95th Regiment of Foot

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95th Rifle Regiment
Active	1800-1816
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Rifle Infantry
Battles/wars	Napoleonic Wars

There have been several regiments in the British Army numbered as the 95th Regiment of Foot. Perhaps the most famous was formed in 1800 as an “experimental Corps of Riflemen” who armed with the Baker rifle, at a time when the rest of the British Army and other European armies were armed with muskets. They were the sharp shooters and snipers of the British Army. Different tactics, training and weapons made them the British special forces of their time.

1 95th Rifles
2 95th Derbyshire
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] 95th Rifles

The purpose of the regiment was to work as skirmishers. The riflemen were trained to work in open order and be able to think for themselves. They were to operate in pairs and make best use of natural cover from which to harass the enemy with accurately aimed shots as opposed to releasing a mass volley, which was the orthodoxy of the day. The riflemen of the 95th were dressed in distinctive dark green uniforms, as opposed to the bright red coats of the British Line Infantry regiments. This tradition lives on today in the regiment’s modern equivalent, The Royal Green Jackets.

On top of this, the unit's operation was markedly different from the line infantry. Flogging was abolished, they held regular shooting and sporting competitions, and were rewarded for their achievements. Officers would regularly dine with their men and in so doing would become familiar with each man in their respective companies, again a discipline unheard of at the time.

The performance of the regiment can be demonstrated by the story of Rifleman Thomas Plunkett of the 1st Battalion, 95th Rifles. Plunkett, armed with a Baker rifle, shot the French General Colbert at a range of between 400 and 800 yards during the Peninsula War. He then shot a second Frenchman who rode to the general's aid, proving that his was not just a lucky shot. By comparison, a standard issue Brown Bess musket could not be relied upon to hit a man-sized target at over 60 yards.

The regiment fought in all campaigns during the Napoleonic Wars, seeing sea-service at the Battle of Copenhagen, engaging in most major battles during the Peninsular War in Spain, forming the rearguard for the British armies retreat to Corunna, serving as an expeditionary force to America in the War of 1812, and holding their positions against tremendous odds at the Battle of Waterloo.

This unit was later renamed in 1816 as The Rifle Brigade, with its number removed. Its number was taken by the 96th Foot, which was disbanded in 1818. It was renamed The Prince Consort's Own Rifles in 1862, after the death of their Colonel-in-Chief, HRH Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1958 it was renamed the 3rd Green Jackets Regiment of the Green Jackets Brigade. When the brigade was amalgamated into the Royal Green Jackets Regiment in 1966, it became its 3rd Battalion. In 2005 it was scheduled to be disbanded upon the creation of The Rifles Regiment in 2007.

In the Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell, the titular main character is a member of the 95th Rifles.

Battle Honours for the 95th Regiment (Raisings of 1800)
- Copenhagen, Roliça, Vimiero, Corunna, Talavera, Busaco, Barrosa, Fuentes d'Onoro, Albuhera, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vitoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Orthez, Toulouse, Quatre Bras, Waterloo.

Renamings of the 95th Regiment
- (1800) The Corps of Riflemen
- (1802) 95th Regiment of Foot
- (1812) 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles)
- (1816) The Rifle Brigade
- (1862) The Prince Consort's Own Rifle Brigade
- (1881) The Prince Consort's Own Rifles (The Rifle Brigade)
- (1921) The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)
- (1958) 3rd Green Jackets (The Rifle Brigade), The Green Jackets Brigade

[edit] 95th Derbyshire

The last regiment to be numbered as the 95th was formed in 1823 as the county regiment of Derbyshire (95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot), raised at Winchester. The regiment saw active service during the Crimean War and in the Sepoy Rebellion in India, before it was amalgamated with the 45th Foot (The Sherwood Foresters) in 1881 to form the Sherwood Foresters (Derbyshire Regiment).

Battle Honours for the 1823 Regiment
- Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Central India.

[edit] See also

Robert Craufurd Commander of the Light Division (43rd, 52nd and the 95th) during the Peninsular War
Richard Sharpe - hero Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe" novels, that prominently feature the 95th.
British Army