British Army infantry regiment (1755-1881)
Military unit
The
55th Regiment of Foot
was a
British Army
infantry
regiment
, raised in 1755. After 1782 it had a
county
designation added, becoming known as the
55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot
. Under the
Childers Reforms
it amalgamated with the
34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot
to form the
Border Regiment
in 1881.
History
[
edit
]
Formation
[
edit
]
Recreation of the uniform of the regiment, c.1755
Lord George Augustus Viscount Howe
, who was killed while commanding the regiment in a skirmish the day before the
Battle of Carillon
in July 1758, by
Sir Joshua Reynolds
The regiment was raised in
Stirling
by Colonel George Perry as the 57th Regiment of Foot in 1755 for service in the
Seven Years' War
.
[2]
It was re-ranked as the
55th Regiment of Foot
, following the disbandment of the existing
50th
and
51st
regiments, in 1756.
[3]
French and Indian War service
[
edit
]
The regiment embarked for
North America
for service in the
French and Indian War
and arrived in
Nova Scotia
on 8 July 1757 with the objective of taking part in the abandoned attack on the
Fortress of Louisbourg
. Following the death of Colonel Perry,
Lord George Augustus Viscount Howe
was appointed Colonel of the regiment in September 1757.
[2]
After the regiment arrived in
Albany, New York
in November 1757, Howe accompanied Major
Robert Rogers
, commander of His Majesty's Independent Companies of Rangers on a scout, to learn the art of "bush fighting."
[4]
Howe's willingness to learn from the American rangers and his interaction with subordinates won him the respect of both colonist and British redcoat being described as the "Idol of the army."
[5]
In the spring of 1758, Howe began to train and accoutre the men in the regiment more like rangers to better adapt them to warfare in America.
[2]
He was killed in a skirmish the day before the
Battle of Carillon
in July 1758.
[2]
After Howe's death
John Prideaux
was appointed commander of the regiment. In an unfortunate accident Prideaux was killed by the blast of a
cohorn
while walking through the entrenchments during the
Battle of Fort Niagara
in July 1759.
[6]
The regiment, as part of General
Jeffery Amherst
's army, participated in the
Battle of Ticonderoga
and the capture of
Fort Crown Point
later that month.
[2]
In 1760 Colonel
James Adolphus Oughton
took command of the regiment and led it up the
Saint Lawrence River
: the regiment witnessed the
Montreal Campaign
between August and September 1760.
[2]
William Gansell became the colonel of the regiment in 1762.
[2]
Pontiac's War
[
edit
]
In summer 1763, volunteers from the regiment were sent to reinforce the British post at
Fort Detroit
, which was under siege from neighbouring Native Americans led by
Pontiac
. The British force was ambushed and badly mauled en route at the
Battle of Bloody Run
in July 1763.
[7]
In 1764 many surviving members of the regiment were drafted into the
17th Regiment of Foot
. Anne Grant, whose father was an officer in the 55th Regiment, wrote; "they were going to become part of a regiment of no repute; whom they themselves had held in the utmost contempt when they formerly served together."
[8]
American Revolutionary War
[
edit
]
The
siege of Brimstone Hill
at which most of the regiment were captured in February 1782
The regiment returned to North America for the
American Revolutionary War
.
[9]
The regiment fought at the
Battle of Long Island
in August 1776 and the
Battle of Princeton
in January 1777.
[9]
It went on to take part in the
Philadelphia campaign
and saw action at the
Battle of Brandywine
in September 1777, the
Battle of Paoli
later that month and the
Battle of Germantown
in October 1777.
[9]
The regiment was transferred to the
West Indies
in November 1778 and saw action at the
Battle of St. Lucia
in December 1778.
[2]
Most of the regiment were captured at the
siege of Brimstone Hill
in February 1782 during the French invasion of
Saint Kitts
.
[7]
The regiment adopted a county designation as the
55th (the Westmoreland) Regiment of Foot
in August 1782.
[3]
Napoleonic Wars
[
edit
]
In 1793 the regiment embarked for
Flanders
for service in the
French Revolutionary Wars
and saw action at the
siege of Ypres
in June 1794.
[9]
It then moved to the West Indies and took part in the attack on
Martinique
in February 1794, on
Saint Lucia
in April 1794 and on
Guadeloupe
later that month as well as the capture of Saint Lucia in May 1796.
[9]
It also helped suppress an insurrection by
caribs
on
Saint Vincent
in June 1796.
[9]
After returning to England in 1797 the regiment landed at
Ostend
in 1798 for service in the
Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland
.
[9]
It saw action at the
Battle of Bergen
in September 1799 and the
Battle of Alkmaar
in October 1799.
[9]
After returning home in 1800 the regiment was deployed to the West Indies again in 1800 and went to the aid of Britain's new found Spanish allies during the
Spanish reconquest of Santo Domingo
in July 1809.
[9]
The regiment returned home in 1812 and, having been sent to
Holland
in 1813, took part in the
siege of Bergen op Zoom
in March 1814.
[9]
The Victorian era
[
edit
]
The regiment at the
Battle of Inkerman
in November 1854
The regiment sailed for the
Cape of Good Hope
in 1819 and saw action in the
Fifth Xhosa War
.
[9]
It also served in the
Coorg War
in 1834.
[9]
In 1841 the regiment was deployed to
China
for service in the
First Opium War
. It was selected as part of the expeditionary force that moved north from
Hong Kong
and participated in the
Battle of Amoy
in August 1841.
[10]
The regiment was the first to land when British forces disembarked from boats at the
Capture of Chusan
in October 1841. It landed on a beach and then assaulted an enemy strong point called Guards Hill, where it ascended under heavy fire but eventually took the hill. It then proceeded to take the heights overlooking
Tinghai
and then immediately descended and placed its
regimental colours
on the walls of the city.
[11]
After the battle, a detachment of the 55th and
18th Regiment of Foot
were left to garrison the city. On 10 October 1841 the 55th again was part of the force that engaged
Qing
troops at the
Battle of Chinhai
: the regiment was left to garrison the city after the battle and remained there for the remainder of the year.
[12]
In 1842, the regiment saw action at
Chapu
in May, and
Chinkiang
in July. It then garrisoned Chinkiang until the
Treaty of Nanking
was signed. Part of the regiment remained in Hong Kong after the war.
[13]
For its service during the war it was allowed the addition of a dragon badge superscribed "China" on its regimental colour.
[3]
The regiment saw active service in
Turkey
and
Russia
during the
Crimean War
. The regiment saw action at the
Battle of Alma
in September 1854, the
Battle of Inkerman
in November 1854 and the
siege of Sevastopol
in winter 1854.
[3]
After returning home in 1857 it was deployed to
India
in 1863 and saw action during the
Bhutan War
in 1864.
[9]
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 55th was linked with the
34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot
, and assigned to district no. 2 at
Carlisle Castle
.
[14]
On 1 July 1881 the
Childers Reforms
came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot to form the
Border Regiment
with the former 55th forming the 2nd battalion.
[3]
There is a memorial chapel for the
Border Regiment
, housing the colours of the 55th regiment, at
Kendal Parish Church
.
[15]
Battle honours
[
edit
]
The regiment received the following battle honours:
[3]
Victoria Crosses
[
edit
]
Victoria Crosses awarded to men of the regiment were:
Colonels
[
edit
]
The Colonels of the regiment have been:
[16]
- 1755?1757: Col Charles Perry
- 55th (Westmoreland) Regiment
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
"55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot: Record of Service"
. Ballindalloch Press. Archived from
the original
on 9 July 2013
. Retrieved
8 January
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"55th (the Westmoreland) Regiment of Foot"
. Regiments.org. Archived from
the original
on 27 February 2007
. Retrieved
27 February
2007
.
- ^
Knox, p. 185-186
- ^
Putnam, p. 23
- ^
"Prideaux, John (1718-1759)"
.
Dictionary of National Biography
. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885?1900.
- ^
a
b
"55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot"
. National Army Museum. Archived from
the original
on 15 March 2016
. Retrieved
8 January
2016
.
- ^
Grant, p. 237
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
"55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot: locations"
. Archived from
the original
on 22 February 2007
. Retrieved
8 January
2016
.
- ^
Frontier and Overseas Expeditions From India, pp. 380-382
- ^
MacPherson, pp. 213-217
- ^
Frontier and Overseas Expeditions From India, pp. 385-385
- ^
Frontier and Overseas Expeditions From India, pp. 386-392
- ^
"Training Depots"
. Regiments.org. Archived from
the original
on 10 February 2006
. Retrieved
16 October
2016
.
- ^
"History"
. Kendal Parish Church
. Retrieved
8 January
2007
.
- ^
"55th Regiment of Foot-Colonels"
. Retrieved
6 July
2016
.
Sources
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Sutherland, Douglas (1972).
Tried and Valiant: The Story of the Border Regiment 1702?1959
. London: Leo Cooper Ltd.
ISBN
0-85052-042-8
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Regimental titles in
italics
indicate they were disbanded or renumbered before 1881.
|