wards recovered from the enemy. The manner in which the other standard was preserved was marked by circumstances equally meritorious and honourable to the individual who preserved it, and equally entitled to the applause and admiration of his country. Ensign Walsh was the officer he alluded to. This gallant individual, having the staff of the colour broken by a cannon-ball, which also severely wounded himself, fell upon the field of battle, and, more anxious about his precious charge than for himself, contrived to separate the flag from the remnants of the staff and secured it in his bosom, from which he afterwards produced it when his wounds were dressed after the battle. (Hear, hear!) He was rejoiced to name these heroic individuals, and to give all the splendour to their reputation which the mention of their deed in that house was calculated to confer."

The honour, however, was due to Lieutenant Latham, who preserved the regimental colour from falling into the enemy's hands in the following gallant manner :-While the Buffs were engaged with the French infantry, they were attacked in the rear by a large force of French and Polish cavalry. Ensign Thomas, who carried the second, or regimental colour, was called upon to surrender; but he replied that could only be with his life. He fell, mortally wounded, a victim to his bravery, and the colour was captured. The first, or the king's colour, was carried by Ensign Walsh; the sergeants who protected it had fallen in its defence, and Ensign Walsh was pursued by several Polish Lancers. Lieutenant Latham saw the danger of this colour being borne in triumph from the field by the enemy; his soul was alive to the honour of

his corps, and he ran forward to protect the colour. Ensign Walsh was surrounded, wounded, and taken prisoner; but Lieutenant Latham arrived at the spot in time to seize the colour, and he defended it with heroic gallantry. Environed by a crowd of assailants, each emulous of the honour of capturing the colour, and his body bleeding from wounds, Lieutenant Latham clung with energetic tenacity to his precious charge, defended himself with his sword, and refused to yield. A French hussar, seizing the flag-staff, and rising in his stirrups, aimed at the head of the gallant Latham a blow which failed in cutting him down, but which sadly mutilated him, severing one side of the face and nose. Although thus severely wounded, his resolute spirit did not shrink, but he sternly and vigorously continued to struggle with the French horsemen, and, as they endeavoured to drag the colour from him, he exclaimed, "I will surrender it only with my life." A second sabre stroke severed his left arm and hand, in which he held the staff, from his body. He then dropped his sword, and, seizing the staff with his right hand, continued to struggle with his opponents until he was thrown down, trampled upon, and pierced with lances; but the number of his adversaries impeded their efforts to destroy him, and at that moment the British cavalry came up and the French troopers fled. Lieutenant Latham, although desperately wounded, was so intent on preserving the colour, that he exerted the little strength he had left to remove it from the staff and to conceal it under him. The Fusilier Brigade advanced, and, by a gallant effort, changed the fortune of the day. Sergeant Gough, of the first battalion Seventh Royal

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Fusiliers, found the colour under Lieutenant Latham, who lay apparently dead. The colour was restored. to the Buffs, and the sergeant was rewarded with a commission. Sergeant Gough, of the Seventh Royal Fusiliers, was recommended for a commission in consequence of his gallant conduct, and was appointed to an ensigncy in the Second West India Regiment, on the 14th November, 1811. After lying some time on the ground in a state of insensibility, Lieutenant Latham revived and crawled towards the river, where he was found endeavouring to quench his thirst. He was removed to the convent, his wounds dressed, the stump of his arm amputated, and he ultimately recovered. Ensign Walsh escaped from the enemy soon after he was made prisoner. He recovered of his wounds, and, joining his regiment, made known the circumstance of the colour having been preserved by Lieutenant Latham. The officers of the Buffs, with a readiness which reflected great honour on the corps, subscribed one hundred guineas for the purchase of a gold medal, on which the preservation of the colour by Lieutenant Latham was represented in high relief, with the motto, "I will surrender it only with my life." Application was made to His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief, by General Leigh, Colonel of the Third Foot, or the Buffs, for the royal authority for Lieutenant Latham to receive and wear the medal, which was granted, in a letter dated Horse Guards, 4th January, 1813.

The conduct of Lieutenant Latham having thus been made known to the Duke of York, His Royal Highness evinced that eagerness to bring merit to the notice of the Crown for which he was distin

guished, and Lieutenant Latham was rewarded, on the 11th of February, 1813, with a commission of captain in the Canadian Fencible Infantry, from which he exchanged, on the 13th of May following, to the Third Foot. The medal was presented to Captain Latham, at Reading, on the 12th of August, 1813.

In 1815, when the second battalion of the Buffs was stationed at Brighton, Captain Latham was presented by his colonel to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, afterwards King George IV., who was ever ready to appreciate and reward valour with an enthusiastic warmth which occasioned him to be much beloved. When Captain Latham's conduct was explained to the Prince Regent, His Royal Highness expressed, in strong terms, his admiration of that gallant achievement, and added that the mutilation of Captain Latham's face admitted of alleviation, and if he should feel disposed to avail himself of the aid of a celebrated surgeon, Mr. Carpue, who had succeeded, by an improved operation, in repairing mutilations of the face to an astonishing extent, His Royal Highness would feel happy in being permitted to pay the expense of the operation and cure. Captain Latham assented to this kind proposition, and the operation was performed by Mr. Carpue, assisted by AssistantSurgeon John Morrison, M.D., of the Buffs.

Captain Latham received, by authority of the royal warrant, a pension of one hundred pounds a year, in consequence of the loss of his left arm, and a further annual pension of seventy pounds on account of his other severe wounds. He continued to serve in the Third Regiment until the 20th April, 1820,

when he was permitted to exchange to the half-pay, receiving the regulated difference. So general was the belief in the preservation of the colour by Ensign Walsh, that the following stanzas were written by W. T. Fitzgerald, commemorative of the incident:

"BATTLE OF ALBUERA.

"Nor shall the youths of humble lot,
Brave Walsh and Thomas, be forgot;
In life and death to honour just,
Neither resigned his sacred trust.

"When all his comrades fell around,
The gallant ensign kept his ground.
'Your standard yield!' the Frenchman cried;
Brave Thomas answered 'No!' and died.

"Walsh, when he felt the hostile dart,
Preserved the colours next his heart,
And, as he sunk, by wounds oppress'd,
Still held them closer to his breast.

"Such bright examples should be told
Of hearts of more than mortal mould.
The young in rank and martial station,
They form the bulwark of the nation."

This same battle of Albuera furnishes, as may imagined, other instances of defending the colours.

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Ensign James Jackson carried the regimental colour of the 57th at the battle of Albuera. Soon after the action commenced, the officer with the king's colour was severely wounded, and the colour fell to the ground, when Ensign Jackson immediately directed one of the sergeants to pick it up, and he took it from him, giving the regimental colour to the sergeant, which he retained until an officer was brought to take charge of it.