29th Regiment of Foot
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| 29th Regiment of Foot | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1694-1881 |
| Country | England |
| Allegiance | British Army of the United Kingdom |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | single battalion regiment |
| Part of | British Army |
| Garrison/HQ | Norton Barracks, Worcester, England |
| Nickname | Two and a Hook, Ever Sworded, Vein Openers and Guards of the Line |
| Motto | Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense |
| Colors | Yellow Facings |
| March | Royal Windsor, 1791 |
| Battles/wars | Ramillies, Albuera and Sobraon |
| Anniversaries | The Glorious First of June 1794 |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, William Evelyn, William Tryon and William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart |
Contents |
[edit] Early history
The 29th Regiment of Foot was raised in 1694 by Colonel Thomas Farrington, an officer of the Coldstream Guards during War of the Grand Alliance known in America as King William's War. It was disbanded in 1698 after the Peace of Ryswick and reformed in 1702 for the War of the Spanish Succession, also known as Queen Anne's War. The regiment served under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough at the victorious Battle of Ramillies in 1706 against the French in what is now Belgium and in the siege of Ostend. In 1727 the regiment saw action at Gibraltar and were sent to Fortress Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island in 1745. In 1749, the regiment was at the site of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the soldiers cleared the land for the new town. An altercation with some Native Americans led to an order that all officers in the regiment must always be armed, thus earning their first nickname as the Ever Sworded due to the swords the officers are required to wear even when off-duty a tradition still in effect today as the officer of the day is still armed even at the officers mess.
In 1751, the regiment received the new designation as the 29th Regiment of Foot, when the British Army went to numbers instead of colonel's names for regiments. In 1759 Admiral Lord Edward Boscawen gave to his brother Colonel George Boscawen 10 black youths he acquired in the capture of Guadeloupe from the French in the same year. These young men were released from slavery and joined the regiment as drummers, a tradition the regiment continued until 1843. These men received the pay of a corporal and if they survived to retire received a pension from the army.
[edit] Boston Massacre
In 1768 the 29th along with the 14th Regiment of Foot were sent to Boston, Massachusetts, where on the evening of March 5, 1770, men of the 29th Grenadier Company under the command of Captain Thomas Preston took part in the Boston Massacre in which five colonists died during a riot in front of the Boston customs house. Due to the incident, the regiment earned the nickname the Vein Openers for drawing first blood in the American Revolution. The men involved were tried for murder and were defended by John Adams (who later became President of the United States). Two of the men involved Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Killroy were found guilty of manslaughter and branded on the thumb. The other men involved and Captain Thomas Preston were found not guilty. The 29th left Boston in 1771 for British controlled Florida before returning to England in 1773.
[edit] American Revolution
Early in the spring of 1776 during the start of the 2nd year of the American Revolutionary War, the 29th Regiment of Foot under the command of Lt. Col. Patrick Gordon was sent with other British regiments to relieve the siege of Quebec City by an American army. On July 25 Lt. Col. Patrick Gordon was shot and mortally wounded by Benjamin Whitcomb of Whitcomb's Rangers, Lt. Col. Thomas Carleton of the 20th Regiment of Foot was then promoted to command the 29th. After pushing the American army down the St. Lawrence River at the Battle of Trois-Rivières, men from the battalion companies served on board the ships of General Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester in the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain on October 11, 1776. In 1777, the Light Infantry Company and the Grenadier Company were with Lt. General John Burgoyne as he headed down from Montreal to Saratoga. Both the Light Infantry Company and Grenadier Company saw action at the Battle of Hubbardton under the command of Brigadier Simon Fraser, as part of his Advance Corps on July 7, 1777. Both companies surrendered with the rest of Burgoyne's Army after the defeats at Battle of Freeman's Farm and Battle of Bemis Heights in September and October of 1777. The other eight Battalion Companies remained in Canada and took part in raids and small battles along the Vermont and New York frontiers during the rest of the American Revolution led by Major Christopher Carleton and Lt. John Enys. In 1781 the 29th was linked to the county of Worcestershire in England, giving them a recruiting area and home. The 29th Regiment returned to England in 1787.
For more details on the raids along Lake Champlain and the upper Hudson Valley see Carleton's Raid (1778) and Burning of the Valleys.
[edit] Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812
| Peninsular War: Invasion by Stealth, 1808 |
|---|
| El Bruc – Cabezón – 1st Gerona – 2nd Gerona – Saragossa – Rio Seco – Valencia – Bailén – Roliça – Vimeiro |
| Peninsular War: Second French Invasion, 1808–1809 |
|---|
| Pancorbo – Valmaseda – Burgos – Espinosa – Tudela – Somosierra – Saragossa – Castellón – Uclés – Corunna – Valls – Villafranca – Ciudad-Real – Medellín – Porto – Gerona – Lugo – Alcañiz – San Payo – María – Talavera – Almonacid – Tamamés – Hostalrich – Torres Vedras – Ocana |
| Peninsular War, 1810–1814 |
|---|
| Fuengirola – Barrosa – Fuentes de Onoro – Albuera – Badajoz – Salamanca – Vitoria – Sorauren - Orthez - Toulouse |
| I wish very much that some measures could be adopted to get recruits for the 29th Regiment, it is the best Regiment in this Army, has an admirable internal system and excellent Non-Commissioned Officers —Sir Arthur Wellesley 12 September, 1809 |
During the Napoleonic Wars the 29th Regiment of Foot was with the Duke of York in Holland in 1799 and later with the Duke of Wellington's Army in Spain and Portugal from 1808 to 1811.
[edit] Glorious First of June
On June 1, 1794, the 29th served as marines aboard the Royal Navy ship HMS Brunswick during the naval battle know as the Glorious First of June under Admiral Richard Howe against a French Fleet in the North Atlantic Ocean. During the fight The HMS Brunswick sunk the french Ship of the Line Le Venguer and disabled the Achille.
[edit] Roliça
At the Battle of Roliça on August 17, 1808 the 29th along with the 9th Regiment of Foot assulted a French position on the heights for over 2 hours untill the French lines broke when the flanking british units attacked. Colonel Lake was killed with another officer, two other officers were wounded and 177 men were killed or wounded along with 25 captured.
[edit] Vimeiro
Four days after Roliça on August 21, 1808 the Battle of Vimeiro was fought. Here the 29th held off a French attack giving time for the 71st Regiment of Foot and the 81st Regiment of Foot time to regroup and rejoin the battle.
[edit] Grijo
On May 10 and 11 1809 the Battle of Grijo was fought.
[edit] Talavera
Fought 27 and 28 July, 1809 the Battle of Talavera saw the 29th and the 48th Regiment of Foot with a composite battalion attack three french regiments (24th Line, 96th Line and the 9th Light) on the hill called Cerro de Medellin. After the composite battalion broke the 29th with a single volley and a bayonet charge drove the french from the hill on the evening of July 27th. The French 9th Lights receiving the brunt of the assault.
On the morning of July 28, massed French artillery fire hit the hill followed by an asault by the French 24th Line and 96th Line Regiments. The French regiments (6 battalions total) advanced in column and the British defended the hill in a line formation. The fire power of the line where all member could shoot soon overwhelmed the French attach. The 29th captured two French colors in the bayonet charge the drove the French regiments off the field.
[edit] Albuera
May 16, 1811, the Battle of Albuera is perhaps the most celebrated battle honor of the 29th Regiment. Ensigns Edward Furnace and Richard Vance gave their lives to save the 29th Regiments colors during this battle. After suffering heavy casualties at the Battle of Albuera the 29th was sent back to England to recruit more men. Of a total strength of 31 officers and 476 other ranks the 29th lost 17 officers and 363 other ranks killed wounded or missing at Albuera.
[edit] War of 1812
In 1814 the 29th was dispatched back to Nova Scotia, Canada during the War of 1812. The regiment did not see any major action while stationed in North America. They were quickly recalled back to Europe in 1815 to face Napoleon during the Hundred Days campaign but arrived shortly after the Battle of Waterloo.
[edit] India
| First Anglo-Sikh War |
|---|
| Mudki – Ferozeshah – Aliwal – Sobraon |
| Second Anglo-Sikh War |
|---|
| Chillianwala – Multan – Gujarat |
In 1842 the 29th was sent to garrison the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. From 1845 to 1846, the 29th Regiment of Foot fought in the First Anglo-Sikh War in the Punjab area of India at the final battle of the war at Sobraon the 29th and two battalions of Indian Sepoys twice unsuccessfully assaulted the sikh earthworks before finally breaking through on the third assault, 10 days later the British Army occupied Lahore ending the war. The friendship between the Regiment and the 10th Regiment of Foot is an old one. The Regiments refer to each other as "Our Cousins". It is supposed to have arisen in the Napoleonic Wars, if not earlier, when the 29th and 10th Regiments many times fought side by side. The friendship was cemented in the Sikh Wars, when the two Regiments met in the captured trenches at the bloody Battle of Sobraon on February 10, 1846 where the 29th again suffered heavy casualties 186 men were killed or wounded out of a total of 552. From 1848 to 1849, the 29th served in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The 29th was still in India and Burma until 1859 during which time the Indian Mutiny took place. A large detachment from the regiment helped to keep open the Grand Trunk Road during the mutiny.
[edit] New Titles
The regimental badge of the 29th and later of the Worcestershire Regiment show the influence of the Coldstream Guards on the regiment. The Coldstream Guards and the 29th are the only two regiments to have the elongated star and garter of the Order of the Garter as their regimental badge with its motto "Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense" translated "Shame be to him who evil thinks" earning a third nickname The Guards of the Line.
On 1 July 1881 the regiment amalgamated with the 36th Regiment of Foot to form the 1st and 2nd Battalions, The Worcestershire Regiment. The Worcesters, too, amalgamated with the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) in 1970, forming the 1st Battalion, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment. However, it is intended that it will soon be merged with two other regiments to form the Mercian Regiment.
[edit] See also
- List of Regiments of Foot
- List of British Forces in the American Revolutionary War
- List of nicknames of British Army regiments
- List of British Army regiments (1881)
- Structure of the British Army
- History of the British Army
[edit] Sources
- The American Journals of Lt. John Enys, John Enys and Elizabeth Cometti (editor), Syracuse Univ. Press 1976
- Travels Through the Interior Parts of America 1776-1781 Volumes 1 and 2, Thomas Anburey, Houghton Mifflin Company 1923
- The Worcestershire Regiment: The 29th and 36th Regiments of Foot, Richard Gale, Leo Cooper LTD. 1970
- The Boston Massacre, Hiller B. Zobel, W.W.Norton and Company 1970
- The Burning of the Valleys, Gavin K. Watt, Dundurn Press 1997
- Carleton's Raid, Ida H. Washington and Paul A. Washington, Cherry Tree Books 1977
- The British Army in North America 1775-1783, Robin May and Gerry Embleton, Osprey Men-at-Arms Series # 39 1997
- History of Thomas Farrington’s Regiment: Subsequently designated the 29th (Worcestershire) Foot 1694-1881, Huge Everard, Littlebury and Company 1891
- Die Hard: Dramatic Actions from the Napoleonic Wars, Philip J. Hathornthwaite, Arms and Armour Press 1996
- Impossible Victories: Ten Unlikely Battlefield Successes, Bryan Perrett, Arms and Armour Press 1996
[edit] Outside link
29th Regiment of Foot - American Revolutionary War reenactor website
