| 94th Regiment of Foot | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the 94th Regiment of Foot | |
| Active | 1794–1818 1823–1881 |
| Country | Great Britain (1794–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1881) |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Line infantry |
| Role | Infantry |
| Size | One battalion |
| Garrison/HQ | Gough Barracks,Armagh |
| Engagements | Fourth Anglo-Mysore War Second Anglo-Maratha War Napoleonic Wars Mappila riots Anglo-Zulu War Basuto Gun War First Boer War |
The94th Regiment of Foot was aline infantry regiment of theBritish Army. Raised as theScotch Brigade in October 1794, it was renumbered as the 94th Regiment of Foot in December 1802 and disbanded in December 1818. The regiment was reformed in December 1823 and served until 1881 when it amalgamated with the88th Regiment of Foot to form theConnaught Rangers.
The regiment was raised, from officers who had previously served in theScots Brigade, by GeneralFrancis Dundas as theScotch Brigade on 9 October 1794.[1][2] The regiment embarked forGibraltar in November 1795[3] and then moved on toSouth Africa in 1796[3] before transferring to India in late 1798.[3] The regiment landed atMadras in January 1799[3] and saw action at theBattle of Mallavelly in March 1799[4] and thesiege of Seringapatam in April 1799 during theFourth Anglo-Mysore War.[5] It was renumbered as the94th Regiment of Foot in December 1802.[2] It also took part in theBattle of Argaon in November 1803[5] and theCapture of Gawilghur in December 1803 during theSecond Anglo-Maratha War.[6] At Gawilghur, Captain Campbell led the light company of the regiment up the assault ladders and over the walls of the fort, which had previously been considered impregnable, and then let the rest of the British force in through the main gate.[6] The regiment embarked for home in October 1807.[7]
The regiment sailed forJersey in April 1809 and was then embarked forPortugal in August 1809 for service in thePeninsular War.[7] It landed inLisbon in February 1810 and arrived to take part in thedefence of Fort Matagorda a few days later.[8] CaptainArchibald Maclaine led a detachment of 155 men who held back MarshalSoult with a force of 8.000 men. Maclaine was knighted for this exploit and promoted to Major.[9] The regiment then saw action at theBattle of Sabugal in April 1811,[10] theBattle of Fuentes de Oñoro in May 1811[10] and thesiege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812.[10] After that it fought at thesiege of Badajoz in March 1812,[10] theBattle of Salamanca in July 1812[10] and thesiege of Burgos in September 1812[10] as well as theBattle of Vitoria in June 1813.[11] It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at theBattle of Nivelle in November 1813,[12] theBattle of the Nive in December 1813[13] and theBattle of Orthez in February 1814[14] as well as theBattle of Toulouse in April 1814.[14] It embarked forCork in May 1814 and was disbanded inDublin in December 1818.[15]
The regiment was reformed inGlasgow (and subsequently confirmed as the successor of the predecessor formation with full continuity of battle honours),[a] in response to the threat posed by theFrench intervention in Spain, in December 1823.[16] Of the initial appointments, two of the officers had previous service in the 94th Regiment of Foot (Major Allan and Captain Bogle).[15] The regiment was posted to Gibraltar in April 1824[17] and it was presented with its newregimental colours in April 1825[17] before being sent toMalta in March 1832.[17] It returned to Ireland in November 1834.[18]
The regiment was posted toCeylon in October 1838,[18] then moved toCannanore in April 1839[18] and served in theMadras Presidency for fifteen years during which time it saw some action suppressing theMappila riots in summer 1849.[19] The regiment embarked for England in March 1854.[20]
Some volunteers departed for service in theCrimean War in November 1854[21] and the service companies left for Gibraltar in September 1855.[21] The main body of the regiment embarked forKarachi in November 1857[22] and then transferred toPeshawar in theNorth-West Frontier region in October 1858.[22] The regiment embarked for home again in January 1868.[23]
The regiment embarked for South Africa in spring 1879 and saw action at theBattle of Ulundi in July 1879 during theAnglo-Zulu War.[10] The regiment marched into theTransvaal and took part in the successful attack onSekukuni's stronghold on 28 November 1879 during theBasuto Gun War.[10] TwoVictoria Crosses were awarded to members of the regiment for their conduct during this action.[24]
The regiment remained in South Africa with its eight companies widely distributed throughout the Transvaal, garrisons being established inPretoria (E and G companies),Lydenburg (A and F companies),Wakkerstroom (C company),Marabastad (B company),Standerton (H company) andNewcastle in northern Natal (D company). It was during the re-concentration of the companies, in response to outbreaks of civil disorder by the Boers, that A and F companies were attacked atBattle of Bronkhorstspruit in December 1880 in the opening clash of theFirst Boer War: the two companies saw 156 of their soldiers killed or wounded, with the rest taken prisoner.[25] The other six companies of the regiment spent the war being besieged by the Boers: C, D and H in Standerton, E and G in Pretoria, B in Marabastad, and a small detachment of 50 men in Lydenburg.[26]
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 94th was linked with the89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot and assigned to district no. 65 atGough Barracks inArmagh.[27] On 1 July 1881 theChilders Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the88th Regiment of Foot to form theConnaught Rangers.[2]
Battle honours won by the regiment were:[2]
Colonels of the Regiment were:[2]