Fencibles

The Fencibles (from the word "defencible") were army regiments raised in the United Kingdom during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars in the late 18th century for defence of the country against the threat of invasion by the French. They had no liability for overseas service. They included naval forces known as "River Fencibles", made up of boatmen on the Thames and other southern English towns and cities. [http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/nelson/viewObject.cfm/category/90346?ID=MED0240]

By the Peace of Amiens in 1802, all Fencible Regiments had been disbanded and those members willing to continue serving had been transferred to regular army regiments, though some Fencibles were raised again to meet Napoleon's invasion of England.

In 1775, the Royal Fencible Americans were raised by the British in North America for the same purpose.

In the early years of the 19th Century, five regiments of Fencibles were raised in Canada, Newfoundland and New Brunswick, liable for service in North America only (although the New Brunswick Fencibles volunteered for general service and became the 104th Regiment of Foot in the regular army). All but one of these regiments saw action in the War of 1812. They were disbanded in 1816, after the end of the war. In 1847 the Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps were raised and sent to New Zealand.

Fencibles were not only raised for the defense of England but for the entirety of the British Isles as seen in the literary work by Thomas Flanagan "The Year of the French". In this novel Fencibles are raised by Cornwallis and other Generals to combat the rebel Irish and French soldiers. Fencibles were a sort of substitute militia often composed of Scottish tenants. The downside to Fencible regiments was that they were undereducated idlers that lacked fitness and capacity for duty that regular troops did. Due to the lack of fitness many men in Fencible regiments were more prone to diseases and consequently less useful than regular conscripted soldiers. The greater number that Fencibles came in were the redeeming quality that regular troops lacked. Many commanding officers feared the consequences of teaching these undereducated men to take up arms so quickly; while most of these fears were brought to life by inter-regimental brawls and attacks on soldiers some regiments of Fencibles were noted for doing exceptional jobs.summarized from A Military History of Ireland by Thomas BartlettBartlett, Thomas, and Keith Jeffery. A Military History of Ireland. United Kingdom: Cambridge University, 1997.