53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot
53rd Regiment of Foot | |
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Indian Rebellion | |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | William Whitmore Sir John Abercromby |
The 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 85th (King's Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881.
History
Early history
The regiment was raised in Northern England by Colonel William Whitmore as the 55th Regiment of Foot for service in the Seven Years' War.[2] It was re-ranked as the 53rd Regiment of Foot, following the disbandment of the existing 50th and 51st regiments, in 1756.[2] The regiment embarked for Gibraltar in 1756[3] and, after returning home, moved to Ireland in 1768.[4]
American Revolutionary War
The regiment departed Ireland for
Napoleonic Wars
In March 1793 the regiment embarked for
A second battalion was raised in 1803 to increase the strength of the regiment.
Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion embarked for Portugal for service in the Peninsular War in March 1809.[22] It took part in the Second Battle of Porto in May 1809[23] and the Battle of Talavera in July 1809[23] before falling back to the Lines of Torres Vedras.[24] It then fought at the Blockade of Almeida in April 1811,[25] the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro in May 1811[24] and the Battle of Almaraz in May 1812[26] as well as the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812,[26] the Siege of Burgos in September 1812[27] and the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813.[28] The battalion then pursued the French Army into France and fought at the Battle of the Pyrenees in July 1813,[29] the Siege of San Sebastián in autumn 1813[30] and the Battle of Nivelle in November 1813[31] as well as the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814.[32] The battalion returned home in July 1814.[33] In August 1815 the 2nd battalion accompanied Napoleon into his exile on the island of Saint Helena.[34][35] It returned home in September 1817 and was disbanded at Canterbury in October 1817.[36]
The Victorian era
In July 1844 the regiment returned to
As part of the Cardwell Reforms of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 53rd was linked with the 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 21 at Copthorne Barracks in Shrewsbury.[42] On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers) to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry.[2]
In popular culture
The 53rd regiment is commemorated in A. E. Housman's poem '1887', from A Shropshire Lad.[43]
Battle honours
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[44]
- Nieuport 1793 Flanders Campaign
- Tournay1794 Flanders Campaign
- St Lucia 1796 West Indies
- Talavera 1809 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War
- Salamanca 1812 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War
- Vittoria 1813 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War
- Pyrenees 1813 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War
- Nivelle 1813 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War
- Toulouse 1814 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War
- Peninsula 1809–1814 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War
- Sutlej campaign)
- Sobraon 1846 1st Sikh War (Sutlej campaign)
- Punjab Campaign)
- Punjab 1848–49
- Indian Mutiny
Victoria Crosses
Victoria Crosses awarded to men of the regiment were:
- Corporal Indian Mutiny(2 October 1857)
- Lieutenant Alfred Kirke Ffrench, Indian Mutiny (16 November 1857)
- Private Charles Irwin, Indian Mutiny (16 November 1857)
- Private James Kenny, Indian Mutiny (16 November 1857)
- Sergeant Major Charles Pye, Indian Mutiny (17 November 1857)
Colonels
Colonels of the Regiment were:[44]
53rd Regiment of Foot
- 1755: Lt-Gen William Whitmore
- 1759: Major-Gen John Toovey
- 1770: Gen Robert Dalrymple-Horn-Elphinstone
53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot
- 1794: Gen Gerard Lake
- 1796–1797: Major-Gen Welbore Ellis Doyle
- 1798: Gen Charles Crosbie
- 1807: Lt-Gen Hon. John Abercromby, GCB
- 1817: Gen Rowland Lord Hill
- 1830: F.M. Lord Fitzroy James Henry Somerset, GCB
- 1854: Gen Sir John MacDonald, KCB
- 1855: Lt-Gen William Sutherland
- 1860: Gen Frederick Maunsell
- 1865: Major-Gen Charles William Ridley, CB
- 1867: Lt-Gen. William George Gold
- 1868: Gen. Sir Charles Trollope, KCB
References
- ISBN 978-1-84832-562-3.
- ^ a b c d e "53rd (the Shropshire) Regiment of Foot". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 6 February 2005. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ Cannon, p. 2
- ^ a b c Cannon, p. 3
- ^ Digby, William; Baxter, James Phinney (1887). The British invasion from the north. The campaigns of Generals Carleton and Burgoyne, from Canada, 1776-1777, with the journal of Lieut. William Digby, of the 53d, or Shropshire regiment of foot. The Library of Congress. Albany, N.Y., J. Munsell's Sons. p. 83.
- ^ Smith, pp. 408–410
- ISBN 978-1-45973-011-3.
- ^ Goodwin, Neil. "The Narrative of the Captive, George Avery, 1780–1782" (PDF). Vermont Historical Society. p. 119. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ Cannon, p. 4
- ^ a b c Cannon, p. 5
- ^ a b Cannon, p. 6
- ^ a b Cannon, p. 7
- ^ Cannon, p. 10
- ^ Cannon, p. 11
- ^ Cannon, p. 12
- ^ a b Cannon, p. 13
- ^ Cannon, p. 15
- ^ Cannon, p. 19
- ^ "Thwarting the British Empire's Sunset: The Battle of Kalunga, 1814". War History online. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ Cannon, p. 22
- ^ Cannon, p. 25
- ^ Cannon, p. 37
- ^ a b Cannon, p. 38
- ^ a b Cannon, p. 40
- ^ Cannon, p. 41
- ^ a b Cannon, p. 43
- ^ Cannon, p. 47
- ^ Cannon, p. 48
- ^ Cannon, p. 49
- ^ Cannon, p. 50
- ^ Cannon, p. 51
- ^ Cannon, p. 53
- ^ Cannon, p. 54
- ^ Smallman, p. 48
- ^ Cannon, p. 55
- ^ Cannon, p. 57
- ^ Cannon, p. 28
- ^ Cannon, p. 29
- ^ Cannon, p. 30
- ^ a b c d "53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot". National Army Museum. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "he King's Shropshire Light Infantry". British Light Infantry Regiments. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "Training Depots". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ISBN 978-1408706138.
- ^ a b "53rd (Shropshire) Regiment: Chronology and Battle Honours 1755 – 1881". Shropshire Regimental Museum. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
Sources
- Cannon, Richard (1849). Historical Record of the Fifty-Third, or the Shropshire Regiment of Foot. London: Parker, Furnivall and Parker.
- Smallman, David L. (2003). Quincentenary: A Story of St Helena, 1502–2002. Hypatia Publications. ISBN 978-1-872229-47-8.
- Smith, Justin H (1907). Our Struggle for the Fourteenth Colony, vol 2. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. OCLC 259236.