The 34th 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 ...

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 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the

55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot The 55th Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment, raised in 1755. After 1782 it had a county designation added, becoming known as the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 34th (C ...

to form the

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service i ...

in 1881.

History

Early history

The regiment was raised in East Anglia by Colonel Lord Lucas as Lord Lucas's Regiment of Foot in February 1702 to fight in the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phili ...

. The regiment embarked for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in May 1702 and took part in the siege of Barcelona in September 1705. The regiment was then garrisoned at

Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hig ...

before returning to England in spring 1707. The regiment then embarked for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in July 1708 and fought at the siege of Lille in autumn 1708, the siege of

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

in spring 1709 and the

siege of Bouchain The siege of Bouchain (9 August – 12 September 1711), following the Passage of the Lines of ''Ne Plus Ultra'' (5 August 1711), was a siege of the War of the Spanish Succession, and the last major victory of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlbor ...

in summer 1711. The regiment returned to England after the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne ...

and was disbanded in spring 1713. The regiment was reformed without loss of precedence in 1715. It sailed in September 1719 and took part in the

capture of Vigo The Capture of Vigo and Pontevedra also known as the British Expedition to Vigo and Pontevedra occurred in October 1719 during the War of the Quadruple Alliance when a British expedition made a descent on the Spanish coast.Rodger p. 229. They the ...

in October 1719 during the

War of the Quadruple Alliance The War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720) was caused by Spanish attempts to recover territories in Italy ceded in the 1713 Peace of Utrecht. Largely focused on Sicily, it included minor engagements in North America and Northern Europe as we ...

and then returned home later in the year. Soldier of 34th regiment 1742

The regiment embarked for

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

in June 1744 and saw action at the Battle of Fontenoy in May 1745 during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...

. It was ordered home in September 1745 as part of the government response to the Jacobite rebellion and were in the right wing of the front line at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. In 1751 a royal warrant declared that regiments should no longer be known by the name of their colonel, but their number in the order of precedence, and Conway's duly became the 34th Regiment of Foot.

Seven Years' War

Posted to

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

in 1755, the regiment deployed a detachment of 26 officers, 29 sergeants, 19 Drummers, and 678 other ranks as part of Lord Blakeney's garrison (with the 4th, 23rd and 24th Regiments). As such they were besieged by a larger French force under Marshal Duke De Richelieu and retreated to

Fort St Phillip St. Philip's Castle (Catalan:''Castell de Sant Felip'', Spanish: ''Castillo de San Felipe'', often known as Fort St Phillip) was a fortress guarding the entrance to the port of Mahón. It is located in the municipality of Es Castell, on the isla ...

. After a defence of two months' duration, at one point watching themselves being abandoned by the fleet under Admiral Byng, the British forces capitulated and retreated 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 ...

. A second battalion was formed in 1757 to serve as marines. The regiment then took part in the

raid on St Malo The Raid on St Malo took place in June 1758 when an amphibious British naval expedition landed close to the French port of St Malo in Brittany. While the town itself was not attacked, as had been initially planned, the British destroyed large a ...

in June 1758, the

raid on Cherbourg The Raid on Cherbourg took place in August 1758 during the Seven Years' War when a British force was landed on the coast of France by the Royal Navy with the intention of attacking the town of Cherbourg as part of the British government's policy ...

in August 1758 and the

Battle of Saint Cast The Battle of Saint Cast was a military engagement during the Seven Years' War on the French coast between British naval and land expeditionary forces and French coastal defence forces. Fought on 11 September 1758, it was won by the French. Du ...

in September 1758. The regiment departed with the

British expedition against Cuba The siege of Havana was a successful British siege against Spanish-ruled Havana that lasted from March to August 1762, as part of the Seven Years' War. After Spain abandoned its former policy of neutrality by signing the family compact with F ...

and was part of the besieging force which took Fort Morro in July 1762 and

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in August 1762.Cannon, p. 35 The following year it proceeded to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, which had been ceded by Spain to the United Kingdom, before returning to England in 1768.

American Revolutionary War

The regiment was dispatched 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 ...

in spring 1776 and, while participating in numerous small skirmishes, drove out the American forces and forced then to abandon

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French milit ...

in July 1777. A detachment of the regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger also took part in the unsuccessful siege of

Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was built ...

.Cannon, p. 39 Captain Alexander Fraser, a veteran of 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 ...

serving with the regiment, commanded what became known as the

Company of Select Marksmen A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

and saw action as skirmishers during the Saratoga campaign in autumn 1777. A number of other officers and other ranks, including Lieutenant Bright Nodder, were captured by the American forces and held as part of the

Convention Army The Convention Army (1777–1783) was an army of British and allied troops captured after the Battles of Saratoga in the American Revolutionary War. Convention of Saratoga On 17 October 1777, British General John Burgoyne surrendered his army a ...

. On 31 October 1780 the

brig-sloop In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

HMS ''Ontario'' was foundered during a violent storm and was sunk east of

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's e ...

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...

with the loss of 80 lives including one officer, 34 other ranks, four women and five children from the regiment. The resting site of HMS ''Ontario'' remained a mystery until 2008 when the nearly pristine brig "was discovered resting partially on its side, with two masts extending more than 20 metres above the lake bottom", in approximately 150 meters of water "off the southern shore". The regiment was granted the county title as the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot in 1782 but did not return to England until 1786.

Napoleonic Wars

El mariscal Beresford desarmando a un oficial polaco en La Albuera

The regiment was posted 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 Greate ...

in February 1795 and was based in Saint Lucia where it defended the island from French forces and then suppressed a rebellion in Saint Vincent. The regiment returned to England in July 1797. It was posted to the Cape of Good Hope in 1800 and 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 1802. It remained in India campaigning against the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

for nineteen years before returning home. A second battalion of the regiment was raised in 1804 serving in England and

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

, and 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 July 1809 for service in the Peninsular Campaign of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. The 2nd battalion took part in the siege of Badajoz in spring 1811 and the

Battle of Albuera The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about south ...

, (order of battle) during which the regimental colours were successfully recovered after the colour-bearer was shot, in May 1811. The battalion captured the drums and the Drum Major's mace of the French 34e Régiment at the Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos in October 1811. It went on to fight at 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,Cannon, p. 53 the Battle of Almaraz in May 1812 and the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leadin ...

in June 1813. It then pursued the French Army into France fighting at the

Battle of the Pyrenees The Battle of the Pyrenees was a large-scale offensive (the author David Chandler recognises the 'battle' as an offensive) launched on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult from the Pyrénées region on Emperor Napoleon’s or ...

in July 1813, 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 1813Cannon, p. 62 as well as the

Battle of Orthez The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered Fr ...

in February 1814 and the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. The battalion then embarked for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in July 1814.

Victorian era

In August 1829 the regiment was posted to

. A detachment from the regiment fought American

Hunters' Lodges The Hunters' Lodge was the last of a series of secret organizations formed in 1838 in the United States during the Rebellions in the Canadas. The organization arose in Vermont among Lower Canadian refugees (the eastern division or Frères chas ...

at the Battle of Windsor in December 1838 during the Upper Canada Rebellion. The regiment embarked for the journey back to England in June 1841. The regiment was then engaged suppressing Chartist riots in the North of England in 1842.Cannon, p. 77 The regiment next saw action at the siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854 during 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 also fought at the

siege of Cawnpore The siege of Cawnpore was a key episode in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The besieged East India Company forces and civilians in Cawnpore (now Kanpur) were unprepared for an extended siege and surrendered to rebel forces under Nana Sahib in ret ...

in June 1857 and the siege of Lucknow in autumn 1857 during the

Indian Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

. 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 26th was linked with the

, and assigned to district no. 2 at Carlisle Castle. On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot to form the

Battle honours

Battle honours won by the regiment were: * ''Peninsular War'': Albuhera, Arroyo dos Molinos, Vittoria,

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

Nivelle Nivelle () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department * Nivelle Offensive The Nivelle offensive (16 April – 9 May 1917) was a Franco-British operation on the Western Front ...

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 ...

, Orthes, Peninsula * ''Crimean War'':

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 ...

* ''Indian Mutiny'':

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

* ''West Indies'': Havannah (''awarded 1909 to The Border Regiment'')

Victoria Crosses

Victoria Crosses awarded to men of the regiment were: * Private William Coffey,

(29 March 1855) * Private George Richardson, Indian Mutiny (27 April 1859) * Private John Joseph Sims, Crimean War (18 June 1855)

Regimental Colonels

Colonels of the regiment were: *1702–1705:

Robert Lucas, 3rd Baron Lucas of Shenfield Robert Lucas, 3rd Baron Lucas (c.1649 – 31 January 1705) was an English nobleman and army officer. A supporter of William III during the Glorious Revolution, he was made Constable of the Tower of London by the House of Lords to supersede Lor ...

*1705–1712: Hans Hamilton *1712–1723: Thomas Chudleigh *1723–1732: Robert Hayes *1732–1738: Hon. Stephen Cornwallis *1738–1742: Lord James Cavendish *1742–1749: Hon.

James Cholmondeley James Cholmondeley (18 April 1708 – 13 October 1775) was a British Army officer and Member of Parliament between 1731 and 1747. He fought at Fontenoy and during the 1745 Rising commanded a brigade at the Battle of Falkirk, where he suffere ...

*1749–1751: Hon.

Henry Seymour Conway Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway (1721 – 9 July 1795) was a British general and statesman. A brother of the 1st Marquess of Hertford, and cousin of Horace Walpole, he began his military career in the War of the Austrian Succession. He ...

34th Regiment of Foot

*1751–1754: Charles Russell *1754–1760:

Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Effingham Lieutenant-General Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Effingham (1714 – 19 November 1763), styled Lord Howard from 1731 to 1743, was a British nobleman and Army officer, the son of Francis Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham. Lord Howard was appointed a d ...

*1760–1797: Lord Frederick Cavendish

34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot

*1797–1810: George Fitzroy, 2nd Lord Southampton *1810–1816: Gen. Sir

Eyre Coote Eyre Coote may refer to: *Eyre Coote (East India Company officer) (1726–1783), Irish soldier and Commander-in-chief of India *Eyre Coote (British Army officer) (1762–1823), Irish-born general in the British Army * Eyre Coote (MP) (1806–1834), ...

*1816–1826: Gen. Hon. Sir

Galbraith Lowry Cole Hon. Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, (1 May 1772 – 4 October 1842) was an Anglo-Irish British Army general and politician. Early life Cole was the second son of an Irish peer, William Willoughby Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen (1 March 1736&nda ...

*1826–1860: Sir

Thomas Brisbane Major General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet, (23 July 1773 – 27 January 1860), was a British Army officer, administrator, and astronomer. Upon the recommendation of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he had served, he was appoint ...

*1860–1874: Gen. John Eden *1874–1875: James Creagh *1875–1879: Gen. William Irwin *1879–1881: Gen. Alexander Maxwell

References

Sources

External links

34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot
National Army Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:34th (Cumberland) Regiment Of Foot Infantry regiments of the British Army History of Cumberland Military units and formations in Cumbria Military units and formations established in 1702 Regiments of the British Army in the American Revolutionary War Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 1702 establishments in England