Military unit
The
38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot
was an
infantry
regiment
of the
British Army
, raised in 1705. Under the
Childers Reforms
it amalgamated with the
80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers)
to form the
South Staffordshire Regiment
in 1881.
History
[
edit
]
Early years
[
edit
]
The regiment was first raised by Colonel Sir John Guise as
Sir John Guise's Regiment of Foot
in 1688 and then disbanded in England in 1694.
[1]
It was raised a second time by General
Luke Lillingston
as
Luke Lillingstone's Regiment of Foot
with personnel from the previous regiment in 1694 and then disbanded in the
West Indies
in 1696.
[1]
The regiment was raised a third time at
Lichfield
by General Luke Lillingston as
Luke Lillingstone's Regiment of Foot
in March 1705.
[1]
It was ranked as the 38th regiment in 1747.
[1]
It was posted to Ireland later in the year and then sent to the
West Indies
in 1707.
[2]
On 1 July 1751 a royal warrant was issued which provided that in future regiments would no longer be known by their colonel's name, but would bear a regimental number based on their precedence: the regiment became the
38th Regiment of Foot
.
[1]
It returned to Ireland in 1764 and then went to
Boston
in
Massachusetts
in 1774.
[2]
It fought at the
Battle of Bunker Hill
in June 1775 and at the
Battle of Brandywine
in September 1777 during the
American Revolutionary War
.
[2]
The regiment took a county title as the
38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot
in 1782
[1]
and returned to Ireland in 1790.
[3]
Napoleonic wars
[
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]
Following the outbreak of
war with France
,
[3]
the flank companies of the regiment sailed for the West Indies and in March 1794 took part in the capture of
Martinique
. Meanwhile, the battalion companies of the 38th served in the Low Countries with the Duke of York. In 1796 the regiment was reunited in the West Indies and in May 1796 took part in the capture of
Saint Lucia
and the capture of
Trinidad
in 1797. After taking part in the capture of the
Cape of Good Hope
at the
Battle of Blaauwberg
in January 1806, it embarked for South America where it fought under General
William Beresford
at the
capture of Montevideo
in January 1807 and at the attack on
Buenos Aires
in July 1807 during the
British invasions of the River Plate
.
[3]
The 1st battalion embarked for the Peninsula in June 1808 and saw action at the
Battle of Rolica
in August 1808, the
Battle of Vimeiro
later in August 1808, and the
retreat to Corunna
under Lieutenant-General
Sir John Moore
in June 1809.
[4]
The 1st battalion also took part in the disastrous
Walcheren Campaign
in autumn 1809.
[4]
The 1st battalion returned to the Peninsula in spring 1812 and took part in the
Battle of Salamanca
in July 1812,
[5]
the
siege of Burgos
in September 1812,
[6]
and the
Battle of Vitoria
in June 1813
[7]
as well as the
siege of San Sebastian
in September 1813.
[8]
It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at the
Battle of Nivelle
in November 1813,
[9]
at the
Battle of the Nive
in December 1813
[9]
and at the
Battle of Orthez
in February 1814
[9]
as well as at the
Battle of Toulouse
in April 1814
[9]
and at the
Battle of Bayonne
later in April 1814.
[9]
Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion took part in the
Battle of Bussaco
in September 1810 and the
siege of Badajoz
in March 1812.
[4]
The Victorian era
[
edit
]
The regiment was sent to the
Cape of Good Hope
for service in the
Fifth Xhosa War
in 1818 and then to India in 1822 from where it was deployed to
Burma
for service in the
First Anglo-Burmese War
in 1824.
[10]
It returned to England in May 1836 and proceeded to Ireland in May 1837 before embarking for
Zante
in the
Ionian Sea
in September 1840.
[10]
It went on to
Gibraltar
in March 1843 and to
Jamaica
in November 1845 before proceeding to
Halifax, Nova Scotia
in April 1848.
[10]
After returning to England in August 1851, it was dispatched to the
Crimea
for service in the
Crimean War
in April 1854.
[10]
It took part in the
Battle of the Alma
in September 1854,
Battle of Inkerman
in November 1854 and the
siege of Sevastopol
in winter 1854.
[11]
The regiment then embarked for India in August 1857 and saw action at the
Capture of Lucknow
in March 1858 during
Indian Rebellion
.
[11]
It also took part in the expedition against
the Black Mountain tribes
in 1868 before returning to England in 1871.
[2]
As part of the
Cardwell Reforms
of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 38th was linked with the
80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers)
, and assigned to district no. 19 at
Whittington Barracks
in
Lichfield
.
[12]
On 1 July 1881 the
Childers Reforms
came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) to form the
South Staffordshire Regiment
.
[1]
Battle honours
[
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]
The battle honours of the regiment were as follows:
[1]
- South America
:
Monte Video
- Peninsular War
:
Rolica
,
Vimiera
,
Corunna
,
Busaco
,
Badajoz
,
Salamanca
,
Vitoria
,
San Sebastian
,
Nive
, Peninsula
- First Anglo-Burmese War
: Ava
- Crimean War
:
Alma
,
Inkerman
,
Sevastopol
- Indian Mutiny
:
Lucknow
- West Indies
:
Guadeloupe 1759
,
Martinique 1762
(
awarded 1909 to successor regiment
)
Regimental colonels
[
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]
The colonels of the regiment were as follows:
[1]
- First raising
- 1688?1689: Sir John Guise
- 1689?1693: Jonathan Foulkes
- 1693-1694: Brig-Gen.
Luke Lillingston
- disbanded 1694
- Second raising
- Third raising
- 38th Regiment of Foot
- 38th (the 1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot - (1782)
- 1796?1805: Gen.
James Rooke
- 1805?1836: Gen.
George James Ludlow, 3rd Earl Ludlow
, GCB
- 1836?1836: Maj-Gen. Hon. Sir Charles James Greville, KCB
- 1836?1840: Gen. Sir
Henry Pigot
, GCMG
- 1840?1843: Lt-Gen. Sir
Jasper Nicolls
, KCB
- 1843?1862: Gen. Hon. Sir
Hugh Arbuthnot
, KCB
- 1862?1876: Gen. Sir
William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst
, GCB, GCSI
- 1876?1881: Gen.
James Pattoun Sparks
, CB
References
[
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]
Sources
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Jones, James P. (1923).
A history of the South Staffordshire Regiment (1705?1923)
. Whitehead Brothers (Wolverhampton).
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Predecessors
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2nd generation
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3rd generation
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Regimental titles in
italics
indicate they were disbanded or renumbered before 1881.
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