48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot
Encyclopedia
History
The regiment was first raised in 1741 as James Cholmondeley's Regiment of Foot in NorwichNorwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
during the War of Austrian Succession. The regiment first saw action at the Battles of Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
and Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
in 1745-1746, campaigning against the Young Pretender. In 1748, it was renumbered as the 48th Regiment of Foot. The 48th took part 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...
and they received their first 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....
in the Americas at the Battle of Louisburg, although the Regiment did not receive their due honour for this until 1882. The 48th was part of General James Wolfe
James Wolfe
Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
's capture of Quebec in 1759.
The 48th was present at the capture 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...
and Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
in the West Indies before returning to serve in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1763.
In 1773, the 48th was stationed in the West Indies prior to the start of 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...
. They were later captured by the French during the war.
Suffering from loss of men in battle, captivity and disease, the 48th was repatriated back to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1780. The Regiment was relocated to Northampton District and then became known as the Northamptonshire Regiment.
It too was part of 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...
from 1779-1783, and was awarded the Castle and Key emblem.
Napoleonic Wars
The regiment then fought as part of the Duke of WellingtonArthur 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 for the duration of the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
against Napoleonic France. The regiments most famous 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....
was gained in at the Battle of Talavera in 1809. The regiment also participated in the battles of Douro (1809), Albuhera (1811), Badajoz (1812), Salamanca (1812), Vittoria (1813), Pyrenees (1813), Nivelle (1813), Orthes (1814), Toulouse (1814). At the Battle of Albuera
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...
it lost its Colonel, George Henry Duckworth, son of Admiral Duckworth
John Thomas Duckworth
Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British naval officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his...
.
Post 1815
From 1817 until 1824, the 48th Regiment of Foot was stationed variously in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. They were stationed at Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie, New South Wales
Port Macquarie is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The city is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River, and has an estimated population of 44,313....
, Van Diemens Land, & Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
. At the time their commanding officer was Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Colonel J. Erskine.
In 1856 the Regiment went to 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...
, and saw action at the Battle of Sevastopol
Battle of Sevastopol
The Siege of Sevastopol took place on the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The campaign was fought by the Axis powers of Germany, Romania and Italy against the Soviet Union for control of Sevastopol, a port in Crimea on the Black Sea. On 22 June 1941 the Axis invaded the Soviet Union under...
.
Merger
In 1881, the 48th was united with 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot, to formThe Northamptonshire Regiment. The 48th became the 1st Battalion.
The Northamptonshire Regiment fought in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
seeing action at the Battles of the Marne
Marne
Marne is a department in north-eastern France named after the river Marne which flows through the department. The prefecture of Marne is Châlons-en-Champagne...
, Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
and Somme.
The regiment also fought in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
seeing action in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.
In 1960, it was amalgamated with 1st Battalion, The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, to form the 1st Battalion, 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire).
Colonels
- 1741.01.13 Gen. Hon. James Cholmondeley
- 1743.03.14 Col. Lord Henry Beauclerk
- 1745.04.22 Col. Francis Ligonier
- 1746.04.06 F.M. Hon. Henry Seymour ConwayHenry Seymour ConwayField Marshal Henry Seymour Conway was a British general and statesman. A brother of the 1st Marquess of Hertford, and cousin of Horace Walpole, he began his military career in the War of the Austrian Succession and eventually rose to the rank of Field Marshal .-Family and education:Conway was...
- 1749.07.24 Maj-Gen. George Byng, 3rd Viscount TorringtonGeorge Byng, 3rd Viscount TorringtonMajor General George Byng, 3rd Viscount Torrington , styled The Honourable from 1721 to 1747, was a British Army officer and peer. He was the son of Admiral George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington. He married Elizabeth Daniel, granddaughter of Sir Peter Daniel, on 21 August 1736...
(also 4th Marines) - 1750.08.11 Lt-Gen. William Home, 8th Earl of HomeWilliam Home, 8th Earl of HomeLieutenant General Sir William Home, 8th Earl of Home was the eighth holder of the title of Earl of Home.-Military career:...
- 1752.04.29 Lt-Gen. Thomas Dunbar
- 1755.11.11 Lt-Gen. Daniel Webb
- 1766.12.18 Lt-Gen. William Browne (also 73rd Foot)
- 1773.12.15 Lt-Gen. William Alexander Sorrell
- 1783.03.31 Lt-Gen. Robert Skene (also 99th Foot)
- 1787.05.23 Gen. Patrick Tonyn (also 104th Foot)
- 1805.01.01 Gen. Lord Charles FitzRoyLord Charles FitzRoy (British Army officer)General Lord Charles FitzRoy was a British Army officer and politician.FitzRoy was the second son of Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton and his first wife, Anne, a daughter of Henry Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth. After education at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge, he entered the...
- 1811 Col. George Henry Duckworth
- 1829.12.25 Gen. Sir Thomas Hislop, 1st BaronetSir Thomas Hislop, 1st BaronetSir Thomas Hislop, 1st Baronet, GCB was a senior British Army officer of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Serving exclusively in colonial campaigns, Hislop fought in the West Indies between 1796 and 1810 and subsequently in India, where he was a senior commander during the Third...
, GCB - 1843.05.31 Lt-Gen. George MiddlemoreGeorge MiddlemoreGeneral George Middlemore was a British Army officer. He was the first governor of Saint Helena from 1836 to 1842 after its handover from the British East India Company to the Crown and oversaw the repatriation of Napoleon's remains from there in 1840...
, CB (also 76th Foot; Governor of Saint HelenaGovernor of Saint HelenaThe Governor of Saint Helena is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha...
1835-41) - 1850.11.25 Gen. Sir James Henry ReynettJames ReynettMajor-General Sir James Henry Reynett KCB KCH was a British Army officer who became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.-Military career:...
, KCB, KCH - 1864.08.10 Gen. Arthur Dalzell, 9th Earl of Carnwath
- 1875.04.29 Gen. William Anson McCleverty