| 85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1793 - 1881 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Great Britain (1793–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1881) |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | One battalion (two battalions 1800–1802) |
| Garrison/HQ | Cowley Barracks,Oxford |
| Nicknames | The Young Bucks[1] The Elegant Extracts[1] |
| Engagements | |
The85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot was aBritish Armyline infantryregiment, raised in 1793. Under theChilders Reforms it amalgamated with the53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot to form theKing's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881.
.jpg)
The regiment was raised inBuckinghamshire by Lieutenant-ColonelGeorge Nugent as the85th Regiment of Foot, in response to the threat posed by theFrench Revolution, on 18 November 1793.[2] The regiment was sent to join theDuke of York's army in theNetherlands in 1794 as part of the unsuccessful defence of that country against the Republican French during theFlanders Campaign.[3] It was posted toGibraltar in 1795 and returned home in 1797.[3] It embarked for the Netherlands again in August 1799 and saw action at theBattle of Alkmaar and theBattle of Castricum in October 1799 during theAnglo-Russian invasion of Holland.[3]
A second battalion was raised in 1800.[2] The 1st Battalion was deployed toMadeira in 1801 and both battalions went toJamaica in 1802; the two battalions were amalgamated there later in the year.[3] The regiment absorbed the Bucks volunteers in 1802 and became the85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot in 1802.[2] It returned to England in 1808 and converted to aLight Infantry role, becoming the85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) later in the year.[2] The regiment next took part in the disastrousWalcheren Campaign in autumn 1809.[3]
The regiment embarked forPortugal in 1811 for service underViscount Wellington in thePeninsular War.[3] It fought at theBattle of Fuentes de Oñoro in May 1811, theSecond Siege of Badajoz later that month and theSiege of San Sebastián in autumn 1813.[3] It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at theBattle of Nivelle in November 1813 and theBattle of the Nive in December 1813 before returning to England in April 1814.[3]
The regiment was dispatched toNorth America in May 1814 and saw action in the last phase of theWar of 1812.[4] It fought at theBattle of Bladensburg, capturing two American colours, in August 1814.[5] Under the command of ColonelWilliam Thornton, the regiment accompanied by detachments from theRoyal Navy andRoyal Marines,[6][7][8] carried out a successful attack on the American positions on the west bank of theMississippi River during theBattle of New Orleans in January 1815.[9] Casualties among the regiment were: 2 dead, 1 captured and 41 wounded.[9] The regiment returned home later that year.[3]
The regiment was dispatched toMalta and became the85th (or The Duke of York's Own) Regiment of Light Infantry (Bucks Volunteers) in April 1821.[2] After that it transferred toGibraltar and became the85th, or The King's Regiment of Light Infantry (Bucks Volunteers) in August 1827.[2] The regiment went back to Malta in 1828 and then returned home in 1831.[3] It embarked forCanada in 1838 as part of the response to therebellions in Lower and Upper Canada and then transferred to theWest Indies in 1843 before returning home in 1846.[3] The regiment was posted toMauritius in 1853 andSouth Africa in 1856 before returning home again in 1863.[3] It embarked forIndia in 1868 and was deployed toAfghanistan for service in theSecond Anglo-Afghan War in 1878.[3] After returning to India, it took part in operations against theZaimukhts and was involved in the destruction of their capital, Zawa, in 1879.[5]
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 85th was linked with the52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 42 atCowley Barracks inOxford.[10] On 1 July 1881 theChilders Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot to become the 2nd battalion, theKing's Shropshire Light Infantry.[2]
Battle honours won by the regiment were:[2]
Colonels of the Regiment were:[2]
Gleig, on p340, uses the source document a report from Thornton to Pakenham 'we were unable to proceed across the river until eight hours after the time appointed, and even then with only a third part of the force which you had allotted for the service * viz 298 of the 85th, and 200 Seamen and Marines'