The 85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot was a

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 ...

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Monte ...

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 conscripted ...

, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot to form the

King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. In 19 ...

in 1881.

History

Formation

The regiment was raised in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

by Lieutenant-Colonel George Nugent as the 85th Regiment of Foot, in response to the threat posed by the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, on 18 November 1793. The regiment was sent to join the Duke of York's army in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1794 as part of the unsuccessful defence of that country against the Republican French during the Flanders Campaign. It was posted 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 = Gib ...

in 1795 and returned home in 1797. It embarked for the Netherlands again in August 1799 and saw action at the Battle of Alkmaar and the

Battle of Castricum The Battle of Castricum (October 6, 1799) saw a Franco-Dutch force defeat an Anglo-Russian force near Castricum, Netherlands. The battle was fought during the War of the Second Coalition against Revolutionary France between French and Dutch forc ...

in October 1799 during the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland.

Napoleonic Wars

Battle of New Orleans, Jean Hyacinthe de Laclotte

A second battalion was raised in 1800. The 1st Battalion was deployed to

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

in 1801 and both battalions went 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 His ...

in 1802; the two battalions were amalgamated there later in the year. The regiment absorbed the Bucks volunteers in 1802 and became the 85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot in 1802. It returned to England in 1808 and converted to a

Light Infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

role, becoming the 85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) later in the year. The regiment next 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 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 ...

in 1811 for service under Viscount Wellington 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 Fuentes de Oñoro In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the British–Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida. A bloody stalema ...

in May 1811, the

Second Siege of Badajoz The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

later that month and 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 autumn 1813. 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 and 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 before returning to England in April 1814. The regiment was dispatched to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

in May 1814 and saw action in the last phase of 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 ...

. It fought at the

Battle of Bladensburg The Battle of Bladensburg was a battle of the Chesapeake campaign of the War of 1812, fought on 24 August 1814 at Bladensburg, Maryland, northeast of Washington, D.C. Called "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms," a British for ...

, capturing two American colours, in August 1814. Under the command of Colonel

William Thornton William Thornton (May 20, 1759 – March 28, 1828) was a British-American physician, inventor, painter and architect who designed the United States Capitol. He also served as the first Architect of the Capitol and first Superintendent of the Uni ...

, the regiment accompanied by detachments from the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

,"Correspondence from Cochrane, ADM 1/508 folio 757, states 'the whole amounting to about six hundred men'". carried out a successful attack on the American positions on the west bank of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

during the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the French ...

in January 1815. Casualties among the regiment were: 2 dead, 1 captured and 41 wounded. The regiment returned home later that year.

The Victorian era

The regiment was dispatched to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and became the 85th (or The Duke of York's Own) Regiment of Light Infantry (Bucks Volunteers) in April 1821. After that it transferred to

and became the 85th, or The King's Regiment of Light Infantry (Bucks Volunteers) in August 1827. The regiment went back to Malta in 1828 and then returned home in 1831. It embarked for

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 1838 as part of the response to the rebellions in Lower and Upper Canada and then transferred 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 1843 before returning home in 1846. The regiment was posted to

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

in 1853 and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1856 before returning home again in 1863. It embarked for

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 1868 and was deployed 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 ...

for service in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

in 1878. After returning to India, it took part in operations against the Zaimukhts and was involved in the destruction of their capital, Zawa, in 1879. 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 85th was linked with the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 42 at

Cowley Barracks Cowley Barracks (originally Bullingdon Barracks) was a military installation in Cowley, Oxfordshire, England. History The barracks were built in a Fortress Gothic Revival style at Bullingdon Green using Charlbury stone and completed in spring 1 ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot to become the 2nd battalion, the

Battle honours

Battle honours won by the regiment were: * ''Peninsular War'': Fuentes d'Onor,

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 t ...

, Peninsula * ''War of 1812'': Bladensburg * ''Second Anglo-Afghan War'': Afghanistan 1879-80

Colonels of the Regiment

Colonels of the Regiment were:

85th Regiment of Foot

*1794–1805: F.M. Sir George Nugent, Bt., GCB

85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot - (1802)

*1805–1806: Lt-Gen. Sir Charles Ross, Bt. *1806–1807: Gen. Sir Charles Asgill, Bt., GCH

85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) - (1808)

*1807–1815: Gen. Thomas Slaughter Stanwix *1815–1823: Gen. Sir James Willoughby Gordon, Bt., GCB, GCH

85th (or The Duke of York's Own) Regiment of Light Infantry (Bucks Volunteers) - (1821)

*1823–1839: Lt-Gen. Sir Herbert Taylor, GCB, GCH

85th, or The King's Regiment of Light Infantry (Bucks Volunteers) - (1827)

*1839–1840: Lt-Gen. Sir

, KCB *1840–1843: F.M. Sir John Forster Fitzgerald, GCB *1843–1847: Lt-Gen. Sir Thomas Pearson, KCB, KCH *1847–1865: Gen. Sir John Wright Guise, Bt., GCB *1865–1875: Gen. Frederick Maunsell *1875–1876: Lt-Gen. George Campbell, CB *1876–1879: Gen. Arnold Charles Errington *1879–1880: Lt-Gen. Percy Hill, CB *1880–1881: Gen. Sir Henry Percival de Bathe, Bt.