The 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

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 ...

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 Gurk ...

, raised in 1705. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the

80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) The 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot to form the South Staffordshire Regim ...

to form the

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...

in 1881.

History

Early years

The regiment was first raised by Colonel Sir John Guise as Sir John Guise's Regiment of Foot in 1688 and then disbanded in England in 1694. It was raised a second time by General Luke Lillingston as Luke Lillingstone's Regiment of Foot with personnel from the previous regiment in 1694 and then disbanded in 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 1696. The regiment was raised a third time at

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

by General Luke Lillingston as Luke Lillingstone's Regiment of Foot in March 1705. It was ranked as the 38th regiment in 1747. It was posted to Ireland later in the year and then sent to the

in 1707. On 1 July 1751 a royal warrant was issued which provided that in future regiments would no longer be known by their colonel's name, but would bear a regimental number based on their precedence: the regiment became the 38th Regiment of Foot. It returned to Ireland in 1764 and then went to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

in 1774. It fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775 and at the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777 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 ...

. The regiment took a county title as the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot in 1782 and returned to Ireland in 1790.Freer, p. 290

Napoleonic wars

Following the outbreak of war with France, the flank companies of the regiment sailed for the West Indies and in March 1794 took part in the capture of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

. Meanwhile, the battalion companies of the 38th served in the Low Countries with the Duke of York. In 1796 the regiment was reunited in the West Indies and in May 1796 took part in the capture of Saint Lucia and the capture of

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 ...

in 1797. After taking part in the capture of the Cape of Good Hope in January 1806, it embarked for South America where it fought under General William Beresford at the capture of Montevideo in January 1807 and at the attack on

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in July 1807 during the

British invasions of the River Plate The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of areas in the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata that were located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in p ...

. The 1st battalion embarked for the Peninsular in June 1808 and saw action at the Battle of Roliça in August 1808, the

Battle of Vimeiro In the Battle of Vimeiro (sometimes shown as "Vimiera" or "Vimeira" in contemporary British texts) on 21 August 1808, the British under General Arthur Wellesley (who later became the Duke of Wellington) defeated the French under Major-Gene ...

later in August 1808, and the retreat to Corunna under Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore in June 1809.Freer, p. 291 The 1st battalion also took part in the disastrous

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chath ...

in autumn 1809. The 1st battalion returned to the Peninsular in spring 1812 and took part in 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,Freer, p. 294 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 1812,Freer, p. 298 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 1813Freer, p. 305 as well as 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 September 1813.Freer, p. 306 It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at 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 1813,Freer, p. 307 at the

Battle of the Nive The Battles of the Nive (9–13 December 1813) were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soult's French army on French soil ...

in December 1813 and at the

Battle of Orthez The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered Fr ...

in February 1814 as well as at the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814 and at the

Battle of Bayonne The Battle of Bayonne (14 April 1814) saw the French garrison of Bayonne led by General of Division Pierre Thouvenot launch a sortie against a besieging force of British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops commanded by Lieutenant General John ...

later in April 1814. Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion took part in the

Battle of Bussaco The Battle of Buçaco () or Bussaco, fought on 27 September 1810 during the Peninsular War in the Portuguese mountain range of Serra do Buçaco, resulted in the defeat of French forces by Lord Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army. Having o ...

in September 1810 and the siege of Badajoz in March 1812.

The Victorian era

The regiment was sent to the Cape of Good Hope for service in the Fifth Xhosa War in 1818 and then to India in 1822 from where it was deployed to

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

for service in the

First Anglo-Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmes ...

in 1824.Freer, p. 308 It returned to England in May 1836 and proceeded to Ireland in May 1837 before embarking for

Zante Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Za ...

in the Ionian Sea in September 1840. It went on to

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 March 1843 and to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

in November 1845 before proceeding to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

in April 1848. After returning to England in August 1851, it was dispatched to the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

for service in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

in April 1854. It took part in the

Battle of the Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) was a battle in the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septemb ...

in September 1854,

Battle of Inkerman The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, an ...

in November 1854 and the siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854.Freer, p. 309 The regiment then embarked for India in August 1857 and saw action at the Capture of Lucknow in March 1858 during

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 ...

. It also took part in the expedition against the Black Mountain tribes in 1868 before returning to England in 1871. 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 38th was linked with the

, and assigned to district no. 19 at

Whittington Barracks DMS Whittington, otherwise known as Defence Medical Services Whittington (formerly Whittington Barracks), is a military base in Whittington, Staffordshire, near Lichfield in England. It is home to the Staffordshire Regiment Museum, the Headquarte ...

. On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) to form the

Battle honours

The battle honours of the regiment were as follows: * ''South America'': Monte Video * ''Peninsular War'': Roliça, Vimiera, Corunna, Busaco,

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populatio ...

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 ...

, Vitoria, San Sebastián,

Nive The Nive (; eu, Errobi; oc, Niva) is a French river that flows through the French Basque Country. It is a left tributary of the river Adour. It is long. The river's source in the Pyrenees in Lower Navarre. The river Nive was made famous by t ...

, Peninsula * ''First Anglo-Burmese War'': Ava * ''Crimean War'':

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...

Inkerman Inkerman ( uk, Інкерман, russian: Инкерман, crh, İnkerman) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is '' de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but '' de jure'' within Ukraine. It li ...

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

* ''Indian Mutiny'':

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 ...

* ''West Indies'': Guadeloupe 1759, Martinique 1762 (''awarded 1909 to successor regiment'')

Regimental colonels

The colonels of the regiment were as follows: ;First raising *1688–1689: Sir John Guise *1689–1693: Jonathan Foulkes *1693-1694: Brig-Gen. Luke Lillingston * ''disbanded 1694'' ;Second raising *1694–1696: Brig-Gen. Luke Lillingston * ''disbanded 1696'' ;Third raising *1702–1705: ''vacant?'' *1705–1708: Brig-Gen. Luke Lillingston *1708–1711: Col. James Jones *1711–1717: Col. Francis Alexander *1717–1729: Col. Richard Lucas *1729–1735: Brig-Gen. Edward Jones *1735–1738: Brig-Gen. Hon. Robert Murray *1738–1739: Gen.

Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, (22 November 170620 October 1758), styled as The Honourable Charles Spencer between 1706 and 1729 and as The Earl of Sunderland between 1729 and 1733, was a British soldier, nobleman, and politician fr ...

, KG *1739–1750: Lt-Gen. Robert Dalzell *1750–October 1750: Lt-Gen.

Richard Philipps General Richard Philipps (1661 – 14 October 1750) was said to have been in the employ of William III as a young man and for his service gained the rank of captain in the British army. He served at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and promoted ...

;38th Regiment of Foot *1751–1756: Lt-Gen. Alexander Duroure *1756–1760: Maj-Gen. Sir James Ross, Bt. *1760–1761: Maj-Gen. David Watson *1761–1762: Maj-Gen. Andrew Robinson *1762–1766: Maj-Gen. Hon. Sharrington Talbot *1766–1775: Lt-Gen.

Cadwallader Blayney, 9th Baron Blayney Lord Blayney, Baron of Monaghan, in the County of Monaghan, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1621 for the soldier Sir Edward Blayney. He was succeeded by his son, the second Baron. He was killed at the Battle of Benburb i ...

*1775–1796: Gen. Sir Robert Pigot, Bt. ;38th (the 1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot - (1782) *1796–1805: Gen. James Rooke *1805–1836: Gen. George James Ludlow, 3rd Earl Ludlow, GCB *1836–1836: Maj-Gen. Hon. Sir Charles James Greville, KCB *1836–1840: Gen. Sir

Henry Pigot General Sir Henry Pigot GCMG (1750 – 7 June 1840) was a British Army officer. Military career Born the son of Admiral Hugh Pigot, Pigot was commissioned as a cornet in 1769. He served in the Netherlands in 1793 and, following the Siege of Mal ...

, GCMG *1840–1843: Lt-Gen. Sir

Jasper Nicolls Lieutenant General Sir Jasper Nicolls KCB (15 July 1778 – 4 May 1849) was Commander-in-Chief, India. Military career Born at East Farleigh in Kent and educated at a private school in Ballygall and at Trinity College, Dublin, Nicolls was com ...

, KCB *1843–1862: Gen. Hon. Sir Hugh Arbuthnot, KCB *1862–1876: Gen. Sir

William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst General William Rose Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst (21 June 1819 – 23 June 1876) was a British military commander who served as Commander-in-Chief of India from 1865 to 1870. In Bombay now Mumbai, there is local train station named after B ...

, GCB, GCSI *1876–1881: Gen. James Pattoun Sparks, CB

History

Early years

Napoleonic wars

The Victorian era

Battle honours

Regimental colonels

References

Sources

Further reading