The 103rd Regiment of Foot was a

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Mon ...

unit of the

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 Gurkha ...

. Though only existing for just over 10 years, the regiment would see more action than most of its 100-series regiments.

Service

Formation

On 25 November 1806, the 9th Garrison Battalion was formed in

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

from limited service men drafted from: 2nd Btn,

28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot The 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gloucestershire R ...

, 1st Btn,

30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot 30 (thirty) is the natural number following 29 and preceding 31. In mathematics 30 is an even, composite, pronic number. With 2, 3, and 5 as its prime factors, it is a regular number and the first sphenic number, the smallest of the fo ...

, 2nd Btn,

47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot The 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in Scotland in 1741. It served in North America during the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War and also fought during the Napoleonic Wars and ...

, 2nd Btn,

48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot The 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Northamptonshire Regiment in 1881. History Early ...

, and 2nd Btn, 71st (Glasgow Highland) Regiment of Foot. In 1807, the battalion served in Ireland on garrison duties until December 1808 when it was redesignated as the 103rd Regiment of Foot after the limited service men were discharged and others re-enlisted for general service.

War of 1812

In 1813, the regiment was shipped overseas to the Canadian Frontier, and was garrisoned in

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 ...

, where it took part in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. During the 1812 war, the flank companies (Grenadier and Light Infantry) saw service at notable battles, included: Patteron's Creek,

Lundy's Lane King's Highway 20, commonly referred to as Highway 20, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Presently, it is a short stub between Highway 58 and Niagara Regional Road 70 in the City of Thorold, ...

, the

Siege of Fort Erie The siege of Fort Erie, also known as the Battle of Erie, from 4 August to 21 September 1814, was one of the last engagements of the War of 1812, between British and American forces. It took place during the Niagara campaign, and the Americans s ...

and the Niagara Campaign. For its participation, the regiment was awarded the battle honours ''"Canadian Frontier"'' and ''"Niagara"''. During its tenure in Canada the regiment became known as ''"The Worst regiment in Canada"'', mostly due to the high desertion rate, very young recruits, and poor discipline. The nickname was given by the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm ...

George Prévost Sir George Prévost, 1st Baronet (19 May 1767 – 5 January 1816) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who is most well known as the "Defender of Canada" during the War of 1812. Born in New Jersey, the eldest son of Genevan A ...

. However, this nickname was not well taken, and the regiment was able to prove its worth by gaining a battle honour.

Lundy's Lane

During the

Battle of Lundy's Lane The Battle of Lundy's Lane, also known as the Battle of Niagara, was a battle fought on 25 July 1814, during the War of 1812, between an invading American army and a British and Canadian army near present-day Niagara Falls, Ontario. It was one o ...

, the line companies of the regiment formed part of the First Brigade under Colonel Hercules Scott, at Twelve Mile Creek, while the

flank companies A ''flank company'' was a former military designation for two elite companies of a regiment. In regimental formation, the grenadier company constituted the right flank of the regiment and the light infantry constituted the left flank, with the ot ...

were part of the Third (Light) Brigade under

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

Thomas Pearson, encamped near Four Mile Creek. During the battle, the regiment melted away at the sight of just a couple American volleys. However, they were rallied by the extraordinary exertions of Major William Smelt. After another desperate assault, the British succeeded in forcing their way into the battery. Fearing the capture of the guns,

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

Jacob Hindman spiked two cannons.

Fort Erie

During the

an attack column, led by Colonel Scott, of 700 men attacked the northern portion of the American lines. After making several attempts to capture the lines, though suffering heavy casualties and their location being given away by forward pickets, the attack column fell back. After this failed assault, the regiment moved westward to join the third assault column, which was on their right. During the assault of the third column, the assault was again held off, with many of the remaining men joining Drummond's column, which was in the process of attacking Douglass Battery. Yet another attack was ordered, and the sailors and marines of the column made it past the breastworks, but after a volley and bayonet charge by the 19th U.S. Infantry Regiment, they were yet again forced back and rallied, after just a few minutes. During the siege, the regiment's commanding officer,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Scott was killed. In addition, the regiment lost about 424 men, including 14 out of 18 officers. Before the siege, the regiment had been based in Burlington.Barbuto, p. 197.

Disbandment

In 1815, the regiment was still in Canada when it was reduced to six companies after personnel were drafted to other regiments. In 1817, the regiment arrived back in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, and on 24 October 1817 was finally disbanded while in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Londo ...

Uniform

The regiment's uniform consisted of a scarlet jacket with white facings.

Colonels

The regimental colonels included: * 25 November 1806 – 25 June 1808:

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Sir Brent Spencer, GCB (also Colonel of the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Ri ...

and 2nd West India Regiment) * 25 June 1808 – 1812:

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

Sir Samuel Auchmuty, GCB (also Colonel of the 78th (Highlander) Regiment of Foot, and Commander-in-Chief, Madras from 1810 to 1813) * 1812–12 January 1814: Gen ''The Honourable'' Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, GCB (also Colonel of the

70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot The 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881. History Formation The fo ...

) * 12 January 1814 – 24 October 1817: Lt Gen George Porter

Footnotes

References

* * Crosswell, Daniel K. R. (1979). ''The American Invasion of the Niagara Peninsula – 1814''. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan. {{Regiments of Foot Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1808 1808 establishments in the United Kingdom 1817 disestablishments in the United Kingdom British military units and formations of the War of 1812