APPENDIX I.

(A.) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BRITISH INFANTRY OF THE LINE. July, 1809.

N.B.—The star * affixed to a battalion’s station means that it had just returned from Sir John Moore’s Corunna Campaign.

No. of Regiment.Territorial or other Designation.Establishment. Officers and men.Station of 1st Battalion.Station of 2nd and other Battalions [if any].

1st Royal Scots 4926 West Indies 2nd East Indies; 3rd Home* [went to Walcheren]; 4th Home

2nd Queen’s Royal 906 Home* [went to Walcheren] No 2nd battalion raised

3rd The Buffs 1610 Peninsular Field Army Home

4th King’s Own 2031 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home [went to Walcheren]

5th Northumberland Regiment 2031 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home

6th 1st Warwickshire 1820 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home

7th Royal Fusiliers 2031 Nova Scotia Lisbon [later Gibraltar]

8th The King’s Regiment 1610 West Indies Home [went to Walcheren]

9th East Norfolk 2289 Home* [went to Walcheren] Peninsular Field Army

10th North Lincoln 1610 Sicily Home [went to Walcheren]

11th North Devon 2031 Madeira [later Peninsula] Home [went to Walcheren]

12th East Suffolk 941 East Indies [Raised a 2nd battalion in 1813]

13th 1st Somerset 1126 West Indies No 2nd battalion raised

14th Bucks Regiment[A] 2290 East Indies 2nd Home* [Walcheren]; 3rd Sicily

15th East Riding Regiment 1400 West Indies Home

16th Bedfordshire333 406 West Indies No 2nd battalion raised

17th Leicestershire 1151 East Indies No 2nd battalion raised

18th Royal Irish 1669 West Indies West Indies

19th 1st York, North Riding 930 East Indies No 2nd battalion raised

20th East Devon 930 Home* [went to Walcheren] No 2nd battalion raised

21st Royal North British Fusiliers 1820 Sicily Home

22nd Cheshire 941 East Indies [Raised a 2nd battalion in 1814]

23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers 2079 Nova Scotia Home* [went to Walcheren]

24th 2nd Warwickshire 2031 Cape of Good Hope Peninsular Field Army

25th King’s Own Borderers 1400 West Indies Home

26th Cameronians 1610 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home

27th Inniskillings 3448 Sicily 2nd Battalion Sicily; 3rd battalion Garrison of Lisbon

28th North Gloucestershire 2031 Home* [went to Walcheren] Peninsular Field Army

29th Worcestershire 1126 Peninsular Field Army No 2nd battalion raised

30th Cambridgeshire 2242 East Indies Gibraltar [late Lisbon]

31st Huntingdonshire 2079 Malta Peninsular Field Army

32nd Cornwall 1820 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home

33rd 1st West Riding 941 East Indies No 2nd battalion raised

34th Cumberland 1845 East Indies Home [later to Peninsula]

35th Sussex 1820 Sicily Home [went to Walcheren]

36th Herefordshire 1610 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home

37th North Hants 706 West Indies [Raised a 2nd battalion in 1811]

38th 1st Stafford 1820 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home

39th Dorsetshire 1820 Malta Peninsular Field Army

40th 2nd Somerset 1820 Peninsular Field Army Home

41st None 696 Canada [Raised a 2nd battalion 1814]

42nd Black Watch 2031 Home* [went to Walcheren] Peninsular Field Army

43rd Monmouth 2031 Peninsular Field Army* Home* [went to Walcheren]

44th 1st Essex 2030 Sicily Gibraltar

45th Nottinghamshire 1610 Peninsular Field Army Home

46th South Devon 496 West Indies No 2nd battalion raised

47th Lancashire 2242 East Indies Home [later Cadiz]

48th Northamptonshire 2251 Peninsular Field Army Peninsular Field Army

49th Hertfordshire 906 Canada No 2nd battalion raised

50th West Kent 1820 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home

51st 2nd West Riding 906 Home* [went to Walcheren] No 2nd battalion raised

52nd Oxfordshire 2079 Peninsular Field Army* Home* [went to Walcheren]

53rd Shropshire 2242 East Indies Peninsular Field Army

54th West Norfolk 706 West Indies No 2nd battalion raised

55th Westmoreland 706 West Indies No 2nd battalion raised

56th West Essex 2301 East Indies 2nd battalion East Indies [raised a 3rd battalion 1813]

57th West Middlesex 1610 Gibraltar [later Portugal] Home

58th Rutland 1820 Sicily Garrison of Lisbon

59th 2nd Nottinghamshire 1290 East Indies Home* [went to Walcheren]

60th Royal Americans 4847 West Indies 2nd battalion West Indies; 3rd battalion ditto; 4th battalion ditto; 5th battalion Peninsular Field Army; 6th and 7th West Indies

61st South Gloucestershire 1820 Peninsular Field Army Home

62nd Wiltshire 1610 Sicily Sicily

63rd West Suffolk 1610 West Indies Home [went to Walcheren]

64th 2nd Staffordshire 916 West Indies No 2nd battalion raised

65th 2nd Yorks, North Riding 731 East Indies No 2nd battalion raised

66th Berkshire 2031 East Indies Peninsular Field Army

67th South Hants 2031 East Indies Home

68th Durham 716 West Indies No 2nd battalion raised

69th South Lincolnshire 1337 East Indies Home

70th Surrey Regiment 706 West Indies No 2nd battalion raised

71st Glasgow Highlanders 1820 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home

72nd Highlanders 1600 East Indies Home

73rd 2nd Royal Highlanders 1180 Sailing to N.S. Wales Home [only formed in 1809]

74th Highlanders 696 Home [went to Walcheren] No 2nd battalion raised

75th Highlanders 696 Home No 2nd battalion raised

76th Hindostan Regiment 1126 Home* [went to Walcheren] No 2nd battalion raised

77th East Middlesex 696 Home [went to Walcheren] No 2nd battalion raised

78th Rosshire Buffs 1885 East Indies Sicily [later Home]

79th Cameron Highlanders 1820 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home

80th Staffordshire Volunteers 1151 East Indies No 2nd battalion raised

81st 2nd Loyal Lincoln 2079 Sicily Home* [went to Walcheren]

82nd Prince of Wales’ Volunteers 1820 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home

83rd None 2461 Cape of Good Hope Peninsular Field Army

84th York and Lancaster 2276 East Indies Home [went to Walcheren]

85th Bucks Volunteers 716 Home [went to Walcheren] No 2nd battalion raised

86th Leinster Regiment 731 East Indies [Raised a 2nd battalion 1814]

87th Prince of Wales’ Irish Fusiliers 2299 Cape of Good Hope Peninsular Field Army

88th Connaught Rangers 2031 Peninsular Field Army Lisbon [later Gibraltar]

89th None 2031 Cape of Good Hope Gibraltar

90th Perthshire Volunteers 1610 West Indies Home

91st Highlanders 1390 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home

92nd Gordon Highlanders 1820 Home* [went to Walcheren] Home

93rd Sutherland Highlanders 1126 Cape of Good Hope [Raised a second battalion 1814]

94th Scotch Brigade 696 Home No 2nd battalion raised

95th Rifles 2283 Peninsular Field Army* 2nd Home* [went to Walcheren] 3rd Home [only just raised]

96th None 1400 West Indies Home

97th Queen’s Germans 907 Peninsular Field Army No 2nd battalion raised

98th None 906 Bermuda No 2nd battalion raised

99th Prince of Wales’ Tipperary 696 Bermuda No 2nd battalion raised

100th County of Dublin 696 Canada No 2nd battalion raised

101st Duke of York’s Irish 906 West Indies No 2nd battalion raised

102nd New South Wales 906 New South Wales No 2nd battalion raised

103rd None 486 Canada No 2nd battalion raised

Total.1st Battalions.2nd Battalions.3rd and Junior Battalions.Total.

At Home 25334 42335 3336 70

Peninsula 11337 15 2 28

Sicily and Malta 10 3 1 14

East Indies 21 2 0 23

West Indies 21 2 4 27

Cape of Good Hope 5 0 0 5

Canada and Nova Scotia 6 0 0 6

New South Wales 2 0 0 2

Gibraltar and Madeira 2 2 0 4

Total 0 0 0 179

A consideration of the prefixed table of “establishments” shows the following results. Putting aside the regiments with many battalions (the 1st, 14th, 27th, 60th, 95th), the remainder fall into two-battalion and single-battalion corps.

Of the 61 double-battalion regiments—

9 were at a strength of 2250 or thereabouts.338 17 were at a strength of 2031 or thereabouts.339 16 were at a strength of 1820 or thereabouts.340 12 were at a strength of 1610 or thereabouts.341 7 were at a strength of under 1600.342

All the regiments on the two higher establishments (with one exception) had both battalions on active service in 1809, either one in the Indies and one in Europe, or both in Europe. Hence it was necessary to keep them at a very high figure.

Those with 1820 or 1610 men were nearly all regiments which had one battalion on active service and one on home service, though a very few had both overseas (such as the 18th, 34th, 39th, 62nd); in such cases the 2nd battalion, though on service, was very weak.

The two-battalion corps with under 1600 men were almost invariably regiments which had one battalion in the Indies, worked down to very low numbers by disease, and had failed to keep up its strength (the 15th, 25th, 96th in the West, the 59th, 69th in the East Indies).

The 37 single-battalion regiments stood on the following establishments—

6 were at a strength of 1126 or thereabouts.343 13 were at a strength of 940 or thereabouts.344 15 were at a strength of 700–730 or thereabouts.345 3 were at a strength of under 600.346

Those corps on the two higher establishments are either actually serving, or are designated for immediate service abroad, and have therefore their establishments fixed high. Those on the lower establishments (730 or under) fall into two classes: either they are regiments in the East or West Indies which have died down to a low figure [e.g. 16th, 37th, 46th, 54th, 55th, 65th, 68th, 70th, 86th] or they are battalions quartered in peaceful stations and not expected to be sent on active service, [e.g. 41st, 99th, 100th, 103rd, in Canada and Bermuda] or at home [74th, 75th, 77th, 85th, 94th]. All the last-named five, on home service, were raised to a higher establishment and sent to the front in 1810–12.

It will be noted that of the one hundred and three 1st battalions, or single-battalion regiments, a great many were not available, viz. twenty-one in the East Indies, twenty-one in the West Indies (including Bermuda), eleven in the Mediterranean Garrisons, five at the Cape of Good Hope, six in Canada, two in (or bound for) New South Wales. There were only twenty-five 1st battalions at home, and of these twenty had served under Moore in the Corunna retreat and then went on the Walcheren expedition, so that in 1809 they were unavailable. Three more battalions which had not served under Moore had shared in the same descent on the Scheldt (74th, 77th, 85th). There were actually only two single-battalion corps which had neither gone to Corunna nor to Walcheren and were available at home (75th and 94th).347 In the way of the strongly organized first battalions, therefore, there was absolutely nil to send to Wellington in 1809 save Craufurd’s three Light Infantry battalions, which though they had been with Moore in January were back in the Peninsula by July (1/43rd, 1/52nd, 1/95th).

It is easy to see, therefore, that there was the greatest possible difficulty in finding battalions with which Wellesley’s Peninsular Army could be reinforced. Of troops which had not gone to Walcheren there were left in Great Britain only the 75th and 94th, with twenty-eight 2nd (or junior) battalions which had not joined in the expedition to the Scheldt. These were almost without exception very weak units, the first battalions of ten of these were in the Indies, then of five more already in the Peninsula, all their strength was used up in keeping their senior battalions full, of the remaining thirteen only two (2/5th 2/34th, 2/38th), were strong enough to be sent to Portugal. The reinforcements which Wellington was given in the autumn of 1809 and the summer of 1810 were largely scraped up from foreign garrisons—the 1/7th from Nova Scotia, the 1/11th from Madeira, the 1/57th from Gibraltar. But in 1810 Walcheren battalions began to come out, such as the 3/1st, 1/9th, 1/50th, 1/71st, 1/79th, and to load Wellington’s hospitals with ague-stricken convalescents. For later reinforcements see Chapter VII.

ESTABLISHMENT OF CAVALRY IN 1809.

1st Dragoon Guards 905 Home

2nd Dragoon Guards 905 Home

3rd Dragoon Guards 905 Peninsular Field Army

4th Dragoon Guards 905 Home

5th Dragoon Guards 905 Home

6th Dragoon Guards 905 Home

7th Dragoon Guards 905 Home

1st Dragoons 1083 Peninsular Field Army

2nd Dragoons 905 Home

3rd Dragoons 905 Home [went to Walcheren]

4th Dragoons 905 Peninsular Field Army

6th Dragoons 905 Home

7th Hussars 905 *Home

8th Light Dragoons 720 East Indies

9th Light Dragoons 905 Home [went to Walcheren]

10th Hussars 905 *Home

11th Light Dragoons 905 Home

12th Light Dragoons 905 Home [went to Walcheren]

13th Light Dragoons 905 Home

14th Light Dragoons 905 Peninsular Field Army

15th Hussars 905 *Home

16th Light Dragoons 905 Peninsular Field Army

17th Light Dragoons 940 East Indies

18th Hussars 905 *Home

19th Light Dragoons 905 Home

20th Light Dragoons 905 1/2 Sicily and 1/2 Peninsula

21st Light Dragoons 905 Cape of Good Hope

22nd Light Dragoons 928 East Indies

23rd Light Dragoons 905 Peninsular Field Army

24th Light Dragoons 928 East Indies

25th Light Dragoons 940 East Indies

N.B.—Note that there was no 5th regiment of Dragoons in 1809. The corps last bearing that number had been disbanded in 1799, and its successor was not raised till 1858.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HOUSEHOLD TROOPS IN 1809.

1st Life Guards 416 Home

2nd Life Guards 416 Home

Royal Horse Guards 654 Home

1st Foot Guards (3 batts.) 4619 1st Batt.* Home [went to Walcheren]; 2nd Batt. Home; 3rd Batt.* Home [went to Walcheren]

2nd (Coldstream) Foot Guards (2 batts.) 2887 1st Batt. Peninsular Field Army; 2nd Batt. Home

3rd Foot Guards (2 batts.) 2887 1st Batt. Peninsular Field Army; 2nd Batt. Home

N.B.—The Second Batts. Coldstream and 3rd Foot Guards both sent their flank companies to Walcheren. The troops sent to Cadiz early in 1810 were detachments, viz. 4 companies of the 2/1st Guards, 3 of the 2/2nd, 3 of the 2/3rd.

MISCELLANEOUS CORPS.

In addition to the regular units shown in these lists, there are on the estimates of 1809 twelve veteran battalions, with effectives ranging from 693 to 1129, and eight garrison battalions, mostly with an establishment of 906. Most of these were at home, but a few in the Mediterranean garrisons.

There were also the foreign corps of Meuron, de Roll, Watteville, Dillon, Chasseurs Britanniques, Royal Malta, Royal Corsicans and the Sicilian regiment, all in the Mediterranean, with the York Light Infantry, York Rangers, and Royal West India Rangers in the West Indies. These were all single battalion corps ranging from 1361 men (de Roll) to 694 (York L. I.). The black regiments, eight West India battalions with 1125 men each, could only be used in their own regions.

Of the King’s German Legion there were at home the two Heavy Dragoon Regiments with an establishment of 694 each, and the 2nd and 3rd Hussars, with the same numbers. The 3rd Hussars were just back from the Corunna Retreat: the 2nd went to Walcheren. Of the ten infantry battalions, four (1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th Line) were with the Peninsular Field Army, as was the 1st Hussars; four (3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th Line) were in Sicily; 1st and 2nd Light battalions (just back from Corunna) were at home, and went to Walcheren. Four battalions had establishments of 1062, six of 902, of all ranks.