The Maltese Pioneers was a

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

corps that served from 1800 to 1801 within 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 ...

. In December 1800, Sir

Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Governor of Trinidad, served as Commander-in-Chief, Ir ...

instructed Lieutenant

Francesco Rivarola Lieutenant-General the Most Noble Francesco, Count Rivarola (also known as Sir Francis Rivarola) was a Corsican who became a senior British Army officer, and served in the Napoleonic Wars throughout the Mediterranean Region. He was involved in ...

to raise and command a force of 500 Maltese volunteers as pioneers for the expeditionary force in the

Egyptian Campaign The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed to defend French trade interests, to establish scientific enterprise in the region. It was the pr ...

. The troops were assigned to the Ordnance Department, and their work included cutting wood and loading fuel on transports. Officers could also hire the pioneers as servants. The Pioneers saw combat in March and April 1801. Apart from the pioneers, a third corps of artificers was also set up and joined the Egyptian Campaign. After their terms of engagement expired, the Maltese Pioneers left Egypt and returned to Malta in late 1801, after a year of service. The Pioneers shared in the proceeds of the French property captured in Egypt in 1801.

References

{{reflist, 30em Corps of the British Army Military history of Malta Military units and formations established in 1800 Military units and formations disestablished in 1801 1800 establishments in Malta 1801 disestablishments in Malta