| 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot | |
|---|---|
 Colours of the 39th Foot | |
| Active | 1702 to 1881 |
| Country |  Kingdom of England (1702–1707) Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1881) |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | One battalion (2 battalions 1803–1815) |
| Garrison/HQ | Dorchester Barracks,Dorchester |
| Nicknames | "Shankey's Horses", "The Green Linnets", "The Flamers" |
| Colors | Pea Green Facings, Gold Braided Lace |
| Engagements | War of the Spanish Succession War of the Austrian Succession Seven Years' War French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars Coorg War Gwalior campaign Crimean War |
The39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot was aninfantryregiment of theBritish Army, raised in 1702. Under theChilders Reforms it amalgamated with the54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot to form theDorsetshire Regiment in 1881.
The regiment was first raised byAdam Loftus, 1st Viscount Lisburne asViscount Lisburne's Regiment of Foot in 1689 but was disbanded in 1697.[1] It was re-raised inIreland, without lineal connection to the previous regiment, by Colonel Richard Coote asRichard Coote's Regiment of Foot in August 1702.[1] The regiment landed atLisbon in June 1707 for service in theWar of the Spanish Succession.[2] It saw action at theBattle of La Gudina in May 1709[3] and then remained inPortugal until 1713 when it embarked forGibraltar and then moved toMenorca later in the year.[4] It was posted to Ireland in 1719 and sailed to Gibraltar in 1726 to reinforce the garrison.[5] The regiment sailed forJamaica in 1729 and then returned to Ireland in 1732.[6]
The regiment served as marines from March 1744 to September 1746 when it took part in theRaid on Lorient during theWar of the Austrian Succession.[7] The regiment then spent another two years serving as marines and then returned to Ireland.[8] On 1 July 1751 a royal warrant was issued which provided that in future regiments would no longer be known by their colonel's name, but would bear a regimental number based on their precedence: the regiment became the39th Regiment of Foot.[1] The regiment was posted toIndia in 1754 and saw action at theBattle of Chandannagar in March 1757 during theSeven Years' War.[9] Under the command of MajorEyre Coote, the regiment played a major part in capturing the fort ofKatwa at theBattle of Plassey in June 1757.[10] The regiment returned to Ireland in autumn 1758[11] and was engaged in theGreat Siege of Gibraltar in 1779 and the following three years.[12]
In 1782 the regiment took a county title as the39th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot.[1]
In 1787 the regiment was involved in the Calton Weavers Strike in Glasgow, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Kellet. A volley of musket fire killed three of the weavers. Three other weavers were mortally wounded. Further disturbances later in the day were quickly suppressed by the troops. A dark day in the history of the British Army.[13]
The regiment sailed for the West Indies took part in the capture ofMartinique in March 1794, the capture ofSaint Lucia in April 1794 and the attack onGuadeloupe in June 1794 during theFrench Revolutionary Wars.[14] The British troops at Guadeloupe were forced to surrender in December 1794 and were held in captivity for over a year.[15] The regiment was reformed in Ireland the following year by absorbing the short-lived 104th Regiment of Foot (Royal Manchester Volunteers).[1] The regiment participated in a task force under Major-General John Whyte to capture the Dutch settlements ofDemerara,Essequibo, andBerbice in April and May 1796.[15] The regiment moved toSuriname in October 1800[16] toBarbados in December 1802 and then returned to England in March 1803.[17]
In 1803 a 2nd battalion was raised.[1] The 1st battalion moved inNaples in January 1806 and toSicily shortly thereafter.[18] In 1807 a number of regiments had their territorial affiliations shuffled, with the East Middlesex title passing to the77th Foot and the 39th taking the Dorsetshire title previously held by the35th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot to become the39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot.[1]
The 2nd battalion deployed to the Peninsula to support GeneralSir Arthur Wellesley in June 1809 and fought at theBattle of Talavera in July 1809,[19] theBattle of Bussaco in September 1810[20] and theSiege of Badajoz in May 1811[21] as well as theBattle of Albuera in May 1811[21] and theBattle of Arroyo dos Molinos in October 1811.[22]
Meanwhile, the 1st battalion deployed to the Peninsula in August 1811 and saw action at theBattle of Vitoria in June 1813[23] and across the Pyrenees, including theBattle of Sorauren in July 1813.[24] It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at theBattle of Nivelle in November 1813,[25] theBattle of the Nive in December 1813[25] and theBattle of Orthez in 1814[26] as well as theBattle of Toulouse in 1814.[26] The battalion was then posted toNorth America for service in theWar of 1812[27] and took part in theBattle of Plattsburgh in September 1814[28] before returning to England in July 1815.[29] The regiment formed part of the Army of Occupation in France from 1815 to 1818 when it embarked for Ireland.[30]
The regiment arrived in the British colony ofNew South Wales toward the end of 1825[31] and saw service guarding convicts and establishing settlements atHobart,Sydney,Swan River Colony andBathurst, where in 1830 it helped suppress thebushranging insurgency known as theBathurst Rebellion. The regiment left forIndia in July 1832.[32] It saw action at various skirmishes in spring 1834 during theCoorg War[33] and at the Battle of Maharajpore in December 1843 during theGwalior campaign.[34] It embarked for theCrimea in spring 1854 and saw action at theSiege of Sevastopol in winter 1854 before returning toCanada in 1856 and moving on toBermuda in 1859; it returned to England in 1864 and was posted back to India in 1869.[35]
As part of theCardwell Reforms of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 39th was linked with the75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 39 atDorchester Barracks inDorchester.[36] On 1 July 1881 theChilders Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot to form theDorsetshire Regiment.[1]
The battle honours of the regiment were as follows:[1]
Colonels of the regiment included:[1]