The 44th 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 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 ...

in 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 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the

56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot The 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment in the British Army, active from 1755 to 1881. It was originally raised in Northumbria as the 58th Regiment, and renumbered the 56th the following year when two senior regiments we ...

to form the

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

in 1881.

History

Sir Peter Halkett, 2nd Baronet of Pitfirrane by Hans Hysing

Early history

The regiment was raised by Colonel James Long as James Long's Regiment of Foot in 1741. The regiment saw active service at the

Battle of Prestonpans The Battle of Prestonpans, also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, was fought on 21 September 1745, near Prestonpans, in East Lothian, the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Jacobite forces, led by the Stuart exile C ...

in September 1745 during the Jacobite rising. Ranked as the 55th Regiment of the Line in 1747, the regiment was renamed the 44th Regiment of Foot in 1751. It embarked for North America in January 1755 for service in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

and took part in the

Battle of the Monongahela The Battle of the Monongahela (also known as the Battle of Braddock's Field and the Battle of the Wilderness) took place on 9 July 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, at Braddock's Field in what is now Braddock, Pennsylvania, e ...

where Colonel Sir Peter Halkett was killed while commanding the regiment. The regiment went on to fight at the

Battle of Carillon The Battle of Carillon, also known as the 1758 Battle of Ticonderoga, Chartrand (2000), p. 57 was fought on July 8, 1758, during the French and Indian War (which was part of the global Seven Years' War). It was fought near Fort Carillon (now ...

in July 1758, the

Battle of Fort Niagara The Battle of Fort Niagara was a siege late in the French and Indian War, the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. The British siege of Fort Niagara in July 1759 was part of a campaign to remove French control of the Great Lakes and Oh ...

in July 1759 and finally the Montreal Campaign in July to September 1760 before returning home in 1765. The regiment returned to North America landing 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 ...

in 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 saw action at the Battle of Brooklyn in August 1776, the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777 and the Battle of Germantown in October 1777 as well as the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. In May 1780 the regiment moved 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 ...

returning home in September 1786. In 1782, most British regiments of foot were given county designations, and the regiment became the 44th (the East Essex) Regiment of Foot.

Napoleonic Wars

The regiment was sent to the West Indies in 1795 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 ...

and took part in the recapture 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 ...

and Saint Lucia which, following the peace treaty of 1763, had been returned to France, and the attack on Guadeloupe. After returning to England, it took part in the expedition to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

in 1800 and fought at the Battle of Alexandria in March 1801Carter, p. 43 the siege of Cairo in May 1801 and the siege of Alexandria in September 1801. It returned home at the end of the year. The regiment was increased in strength to two battalions in 1803. The 1st battalion embarked for North America in 1814 for service in 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 ...

and saw action 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 ...

in August 1814, the

Battle of North Point The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major General Robert Ross. Although the Americans retreated, they were able to do so in good order having inf ...

in September 1814 and 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 Frenc ...

in January 1815. Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion landed in Portugal in September 1810 and took part in the

Battle of Sabugal The Battle of Sabugal was an engagement of the Peninsular War which took place on 3 April 1811 between Anglo-Portuguese forces under Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) and French troops under the command of Marshal André M ...

in April 1811, 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 and 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 battalion went on to fight at the siege of Badajoz in March 1812. At 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 Lieutenant William Pearce of the 2nd battalion captured the

French Imperial Eagle The French Imperial Eagle (''Aigle de drapeau'', lit. "flag eagle") refers to the figure of an eagle on a staff carried into battle as a standard by the ''Grande Armée'' of Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars. Although they were presented with ...

of the French 62nd Regiment. The battalion also took part in the siege of Burgos in September 1812 and then returned home in June 1813. The battalion embarked for

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

later in the year and saw action at the Battle of Quatre Bras and 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 ...

in June 1815.

First Anglo-Burmese War

The regiment 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 1822 and was deployed to

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

for service in the

First Anglo-Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmes ...

in early 1825. It formed part of an army which advanced up the River Irrawaddy to the Kingdom of Ava and then, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Shelton, captured the city of

Arakan Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...

in March 1825. After suffering many casualties from fever the regiment was withdrawn and returned to India in 1826.

First Anglo-Afghan War

The regiment was posted to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

in 1840 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 Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession d ...

and was part of the advance-guard during the January 1842 retreat. Viewed as one of the worst British military disasters of the 19th century, by breaking the myth of the army's invincibility it also allegedly facilitated the 1857 Indian Rebellion. The regiment was engaged in a continuous running battle in thick snow, suffering heavy casualties, among them Captain Thomas Leighton, killed on 10 January and commemorated in

All Saints' Church, Northallerton All Saints’ Church, Northallerton is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. History The first church was set up by St Paulinus of York on the site of the present All Saints' Parish Church ...

. On the evening of the 12th, a small group on horseback broke out in an attempt to reach the British garrison at

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلال‌آباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...

but only Surgeon

William Brydon William Brydon CB (10 October 1811 – 20 March 1873) was an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, famous for reportedly being the only member of an army of 4,500 men, plus 12,000 accomp ...

managed to do so, arriving late on the afternoon of the next day. This left an estimated 20 officers and 45 other ranks surrounded by the

Ghilji The Ghiljī ( ps, غلجي, ; fa, خیلجی, Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also sett ...

on a hill outside the village of Gandamak; they refused an offer to surrender and were over-run. The only survivors were a few wounded privates and Captain Thomas Souter, who had wrapped the regimental colours around his waist; the attackers assumed this meant he was a high-ranking officer. Traces of weapons and equipment from the battle could be seen in the 1970s and as late as 2010, the bones of the dead still covered the hillside.

Crimean War

The 44th Foot was reconstituted and landed at Varna in summer 1854 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 ...

. It served under General Sir Richard England in the 3rd Division and saw action at the

Battle of the 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 20Septemb ...

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. At Sevastopol it took part in the capture of the cemetery.

Second Opium War

The regiment embarked for China in 1860 for service in the Second Opium War. It took in the capture of the

Taku Forts The Taku Forts or Dagu Forts, also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River (Peiho River) estuary in the Binhai New Area, Tianjin, in northeastern China. They are located southeast of the Tianjin urban center. History The ...

on 21 August 1860 as part of the Anglo-French forces under command of General Sir James Hope Grant. The regiment was in the

vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

of the assault on the North Taku entrenchments. The attacking force crossed a series of ditches and bamboo-stake palisades under heavy Chinese musketry, and tried to force entrance by the main gate. When this effort was unsuccessful, an assault party climbed the wall to an embrasure and forced entry to the fort. The first British officer to enter the fort was Lieutenant Robert Montresor Rogers who was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for his conspicuous bravery. He was closely followed by Private John McDougall who was also awarded the VC. The regiment left China in October 1861 and returned to India.

Amalgamation

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 44th was linked with the

, and assigned to district no. 44 at Warley Barracks near Brentwood. On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot to form the

. Following the release of the

1957 Defence White Paper The 1957 White Paper on Defence (Cmnd. 124) was a British white paper issued in March 1957 setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected w ...

which saw the British Army undergo restructuring yet again, the

was merged with

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World W ...

to form the

3rd East Anglian Regiment The 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. History As a result of the 1957 Defence Review, the 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and the 1st Battalion, Essex Regiment amalga ...

. This regiment existed for only a small number of years as the

1966 Defence White Paper The 1966 Defence White Paper (Command Papers 2592 and 2901) was a major review of the United Kingdom's defence policy initiated by the Labour government under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The review was led by the Secretary of State for Defence, ...

was released and saw the British Army undergo even more transitions, resulting in the

1st East Anglian Regiment The 1st East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. History As a result of the Defence Review, the 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment and the 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment amalgamated on ...

2nd East Anglian Regiment The 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire) was a short-lived infantry regiment of the British Army from 1960 to 1964. Its lineage is continued by the Royal Anglian Regiment. History As a res ...

and

The Royal Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

being merged to create one larger regiment - the

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...

. The Royal Anglian Regiment still exists now and is composed of three battalions - two regular and one reserve. The legacy of the 44th Regiment of Foot is upheld to this day as the

became the 3rd Battalion of the

In fiction

The capture of a

by the fictional South Essex Regiment at 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 ...

Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English-American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written ''The Saxon ...

's novel ''Sharpe's Eagle'' is based upon the action by the 44th Regiment. The primary historical difference, as admitted in Cornwell's historical postscript, is that no Eagle was captured during the battle.Cornwell, p. 327–8

Battle honours

The battle honours of the regiment were: *Egypt *Peninsular War:

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populatio ...

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

, Peninsula *War of 1812: Bladensburg *Napoleonic Wars: Waterloo *Anglo-Burmese War: Ava *Crimean War: 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 ...

*Second Opium War:

Victoria Cross awards

The Victoria Cross were awarded to the following men of the regiment. *Private John McDougall, Second Opium War (21 August 1860) *Sergeant William McWheeney,

(20 October 1854) *Lieutenant Robert Montresor Rogers, Second China War (21 August 1860)

Colonels of the Regiment

Colonels of the regiment were: *1741–1743: Col. James Long *1743–1751: Col. John Lee

The 44th Regiment of Foot – (1751)

*1751–1755: Col. Sir Peter Halkett, 2nd Baronet *1755–1756: Col. Robert Ellison *1756–1781: Gen. James Abercromby *1781–1809: Gen. Charles Rainsford

The 44th (East Essex) Regiment – (1782)

*1809–1814: Gen. Sir Thomas Trigge, KB *1814–1820: Gen.

John Howard, 15th Earl of Suffolk General John Howard, 15th Earl of Suffolk, 8th Earl of Berkshire, FSA (7 March 1739 – 23 January 1820) was a British soldier and nobleman. Howard was the third (but second surviving) son of Capt. Philip Howard of the Royal Marines, grandson ...

*1820–1843: Gen. Gore Browne *1843–1855: Gen. Hon. Sir Patrick Stuart, GCMG *1855–1858: Lt-Gen. Sir Frederick Ashworth *1858–1881: Gen. Sir Thomas Reed, GCB

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Personnel lists of the 44th Regiment of Foot
{{Regiments of Foot Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1741 Military units and formations in Essex Regiments of the British Army in the American Revolutionary War Regiments of the British Army in the Crimean War Military units and formations disestablished in 1881