94th Regiment of Foot
Encyclopedia
The 94th 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...

 line infantry
Line infantry
Line infantry is a type of infantry which composed the basis of European land armies from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century....

 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...

. Originally formed as the 'Scots Brigade' in 1568, for service in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. The regiment was brought onto the English establishment, in October 1794, as the 'Scotch Brigade', renumbered as the 94th Regiment of Foot in December 1802 and disbanded in December 1818. The regiment was reformed in December 1823 and served until 1881 when it was merged with the 88th Regiment of Foot
88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers)
The 88th Regiment of Foot was an Irish Regiment of the British Army, one of eight Irish regiments raised and garrisoned in Ireland. As part of the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British army, the regiment amalgamated with the 94th Foot, to form the Connaught Rangers on 1 July 1881...

 to form the Connaught Rangers

Service history

The regiment started life in Dutch service as the 'Scots Brigade' in 1568. In 1665 the regiment took the 'Oath of Allegiance' to the Dutch states General and declined to return to Scotland. In 1794 the regiment rebelled against taking orders in the Dutch language and were taken onto the English establishment in October of that year, as the 'Scotch Brigade'. It was renumbered as the 94th Regiment of Foot in December 1802.

After serving in Jersey, the 94th went to 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...

 and from there to Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....

, in 1810, where is was distinguished at the sanguinary defence of Fort Matagorda
Siege of Cádiz
The Siege of Cádiz was a siege of the large Spanish naval base of Cádiz by a French army from February 5, 1810 to August 24, 1812 during the Peninsular War. Following the occupation of Madrid on March 23, 1808, Cádiz became the Spanish seat of power, and was targeted by 60,000 French troops under...

 before Joining Lord Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

's army in the lines of Torres Vedras
Lines of Torres Vedras
The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, constructed by Sir Richard Fletcher, 1st Baronet and his Portuguese workers between...

. 1n 1814 the regiment was posted to Ireland, where it remained through the Waterloo campaign
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...

 and was disbanded on 24 December 1818.

The regiment was reformed in December 1823, in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. Of the initial appointments, two of the officers were taken from the half-pay list of the old 94th Foot (captain and ensign) and two had previous service in the 94th Foot (major and captain).

Following their reformation the regiment served in a variety of settings during the colonial period. In 1824 the regiment was posted to Gibraltar where it was presented with it's new regimental colours
Colours, standards and guidons
In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, standards or Guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some 5,000 years ago...

, before returning to Ireland.

In 1838 the regiment was posted to Ceylon
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

 to relieve the 58th Regiment
58th Regiment of Foot
Three regiments of the British Army have been numbered the 58th Regiment of Foot:* 47th Regiment of Foot, 58th Regiment of Foot, numbered as the 58th Foot in 1747 and renumbered as the 47th in 1751...

, then moved to Madras
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

 the year after and served in that Presidency for fifteen years, during which time it had some action in the Mappila riots
Mappila riots
Mappila Riots or Mappila Outbreaks refers to a series of riots by the Mappila Muslims of Malabar, South India in the 19th century and the early 20th century against Hindu landlords and the state. The Malabar Rebellion of 1921 is often considered as the culmination of Mappila riots. Mappilas...

.

In 1854, the regiment supplied volunteers to some units in 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...

, whilst service companies served in Gibraltar from September 1855, to June 1856. In October, 1857, the 94th was ordered to Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

, whence it was afterwards transferred to Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....

 in the North-West Frontier region and in other parts of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and 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...

, in the Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

, until 1868.

On 26 May 1874 the Battle Honours and Distinctions of the old 94th were granted to the regiment. The following year, in 1875, the regiment adopted the diced band to their shako
Shako
A shako is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a peak or visor and sometimes tapered at the top...

 (the distinguishing mark of Lowland Scottish regiments) and was allowed to revive the Elephant and the Indian and Peninsular honours
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...

 of the old 'Scotch Brigade'.

In 1879 the regiment fought in the Zulu War
Anglo-Zulu War
The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.Following the imperialist scheme by which Lord Carnarvon had successfully brought about federation in Canada, it was thought that a similar plan might succeed with the various African kingdoms, tribal areas and...

 and took part in the First Boer War
First Boer War
The First Boer War also known as the First Anglo-Boer War or the Transvaal War, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881-1877 annexation:...

 in 1880. The following year, 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 94th amalgamated with the 88th Regiment of Foot
88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers)
The 88th Regiment of Foot was an Irish Regiment of the British Army, one of eight Irish regiments raised and garrisoned in Ireland. As part of the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British army, the regiment amalgamated with the 94th Foot, to form the Connaught Rangers on 1 July 1881...

 to become the 2nd battalion the Connaught Rangers.

Battle honours

  • Seringapatam
    Battle of Seringapatam
    The Siege of Seringapatam was the final confrontation of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Mysore. The British achieved a decisive victory after breaching the walls of the fortress at Seringapatam and storming the citadel. Tippu Sultan, Mysore's...

  • Peninsular
    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...

  • Defence of Fort Matagorda
    Siege of Cádiz
    The Siege of Cádiz was a siege of the large Spanish naval base of Cádiz by a French army from February 5, 1810 to August 24, 1812 during the Peninsular War. Following the occupation of Madrid on March 23, 1808, Cádiz became the Spanish seat of power, and was targeted by 60,000 French troops under...

  • Ciudad Rodrigo
    Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810)
    In the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, the French Marshal Michel Ney took the fortified city from Field Marshal Don Andrés Perez de Herrasti on 9 July 1810 after a siege that began on 26 April...

  • Badajos
  • Salamanca
    Battle of Salamanca
    The Battle of Salamanca saw Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish armies under the Duke of Wellington defeat Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces among the hills around Arapiles south of Salamanca, Spain on July 22, 1812 during the Peninsular War....

  • Vitorria
    Battle of Vitoria
    At the Battle of Vitoria an allied British, Portuguese, and Spanish army under General the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, leading to eventual victory in the Peninsular War.-Background:In July 1812, after...

  • Nivelle
    Battle of Nivelle
    The Battle of Nivelle took place in front of the River Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War . After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops were in hot pursuit of Marshal Soult who only had 60,000 men to place in a 20-mile perimeter...

  • Orthes
    Battle of Orthez
    The Battle of Orthez saw the Anglo-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington defeat a French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France near the end of the Peninsular War.-Preliminaries:...

  • Toulouse
    Battle of Toulouse (1814)
    The Battle of Toulouse was one of the final battles of the Napoleonic Wars, four days after Napoleon's surrender of the French Empire to the nations of the Sixth Coalition...

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