The 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

, 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 The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. In 19 ...

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 The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

. It was re-ranked as the 53rd Regiment of Foot, following the disbandment of the existing 50th and 51st regiments, in 1756. The regiment embarked for

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in 1756 and, after returning home, moved to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1768.Cannon, p. 3

American Revolutionary War

The regiment departed Ireland for North America in April 1776 and arrived at

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

in May 1776 to help raise the siege of the city by Continental Army troops during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. It served under

Sir Guy Carleton Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester (3 September 1724 – 10 November 1808), known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and administrator. He twice served as Governor of the Province of Quebec, from 1768 to 17 ...

at the

Battle of Trois-Rivières The Battle of Trois-Rivières was fought on June 8, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. A British army under Quebec Governor Guy Carleton defeated an attempt by units from the Continental Army under the command of Brigadier General Wi ...

in June 1776 and the

Battle of Valcour Island The Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, was a naval engagement that took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the New York mainland and ...

in October 1776. Its flank companies ( grenadier and

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

) were with General

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...

during the ill-fated Saratoga campaign. Men from the other eight companies served under Major

Christopher Carleton Lt.-Colonel Christopher Carleton (1749–1787) was born into an Ulster military family in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Christopher's parents died at sea when he was only four years old and his uncles, Guy Carleton (later created The 1st Baron ...

of the 29th Regiment of Foot during

Carleton's Raid Carleton's Raid was a British raid led by Major Christopher Carleton in the American War of Independence. It was launched in the fall 1778 from the Province of Quebec against targets in upstate Province of New York. Prelude On October 24, 1778, ...

in 1778 and during the Burning of the Valleys campaign in 1780. Lieutenant Richard Houghton of the 53rd led the Royalton raid in 1780 burning three towns in eastern

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. In 1782 the regiment adopted a county designation and became the 53rd (the Shropshire) Regiment of Foot. The regiment returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1789.

Napoleonic Wars

In March 1793 the regiment embarked for

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

for service in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

.Cannon, p. 5 The regiment saw action at the Battle of Famars in May 1793, the Siege of Valenciennes in June 1793 and the Siege of Dunkirk in August 1793.Cannon, p. 6 It also took part in the Siege of Nieuwpoort in October 1793, the

Siege of Landrecies The siege of Landrecies (1543) took place during the Italian War of 1542–46. Landrecies was besieged by Imperial and English forces under the command of Ferrante Gonzaga Ferrante I Gonzaga (also Ferdinando I Gonzaga; 28 January 1507 – 1 ...

in April 1794Cannon, p. 7 and the Battle of Tournay in May 1794. The regiment returned to England in spring 1795 but then embarked for the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

in November 1795 where it took part in the capture of Saint Lucia in May 1796.Cannon, p. 10 It also helped suppress an insurrection by caribs on Saint Vincent in June 1796;Cannon, p. 11 expeditions to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

followed in February 1797 and April 1797 respectively.Cannon, p. 12 The regiment returned home in 1802.Cannon, p. 13 A second battalion was raised in 1803 to increase the strength of the regiment. The 1st battalion left for

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in April 1805 where it undertook a punitive expedition to the Fortress of Callinger in Allahabad Province in February 1812.Cannon, p. 15 It also helped secure a pyrrhic victory at the

Battle of Nalapani The Battle of Nalapani was the first battle of the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814–1816, fought between the forces of the British East India Company and Nepal, then ruled by the House of Gorkha. The battle took place around the Nalapani fort, near ...

in October 1814 during the

Anglo-Nepalese War The Anglo-Nepalese War (1 November 1814 – 4 March 1816), also known as the Gorkha War, was fought between the Gorkhali army of the Kingdom of Nepal (present-day Nepal) and the British forces of the East India Company (EIC, present-day In ...

.Cannon, p. 19 The 1st battalion also took part in engagements against

Pindari The Pindaris were irregular military plunderers and foragers in 17th- through early 19th-century Indian subcontinent who accompanied initially the Mughal army, later the Maratha army, and finally on their own before being eliminated in the 1817� ...

forces in 1817 during the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the English East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha ter ...

Cannon, p. 22 and did not return home until July 1823.Cannon, p. 25 Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion embarked for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

for service in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

in March 1809.Cannon, p. 37 It took part in the

Second Battle of Porto The Second Battle of Porto, also known as the Battle of the Douro or the Crossing of the Douro, was a battle in which General Arthur Wellesley's Anglo-Portuguese Army defeated Marshal Soult's French troops on 12 May 1809 and took back the ...

in May 1809Cannon, p. 38 and the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish a ...

in July 1809 before falling back to the

Lines of Torres Vedras The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts and other military defences built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, ...

.Cannon, p. 40 It then fought at the

Blockade of Almeida In the Blockade of Almeida (14 April – 10 May 1811) a French garrison under Antoine François Brenier de Montmorand was surrounded by approximately 13,000 Anglo-Allied soldiers led by Generals Sir Alexander Campbell, 1st Baronet and Sir ...

in April 1811,Cannon, p. 41 the

Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the British–Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida. A bloody stalema ...

in May 1811 and the Battle of Almaraz in May 1812Cannon, p. 43 as well as the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of Arapiles) on 22July 1812 was a battle in which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, ...

in July 1812, the

Siege of Burgos At the siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General of ...

in September 1812Cannon, p. 47 and the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leadin ...

in June 1813.Cannon, p. 48 The battalion then pursued the French Army into France and fought at the

Battle of the Pyrenees The Battle of the Pyrenees was a large-scale offensive (the author David Chandler recognises the 'battle' as an offensive) launched on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult from the Pyrénées region on Emperor Napoleon’s or ...

in July 1813,Cannon, p. 49 the

Siege of San Sebastián In the siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a siege. However in a second siege the Alli ...

in autumn 1813Cannon, p. 50 and the

Battle of Nivelle The Battle of Nivelle (10 November 1813) took place in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops (20, ...

in November 1813Cannon, p. 51 as well as the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814.Cannon, p. 53 The battalion returned home in July 1814.Cannon, p. 54 In August 1815 the 2nd battalion accompanied

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

into his exile on the island of Saint Helena.Cannon, p. 55 It returned home in September 1817 and was disbanded at

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

in October 1817.Cannon, p. 57

The Victorian era

In July 1844 the regiment returned to

Cannon, p. 28 where it saw action at the

Battle of Aliwal The Battle of Aliwal was fought on 28 January 1846 between the British and Sikh forces in northern India (now Punjab). The British were led by Sir Harry Smith,Smith, Sir Harry. ‘'The Autobiography of Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith Bar ...

in January 1846Cannon, p. 29 and the

Battle of Sobraon The Battle of Sobraon was fought on 10 February 1846, between the forces of the East India Company and the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab. The Sikhs were completely defeated, making this the decisive battle of th ...

in February 1846 during the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession o ...

Cannon, p. 30 as well as the

Battle of Gujrat The Battle of Gujrat was a decisive battle in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, fought on 21 February 1849, between the forces of the East India Company, and a Sikh army in rebellion against the company's control of the Sikh Empire, represented by ...

in February 1849 during the

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently ...

. It also took part in the

Siege of Cawnpore The siege of Cawnpore was a key episode in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The besieged East India Company forces and civilians in Cawnpore (now Kanpur) were unprepared for an extended siege and surrendered to rebel forces under Nana Sahib in ret ...

in June 1857, the

Relief of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British The Residency, Lucknow, Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel Sepoy, sepoys (Indian soldiers in the East India Company, British East India Company's Army) during the Indian ...

in November 1857 and the Capture of Lucknow in spring 1858 during the

Indian Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

. Five members of the regiment were awarded

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

es during the rebellion. It returned to England in 1860. The regiment was garrisoned in England for the next four years in Aldershot, Plymouth and Portsmouth. In 1864 it moved to

Curragh Camp The Curragh Camp ( ga, Campa an Churraigh) is an army base and military college in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Irish Defence Forces and is home to 2,000 military personnel. History Longstanding ...

and subsequently to other locations in Ireland. With the

Fenian Brotherhood The Fenian Brotherhood () was an Irish republican organisation founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organisation to the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). M ...

threatening from the United States, the regiment departed Ireland for Canada, arriving in Quebec in August 1866, subsequently garrisoning

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for the next 2 years. In 1868 it occupied the Quebec Citadel, and finally departed Canada for Barbados in 1870. 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 The 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) to form the 1st and 2nd battalions of th ...

, and assigned to district no. 21 at Copthorne Barracks in Shrewsbury. On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the

85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers) The 85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881. ...

to form the

In popular culture

The 53rd regiment is commemorated in

A. E. Housman Alfred Edward Housman (; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) was an English classical scholar and poet. After an initially poor performance while at university, he took employment as a clerk in London and established his academic reputation by pub ...

's poem '1887', from '' A Shropshire Lad''.

Battle honours

The regiment's battle honours were as follows: *

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

1793 Flanders Campaign * Tournay 1794 Flanders Campaign *

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...

1796 West Indies * Talavera 1809 (2nd Battn.)

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

1812 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War * Vittoria 1813 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War *

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

1813 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War *

Nivelle Nivelle () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department * Nivelle Offensive The Nivelle offensive (16 April – 9 May 1917) was a Franco-British operation on the Western Front ...

1813 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War *

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

1814 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War * Peninsula 1809–1814 (2nd Battn.) Peninsular War * Aliwal 1846 1st Sikh War ( Sutlej campaign) *

Sobraon Sobraon is a village in Punjab, India. It is located west to Harike village in Tarn Taran district. The Sutlej river is to the south of this village. The village is located at 31°10'39N 74°51'10E with an altitude of 192 metres (633 feet). H ...

1846 1st Sikh War (Sutlej campaign) * Goojerat 1849 2nd Sikh War ( Punjab Campaign) *

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

1848–49 *

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

1857–58 Indian Mutiny

Victoria Crosses

Victoria Crosses awarded to men of the regiment were: *Corporal Denis Dynon, Indian Mutiny (2 October 1857) *Lieutenant Alfred Kirke Ffrench, Indian Mutiny (16 November 1857) *Private

Charles Irwin Charles Irwin, VC (1824 – 8 April 1873), was born in Manorhamilton, County Leitrim, and was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British ...

, 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:

53rd Regiment of Foot

*1755: Lt-Gen William Whitmore *1759: Major-Gen John Toovey *1770: Gen Robert Dalrymple Horne Elphinstone

53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot

*1794: Gen

Gerard Lake Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake (27 July 1744 – 20 February 1808) was a British general. He commanded British forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and later served as Commander-in-Chief of the military in British India. Background He was ...

*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

Sources

* * * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Military units and formations established in 1755 53rd Regiment of Foot Military units and formations in Shrewsbury 53rd Regiment of Foot Regiments of the British Army in the American Revolutionary War Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 1755 establishments in Great Britain