The 96th Regiment of Foot was the fourth

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 foug ...

regiment 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 ...

to bear this name. It was originally created from the 2nd Battalion of the

52nd Regiment of Foot The 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The regiment first saw active service during the American War of Independence, and were posted to India dur ...

in 1803 at the start of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

. Initially a single battalion regiment, a second battalion was raised in 1804. The Regiment was based mainly in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

and on

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 ...

and renumbered as the 95th Regiment of Foot. Following the defeat of Napoleon, the British army was reduced in size, and the regiment was disbanded in 1818.

History

The regiment was created as the 96th Regiment of Foot from the 2nd Battalion of the

by an order issued on 10 January 1803: ''"It being His Majesty's pleasure that from the 25th ult. the 2nd Battalion of the 52nd regiment should be numbered the 96th Regiment of Foot, I am commanded by the Commander-in-Chief to signify the same to you, and to desire that in consequence of this arrangement you will be pleased to give the necessary orders for posting a due proportion of the officers of the present battalions of the 52nd Regiment to the 96th Regiment."'' Over the next month officers and grenadiers from the 52nd were allocated to the new Regiment. Regimental strength was also built up through recruitment activity across England, in places such as

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

and

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

. The two regiments finally parted on 23 February 1803, and the 96th Foot marched to Chatham from where they soon sailed to

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,500 people. It is located in the barony of Condons and Clangibbon, and is in the Dá ...

in Ireland.General Muster Book, 96th Foot, WO12/9592. The National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, London From Fermoy the Regiment moved to Bandon and then

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satellit ...

- all in the county of Cork. A second battalion was raised in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

in 1804. The 1st Battalion sailed from Midleton in February 1805 to the Caribbean,General Muster Book, 96th Foot, 1st Battalion, WO12/9594. The National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, London as part of the British military activity and occupation of several of the islands during the war. The battalion was stationed in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...

from March to July 1805. From there it moved to

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

and served there until February 1808.General Muster Book, 96th Foot, 1st Battalion, WO12/9595. The National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, London Their next location was on St Croix, and the nearby island of St Thomas, now parts of the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

but at the time part of the Danish West Indies (

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway ( Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe ...

was allied with France from late 1807). From March 1808 to December 1814General Muster Book, 96th Foot, 1st Battalion, WO12/9597. The National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, London it was based at Christiansted, St Croix, with a small outpost on St Thomas. Following the Invasion of Martinique in 1809, the battalion, which had not participated in the invasion, was then stationed on the island from March 1815 until June 1816. With the final defeat of

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 wh ...

in 1815 the island was handed back to France and the battalion returned to the United Kingdom.General Muster Book, 95th Foot, 1st Battalion, WO12/9526. The National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, London The 2nd Battalion was based for a number of years on Jersey,General Muster Book, 96th Foot, 2nd Battalion, WO12/9653. The National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, London where their Colonel in Chief, Sir George Don, was

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. In 1816, after the 95th Rifles became The Rifle Brigade, the regiment was re-numbered as the 95th Regiment of Foot."The Prince Regent, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, has been pleased to direct, that the Battalions of the 95th Regiment shall in future be styled the Rifle Brigade, and that it shall be taken out of the numbered Regiments of the Line.
His Royal Highness has also been pleased to direct, that the numbers of the following Corps shall accordingly be altered, viz.
The 96th Regiment to be numbered the 95th Regiment." Over the next two years the 1st Battalion of the 95th Regiment was stationed at

and then in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. One deployment in summer 1818 took the battalion to

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

to monitor the general election that year. Finally in autumn 1818 it moved to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

where it was disbanded at the end of the year.

Colonels of the Regiment

Colonels of the regiment were: ;96th Regiment of Foot *1804-1805

Sir George Ludlow General (United Kingdom), General George James Ludlow, 3rd Earl Ludlow Order of the Bath, GCB (12 December 1758 – 16 April 1842), was a British peer and soldier. Ludlow was the younger son of Peter Ludlow, 1st Earl Ludlow, by Lady Frances, daug ...

*1805-1816 Sir George Don GCB ;95th Regiment of Foot *1816-1818 Sir George Don GCB *1818 Sir Thomas Hislop, Bart, GCB

History

Colonels of the Regiment

References

See also