- 29th Regiment of Foot
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=29th Regiment of Foot
caption=
country=England
allegiance=British Army of theUnited Kingdom
type=Infantry
branch=
dates=1694-1881
specialization=
command_structure=British Army
size= single battalion regiment
current_commander=
garrison=Norton Barracks,Worcester , England
ceremonial_chief=
nickname= "Two and a Hook", "Ever Sworded", "Vein Openers" and "Guards of the Line"
motto="Honi soit qui mal y pense "
colors=Yellow Facings
march=Royal Windsor ,1791
mascot=
battles=Ramillies, Albuera and Sobraon
notable_commanders=*
*Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle (1731-1733)
*William Evelyn (1769-1783)
*William Tryon (1783-1788)
*Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington (1788-1792)
*William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart (1792-1797)
*John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford (1828-1850)
anniversaries=The Glorious First of June 1794The 29th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the
British Army The regiment was raised in
1694 byColonel Thomas Farrington , an officer of theColdstream Guards duringWar of the Grand Alliance known in America asKing William's War . It was disbanded in 1698 after thePeace of Ryswick and reformed in 1702 for theWar of the Spanish Succession , also known asQueen Anne's War . The regiment served underJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough at the victoriousBattle of Ramillies in 1706 against the French in what is nowBelgium and in the siege ofOstend . In 1727 the regiment saw action atGibraltar and were sent toFortress Louisbourg onCape Breton Island in 1745. In 1749, the regiment was at the site of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the soldiers cleared the land for the new town. An altercation with some Native Americans led to an order that all officers in the regiment must always be armed, thus earning their first nickname as the "Ever Sworded" due to thesword s the officers are required to wear even when off-duty a tradition still in effect today as the orderly officer is still armed even at the officers mess.In 1751, the regiment received the new designation as the 29th Regiment of Foot, when the British Army went to numbers instead of colonel's names for regiments. In 1759 Admiral Lord
Edward Boscawen gave to his brother ColonelGeorge Boscawen 10 black youths he acquired in the capture of Guadeloupe from the French in the same year. These young men were released fromslavery and joined the regiment as drummers, a tradition the regiment continued until 1843. These men received the pay of acorporal and if they survived to retire received apension from the army.
=Glittering Star Masonic Lodge=While at
Kilkenny, Ireland , a Warrant No. 322 from theGrand Lodge of Ireland, dated 3rd May 1759 was issued for a Masonic Lodge in the 29th Regiment of Foot. The Glittering Star Secret Travelling Masonic Lodge is still closely associated with the Regiment.Boston Massacre
In 1768 the 29th along with the 14th Regiment of Foot were sent to
Boston, Massachusetts , where on the evening ofMarch 5 ,1770 , men of the 29th Grenadier Company under the command of Captain Thomas Preston took part in theBoston Massacre in which five colonists died during a riot in front of the Boston customs house. Due to the incident, the regiment earned the nickname the Vein Openers for drawing first blood in theAmerican Revolution . The men involved were tried for murder and were defended byJohn Adams (who later becamePresident of the United States ). Two of the men involved, Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Killroy, were found guilty ofmanslaughter and branded on the thumb. Captain Thomas Preston and the other men involved were found not guilty. The 29th left Boston in 1771 for British controlledFlorida before returning toEngland in 1773.American Revolution
Early in the spring of 1776 during the start of the 2nd year of the
American Revolutionary War , the 29th Regiment of Foot under the command of Lt. Col. Patrick Gordon was sent with other British regiments to relieve the siege of Quebec City by an American army. OnJuly 25 Lt. Col. Patrick Gordon was shot and mortally wounded by Benjamin Whitcomb ofWhitcomb's Rangers , Lt. Col.Thomas Carleton of the20th Regiment of Foot was then promoted to command the 29th. After pushing the American army down theSt. Lawrence River at theBattle of Trois-Rivières , men from the battalion companies served on board the ships of GeneralGuy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester in theBattle of Valcour Island onLake Champlain on October 11, 1776. In 1777, theLight Infantry Company and the Grenadier Company were withLt. General John Burgoyne as he headed down fromMontreal to Saratoga. Both the Light Infantry Company and Grenadier Company saw action at theBattle of Hubbardton under the command ofBrigadier Simon Fraser, as part of his Advance Corps on July 7, 1777. Both companies surrendered with the rest of Burgoyne's Army after the defeats atBattle of Freeman's Farm andBattle of Bemis Heights in September and October of 1777. The other eight Battalion Companies remained inCanada and took part in raids and small battles along theVermont andNew York frontiers during the rest of the American Revolution led byMajor Christopher Carleton and Lt.John Enys . In 1781 the 29th was linked to the county ofWorcestershire in England, giving them a recruiting area and home. The 29th Regiment returned toEngland in 1787.For more details on the raids along Lake Champlain and the upper
Hudson Valley seeCarleton's Raid (1778) andBurning of the Valleys .Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812
During the
Napoleonic Wars the 29th Regiment of Foot was with the Duke of York inHolland in 1799 and later with the Duke of Wellington's Army inSpain andPortugal from 1808 to 1811.Glorious First of June
On
June 1 ,1794 , the 29th served as marines aboard theRoyal Navy ships HMS "Brunswick" and HMS "Ramillies" during the naval battle known as theGlorious First of June under AdmiralRichard Howe against a French Fleet in the NorthAtlantic Ocean . During the fight The HMS "Brunswick" sunk the FrenchShip of the Line "Le Venguer du Peuple" and disabled the "Achille". The regiment was awarded aNaval Crown dated 1 June, 1794 for its participation in the engagement.Roliça
At the
Battle of Roliça onAugust 17 ,1808 the 29th along with the9th Regiment of Foot assaulted a French position on the heights for over 2 hours until the French lines broke when the flanking British units attacked. Colonel Lake was killed with another officer, two other officers were wounded and 177 men were killed or wounded along with 25 captured.Vimeiro
Four days after Roliça on
August 21 ,1808 theBattle of Vimeiro was fought. Here the 29th held off a French attack giving time for the71st Regiment of Foot and the81st Regiment of Foot time to regroup and rejoin the battle.Grijo
on
May 10 - 111809 theBattle of Grijo was fought.Talavera
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quote=I wish very much that some measures could be adopted to get recruits for the 29th Regiment, it is the best Regiment in this Army, has an admirable internal system and excellent Non-Commissioned Officers.|source=Sir Arthur Wellesley 12 September, 1809|Fought 27 and
28 July ,1809 theBattle of Talavera saw the 29th and the48th Regiment of Foot with a compositebattalion attack three French regiments (24th Line, 96th Line and the 9th Light) on the hill called Cerro de Medellin. After the composite battalion broke, the 29th — with a single volley and a bayonet charge — drove the French from the hill on the evening ofJuly 27 , the French 9th Light Regiment receiving the brunt of the assault.On the morning of
July 28 , massed Frenchartillery fire hit the hill followed by an assault by the French 24th Line and 96th Line Regiments. The French regiments (6 battalions total) advanced in column and the British defended the hill in aline formation . The fire power of the line where all member could shoot soon overwhelmed the French attack. The 29th captured two French colors in the bayonet charge the drove the French regiments off the field.Albuera
May 16 ,1811 , theBattle of Albuera is perhaps the most celebrated battle honor of the 29th Regiment. Ensigns Edward Furnace and Richard Vance gave their lives to save the 29th Regiments colors during this battle. After suffering heavy casualties at the Battle of Albuera the 29th was sent back to England to recruit more men. Of a total strength of 31 officers and 476 other ranks the 29th lost 17 officers and 363 other ranks killed wounded or missing at Albuera.The 29th Regiment of Foot was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Daniel White at the Battle of Albuera. It formed part of Major General Hoghton’s Brigade. Lt. Col. White died in
Elvas , Portugal on 3rd June 1811 of wounds received in the battle. His stone was installed in the British Cemetery, Elvas in 2003 upon the discovery of his obituary in the Gentleman’s Magazine.War of 1812
In 1814 the 29th was dispatched back to
Nova Scotia , Canada during theWar of 1812 . The regiment did not see any major action while stationed inNorth America . They were quickly recalled back toEurope in 1815 to faceNapoleon during theHundred Days campaign but arrived shortly after theBattle of Waterloo .India
In 1842 the 29th was sent to garrison the island of
Mauritius in theIndian Ocean . From 1845 to 1846, the 29th Regiment of Foot fought in theFirst Anglo-Sikh War in the Punjab area ofIndia at the final battle of the war at Sobraon the 29th and twobattalions of IndianSepoys twice unsuccessfully assaulted thesikh earthworks before finally breaking through on the third assault, 10 days later the British Army occupiedLahore ending the war. The friendship between the Regiment and the10th Regiment of Foot is an old one. The Regiments refer to each other as "Our Cousins". It is supposed to have arisen in the Napoleonic Wars, if not earlier, when the 29th and 10th Regiments many times fought side by side. The friendship was cemented in the Sikh Wars, when the two Regiments met in the captured trenches at the bloodyBattle of Sobraon on February 10, 1846 where the 29th again suffered heavy casualties 186 men were killed or wounded out of a total of 552. From 1848 to 1849, the 29th served in theSecond Anglo-Sikh War . The 29th was still in India andBurma until 1859 during which time theIndian Mutiny took place. A large detachment from the regiment helped to keep open theGrand Trunk Road during the mutiny.New Titles
The regimental badge of the 29th and later of the Worcestershire Regiment show the influence of the
Coldstream Guards on the regiment. The Coldstream Guards and the 29th are the only two regiments to have the elongated star and garter of theOrder of the Garter as their regimental badge with its motto "Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense" translated "Shame be to him who evil thinks" earning a third nickname The Guards of the Line.On
1 July 1881 the regiment amalgamated with the36th Regiment of Foot to form the 1st and 2nd Battalions,The Worcestershire Regiment . The Worcesters, too, amalgamated with the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) in 1970, forming the 1st Battalion,Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and again in 2007 merged with two other regiments theCheshire Regiment and theStaffordshire Regiment to become the 2nd Battalion, theMercian Regiment .ee also
*
List of Regiments of Foot
*List of British Forces in the American Revolutionary War
*List of nicknames of British Army regiments
*List of British Army regiments (1881)
*Structure of the British Army
*History of the British Army ources
*"The American Journals of Lt. John Enys", John Enys and Elizabeth Cometti (editor), Syracuse Univ. Press 1976
*"Travels Through the Interior Parts of America 1776-1781 Volumes 1 and 2", Thomas Anburey, Houghton Mifflin Company 1923
*"The Worcestershire Regiment: The 29th and 36th Regiments of Foot", Richard Gale, Leo Cooper LTD. 1970
*"The Boston Massacre", Hiller B. Zobel, W.W.Norton and Company 1970
*"The Burning of the Valleys", Gavin K. Watt, Dundurn Press 1997
*"Carleton's Raid", Ida H. Washington and Paul A. Washington, Cherry Tree Books 1977
*"The British Army in North America 1775-1783", Robin May and Gerry Embleton, Osprey Men-at-Arms Series # 39 1997
*" [http://books.google.com/books?id=DSAQAAAAYAAJ History of Thomas Farrington’s Regiment: Subsequently designated the 29th (Worcestershire) Foot 1694-1881", Huge Everard, Littlebury and Company 1891]
*"Die Hard: Dramatic Actions from the Napoleonic Wars", Philip J. Hathornthwaite, Arms and Armour Press 1996
*"Impossible Victories: Ten Unlikely Battlefield Successes", Bryan Perrett, Arms and Armour Press 1996External links
* [http://www.29thregt.org 29th Regiment of Foot] - American Revolutionary War reenactor website
* [http://www.flagsofmasonry.com/Default.aspx?tabid=45] - Glittering Star Masonic Lodge History
* [http://www.army.mod.uk/wfr/regt_history/29th_regt_of_foot.htm Offical British Army History Website]
* [http://www.worcestershireregiment.com/wr.php?main=inc/welcome Worcestershire Regiment website]
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