8th (King's) Regiment of Foot
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/8th_%28The_King%27s%29_Regiment_of_Foot_Badge.jpeg/220px-8th_%28The_King%27s%29_Regiment_of_Foot_Badge.jpeg) Cap badge of the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot
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Active
| 19 June 1685 ? 1 July 1881
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Country
|
Kingdom of England
(to 1707)
Kingdom of Great Britain
(1707?1800)
United Kingdom
(1801?1881)
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Branch
| Army
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Type
| Line Infantry
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Size
| Two battalions
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Regimental Depot
| Peninsula Barracks, Warrington
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Nickname(s)
| The Leather Hats,
The King's Hanoverian White Horse
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Motto(s)
| Nec Aspera Terrent
(Difficulties be Damned)
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Colours
| Blue
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March
| Here's to the Girl
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Anniversaries
| Blenheim
(13 August)
Delhi
(14 September)
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Battle honours
| Blenheim
,
Ramillies
,
Oudenarde
,
Malplaquet
,
Dettingen
,
Martinique 1809
,
Niagara
,
Delhi 1857
,
Lucknow
,
Peiwar Kotal
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|
Colonel of
the Regiment
| General Thomas Gerrard Ball (1861?1881)
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Military unit
The
8th (King's) Regiment of Foot
, also referred to in short as the 8th Foot and the King's, was an
infantry
regiment
of the
British Army
, formed in 1685 and retitled the
King's (Liverpool Regiment)
on 1 July 1881.
As
infantry of the line
, the 8th (King's) peacetime responsibilities included service overseas in garrisons ranging from
British North America
, the
Ionian Islands
,
India
, and the
British West Indies
. The duration of these deployments varied considerably, sometimes exceeding a decade; its first tour of
North America
began in 1768 and ended in 1785.
The regiment served in numerous conflicts during its existence, notably in the wars with France that dominated the 18th and 19th centuries, the
American Revolution
, the
War of 1812
, and the
Indian rebellion of 1857
(historically referred to as the "Indian Mutiny" by Britain). As a consequence of
Childers reforms
, the 8th became the King's (Liverpool Regiment). A pre-existing affiliation with the city had derived from its depot being situated in
Liverpool
from 1873 because of the earlier
Cardwell reforms
.
History
[
edit
]
The regiment formed as the
Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Foot
during a
rebellion in 1685
by
the Duke of Monmouth
against
King James II
.
[1]
After James was deposed during the "
Glorious Revolution
" that installed
William III
and
Mary II
as co-monarchs, the regiment's commanding officer, the
Duke of Berwick
, decided to join his royal father in exile.
[2]
His replacement as commanding officer was Colonel
John Beaumont
, who had earlier been dismissed with six officers for refusing to accept a draft of Catholics.
[2]
It took part in the
Siege of Carrickfergus
in
Ireland
in 1689
[3]
and in the
Battle of the Boyne
the following year.
[4]
Further actions, while under the command of
John Churchill
(later 1st Duke of Marlborough) took place that year involving the regiment during the sieges of
Limerick
,
Cork and Kinsale
.
[4]
War of the Spanish Succession (1701?1714)
[
edit
]
Major engagements of the war between 1702 and 1711.
For almost a decade, the regiment undertook garrison duties in
England
,
Ireland
, and the Dutch
United Provinces
, where it paraded for King William on
Breda
Heath in September 1701.
[5]
On the accession of
Princess Anne
to the throne in 1702, the regiment became the
Queen's Regiment of Foot
, although it continued to be referred to as
Webb's
Regiment per an unofficial army convention that had a unit known by the name of its colonel.
[6]
The
War of the Spanish Succession
, predicated on a dispute between a "
Grand Alliance
" and France over who would succeed
Charles II of Spain
, reached the
Low Countries
in April 1702. While Dutch marshal Prince Walrad took the initiative and besieged
Kaiserswerth
, the French Marshal
duc de Boufflers
forced Walrad's colleague, the
Earl of Athlone
, to withdraw deep into the Dutch Republic.
[7]
Supporting Athlone's army, the Queen's Regiment fought near
Nijmegen
in a rearguard action during the Dutch Army's retreat between the
Maas
and
Rhine
rivers.
[6]
John Churchill, Earl (later Duke) of Marlborough, ranked as Captain-General with limited authority over Dutch forces, arrived in the Low Countries soon afterwards to assume control of a multi-national army organised by the Grand Alliance. He invaded the French-controlled
Spanish Netherlands
and presided over a series of sieges at
Venlo
,
Roermond
,
Stevensweert
, and
Liege
, in which the regiment's grenadier company breached the
citadel
. After a lull during the winter, Marlborough struggled to retain the cohesion of his army against the inclination of Dutch generals to divide his resources, while the army itself experienced a reverse at Liege in 1703.
[8]
Later in the year, the regiment assisted in the capture of
Huy
and
Limbourg
,
[8]
but the campaigns in 1702 and 1703 nevertheless "were largely indecisive".
[9]
To aid the beleaguered
Austrian Habsburgs
and preserve the alliance, Marlborough sought to engage the French in a definitive set-piece battle in 1704 by advancing into
Bavaria
, an ally of France, and combining his force with that of
Prince Eugene
.
[9]
As an army of 40,000 men assembled, Marlborough's elaborate programme of deception concealed his intentions from the French.
[9]
[10]
The army invaded Bavaria on 2 July and promptly captured
the Schellenberg
after a devastating assault that included a contingent from the Queen's.
[11]
On 13 August, the Allies encountered a Franco-Bavarian army under the overall command of the
duc de Tallard
, beginning the
Battle of Blenheim
. The Queen's Regiment, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Sutton, supported General Lord Cutts' left wing, opposite to French-held
Blenheim
.
[11]
According to a contemporary account by
Francis Hare
, Chaplain-General of Marlborough's army, the Queen's secured a French-constructed "barrier" to prevent it being used as a route of escape, taking hundreds prisoner in its vicinity.
[12]
Blenheim had become congested with French soldiers and its streets filled with dead and wounded.
[11]
About 13,000 French soldiers eventually surrendered, including Tallard, while the collective carnage caused more than 30,000 soldiers to become casualties.
[13]
The effective collapse of Bavaria as a French ally and the capture of its most significant fortresses followed Blenheim by year's end.
[13]
After a period of recuperation and reinforcement in Nijmegen and Breda, the Queen's returned to active service during the Allies' attempted invasion of France, via the
Moselle
, in May 1705.
[14]
In June, French Marshal
Villeroi
captured Huy and besieged Liege, forcing Marlborough to abort a campaign that lacked appreciable Allied support.
[15]
The regiment became detached from Marlborough's army to assist in the retaking of Huy before rejoining for the subsequent attack on the
Lines of Brabant
[14]
Although the lines were overcome, French resistance, combined with opposition among some Dutch generals and adverse weather conditions, prevented much exploitation.
[15]
The Queen's helped to seize
Neerwinden
,
Neerhespen
, and the bridge at
Elixheim
.
[16]
In May 1706, Villeroi, pressured by
King Louis XIV
to atone for France's earlier defeats, initiated an offensive in the Low Countries by crossing the
Dyle
river.
[17]
Marlborough engaged Villeroi's army near
Ramillies
on 23 May.
[17]
Along with 11 battalions and 39 squadrons of cavalry under
Lord Orkney
,
[17]
the Queen's fought initially in what transpired to be a feint attack on the left flank of the French lines.
[16]
The feint convinced Villeroi to divert troops from the centre,
[17]
while Marlborough had to use representatives to repeatedly instruct Orkney not to continue the attack.
[16]
Most of Orkney's battalions, including the Queen's, redeployed to support Marlborough on the left. By 19:00, the Franco-Bavarian army had completely disintegrated. For the remainder of 1706, the Allies systematically captured towns and fortresses, including
Antwerp
,
Bruges
,
Brussels
, and
Ghent
.
[17]
The regiment fought its
last siege of 1706 at Menin
, one of the most formidably defended fortresses in Europe.
[18]
Map of the Battle of Oudenarde
The threat of a French-supported
Jacobite
uprising in Scotland arose in 1708 and the Queen's was among those regiments recalled to Britain.
[16]
Once the Royal Navy intercepted an invasion fleet off the English coast, the regiment returned to the Low Countries, disembarking at
Ostend
.
[19]
The French later returned to the offensive, attacking
Flanders
and capturing territory that had been lost in 1706.
[16]
Marlborough had positioned his forces near
Brussels
, anticipating that an offensive might be directed against the city,
[16]
and had to march his army 50 miles (80 km) over a period of two days.
[20]
On 11 July, Marlborough led an Allied army against
Bourgogne
, grandson of King Louis, and Marshal
Vendome
's 100,000?man army at the
Battle of Oudenarde
. The Queen's joined an advanced contingent under
Lord Cadogan
which crossed the
Scheldt
, via
pontoon bridges
assembled near Oudenarde, as a prelude to the arrival of the main army.
[16]
While elements of the main army began to arrive at the bridges, Cadogan advanced on the village of
Eyne
and swiftly overwhelmed an isolated group of four
Swiss mercenary
battalions; three surrendered and the fourth attempted to withdraw but was intercepted by
Jørgen Rantzau
's cavalry.
[21]
To signify the surrender, the commanding officer of the Queen's received some of their
colours
. The regiment soon became engaged in battle near the village of Herlegem, fighting through the hedges until darkness.
[22]
Cadogan's precarious situation only began to alleviate by the deployment of the
Duke of Argyll
's reinforcements.
[23]
The Queen's became occupied by a succession of sieges: at Ghent, Bruges, and Lillie.
[24]
In 1709, the regiment assisted in the protracted
Siege of Tournai
, which capitulated in September. On the 11th, the regiment fought in the bloodiest battle of the war:
Malplaquet
. After being committed from reserve in the battle's closing stages, the regiment advanced under heavy fire and fought through dense wood, having Lieutenant-Colonel Louis de Ramsay killed.
[24]
The memoirs of Private Matthew Bishop, of the Queen's Regiment, contained an account that recalled: "the French were well prepared to give us a warm salute. It soon broke us in a terrible manner, though our vacancies were quickly filled up...when we got clear of the dead and wounded, we ran upon them and returning their fire, even broke them out of the breast-work."
[25]
In 1710, the regiment was represented at the sieges of
Douai
,
Bethune
,
Aire
and St. Venant.
[26]
Jacobites and renewed European conflict (1715?1768)
[
edit
]
Battle of Sheriffmuir
Rebellion against the Hanoverian
King George I
began in 1715 by
Jacobite
supporters of
James Stuart
, "
Old Pretender
" to the throne of Great Britain. As unrest escalated in Britain, the Queen's Regiment arrived in
Scotland
and became absorbed by a Government army under the
Duke of Argyll
.
[27]
Although numerically superior, the Jacobite army did not begin an advance south until November because of the caution of their leader, the
Earl of Mar
.
[28]
[29]
The Duke of Argyll moved north from
Stirling
and positioned his forces in the vicinity of
Dunblane
on 12 November.
[28]
On the morning of the 13th, in conditions that had frozen the ground during the night, the
Battle of Sheriffmuir
began.
[28]
The Queen's Regiment formed part of General
Thomas Whetham
's left wing. Confused troop movements led to both it and the Jacobite left being weaker than the corresponding right wing.
[30]
While Whetham's men attempted to readjust their dispositions, a mass of Jacobite troops began a rapid charge.
[27]
Entwined in hand-to-hand combat within minutes, the sides fought until Whetham's men broke and retreated in disarray.
[30]
The Queen's had 111 killed, including Lieutenant-Colonel Hanmer, 14 wounded, and 12 captured.
[27]
The remnants withdrew from the battlefield until almost upon Stirling.
[27]
Without cavalry support, the Jacobite left also broke,
[28]
and the Earl of Mar abandoned the area at nightfall.
[27]
In 1716 at the behest of George I, to honour the regiment's service at Sheriffmuir, the Queen's became the
King's Regiment of Foot
, with the
White Horse of Hanover
(symbol of the
Royal Household
) as its badge.
[31]
Soldier of 8th Regiment, 1742
The King's remained in Scotland until 1717, by which time the Jacobite uprising had been suppressed.
[32]
The regiment served in Ireland between May 1717 and May 1721
[33]
and between winter 1722 and spring 1727.
[34]
The regiment embarked to
Flanders
in winter 1742 for service in the
War of the Austrian Succession
.
[35]
It fought at the
Battle of Dettingen
in June 1743 where, despite the French enjoying superiority in numbers, Britain and its Allies defeated an army under the
duc de Noailles
.
[36]
The regiment also took part in the
Battle of Fontenoy
in May 1745: the King's Regiment was positioned in the frontline of the
Duke of Cumberland
's army but a retreat was eventually ordered.
[37]
In 1745, Prince Charles Edward (popularly known as
Bonnie Prince Charlie
) landed in Scotland, seeking to restore the Stuarts to the British throne. The regiment did not become committed to battle until the
Battle of Falkirk
in January 1746.
[38]
The regiment was part of the left wing of the front line of the army, under the command of Lieutenant-General
Henry Hawley
. After a failed attack by
dragoons
of Hawley's army, Jacobite Army troops charged the government army, compelling the left wing of the army to withdraw while the right wing held. The rebels and Government armies both withdrew from the battlefield by night-time.
[39]
The regiment also fought in the
Battle of Culloden
in April 1746.
[39]
Once the impetuous Jacobites charged and overcame the initial volley of fire, vicious hand-to-hand fighting ensued with Hawley's men. The King's provided cross-fire support, firing across the front-line and into the Jacobites. The regiment sustained a single, severely wounded casualty.
[39]
The King's fought in the
Battle of Rocoux
in October 1746
[40]
and the
Battle of Lauffeld
in July 1747. In the latter, the King's and three other regiments became embroiled in a protracted struggle through the avenues of
Val
. Control of the village fluctuated throughout the battle until the Allies retreated before overwhelming numbers.
[41]
The British Army implemented a numbering system in 1751 to reflect the seniority of a regiment by its date of creation, with the King's becoming the
8th (King's) Regiment of Foot
in the
order of precedence
.
[31]
The beginning of the
Seven Years' War
, which would encompass Europe and its colonial possessions, necessitated the 8th's expansion to two battalions, amounting to a total of 20 companies.
[42]
Both battalions formed part of an expedition in 1757 that captured
Ile d'Aix
, an island off the western coast of France,
[42]
as a precursor to a planned seizure of the mainland garrison town of
Rochefort
.
[43]
The 2nd Battalion became the
63rd Regiment of Foot
in 1758.
[44]
When the regiment augmented the
Hanoverian Army
in 1760, the 8th King's had its
grenadier
company committed to the battles of
Warburg
and
Kloster Kampen
. As a complete regiment, the 8th served at
Kirch-Denkern
,
Paderborn
,
Wilhelmsthal
, and the capture of
Cassel
.
[42]
American Revolutionary War (1775?1783)
[
edit
]
The 8th Foot arrived in
Canada
in 1768 and had its ten companies dispersed to garrison isolated posts on the
Great Lakes
:
Fort Niagara
(four),
Fort Detroit
(three),
Fort Michilimackinac
(two), and
Fort Oswego
(one).
[45]
As the regiment's deployment appeared to near completion, protests in the eastern colonies began to intensify, evolving from vocal concerns about self-determination and
taxation without representation
, to
rebellion against Britain
in 1775.
[46]
During its posting, the 8th Foot possessed a number of officers adept in cultivating a relationship with tribes on the Great Lakes,
[47]
notable amongst them being Captain
Arent DePeyster
and Lieutenant John Caldwell. Later to become 5th Baronet of
County Fermanagh
's Caldwell Castle, Caldwell immersed himself in his efforts to foster understanding between the British and Ojibwa, reputedly marrying a member of the tribe and becoming a chief under the adopted name of "The Runner".
[48]
In the west, Captain DePeyster's negotiations proved instrumental in maintaining peace between the British and tribes such as the
Mohawk
and
Ojibwa
nations. Born into a prominent
New York City
family of
Dutch
origin, DePeyster held authority over Fort Michilimackinac. In 1778, using £19,000 of goods as leverage, he arranged for more than 550 warriors from several tribes to serve in
Montreal
and
Ottawa
.
[49]
Location of 8th Foot during the American Revolution
The
invasion of Canada
by American generals
Richard Montgomery
and
Benedict Arnold
began in mid-1775. By the end of November, the Americans had captured
Fort St. Jean
,
Montreal
, and
Fort Chambly
, and besieged the city of
Quebec
.
[50]
An attempt to storm it in December resulted in Montgomery's death. Reinforcements from Europe raised the siege in May 1776 and expelled the almost starved and exhausted Americans from the area.
[51]
After the lifting of the siege, a small party from the 8th Foot led the regiment to its first significant battle in the war.
[52]
From
Fort Oswegatchie
, Captain George Forster, of the regiment's light company, led a composite force, including 40 regulars and about 200 warriors, across the
St. Lawrence River
to attack
Fort Cedars
, held by 400 Americans under
Timothy Bedel
.
[53]
Forster maintained illicit contact with occupied
Montreal
,
[53]
and received intelligence of American troop movements using Indian operatives and Major
de Lorimier
.
[54]
On arriving at the fort on 18 May, the British briefly exchanged fire before Forster
parleyed
with Bedel's successor, Major Isaac Butterfield, to request his surrender and warn him of the consequences should Indian warriors be committed to battle.
[55]
Butterfield, whose men had apparently been disconcerted by an earlier display of Indian war chanting, expressed a willingness to do so on the proviso of being allowed to retire with his weapons ? a condition that Forster refused.
[53]
Butterfield conceded the fort on the 19th, on the day an American relief force of about 150 resumed its advance on the Cedars, having previously reembarked aboard
bateaux
because of exaggerated scout reports.
[53]
Once he learned of the column's presence, Forster had a detachment ambush the Americans from positions astride the only available path through the forest.
[56]
The relief's commander, Major Sherburne, surrendered, but the engagement infuriated the Indian contingent as the Allies' only fatality was a
Seneca
war chief.
[53]
Forster managed to dissuade them from executing the prisoners by paying substantial ransoms for some of the captives as compensation for the loss.
[57]
Emboldened by the two victories, the British landed at
Pointe-Claire
, on the
Island of Montreal
, only to withdraw after Forster established the strength of General
Benedict Arnold
's force at
Lachine
.
[53]
In pursuit of a dwindling column, Arnold followed the British using
bateaux
, but was deterred from landing by Forster's placement of men along the embankment at
Quinze-Chenes
, supported by two captured cannon pieces.
[58]
On the 27th, Forster sent Sherburne under a flag of truce to inform Arnold that terms to a prisoner exchange favourable to the British had been agreed upon. Arnold accepted the conditions, with the exception of Americans being forbidden from serving elsewhere. Both Arnold and Forster had postured during the battle, each threatening the other with the prospect of atrocities: the killing of prisoners by Forster's Indian allies and the destruction of Indian villages by Arnold's men.
[53]
The exchange would be denounced by the American
Second Continental Congress
and the arrangement reneged upon under the pretext that abuses had been committed by Forster's men.
[53]
In late July 1777, the regiment contributed Captain Richard Leroult and 100 men to the Siege of
Fort Stanwix
. Commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel
Barry St. Leger
,
34th Foot
,
[59]
the force ambushed the American troops at the
Battle of Oriskany
in August 1777: however a few weeks later the siege collapsed with the disappearance of the dis-spirited native allies.
[60]
The regiment took part in further actions at
Vincennes
and the
Battle of Newtown
(
Elmira, New York
) in 1779, as well as the
Mohawk Valley
in 1780 and
Kentucky
in 1782.
[61]
Captain Henry Bird of the 8th Regiment led a British and Native American siege of
Fort Laurens
in 1779. In 1780, he led an
invasion of Kentucky
,
[61]
capturing two "stations" (fortified settlements) and returning to Detroit with 300 prisoners.
[62]
The regiment returned to England in September 1785.
[63]
French Revolutionary War
[
edit
]
In 1793, revolutionary France declared war on Great Britain. The King's became assigned to an expeditionary force sent to the
Netherlands
under the command of
Prince Frederick, Duke of York
.
[63]
In 1794, the regiment attempted to lift the French Siege of
Nijmegen
. The allies planned a nocturnal attack, with the march conducted without audible commotion. The force leapt into the French earthworks, with hand-to-hand fighting ensuing. Despite the success, the town of Nijmegen was soon evacuated and the British withdrew from the Netherlands in 1795.
[64]
In 1799, the King's became resident on
Menorca
, which had been
captured from Spain the previous year
.
[65]
In 1801, the regiment landed at
Abukir Bay
,
Egypt
, with an expedition sent under the command of General
Ralph Abercromby
to counter a French invasion.
[66]
The King's participated in the capture of
Rosetta
, 65 miles west of
Alexandria
,
[67]
and a fort located in
Romani
.
[68]
The British completed the occupation of Egypt by September.
[68]
Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812
[
edit
]
The regiment was sent to
Gibraltar
in 1802 and returned to England in 1803.
[69]
It landed at
Cuxhaven
in
Germany
in October 1805 as part of the
Hanover Expedition
, but was withdrawn in February 1806
[70]
before taking part in the
Battle of Copenhagen
in August 1807.
[71]
The 1st Battalion moved to Canada in 1808 as the
Napoleonic Wars
extended to the
Americas
.
[71]
Within a year, in January 1809, the battalion had embarked at Barbados with an expeditionary force comprising two divisions assembled to invade
Martinique
.
[71]
Although a number of engagements with the French garrison preceded the
island's seizure
, disease represented the principal threat to Britain's five-year occupation. By October 1809, some 1,700 of more than 2,000 casualties had succumbed to disease.
[72]
The 8th Foot returned to Nova Scotia in April, having had its commanding officer, Major Bryce Maxwell, and four others killed in a skirmish with French soldiers on the Surirey Heights during the advance on
Fort Desaix
in February.
[73]
When sustained tension between the United States and Britain culminated in the
War of 1812
, the 1st and 2nd battalions were based in
Quebec
and
Nova Scotia
respectively.
[74]
Sporadic raids into Canada on the eastern frontier provided impetus for a former regimental officer, Lieutenant-Colonel
"Red" George MacDonnell
, to encroach into
New York State
and attack
Ogdensburg
in February 1813.
[75]
To reach their destination, the 8th Foot and Canadian militia had to traverse across the frozen St. Lawrence River and through dense snow.
[76]
After gaining control of the fort following close-quarters battle, the British destroyed the main barracks and three anchored vessels,
[76]
and departed with provisions and prisoners. Ogdensburg would not be reestablished as a frontier garrison, ensuring relative peace in the region.
[77]
Fort York
depicted in 1804.
In April 1813, two companies of the 8th, elements of the Canadian militia, and Native American allies attempted to repulse an
American attack on York
(present-day Toronto).
[78]
As the Americans landed on the shoreline, the grenadier company engaged them in a bayonet charge with 46 killed, including its commanding officer, Captain Neal McNeale. The Americans nevertheless overwhelmed the area but subsequently incurred 250 casualties, notably General
Zebulon Pike
, when retreating British regulars detonated Fort York's Grand Magazine.
[79]
While garrisoning
Fort George
, at Newark (present day
Niagara-on-the-Lake
), in May 1813 with companies of the Glengarries and
Runchey's Company of Coloured Men
, the 8th Foot attempted to disrupt an amphibious landing by the Americans. Although numerically inferior, the British delayed the invasion and retreated without disorder.
[80]
In June 1813, the 8th and 49th regiments assaulted an American encampment at
Stoney Creek
. Five companies from the two British regiments engaged more than 4,000 Americans in a nocturnal battle. Although the Americans had two brigadiers captured and suffered losses, the British commander, Colonel
John Harvey
, considered the possibility of his opponents realising their numerical advantage too compelling to ignore and withdrew.
[81]
In July 1814 the regiment fought in the
Battle of Chippawa
in which the British commander General
Phineas Riall
retreated after he misidentified American regulars for militia.
[82]
Later in the month, the regiment fought in the
Battle of Lundy's Lane
.
[83]
The British, Canadian and Native soldiers, under the command of Lieutenant-General
Gordon Drummond
, engaged the American force. It was one of the bloodiest battles recorded on Canadian territory.
[84]
The following month, the King's took part in the action at
Snake Hill
during the siege of
Fort Erie
.
[85]
In September 1814 the Americans attacked the British posts with overwhelming force and the regiment suffered heavy losses.
[85]
The King's Regiment received the battle honour 'Niagara' for its contributions to the war.
[86]
The regiment landed back in England in summer 1815.
[86]
Indian rebellion and Second Afghan War
[
edit
]
Between the end of the war and the
Indian rebellion of 1857
, the King's undertook a variety of duties in
Bermuda
,
Canada
,
Cephalonia
,
Corfu
,
Gibraltar
,
Ireland
,
Jamaica
,
Malta
and
Zante
. In 1846, the regiment began a 14-year posting to India, stationed initially in the
Bombay Presidency
. At the beginning of the rebellion in May 1857, the 8th Foot occupied a
cantonment
in
Jullundur
, together with three Indian regiments and two troops of horse artillery.
[87]
The complex array of motives and causes that culminated in the mutiny of much of the Bengal Army would be catalysed in 1857 by rumours that beef and pork fat was being used to grease paper rifle cartridges. Confined first to a number of Bengal regiments, the mutiny eventually manifested in some areas as a more diverse, albeit disparate, rebellion against British rule.
[88]
[89]
Soon after reports were received of the first mutiny at
Meerut
on 10 May, the 8th's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hartley, had two companies secure the fort of
Phillaur
, near Jullundur, due to the significance of its magazine stores and reports that the 3rd Bengal Native Infantry intended to seize it.
[89]
Kashmir Gate one-year after the siege.
After a period of seven weeks in Jullundur, the regiment became attached to an army preparing to besiege
Delhi
. Because of a shortage of troops, due primarily to
cholera
and other diseases, several weeks elapsed before the British had attained a strength sufficient to commence operations.
[89]
In July 1857, two companies supported a position that had been under attack for seven hours. The King's participated in the capture of Ludlow Castle, in the vicinity of
Kashmir
Gate in the northern walls of Delhi. Grouped into the 2nd Column with the 2nd Bengal Fusiliers and 4th Sikhs, the 8th King's attacked Delhi early on 14 September with the intent of capturing the Water Bastion and
Kashmiri Gate
.
[90]
Once the city had been secured by the British, the 8th's Lieutenant-Colonel
Edward Greathed
vacated his position and became commander of a column dispatched to
Cawnpore
. The regiment, commanded by Major Hinde, had been seriously depleted and the combined total of it and the
75th Foot
numbered just 450.
[91]
The regiment also took part in the second
Relief of Lucknow
in November, seeing much action until withdrawing, after the evacuation of civilians, on the 22nd. In an environment of systematic reprisal by the British, Captain Octavius Anson, of the
9th Lancers
, recalled observing acts of punitive violence against Indian civilians, including the alleged killing of incapacitated villagers by soldiers of the 8th Foot.
[92]
The 1st Battalion was brought back to Britain in 1860.
[93]
It spent the year 1865 in
Dublin
, Ireland, where the battalion supported garrison operations against Irish Republican activity in the city.
[94]
Then, after two years in
Malta
, the 1st King's returned to India in 1868.
[94]
where it remained for a decade.
[95]
The regiment's 2nd Battalion, which had been reconstituted in 1857,
[96]
was itself posted to Malta (in 1863) and India (in 1877), and met up with the 1st King's on the island and at
Mundra
, in the Bombay Presidency.
[95]
Within a year of the battalion's arrival in India,
[95]
in November 1878,
Britain invaded Afghanistan
when an ultimatum to its ruler by the Viceroy of India,
Lord Lytton
, went unanswered.
[97]
Lytton's demands had followed the reluctant hosting of a Russian mission to
Kabul
by
Sher Ali
and the prevention of a similar British mission from entering Afghanistan at
Ali Masjid
.
[98]
Though still acclimatising and consequently susceptible to fever, the 2nd King's was allocated to the
Kurram Valley Field Force
, under Major-General
Frederick Roberts
.
[99]
The 2nd King's fought at the
Battle of Peiwar Kotal
in November 1878.
[100]
The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the
Cardwell Reforms
of the 1870s, which gave it a depot at
Peninsula Barracks, Warrington
from 1873, or by the
Childers reforms
of 1881 ? as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment.
[101]
Under the reforms the regiment was renamed the
King's Regiment (Liverpool)
on 1 July 1881.
[31]
Colonels
[
edit
]
Colonels of the Regiment were:
[31]
- 1715?1720: Brig-Gen Henry Morrison
8th (The King's) Regiment
[
edit
]
For colonels after 1881 see
King's Regiment (Liverpool)
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Mileham (2000), p. 1
- ^
a
b
Mileham (2000), pp. 2-3
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 17
- ^
a
b
Cannon (1844), p. 18
- ^
Cannon, Cannon & Cunningham (1883), p. xxii
- ^
a
b
Mileham (2004), p. 4
- ^
The Spanish Succession: 1702 - King William III dies
Archived
21 June 2020 at the
Wayback Machine
, spanishsuccession.nl. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^
a
b
Mileham (2000), p. 5
- ^
a
b
c
Hoppit (2002), p. 116
- ^
Chandler, David (2003), p83
- ^
a
b
c
Mileham (2000), p. 6
- ^
Murray (1845), p. 407
- ^
a
b
Black (1998), p. 50
- ^
a
b
Cannon, Cannon & Cunningham (1883), p. 23
- ^
a
b
Sundstrom (1991), p. 151
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Mileham (2000), p. 7–8
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Chandler (2003), p70–3
- ^
Cannon, Cannon & Cunningham (1883), p. 26
- ^
Cannon, Cannon & Cunningham (1883), p. 27
- ^
Jones (2001), p. 280
- ^
Churchill (1947), pp. 363-4
- ^
Cannon, Cannon & Cunningham (1883), p. 29
- ^
Churchill (1947), p. 368-9
- ^
a
b
Mileham (2000), p. 9
- ^
Nicolas, Nicholas Harris & Southern, Henry (1828),
The Retrospective Review, and Historical and Antiquarian Magazine
, p52
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 45
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Mileham (2000), p. 11-2
- ^
a
b
c
d
Szechi (2006), pp. 151-2
- ^
Black (1996), p. 100
- ^
a
b
Roberts (2002), p. 45
- ^
a
b
c
d
Mills, T.F.
"The King's Regiment (Liverpool)"
. regiments.org. Archived from
the original
on 4 August 2004
. Retrieved
8 November
2005
.
- ^
Cannon, Cannon & Cunningham (1883), p. 39
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 51
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 52
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 53
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 54
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 55
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 56
- ^
a
b
c
Cannon (1844), p. 57
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 58
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 60
- ^
a
b
c
Mileham (2000), p. 15
- ^
Szabo (2007), p. 80
- ^
"63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot"
. regiments.org. Archived from
the original
on 23 February 2007
. Retrieved
23 July
2016
.
- ^
Houlding (1981), p. 17
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 66
- ^
Mileham (2000), p. 19
- ^
Mileham (2000), p. 21
- ^
Nester (2004), p. 198
- ^
Barnes & Royster (2000), pp. 72-3
- ^
Allen (1992), p. 47
- ^
Cannon, Cannon & Cunningham (1883), pp. 56-7
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Morrissey & Hook (2003), pp. 66-8
- ^
Stanley (1977), p. 119
- ^
Nester (2004), p. 106
- ^
Cannon, Cannon & Cunningham (1883), pp. 57-8
- ^
Kingsford (1893), p. 51
- ^
Stanley (1977), p. 122
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 70
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 71
- ^
a
b
Potter, William L.
"Redcoats on the Frontier: The King's Regiment in the Revolutionary War"
.
National Park Service
. Retrieved
9 March
2012
.
- ^
Banta (1998), p. 158
- ^
a
b
Cannon (1844), p. 72
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 73
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 74
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 76
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 77
- ^
a
b
Cannon (1844), p. 78
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 79
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 80
- ^
a
b
c
Cannon (1844), p. 81
- ^
Buckley (1998), p. 265
- ^
Mileham (2000), p. 36.
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 84
- ^
Whitfield, Carol M. (2000).
"MacDonnell (McDonald), George Richard John"
. Dictionary of Canadian Biography
. Retrieved
19 January
2009
.
- ^
a
b
Mileham (2000), p. 37.
- ^
Turner (2000), p. 68.
- ^
Cannon, Cannon & Cunningham (1883), pp. 76?77.
- ^
Benn (1993), pp. 54?56
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 88
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 91
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 95
- ^
Cannon (1844), p. 96
- ^
Heidler (2004), p. 161
- ^
a
b
Cannon (1844), p. 99
- ^
a
b
Cannon (1844), p. 100
- ^
Cannon, Cannon & Cunningham (1883), pp. 103
- ^
Parsons (1999), pp. 45-6
- ^
a
b
c
Mileham (2000), p. 49
- ^
Raugh (2004), p. 119
- ^
Roberts (1897), pp. 141-2
- ^
Collier (1964), p. 270
- ^
Cannon, Cannon & Cunningham (1883), p. 151-2
- ^
a
b
Cannon, Cannon & Cunningham (1883), pp. 155-6
- ^
a
b
c
Mileham (2000), pp. 56-7
- ^
Mileham (2000), p. 53
- ^
Riddick (2006), p. 72
- ^
Hopkirk (1992), pp. 382-3
- ^
Roberts (1897), p. 349
- ^
"Battle of Peiwar Kotal"
. British Battles
. Retrieved
18 September
2016
.
- ^
"Training Depots 1873?1881"
. Regiments.org. Archived from
the original
on 10 February 2006
. Retrieved
16 October
2016
.
The depot was the 13th Brigade Depot from 1873 to 1881, and the 8th Regimental District depot thereafter
References
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edit
]
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978-0813016047
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- Cannon, Richard (1844).
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The Great Indian Mutiny: A Dramatic Account of the Sepoy Rebellion
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.
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The War of 1812: The War That Both Sides Won
. Dundurn.
ISBN
978-1550023367
.
|
---|
Regimental titles in
italics
indicate they were disbanded or renumbered before 1881.
|