MEMOIR OF THE SERVICES OF THE LATE GEN. LOFTUS.

GEN. WILLIAM LOFTUS, late Lieutenant of the Tower and Colonel of the 2nd Dragoon Guards, was lineally descended from Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He was the male representative of a family that has been thrice raised to the peerage, and frequently knighted, previously to the creation of the baronetcy by King James.

He entered the army on the 2nd of June, 1770, as a Cornet in the 9th Light Dragoons; in the September following he exchanged into the 17th Light Dragoons, and in the year 1775 embarked with that regiment for America. During the action at Bunker's Hill he volunteered with a dismounted detachment of the 17th Light Dragoons as a reinforcement to the troops engaged, which was much wanted, and the following day the Commander-in-Chief directed, in public orders, that Cornet Loftus should have the rank of lieutenant in America.

In May 1776, he was promoted to a Lieutenancy in his regiment, and upon the evacuation of Boston proceeded with it to Halifax, and was employed at Windsor, in Nova Scotia, as an assistant engineer in erecting forts and works at that place.

In August 1776, he landed with the army on Long Island, and was with the advance on the night previous to the battle of Bedford, and the next day was particularly engaged with a squadron of the 17th Light Dragoons, whose conduct was so conspicuous as to entitle them to the personal thanks of Sir Henry Clinton and Sir William Erskine, and after the action he had the honour to be selected by Sir William to get intelligence of the enemy's situation, when with two light dragoons he passed the different outposts of the enemy, and succeeded in gaining much valuable information, for which he received Sir William Erskine's thanks.

Lieut. Loftus was with the detachment of the army under Sir William Erskine when, with the 17th Light Dragoons and 71st regiment, he defeated Gen. Udell's corps of cavalry and infantry and took that General prisoner.

He was in the action of Pelham's Manor, at a particular period of which he was sent to Lord Cornwallis to act as his aide-de-camp, and his services on that day were acknowledged by Lord Cornwallis in the most flattering manner.

At the battle of the White Plains he was sent by the Commanderin-Chief, with a detachment of the 17th Light Dragoons, to lead the Hessian grenadiers across the river Brunk, on which occasion he was wounded and had a horse shot under him. He was with Lord Percy's brigade at the attack and taking of Fort Washington.

On the 28th of November 1776, he was appointed to a company in the 44th, having no hopes of promotion in his own regiment.

On the 18th of January 1777, he was ordered by Gen. Knyphausen, with 100 men, to defend a pass at Kingsbridge, upon New York Island, when he was again wounded, but defended the pass to the expressed satisfaction of the General.

In March he was with Colonel Bird's expedition up the Hudson's river, when the whole of the enemy's stores at Peck's Hill were de

stroyed and their magazines blown up. He was actively employed with the army in its various actions and movements in the Jerseys during the campaign of 1777, until appointed to the 3rd Foot Guards, when he returned to England, and was shortly afterwards appointed to the staff of Lord Carlisle, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and subsequently to that of the Duke of Portland, whose friendship he experienced during the remainder of his Grace's life.

In 1784 he purchased his company in the 3rd Guards, and in 1794 raised the 24th Light Dragoons, and in October was appointed Colonel of the regiment.

In May 1796, he became Major-General, and was placed upon the English staff, eastern district, and in 1797, at the particular request of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, was removed to the Irish staff, and appointed to a command at Cork, and received the freedom of that city for services rendered it, and where, by his vigilance in that disturbed period, he awed the disaffected and gave spirit to the loyal.

In 1798 he commanded the camp at Loughlingstown, and at the breaking out of the rebellion was removed into the county of Wexford. He commanded a brigade at Vinegar Hill. The attack of the north side of the hill was allotted to him: here the rebels had a strong line of works, but having left a small hill unoccupied, which allowed them to be flanked, some guns were with much difficulty put into position upon it, and a destructive fire opened, under cover of which, with the Dumbarton Fencibles, he ascended the hill on the north side, while Gen. Lake, on the south side, ascended with the light troops, both driving the rebels before them, and the two generals shook hands in the midst of the enemy's guns and ammunition left behind in their flight. Upon the landing of the French in that country he was ordered over with a brigade of English militia.

In 1800 he was removed to eastern district, England. In 1803 he was appointed Lieutenant-General and removed from the staff. In September 1807 he was appointed Governor of Dumbarton, and on the 7th of September, 1810, to the Lieutenancy of the Tower. In 1809 he was again on the staff in command of the eastern district.

He was twenty-three years in Parliament, giving a steady support to that Government which so gloriously supported our Constitution in Church and State.

He was twice married; first, to Margaret, daughter of Maceauel King, Esq. of Lisson Grove, County of Dublin; and secondly, to Elizabeth, daughter of George first Marquis Townshend.

The whole tenor of his private life was most exemplary-an excellent husband, the best of fathers, and a sincere friend. He left a numerous family to deplore his loss.

MEMOIR OF GENERAL CHURCH.

THE Connexion of Gen. Sir Richard Church with the cause of Greek Independence, is to be dated from a period long previous to that of the revolution. He was appointed by Gen. Oswald, in 1812, to receive the submission of the French garrison of Zante, and while our troops occupied that island, he was ordered to form a regiment of Greeks, under the name of the Duke of York's Greek Light Infantry. Of that regiment he had the command as Major, and when, after its being completely organized, Lieut.Colonel Oswald was appointed its superior officer, Major Church, feeling the injustice of a step which deprived him of the fruits of arduous exertion, made an application to the Horse-Guards, and was promoted to the rank of Lieut.Colonel, on condition of his forming a second regiment, of which he was to have the chief command. In spite of the obstacles opposed to him, Church succeeded in his object. At that period he visited the court of Ali Pasha at Joannina, in the uniform of a naval-officer, but his person had been so accurately described in proclamations issued to prevent the accomplishment of his views, that one of those printed papers was placed in his hands by the Pasha, and his dress alone hindered him from being recognized and detained. From Albania, Church proceeded through Thessaly to Constantinople, and returned through the Morea to Zante, having induced a sufficient number of Greeks to enlist under his command. With these troops Church received the submission of Ithaca, and led the forlorn-hope at Santa Maura, where he was severely wounded in the left arm. They subsequently were removed to Malta and Messina; at the latter place they were disbanded in 1814, receiving, instead of half-pay, eighteen months' full-pay above their arrears. In those two regiments were enlisted almost all the military chiefs of the Morea, and several of the Rumeliots. Colocotroni, Nikitas, Anagrostaxas, Crysospathis, Petimezzas, Calogeros, Vlachopulos, and several others, whose names have figured in the revolutionary war, served in them, and frequently mention in the warmest terms the cordial feeling and zealous efforts of their old commander. Among the documents preserved at the Colonial Office, there will, no doubt, be found a communication addressed by Colonel Church to Government, anticipating a rising in Greece, and dated either in 1812 or 13.

Soon after the revolution had broken out, an address was forwarded from the above-named officers to the General, who then held the distinguished post of Alter-Ego, and Lieut.-General of six provinces of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, inviting him to join the cause, and it is certain he was only prevented from then doing so, by the disturbances which had arisen in Naples, and his subsequent engagements both there and in England. At the commencement of 1826, he began to treat with the Greek Deputies on the subject, but they, unprovided with orders from home, and being, indeed, kept ignorant as to the real state of Greece, and farther discouraged by divisions among themselves, and by the disastrous condition of their affairs both at home and in this country, could enter into no positive engagements. It was then that the General determined on listening only to the impulse of his own feelings. Quitting the English service, he went to Naples, in order to settle his affairs in that country, and then to embark for Greece. There he received a renewed invitation from all the military chiefs, and this was accompanied by a request from the Provisional Government, to at once place himself at the head of their armies. On his arrival in March 1827, he found the country in the most serious danger; Missolonghi had fallen, Athens was besieged by the Rumeli-Valessi, and was in want of everything; and at the same time Colocotroni and his party had formed a congress at Hermione, in opposition to that of the Government at Egina. The advice of Commodore Hamil ton had little influence upon those of Hermione, as he was considered

partial to Mavrocordato and Zaïmis the heads of the opposite faction, and certainly the best men of Greece. The efforts of Church, aided by those of Lord Cochrane, who arrived a short time after him, were successful in uniting the two parties in one assembly at Trozene, and thus Greece was saved at that period from a civil war, which would at once have annihilated every hope of her regeneration. There was a total want of funds to form a military chest, and even for provisions for the army the General was forced to have recourse to the agents of the French Greek Committee. Lord Cochrane placed at his disposal 12,000 dollars from a sum furnished him by the same body, and with that small amount Church commenced his military operations, by sending troops, and hastening himself to support Gen. Karaïskaki, who then was attempting, after various successes in Eastern Greece, to relieve Athens. Previous to that officer's arrival in the vicinity, Colonel Fabvier had, at the request of the Government, thrown himself into the fortress with 600 regulars, each carrying a certain quantity of ammunition, of which the garrison stood much in need; but when he attempted to again leave the fortress, as he had previously planned, the Greek officers prevented him, by threatening to withdraw themselves with him, and thus placing it on his responsibility if the Turks became masters of the citadel. I mention this circumstance, as the Greeks accuse the Colonel, (whether rightly or wrongly, I do not intend here to discuss,) of being urged to quit the fortress sooner than he should have done from pique towards themselves, and from jealousy of Church and Cochrane. The expedition in relief of Athens ended most disastrously. The fatal 6th of May 1827 will not easily be forgotten in Greece, as the flower of her troops fell on that day. That misfortune has been attributed to various causes; several reasons may be assigned, and all may be combated. Some say that Lord Cochrane, not knowing the character of the Greek soldiery, and how little they are capable of the coups d'éclat, which appear simple to a man of his high talents and desperate courage, urged the General into the affair against his own judgment. Be this as it may, it is certain that even the plan as previously organized, was not carried into effect. Instead of marching directly to the walls of the town, the troops divided themselves into small bodies, and lost time by encamping in the plain, where, without artillery, and protected only by the tambours (small intrenchments) hastily thrown up, they were no match for the excellent cavalry of the enemy-nor were they sufficiently advanced to be under the protection of the cannon of the citadel-add to this, that Gen. Zavellas did not make his attack on the olive-grove which lay between the Greek encampments on the Phalerum and the citadel, and which was occupied by the Turks; nor did Fabvier, as was previously agreed, make a sortie from the fortress. The forces of the enemy, which would thus have been divided into three parts, were all concentrated against the corps in the plain. The following letter, addressed by Lord Cochrane to Gen. Church, about an hour before the entire rout of the Greeks, will not be read without interest.

"Dear Sir Richard, I was delighted this morning to see your operations. More has been done last night to save Greece than since the commencement of the war, because the old system of proceeding by besieging tambours is at an end. I hope you will effect the deliverance of the wretched women and children this night. The Turks seem stupified, and their cavalry stand still in amazement ! Cannot some operation take place to join your divisions after dark? The navy is at your disposal.

"6th May.

"Believe me, yours most sincerely,
"COCHRANE."

The Greek army being sensibly diminished by this defeat, and by the constant desertions which followed it, the patience of Gen. Church was put to the severest test in keeping the remaining troops in their positions, till he had concerted plans to cut off the enemy's resources. Those only who were,

in subordinate degrees, participators in the anxiety and trials he had to submit to, can appreciate the perseverance with which he, for three weeks, combated the desire of the soldiery, urged on by their officers, to withdraw from the heights of the Phalerum. Finding at last that it was useless to resist, he consented, and the embarkation took place without the loss of a man, and in a manner which would have done credit to the most regular army. The Turks were surprised at break of day to find that the Greek positions had been vacated, without the least appearance of any movement, and that not even a gun was left in the entrenchments.

Gen. Church then removed his head-quarters to Egina, and took immediate measures for returning to cut off the provisions of the besieging army, as he had, by a messenger dispatched purposely into the citadel, informed the garrison he intended to do. But this step was rendered unnecessary by the unexpected surrender of the fortress, although the chiefs who held it had a few days previously rejected, in a spirited manner, the proposals made them by the Seraskier, and which Church had authorised them to accept, if they knew they could not hold out. It is to be remarked that Admiral de Rigny came, at the request of Fabvier, purposely from Smyrna, to be the organ of the propositions of the Pasha. The Greek chiefs, immediately on their arrival at Egina, accused Fabvier of treason, he retorted the charge, but these recriminations offered no satisfaction to those who felt that the loss of Athens was a serious and almost overwhelming blow to the liberties of Greece.

Among those who had fallen at Athens was Notari, the chief of the fortress of Corinth; and the Suliots, desirous of getting a footing in the Morea, had been chiefly instrumental in breaking up the encampment on the Phalerum, that they might hasten to seize that citadel. The Moreots of Colocotroni's party had also united to dispossess Grivas who held the Palamide at Napoli, and they, on that account, were equally anxious to remove their troops from before Athens. The Suliots found no opposition, as they agreed to pay the garrison the amount of arrears due to them, and the General, well knowing the character of the men he had under his orders, wisely confirmed them in the command of the fortress, of which they had managed to gain possession. Colocotroni failed in his attempt on the Palamide, and a civil strife was once more kindled. It seemed as if the chiefs, despairing of the fate of their country, were only intent on obtaining these temporary commands, which would either enable them to oppress the citizens for their own advantage, or raise themselves to some momentary authority. The government, against the advice of the General, determined to remove to Napoli, thus placing themselves under the very guns of a fortress held by a turbulent and refractory soldier; and the General having settled the affair of Corinth, and made stipulations with the Suliots, by which they bound themselves to hold the Acrocorinth under his orders, hired vessels from the Ipsariots, and prepared to attack Negropont. He removed his head-quarters to Salamis, and his troops were embarked for a descent on that island, which he was prevented from effecting by a want of provisions and ammunition. He applied to the commission charged with the distribution of provisions sent from France, but Colonel Heidrele, perhaps to prevent the General's attempting an enterprize in which he had himself failed, and perhaps still more to show the power which the means placed at his disposal gave him, refused to support the General, and he was therefore forced to remove to the Isthmus of Corinth, and to wait there until he could procure means of effecting what he had in view for the advantage of Greece. It was while he was encamped at Cenchræ on the Isthmus, that the General received orders from the Government to march upon Napoli, which had become the theatre of a civil contention between Grivas, who held the Palamide, and Fobomaras who held the lower fortress. He went there much against his will, passed a month in endeavouring to reconcile the two chiefs, but he found each of them (the Government now siding with the one, then with the