28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot
Encyclopedia
The 28th Regiment of Foot was a British infantry regiment from 1782 to 1881.
For their conduct at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801 the 28th were given the unique honour of wearing a badge
on both the front and rear of their head dress.. They served throughout the Peninsula War including the battles of Talavera, Albuhera
and Vittoria. They were one of the few Peninsula veteran regiments which was available for the Hundred Days
campaign and fought in the battles of Quatre Bras
and Waterloo
as part of the 8th Brigade commanded by James Kempt
. Because of their actions in this campaign, they earned distinguished mention in the dispatches of the Duke of Wellington
. During the hundred days the 28th continued to wear the old style stovepipe shako, distinguishing them from most British regiments that had adopted the new Belgic shako.
From 1751 to 1782 they were the 28th Regiment of Foot, and in 1881 they merged with the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot
to form the Gloucestershire Regiment.
The 28th Regiment were the subject of a famous an oil painting on canvas from 1875 by Elizabeth Thompson
(Lady Butler), portraying the regiment in action at Quatre Bras.
Archive material of the 28th Regiment of Foot is held by The Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum in the Historic Docks Gloucester.
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For their conduct at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801 the 28th were given the unique honour of wearing a badge
Cap badge
A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as well as uniformed civilian groups such as the Boy...
on both the front and rear of their head dress.. They served throughout the Peninsula War including the battles of Talavera, Albuhera
Battle of Albuera
The Battle of Albuera was an indecisive battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about 20 kilometres south of the frontier fortress-town of Badajoz, Spain.From...
and Vittoria. They were one of the few Peninsula veteran regiments which was available for the Hundred Days
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...
campaign and fought in the battles of Quatre Bras
Battle of Quatre Bras
The Battle of Quatre Bras, between Wellington's Anglo-Dutch army and the left wing of the Armée du Nord under Marshal Michel Ney, was fought near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815.- Prelude :...
and 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...
as part of the 8th Brigade commanded by James Kempt
James Kempt
General Sir James Kempt, GCB was a British Army officer, who served in Holland, Egypt, Italy, the Peninsula, and British North America during the Napoleonic Wars...
. Because of their actions in this campaign, they earned distinguished mention in the dispatches of the Duke of 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...
. During the hundred days the 28th continued to wear the old style stovepipe shako, distinguishing them from most British regiments that had adopted the new Belgic shako.
From 1751 to 1782 they were the 28th Regiment of Foot, and in 1881 they merged with the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot
61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot
The 61st Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, created in 1758 and amalgamated into The Gloucestershire Regiment in 1881....
to form the Gloucestershire Regiment.
Elizabeth Thompson
Elizabeth Southerden Thompson, Lady Butler was a British painter, one of the few female painters to achieve fame for history paintings, especially military battle scenes, at the end of that tradition...
(Lady Butler), portraying the regiment in action at Quatre Bras.
Archive material of the 28th Regiment of Foot is held by The Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum in the Historic Docks Gloucester.
Battle honours
Battle HonourBattle 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....
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- Egypt campaign: No individual battle honours were awarded immediately after the campaign, instead the Sphinx badge superscribed "Egypt" (8 March –26 August 1801) was awarded in 1802. Mandora, awarded 1813–1817. The battles of the campaign which the 28th were involved in were: AboukirBattle of Abukir (1801)The Battle of Abukir of 8 March 1801 was the second battle of the Egyptian campaign in the French Revolutionary Wars, to be fought at Abu Qir on the Mediterranean coast, near the Nile delta. A British army of 5,000 led by General Ralph Abercromby landed along the beach to dislodge an entrenched...
, Roman Camp, AlexandriaBattle of AlexandriaThe Battle of Alexandria or Battle of Canope, fought on March 21, 1801 between the French army under General Menou and the British expeditionary corps under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, took place near the ruins of Nicopolis, on the narrow spit of land between the sea and Lake Abukir, along which the...
(21 March), Cairo, Alexandria (17 August – 2 September 1801) - Peninsula War: CorunnaBattle of CorunnaThe 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...
, Talavera, BarrosaBattle of BarrosaThe Battle of Barrosa was an unsuccessful French attack on a larger Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish force attempting to lift the siege of Cádiz, Spain during the Peninsular War...
, AlbuheraBattle of AlbueraThe Battle of Albuera was an indecisive battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about 20 kilometres south of the frontier fortress-town of Badajoz, Spain.From...
, Vittoria, Pyrenees, NivelleBattle of NivelleThe 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...
, Nive, Orthes, ToulouseBattle 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...
, Peninsula - Quatre BrasBattle of Quatre BrasThe Battle of Quatre Bras, between Wellington's Anglo-Dutch army and the left wing of the Armée du Nord under Marshal Michel Ney, was fought near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815.- Prelude :...
- WaterlooBattle of WaterlooThe 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...
- Crimea War: AlmaBattle of AlmaThe Battle of the Alma , which is usually considered the first battle of the Crimean War , took place just south of the River Alma in the Crimea. An Anglo-French force under General St...
, InkermanBattle of InkermanThe Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on November 5, 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, and was followed by the Siege of Sevastopol...
, Sevastopol