| 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot | |
|---|---|
 Detail from 1786 Regimental colour of the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment. | |
| Active | 1755–1881 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Great Britain (1755–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1881) |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Role | Infantry |
| Size | Onebattalion |
| Garrison/HQ | Carlisle Castle |
| Nicknames | "The Cattle Reavers"[1] "The Two Fives" |
| Colours | Dark-green facings, gold lace |
| Engagements | French and Indian War Pontiac's War American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars Fifth Xhosa War Coorg War First Opium War Crimean War Bhutan War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | George Augustus, Lord Howe |
The55th Regiment of Foot was aBritish Armyinfantryregiment, raised in 1755. After 1782 it had acounty designation added, becoming known as the55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. Under theChilders Reforms it amalgamated with the34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot to form theBorder Regiment in 1881.
The regiment was raised inStirling by Colonel George Perry as the 57th Regiment of Foot in 1755 for service in theSeven Years' War.[2] It was re-ranked as the55th Regiment of Foot, following the disbandment of the existing50th and51st regiments, in 1756.[3]
The regiment embarked forNorth America for service in theFrench and Indian War and arrived inNova Scotia on 8 July 1757 with the objective of taking part in the abandoned attack on theFortress of Louisbourg. Following the death of Colonel Perry,Lord George Augustus Viscount Howe was appointed Colonel of the regiment in September 1757.[2] After the regiment arrived inAlbany, New York in November 1757, Howe accompanied MajorRobert Rogers, commander of His Majesty's Independent Companies of Rangers on a scout, to learn the art of "bush fighting."[4] Howe's willingness to learn from the American rangers and his interaction with subordinates won him the respect of both colonist and British redcoat being described as the "Idol of the army."[5] In the spring of 1758, Howe began to train and accoutre the men in the regiment more like rangers to better adapt them to warfare in America.[2] He was killed in a skirmish the day before theBattle of Carillon in July 1758.[2]
After Howe's deathJohn Prideaux was appointed commander of the regiment. In an unfortunate accident Prideaux was killed by the blast of acohorn while walking through the entrenchments during theBattle of Fort Niagara in July 1759.[6] The regiment, as part of GeneralJeffery Amherst's army, participated in theBattle of Ticonderoga and the capture ofFort Crown Point later that month.[2]
In 1760 ColonelJames Adolphus Oughton took command of the regiment and led it up theSaint Lawrence River: the regiment witnessed theMontreal Campaign between August and September 1760.[2] William Gansell became the colonel of the regiment in 1762.[2]
In summer 1763, volunteers from the regiment were sent to reinforce the British post atFort Detroit, which was under siege from neighbouring Native Americans led byPontiac. The British force was ambushed and badly mauled en route at theBattle of Bloody Run in July 1763.[7] In 1764 many surviving members of the regiment were drafted into the17th Regiment of Foot. Anne Grant, whose father was an officer in the 55th Regiment, wrote; "they were going to become part of a regiment of no repute; whom they themselves had held in the utmost contempt when they formerly served together."[8]
The regiment returned to North America for theAmerican Revolutionary War.[9] The regiment fought at theBattle of Long Island in August 1776 and theBattle of Princeton in January 1777.[9] It went on to take part in thePhiladelphia campaign and saw action at theBattle of Brandywine in September 1777, theBattle of Paoli later that month and theBattle of Germantown in October 1777.[9] The regiment was transferred to theWest Indies in November 1778 and saw action at theBattle of St. Lucia in December 1778.[2] Most of the regiment were captured at thesiege of Brimstone Hill in February 1782 during the French invasion ofSaint Kitts.[7] The regiment adopted a county designation as the55th (the Westmoreland) Regiment of Foot in August 1782.[3]
In 1793 the regiment embarked forFlanders for service in theFrench Revolutionary Wars and saw action at thesiege of Ypres in June 1794.[9] It then moved to the West Indies and took part in the attack onMartinique in February 1794, onSaint Lucia in April 1794 and onGuadeloupe later that month as well as the capture of Saint Lucia in May 1796.[9] It also helped suppress an insurrection bycaribs onSaint Vincent in June 1796.[9] After returning to England in 1797 the regiment landed atOstend in 1798 for service in theAnglo-Russian invasion of Holland.[9] It saw action at theBattle of Bergen in September 1799 and theBattle of Alkmaar in October 1799.[9] After returning home in 1800 the regiment was deployed to the West Indies again in 1800 and went to the aid of Britain's new found Spanish allies during theSpanish reconquest of Santo Domingo in July 1809.[9] The regiment returned home in 1812 and, having been sent toHolland in 1813, took part in thesiege of Bergen op Zoom in March 1814.[9]
The regiment sailed for theCape of Good Hope in 1819 and saw action in theFifth Xhosa War.[9] It also served in theCoorg War in 1834.[9]
In 1841 the regiment was deployed toChina for service in theFirst Opium War. It was selected as part of the expeditionary force that moved north fromHong Kong and participated in theBattle of Amoy in August 1841.[10] The regiment was the first to land when British forces disembarked from boats at theCapture of Chusan in October 1841. It landed on a beach and then assaulted an enemy strong point called Guards Hill, where it ascended under heavy fire but eventually took the hill. It then proceeded to take the heights overlookingTinghai and then immediately descended and placed itsregimental colours on the walls of the city.[11] After the battle, a detachment of the 55th and18th Regiment of Foot were left to garrison the city. On 10 October 1841 the 55th again was part of the force that engagedQing troops at theBattle of Chinhai: the regiment was left to garrison the city after the battle and remained there for the remainder of the year.[12]
In 1842, the regiment saw action atChapu in May, andChinkiang in July. It then garrisoned Chinkiang until theTreaty of Nanking was signed. Part of the regiment remained in Hong Kong after the war.[13] For its service during the war it was allowed the addition of a dragon badge superscribed "China" on its regimental colour.[3]
The regiment saw active service inTurkey andRussia during theCrimean War. The regiment saw action at theBattle of Alma in September 1854, theBattle of Inkerman in November 1854 and thesiege of Sevastopol in winter 1854.[3] After returning home in 1857 it was deployed toIndia in 1863 and saw action during theBhutan War in 1864.[9]
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 55th was linked with the34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 2 atCarlisle Castle.[14] On 1 July 1881 theChilders Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot to form theBorder Regiment with the former 55th forming the 2nd battalion.[3] There is a memorial chapel for theBorder Regiment, housing the colours of the 55th regiment, atKendal Parish Church.[15]
The regiment received the following battle honours:[3]
Victoria Crosses awarded to men of the regiment were:
The Colonels of the regiment have been:[16]