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43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot
Encyclopedia
The 43rd Regiment of Foot was an infantry
regiment
of the British Army
. It was raised as Thomas Fowke's Regiment of Foot in 1741 with its headquarters at Winchester. The regiment was numbered 54th Foot until 1748 when it became the 43rd Foot. In 1881 it amalgamated with the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot
(Light Infantry), to form the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry which in 1908 became the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
.
The 43rd Regiment of Foot sailed for North America in May 1757 arriving at Halifax, Nova Scotia the following month to defend the British North American Colonies during the Seven Years' War
against France. The regiment had spent almost two years on garrison duties when in 1759, as part of General Wolfe's
force, it took part in the capture of Quebec
gaining its first battle honour. The next campaign was in the West Indies in 1762 where the 43rd took part in the capture of Martinique and St Lucia from the French and Havanna, Cuba
from the Spanish.
American War of Independence
The regiment returned to North America in 1774 and remained there throughout the American War of Independence
. The 43rd were joined by the 52nd at Boston and the two regiments fought side by side at Lexington
and at Bunker Hill
. The 43rd were at Yorktown
during the final siege and surrender in 1781.
The 43rd became the 43rd (Monmouthshire
) Regiment in 1782. The regiment returned to the West Indies in 1794 to capture for the second time Martinique and St Lucia which following the peace treaty of 1763 had been returned to France. They were defeated at Guadaloupe in 1794 by a much larger French force after defending their position for three months.
Light Infantry
In 1803, the 43rd, the 52nd and the 95th Rifles became the first Corps of Light Infantry and formed the Light Brigade at Shorncliffe, Kent under the command of Sir John Moore. The regiment was re-titled as the 43rd (Monmouthshire) Light Infantry. The 43rd was part of a force led by Sir Arthur Wellesley
which in 1807 captured Copenhagen and the entire Danish fleet.
Peninsular War
In August 1808 during the Peninsular War
the 43rd fought in the Battle of Vimeiro
which drove Napoleon's forces from Portugal. The campaign against the French then moved to Spain where in January 1809 the regiment took part in the retreat to Vigo and Corunna
; achieving fame as part of the rearguard to the army before returning to England. In May 1809 the 1st battalion of the 43rd, as part of Sir Robert Craufurd
's Light Brigade
, sailed for Portugal
to join Sir Arthur Wellesley's army. On landing at Lisbon
the 43rd moved to Spain to support Wellesley's forces there. The battalion's march of 250 miles from Lisbon to Talavera included a march of fifty-two miles in twenty-six hours in the hottest season of the year. The battle of Talavera had been won before the battalion arrived however a company of the 43rd which had been at Lisbon from December 1808 fought in the battle as part of General Richard Stewart's brigade. In 1810 the 43rd formed part of the Light Division under the command of Sir Robert Craufurd. The 43rd fought in the battles of the crossing of the Côa, Sabugal
and Bussaco. The 43rd took part in the assault on the fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812 and at the Siege of Badajoz in April 1812 when storming the breach the 43rd lost 20 officers and 335 men. Following the end of the Peninsular War in 1814 the Light Division was disbanded and the 43rd returned to England.
The 2nd battalion of the 43rd was part of the expedition to Walcheren
in 1809 where many troops lost their lives to fever in the Scheldt marshes.
Battle of New Orleans
The 43rd returned to America in 1814 as part of an expeditionary force which initially had some success but was defeated during the Battle of New Orleans
by the forces of General Jackson
in 1815. The regiment then returned to Europe. The 43rd arrived in Belgium too late to fight in the Battle of Waterloo
on 18 June 1815. There were however a number of 43rd officers present during the battle including Lord Fitzroy Somerset and Major James Shaw Kennedy who both served on the Duke of Wellington's staff. The regiment formed part of the army of occupation in France until November 1818.
Canada 1836-1846
The regiment served in Ireland
from 1819 to 1823 and then at Gibraltar
from 1823 to 1830. Following a period in England the 43rd returned to Canada
in 1836. The regiment under the overall command of Sir John Colborne commander-in-chief Canada took part in the suppression of the Rebellions of 1837. In December 1837, in severe weather conditions, the regiment marched from Fredericton to Quebec a distance of 370 miles of many forests, frozen rivers and mountainous terrain in a period of eighteen days. The march received much attention in Canada and the Duke of Wellington expressed his high admiration for the arduous undertaking the 43rd had completed. The regiment left Canada for England in 1846 and was stationed in the south of England and then in Ireland until 1851.
Southern Africa 1851-1853
The 43rd took part in the Kaffir War in Southern Africa from 1851 to 1853 during which the troopship Birkenhead
foundered off the Cape of Good Hope in 1852. The bravery and discipline shown by British troops which included a detachment of the 43rd under the command of Lieutenant Girardot during the ship-wreck received much publicity in England and abroad. King Frederick of Prussia ordered that the story of the bravery shown during the sinking of the troopship be read out to each regiment of his army as an example of devotion to duty.
Indian Mutiny
The 43rd moved from South Africa to India arriving at Madras in January 1854. The regiment assisted in putting down the Indian Mutiny from 1857 to 1859 and during the campaign marched 1300 miles in six months and engaged in many actions with the enemy along the way. The regiment also won its first Victoria Cross awarded to Henry Addison in 1859.
New Zealand land wars
In September 1863 the 43rd left India to take part in the New Zealand land wars
. The 43rd led the storming column at Gate Pah in April 1864 and took part in the assault on the fort at Te Ranga in June 1864. The regiment returned to England in February 1866.
Later history
For the next fifteen years the regiment was mainly stationed abroad with only brief periods spent in the UK. The major operation it was engaged in during this time was in the suppression of the rebellion by the Moplahs in Southern India in 1873.
The 43rd became the 1st battalion of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry in 1881 and the 1st battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1908. The 1st and 2nd battalions were amalgamated in 1948 and the regiment was re-titled as the 1st Battalion The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 43rd and 52nd. In 1958 the regiment was renamed the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) forming part of the Green Jackets Brigade and became the 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets in 1966 and the 2nd Battalion The Rifles in February 2007.
The 43rd, in conjunction with the historic 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment, is represented today, in its American Revolutionary form, by a reenactment group based out of the Philadelphia area in the United States and in its Napoleonic form by a reenactment group based in Britain and the continent
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. It was raised as Thomas Fowke's Regiment of Foot in 1741 with its headquarters at Winchester. The regiment was numbered 54th Foot until 1748 when it became the 43rd Foot. In 1881 it amalgamated with the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot
52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot
The 52nd Regiment of Foot was a light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The regiment first saw active service during the American War of Independence, and were posted to India during the Anglo-Mysore Wars...
(Light Infantry), to form the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry which in 1908 became the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army.The regiment was formed as a consequence of Childers reforms, a continuation of the Cardwell reforms, by the amalgamation of the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 52nd Regiment of Foot , forming the 1st...
.
History
Early historyThe 43rd Regiment of Foot sailed for North America in May 1757 arriving at Halifax, Nova Scotia the following month to defend the British North American Colonies during the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
against France. The regiment had spent almost two years on garrison duties when in 1759, as part of General Wolfe's
James Wolfe
Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
force, it took part in the capture of Quebec
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
gaining its first battle honour. The next campaign was in the West Indies in 1762 where the 43rd took part in the capture of Martinique and St Lucia from the French and Havanna, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
from the Spanish.
American War of Independence
The regiment returned to North America in 1774 and remained there throughout the American War of Independence
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. The 43rd were joined by the 52nd at Boston and the two regiments fought side by side at Lexington
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
and at Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
. The 43rd were at Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
during the final siege and surrender in 1781.
The 43rd became the 43rd (Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
) Regiment in 1782. The regiment returned to the West Indies in 1794 to capture for the second time Martinique and St Lucia which following the peace treaty of 1763 had been returned to France. They were defeated at Guadaloupe in 1794 by a much larger French force after defending their position for three months.
Light Infantry
In 1803, the 43rd, the 52nd and the 95th Rifles became the first Corps of Light Infantry and formed the Light Brigade at Shorncliffe, Kent under the command of Sir John Moore. The regiment was re-titled as the 43rd (Monmouthshire) Light Infantry. The 43rd was part of a force led by Sir Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley may refer to:*Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman*Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington , British soldier and nobleman...
which in 1807 captured Copenhagen and the entire Danish fleet.
Peninsular War
In August 1808 during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
the 43rd fought in the Battle of Vimeiro
Battle of Vimeiro
In the Battle of Vimeiro the British under General Arthur Wellesley defeated the French under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro , near Lisbon, Portugal during the Peninsular War...
which drove Napoleon's forces from Portugal. The campaign against the French then moved to Spain where in January 1809 the regiment took part in the retreat to Vigo and Corunna
Battle of Corunna
The Battle of Corunna refers to a battle of the Peninsular War. On January 16, 1809, a French army under Marshal Soult attacked the British under Sir John Moore...
; achieving fame as part of the rearguard to the army before returning to England. In May 1809 the 1st battalion of the 43rd, as part of Sir Robert Craufurd
Robert Craufurd
Major-General Robert Craufurd was a Scottish soldier and Member of Parliament . After a military career which took him from India to the Netherlands, he was given command of the Light Division in the Napoleonic Peninsular War under the Duke of Wellington...
's Light Brigade
Light Brigade
Light Brigade is a term made famous by the Charge of the Light Brigade, but is also used in various military contexts:* A Light infantry brigade* A Light cavalry brigade* A brigade within the Light Division...
, sailed for Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
to join Sir Arthur Wellesley's army. On landing at Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
the 43rd moved to Spain to support Wellesley's forces there. The battalion's march of 250 miles from Lisbon to Talavera included a march of fifty-two miles in twenty-six hours in the hottest season of the year. The battle of Talavera had been won before the battalion arrived however a company of the 43rd which had been at Lisbon from December 1808 fought in the battle as part of General Richard Stewart's brigade. In 1810 the 43rd formed part of the Light Division under the command of Sir Robert Craufurd. The 43rd fought in the battles of the crossing of the Côa, Sabugal
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 and French troops under the command of Marshal André Masséna...
and Bussaco. The 43rd took part in the assault on the fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812 and at the Siege of Badajoz in April 1812 when storming the breach the 43rd lost 20 officers and 335 men. Following the end of the Peninsular War in 1814 the Light Division was disbanded and the 43rd returned to England.
The 2nd battalion of the 43rd was part of the expedition to Walcheren
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. Around 40,000 soldiers, 15,000 horses together with field artillery and two siege trains...
in 1809 where many troops lost their lives to fever in the Scheldt marshes.
Battle of New Orleans
The 43rd returned to America in 1814 as part of an expeditionary force which initially had some success but was defeated during the Battle of New Orleans
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...
by the forces of General Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
in 1815. The regiment then returned to Europe. The 43rd arrived in Belgium too late to fight in the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
on 18 June 1815. There were however a number of 43rd officers present during the battle including Lord Fitzroy Somerset and Major James Shaw Kennedy who both served on the Duke of Wellington's staff. The regiment formed part of the army of occupation in France until November 1818.
Canada 1836-1846
The regiment served in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
from 1819 to 1823 and then at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
from 1823 to 1830. Following a period in England the 43rd returned to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1836. The regiment under the overall command of Sir John Colborne commander-in-chief Canada took part in the suppression of the Rebellions of 1837. In December 1837, in severe weather conditions, the regiment marched from Fredericton to Quebec a distance of 370 miles of many forests, frozen rivers and mountainous terrain in a period of eighteen days. The march received much attention in Canada and the Duke of Wellington expressed his high admiration for the arduous undertaking the 43rd had completed. The regiment left Canada for England in 1846 and was stationed in the south of England and then in Ireland until 1851.
Southern Africa 1851-1853
The 43rd took part in the Kaffir War in Southern Africa from 1851 to 1853 during which the troopship Birkenhead
HMS Birkenhead (1845)
HMS Birkenhead, also referred to as HM Troopship Birkenhead or steam frigate Birkenhead, was one of the first iron-hulled ships built for the Royal Navy...
foundered off the Cape of Good Hope in 1852. The bravery and discipline shown by British troops which included a detachment of the 43rd under the command of Lieutenant Girardot during the ship-wreck received much publicity in England and abroad. King Frederick of Prussia ordered that the story of the bravery shown during the sinking of the troopship be read out to each regiment of his army as an example of devotion to duty.
Indian Mutiny
The 43rd moved from South Africa to India arriving at Madras in January 1854. The regiment assisted in putting down the Indian Mutiny from 1857 to 1859 and during the campaign marched 1300 miles in six months and engaged in many actions with the enemy along the way. The regiment also won its first Victoria Cross awarded to Henry Addison in 1859.
New Zealand land wars
In September 1863 the 43rd left India to take part in the New Zealand land wars
New Zealand land wars
The New Zealand Wars, sometimes called the Land Wars and also once called the Māori Wars, were a series of armed conflicts that took place in New Zealand between 1845 and 1872...
. The 43rd led the storming column at Gate Pah in April 1864 and took part in the assault on the fort at Te Ranga in June 1864. The regiment returned to England in February 1866.
Later history
For the next fifteen years the regiment was mainly stationed abroad with only brief periods spent in the UK. The major operation it was engaged in during this time was in the suppression of the rebellion by the Moplahs in Southern India in 1873.
The 43rd became the 1st battalion of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry in 1881 and the 1st battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1908. The 1st and 2nd battalions were amalgamated in 1948 and the regiment was re-titled as the 1st Battalion The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 43rd and 52nd. In 1958 the regiment was renamed the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) forming part of the Green Jackets Brigade and became the 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets in 1966 and the 2nd Battalion The Rifles in February 2007.
The 43rd, in conjunction with the historic 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment, is represented today, in its American Revolutionary form, by a reenactment group based out of the Philadelphia area in the United States and in its Napoleonic form by a reenactment group based in Britain and the continent
Victoria Cross recipients
- Henry Addison was awarded the VCVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in 1859 for his involvement in the Indian Mutiny. - Frederick Augustus SmithFrederick Augustus SmithLieutenant Colonel Frederick Augustus Smith VC was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Early life:Smith entered the British Army in 1849 and saw action during...
received the VC for his part in the New Zealand Land Wars.
External links
- Royal Green Jackets on MOD website Includes antecedent regiments.
- Timeline for 43rd Foot at British Light Infantry Regiments