History
The town of Madras was founded in 1639 and the first Fort Saint George in 1644, but the military history of the Presidency does not commence until more than a century later. In August 1758 they were formed into regular companies of 100 men each with a due proportion of Indian officers, havildars, naiks, etc. and in December of that year the first two battalions were formed with a European subaltern to each company and a captain to command the whole. (These officers were mostly seconded from the King's service with a step in rank. They were of a better class, better educated and above all had far more military experience than the company's officers).
Sepoys of the Bombay, Bengal, and Madras Armies
The Madras Regiment was initially formed as the Madras European Regiment in the 1660s by the East India Company as the second company established in India. However, it was formed as a battalion in 1748 under the command of Major Stringer Lawrence. The battalion was involved in all the battles against the French forces in India. Lawrence structured the regiment to include two battalions, one European and one Sepoy (Indian). Both battalions were similar in structure and included seven companies each, with each company including three officers in command and seventy privates. Also part of the companies were four sergeants and corporals and three drummers.
The oldest Battalion in the Madras Regiment (and the Indian Army) was the 9th Battalion, formerly known as the Nair Brigade (Nayar Pattalam, "Nair Army". This militia was raised in 1704 at Padmanabhapuram as body guards
In 1748 Major Stringer Lawrence, a veteran of action in Spain, Flanders and the Highlands, was hired by the East India Company to take charge of the defence of Cuddalore. He laid the foundations of what was to become the Indian Army. Training the levies to become a militia, the Madras Levies were formed into "companies" and trained to become a disciplined and fine fighting force. In 1758 Lawrence raised the Madras Regiment, forming the several Companies of Madras Levies into two battalions. 2 Madras was raised in 1776 as the 15th Carnatic Infantry at Thanjavur (and underwent many nomenclature changes thereafter). The regiment has been through many campaigns with both the British Indian Army and the Indian Army. Many well-known British officers have commanded this regiment, among them Robert Clive.
There after the British annexed the Indian sub-continent, largely with the help of the Madras Regiment sepoys. The coming of the British rule and merging the Presidency armies into a British Indian Army led the erstwhile regiments to be reorganised. After conquest of India, the main perceived threat to British was from Russia. So recruitment was re-oriented towards north Indians of Punjab and Nepal. This resulted in the British reducing the strength of the Madras Regiment since the southern borders were relatively peaceful. After many years, this regiment was re-raised with fresh recruits and a draft of troops from the Madras Sappers during World War II. The newly reborn Madras Regiment performed very creditably during the Burma Campaign.
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Roster for Madras Regiment:
Roster: {15}
- Euan
- WEJohns
- Joa
- Tim
- Simon
- Satan
- Bear
- Niylar
- Mayrs
- HoneyMan
- Phytyr
- YellowButter
- Setmaster
- KingElassar
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