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

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, 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 Re ...

to form the South Staffordshire Regiment 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 an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

in 1696. The regiment was raised a third time at

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

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 is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in 1774. It fought at the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...

in June 1775 and at the

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Am ...

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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. 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 ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. 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 Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

and the capture of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

in 1797. After taking part in the capture of the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

at the

Battle of Blaauwberg The Battle of Blaauwberg (also known as the Battle of Cape Town) was a successful British amphibious operation during the War of the Third Coalition which lasted from 8–18 January 1806 and resulted in the capture of the Dutch Cape Colony. Af ...

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, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

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 the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argenti ...

. The 1st battalion embarked for the Peninsula 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with First French Empire, France ...

in autumn 1809. The 1st battalion returned to the Peninsula in spring 1812 and took part in the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of the Arapiles) took place on 22July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Earl of Wellington (future ...

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 ...

in September 1812,Freer, p. 298 and the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813), a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British, Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese and Spanish Empire, Spanish army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Marquess of Wellington bro ...

in June 1813Freer, p. 305 as well as the

siege of San Sebastián The siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a sie ...

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, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish Army ...

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 F ...

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), the last major battle of the Peninsular War, ensued when the French garrison of Bayonne led by General of Division Pierre Thouvenot launched a sortie against a besieging force of British, Portuguese, and ...

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

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

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

The Victorian era

The regiment was sent to the

for service in the Fifth Xhosa War in 1818 and then to India in 1822 from where it was deployed to

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

for service in the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1824.Freer, p. 308 It returned to England in May 1836 and proceeded to Ireland in May 1837 before embarking for Zante in the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

in September 1840. It went on to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

in March 1843 and to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in November 1845 before proceeding to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

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

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

for service in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

in April 1854. It took part in the Battle of the Alma in September 1854, Battle of Inkerman 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. 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 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 attentio ...

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 in

. 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 South Staffordshire Regiment.

Battle honours

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

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

, Vitoria,

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

Nive The Nive (; ; ) 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 the ''Le petit Nicol ...

, 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'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' ( ...

Inkerman Inkerman (; ; ) 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 the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within Ukraine. It lies 5 kilometres (3 miles ...

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

* ''Indian Mutiny'':

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

* ''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 Army officer, politician and peer wh ...

, KG *1739–1750: Lt-Gen. Robert Dalzell *1750–October 1750: Lt-Gen. Richard Philipps ;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 *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 John Greville, KCB *1836–1840: Gen. Sir Henry Pigot, GCMG *1840–1843: Lt-Gen. Sir Jasper Nicolls, KCB *1843–1862: Gen. Hon. Sir Hugh Arbuthnot, KCB *1862–1876: Gen. Sir William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst, 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