224 “The Wiltshire Regiment for Wiltshire.’’ 
The Sixty-Second was originally the second battalion of the Fourth Regiment. 
It was afterwards called the regiment of Stroud (or Stroud’s Regiment). It 
was numbered Sixty-Second about eighty years ago. It was present in the West 
Indies during the Maroon War, where it lost a number of brave officers and 
soldiers. It was also through the whole of the first American War, where it 
was first called ‘* Sprimgers,” a name by which it is still well known in the 
British Army. It derived this name under tke following circumstances—it 
acted as a light infantry battalion in an action with the enemy, when the con- 
duct of the regiment meeting the eye and approbation of their general, he cried 
out: ‘* Well done my brave Springers.”’ It lost a number of brave officers and 
soldiers during this war, and the skeleton of the regiment was made prisoners, 
at the battle of Steel Water. 
Four companies of the Sixty-Second Regiment, under the command of Colonel 
Jennings, occupied the Castle of Carrickfergus at the time of the attack of that 
town by the French under Thurot, where from the ruinous state of the castle 
and having expended their ammunition they were forced to capitulate, and were 
allowed to march out with the honours of war, and both officers and men were 
allowed to pass on their parole to Dublin. There is still a traditional report in 
the regiment that it was in consequence of this detachment, when they ran 
short of ammunition, having fired half the cartridge with ball and the other 
half with the buttons which they cut off their clothes, that the regiment wears 
the ball on their buttons. 
The first battalion Sixty-Second Regiment served in Egypt. 
A detachment of the Sixty-Second Regiment, under command of Major 
Darley, aided by a party of Marines took an island in the Mediterranean called 
‘‘ Prodiga” (Procida), from a very superior French Force. For that gallant 
exploit, that brave officer got the rank of Lieut-Colonel. 
On the return of the late second battalion Sixty Second Regiment to Ireland 
from France, in 1816, where memorialist had the honour of serving part of 
the campaign and doing duty in ‘“ Paris” for some mouths under the command 
of His Grace Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington with the allied army. 
the brave Lt.-Colonel Darley had the command of the Lord Melville, which 
was wrecked on the Irish coast. When the ship struck on the rocks the captain 
and part of tbe crew attempted to abandon her, on which the brave colonel drew 
his sword and said he would cut the head of the first sailor that attempted to 
leave the ship until every man, woman, and child of the regiment was put on 
shore, thereby saving the lives of the whole of his detachment with the ex- 
ception of Captain Radford, who, with the mate of the ship, dropped into a 
small boat alongside, where they sunk almost immediately, to rise no more, 
The first battalion, Sixty-Second Regiment, were also present at the taking 
of ‘‘Genoa” and ‘‘ Sayona,” in Italy, from the French. 
They were also present at the taking of ‘‘ Castine,” in North America from 
the Americans. Brevet-Major Riddell got the rank of Lieut.-Col. for com- 
manding the grenadiers of the Twenty-Ninth, Sixty-Second and late Ninety- 
‘Eighth Regiments, together with the companies of the Sixtieth Regiment at 
the capture of Hamden, near Castine. The brave Lieut.-Colonel D. Ximenes 
(now Major-General Sir D. Ximenes, K.H.) commanded the Sixty-Second Regi- 
ment at the capture of Castine. Sir D., Ximenes to the true intent of the word 
