The 39th (Dorsetshire) 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 1702. Under 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 w ...

it amalgamated with the

54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot The 54th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Dorsetshire Regiment in 1881. History Early history T ...

to form the

Dorsetshire Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In 19 ...

in 1881.

History

Early years

The regiment was first raised by

Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Lisburne Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Lisburne (1647 – 15 September 1691) was an Anglo-Irish peer and military commander. He was the second son of Sir Arthur Loftus of Rathfarnham, co. Dublin and Lady Dorothy Boyle, daughter of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl o ...

as Viscount Lisburne's Regiment of Foot in 1689 but was disbanded in 1697. It was re-raised in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, without lineal connection to the previous regiment, by Colonel Richard Coote as Richard Coote's Regiment of Foot in August 1702. The regiment landed at

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

in June 1707 for service in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

.Cannon, p. 3 It saw action at the

Battle of La Gudina A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in May 1709Cannon, p. 5 and then remained in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

until 1713 when it embarked for

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 ...

and then moved to

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

later in the year.Cannon, p. 8 It was posted to Ireland in 1719 and sailed to Gibraltar in 1726 to reinforce the garrison.Cannon, p. 9 The regiment sailed for

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 1729 and then returned to Ireland in 1732.Cannon, p. 11 The regiment served as marines from March 1744 to September 1746 when it took part in the

Raid on Lorient The raid on Lorient was a British amphibious operation in the region around the town of Lorient from 29 September to 10 October 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was planned as an attempt to force the French to withdraw their for ...

during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

.Cannon, p. 13 The regiment then spent another two years serving as marines and then returned to Ireland.Cannon, p. 14 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 39th Regiment of Foot. The regiment was posted to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 1754 and saw action at the

Battle of Chandannagar The Battle of Chandannagar was a successful attack on the French Indies Company settlement of Chandernagore by a British force under the command of Robert Clive and Charles Watson on 23 March 1757 during the Seven Years' War. Chandernagore re ...

in March 1757 during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

.Cannon, p. 19 Under the command of Major

Eyre Coote Eyre Coote may refer to: *Eyre Coote (East India Company officer) (1726–1783), Irish soldier and Commander-in-chief of India *Eyre Coote (British Army officer) (1762–1823), Irish-born general in the British Army *Eyre Coote (MP) (1806–1834), ...

, the regiment played a major part in capturing the fort of

Katwa Katwa is a sub-divisional town and railway junction in Purba Bardhaman district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Katwa subdivision. The town was built at the confluence of Ganga and Ajay. Katwa is a border cit ...

at the

Battle of Plassey The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company, under the leadership of Robert Clive, over the Nawab of Bengal and his French Indies Company, French allies on 23 June 1757. The victory was made possible by the de ...

in June 1757.Cannon, p. 21 The regiment returned to Ireland in autumn 1758Cannon, p. 25 and was engaged in the

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Enlightenment in Spain, Spain and Kingdom of France, France to capture Gibraltar from the Kingdom of Great Britain, British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the largest ba ...

in 1779 and the following three years.Cannon, p. 27

Napoleonic wars

In 1782 the regiment took a county title as the 39th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot. The regiment sailed for the West Indies 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 ...

in March 1794, 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 ...

in April 1794 and the attack on

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

in June 1794 during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

.Cannon, p. 40 The British troops at Guadeloupe were forced to surrender in December 1794 and were held in captivity for over a year.Cannon, p. 41 The regiment was reformed in Ireland the following year by absorbing the short-lived 104th Regiment of Foot (Royal Manchester Volunteers). The regiment participated in a task force under Major-General John Whyte to capture the Dutch settlements of

Demerara Demerara (; , ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 unti ...

, Essequibo, and

Berbice Berbice () is a region along the Berbice River in Guyana, which was between 1627 and 1792 a colony of the Dutch West India Company and between 1792 and 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Brita ...

in April and May 1796. The regiment moved to

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

in October 1800Cannon, p. 42 to

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

in December 1802 and then returned to England in March 1803.Cannon, p. 43 In 1803 a 2nd battalion was raised. The 1st battalion moved in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in January 1806 and to

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

shortly thereafter.Cannon, p. 46 In 1807 a number of regiments had their territorial affiliations shuffled, with the East Middlesex title passing to the

77th Foot The 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line regiment of the British Army, raised in 1787. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Ca ...

and the 39th taking the Dorsetshire title previously held by the 35th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot to become the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot. The 2nd battalion deployed to the Peninsula to support General

Sir Arthur Wellesley Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (; 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was a British Army officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during t ...

in June 1809 and fought at the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish ...

in July 1809,Cannon, p. 48 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 1810Cannon, p. 49 and the Siege of Badajoz in May 1811Cannon, p. 50 as well as the

Battle of Albuera The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about sou ...

in May 1811 and the

Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos The Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos took place on 28 October 1811 during the Peninsular War. An allied force under General Rowland Hill trapped and defeated a French force under General Jean-Baptiste Girard, forcing the latter's dismissal by ...

in October 1811.Cannon, p. 51 Meanwhile, the 1st battalion deployed to the Peninsula in August 1811 and saw action at 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 1813Cannon, p. 54 and across the Pyrenees, including the

Battle of Sorauren The Battle of Sorauren was part of a series of engagements in late July 1813 called the Battle of the Pyrenees in which a combined British and Portuguese force under Sir Arthur Wellesley held off Marshal Soult's French forces attempting ...

in July 1813.Cannon, p. 56 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,Cannon, p. 58 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 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 1814Cannon, p. 61 as well as the Battle of Toulouse in 1814. The battalion was then posted to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

for service in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

Cannon, p. 62 and took part in the

Battle of Plattsburgh The Battle of Plattsburgh, also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain, ended the final British invasion of the northern states of the United States during the War of 1812. Two British forces, an army under Lieutenant General Sir George Prévos ...

in September 1814Cannon, p. 63 before returning to England in July 1815.Cannon, p. 64 The regiment formed part of the Army of Occupation in France from 1815 to 1818 when it embarked for Ireland.Cannon, p. 65

The Victorian era

The regiment arrived in the British colony of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

toward the end of 1825Cannon, p. 66 and saw service guarding convicts and establishing settlements at

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just ''Swan River'', was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, an ...

and Bathurst, where in 1830 it helped suppress the

bushranging Bushrangers were armed robbers and outlaws who resided in The bush#Australia, the Australian bush between the 1780s and the early 20th century. The original use of the term dates back to the early years of the British colonisation of Australia ...

insurgency known as the

Bathurst Rebellion The Bathurst Rebellion of 1830 was an outbreak of bushranging near Bathurst in the British penal colony (now the Australian state) of New South Wales. The rebellion involved a group of escaped convicts who ransacked villages and engaged in shoot ...

. The regiment left for

in July 1832.Cannon, p. 72 It saw action at various skirmishes in spring 1834 during the

Coorg War The Coorg War was fought between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Coorg in 1834. Defiance of the Raja of Coorg ( Chikka Virarajendra), a small state in South India, led to a short but bloody campaign in 1834. In February 183 ...

Cannon, p. 73 and at the Battle of Maharajpore in December 1843 during the

Gwalior campaign The Gwalior campaign was fought between the British and Scindia forces in Gwalior in India, December 1843. Background The Maratha Empire had controlled most of central and northern India but fell to the British in 1818, giving the British ...

.Cannon, p. 90 It embarked for 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 ...

in spring 1854 and saw action at the Siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854 before returning to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1856 and moving on to

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

in 1859; it returned to England in 1864 and was posted back to India in 1869. 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 39th was linked with the

75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot The 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot, was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1787. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the Gordon Highlanders in 1881. History ...

, and assigned to district no. 39 at Dorchester Barracks in Dorchester. On 1 July 1881 the

came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the

to form the

Battle honours

The battle honours of the regiment were as follows: * Plassey, Gibraltar 1779-83, Albuhera, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Peninsula, Maharajpore, Sevastopol

Colonels

Colonels of the regiment included: *1689–1692

*1692–1702 Col. Richard Coote *1702–1703 Col. Richard Coote *1703–1719 Lt-Gen. Nicholas Sankey *1719–1722 Brig-Gen. Thomas Ferrers (also 23rd Dragoons,

17th Foot The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both ...

, Ferrers's Foot) *1722–1730 Brig-Gen. William Newton *1730–1732 Lt-Gen. Sir John Cope, KB *1732–1737 Brig-Gen. Thomas Wentworth *1737–1738 Gen.

John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll General John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll, KT, PC ( – 9 November 1770) was a Scottish military officer, Whig politician and peer who sat in the British House of Commons from 1713 to 1761. Early life John Campbell was born , the son of Jo ...

, KT *1738–1739 Lt-Gen. Richard Onslow *1739–1740 Col. Robert Dalway *1740–1743 Brig-Gen. Samuel Walter Whitshed *1743–1752 Maj-Gen. Edward Richbell (also

, 61st Foot)

39th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot

*1752–1766 Lt-Gen. John Adlercron *1766–1794 Gen. Sir Robert Boyd, KB *1794–1823 Gen.

Nisbet Balfour General Nisbet Balfour (1743, Dunbog10 October 1823, Dunbog) was a British soldier in the American Revolutionary War and later a Scotland, Scottish Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the Parliament of Great Brita ...

(also 93rd Regiment of Foot (1793))

39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot

*1823–1833 Lt-Gen. Sir George Airey, KCH *1833–1840 Lt-Gen. Hon. Sir Robert O'Callaghan, GCB *1840–1852 Gen. Sir

Frederick Philipse Robinson General Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson, GCB (September 1763 – 1 January 1852) was a British Army officer who served in the American War of Independence and the Napoleonic Wars. His father, Colonel Beverley Robinson, was a Virginian who move ...

, GCB *1852–1853 Lt-Gen. George Burrell, CB *1853–1867 Gen. Sir Richard Lluellyn, KCB *1867–1881 Gen. Sir

Charles van Straubenzee General Sir Charles Thomas van Straubenzee (17 February 1812 – 10 August 1892), was a British Army officer. He served as Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong, and Governor of Malta. Military career Van Straubenzee was born ...

, GCB

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment Of Foot Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations in Dorset Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 Dorset Regiment 1702 establishments in England