James Long 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...

 officer during the 18th century.

Long began his military career as an officer in the 1st Foot Guards

Grenadier Guards

The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...

. In 1741 he was given a royal warrant to raise a new infantry regiment from "any county or part of Great Britain". The new regiment, named "Long's Regiment" for its Colonel (the common practice for the period) was ranked as the 55th regiment of the line. The regiment later became the 44th Regiment of Foot

44th Regiment of Foot

The 44th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment in the British Army. After 1782 the regiment became known as the 44th Regiment of Foot. The lineage of the 44th transferred to the Essex Regiment in 1881...

. Long was appointed to command the 4th Marines

4th Regiment of Marines (British Army)

The 4th Regiment of Marines was a British Army regiment that saw service between 1739 and 1748. The regiment served during the War of Jenkins' Ear and fought at the Battle of Cartagena...

in 1748. http://44thregiment.itgo.com/history.html