County Longford was given a quota of 260 men to find, and the '''Prince of Wales's Royal Longford Militia''' was formed at
Newtown Forbes. The
Governor of County Longford,
George Forbes, 6th Earl of Granard, was commissioned as
Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the battalion on 11 April 1793. The officers misunderstood the quota and enrolled 40 non-commissioned officers (NCOs) in addition to the 260 privates in five companies; when the mistake was discovered in January 1794 the additional men were kept and the battalion's establishment was adjusted accordingly, organised as six companies.
French Revolutionary War The
French Revolutionary and
Napoleonic Wars saw the British and Irish militia embodied for a whole generation, becoming regiments of full-time professional soldiers (though restricted to service in Britain or Ireland respectively), which the regular army increasingly saw as a prime source of recruits. They served in coast defences, manned garrisons, guarded prisoners of war, and carried out internal security duties. The new Royal Longford Militia (RLM) was embodied at
Longford town on 6 June. for permanent service on 6 June 1793, arms and ammunition were issued and training began. In October the battalion marched out to be quartered at
Kilkenny, under the overall command of Maj-Gen Crosbie, commanding Connaught District. In November a body of armed insurgents occupied a village close to Kilkenny, and a force consisting of one company of the RLM, a
Troop of the
5th Dragoons and one gun was sent against them. The artillery fire failed to induce the insurgents to surrender, so the Longfords were sent in and carried the position at the point of the bayonet. The inexperienced troops were warmly congratulated. In April 1794 the battalion moved its headquarters (HQ) to
Dundalk with detachments at
Kingscourt,
Carrickmacross and
Portadown to assist the civil powers. The main duty was searching for illicit
stills and there were frequent fights to capture these, for which the troops were rewarded with a bounty. These and other disputes also led to scuffles with local people, including a least one death of a civilian. By 29 August 1794 the battalion was deployed with four companies at
Carlow, one at
Ballitore and one at
Kilcullen Bridge. In October and November the companies were concentrated at
Dublin. The Irish Militia was augmented in April 1795, County Longford's quota being increased to 460 men. Trouble was expected and in May the troops were ordered to be ready to take the field at short notice. The RLM and other battalions were camped at
Luttrellstown outside Dublin. In July the regiment was under orders to move to
Maryborough, but was kept outside Dublin, with live ammunition issued, in case of an insurrection in the city. By early 1796 the city was quiet and the troop concentration. could be dispersed. In the spring the RLM were
billeted across
County Carlow and
Queen's County, with HQ at Carlow and detachments at
Castlecomer,
Roscrea, Maryborough,
Ballinakill,
Ballyroan and
Curragh Camp. Anxiety about a possible French invasion grew during the autumn of 1796 and preparations were made for field operations. A large
French expeditionary force appeared in
Bantry Bay on 21 December and troops from all over Ireland were marched towards the threatened area: Crosbie sent his forces to cover
Cork. On 25 December the RLM were ordered to march rapidly to
Bandon, leaving behind their heavy baggage, sick, women and children. The men marched through severe winter weather without blankets, which had been sent from Dublin by boat but were delayed when the canal froze. After struggling through snowdrifts to
Kilworth news arrived that the French fleet had been scattered by the winter storms. Several ships had been wrecked and none of the French troops succeeded in landing; there was no sign of a rising by the
United Irishmen. The invasion was called off on 29 December, and the troop concentration was dispersed in early 1797. The RLM remained at Kilworth for a while to recruit, then when the weather improved it moved to
Rathkeale in case the French made an attempt on Limerick. Early in 1797 the light companies of the militia were detached to join composite battalions drawn from several militia regiments. The RLM contingent was attached to 1st Light Battalion, stationed at Kilkenny. The militia regiments were each issued with two light six-pounder 'battalion guns', with the gun detachments trained by the
Royal Artillery. When the militiamen of 1793 reached the end of their four-year enlistment in 1797, most of the Irish regiments were able to maintain their numbers through re-enlistments (for a bounty). The RLM was augmented again in July 1797 (when Lord Granard's position as Colonel Commandant was confirmed) and its establishment now totalled 646 all ranks: this was achieved by recruiting for bounty rather than using the ballot.
Irish Rebellion After spending the summer of 1797 in huts at Rathkeale, the RLM was transferred to Limerick in September. Early in 1798, with rebellion expected, the militia regiments were supplied with camp equipment,
pioneers' tools,
etc to be ready to take the field. Each detachment was ordered to remained concentrated and to place strong night
picquets. From 4 April the RLM paraded twice a day in full marching order. On 9 April the regiment took part with the rest of the Limerick garrison in a coordinated sweep to disarm the province of
Munster, destroying the captured arms. With Munster disarmed the regiment was moved to
County Clare, with HQ at
Ennis, and detachments at
Clarecastle,
Kilrush,
Sixmilebridge,
Newmarket-on-Fergus,
Broadford,
Tuamgraney and
Tulla. The Earl of Granard was appointed officer commanding the county. The expected
Irish Rebellion broke out in May 1798. At first the regiment was little affected, though foraging parties were placed under the command of officers ordered to avoid clashes with the populace, and the Earl of Granard was empowered to try civilians by court martial if necessary. ). Meanwhile, the Longford Company with the 1st Light Battalion was heavily engaged in the operations against the rebels in
County Kildare and then moved into
County Wicklow. It was part of the force assembled by Lt-Gen
Gerard Lake to take the main rebel camp at Vinegar Hill, forming part of
David Dundas's column. The battalion was in contact with the rebels at Kilcavan Hill on 18 June, and then formed the advanced guard at the decisive
Battle of Vinegar Hill on 21 June, storming the rebel position on the heights. The Longford company suffered numerous casualties in the action. After the rebellion had been largely put down, an expeditionary force under General
Humbert sent by the
French Directory to assist the rebels belatedly arrived at
Killala on 22 August. Next day the British commanders began collecting troops to face this new threat: the RLM was ordered to concentrate and then march to
Gort, leaving its heavy baggage at Ennis. The Earl of Granard promptly obeyed, leaving one company to protect the barracks at Ennis and Clarecastle, he marched out with his other four companies (14 officers and 400 other ranks (ORs)) and a battalion gun on the morning of 24 August. During the march he received messages from the commanders gathering the force to push on to
Oranmore and then to
Castlebar. The regiment reached Oranmore after dark on 25 August. Next morning it was ordered by Maj-Gen Hutchinson, commanding at Castlebar, to press on to that town 'with all possible despatch', requisitioning horses, carts and carriages to speed the journey. The regiment put the men's packs, blankets, greatcoats and those men who were unable to march aboard these. carts, and arrived at Castlebar at 23.00 on 26 August, having marched 80 miles from Ennis in three days. The baggage was parked in the market square and the exhausted men
bivouacked in the street. The Kilkenny Militia had arrived at Castlebar the day before, and with the
cadre of the
6th Foot, some of the
6th Dragoon Guards, and detachments from some
yeomanry and
fencible regiments, Hutchinson had about 1700 men, backed by four 6-pounders and a howitzer of the
Royal Irish Artillery (RIA). However, the force drawn from more than 10 units had no cohesion, the militia were exhausted, and Hutchinson had made the mistake of concentrating within striking distance of the enemy. There were two routes to Castlebar from the French camp at
Ballina: Humbert made a feint along the lower road, which was patrolled, but actually advanced along the other, which was considered impracticable. He attacked early on 27 August with 1000 veteran French troops and 3000 rebels armed with French weapons. The Kilkenny Militia were in the first line on a ridge with Granard and his four companies of Royal Longford Militia in a valley to their left rear. Humbert attacked in
column, and was driven back three times by the guns manned by the RIA and the Kilkennys. He then deployed his men into
line, but the inexperienced Kilkenny Militia opened fire at too long a range and with Humbert's line rapidly extending to outflank them, they attempted to retire. To do this under fire was beyond the troops' capabilities, and the whole line gave way, exposing the gunners to being overrun, and fleeing past the Longfords behind the ridge. The Earl of Granard kept most of the Longfords in hand and with a few of the Kilkennys and fencibles who rallied to them, he managed to retire in reasonable order, firing volleys to cover the retreat of the force. Threatened with being enveloped, Granard retired to Castlebar Bridge in the town where, with the assistance of a gun manned by the RIA, he managed to hold on for about half an hour. However, the force that had retired into Castlebar was in complete confusion behind him and failed to rally there. Under crossfire from the houses across the bridge, all of the gunners were shot down and although Granard's men repulsed the first attempt by French
Hussars to cross the bridge, their infantry came on and engaged in hand-to-hand fighting on the bridge while other parties waded across the river on either side. Granard retired, forming a rearguard for the broken army, which was fleeing across the countryside, giving rise to the battle's nickname, the 'Castlebar Races'. Granard and the remnants of the RLM reached
Tuam the following morning All the army's baggage and cannons in Castlebar, and the regimental paymasters' chests, fell into the hands of the enemy. The RLM's losses totalled 55 ORs killed and four officers and 125 ORs captured, many of them wounded. Some 53 of the captured men may have entered French service in an attempt to save their lives, but were hanged or shot after being captured by government forces later in the campaign. With the diminishing threat of invasion after 1799, the strength of the militia could be reduced, and at the beginning of 1800 the surplus men were encouraged to volunteer for
regiments of the line, and a large number of the RLM did so. In March 1800 the light battalions were reformed, the RLM being warned to make sure that its light company comprised men who had served before. It was later marched off to join the light battalion at Athlone. A composite corps of pioneers under the Quartermaster-General was also formed by detachments from the regiments. Each detachment comprised one
subaltern, one sergeant, one corporal and 20 picked men, who received extra pay for the work. The Longford contingent served in the '3rd Division'. The rest of the RLM was held ready to march to Limerick in the event of trouble, though it was food riots that were the problem, not insurrection. Hunting for illicit stills and chasing mail coach robbers and smugglers were among its other duties: a detachment of the RLM attacked and chased away a Guernsey smuggling boat, but not before it had dropped its cargo at Lyscanner Bay. In July 1801 the threat of invasion had shifted to England, and a number of Irish Militia regiments (including 588 out of the 600 rank and file of the Royal Longfords), volunteered to serve there; however, nothing came of the proposal. By the end of 1801 peace negotiations with the French were progressing and recruiting and re-enlistment for the Irish Militia was stopped in October. The men received the new clothing they were due on 25 December, but the
Treaty of Amiens was signed in March 1802 when the regiment was disembodied. On 12 May the men of the RLM were paid off at
Longford (which the Earl of Granard had nominated as the best barracks in which to store the arms), leaving only the permanent staff of 70 non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and drummers under the regimental
adjutant.
Napoleonic Wars However, the Peace of Amiens was short-lived and preparations to re-embody the militia were soon under way. Lord Granard was ordered to bring the regiment up to strength by means of the ballot in November 1802, and then to embody three companies on 15 March 1803. Another company followed on 1 April and the other two completed the regiment on 6 April 1803. The RLM once more had an establishment of 400 all ranks, but in 1805 the Irish Militia were allowed to recruit an additional 30 volunteers per company. In 1811 the Irish Militia was augmented again by 30 men per company, and the establishment of the RLM was increased to 647 all ranks), moved to
Coventry, with detachments at
Northampton,
Hinckley and
Lichfield. Many of the men fell sick during the winter march in wet weather. The officers complained that they did not get the same expense allowances they had enjoyed in Ireland and which they had been promised. There was also trouble between the townsfolk and the militiamen at Northampton. In April the regiment concentrated at
Warwick, and next month moved to
Liverpool. The war had ended with the abdication of
Napoleon, and the militia could be progressively disembodied. The RLM stayed at Liverpool until August, when it sailed to Dublin, then marched to be stationed at
Kilbeggan, with the usual scattered detachments. In October the RLM concentrated at Longford, where it was disembodied on 10 October 1814.
Napoleon escaped from
Elba in 1815 and the militia were called out again as the bulk of the regular army crossed to the Continent for the short
Waterloo campaign and occupation duties in its aftermath. The RLM was re-embodied at Longford on 13 July 1815 (on the old establishment of 461 all ranks).It moved to
Lifford in October, with a large number of small detachments. The RLM was finally disembodied on 15 April 1816.
Long Peace After Waterloo there was a long peace. Although officers continued to be commissioned into the militia and ballots might still be held, the regiments were rarely assembled for training and the permanent staffs of militia regiments were progressively reduced. The regimental HQ and arms store for the RLM was at Newtown Forbes until 1817, then at Granard until returning to Newtown Forbes in 1821. In 1824 The Earl of Granard handed over command of the disembodied RLM to his eldest son,
Major-General,
George Forbes, Viscount Forbes,
Member of Parliament for
County Longford. He was
Lord Lieutenant of Longford from 1831. Major Fetherston (now
Sir George Fetherston, 3rd Baronet, and also previously an MP for Longford]), who had commanded the RLM during its deployment to England, was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel on 1 January 1833. Viscount Forbes died in 1836, a few months before his father.
Henry White, who had served in the
15th Light Dragoons during the
Peninsular War, was then appointed colonel on 9 January 1837. He was later Lord Lieutenant of Longford and was created Lord Annaly in 1863. ==1852 Reforms==