95th Regiment of Foot

In 1800 an Experimental Corps of Rifllemen were raised by Colonel Coote-Manningham and Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon William Stewart, drawn from officers and other ranks from drafts of a variety of British regiments. The Corps differed quite a bit from the main infantry of the British Army. The Riflemen wore dark greenjackets rather than the red more customary to the British Army of that time; pantoloons, which were close-fitting breeches, rather than wool breeches; black facings rather than white; a green plume on their shako which the light infantry also wore, as-well as other accoutrements unique to the Rifles. The Rifles were armed with the formidable, but slow loading Baker rifle which was more accurate and of longer range than the musket. Due to the smaller nature of the Baker Rifle compared to the musket the Rifles were issued with a 21-in sword-bayonet.

The Rifles were trained to think for themselves, not to blindly follow orders and were the sharpshooters, skirmishers and scouts of the British Army, who went into battle not in line, but in skirmish lines, going ahead of the main infantry, who were bunched into close formations, to snipe at their opponents and taking cover in the process, which was unusual for it was mostly, at that time, deemed to be dishonourable to deliberately aim at an individual, and conventional tactics favoured the volley from a close formation and the bayonet. The Rifles used buglers rather than drummers who were used by the main infantry and did not carry Colours owing to the Rifles more fast-moving nature.

Military Operations

Their first venture abroad didn't take long when, on the 25th August, 3 companies, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel William Stewart, spearheaded a British amphibious landing at Ferrol, Spain where the Rifles helped to dislodge the Spanish defenders on the heights and with the Rifles acting in a valiant manner despite the expedition being abandoned on the 26th. In 1801, detachments of the Corps took part in the British victory at the Battle of Copenhagen as marksmen aboard Royal Navy ships which were under the command of the legendary Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson. In 1802 the Corps was brought into the line of the British Army as the 95th Regiment of Foot, the 95th Rifles. In 1803 the 95th moved to Shorncliffe, Kent where it underwent training, along with the Light Infantry regiments the 42nd and 52nd Regiments of Foot, under the tutelage of Colonel Coote-Manningham and Sir John Moore, the latter, like the 95th, would gain fame during the Peninsular War.

In 1805 a 2nd Battalion was raised at Canterbury, Kent and later in the year the 1st/95th deployed to Germany as part of a British expedition, under the command of Lord Cathcart, designed to liberate Hannover from occupation by France, with the 95th subsequently forming the advanced guard on the way to Bremen. In February 1806 the 95th formed the rearguard for the withdrawal to Cuxhaven and subsequently returned home to the UK. In October, 5 companies of the 1st/95th and 3 companies of the 2nd/95th departed for Spanish-controlled South America, Spain then being allied with France, as part of a second invasion force, a force designed as reinforcements for the first invasion against Buenos Aires, launched earlier in 1806 by Sir Home Popham without the Government's knowledge though the first invasion had failed with Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, commander of the second invasion force, being unaware of the failure.

The 2nd/95th, as part of Auchmuty's force, took part in the siege and subsequent storming of Montevideo, in what is now Uruguay, and which eventually saw Montevideo captured on the 3rd February 1807 after a siege that had begun in January. The 95th subsequently saw action at Colonia against a Spanish force that had crossed from Buenos Aires where the Rifles held off the force until it could be repulsed, with the 95th gaining much praise from Auchmuty for their part in the defeat of the Spanish force. The 95th subsequently saw action in June at San Pedro where they, the 40th and light companies, fought against the Spanish force that had crossed from Buenos Aires and defeated them. Lieutenant-General John Whitelocke, the newly-arrived overall commander, subsequently launched an ill-advised and mis-managed assault on Buenos Aires in which the companies of both battalions of the 95th were involved as part of the Light Brigade, commanded by Robert Craufurd. During the assault on Buenos Aires on the 5th July, the 95th and the rest of the British force suffered heavy casualties in bitter fighting to capture the city. The Light Brigade had suffered so heavily that they had to take refuge in a church and surrendered soon after. Whitelocke eventually surrendered his force. After Whitelocke negotiated the withdrawal of British forces, the men were released and they returned home later that year. In the aftermath of the disastrous expedition, Popham and Whitelocke were court-martialled, with Popham reprimanded and Whitelocke dismissed from the Army.

The remaining companies of the 95th were involved in the expedition to Denmark that year. They took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807 as part of Arthur Wellesley's brigade. The expedition, commanded by Lord Cathcart, was intended to capture the Danish Fleet to prevent it falling into the hands of France. The expedition proved to be a thorough success with the Danish Fleet being captured at which point the British withdrew. In 1808 the 1st/95th took part in an expedition to another Scandinavian country, Sweden, an expedition that was commanded by Sir John Moore and designed to help Sweden during their war with Russia. However, once they reached Gothenburg in May, the troops remained aboard the anchored ships for 2 months due to a misunderstanding between the British and Swedish governments and returned home to the UK before being redirected to Portugal to take part in the Peninsula War, a war designed to help Portugal and Spain in their fight against the French, and where the 95th Rifles would gain their fame.

In August the 2nd/95th was part of the expedition commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley to Portugal and covered the landings at Mondego Bay. On the 15th August they had the distinction of firing the first shots of the Peninsular War during a skirmish at Obidos against the French, but also unfortunately suffered the first British officer fatality of the war, a Lieutenant Ralph Bunbury. On the 17th August the 95th, as part of 6th Brigade which included the 5th/60th Foot, took part in the Battle of Rolica, the first pitched battle of the war, which saw the 95th distinguish themselves greatly.

Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the 95th was renamed The Rifle Brigade, as a means of distinguishing them from the ordinary line infantry. Following this, the number was reassigned in 1823 to the newly formed county regiment of Derbyshire.