| 88th Regiment of Foot (The Connaught Rangers) | |
|---|---|
 Regimental Colours | |
| Active | 1793–1881 |
| Country |
|
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Role | Line Infantry |
| Size | 1 battalions (two battalions 1805–1816) |
| Garrison/HQ | Renmore Barracks,Galway |
| Nickname | The Devils Own |
| Motto | Quis Separabit ("Who shall separate us?") |
| Engagements | |
The88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) was an infantryRegiment of theBritish Army, raised in 1793. Under theChilders Reforms it amalgamated with the94th Regiment of Foot to form theConnaught Rangers in 1881.
The regiment was raised inConnaught byJohn Thomas de Burgh, 13th Earl of Clanricard as the88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers), in response to the threat posed by theFrench Revolution, on 25 September 1793.[1] 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.[2] The regiment embarked for theWest Indies in autumn 1795 and, after a difficult voyage, two companiestook part in the capture ofGrenada and the siege ofSaint Lucia before returning to England in summer 1796.[3] The regiment then embarked forIndia in January 1799 and arrived inBombay in June 1800.[3] The regiment sailed from India forEgypt in December 1800 for service in theEgyptian Campaign reachingCairo on the day that the French troops surrendered.[4] It arrived back in England in May 1803.[4]
A second battalion was raised inDumfries in November 1805.[1] The 1st Battalion sailed fromFalmouth for theCape of Good Hope in November 1806.[5] The battalion sailed forSouth America in April 1807[5] and took part in the disastrousexpedition underSir Home Popham: it saw action in the unsuccessful attack onBuenos Aires in July 1807.[6] Two companies were ordered to remove the flints from their muskets before they went into action which effectively rendered them defenceless.[7] After a lengthy fight the battalion surrendered.[8] Captain William Parker-Carroll remained inRío de la Plata and was well-treated by the Spanish troops.[9] The rest of the battalion, once released, embarked for home and arrived atPortsmouth in November 1807.[10]
The 1st Battalion landed inPortugal in March 1809 for service in thePeninsular War.[11] It formed part of the Portuguese forces commanded by GeneralWilliam Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford tasked with removing MarshalJean-de-Dieu Soult fromPorto.[11] It held firm at the top of Medellin hill at theBattle of Talavera in July 1809.[12] Then, at theBattle of Bussaco in September 1810, the battalion, under the command of Lieutenant-ColonelJohn Wallace, together with a detachment of the45th Regiment of Foot, made abayonet charge which sent the French troops reeling.[13]Sir Arthur Wellesley, arriving at the scene, said,
Wallace, I never saw a more gallant charge than that just now made by your regiment.[14]
The 1st Battalion then retreated, with the rest of Wellesley's army, to theLines of Torres Vedras.[15] The battalion, still under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace made another bayonet charge at theBattle of Fuentes de Oñoro in May 1811 and drove the French Army from the village.[16] It went on to fight at theSiege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812[17] and scaled the walls of the fortress at theSiege of Badajoz in April 1812.[18] At theBattle of Salamanca in July 1812 the battalion was at the centre of the brigade as it advanced and routed the French troops.[19] At Salamanca the battalion captured an old Moorish standard adorned with crescents and bells: the standard, more correctly known as aTurkish crescent, became known in the regiment as the "Jingling Johnny".[20]
The 1st Battalion also took part in theSiege of Burgos in September 1812[21] and theBattle of Vitoria in June 1813.[22] It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at theBattle of the Pyrenees in July 1813,[23] theBattle of Nivelle in November 1813[24] and theBattle of the Nive in December 1813[24] as well as theBattle of Orthez in February 1814[24] and theBattle of Toulouse in April 1814.[25] It then embarked forNorth America in June 1814 for service in theWar of 1812.[26] It arrived too late for theBattle of Plattsburgh in September 1814, the last engagement of the war, and so was dispatched toOstend in May 1815 arriving there in July 1815.[27] It arrived home in spring 1817.[28]
Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion embarked forLisbon in summer 1809 for service in the Peninsular War:[29] its only engagement was theBattle of Sabugal in April 1811 before most of it was absorbed by the 1st Battalion in July 1811.[1] One cadre, which returned to the UK, was expanded to battalion strength and was deployed to Ireland before being disbanded in January 1816.[1]
The regiment was deployed to theIonian Islands in late 1825[30] and returned in July 1836.[31] It embarked forMalta in 1840 and then went on to theWest Indies in 1847 andNova Scotia in 1850 before returning home in 1851.[32]
The regiment was also deployed for theCrimean War and saw action at theBattle of Alma in September 1854, theBattle of Inkerman in November 1854 and theSiege of Sevastopol in winter 1854. Its service in the Crimean War was recognised by the presentation to theCity of Galway of a pair of cannons which remain on public display.[33] After the Crimean War, the regiment returned home in 1856 but was deployed toIndia in 1857 in response to theIndian Rebellion.[32] In November 1870 the regiment boarded the troopshipHMSJumna inBombay, and commenced the passage home. Nine officers, and 407 non-commissioned officers and men, died in India, mainly fromcholera, during the 13 years that the regiment were in India.[34]
The regiment was next deployed toSouth Africa in 1877 and saw action there during the9th Xhosa War and during theAnglo-Zulu War before returning to India in 1879.[32]
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 88th was linked with the87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot and assigned to district no. 68 atRenmore Barracks inGalway.[35] On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 94th Regiment of Foot to form the Connaught Rangers.[1]
Battle honours won by the regiment were:[1]
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