32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot

32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot
Active 1702-1881
Country

 Kingdom of England (1702-1707)  Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1801)

 United Kingdom (1801-1881)
Branch  British Army
Engagements War of Spanish Succession, Battle of Salamanca, Battle of Quatre Bras, Battle of Waterloo, Lower Canada Rebellion, Siege of Multan, Battle of Gujrat, Siege of Lucknow
Disbanded 1881
Sir John Eardley Inglis of the 32nd by William Gush, Province House (Nova Scotia)

The 32nd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army.

History

War of Spanish Succession

The 32nd Foot was first raised in 1702 as a regiment of marines to fight in the War of Spanish Succession. It won its first battle honour in 1705 for the siege and capture of Gibraltar.

Napoleonic Wars

The 32nd was deployed in Denmark during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807. They departed on the 27th of July from Ramsgate. The 32nd was ordered aboard the captured Danish ships as marines.[1]

The 32nd landed in Portugal in 1808, and under the soon to be Duke of Wellington, fought in the battles of Roliça and Vimiero. They fought under Moore in the retreat to Corunna, and on returning to England they were part of the Walcheren expedition in the Netherlands where many were struck down with malaria. After being reinforced they returned to Spain, leading the Battle of Salamanca and taking part in all the major conflicts right into France.

The Regiment during the Napoleonic Wars had white facings on its uniform and the officer's lace and buttons were gold. The officer's jackets were unlaced, with 10 twist buttonholes placed in pairs. The jacket of the other ranks had 10 square loops spaced in pairs.[2]

For the final chapter in Napoleon's history, the 32nd fought at the Battle of Quatre Bras, arriving about 2 pm just in time to help halt the French advance. The regiment lost a number of officers and men during the battle of Quatre Bras resulting in it being marginally smaller during the battle of Waterloo than other regiments on average.

Two days later at Battle of Waterloo the 32nd were stationed opposite the French main attacks, stoically standing their ground before attacking Napoleon's assaulting troops. They were positioned some 300 metres behind La Haie Sainte behind Major Roger's Battery. Whilst they were not directly involved in the struggle for La Haie Sainte itself they were the subject of French attacks by Bourgeois' Brigade during and after the Assault. The 1st Battalion of the 32nd was part of the 8th British Brigade commanded by Major-General James Kempt, which was in turn part of the 5th British Infantry Division under Lieutenant-General Thomas Picton. The Regiment was commanded on the field by Major (Brevet. Lieut-Colonel) John Hicks and numbered at 503 men at the battle of Waterloo having suffered casualties at Quatre Bras.[3] It was two men of the 32nd Grenadier company who bore Pictons's body away after he was fatally shot through the head. During one particular incident a French Cavalry officer was dismounted near the 32nd and attempted to seize the regimental colour. He was stabbed by a Colour-Sergeant and shot by a man of the rank and file before he could do more than grab the staff. The fighting during the battle cost the 32nd 28 men killed and 146 wounded, however 44 of the wounded died within the month.

The officer list for the battle is as follows: [W. = (wounded/killed) At the battle of Waterloo] Q.B. = (wounded/killed) At the battle of Quatre Bras

Non-Combatants

They Stood, They Fought, They Died, They Won, They Are Remembered

Lower Canada Rebellon

In 1833 Inglis joined the 32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot, in which all his regimental service was passed. In 1837 he saw active service in Canada in the Lower Canada Rebellion, including the actions at St. Denis and St. Eustache.

Second Anglo-Sikh War

During the Second Anglo-Sikh War, in 1848 to 1849 in the Punjab, Inglis was in command at the Siege of Multan and at the Battle of Gujrat.

Indian Mutiny

Main article: Siege of Lucknow

The regiment famously defended Lucknow from July to November 1857, Victoria Crosses being awarded to William Dowling, Henry George Gore-Browne, Samuel Hill Lawrence, and William Oxenham.

The regiment's commanding officer, Col John E. W. Inglis, served as Brigadier in overall command of the Lucknow Residency during the Siege. He was promoted to General and knighted for his services. The regiment was retitled and equipped as a Light Infantry regiment as a result of its contribution to the defence of the Residency, for which it also won a battle honour.

Merger

In 1881 it was merged into The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.

It has been often reported that the colours of the 32nd Foot in Monmouth Church are said to have inspired Sir Edward Hamley to pen these inspiring words:

"A moth-eaten rag on a worm-eaten pole,
It does not look likely to stir a man's soul,
'Tis the deeds that were done 'neath the moth-eaten rag,
When the pole was a staff, and the rag was a flag."

However, this is erroneous. The home church of the 32nd Regiment where regimental colours are retired is St. Petroc's Church located in Bodmin, Cornwall.,[4][5] The verse above actually refers to a different set of colours & regiment, the 43rd. The final stanza reads:[6]

"In the church, where it hands when the moon gilds the graves
And the aisles and the arches, it sweels and it waves;
While below, a faint sound of combat is heard
From the ghostly array of the old Forty-Third"

Colonels

Name Date of Appointment
Edward Fox 12th Feb 1702
Jacob Borr 5th Dec 1704
Charles Dubourgay 28th Jun 1723
Thomas Paget 28th Jul 1732
Simon Descury 15th Dec 1738
John Huske 25th Dec 1740
Henry Skelton 27th Aug 1743
William Douglas 29th May 1745
Francis Leighton 1st Dec 1747
Robert Robinson 11th Jun 1773
William Amherst 18th Oct 1775
The Earl of Ross 17th May 1781
James Ogilvie 4th Sep 1802
Alexander Campbell 15th Feb 1813
Sir S. V. Hinde, K.C.B. 28th Feb 1832
Sir R. Macfarlane, K.C.B. 26th Sep 1837
Sir J. Buchan, K.C.B. 12th Jun 1843
Sir R. Armstrong, K.C.B. 25th Jun 1850
Sir W. Cotton, G.C.B., K.C.B. 17th Apr 1854
Sir John Inglis, K.C.B. 5th May 1860
Lord Melville, K.C.B. 17th Oct 1862
Sir G. Brown, G.C.B. 1st April 1863
William George Gold 28th Aug 1865
Sir G. Bell, K.C.B. 2nd Feb 1867
Lord F. Paulet, C.B. 3rd Aug 1868
Sir W. Jones, K.C.B. 2nd Jan 1871

After 1881 the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry had the Following Colonels:

James Thomas Hill of the 1st Battallion, appointed on the 8th of April 1890

Charles Stuart of the 2nd Battallion appointed August 1881

TV and film

In the TV miniseries Poldark (1975–77), based on the Poldark novels of Winston Graham, Ross Poldark is said to have fought in the American Revolution as a member of the 32nd Foot Regiment.

References

  1. ↑ Ross-Lewin, Henry. With the "Thirty-Second" in the Peninsular and Other Campaigns. Leonaur. pp. 62–68. ISBN 978-0-85706-257-4.
  2. ↑ Franklin, Carl (2010). British Napoleonic Uniforms (revised edition). Spellmount. pp. 195–196. ISBN 978-1-86227-484-6.
  3. ↑ Adkin, Mark (2001). The Waterloo Companion. Aurum Press Ltd. pp. 44, 369. 378. ISBN 978-1854107640.
  4. ↑ http://www.britisharmedforces.org/scli_%20pages/pages/regimental_chapels.htm accessed on July 7, 2015
  5. ↑ Historical Records of the 32nd (Cornwall) Light Infantry by Colonel G. C. Swiney, London 1893 pp. xii
  6. ↑ The Story of the British Army by Charles Cooper King, London 1897 pp. 330-331

Bibliography

External links

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