The 49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a line

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 Gurk ...

, raised in 1743. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the

66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot The 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Princess Char ...

to form the

Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

in 1881.

History

Early wars

The regiment was raised in

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 His ...

by Colonel

Edward Trelawney Edward Trelawney (c. 1653 – October 1726), of Coldrenick, near Liskeard, Cornwall, was an English clergyman who served as dean and archdeacon of Exeter between 1717 and 1726.Ursula Radford (1955). "An Introduction to the Deans of Exeter". Repor ...

as Edward Trelawney's Regiment of Foot in 1743 from eight independent local companies. The regiment was ranked as the 63rd Regiment of Foot in 1747 and re-ranked as the 49th Regiment of Foot in 1751. The regiment landed in

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 ...

in 1764 and remained there until embarking for Newfoundland in 1772. The regiment moved 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 June 1775 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 ...

. It fought 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 White Plains The Battle of White Plains was a battle in the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War, fought on October 28, 1776 near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward f ...

in October 1776 and 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. It went on to take part in the

Philadelphia campaign The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British effort in the American Revolutionary War to gain control of Philadelphia, which was then the seat of the Second Continental Congress. British General William Howe, after failing to dra ...

, seeing action at the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777, the

Battle of Paoli The Battle of Paoli (also known as the Battle of Paoli Tavern or the Paoli Massacre) was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on September 20, 1777, in the area surrounding present-day Malvern, Pennsylva ...

later that month and the Battle of Germantown in October 1777. It was following the British attack on the Americans at Brandywine, where the light company of the regiment took no prisoners and the Americans demanded vengeance, that the regiment decided to insert identifying red feathers in their

shako A shako (, , or ) is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a visor, and sometimes tapered at the top. It is usually adorned with an ornamental plate or badge on the front, metallic or otherwise; and often has a feather, plume (see hackle) ...

helmets to prevent anyone else suffering on their account. It then sailed for 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 summer 1778 and took part in the British victory at 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 before returning to Ireland in 1780. In 1782, the regiment received a county distinction becoming the 49th (the Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot.

French Revolutionary Wars and the War of 1812

In 1793 the members of the regiment were re-designated as

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

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 France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

. In that capacity the regiment was sent to garrison Dominica in 1794. After returning to England in 1796, the regiment was sent to

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 ...

in 1798 to take part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in August 1799 and saw action at the Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799. It also served under Admiral Hyde Parker at the Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801. After losing its marine designation, the regiment was deployed to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1802. The regiment served under Major-General

Sir Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. Brock was assigned to Lower Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he co ...

at the Battle of Queenston Heights in October 1812 during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. The regiment returned home in 1815 to undertake Royal guarding duties at Weymouth. The regiment's new scarlet coats and white breeches so impressed

Princess Charlotte of Wales Princess Charlotte of Wales may refer to: * Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796–1817), the only child of George, Prince of Wales, later King George IV of the United Kingdom ** Princess Charlotte of Wales (1812 EIC ship), a ship named after the pri ...

that she asked to be associated with the regiment. The regiment accordingly became the 49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (or the Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot in 1816.

The Victorian era

The regiment was sent to China in 1840 for service in the First Opium War. It fought at the Capture of Chusan in July 1840, the Battle of Canton in March 1841 and the Battle of Amoy in August 1841 as well as the occupation of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

in summer 1842. It then returned home in 1843. The regiment departed 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 early 1854 and fought at the

Battle of Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) was a battle in the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septem ...

in September 1854, the

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. It then returned home in 1856. 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 49th was linked with the

, and assigned to district no. 41 at

Brock Barracks Brock Barracks is a British Army barracks in the town of Reading, Berkshire, Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Located on Oxford Road, Reading, Oxford Road in the district of West Reading, Berkshire, West Reading. The majority of the bu ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

. On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot to form the

Battle honours

Battle honours awarded to the regiment were: *Egmont-op-Zee, Copenhagen, Queenstown, China, *''Crimean War'':

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about 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 ...

*St. Lucia 1778 ''(awarded to successor regiment, 1909)''

Victoria Crosses

Victoria Crosses awarded to men of the regiment were: * Lieutenant

John Augustus Conolly Lieutenant Colonel John Augustus Conolly VC (30 May 1829 – 23 December 1888), born in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the e ...

Crimea 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 d ...

(26 October 1854) * Corporal James Owens, Crimea War (30 October 1854) * Sergeant George Walters, Crimea War (5 November 1854)

Colonels of the Regiment

Colonels of the regiment were:

49th Regiment of Foot - (1751)

*1743–1754: Col.

*1754–1761: Lt-Gen. George Walsh *1761–1764: Lt-Gen.

John Stanwix John Stanwix (born about 1690, England; died at sea, 29 October 1766) was a British soldier and politician. Background He was born John Roos, the son of Rev. John Roos, rector of Widmerpool, Nottinghamshire. In 1725 he succeeded to the estates ...

*1764–1768: Maj-Gen David Graeme *1768–1820: Gen

Sir Alexander Maitland, 1st Baronet Sir Alexander Maitland, 1st Baronet (21 March 1728 – 15 February 1820) was a general in the British ArmyHaydn's ''Book of Dignities'' (1851p. 319 and the first of the Maitland baronets of Clifton.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debr ...

The 49th (Princess of Wales's Hertfordshire) Regiment - (1816)

*1820–1829: Lt-Gen.

Sir Miles Nightingall General Sir Miles Nightingall KCB (25 December 1768 – 12 September 1829) was a British Army officer. He sat in the House of Commons as a Tory from 1820 to 1829. Military career Nightingall entered the army in 1787. He served in India and in En ...

, KCB *1829–1846: Gen. Sir

Gordon Drummond General Sir Gordon Drummond, GCB (27 September 1772 – 10 October 1854) was a Canadian-born British Army officer and the first official to command the military and the civil government of Canada. As Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Dr ...

, GCB *1846–1861: Gen. Sir

Edward Bowater General Sir Edward Bowater KCH (1787 – 14 December 1861) was a British soldier and courtier. Background and education Born in St James's Palace, Bowater descended from a Coventry family and was the only son of the Admiral Edward Bowater. Hi ...

, KCH *1861–1871: Gen. Sir Edmund Finucane Morris, KCB *1871–1874: Gen. Thomas James Galloway *1874–1881: Gen. Sir Charles Henry Ellice, GCB

References

External links

The Rifles (Berkshire and Wiltshire) Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:49th (Princess Charlotte Of Wales's)(Hertfordshire) Regiment Of Foot 1743 establishments in the British Empire 1881 disestablishments in the British Empire Military units and formations established in 1743 Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 Infantry regiments of the British Army Regiments of the British Army in the American Revolutionary War British military units and formations of the War of 1812 United Kingdom in the War of 1812 Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796–1817)