63rd Regiment of Foot
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| This article is part of the The King's Regiment History. |
| 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot |
| The King's Regiment (Liverpool) |
| 63rd Regiment of Foot |
| The Manchester Regiment |
| The King's Regiment |
The 63rd Regiment of Foot and the 96th Regiment of Foot would later amalgamate in 1881 to form The Manchester Regiment, which itself would amalgamate with The King's Regiment (Liverpool), to form The King's Regiment (Manchester and Liverpool) in 1958, later becoming The King's Regiment in 1968.
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63rd Regiment of Foot
In 1758 the 2nd Battalion of the 8th King's formed the 63rd Regiment of Foot, a regiment that would have a long and distinguished history until amalgamation with the 96th Regiment of Foot in 1881 to form The Manchester Regiment, which, in 1958, would become The King's Regiment.
Seven Years War
In 1758 the newly created 63rd, along with a number of other regiments and various other assets, set off for the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, which was a French territory, with the intent of capturing the island for Britain during the Seven Years War. The invasion began the following year, in January, though many of the soldiers were suffering from a variety of ailments synonymous with service in the Caribbean at that time, which severely sapped the energy and fighting efficiency of the men,.
The British troops landed after the Royal Navy bombarded Basse-Terre, the west part of the island, including Fort Royal, a large citadel. By the 24th January British troops had entered the main town, the citadel there had been abandoned, though French forces on the island had merely dispersed to fight a guerilla campaign against the British forces now in control of Guadeloupe. The enemy had a considerable force, a number of companies of Marines, as well as a few thousand natives that could prove deadly in terrain that they knew well.
The 63rd suffered a number of attacks while garrisoning the citadale alone, the rest of the force had moved to the more hospitable east of the island. During one attack the regiment's commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Desbrisay was killed. The French Governor finally surrendered on the 1st May. The 63rd's duties on the island were, however, not over. They remained on the island for a further five years. The territory was returned to France by the Treaty of Paris, however this would not be the last time Guadeloupe was captured by Britain in a war against France.
American War of Independence
In 1764 the regiment reached Ireland, and would have a largely uneventful time there. In 1775 the 63rd arrived in American in response to a request for reinforcements due to the outbreak of the American War of Independence. The regiment took part in the Battle of Bunker Hill, with a third attack, which ended in a bayonet charge, finally breaking the Americans. The 63rd remained in Boston after the battle, the town becoming increasingly more uneasy to be in. Finally, in May 1776 the regiment, along with the rest of the forces in Boston, departed, heading for Halifax in Canada.
The regiment took part in the Battle of Long Island, a devastating blow against the Americans, though astonishingly, the American leader General George Washington, managed to reverse the blow that had been struck against much of the Continetal Army's morale in this battle, soon after. Grenadier and Light companies of the 63rd also took part in the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown. The main force of the 63rd took part in the Battle of Fort Clinton. In 1777 the regiment moved to Philadelphia and in the following year took part in the Battle of Monmouth.
In 1779 the 63rd took part in a number of engagements, though in 1780 the 63rd would become involved in the campaign in the Carolinas, a campaign that would see their most active involvement in the war. The 63rd took part in the siege and subsequent capture of Charleston, and became the garrison force for the town once the rest of the forces proceeded to other objectives. Elements of the 63rd had become mounted infantry, in effect dragoons. That year the dragoons of the 63rd, augmented by a detachment from Tarleton's Legion, under the command of the dashing, if somewhat controversial Banastre Tarleton, attacked an American under the command of General Thomas Sumter.
Soon after that engagement, the dragoon element of the 63rd, joined Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton's, taking part in a number of successful harassing engagements against American forces. The regiment also took part in number of battles under the command of Lord Cornwallis between 1780-81, as well as taking part in another engagement near Camden in April 1781, as part of a force under the command of General Rawdon. In 1782 the regiment was designated the 63rd (the West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot.
French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars
In 1794 the 63rd joined British forces already taking part in the Flanders Campaign, as part of 1st Brigade commanded by Lieutenant-General Friedrich von Buttlar. The regiment was involved in a number of actions, though in 1795, the British withdrew from the Netherlands. That same year, the 63rd were part of a force designed to take a number of Caribbean islands under Dutch and French control. However, tragedy struck, when their transport ship sank, with the loss of 150 men of the 63rd. The remnants of the regiment did however take part in the expedition. The regiment took part in a variety of operations in many islands in the Caribbean, remaining in the region until 1799, when they departed for Britain.
In that year the 1st Bn of the 63rd took part in another expedition in the Netherlands, seeing a number of actions in the campaign. Later that year the regiment joined the garrison at Gibraltar. Soon after, it was deployed to Ireland. In 1807 the regiment was involved in a very brief expedition to Madeira, a Portuguese-controlled territory. The expedition was under the command of Major-General William Beresford, soon to make his name in the Peninsula War. Once the expeditionary forces landed, the Portuguese Governor agreed to all demands made by the British.
In February 1808 the regiment was stationed in Barbados. They took part the expedition to Martinique, with the intention of capturing the island for Britain, which the British force duly did. The 63rd became the garrison for island, sadly suffering heavily from diseases one would expect in such tropical weather at that time. In 1810, part of the 63rd took part in the capture of Guadeloupe, a duty the regiment had participated in many years before. The 63rd was returned to Martinique, rather than becoming garrison troops for Guadeloupe. In 1814 the regiment was based in Barbados, but just a year later, returned to Guadeloupe with a British force, with the intent of recapturing the island, which had been restore to French rule in 1814. The regiment finally departed the Caribbean in 1819.
The 2nd Bn of the 63rd took part in the Walcheren Expedition, assisting in the capture of a number of towns on the island. The force, however, would suffer from a terrible illness known as Walcheren Fever, which killed 4,000 British soldiers, with many thousands more also suffering from it. It was such a debilitating illness that many soldiers still suffered from its effects in 1812. Indeed the Duke of Wellington requested that no unit that served in the campaign be sent to him.
The Garrison years
In 1820, the 63rd were deployed to Ireland, a deployment that would last until 1824. In 1826, the 63rd was involved in an expedition to Portugal due to fears of impending insurrection in the country, landing in the country in 1827. The rebel cause largely subsided, thanks largely in part due to the expedition made by the British.
In 1829, the 63rd began providing escorts for convict ships travelling to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania. The rest of the regiment became garrison troops in the latter colony. A detachment of the regiment was present at the foundation ceremony of Perth in 1829, and had arrived in Western Australia that same year, on the warship HMS Sulphur. The officer commanding the detachment of the 63rd at the ceremony Captain Frederick Chidley Irwin, would later have two stints as the Lieutenant-Governor of Western Australia.
In 1830 the battalion was involved in internal security duties in Van Diemen's Land, in order to prevent further incidents by the native Aborigines there. Such duties later expanded to the rest of Australia. The regiment left Australia in 1833 and in 1834 was based in India. In 1838, the 63rd deployed to Burma, a deployment that proved uneventful, the returning to India in 1842. They returned to Britain in 1847.
The Crimean War
The 63rd landed in August 1854 from Ireland, the year the Crimean War began. The regiment was part of the 4th Division, which was to play a prominent role in the war. Astonishingly, it took four days to complete the whole landing, an unacceptable length that would prove indicative of much of the logistics and organisation of the war. Lessons that would thankfully be learnt, though sadly, not until a number of years had progress, sadly too late for many men that unnecessarily lost their lives during the Crimean War.
The regiment took part in a number of engagements during the Battle of Inkerman. The 63rd, along with the 21st poured heavy fire into a Russian force attacking position known as 'Home Ridge'. The two regiments fire was horrendous upon the Russians, indeed it completely halted their attack toward the British position. Seemingly under their own authority, the two regiments then advanced, in a professional formation, upon the Russian forces, pushing the enemy back. The engagement became one of movement, with a large dose of hand-to-hand fighting also being involved. The stubbornness of both sides not to withdraw and to concede defeat was evident, with the two British regiments, as well as the Russians suffering rather heavy casualties.
Many of the men had been drafted in while the 63rd had been stationed in Ireland, due to shortage of men, which they drastically needed with the outbreak of war. They had no experience of fighting, especially in such incredibly poor conditions as what faced the soldiers that fought in the Crimean War. Despite this fact, many individual soldiers, including many drafted in Ireland, showed immense heroism and performed great deeds of honour during the action. At one point the standard bearers, an Ensign James Hulton Clutterbuck, was killed carrying the Queen's Colour, and Ensign Heneage Twysden was mortally wounded carrying the Regimental Colour. A Colour Sergeant and Sergeant retrieved the fallen Colours despite being wounded themselves and both advanced carrying them under great danger to themselves. Another Sergeant later retrieved the body of the dead Ensign Clutterbuck, in which he succeeded in doing so under great personal danger. Further fierce fighting took place, the two regiments carried on, and soon after, pushed the enemy back a considerable distance. The shot-up Colours are still in the possession of the present-day regiment, The King's and remain a vivid symbol of The King's bloody past.
The 63rd also took part in the bitterly long Siege of Sevastopol. The war had been cruel upon the 63rd, and due to limited manpower in early 1855, the regiment was withdrawn from the line. They returned later that year after drafts of soldiers arrived to bring the regiment up to a greater strength. The regiment was part of a force designed to assault a part of the great fortress of Sevastopol on 8th September 1855, during the last day of the long siege, known as the Great Redan. In the early hours of the 9th the Russian forces withdrew, with immense explosions destroying the fortress of Sevastopol, as well as the town itself.
An era of relative peace
Many important reforms were implemented in 1873 by the then Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell, which became known as Cardwell's Reforms, though further reforms in 1881 would lead to the amalgamation of the 63rd and 96th into The Manchester Regiment.
Upon them departing the Crimea at the end of the war in 1856, the regiment sailed for Nova Scotia, Canada. Upon their arrival at the dockyard in Halifax, a large crowd of many thousands came out to greet the 63rd, as if they were a modern-day football team. They remained in Canada until 1864, having played a prominent role in the country. They returned to the UK in 1865, spending a number of years there in various parts of the country.
In 1870 the 63rd reached the sub-continent, being based in various parts of British India. The regiment had a brief involvement in the Second Afghan War in 1878. In 1881, while still stationed in India, the regiment, under Childers Reforms, a continuation of Cardwell's Reforms, saw the 63rd amalgamate with the 96th, to form The Manchester Regiment, becoming the city regiment of its namesake.
The Minorca Regiment and the 96th Regiment of Foot
The Minorca Regiment was raised in 1798 from prisoners of Swiss mercenary regiments in Spanish service while Minorca was under British control. The regiment took part in the expedition to Egypt in 1801, where a large French force, including the future Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, were attempting to conquer the country. During the battle at Alexandria, French cavalry charged the British infantry and seemingly looked like they would break through the lines, such was the ferocity of their charge, but The Minorca Regiment bravely advanced forward to meet the enemy and launched volley after volley into the mass of cavalry, with such devastating effect that the survivors retreated in the face of such an onslaught.
The regiment was to distinguish itself even further, when Private Antoine Lutz left the formation under his own initiative to re-take a French cavalry standard which had been recaptured by the French, having already been taken by a soldier of the 42nd (now The Black Watch). He showed great courage, shooting the French standard bearer and subsequently seizing the colour. However, it was not over, two other dragoons began to head for him. The private shot the horse from under one of the dragoons. The dragoon begged for his life and surrendered, despite the chaos happening in the engagement, his life was spared. The private was later awarded a Royal Bounty of £20 pounds per annum for life. A painting was also made, with him posing in uniform, holding the French standard he had captured. It is presently located in the Museum of the Manchester Regiment.
The regiment had certainly fought with honour and bravery, despite their origins had fought bravely for the British in the Egyptian Campaign. That year, the regiment was renamed the Queen's Own Germans and in 1805, was given the numeral 97th. The regiment also saw service in the Peninsula War, taking part in the Battle of Vimeiro, emulating their astonishing courage in the campaign in Egypt. The regiment was involved in many other famous engagements of the Peninsula War. They fought at Talavera, Busaco, Albuera and Badajoz. By 1816 the regiment was renumbered as The 96th (Queen's Own Germans) Regiment of Foot, though had now only a minimal element of foreign soldiers within its ranks, and was no longer considered a foreign corps in 1810. It was disbanded in 1818 in Ireland.
In 1824, the 96th, a descendant of the previous 96th, was established, inheriting the history and battle honours of their illustrious predecessor. The regiment was deployed to a variety of territories in the Western Hemisphere. The regiment was deployed to in the 1830s, before providing detachments for convict ships sailing to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania.
In 1843, during tensions between the British and native Maoris, a detachment from the regiment was dispatched to the northern island of New Zealand, fearing imminent trouble, largely caused by the Treaty of Waitangi which had been signed between the British and Maori in 1840. Trouble did occur, with confrontations occurring between the regiment and Maoris, before in one incident, the 63rd met a large Maori force and in response withdrew in the face of, what would be, almost certain destruction in the face of a numerically superior opponent. The First Maori War began on the 11th March 1845. The regiment took part in a number of engagements during the war, which lasted into early January 1846. In 1849, the 96th arrived in Calcutta in India, at that time, still under control of the British East India Company. They left the sub-continent in 1854, returning home to the UK, before deploying to Gibraltar for garrison service.
In 1862, the regiment was en-route to Canada when the ship they were sailing on hit a storm in the Azores. The 96th spent only a brief time in Canada, being deployed to South Africa in 1863, after a brief period back home in the UK. In 1868, the 96th deployed to British India, an entity only created ten years before. They remained there until 1873. The following year the regiment was officially deemed to be the direct descendant of The Minorca Regiment, later The 96th (Queen's Own Germans) Regiment of Foot.
In 1881 the 96th, due to Childer's Reforms, which introduced further changes from beginning of the Cardwell Reforms in 1873, amalgamated with the 63rd Regiment of Foot to form The Manchester Regiment.