The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was created as the 2nd Battalion, 11th Regiment of Foot in 1756, redesignated as the 64th Regiment of Foot in 1758, and took a county title as the 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot in 1782. Following the Cardwell Reforms the regiment amalgamated with the 98th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of Foot to become The Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment) in 1881. In the new regiment the 64th Foot became the 1st Battalion due to its seniority over the 98th Foot.
Although the 64th Foot fought in many of the major conflicts of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was normally in the more minor theatres of these conflicts. During the Seven Years' War it served in the West Indies; in the Napoleonic Wars, its role was limited, again, to the West Indies and South America. In the mid-19th century, it fought in the Anglo-Persian War and the Indian Rebellion of 1857, where one of its soldiers was awarded the Victoria Cross.
History Formation
The formation of the 64th Foot was prompted by the expansion of the army as a result of the commencement of the Seven Years' War.Cook p. 1. On 25 August 1756 it was ordered that a number of existing regiments should raise a second battalion; among those chosen was the 11th Regiment of Foot. The 2nd Battalion of the 11th Foot was raised at Southampton on 10 December 1756 before moving to Newcastle upon Tyne. On 21 April 1758 the War Office ordered that the 2nd battalions raised two years previously should become independent regiments in their own right and on that day the 2nd Battalion 11th Foot became the 64th Foot.Cooper (2003) p. 29. Shortly after King George II ordered that the dates of seniority of the 64th Foot and the other regiments61st–63rd, 65th–70th Foot Cook p. 2. created on 21 April 1758 should be backdated to the date of their raising as 2nd battalions,Cook p. 2. therefore the date seniority of the 64th Foot became 1756. The first colonel of the regiment was the Honourable John Barrington and it was he who decided that the facings of the 64th Foot should be black.Cook p. 3.
Seven Years' War
Almost immediately after becoming the 64th Foot, the regiment was sent to the West Indies.Cooper (2004) p. 10. Upon arrival, in 1759, it took part in the unsuccessful attempt to take Martinique and then in the successful invasion of Guadeloupe.Cook p. 6. Participation in this action earned the regiment its first battle honour Guadaloupe 1759, though this honour was not actually awarded until 1909.Rodger p. 74. The regiment returned to England in June 1759 severely reduced in numbers by men drafted to other units and by tropical disease. On arrival at Portsmouth only 137 other ranks out of an establishment strength of 790 were fit for duty,Cook p. 8. though officer strength was almost up to strength. Recovery took a long time and after a brief period in Suffolk the regiment spent three years in the Scottish Highlands and five years in Ireland before sailing for North America in 1768.
North America and the American War of Independence
The first posting for the 64th in America was Boston, at the time a centre of discontent and an unhappy posting as a result.Cook p. 9. In 1770 the regiment moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia but in 1772 returned to Boston being stationed at Castle William.
As unrest grew the 64th took place in an incident which lays a claim to the first blood of the American War of Independence being shed in Salem, Massachusetts.Cook p. 10. On 26 February 1775 a supply of weapons and ammunition was known to be in Salem.Commager p. 64. The 64th, under their commander Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Leslie, were ordered to seize the weapons. American patriots in Salem were forewarned and tried to prevent the 64th from carrying out their orders. In the scuffle that ensued a local Salem man, Joseph Whicher, was slightly injured by a British bayonet. Negotiations prevented any further bloodshed and the 64th withdrew to Boston, their mission a failure.
On the outbreak of hostilities in April 1775, the 64th was still stationed at Castle William and remained there as the garrison throughout the Siege of Boston. Consequently, the regiment did not take part in the Battle of Bunker Hill.Fortescue p. 161 When, in March 1776, the British abandoned Boston, the 64th were the last regiment to depart for Halifax, giving them the distinction of being the last British unit to set foot in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts during the war.
Following the reorganisation of the army the 64th, like most regiments, found itself without its flank (grenadier and light infantry) companies which had been detached to form part of the 2nd Grenadier and 2nd Light Infantry Battalions respectively.Cook p. 11. All three battalions took part in the 1776 capture of New York and the 64th was engaged in the later Battle of Ridgefield.Cook p. 13.
In 1777 all three units participated in the Philadelphia campaign, taking part in the Battle of Brandywine, the Battle of Paoli and the Battle of Germantown.Cook p. 15. Remaining in Philadelphia over the winter and into 1778, the 64th and 2nd Grenadier Battalion formed part of the rearguard when Lieutenant-General Clinton evacuated the city in June 1778.Cook p. 17. Returning to New York, the 64th took part in several small operations. The Light company took part in the skirmish that became known as the Baylor Massacre.Cook p. 18.
November 1779 saw all the companies of the regiment being transferred to the Southern theatre of operations. In April 1780 the 64th was part of the covering force besieging Charleston, while the grenadier and light companies formed part of the main siege force.Cook p. 19. After the capture of Charleston, the grenadier and light companies were withdrawn to New York and as Major-General Cornwallis began to advance on Virginia, the 64th remained in Carolina as guard troops. In 1781 the 64th were involved in the Battle of Eutaw SpringsCook p. 22.Swager p. 169. and a year later in one of the last actions of the war, the Battle of the Combahee River. The grenadier company was reunited with the 64th but the light company was among the units that surrendered with Cornwallis at Yorktown.
In December 1782 the regiment left America for Jamaica. Back in England, a change occurred in army policy, to hopefully increase recruiting, infantry regiments were given additional territorial titles. The 64th became the 64th (2nd Staffordshire) FootCooper (2003) p. 30. and began its long association with the city of Lichfield as the depot companies moved there and soon after began to wear the Staffordshire Knot on its uniform.Cook p. 23.
Napoleonic Wars
Following the defeat in America, the 64th remained in Jamaica for two years, returning to England in 1783.Cook p. 126. Four years later the regiment was stationed in Ireland, before sailing once more for the West Indies in 1793 at the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars. At the end of the Seven Years' War both Martinique and Guadeloupe had been returned to France under the terms of the Treaty of Paris.Treaty of Paris Article VIII. From Barbados the 64th Foot took part in the invasion of Martinique in early 1794. As before the flank companies were detached from the rest of the regiment but all three elements were involved in the actions in Martinique. This short but successful campaign earned the regiment its second battle honour, Martinique 1794 —although as with the earlier Guadeloupe honour, it was not actually awarded until 1909.Rodger p. 75.
The light and grenadier companies were involved in the capture, shortly afterwards, of St Lucia and the recapture of Guadeloupe.Cook p. 26. A short period as garrison duty followed and then the regiment returned to England, severely weakened by both losses in battle and sickness, mostly yellow fever. Sir Charles Grey, commander of the British forces in the West Indies, estimated that he had lost 5,000 out of 7,000 troops in less than six months.
The regiment returned to England in 1795, before moving to Gibraltar and then Ireland, where it played a minor part in suppressing the 1798 rebellion. The 64th returned to England in 1800.Cook p. 27.
Within months the 64th had returned to the West Indies for a campaign of seizing islands held by, variously, France, The Netherlands and Denmark. The first island to fall was the Franco-Dutch island of Saint Martin. This was followed by the Dutch island of St Eustatius and the Danish islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John and Saint Croix. With the signing of the Treaty of Amiens, which restored to France and its allies all territories conquered by the British,Treaty of Amiens Article III. the 64th were withdrawn to Barbados. Peace did not last long and in 1803 war with France broke out again. The 64th was immediately in action being part of an expeditionary force that took St Lucia,Cook p. 28. earning the battle honour St Lucia 1803 — the award of this honour was more timely, it being awarded in 1818.Rodger p. 40. The expedition continued onto the South American mainland with the capture of Dutch held Surinam in 1804.Cook p. 30. A fourth battle honour, Surinam, was awarded — again in 1818. Garrison duties kept the 64th in Surinam for the next nine years meaning that the regiment played no further part in the Napoleonic Wars.Cooper (2003) p. 31.
A move to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1813 found the 64th providing the funeral guard for James Lawrence, Captain of the USS Chesapeake after the capture of the Chesapeake.Cook p. 32. In 1815 the regiment returned to Europe to be sent to France as part of the Army of Occupation after the Battle of Waterloo.
Years of peace It was to be 1856 before the regiment found itself on active service again. In the interim there had been a short spell in England, a long posting in Gibraltar, several years in Ireland, another six-year tour in the West Indies — where once again fever caused much suffering. These were followed by a short three-year tour in Canada which provided one item of note.Cook p. 39. On the voyage home two companies, under the command of Captain James Draper, and about 100 women and children were on board the barque Alert when the ship hit a reef about 100 miles out of Halifax. The ship was refloated but in a heavy sea was at risk of sinking and was taking on water. The master of the Alert decided that the only course of action was to beach the vessel but was worried that the ship was becoming top heavy as the troops and their families made for the upper deck. Captain Draper and the troops were persuaded to remain on the troop deck despite the rising water level. The ship was beached on an uninhabited island and all on board were later rescued. The Duke of Wellington Commander-in-chief of the British army directed that the story of Captain Draper's detachment be read out to every regiment and corps in the army as an example of the rewards of steadiness and discipline.Cook p. 40. The two companies were reunited with the rest of the regiment in England, serving in England and Ireland until being posted to India. Based here until 1856 it saw no active service despite being mobilised as part of a Reserve Field Force in Sindh in 1852.Cooper (2003) p. 32.
Anglo-Persian War