63rd Regiment of Foot
History
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. On 9 April 1809, a detachment from the regiment was serving on the Treasury store-ship Emma, and so shared in the prize money for the French brig Navigateur for which Emma was a joint captor with sundry other ships.
The 63rd became the garrison for island, 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 restored 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.
Ranking
Officers
Colonel - Col
Lieutenant Colonel - LtCol
Major - Maj
Captain - Cpt
Lieutenant - Lt
Ensign - Ens | NCO's
Serjeant Major - SjtM
Colour Serjeant - CSjt
Serjeant - Sjt
Corporal - Cpl | Enlisted
Lance Corporal - LCpl
Regular - Rgl
Private - Pte
Recruit - Rec |
Application
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