kept constantly employed.

The 26th (Cameronian) Regiment, under Lord Elphinstone, sailed from Portsmouth on board the Madras-54 and called briefly at Malta. The 25th (Sussex) Regiment, as it was known at that time, was on board the Agincourt-64, as was Brigadier-General Graham, so during a short stay at Malta on 1st July, he had the opportunity of a reunion with his friends and colleagues, before sailing on to Egypt where they arrived on 9th July

The 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment left Exeter, under the command of Lieut-Colonel John Randall Forster, and marched to Plymouth where they embarked on 4th June 1801. They touched Malta en route, and arrived at the beginning of July.

Although most of the men of the 20th (East Devonshire) regiment had not engaged for service outside Europe, they volunteered for Egypt and the two battalions left Minorca in 1801 under their respective Senior officers, Lieut-Colonel Smyth and Lieut-Colonel Ross, and disembarked at Aboukir Bay on 17th July.

To boost the morale of the men, a passenger on the frigate Minerva, noted:

As Abercrombie had been told, the British planned to attack Napoleon's troops from two sides, so the 10th (North Lincoln) Regiment, with detachments of the 80th (Staffordshire Volunteers), the 86th Regiment, and 88th (Connaught Rangers) Regiment, plus Bengal Volunteers, Bombay Native Infantry, and Artillery, were ordered to leave India with General Baird, and sail up the Red Sea to the port of Cosseir. This force numbered about 2,000 British and 2,600 Indian troops.

They were joined in February 1801 by four companies the 61st (South Gloucestershire) regiment from the Cape of Good Hope, followed on 30th March by the remaining six companies under the command of Lieut-Colonel Carruthers, a total of just over 900 men.

 From Cosseir (Quseir) the assembled troops set off on the 15th June 1801 on a remarkable 140-mile march across the desert to Kenna (Qena) on the banks of the Nile. This dramatic and arduous journey took them ten days. 

After being in the garrison for six months the overall health of the 27th regiment had improved sufficiently for them to join the British troops, and they sailed from Malta with a convoy of store ships which was en route from England to Egypt in May 1801. 

Whilst the Egyptian conflict was in progress, the British Government acted upon advice it had received and decided to appoint a Civil Commissioner for Malta. Mr. Charles Cameron was nominated for the post on the 14th May and arrived to take up his duties in early July 1801.

Although the British Government had issued clear orders that Maltese law would be applied to non-Maltese, General Pigot asserted that in the case of soldiers, whether they committed a civil or military crime, British law would be paramount.

So it was to be on 19th August 1801 when a Court Martial was convened at the Palace, Valletta, to try Private John Allary, of the 2nd battalion, 40th regiment on a charge murdering a Maltese civilian, Salvatore Zammit. Allary was acquitted on the grounds of insufficient evidence, but the Court took the view that there was a strong presumption of his being guilty. This feeling was discernible when the officers of the garrison raised a subscription for the Maltese widow. Allary later appeared before a Garrison Court Martial, where he was found Guilty of riotous behaviour and assaulting some Maltese civilians, for which he received a sentence of six hundred lashes.

The Malta garrison was reinforced by the arrival of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment, from the Gibraltar garrison at the end of 1801. Once there it was joined by Lieut-Colonel David Boswell, who took command, and 340 limited service men from England. Lieutenant Stopford Sydney Cosby of the 63rd was immediately attached to the Maltese corps.

At this time a detachment from the 35th regiment, consisting of 150 men, commanded by Captain Fitzgerald, were stationed on Gozo.

With the capitulation of the French Army in Egypt in September 1801, the mass evacuation of the British troops started the following month. Nearly all went to Malta as the first stop on their journey to Gibraltar, England or Ireland.

The 89th left Egypt on the 10th September 1801, aboard the Minotaur and Northumberland destined for Corfu, but both vessels were damaged off Candia, and had to be diverted to Malta for repairs, before continuing their voyage to Gibraltar. 

On 19th October the 23rd (Royal Welch Fusiliers) Regiment docked at Malta, on board HMS Renommee and the frigate Modeste, and sailed again on 15th November for Ireland. 

The 92nd (Highland) Regiment also arrived on the 19th October, though only some of the men had a brief spell on land, since they also sailed on 15th November bound for Ireland. Captain Cameron of the 92nd said that two thirds of the men only spoke Gaelic, and the breakdown by origin showed about seventy percent Highlanders, twenty percent Lowlanders, and the other ten percent a mixture of English and Irish.

Since they were to join the Malta garrison, the 90th Perthshire Volunteers disembarked from the Europa on the 9th October 1801, and took up quarters in Fort Manoel.

The 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment left Egypt and returned to Malta in the same month, their strength was reported as 32 officers, 33 sergeants, 20 drummers, 319 rank and file fit for duty, 43 sick present, and 25 sick left in Egypt. They also disembarked and joined the Malta garrison, as did both battalions of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment.

The four flank companies of the 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment, arrived shortly after, and were once again united with the two battalions stationed on Malta, where they continued to serve.

The men from Egypt recounted Colonel Spencer's actions at Aboukir Bay, which has since become a regimental legend. After he had leapt onto the beach at the head of his men, a French soldier ran out from behind some sand dunes, came within a very short distance, raised his musket and took deliberate aim. The Colonel, his eyes flashing ferociously, immediately raised his cane, as he had not yet drawn his sword, and shaking it at the Frenchman shouted out in a thunderous voice "Oh, you scoundrel !" This unnerved the French soldier, who immediately shouldered his musket and ran off back behind the sand dunes.

Ophthalmia was very prevalent in Egypt and all the regiments suffered to some degree, but the 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment was affected more than most. The severity can be judged by the return for October which shows, 342 Officers and Men as sick, and only 253 Officers and Men fit for duty. They returned to Malta during November and also became part of the garrison.

The 18th (The Royal Irish), 42nd (The Royal Highland) and 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiments arrived at Malta during October 1801, and the men were put ashore, but all three regiments left during the following month.

The 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment on board the vessels Druid, Winchelsea, Blonde, docked in October but were at Malta for less than four weeks. They sailed for Portsmouth and arrived there on Christmas Day 1801.

The men of the 25th (Sussex) Regiment left Egypt during November and called at Malta on their way to Gibraltar.

In November the 50th (West Kent) Regiment arrived for a brief stay.  Due to the ravages in their ranks caused by ophthalmia whilst in Egypt, the regiment received one of its nicknames, the "blind half hundred". They departed in January 1802. 

The 2nd battalion 1st Royal Regiment, with the 44th (East Essex) Regiment left Egypt in November 1801, and after a short stopover left Malta in January 1802.

The return for November 1801 shows the following regiments present on the island:

During November 1801 the 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment received orders to prepare for departure. On 26th November 1801, the 1st Battalion embarked on board the Harlem. Five companies of the 2nd Battalion embarked on the frigate Ennis, with Lieut-Colonel Clay, and it was observed that at least one third of the men were drunk. The remainder of the battalion were on board the troop transport Charon with Lieut-Colonel Kemmis.

The 79th (Cameronian Volunteers) embarked at the same time, also on board the Charon, and though all the ships cleared the harbour on the 28th, they had to shelter off the island till next morning when the rest of the convoy joined them, and they all sailed for Minorca.

In December 1801, the 8th (The King’s Regiment) left Egypt, and called at Malta on their journey to Gibraltar.

Both battalions of the 54th (West Norfolk) Regiment halted briefly at Malta in January 1802. The 1st battalion was kept on board ship, and sailed on 16th January for Gibraltar, with the 2nd battalion following a month later.

The greater part of the 20th (East Devonshire) Regiment had a pleasant three-week return voyage anchoring in Malta on 6th December, but two companies on board the Madras were nearly lost. The ship sprang a leak and it was only due to the pumps being continuously manned 24 hours a day for two weeks by the crew and troops on board that it arrived at Malta, where it was found to have about seven feet of water in the hold.

Since they were ordered for garrison duty at Malta, on disembarkation, the 1st battalion 20th regiment commanded by Lieut-Colonel George Smyth went into quarters at Vittoriosa, and 2nd battalion under Lieut-Colonel David Clephane to Isola Barracks. Shortly after arriving in Malta eighty men were sent to England suffering from ophthalmia which they had contracted in Egypt, since they were classified as irretrievably blind.

On 13th January 1802 the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment embarked for England under the command of Lieut-Colonel William Lockhart, but Lieutenant Samuel Bircham, Sergeant Major Wallace and Sergeant Thompson remained behind to continue serving with the Maltese regiment.

The 13th (1st Somersetshire) Regiment arrived at Malta on 11th February 1802, with many men suffering from ophthalmia and dysentery. Since they were to join the Malta garrison, they disembarked and went into quarters at Floriana Barracks.

After being on the island for four months, the 90th regiment embarked on 25th February 1802, on board the frigate Alexandria and the transports Orpheus and Ranger for England, eventually arriving at Chatham on 15th April after a rough and long voyage. Also in February 1802, after a three-month stay, the 24th regiment left Malta.

From the Royal Artillery, R. Evan’s Company and G. Salmon’s Company left Malta in July 1802.

CHAPTER FOUR

The regiments that were to remain at Malta settled down to the discipline of garrison life, and also did their utmost to rebuild the health of their men after the arduous conditions experienced in Egypt.  

This is shown by Colonel Rowland Hill, when he issued the following Regimental Order to the 90th Perthshire Volunteers on 27th October 1801:

Apart from smartness in appearance, Colonel Hill also encouraged camaraderie and education amongst the non-commissioned officers and privates of his regiment, the 90th, as demonstrated by the regimental order of 17th November 1801:

To commemorate their actions in the liberation of Egypt from Napoleon’s troops, medals were presented by the grateful Sultan of Turkey, and were distributed at Malta to the British officers by Lord Hutchinson. General and Field officers received a large gold medal worn with an orange ribbon, Captains and Subalterns were given a smaller medal of the same materials.

On the 23rd December Sir John Hely Hutchinson, who had taken over command of the troops in Egypt on the death of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, was invested with the Order of the Bath, by Admiral Lord Keith, at the Palace in Valletta.

Men of the Grenadier and Light Infantry Companies of the various regiments composing the Malta garrison lined the staircase, with regimental bands stationed in front of and within the Palace. The ceremony took place in one of the largest rooms, at the end of which a throne of crimson velvet and gold was erected. Lord Keith officiated in place of His Majesty, and was superbly dressed in a rich bejewelled uniform, with a diamond aigrette in his hat.

Mr. Cameron, the Civil Commissioner, carried the Sword of State, and General Villettes the Badge and Ribbon on an exquisite cushion. Post Captains of the Royal Navy in full dress uniform represented the Knights of the Bath.

The religious needs of the British forces were cared for by the Reverend David Peloquin Cosserat, who had been with the army in Egypt. He arrived on the frigate Vestal on 9th December 1801, and was appointed Chaplain to the Forces at Malta. The records of births, deaths and marriages were kept by each individual chaplain who performed the ceremony, in contrast to the system of parish registers which was the normal procedure in England. He was also called upon to hold Sunday services. There were no Protestant churches on Malta, so a room in the Palace at Valletta was adapted for services, whilst in the Cottonera district the services were held in the open air.

Initially based in Vittoriosa, he carried out his first baptism on Christmas Day 1801, when William Dixon, the son of Sarah and Sergeant John Dixon, of the 48th Regiment, was christened. 

Amongst the funerals that he conducted early in his new position, was that of the long serving Drum Major of the 48th (Northamptonshire) regiment, Daniel Long, on the 3rd February 1802.

He officiated at many marriages including that of Ann Dady to John Pike, a Sergeant in the 1st battalion, of the 35th (Dorsetshire) Regiment on 21st May 1802, but sadly nineteen months later she died. Her tombstone is still in good condition, and can be seen in the Pieta Military Cemetery. She was only 24 years old, as poignantly expressed by her epitaph

"My life was short, the longer is my rest,

God took me home because he thought it best"

By March 1802 the Malta garrison was composed of the two battalions each of the 20th (East Devonshire), 27th (Inniskilling) and 35th (Dorsetshire) Regiments, the 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment, the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment, and the newly arrived 13th (1st Somersetshire) Regiment.

A report of St.Patricks day, 17th March 1802, said:

The structure of the Army establishment on Malta in place by April 1802 was:

Commander of Forces in the Mediterranean:    General the Hon. Henry Fox

Aide de Camp:   Captain Harcourt, 20th regiment

Aide de Camp:   Lieutenant N.J. Green, 5th regiment

Aide de Camp:   Lieutenant John Fox Burgoyne, Royal Engineers

Assistant Adjutant General:   Major Phillips, 44th regiment

Assistant Adjutant General:   Major William Gifford, 26th regiment

Assistant Adjutant General’s Dept:   Lieutenant N. Craig, 30th regiment

Military Secretary:   Major J. Brace

Deputy Quarter Master General:   Lieut-Colonel George Airey, 8th regiment 

Assistant Quarter Master General:   Captain Vivion, Royal Artillery

Sub.Assistant Quarter Master General:   Lieutenant Philpott, 35th regiment

Assistant Deputy Quarter Master General:   Captain McLean, 92nd regiment

Assistant Deputy Quarter Master General:   Lieut. Pierrepoint, 20th regiment

Storekeeper Quarter Master’s Department:   Lieut. McKensey, 42nd regiment

Storekeeper to Quarter Master General:   Richard Walker, Royal Artillery

Assistant Paymaster General:   Captain William Brooke, 48th regiment

Deputy Judge Advocate General:   Captain Hudson Lowe, Corsican Rangers

Brigade Major:   Lieutenant Sutton, Queen’s German regiment

Brigade Major:   W.H. Bunbury, 1st Battalion, 35th regiment

Chaplain to the Forces:   Reverend David Cosseratt

Military Staff Malta Garrison:   Major-General W.A.Villettes

Military Staff Malta Garrison:   Brigadier-General J.Doyle

Aide de Camp to Maj-General Villettes:   Captain Hamill, 40th regiment

Superintendent of the Coast:   Captain Vivion, Royal Artillery

Town Major:   Captain Morrison 40th regiment

Town Major:   Captain Manoury, 35th regiment

Town Adjutant:   Richard Williams, 35th regiment

Port Sergeant:   Cornelius Tully, 30th regiment

Key Sergeant of Cottonera:   J. Davis, 35th regiment

Provost Sergeant:   William Hague, 35th regiment

Medical Staff  

Senior Assistant Inspector:   Dr. William Franklin

Assistant Senior Assistant Inspector:   Mr. Baillie

Field Inspector:   Ralph Green

Surgeon to the Forces:   Abraham Bolton

Surgeon to the Forces:   Robert Grieves

Surgeon to the Forces:   Edward Tegart

Apothecary:   Joseph Thomas

Purveyor:   Dr. Dickson

Deputy Purveyor:   John Kemp

Deputy Purveyor:   Joseph Gunson

Hospital Mate:   William Reynolds

Hospital Mate:   Clement Banks

Hospital Mate:   William Iliff

Hospital Mate:   Joseph Dyneley

Hospital Mate:   Edmund Starkie

Hospital Mate:   Edmund Elliott

Hospital Mate:   Samuel Peacock

Hospital Mate:   Samuel Howell

Hospital Mate:   Isaac Silcock

Hospital Mate:   J.W. Robins

Hospital Mate:   J.W. Dakins

Rumour that a duel was in the offing rapidly spread throughout the British civilian residents and military officers alike, with a mixture of disbelief and alarm.

It resulted in Lieut-Colonel Baylis of the 2nd battalion the 35th regiment standing trial by Court-Martial, on Tuesday 18th May 1802 charged with:

Lieut-Colonel Baylis pleaded Not Guilty, and the prosecution opened with the reading of a sworn statement made by Captain Newman on 7th May, witnessed by Lieut-Colonel Robert Ross and Adjutant Lieutenant South, both of the 20th regiment.

Asked if he had said anything to Lieut-Col.Baylis, Newman answered:

The lady involved, Mary Mount, was called to give evidence and corroborated Newman’s statement of events, and added that the officer accompanying Lieut-Col.Baylis was Mr.Pick of the 35th regiment, who parted the two men.

Mr.Pick was the next witness, and claimed that he did not hear most of the words spoken by either man, until he heard Newman say “What do you mean Sir”, and raised his arm, to which Baylis replied “I mean this Sir” and struck out with his cane. After striking Newman several times, Baylis called out to him “If you are a man draw your sword” to which Captain Newman replied “I know my duty better” and on that they parted.

It was established that later Newman's second called on Baylis and arranged for a duel to take place the following morning.

The final witness to give evidence on the 18th was Private John Oakes, servant of Lieut-Col.Baylis.  He described to the court the sequence of events involved in the  preparation for the duel on the morning, 4th May 1802, and the duel itself.

When the court resumed on the Wednesday the 19th, Private John Cochrane of the 48th regiment gave evidence.  He had been on guard duty at Fort Salvatore that morning, and heard two pistol shots. He climbed onto a wall to see what it was about, and saw a man lying on the ground.  Lieut-Col.Baylis called out to him to bring some water, but Cochrane replied that he could not do so as he was on sentry duty.

Dr.William Franklin, Assistant Inspector General of Hospitals, and Edward Tegart, Surgeon to the Forces, testified that they had attended to Newman whilst he was wounded. Also, when the body was opened after his death, they found a pistol ball which had passed through the posterior part of the thorax and lungs, had fractured a rib, and lodged between the sixth and seventh vertebrae, and in their opinion was the cause of death.

With their evidence the prosecution case was concluded.

On Friday the 21st, the defence opened.  The prisoner presented a written paper to the court, saying how regretful the whole episode had been, and that he had been on very good terms with Newman.  He then refers to the lady:

His written statement then went on with his account of the encounter with Captain Newman and Mary Mount, and at its conclusion he called Mary Mount to give evidence.

Lieut-Col.Baylis asked her whether she had sent him a message about the 27th April, expressing her wish for him to obtain a passage for her to England, which she confirmed.

Two of Mary Mount’s female friends were then called to testify. Mrs. Anne Eaton, the wife of Private William Eaton of the 35th, confirmed that she had taken the message to Lieut-Colonel Baylis, and added “She was determined not to stop with Captain Newman; she was not happy.”

Mary Trumble stated “She said she was miserable and she was not sure of Captain Newman and she would not be long together, she gave no reason for it”

 Lieutenant Peter Robinson, of the 20th regiment, told the court that on or about the 9th March he had gone to Lieut-Colonel Baylis’s quarters with Captain Newman to witness a settlement made on the part of Captain Newman to Mary Mount.

To end his defence, the prisoner called H.E. General the Hon. Henry Fox, and Brig-General Doyle to give testimony as to his character.  After hearing from these two high ranking officers the court adjourned.

When it resumed at 10.30 a.m. on Saturday 22nd, a verdict of Not Guilty to the charge of Wilful Murder was announced, but the court added:

The findings of the court martial were returned from England, with the following remarks attached:

The Reverend Cosserat conducted Captain Newman’s funeral on the 14th May, but General Fox had refused to sanction a burial with military honours.

CHAPTER FIVE

Alarm quickly spread throughout the civilian population of Malta when they learnt that a treaty signed between Great Britain and France on 1st October 1801, included a clause confirming that the island would be handed back to the Order of St.John of Jerusalem.

The mass of the Maltese were very much attached to the British. Their animosity to the French was fully shown during the blockade, which for a considerable time they carried on without any assistance whatsoever. The British forces that ultimately were employed could not have forced the French garrison to surrender. The gallantry and perseverance of the Maltese, which they kept up over the two-year period, was a major factor.

The Maltese were naturally very anxious to know what would be their fate in the event of a Peace treaty being concluded between Great Britain and France, and with this in mind a deputation of Maltese, comprising Marquis Mario Testaferrata, Filippo Castagna, Don Emanuele Ricaud, Don Pietro Mallia, Michele Cashia, and Antonio Mallia accompanied by Antonio Casolani and Eugenio Formosa, arrived in London on 1st February 1802. Their mission was to overturn this proposal, and seek the protection of Great Britain. 

The Peace Treaty of Amiens was signed on the 25th March 1802, which in Article X concerned Malta. There were thirteen stipulations to this Article, and those relating to the military are given in the following extracts:

It was ratified by the British and French in Paris on the 18th April 1802, and the British proceeded to put it into practice without delay, as shown by a letter dated 30th April sent by Lord Hobart to General Fox:

In accordance with the Amiens treaty, each country sent a representative to Malta, the ideal choice for the British was Sir Alexander John Ball, and he was appointed to be His Majesty’s Plenipotentiary to the Order of St.John.

On Saturday July 10th it was reported that:

In 1802 by a plebiscite Napoleon was made First Consul of France for life. He considered the Treaty of Amiens a success. In Britain the peace was welcomed by the Government and people alike. To save money the armed forces were immediately reduced. The number of men in the army was cut by about fifty percent, whilst the navy shed about 40,000 sailors. Hundreds of officers from both services were placed on half pay.

By contrast Napoleon maintained his full army, and implemented an ambitious programme of building twenty-five battle ships per year.

The officers and men in the Malta garrison were affected by the imposed cuts in manpower, which meant that the 20th, 27th, 35th and 48th regiments had their 2nd battalions disbanded, so each became a single battalion regiment. Short service men were released and returned to England, whilst the others were transferred to the first battalion

When the second battalion of the 20th (East Devonshire) regiment was disbanded in September 1802, Lieut-Colonel Robert Ross, took full command of the regiment, and presented it with new colours. Lieut-Colonel Smyth formerly of the second battalion, left the regiment and joined the 82nd (Prince of Wales's) regiment on 14th November 1802. Prior to his departure from Malta he was presented with a sword by Lieut-Colonel Ross on behalf of the officers as an appreciation of his services with them.

The monthly return for December 1802 shows:

                             Sergeants       Drummers       Rank & File       Sick

13th Regiment              33                   22                   531              50

20th Regiment              43                   22                  729             128

27th Regiment              43                    22                  920              88

35th Regiment              43                    22                  972              67

48th Regiment               21                    14                   220              49

63rd Regiment               21                    14                   197              20

Officers awaiting transport to England for reduction from the 20th were, Major Pawlett, Captains Thomas Ayler, Maxwell Close and Thomas Hunter, Lieutenants Alexander Rose, Joseph Hitchen, M.Cuthbert, William Adams, with Adjutant Robert Hodgson, Quartermaster James Robinson, Paymaster George Robertson, and Surgeon Archibald Arnott.

Leaving the 27th were, Captains Henry Standish, Jonathan Payne, James Wilson, S.Rawlins, William Corles, Jonathan Giles, Lieutenants Matthew Townes, William Wainwright, G.Foster, William Pratt, Richard Moore, Hon.W.Butler, ... Carey, J.P.Walker, Jonathan Tucker, Edward Lipscomb, Jonathan Smith, plus Ensigns, Jonathan Heatly, James O’Brien, and Edward Fitzgerald. Accompanied by Paymaster Jonathan Aldrich, Quartermaster Richard Marriott, Surgeon Thomas Collett, and Assistant Surgeons S.Jones and Richard Gibbons.    

Those from the 35th were, Major Stickland, Captains Money, Cheyne, Fowden, Wilkie, Lieutenants Irwin, Betenson, Beard, Hair, McLeane, Daley, Wood, Jackson, and Armstrong. With Paymaster Craig, Quartermaster Steele, Surgeon Thorn and Assistant Surgeon Peach. The whole group departed from Malta during December.

As 1802 progressed Napoleon broke many of the conditions of the Amiens Treaty, without any response from Britain, but when he insisted that Britain evacuate Malta, as called for by the treaty, and hand it back to the Order of St.John, they refused. The British maintained that the safeguards called for by the treaty were not in place.

On 17th October, Major-General Villettes, the officer then in command of the British troops on Malta, was sent a top-secret letter from Lord Hobart in London, which told him:

There were changes in the composition of the Malta garrison during the first half of 1803. The 13th regiment under the command of Brevet Lieut-Colonel George Kinnaird Dana, left their barracks in Floriana on the 3rd March 1803 and embarked for Gibraltar, but were soon replaced by the 61st regiment.

The bulk of the British troops had left Egypt by the end of 1801, but the 10th (North Lincoln) and 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiments remained there, encamped near Alexandria.  An outbreak of the plague in 1803 made it essential to leave quickly. They sailed on 7th March, but as an added precaution to prevent the disease being introduced to the island, they were detained in quarantine on board ship off Malta for six weeks. The 61st landed and joined the Malta garrison, whilst the 10th continued their voyage to Gibraltar.

In May, the 48th and 63rd regiments embarked on the transport ships Zephyr and Fame, and sailed on the 5th for duty in England and Ireland.

With growing concern of a possible renewed conflict with the French, it was essential that the men were kept physically fit and well trained. Lieut-Colonel Robert Ross of the 20th would frequently take his men out into the Maltese countryside for exercises, from five o'clock in the morning, till about one o'clock, or even later in the better weather.  The fields in Malta being small and generally enclosed by stone walls about three feet high, were the ideal terrain for all the men to receive tuition as light infantry.

On 30th January 1803, Napoleon published a report about Egypt in his official journal, the “Moniteur” written by a Colonel Sebastiani, in which he stated that the Arabs, Greeks and Marmelukes were looking for freedom from Turkish rule, and that since the weak and disorganised British troops were leaving, the country was ready to be re-taken by the French.

He harangued the British ambassador, Lord Whitworth, blaming Britain for the mistrust between the two countries. However, the British government was now convinced that war was inevitable, and that in spite of the diplomatic moves he was making, Napoleon was only playing for time. They would not yield up Malta.

By April 4th the British government, angered by the delays and evasions of their proposals, made it quite clear that they would not evacuate Malta, and increased their demands, by requiring Napoleon to withdraw from the European territory he had acquired in violation of the terms of the Amiens treaty. 

On 23rd April, the Cabinet sent Lord Whitworth final instructions. Ten years was to be the minimum term for the British to lease Malta, plus the other conditions already tabled. If these conditions were not acceptable then as British ambassador he was to leave Paris within seven days. The French countered that sovereignty of Malta should pass to Russia after Britain’s tenure, but this was not acceptable.

The British government was not prepared to allow Napoleon to continue dragging his feet, and on 16th May 1803 declared war on France. Recruitment for the army and navy was put in hand.

Lord Hobart, the British Secretary for War, informed Ball by a letter dated 16th May 1803, that the Neapolitan troops should withdraw immediately from Malta, and that the French General Vial, who was their Plenipotentiary to the Order of St.John, with other members of the French Mission, should also quit the island. 

It also officially installed Ball as Civil Commissioner in place of Cameron, with the salary of £ 2,000 per annum, and continued:

The Army authorities on Malta were concerned at the small number of British infantrymen in the garrison, as expressed by Major-General Villettes in his letter of 26th May to London.

He had a total of 10 Field Officers, 27 Captains, 89 Subalterns, 27 Staff, 230 Sergeants, 109 Drummers, and 4542 Rank & File, under his command, serving in the Royal Artillery, 20th regiment, 27th regiment, 35th regiment, 61st regiment, and Watteville’s regiment.

Even though there was a shortage of manpower, it was necessary to provide some men for the defence of the neighbouring island of Gozo, and a detachment from the 20th Regiment, under the command of Captain James Bent was stationed there.

During 1802 the Maltese Light Infantry had been disbanded, but many men re-enlisted in the Maltese Provincial Battalions which were raised shortly afterwards, as called for by Paragraph 5 of Article X of the Amiens Treaty.  This new Corps was composed entirely of Maltese citizens but recruiting was slow, as Governor Ball reported:

His intervention proved successful, as by October 1803 the two battalions of the Maltese Provincial Corps had a total strength of approximately 1,000 men.

With the return of war, Lord Nelson was made Commander in Chief of the British naval forces in the Mediterranean. He visited Malta on 15th June, and on 28th from HMS Amphion wrote to Rt.Hon. Henry Addington:

The Neapolitan troops referred to in this letter were embarked on board British troop transports on the 14th July for their voyage to Syracuse and Messina, and confirmed to Lord Hobart by Villettes on the 24th when he wrote “His Sicilian Majesty’s troops have all been embarked for Sicily,”

CHAPTER SIX

To augment the small Royal Artillery presence, Charles Baynes’s Company of 8th Battalion, arrived at Malta from Portsmouth on 31st March 1804, bringing the total to over 300 men. By April the number had increased to around 460, and stayed at this figure for the next twelve months. Baynes held the rank of Captain Lieutenant and Captain but by General Order of 21st July 1804 the rank of Captain Lieutenant was abolished and replaced by that of 2nd Captain.  

The British infantry regiments still in garrison, were the 20th (East Devonshire), 27th (Inniskilling), 35th (Dorsetshire) and 61st (South Gloucestershire) having a combined strength of around 3,800 rank and file.

The men of the 20th regiment in particular responded well to the continual training and exercises organised by their Colonel, as Captain John Colbourne wrote in October 1804:

At this time it was considered appropriate to raise a regiment of Maltese infantry for general service, with British and Maltese officers, to be designated the Royal Regiment of Malta, and a General Order was issued on 30th March 1805 to this effect. Formation had in fact commenced the previous year on 7th December, when Major-General Villettes, then commanding all the troops on Malta, was appointed its Colonel, with the Hon. J.P. Dalrymple as Lieut-Colonel.

The first British officers to take permanent commissions with this new regiment were, Major John Hamill (ex-70th and 40th regiments), Major Augustus Meade (ex-48th and 39th regiments), Captain William Cowell (ex-89th and 58th regiments), and  Ensigns Charles Plunkett and J.H. Bodner.

They were followed in January 1805 by, Captain John Philip Perry (ex-17th regiment), Captain James Brickell (ex-89th and 57th regiments), Captain Lewis Lazzarini (ex-15th regiment), Captain Charles de Haviland (ex-20th regiment), Paymaster and Adjutant Peter Wallace and Quartermaster Daniel Fraser who had previously served as a sergeant in one of the Maltese Provincial Battalions. 

In April 1805 the Maltese Provincial Corps was composed of a 1st battalion under the command of Lieut-Colonel Parisi, and a 2nd battalion under Lieut-Colonel Gatt, with a combined total of 1066 rank and file.

To attract men to join the new Royal Regiment of Malta, they were originally offered a Bounty of ten guineas to enlist for general service and an unlimited period of time, or seven guineas for the fixed period of ten years.  These terms were found attractive, and in May 1805 when the regiment appears in the Army monthly returns for the first time, it had 367 men which had risen to 450 by July.  Conversely, the Maltese Provincial battalions show a reduction caused by men transferring to the new regiment, and their number was down to 741 in May, and 672 in July.      

The concept of honour was still very strong amongst British officers, as expressed by Assistant Surgeon Grantham of the 27th (Inniskilling) regiment when he stated that:

It arose from a trivial instance which should have been resolved without the necessity of a duel, which resulted in the death of Grantham and a fellow officer of the 27th being charged with his murder.

Lieutenant William Fairtlough, appeared before a Court Martial held in Valletta on 30th May 1805 charged with the wilful murder of Assistant Surgeon Richard Townshend Grantham, to which he pleaded Not Guilty.

The details of the dispute which occurred during the evening of the 22nd May were read to the court at the opening from a paper written by Grantham, and found in his room after his death:

In evidence Paymaster James Dight confirmed that the statement was in Grantham’s handwriting.  The sentry mentioned was Private Charles Cocks, but he told the court he did not hear what the officers said to each other as the door was only slightly open.

The third witness, Private Thomas McGraine, Grantham’s servant gave his version of the events relating to the duel. He was given a tied up greatcoat by his master, and instructed to take a coach to Porte des Bombes, and wait there.

When Grantham arrived he told McGraine to go into a field about four hundred yards to the right of the Porte des Bombes, and give the tied up greatcoat to Mr. Digan and then return to the coach.

McGraine heard a shot and went to the field again where he found Mr. Digan, Mr. McEntagart and Mr. Fairtlough standing and looking down at the body of his master, who was lying on his back, bleeding from the head. Mr. Fairtlough said to him “It was a bad morning’s work”.  McGraine opened the greatcoat and found two pistols, one had been discharged the other was still loaded.

When Denny Corry Digan, Surgeon of the 27th was called to testify he related the events of the evening already known to the court, but added that when Grantham asked him that night what he should do, he  “Begged him to go back to bed and that in the morning his mind would be in a greater state of tranquillity”

The prosecution case ended, the defence started with Mr. Fairtlough’s refuting the accuracy of Assistant Surgeon Granthams’s statement, probably due to his troubled state of mind, and showing it was at variance with the evidence of events that night as given by witnesses to the court.

He then called Lieut-Colonel Haviland Smith, commanding the 27th regiment who gave an opinion of his character, followed by five other officers who had known him for various lengths of time but who all confirmed that Mr. Fairtlough was of good character, not of an aggressive nature, and never caused trouble.

When the court resumed it was announced:

It was during 1805 whilst on garrison duty at Malta that the 35th (Dorsetshire) regiment was re-named the 35th (Sussex) regiment, taking over the county name from the 25th regiment which itself was re-styled as the 25th (King's Own Borderers).

There was always a problem with drunkenness in the garrison, which often led to trouble between the British soldiers and the local Maltese. On one occasion, late in the evening on the 30th September 1805, Private William Williams of the 81st regiment went into a wine shop in Valletta, where he met some friends from the same regiment, and ordered a round of drinks.  Giovanni Vassallo, a young Maltese who was engaged to the wine shop owner's daughter served them.

Some time later, all the soldiers walked out of the shop arm in arm, Vassallo ran after them and demanded payment, but Williams replied that he had already paid for the drinks, and an argument started. Williams threw a punch at Vassallo's head; Vassallo drew out a knife and stabbed the soldier in the stomach, causing serious wounds, from which he died later that night. Vassallo escaped, and although a reward was offered, he was never caught.

This tragic incident resulted in a Government Order dated 2nd October 1805, that wine shops had to close from sunset, but a couple of months later this ruling was eased. Customers were still not allowed to enter the premises, but could still buy drinks through a half open door.

CHAPTER SEVEN

At the beginning of 1805 the British government became anxious to protect the island of Sicily from Napoleon’s forces who already controlled part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies by occupying the Naples area. The French seizure of the Sicilian harbours and fortifications would be a grave threat to the British forces and influence in the Mediterranean

Consequently at the end of March 1805, Lieut-General Sir James Craig received orders to take 4 battalions of infantry, plus small detachments of cavalry and artillery to Malta, and assume command of the whole Mediterranean, with the exception of Gibraltar. He sailed together with his Aide-de-camp William Thomas Thornton, a Captain in the 46th regiment, aboard the Dragon, with a fleet of 37 transport ships, escorted by two men-of-war, the Lively and the Ambuscade.

The infantry regiments with him were the 58th (Rutlandshire), under the command of Lieut-Colonel Johnstone, the 1st battalion 44th (East Essex), the 1st battalion 81st, and the 39th (East Middlesex) regiment.  The Royal Artillerymen were from W. Cary’s company, 8th battalion, on board Valiant, Prince, Canada and Majir. 

They left England on 17th April, but their voyage was interrupted off Lisbon and further prolonged by the activities of the French fleet in the Atlantic. 

Rumours circulated throughout the garrison of an expedition being prepared for landings on the European mainland to challenge Napoleon's troops.

At Gibraltar Craig changed quarters into the Lively, and was able to write to Earl Camden from Malta on 21st July:

To make room for the newly arrived British troops, the men of the Maltese Provincial Battalion, and Royal Malta Regiment vacated their barracks in the Cottonera district and were billeted in St.Dominic’s Convent, Rabat, the Magisterial Palace, Mdina, and St.Augustine’s Convent, Rabat

Sir James inspected the regiments of the Malta garrison, and those which had accompanied him from England.  His opinions were sent to England on 15th August:

He then went on to report on the foreign regiments in British pay, Wattevilles, Chasseurs Britannique, Corsican Rangers, Royal Regiment of Malta, and the Malta Provincial Battalions.  He was unable to remark upon Dillon’s regiment since they were stationed in Gozo and he did not have the opportunity to see them.

In September a Light Battalion and a Grenadier Battalion were formed from the flank companies of the regiments in garrison at Malta. Command of the Light Battalion was given to Lieut-Colonel Kempt of the 81st regiment who handed over command of the 81st to Major Plenderleath on the 15th September.

The newly arrived troops were to witness a dramatic event. Apart from carrying out the death sentence on a condemned man, a military execution was to create the maximum impression on all the troops present, and this was achieved with a never to be forgotten ceremony.

The 35th Regiment was stationed at Floriana barracks. During the evening of the 29th July, Private Joseph Scattergood drew a bayonet with which he at first threatened, and then struck and stabbed Sergeant Robert Culbert in the back. 

At his Court Martial, Scattergood was found Guilty of intent to kill Sergeant Robert Culbert, and was sentenced to death by a firing squad.

A General Order dated 20th August contained the following instructions:

So it was shortly after dawn on the following morning of 21st August 1805, when all the regiments named were drawn up, and at 5.30 a.m., Private Scattergood was executed.

During this time, a detachment of British infantry, under the command of Captain James Bent was stationed on the neighbouring island of Gozo.

Sir James Craig’s main concern was the preparation for the forthcoming attack on the Italian mainland, but he knew would this action would deplete the strength of the Malta garrison, and leave the island vulnerable:

With all the troops embarked by the 31st October, Lieut-General Craig was able to report to London full details of his expedition prepared for sailing to the Italian mainland.

The Craig expedition sailed from Malta on 3rd November 1805, and apart from the dragoons and infantry, also included about 300 men of the Royal Artillery, belonging to the companies of J. Harris, C. Baynes, and R. Pyms plus a party of Artificers, comprising 1 Sergeant, 1 Corporal, 13 Artificers of the Woolwich Company, under the command of Captain C. Lefebure, R.E.

But the service of this expedition on the mainland was short lived. With the French army swarming down Italy, the British troops with Sir James Craig hurriedly sailed from Castellamare for Sicily and disembarked at Messina on 16th February 1806. The French continued their advance and occupied the whole of the Calabrian peninsular into the toe of Italy, leaving them only two miles across the straits of Messina from Sicily.

The regiments left behind to garrison the island were the 39th (East Middlesex), 44th (East Essex), and 81st but when General Craig wished to bolster the defences of Sicily he summoned the 81st from Malta, even though he was worried at leaving the Malta garrison with a higher percentage of unreliable non-British troops.  On 4th April 1806 the 81st sailed from Malta.

Craig’s health deteriorated and he asked to be allowed to resign, which was granted, and at the beginning of April 1806 he handed over to Major General Sir John Stuart.  Wishing to take the fight to Napoleon’s troops, Stuart led an expedition to Calabria in the foot of mainland Italy, and although achieving a great success at the battle of Maida on 4th July 1806, this victory could not be followed up and the British were forced to withdraw again to Sicily.

CHAPTER EIGHT

At about 6.15 a.m. on the morning of Friday, 18th July 1806 the town of Vittoriosa was rocked by a violent explosion, 370 barrels of gunpowder and more than 1,600 shells and grenades blew up in the Magazine. The houses in the immediate vicinity were demolished, and great devastation was caused over a wide area. 

The largest number of dead and injured, between 200 and 300, was borne by the Maltese civilians who lived in the area, but the number of British troops killed was given as 14 from the Royal Artillery, 3 from the 39th (East Middlesex) regiment, with 23 Maltese soldiers from the 2nd Maltese Provincial Battalion.

The band of the 39th (East Middlesex) regiment, as it was titled at that time, was reported as playing "God save the King" close by, when the explosion occurred and apart from the two men killed instantly, most of the others received some injuries.

Amongst the British civilians killed were John Roscoe, Margaret and William White, with their three children Elizabeth (10 years), Thomas (5 years) and baby May (1 year), Henry Cowley and his three children Louisa (7 years), Philip (6 years) and Henry (3 years). 

A Court of Enquiry whose members were Major General Patrick Wauchope as President, Brigadier-General Christopher Tilson, Lieut-Colonel Charles Phillips, Lieut-Colonel Arthur Brooke, 44th regiment, Lieut-Colonel John P.Dalrymple, Maltese Corps, Lieut-Colonel Samuel Dickens, Royal Engineers, and Major Boyd Horsburgh, 39th regiment, sat in Valletta, on Monday the 21st July.

The first to be called was Lieut-Colonel Bentham, the Commanding Officer of the Royal Artillery, who stated that he sent orders to Captain Gamble, the C.O. of the R.A., in the Cottonera District to unload a number of shells, lodged in boxes in the Vittoriosa Magazine. The word “unload” meant to remove the gunpowder from live shells. He also sent the Laboratory Sergeant over to Vittoriosa to give instructions and recommendations regarding this work.

Captain Gamble confirmed that he had received the order through Mr. Rutter of the Ordnance Commissary, so that the shells might be sent over to Sicily. He passed the order to Bombardier Anderson, the Garrison Gunner, and:

When asked to give his opinion for the cause of the explosion he replied

Gunner John Rowland was called, and confirmed that he had heard Captain Gamble give precise instructions to Bombardier Anderson on the 16th April. He was followed by Gunner Robert Cressy, who said that he had worked in the Magazine on the 16th. He unloaded several shells and seeing the danger of such work inside the Magazine remonstrated with Bombardier Anderson, but was told to “mind his own work.”

In reply to a question whether he was at the Magazine in Vittoriosa last Wednesday, the 16th, the Laboratory Sergeant, Robert Anson told the court:

The Court’s findings were:

Sir Alexander Ball being responsible for the whole community immediately set up an investigating committee, comprising Pietro Paolo Sciberras Bologna, Marquis Giuseppe Vincenzo Testaferrata, Gregorio Mattei, and George Noble, to enquire into the causes of the accident and oversee the relief needed for the victims.

Although immediate action was taken to remove the dead and wounded, the work of clearing the debris and rubble from the damaged houses took over three months.  A daily report of this gruesome task was kept, which recorded all the human remains recovered, as well as their livestock.

Written in Italian, and submitted on the 12th October 1806, these are extracts:

The number of individuals whose property was damaged by the explosion was ascertained to be 493, and at a cost assessed at 343,304 Scudies.

Lieut-Colonel Samuel T.Dickens of the Royal Engineers recommended the formation of three companies of Maltese tradesmen, under Military control and discipline.  Two companies for service on Malta and Gozo and a third for general duties within the Mediterranean.  Royal Authority was granted and these companies were formed on 1st May 1806. 

Each of the companies for local service were made up of 2 Sergeants, 4 Corporals, 60 Privates, 1 Drummer, and 10 Boys making 77 in total. The Mediterranean company was larger with 4 Sergeants, 4 Corporals, 100 Privates, 1 Drummer and 10 Boys, totalling 119 men.  Matteo Bonavio was appointed to the Maltese companies and styled Assistant Engineer.  These companies were formed into a Corps with the title of Maltese Military Artificers

Private Evan Roberts an Artificer who had been brought from Minorca for service on Malta in February 1800, and had worked with Captain Gordon Royal Engineers, during the blockade of the French and remained on the island, joined this new Corps with the rank of Sergeant.

In July 1806, the Maltese Artificers totalled 160 men, 21 had signed on for ten years service in the Mediterranean area, and the other 139 three years service but limited to Malta and Gozo.

The two Maltese Provincial Battalions had been steadily losing men to the Royal Malta Regiment, and by September 1806 the 1st battalion only had 272 men, and the 2nd battalion 246, so in October 1806, they were consolidated into one battalion, under the command of Colonel, the Marquis Parisi.  On the other hand the Royal Malta Regiment had grown to a strength of 806 men.

Having received a letter from Brig-General Graham, then in Spain, regarding the defence of Sicily, Ball answered on 14th September 1806, sounding him out on an interesting proposition, but nothing came of it:

CHAPTER NINE

By early 1807, due to the efforts of Major-General Villettes and Sir Alexander Ball, the Royal Regiment of Malta was placed on the strength of the British Army, with an establishment of 1 Colonel, 1 Lieut-Colonel, 2 Majors, 10 Captains, 22 Lieutenants, 8 Ensigns, 1 Paymaster, 1 Adjutant, 1 Quartermaster, 1 Surgeon, 2 Assistant Surgeons, 1 Sergeant-Major, 1 Quartermaster Sergeant, 1 Pay-Sergeant, 1 Armourer, 50 Sergeants, 50 Corporals, 20 Drummers, 2 Fifers, 950 Privates, making a total of 1126 officers and men.

Whilst commanding the 1st battalion of the 44th (East Essex) in Malta, apart from the day-to-day cares with the regiment, Lieut-Colonel Arthur Brooke had a problem in his private life.  His wife had been a passenger on board the frigate Amphion which was returning to England in July 1807 for repairs, under Captain William Hoste, who had been Nelson's protégé.

During the voyage an attachment developed between the dashing 26 year old Hoste and Mrs. Brooke, and even after arriving at Portsmouth in early August, he continued to see her in England.  Her husband insisted upon her returning to Malta promptly, which she did, but kept in correspondence with Hoste, and met him occasionally when the Amphion called at Malta. By 1808 she was in Sicily with the regiment, and the liaison was ended but as his letters to his mother show, Hoste remained infatuated with her.

Meanwhile in the struggle against Napoleon, the British Government was anxious to increase the strength of the Army and therefore accepted a proposal from a Count Froberg to raise an infantry regiment of about 1,000 foreign troops to serve with the British.  He was a Frenchman of the Royalist cause, named Gustave de Montjoie, but styled himself, the Count Froberg.

The regiment was due to be completed by February 1805, but recruiting was extremely slow, so by July of that year when Count Froberg’s Levy appears on the Malta garrison return, there was only one officer, a Dutchman Lieutenant Abraham Schummelketel, and ten men.

In an effort to increase recruitment Froberg switched his attention from Western Europe countries, to concentrate on the Balkan states.  Here he was able to gather together a mixture of men from several nationalities, and as a result, by July 1806 there were nearly 500 privates, plus another 127 recruits undergoing Quarantine or in Hospital.

Though welcoming an additional regiment to the defence of Malta, General Villettes was concerned that this particular regiment had insufficient experienced officers, and although he was unaware of the dubious recruiting methods used in the Balkans, his premonition was well founded when he wrote on 3rd June 1806:

To reduce the tension between the Maltese and men of the Froberg regiment, it was thought advisable to station them at the isolated Fort Ricasoli. However, since the Fort held a strategic position at the entrance to Grand harbour, a small Royal Artillery detachment of nineteen Gunners under Captain Fead, were based there.

In September 1806 fifteen officers of Swiss and German origin were commissioned, with Abraham Schummelketel promoted to Major, and all seemed to be going well in November 1806 when Lieut-Colonel James Barnes, transferred from the 4th Regiment, became the Commanding Officer.

A large group of around 230 Albanian recruits who had enlisted in February 1807, formed the largest single group of one nationality, and whilst on the surface all appeared calm, most of the officers knew that many men had grievances about their pay and conditions.

Matters came to a head on the 4th April 1807, when Lieut-Colonel Barnes left Fort Ricasoli about noon, and went to Valletta on regimental business. Around 4 o’clock that afternoon, Sergeant Blatter came to him and reported that a mutiny had broken out at the Fort.

In the Quartermaster’s room at the Fort, Adjutant Schwartz, Captain Baron Muller, and Lieutenant Muller, learnt from Corporal Schumaker of the 6th company that he had been approached to join a group of about 200 men of Greek and Albanian origin who were planning an uprising that evening when the officers were all together in their mess having dinner.

This information was passed to Major Schummelketel, who decided to try and defuse the situation by holding a meeting with the ringleaders, but he was overtaken by events.

Hearing that their plan had been betrayed the mutineers acted immediately. Five of the Swiss officers, Frederick Schwartz, Rodolphe de Muralt, Frederick Watteville, Seguesser and Baron Muller, confronted the men and tried to parley with them, but unsuccessfully. The mutineers attacked them killing Schwartz and Watteville, and seriously wounding Muralt. Major Schummelketel was bayoneted and left for dead.

There was fighting within the Fort between the officers with about 200 men who wished to remain loyal and about 300 mutineers, but by 3 p.m. the fighting had ended with the rebels in control and the others held as ho

During the conflict Gunner John Johnston of the Royal Artillery was on sentry duty and refused to let the rebels pass. He moved into the narrow passage which led to the powder magazine, and continued to fend them off, but was killed by a volley of musket fire.

General Villettes had the Fort sealed off on the land side, and removed all boats from the near the shoreline. The stand off lasted three days. Starvation and falling morale amongst the mutineers caused them to open negotiations, and put forward their demand to be allowed to return to their native lands, under the protection of the Russian consul, but this was rejected by Villettes.

Many of the men caught up in the excitement of the moment when the mutiny was in progress came to the conclusion that faced with a resolute General Villettes, their cause was lost and became even more demoralised. Therefore on the 8th when men of German and Polish origin overpowered the sentries and opened the Main gate, those who wanted to leave the Fort could do so. Nearly the whole regiment came out, and not more than twenty men remained inside.  Those who had taken part in the mutiny tried to conceal themselves amongst the loyal men, but they were quickly identified and put under guard.

On the 10th, the small group which stayed behind thought they would improve their negotiating position and fired shot and shell across the harbour into the Valletta.  However, it had the reverse effect, causing Villettes to decide that the Fort had to be stormed without delay.  A scaling party was assembled, comprising Lieutenant de Clermont, of the Froberg regiment, 1 Sergeant-Major, 30 NCO’s and men of the Maltese Military Artificers, with 6 artillerymen and 30 other selected men.

They left Valletta at two o’clock next morning, and secured Fort Ricasoli without loss, although they were met with determined resistance by the mutineers, two of whom were captured.  A small band of six mutineers retreated into the magazine, and threatened to blow up it up if their original demand was refused, which it was.  During the night of the 12th the mutineers carried out their threat and blew up the magazine, killing three British sentries, William Fox and Lawrence Taafe, both of the 44th regiment and John Howell of the 89th regiment.

It was thought that the rebels had also died in the explosion, but in the confusion they had escaped into the countryside, where they were discovered some days later in a weak and emaciated state and taken into custody.

The British Military authorities set up a Court of Enquiry, which sat over three days, the 20th, 21st and 22nd April.  The Court was composed of  Brigadier General Christopher Tilson, as President, with Lieut-Colonel Arthur Brooke, 44th regiment, Lieut-Colonel Sir John Dalrymple, Maltese Corps, Major Cavendish Sturt, 39th regiment, and Major John Hamill, Maltese Corps.  

On the first morning, most of the facts regarding the mutiny were given in the testimony of Major Schummelketel, who had been with the regiment since 1805 and therefore knew more of the regiment’s history than anyone else. He testified:

He went on the explain that a large group of men burst into his room, smashed the furniture and destroyed everything they could lay their hands on, but when they discovered him instead of killing him as he expected they carried him to the hospital.

The next witness was Captain Baron Joseph Mueller de Freidberg, who repeated the basic events of that afternoon, then continued:

The court then adjourned for the day, and re-assembled at 10 o’clock the next morning, when the first to give evidence was Lieutenant Joseph Muller. 

He repeated the sequence of events that afternoon as already known, and took up his story from when he was in Quartermaster Furbenzer’s quarters:

He was followed by Mr.Weber, the Surgeon, who when asked if he or any of his sergeants had heard complaints from sick men, replied:

Next came Quartermaster Furbenzer, who confirmed that he had heard many men saying that they were enlisted under false pretences, and also that he had heard of plots for men considering desertion.

He was followed by Private Giovanni Milo, the Surgeon’s servant, who also testified that many men complained of false promises.  He was enlisted with group of about seventy men himself, so was able to give his own first hand experience:

Private Karilia Stireliana followed, and when questioned about the attestation replied:

Corporal Schumaker, the man who had leaked the plot to the officers, was called. The court was still pursuing details of enlistment.  He answered:

Asked if he could give more information about this Captain Moore, he replied:

On the final day of the enquiry, 22nd April, the first witness called was Private Nicola Anastas, who recounted his own enlistment experience:

Sergeant Francis Leonard followed and told the court details of how he came to enlist, and stated that he met Lieutenant Schwartz at Trieste. Schwartz told him that he was a Lieutenant in the Navy and offered to take Leonard to Malta where he would recommend him for a position as a clerk or similar. After four days at sea Schwartz suggested he became a soldier instead because it was more advantageous financially. He continued:

The next to give evidence was Private Tanasio Yorge, who told the court that whilst in the Lazaretto he together with others had refused to enlist, but were threatened that they would not have any bread sent to them until they promised to do so. Private Giovanni Milo also confirmed that from 212 men in quarantine with him at least half refused to enlist.

The final witness was Sergeant Janisier. He confirmed that when the Adjutant Schwartz came to the Lazaretto to measure the men and take their descriptions, they claimed they had been deceived. The Adjutant threatened to keep them without provisions unless they submitted and they slowly had their descriptions taken.

The court not feeling it necessary to call upon any further evidence closed their enquiry. Their findings were that:

General Villettes’s letter to General Fox dated 12th April, gives this description of his actions:

In his letter Villettes did not disclose the very horrific manner in which the executions had taken place on the Floriana Parade ground

Five prisoners were forced to hang five others, and then they themselves were hanged by another five prisoners.  After these ten hangings, the balance were pinioned, handcuffed, and made to kneel on their coffins without being blindfolded, and were shot by a firing squad but several were not killed outright in the first volley, so rose, and attempted to run away, but were pursued by soldiers and shot down.

It was considered that some 350 men had reasonable grounds for discharge, so the regiment was disbanded in June 1807, and the men repatriated to the Balkan states. The officers and men who wished to continue army service were transferred to other foreign corps in British pay.

Lieutenants Frederick de Bibra and Johan Theodore De Misany, joined the Royal Regiment of Malta on 11th June 1807, as did Ensigns Johan Jacob De Misany and Philip Anton Prochaska. Surgeon Frederick Weber, joined the de Meuron’s regiment on 22nd October 1807.

General Fox was concerned at the reduction in strength of the Malta garrison due to the Froberg regiment being dis-banded and ordered the 2nd battalion of the 27th regiment, from Sicily without delay. It had been raised in Scotland during 1805, and on arrival in Malta was boosted by a fresh draft of 300 young men, aged 17 to 19 years old, and command given to Major Reeves.

CHAPTER TEN

On the 16th May 1808, a 15-gun salute heralded the arrival on board HMS Volontaire of the Count Beaujolais, and his brother the Duke d’Orleans, two members of the French Royal family who had fled to England for safety during the French revolution. 

Men of the British garrison were lined up on the quayside with their bands playing, as the distinguished guests came ashore.  They took up residence in Strada Mezzodi.  Louis Charles, the Count Beaujolais was suffering from consumption, and it was hoped that the climate of Malta would restore him to health, but his illness was too advanced, and he died a couple of weeks later, on the 29th May, aged 29 years.

A state funeral was arranged for the 3rd of June, when he was buried in the chapel of the Langue de France, in St. John’s Cathedral, Valletta. Many years later, on Tuesday 5th December 1843, an impressive white marble mausoleum to him was erected in the cathedral, the work of the famous French sculptor, James Pradier.

His coffin was carried by twelve Naval officers dressed in heavy black velvet tunics edged in gold. Sir Alexander Ball followed the coffin accompanied by an array of Army and Naval officers, Maltese dignitaries, and local merchants.

On mainland Europe meanwhile the conflict continued, Napoleon had recently extended his empire by taking over both Spain and Portugal, but the British on Malta were predominantly concerned with the French forces in the south of Italy, and the threat to Sicily. On 24th May 1808 the flank companies of 1st battalion 44th (East Essex) regiment comprising 212 men embarked for Sicily and on the 17th September the remainder of the 1st battalion, 48 sergeants, 16 drummers with 878 rank and file followed.  The regiment later formed part of the expedition from Sicily to the Bay of Naples, which went on to capture the islands of Ischia and Procida.

The British had a growing demand for recruits to their infantry regiments, which had led to the disastrous Froberg affair.  In 1804 the total number of officers and men in infantry regiments was around 135,000 which increased to 160,000 in 1806, 206,000 in 1809 and continued growing till it reached 227,000 by 1813.

At this time the only British infantry regiments in the Malta garrison were, the 2nd battalion 27th (Inniskilling) regiment, 1st battalion 31st (Huntingdonshire) regiment and the 39th (Dorsetshire) regiment which had been known as the 39th (East Middlesex) regiment until 1807.

In those days a soldier spent a considerable amount of time on his appearance, as recorded by an officer of the 44th Regiment, whilst on Malta:   

So the men were pleased when a General Order dated 20th July 1808, abolished the powdered queue (pigtail), but at the same time instructed officers to “take care that the men’s hair is cut close in their necks in the neatest and most uniform manner”

Another change in the Army was made in 1809, when the officers received a General Order from the Horse Guards, issued by the Duke of York, to overhaul the unsatisfactory purchase system which permitted wealthy young men, often under 18 years of age to obtain a senior officer rank. Before 1802 some 20 percent of new officers were under 15 years of age.

The Duke of York’s order was designed to make officers more professional, and made it clear that no officer was to be promoted to Captain, until he had served three years, none to Major until he had served seven years of which two must have been in the rank of Captain. No Major to Lieut-Colonel until he had served nine years. Further reforms followed which improved the quality of officers, training methods, and various other aspects affecting the men’s daily lives.

It was in May 1809 that the 2nd battalion 27th (Inniskilling) regiment under the command of Lieut-Colonel Haviland Smith, sailed from Malta for service on Sicily, in spite of the danger to Malta by cutting the number of British infantrymen based there to around 1,400.

This situation greatly worried General Villettes, the Commander-in-Chief, as the foreign troops on the island of doubtful reliability, and he was responsible for guarding over a thousand French prisoners of war.

His concern was increased in early October when Sir Alexander Ball was taken ill at San Antonio Palace and, failing to respond to treatment, died at 3.17 p.m. on Wednesday 25th October 1809.

On the Friday evening his coffin was taken to the Governor’s Palace in Valletta, where he was laid in state until the following Monday.  The room was draped in black velvet edged with white. A black velvet covered catafalque was at placed one end of the room, on which the coffin rested.

The funeral took place on Tuesday, 31st October. From the Palace the cortege moved along the streets of Valletta, through Strada Reale, Strada Mercanti, Strada Tramontana and Strada Irlandese to Fort St.Elmo, where a tomb site had been cut into the bastion.

At the head of the procession was a light company of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) regiment, followed by a Royal Artillery contingent drawing eleven guns, with a Grenadier company of the 31st behind them.  The next section was formed by men of the Maltese Provincial battalions, the Royal Malta Regiment and the Corps of Maltese Militia, preceded by the Maltese band.

After this military vanguard came a large number of representatives from a diverse range of Civil authorities, followed by the bands of the 39th (Dorsetshire) regiment and the Sicilian regiment, and members of the garrison and Royal Navy.

The carriage carrying Ball’s coffin was pulled by four horses draped in black led by four of his servants, and the carriage was flanked by twelve pall bearers, Baron P.P. Testaferrata, Baron Pasquale Sceberras, Captain Springer R.N., the Hon.H. Duncan R.N., Brig-General Bingham, Brig-General Mackinzie, Mr. Noble, Dr. Sewell, Captain Hargood R.N., Captain West R.N., Captain Eyre R.N., and Captain Lumley R.N.

Immediately behind the coffin came Major-General Oakes, as chief mourner, Mr.Edmund Chapman, the Reverend Francis Laing, and the aide-de-camp Captain Carey, with a group of fourteen close friends of the deceased.

The rear section of the procession was composed of foreign Consuls, British merchants and civilians, Royal Navy officers, and Army officers from the British and Maltese regiments.

On arrival at St.Elmo the coffin was lifted from the gun carriage by British seamen, placed into the prepared grave, which had been blessed in accordance with the rites of the Anglican Church by the Reverend John Castleton Miller. The tomb was then sealed with a large stone bearing a suitable Latin inscription:

HERE LIES

ALEXANDER JOHN BALL, KNIGHT, BARONET

KNIGHT OF THE ORDER OF ST.FERDINAND

RAISED AMONG THE CAPTAINS OF THE

BRITISH NAVY TO THE THIRD  DEGREE.

HE WAS COMMISSIONED WITH THE HIGHEST

AUTHORITY TO HELP THE MALTESE OPPRESSED

BY THE FRENCH DOMINATION AND FIGHTING FOR

THEIR COUNTRY.

A VERY CAUTOUS COMMANDER, WITH HIS EFFORT

AND FIRMNESS OF MIND, HE USEFULLY AND

COMPLETELY DEVOTED HIMSELF TO HELP THE

MALTESE TO FREE THEMSELVES FROM THE FRENCH

DOMINATION; AN HAVING DONE HIS DUTY WELL,

HE WAS APPOINTED ROYAL COMMISSIONER FOR MALTA

AND GOZO, AND ADMINISTERED TO HIS CREDIT WITH

JUSTICE, KINDNESS, AND MILDNESS  THEIR CIVIL

ADMINISTRATION.

HE WAS ALSO VERY CAREFUL TO FOSTER EDUCATION,

COMMERCE, AND AGRICULTURE, AND GOVERNED THESE

ISLANDS FOR TEN YEARS AS BEFITS THE PRESTIGE OF

HIS MOST SERENE MAJESTY KING GEORGE THE THIRD,

ENRICHING AND EMBELLISHING THEM WITH

NEW WORKS, BUILDINGS, ROADS AND GARDENS

HE LIVED FIFTY-TWO YEARS AND DIED ON 25TH OCTOBER

1809. THE GRIEF AND MOURNING OF ALL THE RIGHT-

MINDED PEOPLE WAS OBVIOUS AT HIS PUBLIC FUNERAL

WHICH THE WHOLE POPULATION ATTENDED

Having been held in high esteem by the Maltese, they promptly proposed to erect a monument to him, and on December 22nd a committee of sixteen leading Maltese Deputies  submitted a letter to Acting Commissioner Chapman:

The monument designed by the Maltese architect Giorgio Pullicino in the form of a small Greek temple was erected in 1810, and stands in the centre of the Lower Barracca Gardens in Valletta.

After Ball’s death, Sir Richard Keats was nominated as his successor but he resigned before taking up the post.  The man selected to be the next Civil Commissioner was Major-General Hildebrand Oakes, who knew Malta well having served there from 1803 to 1804, and had been based there since 1808. The proclamation of his appointment was promulgated on 12th May 1810.  

CHAPTER ELEVEN

From Messina, Sicily, on 9th January 1810, General Sir John Stuart wrote to Major-General Hildebrand Oakes, then in command of the Army on Malta:

It was however another thirty years before the feelings expressed in this letter were fully satisfied by the building of a Protestant church at the resolve of the Dowager Queen Adelaide.

When this letter was received the garrison was made up of the Royal Artillery Colonel Bentham, Royal Engineers Lieut-Col. S.J. Dickens, 1st battalion 31st (Huntingdonshire) regiment Lieut-Colonel Bruce, 1st battalion 39th (Dorsetshire) regiment Major C. Stuart, all quartered in Valletta, De Meuron’s regiment in Floriana barracks, with the Royal Regiment of Malta, the Sicilian regiment, and Maltese Provincial battalion stationed in the Cottonera district.

There was still an imbalance between British and Foreign troops on the island, only about 1450 British infantrymen, to 2100 in the foreign regiments. Although the 2nd battalion 14th regiment, under Lieut-Colonel Burrows, left England in March 1810 for Malta, and arrived on 23rd June, they only replaced the 1st battalion 39th regiment who sailed for Sicily the next day.

Similarly when the 2nd battalion 10th (North Lincoln) regiment arrived in August 1810, they took the place of the 1st battalion of the 31st regiment, so British troops were never in a majority over the year.

During the afternoon of 11th August, the ship carrying Lieutenant David Henderson of the 10th docked in Malta. He wrote a long letter to his father, who lived in Thurso, dated the 29th which gave details of the voyage, a description of the buildings and fortifications of Valletta. He went on:

Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother, Lucien had decided to leave Europe for refuge in North America.  With this plan in mind he had sailed on the first leg of the journey, from the Italian port of Civita Vecchia, and put into Cagliari on the south coast of Sardinia.

Here his movements were carefully watched and reported to the British, so when he embarked on an American vessel with his family and suite, Captain Barrie of HMS Pomone had already been alerted, and soon intercepted them. Lucien Bonaparte, together with forty others, was taken on board the Pomone, as a Prisoner of War, and the ship headed for Malta where she arrived on Thursday evening the 23rd August 1810.

Hildebrand Oakes was very put out, and expressed his feelings in a secret letter to the Earl of Liverpool on 28th August:

Lucien Bonaparte continued to cause Commissioner Oakes concern, and by 1st October he wrote to his friend Lieut-Colonel Bunbury:

The wished for instructions arrived, and on 16th November a relieved Oakes wrote to Lord Liverpool:

A few months after resolving this diplomatic problem Hildebrand Oakes was faced with a trickier domestic one.

Captain Thomas Cochrane, also known as Lord Dundonald, was a 35-year-old officer in the Royal Navy, and his actions became the main topic of conversation amongst the military officers and British residents, during the first quarter of 1811. He had a reputation for bold unorthodox tactics in battle which nevertheless had proved very successful, and had a grievance against the Vice-Admiralty Court in Malta, as did many Naval officers, due to the exorbitant fees charged on their prize vessels, and he was determined to expose the scandal.

Having been refused sight of the Table of Fees, he entered the court room on a day when the judge was not sitting and after a fruitless search in the public area, went into the judge’s private apartments where he found the list and took it away, passing it to a brother officer for safe keeping.

On discovering Cochrane’s actions the judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court, John Sewell, ordered his arrest for contempt of court, which Cochrane denied.  The Deputy Marshall of the Vice-Admiralty Court, John Chapman was sent to arrest him but as Chapman later stated:

Chapman clearly shaken by Cochrane’s reaction resigned his post on 24th February.

Cochrane was eventually arrested, but refused to walk, and had to be carried through the streets of Valletta to the Castellania gaol, located on the corner of Merchants Street and St.John Street, where he was housed in the Warder’s quarters. 

He set out his viewpoint in a letter to Hildebrand Oakes, dated 2nd March:

The authorities knew that they had a weak case, as they could not prove that he had taken the Table of Fees, nor did not want the abuses of the Admiralty court to be exposed. They tried to persuade Cochrane to accept bail, which he refused.

By now every member of the Navy and Army was aware of the conflict between Cochrane, seen as the innocent champion of rights, versus allegedly dishonest Government officials. His continued imprisonment was very much resented by the seamen with whom he was a very popular Captain, and the men were ready to riot and attack the prison unless he was released.

To de-fuse a tense situation, a plan was conceived which would allow him to escape. He decided to go along with the plan, and duly escaped from the Castellania on the 5th March, by climbing down a rope from a high window to the street below. On reaching the ground he quickly went down the steps of St.John Street to the quayside, where he was taken by boat to a vessel bound for England.

Hildebrand Oakes, wrote to a friend in London, on the 1st March

The Cochrane affair had diverted Oakes from his greater concern, which was the security of the Malta. He was constantly trying to explain to Lord Liverpool, the Secretary of State for War, and repeated to him again in a letter of the 8th March 1811:

By the end of the month any remaining tension between the civil authorities and the Royal Navy was eased when news of the British naval victory at Lissa was received. Four British vessels, Amphion-32, Active-38, Volage-22 and Cerberus-32, under the command of Captain William Hoste had overcome a larger and more powerful joint French and Venetian squadron in the Adriatic. 

Amphion had been in Malta docks undergoing repairs for over two months at the end of 1810, so the officers and men were well known ashore. Hoste noted 

Hoste’s rank did not warrant an official welcome but when the victorious British ships entered Grand Harbour on Sunday the 31st March, the bastions and houses overlooking Grand Harbour were filled with soldiers, seamen, Maltese and British civilians keeping up chorus of cheering and hurrahs.  The next day, Hoste wrote to his mother

 and so commenced a round of celebratory fetes and balls.

An interesting insight into the British occupation at this period appears in a poem ‘Farewell to Malta’ written by Lord Byron, during his return to England from Greece. He stayed briefly on the island, then sailed on 2nd June 1811 aboard the Volage.

These extracts give his view of Army and Naval officers, and the military in general:

Adieu, ye females fraught with graces !

Adieu, red coats, and redder faces !

Adieu, the supercilious air

Of all that strut “en militaire” !

Farewell to these, but not adieu

Triumphant sons of truest blue !

While either Adriatic shore

And fallen chiefs, and fleets no more,

And nightly smiles, and daily dinners

Proclaim you war and women’s winners

And now, O Malta ! since thou’st got us

Thou little military hot-house !

I’ll not offend with words uncivil

And wish thee rudely at the Devil.

But only stare from out my casement,

And ask ‘for what is such a place meant ?’

During this time there was the constant movement of British and foreign troops between Malta, Sicily and the Ionian Islands.

A detachment of the 35th (Sussex) regiment, about 300 men, arrived at Malta during March 1811, and were quartered in the Cottonera district, until they embarked on the 18th April bound for the island of Zante.

Eight companies of the 1st battalion 31st (Huntingdonshire) regiment, a total of 692 men arrived on 16th April 1811 and went into barracks in the Cottonera area for a short period, since they departed during August along with the 10th (North Lincoln) regiment.

From Sicily the 1st battalion 44th (East Essex) regiment returned to Malta and arrived on the 21st August to join the 2nd battalion 14th (Buckinghamshire) as only British troops on the island.

Ever since they returned from active service in Sicily, the Royal Regiment of Malta was finding it difficult to attract recruits, as young Maltese men could easily find well-paid employment due to the thriving commercial activity on the island, so in February 1811 orders were received from England for the regiment to be disbanded.

The official date of disbandment was set for the 26th April 1811, and thereafter most officers obtained transfers to other British infantry regiments, but some joined foreign regiments like De Meuron’s or Watteville’s.

Before leaving Malta, officers of the 10th (North Lincoln) regiment appeared before two Court Martials, though neither was of a serious criminal nature. Both were due to behaviour, which it was thought would undermine Army discipline.

In January, Captain Thomas Fothergill together with Lieutenants Charles McDonnell and Frederick Foaker, and Ensigns Fergusson and Allen were found Guilty of dancing with private soldiers and the wives of private soldiers. All were publicly reprimanded.

On 9th May 1811, Lieutenant H.J.Nixon was charged with:

Exactly what was written was not disclosed to the court but it was stated that:

After considering all the evidence, the Court decided that there was insufficient proof, and he was acquitted.

Another officer faced a dilemma of a different nature. At a ball, Lieutenant George Clarges Hill, a young officer in the grenadier company of the 44th regiment, was introduced to the daughter of a Maltese merchant, and danced with her several times throughout the evening. Early next morning he was surprised to find her at his quarters, particularly when she told him that she had left her parents home in order to live with him. No doubt taken aback, he persuaded her to return home, and for her safety ordered his servant to accompany her.  News of the girl’s folly was soon known, but the Maltese were impressed by Hill’s gallant conduct.

Early in 1812 Captain George Whitmore of the Royal Engineers arrived to take over from Lieut-Colonel Samuel T. Dickens, and during his stay became involved in many important projects. 

As his diary later records:

On the 1st April 1812, the 7th battalion of the King’s German Legion, comprising 783 men disembarked at Malta and went into Fort Ricasoli for quarantine, but only stayed until the 7th July when they sailed for Messina.

The same day 1037 recruits for the Italian Legion, under the command of Major Burke of Dillon’s regiment, docked but were kept on board their transport ships, apart from about 90 men who allowed ashore. These were employed in making clothes, shoes, and other items for the men of their regiment.  The whole contingent sailed again on the 28th May for Sicily.

Five companies of the 44th (East Essex) regiment comprising 12 officers and 443 men sailed for Sicily on 7th July 1812.

By the end of 1812 the garrison consisted of the Royal Artillery 392 men, Maltese Artificers 97 men, 2nd Battalion 14th (Buckinghamshire) regiment 984 men, 1st Battalion  44th (East Essex) regiment 913 men, all stationed in Valletta, De Meuron’s regiment 1043 men and the  Maltese Provincial Corps 248 men based in Cottonera, and the Sicilian regiment 1012 men in Floriana barracks.

During 1812 Hildebrand Oakes had to deal with political agitation by the Maltese, which resulted in the British Government setting up a Special Commission. The three man Commission comprised A’Court, who had been Charge d’affaires in Palermo, and Burrows previously the Chief Justice of Dominica and Oakes himself. Their very thorough investigation looked into all aspects of Maltese law, justice, civil government, revenue collection, agriculture, quarantine regulations, trade figures, and included a detailed account of the island of Lampedusa undertaken by Captain Charles Berington of the Royal Engineers. The report was published on 12th October.

As a result of the Commission’s report, Lord Bathurst was able to write to Oakes on 15th May 1813:

Whilst the Commission was occupied to find a working relationship between the British government and Maltese aspirations, major events occurred in Europe. Russia declared war on France, and Napoleon invaded Russia. A peace treaty between England and Russia signed in July 1812, caused the Russians to change their policy on Malta. They no longer held their position that the island should be handed back to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, which paved the way for Britain to make preparations to take Malta under the British Crown.

CHAPTER TWELVE

In 1812 reports of the plague affecting Smyrna and Alexandria were received at Malta, so the authorities were extremely vigilant concerning vessels from Eastern Mediterranean ports. On 28th March 1813, a brig named San Nicola arrived from Alexandria, and in accordance with normal practice the crew were confined to the Lazaretto, and the ship kept moored in the Marsamuscetto Harbour.

On the 7th April, whilst in quarantine, two members of the crew died of the plague, but in spite of the tight restrictions, the disease was somehow carried to Valletta where the first victim was discovered on the 14th.

The Lazaretto was very quickly full of suspected cases, so the nearby Fort Manoel was taken over, but this also proved to be too small to accommodate all those considered infected, therefore the small island of Selmun in St. Paul’s Bay was brought into use as a Lazaretto.

Strong measures were taken by the government in an attempt to limit the spread of the plague, but these proved ineffective.  By May it had reached Mdina and Birkirkara, probably carried by residents of Valletta who had fled the city, seeking refuge in the countryside. The disease continued to expand and eventually the whole island was affected.

The authorities wanted to tow the ship offshore and set her on fire, but this scheme was abandoned since a suitable compensation agreement could not be made with the owners.

On the 19th May instructions were issued ordering every inhabitant to stay indoors as much as possible, and a fix to the house door a list of those persons living there, and by the 29th May persons were prohibited from changing their residence.

In the middle of May all churches were closed, and the Bishop dispensed with personal attendance at Mass. Church bells were rung to announce the commencement of the service and the Maltese, wherever they were and whatever they were doing, could start their devotions.

However, the measures already taken did not seem sufficient and it became necessary to bring in further controls. The markets were closed down, shops shut up, all stray animals such as dogs, cats, pigeons, etc., were destroyed and it was under penalty of death for anyone to leave their house, except those involved in trying to combat the disease. Twice a day market carts went around the cities selling food at prices fixed by the authorities. Fifteen thousand persons were daily fed by the public and private charities.

A number of galley slaves were promised their liberty, when the plague was over, provided they were prepared to carry the dead and dying to the hospitals or cemeteries, and a Pioneer Corps raised from the men in prisons, mainly Frenchmen for similar duties.

The Civil authorities were overwhelmed and needed to be backed up by the military, but there were only about 1,400 British troops on the island to call on, the 2nd battalion 14th (Buckinghamshire) regiment, and seven companies of the 3rd Garrison Battalion. The latter comprised 20 officers, 50 NCO’s, 16 Drummers, and 649 Privates, and had the misfortune to arrive on 30th March, just a week before the plague struck.

On the other hand five companies of 44th (East Essex) regiment were very lucky. They returned to Malta from Sicily on the 6th February 1813, but received orders to re-embark again for Sicily on 24th March, so fortunately just missed the plague, and the remaining 5 companies embarked 10th May, thus the whole regiment was united on Sicily.

Lampedusa is a small island which lies between Malta and the North African coast, about 50 miles off Tunisia, and a small detachment of the 14th (Buckinghamshire) regiment, under the command of Lieutenant James Gordon, was also fortunate since they were stationed there.

Of the three foreign regiments on Malta at that time, De Meuron’s, about 1020 strong, embarked 5th May 1813 for North America, leaving behind the Sicilian regiment of about 1035 men, and a detachment of De Roll’s regiment numbering about 315 men. 

The brunt of the hazardous duty therefore fell on men of the 14th (Buckinghamshire) regiment and the 3rd Garrison battalion, who were called upon to guard infected houses, and man the cordons that had been placed around the plague hospitals. They also had to furnish men to form foot patrols to walk around the city at variable times, to deter the inhabitants from breaking the curfew.

Supervised by Lieut-Colonel George Whitmore, of the Royal Engineers, barriers were erected across the streets of Valletta, so it was divided into eight districts. The Royal Engineers also put up wooden huts in the ditches below the bastions, allowing the inhabitants of the densely populated slum areas, like the Manderaggio, to be moved whilst their dwellings were cleansed.

A heavy burden also fell on the Army Medical Officers who worked in the Plague hospitals. They lived in special huts, and were separated from the troops. Before coming into contact with the patients, they rubbed their bodies with oil, then donned oiled silk gowns and gloves. They worked one month at a time, and afterwards went into quarantine in the Lazaretto.

Military posts were encircled by palisades wherever possible. Before mounting guard the soldiers were instructed to rub their bodies with olive oil, and when they came off duty their uniforms were fumigated, and the men washed themselves in vinegar or bathed in the sea.

With such precautions, and with the type of discipline which could be imposed on soldiers but not on the civilian population, the soldiers escaped the disease in the first few weeks. By the end of July, the civilian deaths amounted to 1,595 persons, and since their duties brought them into contact with Maltese, it was only a matter of time before some members of the British forces became infected.

Though Hildebrand Oakes wished to be relieved from the post of Civil Commissioner, he stayed on whilst the epidemic was sweeping the island, and by the time he left at the beginning of October, the worst was over. He sailed on board the Ethelred Transport on 9th October, for England, with a protective guard of 1 subaltern, 1 sergeant, 1 drummer and 25 rank and file provided by the 14th regiment.

In spite of a large number of demands requiring his personal attention during his period as Civil Commissioner, Hildebrand Oakes left an enduring legacy of his term in office. He gave instructions for the Public Library to be transferred from the ‘La Conservatoria’, where it had been since 1776 to the purpose built Bibliotheca building adjacent to the Palace in Valletta, where it has remained to this day.

Sir Thomas Maitland was not appointed to the post of Civil Commissioner, as his predecessors had been, but as The Governor of the Island of Malta and its Dependencies.  The Secretary of State for War, Earl Bathurst wrote to him a letter dated on 28th July 1813, which included the following paragraph:

Maitland arrived on Sunday the 3rd October 1813, and took over control on the 5th. The newly appointed Governor took sterner measures to tackle the plague, which was still causing deaths throughout Malta, though it was already past its peak.

By the 28th October he was able to write to Colonel Torrens:

Between April 1813 and March 1814, the total number of deaths from all causes amongst the military was 126 men. Although they had worked throughout the whole of the plague period, the 14th only lost 13 men, which is more or less the number expected in the course of a normal year, and so justifiably earned Maitland’s praise.  Almost half of the total, 62 men, belonged to the 3rd Garrison Battalion, and 13 to the Maltese Artificers who of course would be in some contact with their families.

As autumn drew to a close the disease was waning throughout the island, with the exception of the village of Qormi (Curmi). Here the plague appeared to have become endemic due, it was alleged, to the inhabitant’s continual theft of infected property.

Governor Maitland wrote to Earl Bathurst on 28th January 1814:

A commission, consisting of the Adjutant-General and two regimental officers, was appointed to administer martial law within the cordon, for as long as the proclamation was in force, and a medical inspection took place every day until no further cases were found. The cordon was enforced by men of the 14th (Buckinghamshire) regiment, who also have the responsibility to supply the villagers with food on a daily basis.

By 7th March 1814 the island of Malta was declared free from the plague, though by this time it had spread over to the smaller island of Gozo. However, the traumatic experience ensured that the strict quarantine regulations remained in force, and when Felice Camilleri, one of the Maltese working as a guardian in the Lazaretto broke these regulations he was condemned to death. Fixed to the wall of the Lazaretto is a marble tablet with the following inscription written in Italian:

“This scaffold was erected

on the 26th March of the year 1814

to hang Felice Camilleri

one of the guardians of the Lazaretto

who had been condemned to death

for having broken quarantine

but who received a free pardon

from the Governor for His Majesty

for having been the first person

condemned to suffer death

after the Sovereignty of these Islands was taken over

by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent

in the name and on behalf of the King”

The stern measures taken with the village of Qormi in December was successful and by the 3rd of June 1814, Maitland noted: “... and the village of Curmi itself has with the exception of one case been now ninety days clear”.

It was reckoned that the plague took the lives of just under 4,600 Maltese out of a population of about 100,000.  On the 12th February 1815, Maitland was able to report to London:

Though being kept busy with the onerous duties of combating the plague, some men nevertheless still found time to commit misdemeanours. 

A General Court Martial was held in Valletta on 5th and 7th February 1814, when Private James Nottage of the 14th (Buckinghamshire), faced a charge of:

The Court heard how Thorn had been told that “the Maltese were great robbers”, and he was anxious not to stay on the streets after dark.  In his desire to find a lodging house he was led into a narrow alley where the prisoner and an accomplice robbed him.

Nottage put in a plea of Not Guilty, but he was found Guilty of the charge, and the Court sentenced “the said Private James Nottage to suffer death by being hanged at such Time and Place as His Excellency shall be pleased to appoint.”

Three days later at another General Court Martial in Valletta, Privates George Heathcoat and John Gane, of 3rd Garrison Battalion stood trial on the charge:

From the evidence placed before the Court it appears that up to this time neither man had been in trouble before. Heathcoat had served for 13 years, and was of ‘good character’, whilst Gane was described by the Adjutant as ‘remarkably good character’. It was established that they were drunk on the night in question. 

Both men pleaded Not Guilty, but the Court found otherwise, and the sentence was:

The 2nd battalion 14th (Buckinghamshire) regiment, was shortly to leave Malta. They departed on the 25th March, to join Lord William Bentinck’s expedition to the north-west coast of Italy, and were replaced by an under strength 2nd battalion of the 10th  (North Lincoln) regiment, of 18 Officers, 32 Sergeants, 28 Corporals, 21 Drummers and 483 Privates, who disembarked on 24th March 1814, and went into quarters in Valletta.

With the abdication of Napoleon on 11th April 1814, it seemed as if peace had finally been restored to Europe, and he went into exile on the island of Elba.

Captain William Hoste, R.N., was on board the Bacchante, when she docked at Malta on 20th April 1814. He was very popular and well known on Malta, after his famous victory at the Battle of Lissa three years earlier. Being in a very sick condition, he was taken directly to the Governor’s Palace where he remained in bed for two weeks. His health did not improve much, and he could hardly stand when he went on board the Cerberus on 5th May, for the voyage to England. As the ship passed the island of Elba a signal was received from Portoferraio, so Hoste was able to write to his father:

These sentiments were premature however, since the following year on the 26th February Napoleon escaped from Elba on board the brig Inconstant and caused wide spread alarm throughout Europe. He arrived at Golfe Juan in the south of France on 1st March, and so began the period known as the Hundred Days, which ended with the defeat of the French army at Waterloo on 18th June 1815, thus ending twenty-two years of war between Britain and France.

Napoleon abdicated and left Paris on 29th June for Rochfort on the French coast, and onwards to the Ile d’Aix from where on the 14th July 1815, he sent a message to Captain Frederick Lewis Maitland of the Bellerophon on asking for passage either to the United States or England. Captain Maitland refused the first option, but agreed to the second, and took him and his suite on board.

Members of his suite included Lieut-General Savary (The Duke of Rovigo),  Lieut-General Lallemand, Lieut-Colonels Resigny and Schultz, with Captains Autric and Mesurier, plus Lieutenant Riviere, and upon instructions from the Admiralty dated the 16th and 17th August, they were put on board the Eurotas destined for Malta. On arrival they were taken into Fort Manoel.

Governor Maitland wrote on the24th September:

The officer was Lieut-Colonel Otto Beyer, who together with Lieutenant Holden as Adjutant, had 300 men of the 10th (North Lincoln) Regiment to guard these important prisoners.

The 1st battalion 10th (North Lincoln) regiment had just returned from Sicily on 9th June 1815 having been with Lord William Bentinck in Naples. On disembarkation from the Neapolitan ships, Geochrinia and Capri, they took up quarter in Fort St.Elmo, and were followed on the 13th June by the rest of the battalion.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

When Napoleon abdicated in 1814, the victorious Powers and the French held a conference in Paris, which resulted in the Treaty of Paris dated 30th May 1814. Under Article 7: “ The Island of Malta and its dependencies shall belong in full right and sovereignty to His Britannic Majesty.”

In the summer of 1815 the Congress of Vienna was held, and attended by Austria, France, Great Britain, Norway, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Spain, and Sweden. Apart from the 1814 Treaty of Paris being confirmed, the seven Ionian Islands of Corfu, Cephalonia, Zante, Santa Maura, Ithaca, Paxo and Cerigo, officially known as the United Ionian States were placed under British protection. Sir Thomas Maitland had his area of responsibility extended when he was appointed Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, in addition to his duties as the Governor of Malta and Commander in Chief of the British Forces in the Mediterranean.

The 2nd battalion 14th (Buckinghamshire) regiment, arrived back at Malta on the 13th December 1815, having left in March 1814, for northwest Italy, where they liberated the city of Genoa, and remained there for a year, before moving to Marseilles in July 1815.

At the end of the year, with peace finally secured in Europe, the British Army did not require so many men, particularly infantry, and so reductions were implemented. A mixed group of 175 invalids and men from the 10th and 14th regiments, and 1st Garrison battalion, whose time of service had expired embarked for England on the 29th December. The 3rd Garrison battalion was re-named the 1st Garrison battalion, in April 1815.

Early the following year, on the 23rd January 1816 the two battalions of the 10th (North Lincoln) regiment were consolidated into one large battalion.

Men continued to arrive from Genoa, the Maltese Sappers and Miners on the 9th January 1816, followed by Captain Adye’s company of the Royal Artillery, and a detachment of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) regiment, on 18th February 1816. The remainder of the 31st regiment followed later that month.

Sir Thomas Maitland needed more troops on the Ionian Islands, and ordered a detachment of about 250 men of De Roll’s regiment, which had been part of the garrison since May 1813, to embark for the Ionian island of Zante, on the 18th February 1816

They were followed on 20th March by 4 officers with 105 men of the Royal Artillery, plus 4 companies from the 2nd battalion, 14th (Buckinghamshire) regiment. Four weeks later, on April 26th, the remainder of the 2nd battalion, under Colonel Montagu Burrows departed.

The Royal Artillery presence on the Ionian Islands was also strengthened when a further detachment comprising 7 officers, with 143 other ranks sailed from Malta on the 6th July 1816. At the same time is was found that the number of men in the Royal Artillery was above the peacetime establishment, so on 16th July, one officer and 73 men were ordered home.

The French officers who had been held in Fort Manoel since August 1815 caused a major embarrassment for the British military, as Maitland explained in his letter to London of the 3rd July 1816:

With the two most senior officers gone, the Governor released the other men being held captive in the Fort. Colonels Planat, Resigny and Schultz were sent to Gozo, but he totally freed Mesurier, Auric and Riviere, and they boarded a Sicilian schooner bound for the Italian port of Genoa.

Though further active service in Europe was no longer anticipated in the near future, the men nevertheless had to remain fit and well trained. The Standing Orders of the Malta Garrison reflected these aims:

Another exchange of regiments took place during August and September 1816. This time between the 35th (Sussex) regiment and the 10th (North Lincoln) regiment. A detachment of the 35th regiment arrived from Ionian Islands on 6th August, 11 officers, with 454 men with the balance of the regiment following between the 5th and 18th September.

The 10th regiment left for duty on the Ionian Islands in four detachments. The first on 12th August 1816, 5 officers and 120 men, the second on the 21st August of 14 officers and 422 men. The third sailed on the 10th September, and the remainder of the men and the band on 28th October on HMS Euphrates, and the Ellice transport.

Prior to the British administration, Italian had been the official language used by the Courts and Civil administration in Malta and it continued to be so for many years, even in the Malta Government Gazette. However, with Issue No.145 dated Wednesday 7th August 1816 Gazette, appeared for the first time with all information printed in English as well as Italian, in adjacent columns.

General Regulations for the Garrison at Malta stated:

Such punishment was the sentence of a Garrison Court Martial held in the Cottonera district on 25th November 1816. Privates Edward Reynolds and Thomas Pittman, of 31st (Huntingdonshire) regiment, were found Guilty of being absent from their posts whilst on guard at the Arsenal, and stealing a quantity of wood from the Arsenal. Each man was sentenced to 300 lashes. Private Joseph Kidwell, also of the 31st, received the same sentence as he was found Guilty of conniving with the robbery of the wood.

All three men underwent their punishment at 7 o'clock in the morning of 27th November at St.Clements Parade ground, in Cottonera. Major Bayly, 1st Garrison Battalion, in the presence of a detachment of the 31st and all the other regiments, supervised it. The surgeon and drummers were provided by the 1st Garrison Battalion.

It was not only the rank and file which caused trouble. The behaviour of some British Army officers gave offence to some Maltese attending performances at the Manoel Theatre, causing friction, which made it necessary for special Orders to be posted and enforced:

The second range of Boxes was specifically mentioned since, it was the custom for British Officers’ Messes to have their boxes in the second tier at the Manoel Theatre. The remainder of the men were to stay within the theatre with undefined role, but would assist the civil police if requested to do so.

With the decrease in manpower that had taken place throughout the year, the garrison by December 1816 consisted of: 

In view of the small number of men in the Royal Maltese Sappers and Miners, it was decided to disband this Corps. This was carried out by Lieut-Colonel Whitmore, of the Royal Engineers, and confirmed to London by General Layard on the 6th April 1817:

Apart from keeping the men fit and trained for action, their day-to-day lives were controlled by the General Regulations for the Malta Garrison. These included such items as:

On top of their military duties, the men had their time filled with various other tasks:

The 31st regiment and that part of the 35th regiment quartered at Floriana will be formed tomorrow morning at half past nine o’clock. The Right opposite St. John’s Church extending by Strada Mercanti, Vescovo, and Reale to St.Johns Church. Commanding officers will caution officers commanding companies to pay the usual compliments to the Bishop on his passing should He be in the procession.

This last instruction concerned the annual procession held in Valletta, to celebrate the birth of John the Baptist on 24th June. British troops were always provided on such occasions.

The 1st Garrison Battalion embarked on the 28th May on board the transport ships Intripid and Recovery for England, a total of 15 officers, and 404 men. With this further reduction in men some re-deployment of the troops on Malta was necessary.

At daybreak on the 27th May the 31st (Huntingdonshire) regiment sent a detachment of one subaltern, with 4 sergeants, and 124 men to relieve a detachment of the 35th (Sussex) at Fort Manoel. On the same morning, a detachment of the 35th (Sussex) regiment quartered at Isola was augmented to two Captains, six Subalterns, 14 sergeants, 32 corporals, 4 drummers and 300 men.

The 35th regiment only stayed another four months. They embarked in two detachments on the 29th September and 11th October 1817 for England, 34 officers with 782 other ranks, after seventeen continuous years of active service in the Mediterranean.

The 36th (Herefordshire) regiment who sailed from Portsmouth, and disembarked on The 27th September, with a strength of 35 Officers, 42 sergeants, 21 drummers and 778 rank and file took their place.

Another instance of a Maltese young lady becoming infatuated with an army officer is recorded, when the following order dated 13th August 1817, was sent to Major Fearon of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) regiment:

With the terrifying plague outbreak of four years earlier still fresh in the memory, the quarantine requirements were strictly enforced. The Malta Government Gazette of Wednesday 29th October 1817, reported:

The soldier on sentry duty, Private Owen Vernon, of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) regiment, was afterwards tried by a General Court Martial on 22nd October 1817, for Murder, as called for in such circumstances.  The Opinion and Sentence was issued on the 24th October:

In Autumn 1817 the 2nd battalion 14th (Buckinghamshire) left Cephalonia for Malta, where the men remained a few days, before embarking on the 11th October for England arriving at Portsmouth on the 24th November. As peace in Europe seemed to be firmly established it was decided to disband the 2nd battalion at Chichester on 23rd December 1817, when four hundred and twenty rank and file were transferred to the 1st battalion.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The 8th (or King’s) regiment arrived at Malta from Cork, on the 2nd March 1818.  Ten companies comprising a total of 32 officers, 39 sergeants, 10 drummers, and 660 privates.

Prior to their first inspection by the Commander of the Malta garrison, the Commanding Officer of the 8