The 86th (Royal County Down) 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 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 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot to form the

Royal Irish Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County D ...

in 1881.

History

Formation

The regiment was raised in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

by Major-General Sir Cornelius Cuyler as Sir Cornelius Cuyler's Shropshire Volunteers, 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, on 30 October 1793. It was absorbed into the British Army the following year as the 86th (Shropshire Volunteers). Serving 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 ...

, the regiment embarked on ships in January 1795. The men took part in the

Battle of Hyères Islands A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in July 1795. It absorbed the remnants of the disbanded 118th Regiment of Foot (Fingall's Regiment), which had been raised the previous year for service as marines, in October 1795. The regiment embarked for the Cape of Good Hope arriving there in September 1796 with orders to consolidate the position in the colony following the surrender of Dutch Forces earlier that month.Cannon, p. 13 The regiment was dispatched to Maddras in

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 February 1799 arriving there in May 1799. It then transferred to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

in July 1799. From there three companies were deployed to Ceylon in late 1800. The regiment embarked for

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 April 1801 for service 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 regiment landed at

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same bou ...

and following a long march across northern EgyptCannon, p. 15 and the surrender of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

by the French Army in June 1801, the regiment occupied the

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. I ...

at Cairo.Cannon, p. 18 The regiment returned to Bombay in spring 1802Cannon, p. 19 and then provided storming parties for two unsuccessful assaults at the

Siege of Bharatpur The siege of Bharatpore was a siege that took place in the Indian princely state of Bharatpur (now part of Rajasthan) between December 1825 and January 1826. British troops under Lord Combermere initially surrounded the state's capital until ...

in January 1805 during the

Second Anglo-Maratha War } The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. Background The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War ...

.Cannon, p. 32 Twenty-five soldiers from the regiment were killed in the disastrous operation.Cannon, p. 34 The regiment returned to Bombay in March 1806 and immediately embarked for

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

.Cannon, p. 36 The regiment became the 86th (Leinster) Regiment of Foot in October 1809.

Napoleonic Wars

The regiment took part in the Invasion of Île Bonaparte in July 1810Cannon, p. 38 and, following the

Invasion of Isle de France The Invasion of Isle de France was a complicated but successful British amphibious operation in the Indian Ocean, launched in November 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars. During the operation, a substantial military force was landed by the Royal N ...

, occupied the island in March 1811Cannon, p. 45 before returning to Madras in February 1812. Having become the 86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot in May 1812, the regiment moved to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

in January 1816Cannon, p. 47 from where it was involved in operations to suppress the

Pindari The Pindaris were irregular military plunderers and foragers in 17th- through early 19th-century Indian subcontinent who accompanied initially the Mughal army, later the Maratha army, and finally on their own before being eliminated in the 1817� ...

s.Cannon, p. 48 It sailed for

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

in Ceylon in September 1818 where it took part in operations to suppress the Kingdom of Kandy, KanyiansCannon, p. 49 and only embarked for home in April 1819.Cannon, p. 57

The Victorian era

The regiment embarked for the West Indies in October 1826.Cannon, p. 59 It was initially based in Trinidad but moved to Barbados in January 1828, Antigua in January 1830 and British Guiana, Demerara and Berbice in February 1833.Cannon, p. 60 It embarked for home in March 1837.Cannon, p. 61 It returned to India in 1842 and saw action in Central India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Indian Rebellion. It formed part of the force led by Major-General Hugh Rose, 1st Baron Strathnairn, Sir Hugh Rose which besieged and captured Jhansi Fort in April 1858: four Victoria Crosses were awarded to members of the regiment for this operation. It returned home in August 1859 and was deployed to Gibraltar in 1864 and then went on to Mauritius in 1867 before returning to the Cape of Good Hope in 1870. It returned home in 1875 and then embarked for Bermuda in 1880. 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 86th was linked with the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and assigned to district no. 63 at Victoria Barracks, Belfast. On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot to form the

Battle honours

Battle honours won by the regiment were: *Egypt (sphinx superscribed "Egypt") *India, Bourbon, Central India

Victoria Cross recipients

*Captain Henry Edward Jerome - 1858, Jhansi (Indian Rebellion of 1857). *Lieutenant Hugh Cochrane, Hugh Stewart Cochrane - 1858, Jhansi (Indian Rebellion of 1857). *Private James Byrne (VC), James Byrne - 1858, Jhansi (Indian Rebellion of 1857). *Private James Pearson (VC), James Pearson - 1858, Jhansi (Indian Rebellion of 1857).

Colonels of the Regiment

Colonels of the Regiment were:

Sir Cornelius Cuyler's Shropshire Volunteers

*1793–1794: Gen. Cornelius Cuyler, Sir Cornelius Cuyler, Bt.

86th (the Shropshire Volunteers) - (1794)

*1794–1795: Gen. Russell Manners (British Army officer), Russell Manners *1795–1803: Gen. William Grinfield *1804-1806: Gen. Sir James Henry Craig, KB

86th (The Leinster) Regiment of Foot - (1806)

*1806–1810: Lt-Gen. Sir Charles Lockhart-Ross, 7th Baronet, Sir Charles Ross, Bt. *1810–1832: Gen. Francis Needham, 1st Earl of Kilmorey

86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot - (1812)

*1832–1835: Lt-Gen. William Harris, 2nd Baron Harris of Seringapatam and Mysore, CB, KCH *1835–1836: Maj-Gen. Hon. Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, GCMG, KCB, KCH *1836–1837: Gen. Sir James Watson (British Army officer), James Watson, KCB *1837–1843: Lt-Gen. Sir Arthur Brooke (British Army officer), Arthur Brooke, KCB *1843–1852: Gen. John Maister *1852–1854: Maj-Gen. Roger Parke *1854–1862: Gen. Lord James Hay *1862–1881: F.M. Sir John Michel, GCB

References

Sources

* {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Infantry regiments of the British Army History of Ireland (1801–1923) Military units and formations established in 1793 Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 Defunct Irish regiments of the British Army Military history of County Down 1881 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 1793 establishments in Great Britain