56th Regiment of Foot
Encyclopedia
The 56th 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 were disbanded. It saw service in Cuba
at the capture of Havana in the Seven Years' War
, and was later part of the garrison during the Great Siege of Gibraltar
in the American Revolutionary War
. During the French Revolutionary Wars
it fought in the Caribbean and then in Holland. On the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars
the 56th raised a second battalion in 1804 as part of the anti-invasion preparations; both saw service in India and in the Indian Ocean, with the first capturing Réunion
and Mauritius
. A third battalion was formed in the later years of the war, but was disbanded after a brief period of service in the Netherlands.
The regiment spent much of the following period on foreign garrison duties, and saw service in the later stages of the Crimean War
, at the Siege of Sevastopol. It was despatched to India during the Indian Mutiny, but did not see active service. The regiment was amalgamated with the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot to form the 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment
in 1881, as part of the Childers Reforms
; the Essex Regiment's lineage is currently maintained by the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment
, a mechanised infantry unit.
. Orders for the raising of the 52nd to 61st Regiments of Foot were issued in December of that year.
One of these regiments, the 58th Regiment of Foot, was raised at Newcastle
and Gateshead
on 28 December 1755, under the colonelcy of Lord Charles Manners
, whose commission was dated 26 December. Throughout 1756 it recruited heavily to come to its authorised establishment of ten companies, each of 78 men. On 25 December 1756, the 50th and 51st Regiments were disbanded, and all higher-numbered units redesignated, with the 58th becoming the 56th Regiment of Foot.
In April 1757 it moved to Berwick
, and thence into Scotland, where it would take up garrison duties; it occupied quarters at Aberdeen
in 1758 and Edinburgh
in 1759. In July 1760 it returned to England, sailing from Leith to Portsmouth, and was stationed at Hilsea
through 1761. On 17 December of that year, Lord Charles Manners was succeeded in the colonelcy by Colonel William Keppel.
, and began preparing for an expedition against Spanish possessions
in the Caribbean. The 56th was assigned as part of the expeditionary force, and sailed from Portsmouth on 5 March, arriving off Havana on 6 June and landing the following day. The regiment numbered a total of 933 officers and men, and was brigaded with four companies of the 1st Foot
and a battalion of the 60th Foot
.
The main object of the force was to besiege the Moro fortress, which guarded the harbour. After a long reduction, a storming party was organised and attacked on 30 July, and took the fort after a brief but violent action, in which 150 of the garrison were killed and 400 taken prisoner, with the remaining 200 dying in an attempt to escape in small boats. The regiment was granted the battle honour "The Moro" for this action.
The city surrendered on 13 August. The regiment suffered twelve deaths, with one officer and 23 men wounded, during the campaign. The 56th remained as part of the Havana garrison for the following year, until Cuba was returned to Spain by the Treaty of Paris
, when it was transported to Ireland, arriving in Limerick in October 1763. The regiment moved to Dublin in May 1765, and in June 1765 the colonelcy was assigned to Lieutenant-General James Durand
. He died in 1766, and was succeeded by Colonel Hunt Walsh
.
, sailing from Cork in May. The regiment was augmented by a light infantry
company of seventy men in December 1770, and the ten line companies had their authorised establishment raised by twenty-one men.
The regiment remained in the Gibraltar garrison for several years, and was present when Spain declared war on the United Kingdom in June 1779 and the Great Siege of Gibraltar
began. At this point, the effective regimental strength was 560 men and 27 officers, around a tenth of the garrison. A relief convoy arrived early in 1780, and a second in April 1781, but supplies remained limited. The commander of the garrison decided late in 1781 to attempt a sortie, and this was launched on the night of 26 November; the flank companies of the 56th were part of the raiding force, and successfully destroyed several batteries of artillery.
The siege was finally lifted in February 1783 - after three years and seven months - when the Treaty of Paris
ended hostilities, and confirmed British possession of Gibraltar. The 56th received the battle honour "Gibraltar" for its service in the siege, with the right to bear the castle-and-key insignia on its colours. It was relieved in October 1783, and returned to England. Shortly thereafter the regiment was given a county affiliation, part of a move to increase recruiting by linking regiments to local areas, and became the 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot.
In the spring of 1784 it moved to garrison duty in Scotland, serving at various stations there until January 1788, when it embarked for Ireland with a reduced establishment of ten companies. From 1788 to 1793 it was stationed in Ireland.
of 1792 the army was expanded in preparation for war; the authorised establishment of the 56th was brought up to twelve companies, and it was ordered to prepare for overseas service. Before hostilities broke out, however, the regiment was involved in suppressing a riot near Wexford
in June 1793. Major Valloton, a company commander, was killed along with several local men.
The regiment embarked for the West Indies in November 1793, arriving at Barbados in January 1794, and fought at the capture of Martinique
in February. The line companies being left there as a garrison, the light and grenadier companies fought at the capture of St. Lucia in April, and the whole regiment saw service fighting at the capture of Guadeloupe
in September. It remained as a garrison in the West Indies for the remainder of 1794, but took great losses from disease. In October, the men still fit for service were transferred to the 6th, 9th
and 15th regiments, and the remaining cadre of officers and men embarked to return to England on 3 January 1795.
Arriving in England in February, they were stationed at Chatham to recruit and retrain. The regiment sailed to Cork in September, and after a brief period in Ireland was deemed to have attained "so perfect a state of discipline and efficiency" that it was considered fit for overseas service once more, and despatched to Barbados. It was sent to St. Domingo, and remained there through 1797. On the death of General Walsh, the colonelcy had passed to Major-General Samuel Hulse
on 7 March 1795; he did not retain it long, and it was conferred on Major-General Chapple Norton
on 24 January 1797. After a period stationed in Jamaica, the regiment returned to England at the end of 1798, again to recruit and rebuild its strength.
In 1799 the regiment was part of the force sent to the Netherlands in the ill-fated Helder Campaign, arriving in Holland in September in time for the Battle of Schoorl-Oudkarspel on the 19th, where it suffered sixty-three officers and men killed or wounded, plus another fifty-nine missing. It fought at Bergen
and Egmont-op-Zee on 2 October, before withdrawing from the Netherlands on 18 November.
During 1800 the regiment was stationed in Ireland, and increased its establishment by a further two companies of a hundred men each. The new recruits, since returning from the West Indies in 1799, had been enlisted for service only within Europe; on hearing the announcement of the major victories in the Egyptian campaign in 1801, they promptly offered their services for general service throughout the world. This offer was, however, quickly followed by the Peace of Amiens in 1802, and the regiment remained in Ireland.
, a major expansion of the land forces was put in place to deter an invasion; on 25 December 1804, some four hundred men raised in Surrey were placed on the Army establishment as the 2nd Battalion, 56th Regiment, shortly thereafter expanded to 656 men. The existing battalion of the regiment was, accordingly, redesignated as the 1st Battalion, 56th Regiment. Noting the great success the two existing battalions had had with recruiting, a third was later authorised, and raised in 1813 at Horsham as the 3rd Battalion, 56th Regiment.
A detachment of the regiment served on board the frigates Psyche
and Piedmontaise as marines in 1809-1810, and fought in a brief war with Travancore
in 1809.
in January 1809, successfully raiding the Île Bourbon in September, capturing a large amount of shipping at anchor.
During this time, in August 1809, the remaining companies of the battalion were shipped from Bombay to Madras at short notice and under great secrecy, in an attempt to make a show of force
to avert a possible mutiny of the Indian regiments. This was successful, with any violence being averted, and the regiment received the thanks of the Governor in Council.
In 1810 a second expedition was mounted into the Indian Ocean, with a strong detachment of the first battalion as well as various other units, and the Île Bourbon was taken on 10 July. The same detachment then saw action at the capture of Mauritius
in December, the last French territory remaining in the Indian Ocean.
A force of militia volunteers sent as recruits to the 56th arrived as a garrison in Goa in mid-1810. It joined the first battalion in 1811, and the Indian Ocean detachment returned later that year. To mark the regiment's services in India, it received a new pair of colours as a gift from the Honourable East India Company.
With the return of Napoleon to France in 1815, the battalion was again despatched to Mauritius to reinforce the garrison there against the possibility of a revolt by the French population, where it remained.
to refit before continuing to Madras in convoy with HMS Greyhound, arriving in December. The battalion proceeded to Bombay, where it encountered the 1st Battalion for the first time, and moved to Surat in January 1809. At Surat, four companies were detached to aid in the capture of a bandit fort at Mallia in Baroda, returning to the battalion in December.
The battalion expanded its establishment in 1810, rising to an authorised strength of 1,306 men. It suffered greatly from disease during garrison operations in Gujarat in 1813, and again in camp in 1814, losing some three hundred and thirty men between March 1813 and December 1814. However, by January 1815 it had moved to more salubrious climes at Assaye and was able to muster nine hundred men fit for service.
The battalion was ordered to be disbanded as part of the reduction in the army after Waterloo, and marched to Bombay in November 1816. There, four hundred men who volunteered to continue in India were transferred to the 65th Regiment, and the bulk of the regiment sailed for England in January. The line companies were disbanded at Rochester on 25 June, and the flank companies (which had left India in July) at Chatham on 29 December.
in November 1813, and was recruited very rapidly; within a month of its formation, it was reported as ready for service with an establishment of 650 men. It embarked for Holland on 9 December, and fought at the Battle of Merxem on 30 January 1814. After service in the siege of Antwerp, the battalion returned to England after Napoleon's abdication, and was disbanded at Sheerness on 24 October. The men still fit for service were drafted to the first and second battalions, and sent to India.
, the island's capital; the regiment was employed in attempting to fight the fire, and two men were killed. In 1818 General Norton died, and was succeeded in the colonelcy by Lieutenant-General Sir John Murray. The regiment finally returned to England in 1826, after twenty years overseas.
In 1827 it moved to Ireland from Hull, and after General Murray's death, the colonelcy was conferred upon Lieutenant-General Lord Aylmer
. The regiment received new colours on 4 April 1828, with the honours "Moro" and "Havannah", as well as the Gibraltar crest and motto. On 23 July 1831 Lieutenant-General Sir Hudson Lowe
was appointed to the colonelcy.
Under the 1825 army reforms, six companies would be sent for overseas service at any one time, whilst four remained in the United Kingdom as a depot. Accordingly, when the regiment was ordered to embark for Jamaica in 1831 it took six of its ten companies. Other than a brief epidemic of yellow fever
in 1837, claiming sixty men, the time in Jamaica was uneventful. In July 1838, the Sheerness depot provided the guard of honour for the visit of Marshal Soult
.
In March 1840 the main body of the regiment sailed aboard for Canada, to reinforce the garrison there during the Northeastern Boundary Dispute. It returned to England in July 1842, aboard HMS Resistance, where it rejoined its depot companies and moved to Ireland. On 17 November 1842, the Earl of Westmorland
was appointed to the colonelcy of the regiment.
The regiment remained at various stations in Ireland, serving to assist in keeping the peace during the widespread repeal movement demonstrations, until it moved to England in 1844. A reserve battalion was formed this year, by organising the existing depot companies, and forming a new depot force. The main force of the regiment moved to Gibraltar in December 1846. The reserve battalion was transported to join them in February 1847, aboard the Birkenhead
; it later disbanded, with the men transferred to rejoin the main force.
The regiment left Gibraltar in May 1851 aboard the Resistance, for service in Bermuda. In September 1853, an outbreak of yellow fever
aboard the convict hulk Thames in Bermuda harbour spread to the barracks; more than two hundred men died. The regiment was ordered home in December 1853.
had broken out, and the regiment was put under orders to recruit in Ireland over the winter to full strength, and then sail for Turkey. In December, the first detachment of the regiment sailed for Constantinople
.
The second section of the regiment arrived in Dublin from Bermuda in January 1855, where it remained as a depot. Detachments from the depot provided support to the police during unrest at the 1855 by-election in Cavan
. The remaining elements of the regiment returned from Bermuda as late as May.
The main force of the regiment was ordered to the Crimea in July. It was originally planned for the regiment to be landed in Kerch
to relieve the 71st Foot, but when it arrived it was ordered to land at Sevastopol to reinforce the Allied forces besieging the city. It landed on August 25, moved into the front lines the next day, and were attached to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division. The regiment supported the failed attack on the Redan on the 8th of September; it was not heavily involved, and only one man was wounded.
Sevastopol fell on the 11th, and the regiment was awarded the battle honour "Sevastopol" for its involvement in the attack. Five men of the regiment were awarded the French Military War Medal for "fearless and steady conduct".
The regiment left the Crimea on 12 July 1856, part of the final rearguard to depart. It had served overseas for almost a year, with five men killed in action and thirty deaths due to disease.
The regiment boarded ships to return from Bombay in March 1866.; they arrived at Portsmouth, and took up residence in barracks there, in March 1866. After a spell in England, the regiment moved to Ireland in early 1868, and then embarked for India in February 1871. By late 1877 the regiment had moved to Aden
, and was ordered home in early 1878.
had organised the depot system such that all single-battalion regiments would share a depot with another, "partner", regiment; in theory, whilst one was on foreign service the other would remain at home to train and act as a reserve. Under the Childers reforms
in 1881, each of these pairs of regiments were amalgamated together to form a new two-battalion regiment; the senior regiment would become the senior battalion, and the junior regiment the junior, with no significant change in personnel.
The 56th had been paired (appropriately) with the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot. On amalgamation on 1 July 1881, the 56th (as the junior of the two regiments) became the 2nd Battalion, The Essex Regiment.
Whilst the 56th had formally ceased to exist, a degree of individual continuity remained; the 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment remained in an independent existence until 1948, when the 2nd Battalion was dissolved and the regiment was amalgamated into a single regular battalion. The Essex Regiment was itself amalgamated into the single-battalion 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot) in 1958; in 1964, this became the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment. The 3rd Battalion Royal Anglians was finally disbanded in 1992, with its personnel absorbed by the 1st Battalion.
's favourite colour. Some soldiers of the regiment preferred to claim that it was the colour of her underwear. The regimental march, "Rule, Britannia", commemorated the regiment's past service as marines.
The regiment carried on its colours the battle honour
s "Moro" and "Sevastopol", as well the Gibraltar castle and key device
superscribed "Gibraltar" and subscribed with the motto Montis Insignia Calpe. The battle honour "Havannah" was also granted to the 56th, but not until 1909; as such, it was only ever borne by its successor, the Essex Regiment
.
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 in 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...
, 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 were disbanded. It saw service in 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...
at the capture of Havana in 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...
, and was later part of the garrison during the Great Siege of Gibraltar
Great Siege of Gibraltar
The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782...
in the American Revolutionary War
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...
. During the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
it fought in the Caribbean and then in Holland. On the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
the 56th raised a second battalion in 1804 as part of the anti-invasion preparations; both saw service in India and in the Indian Ocean, with the first capturing Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
and Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
. A third battalion was formed in the later years of the war, but was disbanded after a brief period of service in the Netherlands.
The regiment spent much of the following period on foreign garrison duties, and saw service in the later stages of 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...
, at the Siege of Sevastopol. It was despatched to India during the Indian Mutiny, but did not see active service. The regiment was amalgamated with the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot to form the 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment
Essex Regiment
The Essex Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army that saw active service from 1881 to 1958. Members of the regiment were recruited from across Essex county. Its lineage is continued by the Royal Anglian Regiment.-Origins:...
in 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....
; the Essex Regiment's lineage is currently maintained by the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...
, a mechanised infantry unit.
Formation and early service
Following the rise of tensions in North America in 1755, the British government decided to raise ten regiments of infantry in preparation for an expected war with FranceSeven 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...
. Orders for the raising of the 52nd to 61st Regiments of Foot were issued in December of that year.
One of these regiments, the 58th Regiment of Foot, was raised at Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
on 28 December 1755, under the colonelcy of Lord Charles Manners
Charles Manners
Charles Manners was a British bass singer and opera company manager. His earliest performances were with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, first as a chorus member and then as a principal, creating the role of Private Willis in Iolanthe in 1882...
, whose commission was dated 26 December. Throughout 1756 it recruited heavily to come to its authorised establishment of ten companies, each of 78 men. On 25 December 1756, the 50th and 51st Regiments were disbanded, and all higher-numbered units redesignated, with the 58th becoming the 56th Regiment of Foot.
In April 1757 it moved to Berwick
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
, and thence into Scotland, where it would take up garrison duties; it occupied quarters at Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
in 1758 and Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in 1759. In July 1760 it returned to England, sailing from Leith to Portsmouth, and was stationed at Hilsea
Hilsea
Hilsea is a district of the city of Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire. Hilsea is home to one of Portsmouth's main sports and leisure facilities - the Mountbatten centre. The City of Portsmouth Boys' School is also in Hilsea...
through 1761. On 17 December of that year, Lord Charles Manners was succeeded in the colonelcy by Colonel William Keppel.
West Indies campaign
On 4 January 1762, Britain declared war on Spain in the Seven Years' WarSeven 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...
, and began preparing for an expedition against Spanish possessions
British expedition against Cuba
The Battle of Havana was a military action from March to August 1762, as part of the Seven Years' War. British forces besieged and captured the city of Havana, which at the time was an important Spanish naval base in the Caribbean, and dealt a serious blow to the Spanish navy...
in the Caribbean. The 56th was assigned as part of the expeditionary force, and sailed from Portsmouth on 5 March, arriving off Havana on 6 June and landing the following day. The regiment numbered a total of 933 officers and men, and was brigaded with four companies of the 1st Foot
The Royal Scots
The Royal Scots , once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest, and therefore most senior, infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland...
and a battalion of the 60th Foot
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
.
The main object of the force was to besiege the Moro fortress, which guarded the harbour. After a long reduction, a storming party was organised and attacked on 30 July, and took the fort after a brief but violent action, in which 150 of the garrison were killed and 400 taken prisoner, with the remaining 200 dying in an attempt to escape in small boats. The regiment was granted the battle honour "The Moro" for this action.
The city surrendered on 13 August. The regiment suffered twelve deaths, with one officer and 23 men wounded, during the campaign. The 56th remained as part of the Havana garrison for the following year, until Cuba was returned to Spain by the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
, when it was transported to Ireland, arriving in Limerick in October 1763. The regiment moved to Dublin in May 1765, and in June 1765 the colonelcy was assigned to Lieutenant-General James Durand
James Durand (general)
Lieutenant-General James Durant was a British soldier.He served as an officer in the 1st Foot Guards, rising to the rank of captain and lieutenant-colonel in May 1748, and to major in 1753. He was appointed major-general in 1759, and rose to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 1st Foot Guards in 1760...
. He died in 1766, and was succeeded by Colonel Hunt Walsh
Hunt Walsh
General Hunt Walsh was a British soldier and politician.He served as an officer in the 28th Regiment of Foot, rising to the rank of major in May 1753, and appointed to the lieutenant-colonelcy on 2 February 1757...
.
Gibraltar
In 1770 the regiment was despatched to GibraltarGibraltar
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...
, sailing from Cork in May. The regiment was augmented by a 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...
company of seventy men in December 1770, and the ten line companies had their authorised establishment raised by twenty-one men.
The regiment remained in the Gibraltar garrison for several years, and was present when Spain declared war on the United Kingdom in June 1779 and the Great Siege of Gibraltar
Great Siege of Gibraltar
The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782...
began. At this point, the effective regimental strength was 560 men and 27 officers, around a tenth of the garrison. A relief convoy arrived early in 1780, and a second in April 1781, but supplies remained limited. The commander of the garrison decided late in 1781 to attempt a sortie, and this was launched on the night of 26 November; the flank companies of the 56th were part of the raiding force, and successfully destroyed several batteries of artillery.
The siege was finally lifted in February 1783 - after three years and seven months - when the Treaty of Paris
Peace of Paris (1783)
The Peace of Paris was the set of treaties which ended the American Revolutionary War. On 3 September 1783, representatives of King George III of Great Britain signed a treaty in Paris with representatives of the United States of America—commonly known as the Treaty of Paris —and two treaties at...
ended hostilities, and confirmed British possession of Gibraltar. The 56th received the battle honour "Gibraltar" for its service in the siege, with the right to bear the castle-and-key insignia on its colours. It was relieved in October 1783, and returned to England. Shortly thereafter the regiment was given a county affiliation, part of a move to increase recruiting by linking regiments to local areas, and became the 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot.
In the spring of 1784 it moved to garrison duty in Scotland, serving at various stations there until January 1788, when it embarked for Ireland with a reduced establishment of ten companies. From 1788 to 1793 it was stationed in Ireland.
French Revolutionary Wars
With the French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
of 1792 the army was expanded in preparation for war; the authorised establishment of the 56th was brought up to twelve companies, and it was ordered to prepare for overseas service. Before hostilities broke out, however, the regiment was involved in suppressing a riot near Wexford
Wexford
Wexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network...
in June 1793. Major Valloton, a company commander, was killed along with several local men.
The regiment embarked for the West Indies in November 1793, arriving at Barbados in January 1794, and fought at the capture of Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
in February. The line companies being left there as a garrison, the light and grenadier companies fought at the capture of St. Lucia in April, and the whole regiment saw service fighting at the capture of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
in September. It remained as a garrison in the West Indies for the remainder of 1794, but took great losses from disease. In October, the men still fit for service were transferred to the 6th, 9th
9th Regiment of Foot
The 9th Regiment of Foot was a infantry line regiment of the British Army from 1751 to 1881. It became the Norfolk Regiment following the Army reforms of 1881.-Early history:...
and 15th regiments, and the remaining cadre of officers and men embarked to return to England on 3 January 1795.
Arriving in England in February, they were stationed at Chatham to recruit and retrain. The regiment sailed to Cork in September, and after a brief period in Ireland was deemed to have attained "so perfect a state of discipline and efficiency" that it was considered fit for overseas service once more, and despatched to Barbados. It was sent to St. Domingo, and remained there through 1797. On the death of General Walsh, the colonelcy had passed to Major-General Samuel Hulse
Samuel Hulse
Field Marshal Sir Samuel Hulse, GCH was a British Army officer.-Military career:Born the second son of Sir Edward Hulse, 2nd Baronet, Samuel Hulse was commissioned into the 1st Regiment of Footguards. He was appointed Commanding Officer of the Regiment in 1793 and served in that capacity in Flanders...
on 7 March 1795; he did not retain it long, and it was conferred on Major-General Chapple Norton
Chapple Norton
General John Chapple Norton was a British Army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and who later became a Member of Parliament for Guildford....
on 24 January 1797. After a period stationed in Jamaica, the regiment returned to England at the end of 1798, again to recruit and rebuild its strength.
In 1799 the regiment was part of the force sent to the Netherlands in the ill-fated Helder Campaign, arriving in Holland in September in time for the Battle of Schoorl-Oudkarspel on the 19th, where it suffered sixty-three officers and men killed or wounded, plus another fifty-nine missing. It fought at Bergen
Battle of Bergen (1799)
The Battle of Bergen, also called the Battle of Bergen-Binnen, was fought on 19 September 1799, and resulted in a French-Dutch victory under General Brune and General Daendels against the Russians and British under the Duke of York who had landed in North Holland...
and Egmont-op-Zee on 2 October, before withdrawing from the Netherlands on 18 November.
During 1800 the regiment was stationed in Ireland, and increased its establishment by a further two companies of a hundred men each. The new recruits, since returning from the West Indies in 1799, had been enlisted for service only within Europe; on hearing the announcement of the major victories in the Egyptian campaign in 1801, they promptly offered their services for general service throughout the world. This offer was, however, quickly followed by the Peace of Amiens in 1802, and the regiment remained in Ireland.
Napoleonic Wars
On the outbreak of the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, a major expansion of the land forces was put in place to deter an invasion; on 25 December 1804, some four hundred men raised in Surrey were placed on the Army establishment as the 2nd Battalion, 56th Regiment, shortly thereafter expanded to 656 men. The existing battalion of the regiment was, accordingly, redesignated as the 1st Battalion, 56th Regiment. Noting the great success the two existing battalions had had with recruiting, a third was later authorised, and raised in 1813 at Horsham as the 3rd Battalion, 56th Regiment.
A detachment of the regiment served on board the frigates Psyche
French frigate Psyché (1804)
Psyché was a 36-gun vessel built between February 1798 and 1799 at Basse-Indre as a privateer. As a privateer she had an inconclusive but bloody encounter with HMS Wilhelmina of the Royal Navy, commanded by Commander Henry Lambert, off the Indian coast in April 1804. The French then brought her...
and Piedmontaise as marines in 1809-1810, and fought in a brief war with Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
in 1809.
1st Battalion
The first battalion moved from Ireland to the Isle of Wight in January 1805, where it was brought to a full strength of a thousand men, and shortly thereafter embarked for Bombay, where it remained as a garrison for several years. In 1808, its strength was augmented to 1300 men. A force of 200 men were detached for service in the Indian OceanIndian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
in January 1809, successfully raiding the Île Bourbon in September, capturing a large amount of shipping at anchor.
During this time, in August 1809, the remaining companies of the battalion were shipped from Bombay to Madras at short notice and under great secrecy, in an attempt to make a show of force
Show of force
Show of force is a military term for an operation intended to warn or intimidate an opponent and to showcase one's own capability or will to act if provoked...
to avert a possible mutiny of the Indian regiments. This was successful, with any violence being averted, and the regiment received the thanks of the Governor in Council.
In 1810 a second expedition was mounted into the Indian Ocean, with a strong detachment of the first battalion as well as various other units, and the Île Bourbon was taken on 10 July. The same detachment then saw action at the capture of Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
in December, the last French territory remaining in the Indian Ocean.
A force of militia volunteers sent as recruits to the 56th arrived as a garrison in Goa in mid-1810. It joined the first battalion in 1811, and the Indian Ocean detachment returned later that year. To mark the regiment's services in India, it received a new pair of colours as a gift from the Honourable East India Company.
With the return of Napoleon to France in 1815, the battalion was again despatched to Mauritius to reinforce the garrison there against the possibility of a revolt by the French population, where it remained.
2nd Battalion
The second battalion moved between various stations in southern England through 1805, being presented with its colours on 28 November at the Isle of Wight. In December it was brought up to an establishment of 866 men, raised to a thousand early in 1806. In March 1806 it moved to Guernsey for garrison duties, returning to the Isle of Wight in early 1807, and embarked for India in June. The two portions of the battalion were split up in a gale, one group putting in at the Cape of Good HopeCape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
to refit before continuing to Madras in convoy with HMS Greyhound, arriving in December. The battalion proceeded to Bombay, where it encountered the 1st Battalion for the first time, and moved to Surat in January 1809. At Surat, four companies were detached to aid in the capture of a bandit fort at Mallia in Baroda, returning to the battalion in December.
The battalion expanded its establishment in 1810, rising to an authorised strength of 1,306 men. It suffered greatly from disease during garrison operations in Gujarat in 1813, and again in camp in 1814, losing some three hundred and thirty men between March 1813 and December 1814. However, by January 1815 it had moved to more salubrious climes at Assaye and was able to muster nine hundred men fit for service.
The battalion was ordered to be disbanded as part of the reduction in the army after Waterloo, and marched to Bombay in November 1816. There, four hundred men who volunteered to continue in India were transferred to the 65th Regiment, and the bulk of the regiment sailed for England in January. The line companies were disbanded at Rochester on 25 June, and the flank companies (which had left India in July) at Chatham on 29 December.
3rd Battalion
The third battalion was raised at HorshamHorsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
in November 1813, and was recruited very rapidly; within a month of its formation, it was reported as ready for service with an establishment of 650 men. It embarked for Holland on 9 December, and fought at the Battle of Merxem on 30 January 1814. After service in the siege of Antwerp, the battalion returned to England after Napoleon's abdication, and was disbanded at Sheerness on 24 October. The men still fit for service were drafted to the first and second battalions, and sent to India.
Peacetime service
At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the remaining battalion of the regiment was stationed in Mauritius, where it undertook routine garrison duties and helped suppress the slave trade in the newly acquired colony. A major fire in September 1817 destroyed more than half of Port LouisPort Louis
-Economy:The economy is dominated by its port, which handles Mauritius' international trade. The port was founded by the French who preferred Port Louis as the City is shielded by the Port Louis/Moka mountain range. It is the largest container handling facility in the Indian Ocean and can...
, the island's capital; the regiment was employed in attempting to fight the fire, and two men were killed. In 1818 General Norton died, and was succeeded in the colonelcy by Lieutenant-General Sir John Murray. The regiment finally returned to England in 1826, after twenty years overseas.
In 1827 it moved to Ireland from Hull, and after General Murray's death, the colonelcy was conferred upon Lieutenant-General Lord Aylmer
Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylmer
Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylmer was a British military officer and colonial administrator.- Napoleonic Wars :...
. The regiment received new colours on 4 April 1828, with the honours "Moro" and "Havannah", as well as the Gibraltar crest and motto. On 23 July 1831 Lieutenant-General Sir Hudson Lowe
Hudson Lowe
Sir Hudson Lowe KCB, GCMG was an Anglo-Irish soldier and colonial administrator who is best known for his time as Governor of St Helena where he was the "gaoler" of Napoleon Bonaparte.-Early life and career:...
was appointed to the colonelcy.
Under the 1825 army reforms, six companies would be sent for overseas service at any one time, whilst four remained in the United Kingdom as a depot. Accordingly, when the regiment was ordered to embark for Jamaica in 1831 it took six of its ten companies. Other than a brief epidemic of yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
in 1837, claiming sixty men, the time in Jamaica was uneventful. In July 1838, the Sheerness depot provided the guard of honour for the visit of Marshal Soult
Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult
Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia , the Hand of Iron, was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804. He was one of only six officers in French history to receive the distinction of Marshal General of France...
.
In March 1840 the main body of the regiment sailed aboard for Canada, to reinforce the garrison there during the Northeastern Boundary Dispute. It returned to England in July 1842, aboard HMS Resistance, where it rejoined its depot companies and moved to Ireland. On 17 November 1842, the Earl of Westmorland
John Fane, 11th Earl of Westmorland
General John Fane, 11th Earl of Westmorland GCB, GCH, PC , styled Lord Burghersh until 1841, was a British soldier, politician, diplomat and musician.-Background:...
was appointed to the colonelcy of the regiment.
The regiment remained at various stations in Ireland, serving to assist in keeping the peace during the widespread repeal movement demonstrations, until it moved to England in 1844. A reserve battalion was formed this year, by organising the existing depot companies, and forming a new depot force. The main force of the regiment moved to Gibraltar in December 1846. The reserve battalion was transported to join them in February 1847, aboard the 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...
; it later disbanded, with the men transferred to rejoin the main force.
The regiment left Gibraltar in May 1851 aboard the Resistance, for service in Bermuda. In September 1853, an outbreak of yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
aboard the convict hulk Thames in Bermuda harbour spread to the barracks; more than two hundred men died. The regiment was ordered home in December 1853.
Crimean War
Whilst the regiment had been ordered home from Bermuda in 1853, it did not sail until late 1854; in the interim, the Crimean WarCrimean 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...
had broken out, and the regiment was put under orders to recruit in Ireland over the winter to full strength, and then sail for Turkey. In December, the first detachment of the regiment sailed for Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
.
The second section of the regiment arrived in Dublin from Bermuda in January 1855, where it remained as a depot. Detachments from the depot provided support to the police during unrest at the 1855 by-election in Cavan
Cavan (UK Parliament constituency)
Cavan was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, which from 1801 to 1885 returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.-Members of Parliament:...
. The remaining elements of the regiment returned from Bermuda as late as May.
The main force of the regiment was ordered to the Crimea in July. It was originally planned for the regiment to be landed in Kerch
Kerch
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...
to relieve the 71st Foot, but when it arrived it was ordered to land at Sevastopol to reinforce the Allied forces besieging the city. It landed on August 25, moved into the front lines the next day, and were attached to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division. The regiment supported the failed attack on the Redan on the 8th of September; it was not heavily involved, and only one man was wounded.
Sevastopol fell on the 11th, and the regiment was awarded the battle honour "Sevastopol" for its involvement in the attack. Five men of the regiment were awarded the French Military War Medal for "fearless and steady conduct".
The regiment left the Crimea on 12 July 1856, part of the final rearguard to depart. It had served overseas for almost a year, with five men killed in action and thirty deaths due to disease.
Postwar service
On the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny, the regiment was stationed in Ireland; it sailed for India in late August 1857. Whilst it remained in Bombay through the Mutiny, it did not see active service. The Earl of Westmoreland died in October 1859, and was succeeded as colonel by Lieutenant-General John Home Home on the 17th. He, however, died shortly afterwards, and was succeeded by the regiment's twelfth - and final - colonel, Major-General Henry William Breton.The regiment boarded ships to return from Bombay in March 1866.; they arrived at Portsmouth, and took up residence in barracks there, in March 1866. After a spell in England, the regiment moved to Ireland in early 1868, and then embarked for India in February 1871. By late 1877 the regiment had moved to Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
, and was ordered home in early 1878.
Amalgamation and successors
In 1872, the Cardwell reformsCardwell Reforms
The Cardwell Reforms refer to a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874.-Background:...
had organised the depot system such that all single-battalion regiments would share a depot with another, "partner", regiment; in theory, whilst one was on foreign service the other would remain at home to train and act as a reserve. Under 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....
in 1881, each of these pairs of regiments were amalgamated together to form a new two-battalion regiment; the senior regiment would become the senior battalion, and the junior regiment the junior, with no significant change in personnel.
The 56th had been paired (appropriately) with the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot. On amalgamation on 1 July 1881, the 56th (as the junior of the two regiments) became the 2nd Battalion, The Essex Regiment.
Whilst the 56th had formally ceased to exist, a degree of individual continuity remained; the 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment remained in an independent existence until 1948, when the 2nd Battalion was dissolved and the regiment was amalgamated into a single regular battalion. The Essex Regiment was itself amalgamated into the single-battalion 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot) in 1958; in 1964, this became the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment. The 3rd Battalion Royal Anglians was finally disbanded in 1992, with its personnel absorbed by the 1st Battalion.
Traditions
The regiment was originally uniformed with deep crimson facings, which in 1764 was changed to purple. The colour was often called "pompadour", from which the regiment's nickname of "The Pompadours" came. The reasons for the name of the colour are unclear; it is often said that the shade was Madame de PompadourMadame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
's favourite colour. Some soldiers of the regiment preferred to claim that it was the colour of her underwear. The regimental march, "Rule, Britannia", commemorated the regiment's past service as marines.
The regiment carried on its colours the battle honour
Battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....
s "Moro" and "Sevastopol", as well the Gibraltar castle and key device
Coat of arms of Gibraltar
The coat of arms of Gibraltar was first granted by a Royal Warrant passed in Toledo on July 10, 1502, by Isabella I of Castile during Gibraltar's Spanish period...
superscribed "Gibraltar" and subscribed with the motto Montis Insignia Calpe. The battle honour "Havannah" was also granted to the 56th, but not until 1909; as such, it was only ever borne by its successor, the Essex Regiment
Essex Regiment
The Essex Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army that saw active service from 1881 to 1958. Members of the regiment were recruited from across Essex county. Its lineage is continued by the Royal Anglian Regiment.-Origins:...
.