James Oglethorpe's Regiment of Foot, ranked as the 42nd Regiment of Foot and known simply as Oglethorpe's Regiment, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised by the governor of Georgia James Oglethorpe in 1737, the regiment comprised six line companies and one grenadier company and saw service in the War of Jenkins' Ear in the Province of Georgia and Spanish Florida. Seeing action at the siege of St. Augustine and the battles of Bloody Marsh and Gully Hole Creek, the regiment was disbanded in 1748 following the end of the War of Jenkins' Ear as a result of the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
Service
The raising of the regiment, ranked as the 42nd Regiment of Foot, was authorised in August 1737. The unit formed at Savannah in the following year. The regiment took part in the Siege of St Augustine in June and July 1740 and the Battles of Bloody Marsh and Gully Hole Creek near Fort Frederica in July 1742. The regiment was disbanded at the end of the conflict on 24 November 1748. Some of its discharged soldiers enlisted in the British Army independent companies in South Carolina.Cashin 2009, pp. 79–80.Foote 1966, p. 314.
Organisation
When raised the regiment comprised six line companies of 100 privates each along with several non-commissioned officers and drummers; a grenadier company was eventually added to the regiment. Oglethorpe secured officer's commissions in the regiment for colonial gentlemen of good character and social standing, and selected 20 young gentlemen with no personal wealth to serve as regimental cadets.Knight 1914, vol. 2, part 2, pp. 768-769.
Officers Officers included: James Oglethorpe, Colonel James Cochran, Lieutenant-Colonel William Cook, Major Hugh Mackay, Captain Richard Norbury, Captain Alexander Herron, Captain Albert Desbrisay, Captain Philip Delegall, Sr., Lieutenant Philip Delegall, Jr., Lieutenant Raymond Demere, Lieutenant George Morgan, rank not stated George Dunbar, rank not stated William Horton, Ensign James Mackay, Ensign William Folsom, Ensign John Tanner, Ensign John Leman, Ensign Sandford Mace, Ensign Hugh Mackay, Adjutant Edward Dyson, Clerk and Chaplain Thomas Hawkins, Surgeon Edward Wansall, Quartermaster
Lachlan McIntosh served as a cadet in the regiment.Hawes 2021, pp. 4-5.
References Notes
Sources Cashin, Edwar J. (2009). Guardians of the Valley. The University of South Carolina Press. Foote, William Alfred (1966). The American Independent Companies of the British Army 1664-1764. Thesis - University of California, Los Angeles. Hawes, Lilla Mills (2021). Lachlan McIntosh Papers in the University of Georgia Libraries. Georgia University Press. Knight, Lucian Lamar (1914). Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials and Legends. Atlanta, Georgia, vol. 2, part 2, p. 768-769.