British Army infantry regiment, 1719?1881
Military unit
The
41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot
was an
infantry
regiment
of the
British Army
, raised in 1719. Under the
Childers Reforms
it amalgamated with the
69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot
to form the
Welch Regiment
in 1881.
History
[
edit
]
41st Regiment of Foot Uniform c.1750 during the
Seven Years' War
Major-General William Allan who served as a junior officer with the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot throughout the
Crimean War
Early history
[
edit
]
The regiment was raised by Colonel
Edmund Fielding
in March 1719 as
Edmund Fielding's Regiment of Foot
out of independent companies of invalids and
Chelsea out-pensioners
- soldiers incapable of normal service through disease, age or injury.
[2]
For much of its early history the regiment undertook garrison duties at
Portsmouth
. It was renamed the
Royal Invalids
in 1741,
[2]
and it was numbered the
41st Regiment of Foot
in 1751.
[2]
In 1782, when other regiments took county titles, it was denoted as the
41st (Royal Invalids) Regiment of Foot
; in 1787 it ceased to comprise invalids and became a conventional line regiment, dropping the title.
[2]
On 23 January 1788,
Arthur Wellesley
, the future Duke of Wellington, joined the regiment as a young
lieutenant
.
[3]
Memorial to the men who fell during the
siege of Fort Meigs
in April 1813
The regiment embarked for the
West Indies
in 1793 for service in the
French Revolutionary Wars
; it took part in the capture of
Martinique
in March 1794 and the attack on
Guadeloupe
in April 1794 before returning to England in October 1796.
[4]
It was posted to Canada in 1800 and saw service there during the
War of 1812
. It fought under Major General
Isaac Brock
at the
siege of Detroit
in August 1812
[5]
and the
Battle of Queenston Heights
in October 1812.
[6]
Following Brock's death, it fought under Major-General
Henry Procter
at the
Battle of Frenchtown
in January 1813
[7]
and formed the bulk of the attacking force at the
siege of Fort Meigs
in April 1813 and the
Battle of Fort Stephenson
in August 1813.
[8]
It then formed part of the crew of the British naval squadron which was defeated at the
Battle of Lake Erie
in September 1813
[9]
and faced defeat again at the
Battle of the Thames
in October 1813.
[10]
It also took part in the successful
Capture of Fort Niagara
and
Battle of Buffalo
in December 1813, the
Battle of Lundy's Lane
in July 1814, and the
Siege of Fort Erie
in August and September 1814.
[11]
Shadrack Byfield
, a private in the regiment from 1809 to 1815, took part in many of these battles before losing an arm at
Conjocta Creek
in 1814 and, after returning home, chronicled the battles in his memoirs.
[12]
The Victorian era
[
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]
The regiment was posted to
India
in July 1822 and was deployed to
Rangoon
for service in the
First Anglo-Burmese War
in May 1824.
[13]
It formed part of an army which advanced up the
River Irrawaddy
to the
Kingdom of Ava
and then captured
Bagan
in February 1826.
[13]
It received a territorial affiliation in 1831, becoming the
41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot
.
[2]
The regiment was sent to
Afghanistan
in 1842 for service in the
First Anglo-Afghan War
and saw action at
Kandahar
and
Ghazni
.
[14]
Patrick Cleburne
, a private in the regiment from 1846 to 1849, subsequently moved to
United States
and rose to
major general
in the
Confederate Army
during the
American Civil War
.
[15]
The regiment landed at
Kalamita
in summer 1854 for service in the
Crimean War
and fought at the
Battle of Alma
in September 1854 and the
Battle of Inkerman
, where they captured the
Russian
drums, in November 1854 before taking part in the
siege of Sevastopol
in winter 1854.
[16]
Memorial to the fallen at the
Battle of Inkerman
where the regiment captured the
Russian
drums in November 1854
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 41st was linked with the
69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot
, and assigned to district no. 24 at
Maindy Barracks
in
Cardiff
.
[17]
On 1 July 1881 the
Childers Reforms
came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot to form the
Welch Regiment
.
[2]
Battle honours
[
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]
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:
[2]
Victoria Crosses
[
edit
]
Two Victoria Crosses were awarded to men of the regiment
Colonels of the Regiment
[
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]
Colonels of the regiment were:
[2]
The Regiment of Invalids
[
edit
]
- 1752?1764: Lt-Gen. John Parsons
- 1764?1765: Maj-Gen. Alexander Leslie, 6th Lord Lindores
- 1765?1771: Maj-Gen. John Parker
- 1771?1784: Lt-Gen. Jordan Wren
- 1784?1790: Maj-Gen. Archibald McNab
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Burnham, Robert; McGuigan, Ron (2010).
The British Army against Napoleon
. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Frontline Books. p. 126.
ISBN
978-1-84832-562-3
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"41st (the Welsh) Regiment of Foot"
. regiments.org. Archived from
the original
on 23 February 2007
. Retrieved
11 July
2016
.
- ^
"No. 12958"
.
The London Gazette
. 22 January 1788. p. 40.
- ^
Lomax, pp. 37?40
- ^
Lomax, p. 53
- ^
Lomax, p. 66
- ^
Lomax, p. 67
- ^
Lomax, p. 74
- ^
Lomax, p. 80
- ^
Lomax, p. 85
- ^
Lomax, p. 98
- ^
"Shadrach Byfield - 41st Regiment of Foot"
. Archived from
the original
on 3 May 2017
. Retrieved
24 December
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Lomax, pp. 137?143
- ^
Lomax, pp. 161?173
- ^
"Patrick Cleburne"
. National Park Service. Archived from
the original
on 28 February 2015
. Retrieved
24 December
2016
.
- ^
Lomax, pp. 222?242
- ^
"Training Depots"
. Regiments.org. Archived from
the original
on 10 February 2006
. Retrieved
16 October
2016
.
Sources
[
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]
External links
[
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]
Preceded by
Royal Invalids
|
41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot
1719–1881
|
Succeeded by
|
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Regimental titles in
italics
indicate they were disbanded or renumbered before 1881.
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Predecessors
| 1st generation
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2nd generation
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3rd generation
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Victoria Cross
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See also
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