For other units with the same regimental number, see 55th Regiment of Foot (disambiguation)

55th Regiment of Foot (disambiguation)

55th Regiment of Foot may refer to:*44th Regiment of Foot, 55th Regiment of Foot, numbered as the 55th Foot in 1747 and renumbered as the 44th in 1751...

The 55th Regiment of Foot was a 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...

 infantry

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...

 which existed from 1755 to 1881. After 1782 it had a county

County

A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

 designation added, becoming known as the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. or simply the Westmorland Regiment. The 55th ceased to exist as a separate regiment when it was amalgamated

Consolidation (business)

Consolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers and acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group...

 into The Border Regiment

The King's Own Royal Border Regiment

The King's Own Royal Border Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was formed in 1959 through the amalgamation of two other regiments:*The King's Own Royal Regiment *The Border Regiment...

 in 1881 as part of widespread army reforms

Childers Reforms

The Childers Reforms restructured the infantry regiments of the British army. The reforms were undertaken by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers in 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell reforms....

.

The regiment was raised in Stirling, Scotland in 1755. George Perry, Esqr. was appointed Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

, his commission being dated 25 December 1755. Originally ranked as the 57th Regiment of Foot, the regiment was re-ranked as the 55th in 1757 following the disbandment of the 50th

Shirley's Regiment

The 50th, or Shirley's Regiment of Foot was a British army infantry regiment raised in 1754 in North America during the French and Indian War....

 and 51st

Pepperrell's Regiment

The 51st, or Pepperrell's Regiment of Foot was a British army infantry regiment raised in North America during the French and Indian War.Two regiments were raised in New England with funds supplied by the British Crown, entering the army list as the 50th and 51st Regiments of Foot...

 Regiments.

French and Indian War service (1757-61)

The regiment saw active service overseas in North America and participated in the French and Indian War

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

, arriving in North America in 1757. The regiment arrived in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

 on 8 July 1757 to take part in the abandoned attack on the Fortress Louisbourg. During the voyage Colonel Perry died, in September Lord George Augustus Viscount Howe was appointed Colonel of the regiment.

In November of that same year, the 55th arrived in Albany, New York. It was during this time that Lord Howe accompanied Major Robert Rogers, commander of His Majesty's Independent Companies of Rangers on a scout, to learn the art of "bush fighting." It was during this time that Howe won the respect of both colonist and British redcoat being described as the "Idol of the army." In the spring of 1758, Howe began to train and accoutre the men in the 55th more like rangers to better adapt them to warfare in America. One person said of Lord Howe's innovations that he has made the men of the 55th "almost as dexterious as the rangers." The regiment became the example for the whole of General James Aberbromby's army that was to assembling to attack the French fort at Ticonderoga. A flotila of 15000 men sailled up Lake George enroute to Ticonderoga. At the onset of the battle Lord Howe was killed. His death proved to be more than the army of Abercromby could bear, several writers commented on Lord Howe's death in regards to the effect it had on the morale of the army. Without Howe, Abercromby was at a loss as to what to do and decided to attack the fort without bringing up the artillery, a decision that would prove costly and lead to the defeat of his army.

After Lord Howe's death John Prideaux

John Prideaux (general)

John Prideaux was a brigadier-general in the British Army.He was born 1718 in Devon, England the second son of Sir John Prideaux, 6th Baronet, of Netherton Hall, near Honiton...

 was appointed commander of the regiment though he did not arrive in North America until the following spring. Upon his arrival, he was detached to command the forces bound for Fort Niagara, while the 55th again participated in the successful attacks on Ticonderoga and Crown Point. In an unfortunate accident Prideaux was killed by the blast of a cohorn

Hand mortar

The hand mortar is a firearm that was used in the late 17th century and 18th century to throw fused grenades. The action was similar to a flintlock, matchlock, or wheellock firearm , but the barrel was short, usually less than 2 inches to 4 inches long , and had a...

 while walking through the entrenchments during the siege of Fort Niagara. The 55th meanwhile a part of General Jeffery Amherst's army participated in the capture of forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point, halting at Crown Point to construct a new, larger fortification. As the warm months were coming to an end the regiment moved south to winter quarters around Albany.

The following year, 1760 Colonel James Adolphus Oughton took command of the regiment and the 55th travelled to Oswego, where General Jeffery Amherst was assembling his army to attack the last stronghold in French Canada, Montreal. Enroute they defeated the French at La Gallete (present day Ogdensburgh, NY) and Fort Levis, and then further up the St. Lawrence River they went to witness the fall of Montreal to the British. Following the conclusion of hostilities the 55th garrisoned several frontier outposts in New York including Crown Point, Fort Ontario, and Fort Brewerton. In 1762 William Gansell became the colonel of the 55th Regiment.

Pontiac's Indian Uprising (1763-64)

Garrisoning posts on the New York frontier, volunteers of the 55th regiment went with James Dalyell to reinforce the British post at Detroit. Fort Detroit was under siege from the neighboring Native Americans led by Pontiac. When Dalyell's force arrived there, Dalyell led them to make a surprise attack the Native Americans. The force was ambushed en route, and the 55th suffered heavy casualties. This became known as the Battle of Bloody Run

Battle of Bloody Run

The Battle of Bloody Run was fought during Pontiac's Rebellion on July 31, 1763. In an attempt to break Pontiac's siege of Fort Detroit, about 250 British troops attempted to make a surprise attack on Pontiac's encampment....

 or Bloody Bridge. Other soldiers became part of an ad hoc light infantry unit known as "the Platoons" of which 55th Captain Valentine Gardiner commanded four of them. Their task was to act offensively against the hostile Native Americans, but they were largely ineffective. The next year 98 men of the grenadier and light infantry

Light infantry

Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...

 companies travelled again to Detroit under the command of Colonel John Bradstreet, while many others were drafted into the more established 17th Regiment. Anne Grant, whose father was an officer in the 55th Regiment, wrote; "they were going to become part of a regiment of no repute; whom they themselves had held in the utmost contempt when they formerly served together."

American Revolution (1776-78)

The 55th was sent to America for the second time to serve in the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. Notably, the regiment fought at the Battle of Brooklyn (1776), the Battle of Brandywine

Battle of Brandywine

The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...

 (1777). In 1778, the 55th was transferred to the West Indies. In 1782, County designations were given to many foot regiments and the 55th was designated the 55th, or Westmorland Regiment of Foot.

China (1841-1842)

The 55th served in the 1st Anglo-Chinese War (1840–42). The 55th arrived in China in 1841 and was selected as part of the expeditionary force that moved north from Hong Kong on the 20th of August. It participated in the Battle of Amoy

Battle of Amoy

The Battle of Amoy was fought between British and Chinese forces in Amoy, China, on 26 August 1841, during the First Opium War. The British captured the forts in Amoy and Gulangyu Island.Description of the Battle...

 on august 24th.

On October 1st the 55th was the first to land during the battle of Tinghai. They landed on a beach and then assaulted an enemy strong point called guards hill, where they ascended under heavy fire but eventually took the hill. They then proceeded to take the heights overlooking Tinghai and then immediately descended and placed their colours on the walls of the city. After the battle, a detachment of the 55th and 18th were left to garrison the city. On October 10th, the 55th again was part of the force that engaged Qing troops at the battle of Chinhai where the regiment was left as the garrison after the battle. It remained in Chinhai for the remainder of the year.

In 1842, the 55th saw action at Chapu in May, and ChinKiang Fu in July. They garrisoned ChinKiang Fu until the treaty of Nanking was signed. Part of the 55th remained in Hong Kong after the war. For its service during the war it was awarded with the addition of a dragon badge superscribed "China" on its Regimental Colour. A Chinese flag captured by the 55th at the battle of Tinghai can be seen in the Border Regiment Chapel in Kendal

Kendal

Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...

 Parish Church, along with a pair of regimental colours used from 1786-1801.

Crimean War (1853-1855)

The 55th Foot saw active service in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 during the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

. The regiment was awarded 3 battle honours to its Regimental Colour for service in the Crimea: The Alma, Inkerman, and Sevastopol.

Amalgamation as The Border Regiment (1881)

On 1 July 1881, as part of the Childers Reforms

Childers Reforms

The Childers Reforms restructured the infantry regiments of the British army. The reforms were undertaken by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers in 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell reforms....

 which removed the numbering of Regiments, the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot united with the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot

34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot

The 34th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1702 and amalgamated with the 55th Regiment of Foot, into The Border Regiment in 1881.-Early 18th century :...

 to form The Border Regiment of which the former 55th formed the 2nd battalion

Battalion

A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

.

Modern successor

Through the process of amalgamation and restructuring of the Army, the lineage of the 55th Foot now rests with the 3rd Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border)

Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border)

The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army. It recruits throughout the North West of England...

.
The 18th century colours of the 55th are laid up at Kendal

Kendal

Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...

Parish Church.

External links

• 55th Regiment of Foot, Company of Light Infantry (1759-1764) (Archived 2009-10-22) Living History group re-enacting the light infantry company of the 55th Regiment during the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion.
• The 55th Regiment of Foot, Capt. James Taylor Trevor's Co'y Living History and reenactment unit portraying the 55th in 1776.
• 55th (the Westmorland) Regiment of Foot at regiments.org (currently unavailable as of 16:35, 26 March 2008 (UTC))