38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot

Last updated

38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot
Active17051881
CountryFlag of England.svg  Kingdom of England (1705–1707)
Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg  Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800)
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom (1801–1881)
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Infantry
Size1 battalion (2 battalions 1804–1814)
Garrison/HQ Whittington Barracks, Lichfield
Engagements American Revolutionary War
French Revolutionary Wars
Napoleonic Wars
Fifth Xhosa War
First Anglo-Burmese War
Crimean War
Indian Rebellion

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.

Contents

History

Early years

Luke Lillingston, founder of the regiment Luke Lillingston.jpeg
Luke Lillingston, founder of the regiment
Plaque outside The King's Head in Lichfield commemorating the founding of the regiment in March 1705 The King's Head, Lichfield (1).JPG
Plaque outside The King's Head in Lichfield commemorating the founding of the regiment in March 1705
Soldier of 38th regiment, 1742 Soldier of 38th regiment 1742.jpg
Soldier of 38th regiment, 1742
The remnants of the regiment's light company parade before Lieutenant-General Sir John Campbell in 1855 Light co 38th rgt 1855.jpg
The remnants of the regiment's light company parade before Lieutenant-General Sir John Campbell in 1855
Uniforms of the 38th Regiment, 1856 38th regiment simkin.jpg
Uniforms of the 38th Regiment, 1856

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

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 Roliça 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 Sebastián 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

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

The battle honours of the regiment were as follows: [1]

Regimental colonels

The colonels of the regiment were as follows: [1]

First raising
Second raising
Third raising
38th Regiment of Foot
38th (the 1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot - (1782)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Staffordshire Regiment</span> Military unit

The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th Regiment of Foot and the 80th Regiment of Foot. The regiment saw service in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Own Scottish Borderers</span> Military unit

The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, the Black Watch, the Highlanders, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 52nd Lowland Regiment, and 51st Highland Regiment to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland. However, after just a few months the battalion merged with the Royal Scots Battalion to form the Royal Scots Borderers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Warwickshire Regiment</span> Military unit

The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War and both the First and Second World Wars. On 1 May 1963, the regiment was re-titled, for the final time, as the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and became part of the Fusilier Brigade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers)</span> Military unit

The 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) was an infantry Regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 94th Regiment of Foot to form the Connaught Rangers in 1881.

The 28th Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 61st Regiment of Foot to form the Gloucestershire Regiment in 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot</span> Military unit

The 73rd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1780. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 42nd Regiment of Foot to form the Black Watch in 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devonshire Regiment</span> Former regiment of the British Army

The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 the regiment was amalgamated with the Dorset Regiment to form the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment which, in 2007, was amalgamated with the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, the Royal Green Jackets and The Light Infantry to form a new large regiment, The Rifles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot</span> Military unit

The 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot</span> Military unit

The 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot was an Irish infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1689. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 108th Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot</span> Military unit

The 67th Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 37th Regiment of Foot to form the Hampshire Regiment in 1881.

The 69th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment in 1881.

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 Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment in 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot</span> Military unit

The 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 54th Regiment of Foot to form the Dorsetshire Regiment in 1881.

The 64th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was created as the 2nd Battalion, 11th Regiment of Foot in 1756, redesignated as the 64th Regiment of Foot in 1758, and took a county title as the 64th Regiment of Foot in 1782. Following the Cardwell Reforms the regiment amalgamated with the 98th Regiment of Foot to become The Prince of Wales's in 1881. In the new regiment the 64th Foot became the 1st Battalion due to its seniority over the 98th Foot.

The 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) in 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot</span> Military unit

The 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 59th Regiment of Foot to form the East Lancashire Regiment in 1881.

The 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Northamptonshire Regiment in 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Lillingstone</span> British Army general

Luke Lillingstone or Lillingston (1653–1713) was a British Army general who accompanied William of Orange to England in 1688.

The 59th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1755 in response to the threat of renewed war with France. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot to form the East Lancashire Regiment in 1881.

The 98th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was originally raised in 1824 as the 98th Regiment of Foot, before assuming the title of the 98th Regiment of Foot in 1876. Later, in 1881, following the Childers Reforms of the British Army, the regiment was amalgamated with the 64th Regiment of Foot to become the Prince of Wales's Regiment. As the 64th Foot was senior to the 98th, the 98th became the 2nd Battalion in the new regiment. Throughout the course of the regiment's existence it served mostly overseas in South Africa, China and India.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 21 June 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot". National Army Museum. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Freer, p. 290
  4. 1 2 3 Freer, p. 291
  5. Freer, p. 294
  6. Freer, p. 298
  7. Freer, p. 305
  8. Freer, p. 306
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Freer, p. 307
  10. 1 2 3 4 Freer, p. 308
  11. 1 2 Freer, p. 309
  12. "Training Depots". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2016.

Sources

Further reading