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The 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was an
infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...
of the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
, raised in 1705. Under the
Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation wa ...
it amalgamated with the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) to form the
South Staffordshire Regiment 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 (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...
in 1881.


History


Early years

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. It was raised a second time by General
Luke Lillingston Luke Lillingstone or Lillingston (1653–1713) was a British Army general who accompanied William of Orange to England in 1688. Early life Lillingstone's surname is variably spelled Lillingstone, Lillingston and Lillingstein. He was born to Co ...
as Luke Lillingstone's Regiment of Foot with personnel from the previous regiment in 1694 and then disbanded in the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
in 1696. The regiment was raised a third time at
Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...
by General Luke Lillingston as Luke Lillingstone's Regiment of Foot in March 1705. It was ranked as the 38th regiment in 1747. It was posted to Ireland later in the year and then sent to the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
in 1707. 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. It returned to Ireland in 1764 and then went to
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
in
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
in 1774. It fought at the
Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...
in June 1775 and at the
Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, Sir William Howe on September& ...
in September 1777 during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. The regiment took a county title as the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot in 1782 and returned to Ireland in 1790.Freer, p. 290


Napoleonic wars

Following the outbreak of war with France, the flank companies of the regiment sailed for the West Indies and in March 1794 took part in the capture of
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...
. 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 Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Ameri ...
and the capture of
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
in 1797. After taking part in the capture of the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is ...
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 Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
in July 1807 during the
British invasions of the River Plate The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of areas in the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata that were located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in p ...
. The 1st battalion embarked for the Peninsular in June 1808 and saw action at the
Battle of Roliça In the Battle of Roliça (17 August 1808) an Anglo-Portuguese army under Sir Arthur Wellesley defeated an outnumbered Imperial French division under General of Division Henri François Delaborde, near the village of Roliça in Portugal. ...
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.Freer, p. 291 The 1st battalion also took part in the disastrous
Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chath ...
in autumn 1809. The 1st battalion returned to the Peninsular in spring 1812 and took part in the
Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of Arapiles) on 22July 1812 was a battle in which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, so ...
in July 1812,Freer, p. 294 the
siege of Burgos At the siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General o ...
in September 1812,Freer, p. 298 and the
Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leadin ...
in June 1813Freer, p. 305 as well as the
siege of San Sebastián In the siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a siege. However in a second siege the Alli ...
in September 1813.Freer, p. 306 It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at the
Battle of Nivelle The Battle of Nivelle (10 November 1813) took place in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops (20, ...
in November 1813,Freer, p. 307 at the
Battle of the Nive The Battles of the Nive (9–13 December 1813) were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soult's French army on French soil ...
in December 1813 and at the
Battle of Orthez The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered Fr ...
in February 1814 as well as at the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814 and at the
Battle of Bayonne The Battle of Bayonne (14 April 1814) saw the French garrison of Bayonne led by General of Division Pierre Thouvenot launch a sortie against a besieging force of British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops commanded by Lieutenant General John Ho ...
later in April 1814. Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion took part in the Battle of Bussaco in September 1810 and the siege of Badajoz in March 1812.


The Victorian era

The regiment was sent to the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is ...
for service in the Fifth Xhosa War in 1818 and then to India in 1822 from where it was deployed to
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
for service in the
First Anglo-Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmes ...
in 1824.Freer, p. 308 It returned to England in May 1836 and proceeded to Ireland in May 1837 before embarking for
Zante Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Za ...
in the
Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...
in September 1840. It went on to
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...
in March 1843 and to
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
in November 1845 before proceeding to
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. Th ...
in April 1848. After returning to England in August 1851, it was dispatched to the
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...
for service in the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
in April 1854. It took part in the Battle of the Alma in September 1854,
Battle of Inkerman The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, an ...
in November 1854 and the siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854.Freer, p. 309 The regiment then embarked for India in August 1857 and saw action at the
Capture of Lucknow The Capture of Lucknow (Hindi: लखनऊ का क़ब्ज़ा, ur, ) was a battle of Indian rebellion of 1857. The British recaptured the city of Lucknow which they had abandoned in the previous winter after the relief of a besieg ...
in March 1858 during
Indian Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...
. It also took part in the expedition against the Black Mountain tribes in 1868 before returning to England in 1871. As part of the
Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attention ...
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 DMS Whittington, otherwise known as Defence Medical Services Whittington (formerly Whittington Barracks), is a military base in Whittington, Staffordshire, near Lichfield in England. It is home to the Staffordshire Regiment Museum, the Headquart ...
in
Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...
. On 1 July 1881 the
Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation wa ...
came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) to form the
South Staffordshire Regiment 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 (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...
.


Battle honours

The battle honours of the regiment were as follows: * ''South America'': Monte Video * ''Peninsular War'': Roliça, Vimiera, Corunna, Busaco,
Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populati ...
,
Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...
, Vitoria,
San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the ...
,
Nive The Nive (; eu, Errobi; oc, Niva) is a French river that flows through the French Basque Country. It is a left tributary of the river Adour. It is long. The river's source in the Pyrenees in Lower Navarre. The river Nive was made famous by ...
, Peninsula * ''First Anglo-Burmese War'': Ava * ''Crimean War'': Alma,
Inkerman Inkerman ( uk, Інкерман, russian: Инкерман, crh, İnkerman) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is '' de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but '' de jure'' within Ukraine. It li ...
,
Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
* ''Indian Mutiny'':
Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...
* ''West Indies'': Guadeloupe 1759,
Martinique 1762 Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in the ...
(''awarded 1909 to successor regiment'')


Regimental colonels

The colonels of the regiment were as follows: ;First raising *1688–1689: Sir John Guise *1689–1693: Jonathan Foulkes *1693-1694: Brig-Gen.
Luke Lillingston Luke Lillingstone or Lillingston (1653–1713) was a British Army general who accompanied William of Orange to England in 1688. Early life Lillingstone's surname is variably spelled Lillingstone, Lillingston and Lillingstein. He was born to Co ...
* ''disbanded 1694'' ;Second raising *1694–1696: Brig-Gen.
Luke Lillingston Luke Lillingstone or Lillingston (1653–1713) was a British Army general who accompanied William of Orange to England in 1688. Early life Lillingstone's surname is variably spelled Lillingstone, Lillingston and Lillingstein. He was born to Co ...
* ''disbanded 1696'' ;Third raising *1702–1705: ''vacant?'' *1705–1708: Brig-Gen.
Luke Lillingston Luke Lillingstone or Lillingston (1653–1713) was a British Army general who accompanied William of Orange to England in 1688. Early life Lillingstone's surname is variably spelled Lillingstone, Lillingston and Lillingstein. He was born to Co ...
*1708–1711: Col. James Jones *1711–1717: Col. Francis Alexander *1717–1729: Col. Richard Lucas *1729–1735: Brig-Gen. Edward Jones *1735–1738: Brig-Gen. Hon. Robert Murray *1738–1739: Gen. Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, KG *1739–1750: Lt-Gen. Robert Dalzell *1750–October 1750: Lt-Gen.
Richard Philipps General Richard Philipps (1661 – 14 October 1750) was said to have been in the employ of William III as a young man and for his service gained the rank of captain in the British army. He served at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and promoted ...
;38th Regiment of Foot *1751–1756: Lt-Gen.
Alexander Duroure Lieutenant General Alexander Duroure ( – 1 February 1765) was a British Army officer who served as colonel of the 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot. He was of Huguenot extraction, the son of Francis Du Roure, a French immigrant who had served ...
*1756–1760: Maj-Gen. Sir James Ross, Bt. *1760–1761: Maj-Gen. David Watson *1761–1762: Maj-Gen. Andrew Robinson *1762–1766: Maj-Gen. Hon. Sharrington Talbot *1766–1775: Lt-Gen.
Cadwallader Blayney, 9th Baron Blayney Lord Blayney, Baron of Monaghan, in the County of Monaghan, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1621 for the soldier Sir Edward Blayney. He was succeeded by his son, the second Baron. He was killed at the Battle of Benburb ...
*1775–1796: Gen. Sir Robert Pigot, Bt. ;38th (the 1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot - (1782) *1796–1805: Gen.
James Rooke James Rooke or Rook may refer to: * James Rooke (British Army general) (1742–1805), English general and politician * James Rooke (British Legion officer) (1770–1819), British soldier in the Napoleonic wars * James Rook (rowing) (born 1997), ...
*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 General Sir Henry Pigot GCMG (1750 – 7 June 1840) was a British Army officer. Military career Born the son of Admiral Hugh Pigot, Pigot was commissioned as a cornet in 1769. He served in the Netherlands in 1793 and, following the Siege of Mal ...
, GCMG *1840–1843: Lt-Gen. Sir
Jasper Nicolls Lieutenant General Sir Jasper Nicolls KCB (15 July 1778 – 4 May 1849) was Commander-in-Chief, India. Military career Born at East Farleigh in Kent and educated at a private school in Ballygall and at Trinity College, Dublin, Nicolls was co ...
, KCB *1843–1862: Gen. Hon. Sir Hugh Arbuthnot, KCB *1862–1876: Gen. Sir
William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst General William Rose Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst (21 June 1819 – 23 June 1876) was a British military commander who served as Commander-in-Chief of India from 1865 to 1870. In Bombay now Mumbai, there is local train station named after B ...
, GCB, GCSI *1876–1881: Gen. James Pattoun Sparks, CB


References


Sources

*


Further reading

* {{Regiments of Foot South Staffordshire Regiment Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1705 Military units and formations in Staffordshire Regiments of the British Army in the Crimean War Regiments of the British Army in the American Revolutionary War Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 1705 establishments in England