| 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot | |
|---|---|
 Regimental colours | |
| Active | 1793–1881 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Great Britain (1793–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1881) |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | One battalion (two battalions 1804–1817) |
| Garrison/HQ | Renmore Barracks,Galway |
| Nicknames | Blayney's Bloodhounds[1] The Faughs[1] The Aigle Catchers[1] The Aiglers[1] |
| Engagements | French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars First Anglo-Burmese War Indian Rebellion |
The87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot was aninfantry regiment of theBritish Army, raised in 1793. Under theChilders Reforms it amalgamated with the89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot to form thePrincess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers) in 1881.
The regiment was raised by GeneralSir John Doyle as the87th (The Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot, in response to the threat posed by theFrench Revolution, on 18 September 1793.[2] The regiment was named after theGeorge, Prince of Wales, who later became King George IV.[2] The regiment was sent to join theDuke of York's army in theNetherlands in summer 1794 as part of the unsuccessful defence of that country against the Republican French during theFlanders Campaign.[3] The regiment repulsed a unit of French troops during a skirmish atAalst inBelgium in July 1794[3] but was subsequently captured by the French Army atBergen op Zoom in theNetherlands in 1795.[4]
The regiment was reformed and embarked for theWest Indies in October 1796[4] and helped carry out an unsuccessful attack onPuerto Rico in April 1797.[5] It transferred toSaint Lucia later in the year,[5] toMartinique in December 1799[6] and toDominica in April 1800.[6] It then moved on toBarbados in April 1801,[6] toCuraçao in August 1801[6] and toAntigua in April 1803.[7] After moving toSaint Kitts in June 1803, it embarked for home in July 1804.[7]
A second battalion was raised in December 1804.[2] The 1st Battalion sailed forSouth America in September 1806[8] and took part in the disastrousexpedition underSir Home Popham: it saw action at theBattle of Montevideo in February 1807[9] and the unsuccessful attack onBuenos Aires in July 1807.[10] The regiment's light company were captured by Spanish troops during the attack although they were subsequently released.[10]
The 1st Battalion sailed on to theCape of Good Hope in August 1807[11] and then took part in theInvasion of Isle de France in December 1810.[12] The regiment became the87th (The Prince of Wales's Own Irish) Regiment of Foot in 1811.[2] The 1st Battalion embarked forIndia in June 1815[12] and saw action in the Nepal Hills in January 1816 during theAnglo-Nepalese War.[13] It amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion in February 1817.[2]
Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion landed inLisbon for service in thePeninsular War in March 1809.[14] It took part in theBattle of Talavera in July 1809[15] and theBattle of Barrosa in March 1811.[16] At Barrosa, Ensign Edward Keogh and Sergeant Patrick Masterson captured theFrench Imperial Eagle of the 8th Regiment de Ligne. Keogh only managed to get a hand on the shaft when he was shot, bayoneted and killed. Masterson took over and, after killing several men, wrenched the Eagle from the dying hands of its bearer, Lieutenant Gazan.[17] It was at the Battle of Barrosa that the regiment's motto 'Faugh A Ballagh' (‘Clear the Way’) was born.[18]
The battalion also took part in theSiege of Tarifa in December 1812[19] and theBattle of Vitoria in June 1813.[20] At Vitoria, it was bugler Paddy Shannon of the 2nd Battalion who "picked up" MarshalJean-Baptiste Jourdan's baton at the end of the battle.[21] The battalion then pursued the French Army into France and fought at theBattle of Nivelle in November 1813,[22] theBattle of the Nive in December 1813 and theBattle of Orthez in February 1814[23] as well as theBattle of Toulouse in April 1814.[24]
The regiment remained in India and was deployed toBurma in October 1825 for service in theFirst Anglo-Burmese War:[25] it formed part of an army which advanced up theRiver Irrawaddy to theKingdom of Ava.[25] It returned to India arriving inCalcutta in November 1826[26] and embarked for England in February 1827.[27] It became the87th Regiment of Foot (or Prince of Wales's Own Irish Fusiliers) in July 1827 and the87th (or Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot in November 1827.[2]
The regiment embarked forMauritius in February 1831[28] and remained there until it returned to England in June 1843.[29] It went back to India in April 1849[30] and saw action on theNorth West Frontier during theIndian Rebellion.[31] It embarked at Calcutta forHong Kong in 1860 but returned home in 1861.[31] It was posted toGibraltar in 1866 and toMalta in 1868, before sailing forNova Scotia in 1872, transferring to theBermuda Garrison in 1876 and embarking for home in 1877.[31]
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 87th was linked with the88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) and assigned to district no. 68 atRenmore Barracks inGalway.[32] On 1 July 1881 theChilders Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot to form thePrincess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers).[2]
Battle honours won by the regiment were:[2]
Colonels of the Regiment were:[2]