{{Short description|British Army infantry regiment, 1719–1881}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}} {{Infobox military unit | unit_name = 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot | image = | caption = | dates = 1719–1881 | country = {{flag|Kingdom of Great Britain}} (1719–1800)<br>{{flagcountry|UKGBI}} (1801–1881) | branch = {{army|UKGBI}} | type = [[Infantry of the Line|Line Infantry]] | role = [[Light Infantry]] | size = One battalion (2 battalions in 1813) | garrison = [[Maindy Barracks]] in [[Cardiff]] | ceremonial_chief = | ceremonial_chief_label = | colonel_of_the_regiment = | nickname = The Invalids<ref name="Burnham">{{cite book |last1=Burnham |first1=Robert |last2=McGuigan |first2=Ron |year=2010 |title=The British Army against Napoleon |location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire |publisher=Frontline Books |isbn=978-1-84832-562-3 |page=126}}</ref> | motto = | colors = | march = | mascot = | battles = [[War of 1812]]<br>[[First Anglo-Burmese War]]<br>[[First Anglo-Afghan War]]<br>[[Crimean War]] | notable_commanders = | anniversaries = }} The '''41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot''' was an [[infantry]] [[regiment]] of the [[British Army]], raised in 1719. Under the [[Childers Reforms]] it amalgamated with the [[69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot]] to form the [[Welch Regiment]] in 1881.
==History==
===Early history=== [[File:'41st Regiment of foot', 1742 (c) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|{{circa|1742}} engraving of a regimental private]] [[File:41st Foot Uniform Plate.jpg|thumb|The regimental uniform in {{circa|1750}}]]
The regiment was raised by Colonel [[Edmund Fielding]] in March 1719 as '''Edmund Fielding's Regiment of Foot''' out of independent companies of invalids and [[Chelsea Pensioner|Chelsea out-pensioners]] - soldiers incapable of normal service through disease, age or injury.<ref name=regiments>{{cite web |url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/041-719.htm |title=41st (the Welsh) Regiment of Foot |publisher=regiments.org |access-date=11 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223230119/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/041-719.htm |archive-date=23 February 2007}}</ref> For much of its early history the regiment undertook garrison duties at [[Portsmouth]]. It was renamed the '''Royal Invalids''' in 1741,<ref name=regiments/> and it was numbered the '''41st Regiment of Foot''' in 1751.<ref name=regiments/> In 1782, when other regiments took county titles, it was denoted as the '''41st (Royal Invalids) Regiment of Foot'''; in 1787 it ceased to comprise invalids and became a conventional line regiment, dropping the title.<ref name=regiments/> On 23 January 1788, [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley]], the future Duke of Wellington, joined the regiment as a young [[lieutenant]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=12958|page=40|date=22 January 1788}}</ref>
[[File:Fort Meigs 07.jpg|thumb|upright|Memorial to the regimental troops who died at the [[siege of Fort Meigs]]]]
The regiment embarked for the [[West Indies]] in 1793 for service in the [[French Revolutionary Wars]]; it took part in the [[Battle of Martinique (1794)|capture of Martinique]] in March 1794 and the [[Invasion of Guadeloupe (1794)|attack on Guadeloupe]] in April 1794 before returning to England in October 1796.<ref>Lomax, pp. 37–40</ref> It was posted to Canada in 1800 and saw service there during the [[War of 1812]]. It fought under Major General [[Isaac Brock]] at the [[siege of Detroit]] in August 1812<ref>Lomax, p. 53</ref> and the [[Battle of Queenston Heights]] in October 1812.<ref>Lomax, p. 66</ref> Following Brock's death, it fought under Major-General [[Henry Procter (British Army officer)|Henry Procter]] at the [[Battle of Frenchtown]] in January 1813<ref>Lomax, p. 67</ref> and formed the bulk of the attacking force at the [[siege of Fort Meigs]] in April 1813 and the [[Battle of Fort Stephenson]] in August 1813.<ref>Lomax, p. 74</ref> It then formed part of the crew of the British naval squadron which was defeated at the [[Battle of Lake Erie]] in September 1813<ref>Lomax, p. 80</ref> and faced defeat again at the [[Battle of the Thames]] in October 1813.<ref>Lomax, p. 85</ref> It also took part in the successful [[Capture of Fort Niagara]] and [[Battle of Buffalo]] in December 1813, the [[Battle of Lundy's Lane]] in July 1814, and the [[Siege of Fort Erie]] in August and September 1814.<ref>Lomax, p. 98</ref>
[[Shadrack Byfield]], a private in the regiment from 1809 to 1815, took part in many of these battles before losing an arm at [[Battle of Conjocta Creek|Conjocta Creek]] in 1814 and, after returning home, chronicled the battles in his memoirs.<ref name="O'Keeffe">{{Cite journal |last=O'Keeffe |first=Eamonn |date=2026 |title=From Amputee to Author: Shadrack Byfield and the Making of a War of 1812 Veteran |doi=10.1017/jbr.2025.10169 |journal=Journal of British Studies |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=1–22|doi-access=free }}</ref>
===The Victorian era=== The regiment was posted to [[India]] in July 1822 and was deployed to [[Yangon|Rangoon]] for service in the [[First Anglo-Burmese War]] in May 1824.<ref name=lomax137>Lomax, pp. 137–143</ref> It formed part of an army which advanced up the [[Irrawaddy River|River Irrawaddy]] to the [[Kingdom of Ava]] and then captured [[Bagan]] in February 1826.<ref name=lomax137/> It received a territorial affiliation in 1831, becoming the '''41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot'''.<ref name=regiments/>
The regiment was sent to [[Afghanistan]] in 1842 for service in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]] and saw action at [[Kandahar]] and [[Ghazni]].<ref>Lomax, pp. 161–173</ref> [[Patrick Cleburne]], a private in the regiment from 1846 to 1849, subsequently moved to [[United States]] and rose to [[major general]] in the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate Army]] during the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/resources/person.htm?id=67 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228040016/http://www.nps.gov/resources/person.htm?id=67 |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 February 2015 |publisher=National Park Service |title=Patrick Cleburne |access-date=24 December 2016}}</ref> The regiment landed at [[Gulf of Kalamita|Kalamita]] in summer 1854 for service in the [[Crimean War]] and fought at the [[Battle of Alma]] in September 1854 and the [[Battle of Inkerman]], where they captured the [[Russia]]n drums, in November 1854 before taking part in the [[Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55)|siege of Sevastopol]] in winter 1854.<ref>Lomax, pp. 222–242</ref>
[[File:Монумент в пам’ять полеглих в Інкерманській битві 04.JPG|thumb|upright|Memorial to the regimental troops who died at the [[Battle of Inkerman]]]]
As part of the [[Cardwell Reforms]] of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 41st was linked with the [[69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot]], and assigned to district no. 24 at [[Maindy Barracks]] in [[Cardiff]].<ref name=training>{{cite web |url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/depot/1873.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210172841/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/depot/1873.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 February 2006 |title=Training Depots |publisher=Regiments.org |access-date=16 October 2016}}</ref> On 1 July 1881 the [[Childers Reforms]] came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot to form the [[Welch Regiment]].<ref name=regiments/>
==Battle honours== The regiment's battle honours were as follows:<ref name=regiments/>
*War of 1812: [[Siege of Detroit|Detroit]], [[Battle of Queenston Heights|Queenstown]], [[Fort Miami (Ohio)|Miami]], [[Capture of Fort Niagara|Niagara]] *First Anglo-Burmese War: Ava *First Anglo-Afghan War: Kandahar (1842), Ghazni (1842) *Crimean War: [[Battle of Alma|Alma]], [[Battle of Inkerman|Inkerman]], [[Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855)|siege of Sevastopol]]
==Victoria Crosses== Two Victoria Crosses were awarded to men of the regiment *Sergeant-Major [[Ambrose Madden]], [[Crimean War]] (26 October 1854) *Captain [[Hugh Rowlands]], Crimean War (5 November 1854)
==Colonels of the Regiment== Colonels of the regiment were:<ref name=regiments/>
===The Regiment of Invalids=== *1719–1743: Lt-Gen. [[Edmund Fielding]] *1743–1752: Col. Tomkyn Wardour
===The 41st Regiment of Foot (Invalids)=== *1752–1764: Lt-Gen. John Parsons *1764–1765: Maj-Gen. Alexander Leslie, 6th Lord Lindores *1765–1771: Maj-Gen. John Parker *1771–1784: Lt-Gen. Jordan Wren *1784–1790: Maj-Gen. Archibald McNab
===The 41st Regiment of Foot=== *1790–1808: Gen. [[Sir Thomas Stirling, 5th Baronet]] *1808–1809: Lt-Gen. [[Hay MacDowall|Hay McDowall]] *1810–1819: Gen. Sir [[Josiah Champagné]], GCH *1819–1837: Lt-Gen. Hon. Sir [[Edward Stopford (Marlborough MP)|Edward Stopford]], GCB
===The 41st (Welsh) Regiment of Foot=== *1837–1848: Gen. Sir [[Ralph Darling]], GCH *1848–1861: Gen. [[Charles Ashe à Court-Repington]], CB, KH *1861–1881: Gen. Sir [[Richard England (British Army officer, born 1793)|Richard England]], GCB, KH
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Sources== *{{cite book |last=Lomax |first=David Alexander Napier |title=A history of the services of the 41st (the Welch) regiment (now 1st battalion the Welch regiment) from its formation in 1719 to 1895 |publisher=Hiorns & Miller |year=1899 |url=http://www.fortyfirst.org/writings/lomax/lomax.html}}
==External links== * {{cite web |url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/041-719.htm |title=41st (Welsh) Regiment of Foot |publisher=regiments.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113060317/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/041-719.htm |archive-date=13 January 2008}}regiments.org * {{cite web |url=http://www.fortyfirst.org |title=The 41st Regiment of Foot: Military Living History Group}}, focused on the regiment's service in Canada
{{S-start}} {{Succession box|before=Royal Invalids |title= 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot|years= 1719–1881 |after= The [[Welch Regiment]]}} {{S-end}} {{Regiments of Foot}} {{Royal Welsh}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:41st (Welch) Regiment Of Foot}} [[Category:Welch Regiment]] [[Category:Infantry regiments of the British Army]] [[Category:Welsh regiments of the British Army]] [[Category:Military units and formations in Wales]] [[Category:Military units and formations in Cardiff]] [[Category:Military units and formations established in 1719]] [[Category:British military units and formations of the War of 1812]] [[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1881]] [[Category:1719 establishments in Great Britain]] [[Category:1881 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]