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قراءة كتاب An Historical Review of the Royal Marine Corps, from its Original Institution down to the Present Era, 1803
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An Historical Review of the Royal Marine Corps, from its Original Institution down to the Present Era, 1803
AN
HISTORICAL REVIEW
OF THE
ROYAL MARINE CORPS,
FROM ITS
ORIGINAL INSTITUTION DOWN TO THE PRESENT ERA,
1803.
DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION,
TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF CLARENCE.
BY ALEXANDER GILLESPIE,
FIRST LIEUTENANT AND UPWARDS OF TWENTY-FOUR YEARS AN OFFICER IN IT.
BIRMINGHAM:
PRINTED AND SOLD BY M. SWINNEY, No. 75, HIGH-STREET;
SOLD ALSO BY T. EGERTON, MILITARY-LIBRARY, WHITEHALL; MESSRS. RICHARDSON, ROYAL EXCHANGE; MESSRS. LONGMAN AND REES, PATERNOSTER-ROW; AND T. OSTELL, AVE-MARIA-LANE, LONDON.
1803.
Memorable for its Gallant Defence by a Body of Seamen, and Marines under Sr. Sidney Smith, & Colonel, now Sr. John Douglas Knt. &c. &c. against Buonoparte, & the Flower of the French Egyptian Army.
Most Gracious Prince,
With mixed sentiments of Loyalty and Gratitude, I now lay the following Work under your Royal Shelter.
In having deigned to become its Patron your Royal Highness has placed me under a double tie, as it is a precious mark of condescension bestowed upon myself, enhanced in value from its being a sure earnest of predilection for my Corps.
To cherish Patriotism, Subordination and Allegiance, is the bounden duty of every subject; but more peculiarly so, during times of public danger, and of general convulsion. This has been my leading aim, not by the displays of Theory, but of Facts.
Conscious that such were my predominant motives, and anxious to maintain consistency throughout, I looked around for a Protector who united within himself all those exalted endowments which I have laboured to establish. My eyes turned towards your Royal Highness, and my pen did not solicit in vain.
With talents filled for an honorable discharge of the most important trusts; early trained in the hardy employs of a profession which has long been the prop of the British Empire; and a Prince of the greatest Realm on earth, your Royal Highness has nobly foregone all those pre-eminent claims, and with a manly humility, you have associated yourself, in arms, with the Volunteers of your Country.
Although the field of glory may not be so wide as on that element for which your Royal Highness was destined from your youth, and where you are so well qualified to shine, still you have exhibited the brightest example to Englishmen, and by it alone, you have already rendered the most signal services.
The deed, august Prince, will be reviewed by Posterity with all the generous feelings of Britons; and it must convince the collected hosts of a rapacious enemy, now arrayed for the avowed purpose of overturning our Religion, our Liberties, and our Laws, of the many serious dangers which they must encounter, ere they can subdue those Isles, where but one spirit pervades, and animates every rank, from the Palace to the Cottage.
Were I allowed to penetrate into futurity, and were your energies to be ever called forth, I should then behold your Royal Highness emulating the recognized valour of your illustrious Ancestors, by deeds of heroic gallantry against the foes of your revered Father, and of his Throne; but I will forbear to dwell upon the issues of an after day.
Whether it shall be your lot to wave your banner or your flag in combat against the enemies of our land, may victory and success ever follow in your train, and may your Royal Highness enjoy the honorary recompence of a Brave Nation, annexed to its habitual respect for your public virtue, and your private worth!
Such, Most Gracious Prince, are the cordial wishes of one, who has the distinguished privilege of attesting that fidelity and devotion, with which he remains,
Your Royal Highness's,
Very attached,
And most obedient humble Servant,
ALEX. GILLESPIE,
Birmingham, 15th Nov. 1803.
INTRODUCTION.
There is no Fame so liable to decay as that which has been acquired by the subordinate Soldier. The admiration and applause too, which follow military deeds, however brilliant, are but fickle passions, as they successively transfer their affections to every new conqueror, and all are too often buried in the same grave, after the trumpet of war has ceased to sound.
To drag from the land of forgetfulness, actions, long lain in oblivion; to place the revolutions and the achievements of a corps, endeared to its Country by a train of loyalty and valour, in one connected and analysed point of view, were the leading motives which urged the Author to essay a history of its origin and progress. Whilst he laments that the undertaking has not been allotted to superior talents, at the same time he will venture to affirm that it could not have been prosecuted with a stronger zeal.
Never was military prowess more loudly called for, than at the present crisis.—Ardour should be raised in every rank. It is a plant, which, by fostering attention flourishes and grows; but if neglected, soon droops and dies. Courage is the natural birth-right of an Englishman, and it needs only a directing hand, under Providence, to give it an invincible aim.
It is policy then, as well as justice, to stamp upon record the feats of the meanest, anxiously to search for worthy examples in every walk, and to proclaim them to their brethren, and to the world, as merited tributes, and powerful incentives to achievement.
The Author regrets that his range has been so limited, and that, in many instances, the adduced anecdotes have not been more specific; but the foundation stone is laid, upon which a structure may yet be reared. He trusts, therefore, that the following request may not be unavailing, which is,—That his brother Officers will have the goodness to preserve, in written memorial, the names of those gallant fellows who may hereafter distinguish themselves, as well as a minute description of the circumstances.
As error is a bye path to knowledge, he anticipates from the members of his own household, corrections of the many defects which have unavoidably crept into a work of such