The 94th 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 Gurkha ...

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 ...

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 as the Scotch Brigade in October 1794. It was renumbered as the 94th Regiment of Foot in December 1802 and disbanded in December 1818. The regiment was reformed in December 1823 and served until 1881 when it amalgamated with the 88th Regiment of Foot to form the

Connaught Rangers The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Foot (wh ...

History

Formation

The regiment was raised, from officers who had previously served in the

Scots Brigade The Scots Brigade, also referred to as the Anglo-Dutch Brigade or the Anglo-Scots Brigade, was an infantry brigade of the Dutch States Army. First formed in 1586, by the late 17th century it usually comprised six infantry regiments, three recrui ...

, by General Francis Dundas as the Scotch Brigade on 9 October 1794.Historical record, p. 246 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 = Gibr ...

in November 1795Historical record, p. 248 and then moved on to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

in 1796 before transferring to India in late 1798. The regiment landed at

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

in January 1799 and saw action at the Battle of Mallavelly in March 1799Historical record, p. 249 and the siege of Seringapatam in April 1799 during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.Historical record, p. 251 It was renumbered as the 94th Regiment of Foot in December 1802. It also took part in the

Battle of Argaon The Battle of Argaon (also known as Battle of Argaum) took place on 29 November 1803, between the British under the command of Major-General Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) and the forces of Bhonsle of Berar and Scindia of Gwalior ...

in November 1803 and the Capture of Gawilghur in December 1803 during the

Second Anglo-Maratha War } The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. Background The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War ...

.Historical record, p. 252 At Gawilghur, Captain Campbell led the light company of the regiment up the assault ladders and over the walls of the fort, which had previously been considered impregnable, and then let the rest of the British force in through the main gate. The regiment embarked for home in October 1807.Historical record, p. 253

Napoleonic Wars

The regiment sailed for

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...

in April 1809 and was then 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 th ...

in August 1809 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 Spai ...

. It landed in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

in February 1810 and arrived to take part in the defence of Fort Matagorda a few days later.Historical record, p. 254 Captain

Archibald Maclaine Archibald Maclaine (1722–1804) was an Irish minister, known as a translator. He spent nearly half a century as pastor at the English church in The Hague. Life From a Scots-Irish background, the son of Lauchlin Maclaine and brother of James Mac ...

led a detachment of 155 men who held back Marshal Soult with a force of 8.000 men. Maclaine was knighted for this exploit and promoted to Major. The regiment then saw action at the

Battle of Sabugal The Battle of Sabugal was an engagement of the Peninsular War which took place on 3 April 1811 between Anglo-Portuguese forces under Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) and French troops under the command of Marshal André M ...

in April 1811, 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

siege of Ciudad Rodrigo Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo are a series of sieges of the Spanish town Ciudad Rodrigo. Specific sieges are: * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1370) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1707) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1812) ...

in January 1812. After that it fought at the siege of Badajoz in March 1812, 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, so ...

in July 1812 and 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 o ...

in September 1812 as well as 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.Historical record, p. 563 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,Historical record, p. 565 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 1813Historical record, p. 566 and 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 1814Historical record, p. 567 as well as the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. It embarked for

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in May 1814 and was disbanded in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

in December 1818.Historical record, p. 569

The Victorian era

The regiment was reformed in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

(and subsequently confirmed as the successor of the predecessor formation with full continuity of battle honours), in response to the threat posed by the French intervention in Spain, in December 1823. Of the initial appointments, two of the officers had previous service in the 94th Regiment of Foot (Major Allan and Captain Bogle). The regiment was posted to Gibraltar in April 1824Historical record, p. 570 and it was presented with its new

regimental colours In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours (or colors), standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some ...

in April 1825 before being sent to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in March 1832. It returned to Ireland in November 1834.Historical record, p. 571 The regiment was posted to

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in October 1838, then moved to

Cannanore Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial ...

in April 1839 and served in the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

for fifteen years during which time it saw some action suppressing the Mappila riots in summer 1849.Historical record, p. 573 The regiment embarked for England in March 1854.Historical record, p. 575 William Plummer gaskell

Some volunteers departed 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 November 1854Historical record, p. 576 and the service companies left for Gibraltar in September 1855. The main body of the regiment embarked for

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

in November 1857Historical record, p. 577 and then transferred to

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

in the North-West Frontier region in October 1858. The regiment embarked for home again in January 1868.Historical record, p. 580 The regiment embarked for South Africa in spring 1879 and saw action at the

Battle of Ulundi The Battle of Ulundi took place at the Zulu Kingdom, Zulu capital of Ulundi (Zulu:''oNdini'') on 4 July 1879 and was the last major battle of the Anglo-Zulu War. The British army broke the military power of the Zulu Kingdom, Zulu nation by def ...

in July 1879 during the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, cou ...

. The regiment marched into the Transvaal and took part in the successful attack on

Sekukuni Sekhukhune I (Matsebe; circa 1814 – 13 August 1882) was the paramount King of the Marota, more commonly known as the Bapedi, from 21 September 1861 until his assassination on 13 August 1882 by his rival and half-brother, Mampuru II. As the Pedi ...

's stronghold on 28 November 1879 during the

Basuto Gun War The Basuto Gun War, also known as the Basutoland Rebellion, was a conflict between the Basuto and the British Cape Colony. It lasted from 13 September 1880 to 29 April 1881 and ended in a Basuto victory. Following Basutoland's transformation in ...

. Two

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 previousl ...

es were awarded to members of the regiment for their conduct during this action. The regiment remained in South Africa with its eight companies widely distributed throughout the Transvaal, garrisons being established in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...

(E and G companies),

Lydenburg Lydenburg, officially known as Mashishing, is a town in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, on the Mpumalanga highveld, South Africa. It is situated on the Sterkspruit/Dorps River tributary of the Lepelle River at the summit of the Long Tom Pass. ...

(A and F companies),

Wakkerstroom Wakkerstroom, (''Awake Stream''), is the second oldest town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town is on the KwaZulu-Natal border, 27 km east of Volksrust and 56 km south-east of Amersfoort. History The settlement was laid out o ...

(C company),

Marabastad Marabastad (also called Asiatic Bazaar or Location) is a business area near the city centre of Pretoria, South Africa. The original ''Maraba Village'', situated just to the south of the present Marabastad, was founded and ruled by the Ndebele C ...

(B company),

Standerton Standerton is a large commercial and agricultural town lying on the banks of the Vaal River in Mpumalanga, South Africa, which specialises in cattle, dairy, maize and poultry farming. The town was established in 1876 and named after Boer leader Co ...

(H company) and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

in northern Natal (D company). It was during the re-concentration of the companies, in response to outbreaks of civil disorder by the Boers, that A and F companies were attacked at

Battle of Bronkhorstspruit The Battle of Bronkhorstspruit was the first major engagement of the First Boer War. It took place by the Bronkhorst Spruit (river), a few kilometres east of the town of Bronkhorstspruit, Transvaal on 20 December 1880. Background On 12 April 1 ...

in December 1880 in the opening clash of the

First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...

: the two companies saw 156 of their soldiers killed or wounded, with the rest taken prisoner. The other six companies of the regiment spent the war being besieged by the Boers: C, D and H in Standerton, E and G in Pretoria, B in Marabastad, and a small detachment of 50 men in Lydenburg. As part of the

Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attention ...

of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 94th was linked with the

89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot The 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised on 3 December 1793. Under the Childers Reforms the regiment amalgamated with the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot to form the Princess Victor ...

and assigned to district no. 65 at

Gough Barracks Gough Barracks was a military installation in Armagh, Northern Ireland. History The barracks were first established on the site in 1773. In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under the Cardwell Reforms and the bar ...

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

. On 1 July 1881 the

Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation wa ...

came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 88th Regiment of Foot to form the

Battle honours

Battle honours won by the regiment were: *''Fourth Anglo-Mysore War '':

Seringapatam Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated at around 984 CE. Later, under the British rule the city wa ...

*''Peninsular War'': Peninsular,

Ciudad Rodrigo Ciudad Rodrigo () is a small cathedral city in the province of Salamanca, in western Spain, with a population in 2016 of 12,896. It is also the seat of a judicial district. The site of Ciudad Rodrigo, perched atop a rocky rise on the right ban ...

Badajos 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 population ...

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 ...

, Vitorria, Nivelle, Orthes,

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 fr ...

Victoria Crosses

*Private Francis Fitzpatrick - Basuto War, 28 November 1879 *Private Thomas Flawn - Basuto War, 28 November 1879

Colonels of the Regiment

Colonels of the Regiment were: ;Scotch Brigade *1794–1809: Gen. Francis Dundas ;94th Regiment of Foot *1809–1815: Gen. Sir

Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill, (11 August 1772 – 10 December 1842) was a British Army officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars as a brigade, division and corps commander. He became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 182 ...

, GCB, GCH, KC *1815–1818: ? * ''Regiment disbanded in 1818'' ;94th Regiment of Foot * ''Regiment reformed in 1823'' *1823–1829: Gen. Sir

Thomas Bradford General Sir Thomas Bradford (1 December 1777 – 28 November 1853) was a British Army officer. Military career Bradford was commissioned as an ensign in the 4th (The King's Own) Regiment of Foot in October 1793 without purchase He took part i ...

, GCB, GCH *1829–1831: Lt-Gen. Sir John Keane, 1st Baron Keane, GCB, GCH *1831–1834: Maj-Gen. Sir James Campbell, KCB, KCH *1834–1838: F.M. Sir

John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton Field Marshal John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, (16 February 1778 – 17 April 1863) was a British Army officer and colonial governor. After taking part as a junior officer in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, Sir Ralph Abercromby's expedit ...

, GCB, GCMG, GCH *1838–1847: Gen. Sir Thomas McMahon, Bt., GCB *1847–1853: Lt-Gen. Sir

William Warre Lt.-General Sir William Warre (15 April 1784 – 26 July 1853) was an English officer of the British Army. He saw service in the Peninsular War and was colonel of the 94th Foot. Early life and education Warre was born in Porto, Portugal, the ...

, CB *1853–1854: Maj-Gen. William Staveley, CB *1854: Lt-Gen. Henry Thomas, CB *1854–1855: Lt-Gen. Hon. Henry Edward Butler *1855–1866: Gen. George Powell Higginson *1866–1872: Gen. Sir Edward Walter Forestier-Walker, KCB *1872–1879: Gen. Henry Jervis *1879: Gen. Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, 3rd Earl Howe, GCVO, CB *1879–1881: Gen. Sir John Thornton Grant, KCB

Notes

References

Sources

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