The 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) 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 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 1717 in

Annapolis Royal Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the ne ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. 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

82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) 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 ...

to form the

Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Re ...

in 1881.

History

Formation

The regiment was raised at

by General

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 ...

as the Richard Philipps's Regiment of Foot in August 1717 out of independent companies stationed in North America and the West Indies.

Father Rale's War

Prior to

Father Rale's War Dummer's War (1722–1725) is also known as Father Rale's War, Lovewell's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the Wabanaki-New England War, or the Fourth Anglo-Abenaki War. It was a series of battles between the New England Colonies and the ...

, the Mi'kmaq responded to the establishment of a British fort at

Canso, Nova Scotia Canso is a community in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, Canada, next to Chedabucto Bay. In January 2012, it ceased to be a separate town and as of July 2012 was amalgamated into the Municipality of the Di ...

by raiding the settlement's fishing station in 1720. Phillips sent a company of the 40th, under the command of Major

Lawrence Armstrong Lawrence Armstrong (1664 – 6 December 1739) was a lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia and acted as a replacement for the governor, Richard Philipps, during his long absences from the colony. Armstrong was born in 1664 in Ireland. According ...

, to take up garrison of a small fort in Canso built by a group of New England fishermen. The Mi'kmaq continued preying on nearby shipping, forcing the garrison to take action in February 1723. Serving as marines, the troops and local fishermen were able to disperse the marauding Indians. The next engagement came in July 1724 when a party of sixty Indians attacked

. The garrison responded with a poorly calculated sortie from the town's dilapidated fort, resulting in the death of a sergeant and private, the wounding of an officer and three privates, and the repulse of the troops. After some pillaging, the Mi'kmaq departed with a number of civilian prisoners. From 1717 to 1743, Phillips' Regiment, garrisoning Annapolis, Placentia, and Canso, was successful in protecting settlers from Indian attacks, checking French influence in the area, and preserving the British foothold in Atlantic Canada.

King George's War

WLA lacma Smibert Scotland portrait of Paul Mascarene

At the outbreak of

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...

, the French at Louisbourg immediately engaged in the Raid on Canso in May 1744. A flotilla containing 900 French regulars and militia. The four poorly supplied companies of Phillips' Regiment were forced to surrender. The town was destroyed and the prisoners sent to Louisbourg. Once the regiment's officers and men were paroled in September 1744, the regiment was evacuated to Boston where they provided valuable information on the defences of Louisbourg for the British

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

the following year. Governor Shirley was having difficulty raising troops requested by Mascarene and therefore he ordered the ex-Canso garrison to Annapolis Royal. Private man, 40th 1742

The Newfoundland Campaign started during August 1744. Captain Robert Young, of the 44-gun ship ''Kinsale'', lying in St. John's, Newfoundland, received intelligence that five French ships were in the port of Fishotte and resolved on despatching an armed prize to attack them. The prize was named the ''St. Philip'', and was manned by eighty men of the ''Kinsale''s crew, and commanded by one of her lieutenants, and accompanied by three 10-gun colonial privateers. The ''St. Philip'' succeeded, after grounding several times, in reaching the ''Moderate'', of twelve guns and seventy-five men, which was boarded and carried ; then turning the ''Moderate''s guns against the remaining ships, without the assistance of the privateers (who did not get into the harbour in time), compelled the whole to surrender. The ''St. Philip'' had ten killed, and thirty wounded. The loss on board the French ships was more severe. The five vessels, which had on board 18,000 quintals of fish and eighty tons of oil, mounted together sixty-six guns, and carried 342 men. In July 1744, three hundred Indians under command of a French priest named Le Loutre attacked Annapolis, the only British garrison in Nova Scotia. Only eighty men of Phillips' Regiment were available to meet this threat, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel

Paul Mascarene Jean-Paul Mascarene (c. 1684 – 22 January 1760) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as commander of the 40th Regiment of Foot and governor of Nova Scotia from 1740 to 1749. During this period, he led the colony th ...

. Mascarene refused to surrender to Le Loutre. Le Loutre's party eventually burned a number of houses and withdrew. Following this, George II authorized the reorganization of the regiment which increased to six regiments the garrison at Annapolis, with an authorized complement of 450. Initially only seventy additional men were received. Recruitment efforts continued and Governor Shirley sent 206 recruits in February 1746. Despite the additional manpower the regiment remained under strength. It was at this time that Captain John Winslow first took command of a Philipp's regiment at Annapolis Royal, after being transferred from Newfoundland. In September the enemy, this time three hundred regulars and militia with Indian support, reappeared outside the dilapidated earthworks of Annapolis Royal. After a four-week siege and lacking a train of artillery, the French withdrew from the defiant garrison. Thomas McIlworth - General John Bradstreet - Google Art Project

Thomas McIlworth - General John Bradstreet - Google Art Project

A force of six hundred French and Indians again attempted to take Annapolis in May 1745. This demonstration ended quickly with the French and Mi'kmaq being ordered back to help defend Louisbourg from the British. The only other action seen by Phillips' Regiment occurred while serving as marines and seamen. A detachment from the garrison at St. John's, Newfoundland volunteered to serve on a captured twenty-gun ship for an expedition with three privateers to Fishotte Bay. The prize entered Fishotte Bay alone and engaged a number of anchored French ships. After five hours of fighting and the loss of ten killed and thirty wounded, the ship had captured three fourteen-gun and two twelve-gun enemy ships; forty six of their crews were killed and three hundred and thirty two made prisoner. The lagging privateers entered the harbour and assisted in the destruction of French fishing stages and the removal of enemy ships and prisoners. By the end of the war Phillips' Regiment, after defending Britain's foothold in Nova Scotia with a skeleton complement, had its establishment raised to seventy men for each company. Men were quickly impressed in England for service in the regiment. Between 1746 and 1748 the regiment contented itself with garrison duty at Annapolis and St. John's. With a continuing problem of finding recruits in Britain for the Philipp's regiment George II took the unusual step of allowing recruitment from the colonies for the British regiment.

Father Le Loutre's War

The 40th was also actively engaged in

Father Le Loutre's War Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Br ...

. In July 1749, the grenadier company under Captain Handfield were sent to garrison the new settlement of Halifax founded the month earlier by the new Governor of Nova Scotia,

Edward Cornwallis Edward Cornwallis ( – 14 January 1776) was a British career military officer and was a member of the aristocratic Cornwallis family, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General. After Cornwallis fought in Scotland, putting down the Jacob ...

. A surprise attack by local Mi'kmaq in the Siege of Grand Pré resulted in the capture of a detachment of the company including Lieutenant Hamilton and Handfield's son. The captives were later returned to Halifax. Further engagements occurred with the Indians that year as the troops preserved the line of communication between Halifax and Annapolis Royal. Additional members of the regiment formed the garrison of

Fort Sackville During the 18th and early 19th centuries, the French, British and U.S. forces built and occupied a number of forts at Vincennes, Indiana. These outposts commanded a strategic position on the Wabash River. The names of the installations were chan ...

and established themselves at Fort Edward. 40thRegimentOfFootByDavid Morier

By 1750 Cornwallis had taken over the colonelcy of the regiment. By the Royal Warrant of 1 July 1751, Cornwallis' Regiment was given the numerical distinction of the 40th Regiment of Foot. Neglected for so many years by its former colonel, Cornwallis set about enhancing the condition of his new regiment. The companies in Newfoundland were rotated and discipline was improved. Desertion was poorly tolerated by Cornwallis. Of six deserters stationed at Fort Vieux Logis, two were shot and the rest reprieved. Three other deserters were hanged and their bodies suspended in chains as a warning to others. Further changes happened in the 40th with Cornwallis' appointment of Major Charles Lawrence of the 45th to the regiment's lieutenant colonelcy. Lawrence proved to be an energetic and effective military and administrative leader. After his appointment, Lawrence lead an expedition to the Missaguash River in August 1750 where he routed in the Battle at Chignecto a superior number of Indians under Le Loutre. That fall he built Fort Lawrence across the river where the following spring the French would build Fort Beausejour. In 1752

Peregrine Hopson Peregrine Thomas Hopson (5 June 1696 – 27 February 1759) was a British army officer who commanded the 40th Regiment of Foot and saw extensive service during the eighteenth century and rose to the rank of Major General. He also served as Briti ...

succeeded Cornwallis as Nova Scotia's governor and colonel of the 40th Regiment. In poor health, Hopson returned to England in 1753 leaving the governing of the colony to Lawrence. In 1755 Hopson officially resigned as governor and Lawrence was appointed. However Hopson remained the colonel of the 40th Regiment until his death in 1759. (Afterward, for the first time since its formation, the regiment's colonel was not the governor of Nova Scotia. Hopson was succeeded as colonel in 1759 by John Barrington, followed by Robert Armiger in December 1760.)

French and Indian War

By 1755 it was decided that the recently erected French Fort Beausejour had to be removed as a threat. The English force, including members of the 40th Regiment, was met by a large body of regulars and militia as they crossed the Missaquash river. This enemy force was attacked and dispersed quickly. Beausejour was subsequently laid siege to on 21 June and it surrendered four days later. Also in 1755, under the command of

John Handfield John Handfield (circa 1693 - 1787) was a British military officer, member of the Nova Scotia Council, and office holder. Handfield was commissioned in Philipps' Regiment (the 40th Regiment of Foot) as an Ensign in 1720, taking up his duties at An ...

, the 40th were engaged in the

Expulsion of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian peo ...

from Annapolis Royal. After such a long stay in the colony, a number of the officers had married into the local Acadian population. Therefore, the deportation order forced officers to exile their own relations. Even the commander of the garrison, Major Handfield, had to deport his wife's "sister-in-law, nephews and nieces, uncles, aunts, and cousins." Handfield wrote to another officer performing the same task: "I heartily join with you in wishing that we were both of us got over this most disagreeable and troublesome part of the Service." In 1757, after forty years in Annapolis Royal, the town where the regiment had been raised, 43rd relieved the 40th where it then went to Halifax to prepare for service in the Seven Years' War. In 1758, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel John Handfield, the regiment participated in the second siege of Louisbourg.Dunn, p. 216 Some companies of the regiment participated in the

Louisbourg Grenadiers The Louisbourg Grenadiers was a temporary unit of grenadiers formed by General James Wolfe in 1759 to serve with British Army forces in the Quebec campaign of the Seven Years' War. Grenadiers from the 22nd, 40th, and 45th regiments were brought ...

on its formation in 1759. The following year, the regiment took part in the successful three pronged attack against Montréal in September which concluded the war there. The regiment moved to

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

in December 1761 and then took part in the Battle of Havana in June 1762. In June 1763 the regiment rotated out of Havana to Annapolis Royal where it served until 1767 when it was transferred to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. This would be the first time in its 48-year history that the British regiment would serve on British soil.

American Revolution

The regiment landed in

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 ...

for service in 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 ...

in June 1775. It was evacuated from Boston in March 1776 and went to Halifax from where a detachment was sent to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

to gather rice for the army in June 1776. It saw action at the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yor ...

in August 1776, the

Battle of Fort Washington The Battle of Fort Washington was fought in New York on November 16, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain. It was a British victory that gained the surrender of the remnant of the garrison of ...

in November 1776 and the Battle of Princeton in January 1777. It was in combat again 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 Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Ame ...

in September 1777 and the

Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Con ...

in October 1777. In November 1778 the regiment embarked for

and took part in the

Battle of St. Lucia The Battle of St. Lucia or the Battle of the Cul de Sac was a naval battle fought off the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies during the American Revolutionary War on 15 December 1778, between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy. Ba ...

in December 1778. The regiment was then based in

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

until June 1781 when it returned to

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

and then took part in the

Battle of Groton Heights The Battle of Groton Heights (also known as the Battle of Fort Griswold, and occasionally called the Fort Griswold massacre) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on September 6, 1781 between a small Connecticut militia force le ...

in September 1781: Major William Montgomery, commanding the regiment was killed in the assault. In August 1782, the regiment took a county title as the 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot. The regiment embarked for home in November 1783.

Napoleonic Wars

In January 1794 the regiment embarked for

for service in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

and 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 th ...

in March 1794 and the attack on

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

in April 1794: some members of the regiment became

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

and were held on the island for over a year. The rest of the regiment returned home and in June 1794 embarked for

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

: the regiment was not significantly engaged and returned home again in April 1795. The regiment returned 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 Greater A ...

in summer 1795 and took part in an attack on the French troops on Saint Vincent in September 1795. It moved to

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

in July 1797 before returning home in December 1798. The regiment also took part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in August 1799 and fought at the Battle of Bergen in September 1799 and the Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799 before returning home in November 1799. The regiment also took part in the expedition to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and fought at the Battle of Abukir and Battle of Alexandria in March 1801 and then returned to England in October 1801. The regiment was part of the force assembled for the invasions of the River Plate in September 1806 and took part in the attack on Battle of Montevideo in February 1807 before returning to England in December 1807. In July 1808 the regiment embarked for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, as part of

Sir Arthur Wellesley Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

's army, for service in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. It fought at the Battle of Roliça in August 1808, the

Battle of Vimeiro In the Battle of Vimeiro (sometimes shown as "Vimiera" or "Vimeira" in contemporary British texts) on 21 August 1808, the British under General Arthur Wellesley (who later became the Duke of Wellington) defeated the French under Major-Gene ...

later that month and the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish a ...

in July 1809. The regiment also took part in the

Battle of Bussaco The Battle of Buçaco () or Bussaco, fought on 27 September 1810 during the Peninsular War in the Portuguese mountain range of Serra do Buçaco, resulted in the defeat of French forces by Lord Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army. Having o ...

in September 1810 and then fell back to the

Lines of Torres Vedras The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts and other military defences built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, ...

in October 1810. The regiment later took part in the

Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo are a series of sieges of the Spanish town Ciudad Rodrigo. Specific sieges are: * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1370) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1707) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1812) ...

in January 1812, the Siege of Badajoz in March 1812 and 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, ...

in July 1812 as well as 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 1813. It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at the

Battle of the Pyrenees The Battle of the Pyrenees was a large-scale offensive (the author David Chandler recognises the 'battle' as an offensive) launched on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult from the Pyrénées region on Emperor Napoleon’s or ...

in July 1813, 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 and 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 before also taking part Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. The regiment returned home in June 1814. In October 1814 the regiment was sent to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

for service in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

but recalled upon the ending of that conflict in March 1815. In May 1815 the regiment was rushed to join with Wellington's army just before the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

commenced. Initially placed in reserve, they were later in the day moved to the centre of his line to a position near

La Haye Sainte La Haye Sainte (named either after Jesus Christ's crown of thorns or a bramble hedge round a field nearby) is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment on the Charleroi-Brussels road in Belgium. It has changed very little since it ...

. They held firm all day and helped drive off

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's final massed infantry attack, ultimately losing 170 killed or wounded, including their commanding officer Major Arthur Rowley Heyland. The regiment then formed part of the Army of Occupation until returning to England in April 1817.

The Victorian era

In 1823 the regiment was dispatched in small detachments in convict ships to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

where it served at both

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, and

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

, where they participated in the

Black War } The Black War was a period of violent conflict between British Empire, British colonists and Aboriginal Tasmanians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. The conflict, fought largely as a guerrilla war by both sides, claimed the lives of 600 ...

.Odgers, p. 17 It was then transferred to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, with the first units of the 40th leaving Australia in 1828. While in India, the regiment was stationed in

Belgaum Belgaum (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous ...

and then

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

before moving to

. In January 1839 the regiment was sent to the

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

and took part in the capture of

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

. The regiment camped at

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

on their way to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

where they experienced one of the worst out breaks of disease of any regiment of the British Army. It arrived in

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

in October 1841 and then fought under General

William Nott Major-General Sir William Nott (20 January 1782 – 1 January 1845) was a British military officer of the Bengal Army, East India Company in British India. Early life Nott was born in 1782, near Neath in Wales,Lloyd (1958), pg 686. the seco ...

at the Battle of Kabul in August 1842 during the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan, Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking si ...

. The regiment returned to India in December 1842 and fought at the Battle of Maharajpore in December 1843 during the Gwalior Campaign. It returned to England in September 1845. The regiment returned to Australia in June 1852 and served in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

where it suppressed the

Eureka Rebellion The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which ...

in December 1854. It also took part in the

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

and the

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

campaigns in the early 1860s during the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the ...

. The regiment arrived home in August 1866 but returned to India in September 1872.Smythies, p. 414 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 40th was linked with the

, and assigned to district no. 14 at

Peninsula Barracks, Warrington Peninsula Barracks is a military installation on O'Leary Street in Warrington, England. History The barracks were built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style and, although construction started a few years earlier, they were opened as Orford Barr ...

. On 1 July 1881 the

came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) to form the

Uniforms

File:Grenadier, 40th Foot, 1767.jpg, Grenadier, 40th Regiment of Foot, 1767 File:Officer and Private, 40th Foot, 1815.jpg, Officer and Private, 40th Regiment of Foot, 1815 File:Officer light company 40th reg of foot 1826.jpg, Officer from the Light Company, 40th Regiment of Foot, 1826 File:Drummer, 40th Foot, 1848.jpg, Drummer, 40th Regiment of Foot, 1848 File:Csgt 40th 1881.jpg, Colour Sergeant, 40th Regiment of Foot, 1881

Battle honours

The battle honours of the regiment were as follows: *Egypt,

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

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, Vimiero, Talavera,

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, Vittoria,

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

Nivelle Nivelle () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department * Nivelle Offensive The Nivelle offensive (16 April – 9 May 1917) was a Franco-British operation on the Western Front ...

, Orthes, Peninsula,

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, Waterloo, Candahar (1842), Ghuznee (1842), Cabool (1842),

Maharajpore Maharajpur is a tehsil and a nagar palika parishad in Chhatarpur district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Geography Chhatarpur is located at . It has an average elevation of . Demographics As of the 2011 Census of India The 2011 ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Colonels of the Regiment

Colonels of the regiment were: *1717–1750: Lt-Gen.

*1750–1752: Lt-Gen. Hon.

The 40th Regiment of Foot

*1752–1759: Maj-Gen. Peregrine Thomas Hopson *1759–1760: Maj-Gen. Hon. John Barrington *1760–1770: Lt-Gen. Robert Armiger *1770–1786: Lt-Gen. Sir Robert Hamilton, 4th Baronet of Silvertonhill

The 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment

*1786–1818: Gen.

Sir George Osborn, 4th Baronet Sir George Osborn, 4th Baronet (10 May 1742 – 29 June 1818) was born into the British aristocracy. He fought in the American Revolutionary War as a British officer. He served in the House of Commons from 1769 to 1784 - before, during, and after ...

*1818–1829: Gen. Sir

Brent Spencer General Sir Brent Spencer ( – 29 December 1828) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army, seeing active service during the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Peninsular War he became General Wellesl ...

, GCB *1829–1834: Gen. Sir

James Kempt General Sir James Kempt, ( – 20 December 1854) was a British Army officer, who served in the Netherlands, Egypt, Italy, the Peninsula, and British North America during the Napoleonic Wars. He led a British brigade at the Battle of Waterloo and ...

, GCB, GCH *1834–1837: Lt-Gen. Sir George Cooke, KCB *1837–1842: Lt-Gen.

Sir Lionel Smith, 1st Baronet General Sir Lionel Smith, 1st Baronet (9 October 1778 – 2 January 1842) was a British diplomat, colonial administrator, and soldier. Life His mother was noted writer and feminist Charlotte Smith. His father was Benjamin Smith, and his patern ...

, GCB, GCH *1842–1861: F.M. Sir

Alexander George Woodford Field Marshal Sir Alexander George Woodford, GCB, KCMG (15 June 1782 – 26 August 1870), was a British Army officer. After taking part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, he served in most of the battles of the Napoleonic Wars. During t ...

, GCB, GCMG *1861–1872: Gen. Richard Greaves *1872–1881: Gen. Augustus Halifax Ferryman, CB

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Queen's Lancashire Regiment Museum

* ttp://www.militaryheritage.com/40thregt.htm 40th Regiment – Re-enactors, French and Indian War
HM 40th Regiment of Foot, Light Infantry Company – A Living history organization portraying the Light Company during the American War for Independence

Harry Piers, "The Fortieth Regiment, Raised at Annapolis Royal in 1717; And Five Regiments Subsequently Raised in Nova Scotia," ''Nova Scotia Historical Society'' (1927)Lt.-Col. Otho Hamilton of Olivestob : lieutenant-governor of Plancentia, lieutenant-colonel in the army, major of the 40th Regiment of Foot, member of the Nova Scotia council from 1731 to 1744 ; his sons, captain John and lieutenant-colonel Otho Hamilton, 2nd, and his grandson, Sir Ralph Hamilton, Kt. (1899)
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 British colonial regiments Military regiments raised in Nova Scotia Military history of Acadia Military units and formations of Nova Scotia Military history of New England Military history of the Thirteen Colonies Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations in Somerset Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 South Lancashire Regiment Military units and formations established in 1717 Regiments of the British Army in the American Revolutionary War 1717 establishments in Great Britain