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Infantry regiment of the British Army
Military unit
The
130th Regiment of Foot
was an infantry
regiment
of the
British Army
, created in 1794. After being raised it was sent to the West Indies, where it suffered heavy losses from tropical disease. The unit was disbanded at
Santo Domingo
in 1796, with the survivors drafted into other regiments.
Background
[
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]
The 130th Regiment of Foot was raised as part of a rapid expansion of the British Army from 1793 as a reaction to the
French Revolutionary Wars
, which had begun in 1792. More than 40 regiments of foot and cavalry were added to the establishment; many of these units were short lived. British Army regiments are given a number, according to the seniority in which they were raised, but the numbering of these units is somewhat erratic. The supposedly junior
131st Regiment of Foot
was accepted onto the
Army List
a full 18 months before the 130th Regiment. This probably represents differences in the speed of recruitment to individual regiments (units were not accepted onto the list until they had reached a certain "establishment" strength). The naming of the new units is also varied. Some were granted formal names but others were known by their commander's names or by number alone. Most of the new regiments disbanded by 1797.
[1]
History
[
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]
In 1794 Captain
George Pigot
, formerly of the
38th Regiment of Foot
was promised promotion to lieutenant-colonel?and command of the new 130th Regiment of Foot if he could recruit the men to establish the unit.
[2]
The 130th Regiment of Foot was formed at
Wolverhampton
, Staffordshire, in 1794 and was titled the "Loyal Staffordshire Volunteers".
[3]
It was also known as "Pigot's" or "Meyrick's" Regiment.
[4]
Pigot was appointed to command the 130th Regiment on 21 March 1795 and the unit was entered onto the Army List on 12 June.
[5]
[6]
The 130th Regiment was posted to the
West Indies
in 1795, at a time when the British were fighting the
Second Maroon War
against the revolt of the
Jamaican Maroons
. The unit suffered badly from tropical disease. It numbered 166 fit men at
Santo Domingo
in November but by December numbered only 7 men fit and 11 sick.
[7]
[2]
The regiment was disbanded at Santo Domingo in 1796 by drafting the survivors into other units.
[2]
[3]
[8]
[6]
Shoulder belt plates
bearing the insignia of the
Stafford Knot
and the inscription "Loyal Staffordshire Volunteers" found in Dominica and Haiti and sometimes identified as belonging to the
80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers)
, are instead probably associated with the 130th Regiment.
[3]
Colonel Pigot was placed on
half pay
and afterwards rose, by a series of
brevet
promotions, to the rank of general.
[2]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Chartrand, Rene (2015).
"Stations of the High-numbered Regiments Added to the British Establishment, 1793?1799"
.
Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research
.
93
(373): 73.
ISSN
0037-9700
.
JSTOR
44232682
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Wood, Stephen (2010).
"Lieutenant-general Sir Robert Pigot, Baronet, by Francis Cotes RA, c. 1765"
.
Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research
.
88
(354): 127.
ISSN
0037-9700
.
JSTOR
44232839
.
- ^
a
b
c
The Bulletin
. Military Historical Society. 1972. p. 19.
- ^
Franklin, Carl (2012-01-01).
British Army Uniforms of the American Revolution 1751?1783
. Casemate Publishers. p. 365.
ISBN
978-1-84884-690-6
.
- ^
"No. 13761"
.
The London Gazette
. 17 March 1795. p. 250.
- ^
a
b
Chartrand, Rene (2015).
"Stations of the High-numbered Regiments Added to the British Establishment, 1793?1799"
.
Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research
.
93
(373): 75.
ISSN
0037-9700
.
JSTOR
44232682
.
- ^
Reid, Stuart (1996).
"Brigands and the Black Vomit the Royal Scots on San Domingo 1794?1797"
.
Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research
.
74
(299): 164.
ISSN
0037-9700
.
JSTOR
44225323
.
- ^
Messenger, Charles (1994-03-16).
For Love of Regiment: A History of British Infantry, Volume 2, 1915?1994
. Pen and Sword. p. 258.
ISBN
978-1-78383-507-2
.
External links
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]
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Regimental titles in
italics
indicate they were disbanded or renumbered before 1881.
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