The 79th Regiment of Foot was a British military unit, formed in 1757 at the beginning of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. Its commander was Brigadier General William Draper. It moved to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1758 and saw service in the

third Carnatic War The Carnatic Wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century in India's coastal Carnatic region, a dependency of Hyderabad State, India. Three Carnatic Wars were fought between 1744 and 1763. The conflicts involved n ...

. In 1762 the regiment took part in the successful invasion of Manila, capital of the Spanish-controlled

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The regiment was disbanded at Chatham in 1763. A monument to the "departed warriors" of the 79th, a cenotaph in the form of a classical sarcophagus topped by an urn, stands on

Clifton Down Clifton Down is an area of public open space in Bristol, England, north of the village of Clifton. With its neighbour Durdham Down to the northeast, it constitutes the large area known as The Downs, much used for leisure including walking and ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. It was originally erected in the garden of General Draper's house Manilla Hall in 1797, and is reputed to be the oldest war memorial in Britain. Its similarity to designs in the copybook of Thomas Paty suggests he or a member of his family may have been the designer; a second monument from Draper's garden, an obelisk dedicated to

William Pitt the Elder William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

, also attributed to Paty, stands nearby. They were moved to their current site in 1883 when Manilla Hall and its grounds were redeveloped.

References

Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1757 Seven Years' War {{UK-mil-stub