A Brief History of the regiment

From it's foundation to the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
 

1694

Early in the year Colonel John Gibson, Lieutenant Governor of Portsmouth was given a warrant, or beating order as it was known, to raise a new regiment of infantry. At this early period such regiments were the personal property of their Colonels and were commonly known by his name. The new regiment was therefore to be known as 'Gibson's Regiment of Foot'.
 

1697

In this year Gibson's Regiment set sail for Newfoundland with the aim of protecting British settlers from the French. Arriving at St Johns they were dismayed to find that they were too late. The French had destroyed the colony and killed most of the settlers. Colonel Gibson and his soldiers immediately set about rebuilding the settlement but due to an inadequate supply of clothing he and his men suffered terribly during the bitter winter that followed. When the regiment sailed for home they left behind a detachment of 300 men to complete the reconstruction of the settlement and to build a fortress. The feelings of the men watching their comrades sail away can only be imagined. What is known is that of the 300 men left behind no less than 214 died from sickness or exposure.
 

1705

Now known as Delalo's the regiment found itself in the Spanish Netherlands where it joined an expeditionary force under Marlborough. This was known as the War of Spanish Succession against the French and their allies. The French had been soundly beaten a year earlier at the battle of Bleinheim and had withdrawn behind fortified rivers between Namur and Antwerp. On the 18th July 1705 Marlborough's force attacked with fierce determination and the lines were successfully breached. Just one year later the regiment took part in Marlborough's great victory at the battle of Ramillies where the regiment fought so well that it was awarded it's first of many battle honours.
 

1707

Another change of owner now found the regiment called Mordaunt's Regiment of Foot and in this guise it landed at Alicante in Spain. Mordaunt's were there as part of an expeditionary force sent against the French and their allies. The allied force consisted of German, Dutch and Portuguese as well as British troops. The force was under the command of the Earl of Galway. On the 27th April the Earl's forces met the French and Spanish army at Almanza. The opposing army was led by the Duke of Berwick who was a son of James II and Arabella Churchill, a cousin of Marlborough. The battle opened with a ferocious attack by the British which immediately caused the enemy to give ground. Unfortunately Berwick saw that the forces supporting the right of the British line had fled when the frist shots were fired. This meant that the British were outflanked and Berwick was a good enough commander to fully exploit the weakness. He committed his reserves and after fierce hand to hand fighting Galway's whole army was routed. Mordaunt's Regiment lost 300 officers and men out of a total strength of 532. This was the first time, but certainly not the last that the regiment was to be let down by it's so called allies.
 

1734

In this year Colonel Phillip Bragg took command of the Regiment so that their official name became Bragg's Regiment of Foot. He was a remarkable character and a very able leader. He was to remain in charge of the Regiment for the rest of his army career which lasted for 25 years and was to leave the legacy of his name which was to last to the present day. 'The Old Bragg's'.
 

1742

A very important event took place in 1742 when the government of the day decided to number regiments according to the date that they were raised . The 'old Bragg's receiving the number 28. At first the new fangled number was disliked and regiments continued to be known by their commanding officers name for several years after the order was implemented but eventually as new battle honours were won soldiers became proud of their new title 'The 28th Regiment of Foot.
 

1745

Against the French again the Regiment found itself in Belgium where it met the enemy at Fontenoy which lies to the south east of Tornai. In a terrific assault the French were driven back by fire and bayonet but once again the British were abandoned by their allies who either sought cover or fled the field entirely. The 28th along with other famous regiments was forced to retreat with heavy losses. The tally amounted to 11 officers and 126 other ranks.
 

1757

The 28th set sail for Canada to join a force under General Amherst ( later to become Field Marshal Lord Amherst ). Amherst had been tasked with capturing the fortress of Louisburg in Nova Scotia. This was to be swiftly followed up by an attack on Quebec which was the capitol of French Canada. It took six weeks of hard siege work before Louisburg fell and by that time bad weather had set in and the army had to spend the winter there. The following year General Wolfe took command and the British forces sailed up the St Lawrence river and landed beneath the Heights of Abraham under cover of darkness. The British force with the 28th in front began a precipitous climb up a steep track whilst it was still dark. At daybreak they were in position on a plain to the west of the city. Although caught by surprise the French commander prepared to give battle and advanced with supporting artillery fire. The British line with the 28th at it's centre held firm until the French were within 35 paces when it opened fire with withering volleys. Under the hail of shot the French wavered and began to run pursued by the jubilant British with fixed bayonets. After five more days of siege the city surrendered but sadly General Wolfe died of a wound received during the battle cutting short what surely would have been a brilliant career.
 

1761

In this year the 28th left Canada and sailed to the West Indies where it won new honours at Martinique and Havannah.
 

1775

The regiment went directly from the West Indies to America where the move towards independence had begun. It took part in the battle of White Plains in what has since become New York State. It was during this time that it earned it's second nickname which has also lasted to this day. 'The Slashers'. Some say that the nickname was earned whilst crossing a river under fire to assault a rebel position on high ground above them. The ground in front of the enemy position was covered in long grass which the soldiers slashed aside with their bayonets. There is also another version that says that certain unknown soldiers from the 28th cut off part of the ear of a local notable who was making life very difficult for the soldiers by turning them out of their billets into the cold and depriving them of proper food etc. Whichever is true the 28th stayed on to take part in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown before returning to the West Indies for another four years.
 

1782

Another important change took place in this year when the government of the day decided to link regiments to districts or counties for the purpose of recruitment. So it was that when the 28th came home in the following year of 1783 it was to be known by the new title of the 28th North Gloucestershire Regiment of Foot. The county they were now linked to was also home to the 61st South Gloucestershire Regiment of Foot and the Royal North, and South Gloucestershire Militia's. Almost crowded from a military point of view! And unlikely that all those units could have found enough recruits within the county to satisfy all their needs. In any case the 28th had little chance to become acquainted with their new territory because they were immediately packed off to Northumberland for the winter. It may well be that they heartily wished themselves back in the warmer West Indies with all it's attendant perils of disease.
 

1801

The French revolution began in 1789 and from then on set the whole of Europe alight with conflict. Under the genius of Napoleon Bonaparte the French had won battles against nearly every major nation and now dominated the European mainland. She now turned her attention outward towards Great Britain and Her overseas possessions. France had sent an expeditionary force to Egypt with a view to the invasion of India. The 28th were sent as part of a British force under General Sir Ralph Abercromby to counter that threat. They made an amphibious landing near Alexandria on the 8th of March. The French General Menou advanced towards the British who were camped about four miles to the east of Alexandria. He had the advantage of 1400 cavalry and superior artillery. He made a feint towards the British left but made his main thrust at the British right which included the ground the 28th were holding which was an old ruined fort on the Mediterranean coast. The fighting was very fierce and whilst under heavy attack to the front and flanks French cavalry was thrown at the 28th's rear. Lieutenant Colonel Chambers who had assumed command when colonel Paget was seriously wounded was undaunted by this alarming turn of events and gave the order ' 28th, rear rank only, right about face, and Although assailed from both sides the regiment calmly repelled all attacks in fierce hand to hand fighting. By 10.00 am the French were in full retreat along their entire line.

In honour of the 28th's conduct on that day they were granted the unique distinction of wearing a badge on the back of their head dress as well as at the front. This badge takes the form of a sphinx with the word 'Egypt' beneath.
 

1808

An expedition under sir John Moore including the 28th was sent to Spain to link up with the Spanish army and drive the French out of the country. However General Moore soon realised that the Spanish army was not going to stand against the French. He also learned that the French were moving to isolate and destroy his force leaving him with no choice but to withdraw the 240 miles to the port of Corunna. The withdrawal began on Christmas Eve, and was carried out in terrible weather conditions over snow covered mountains. The 28th formed part of the rear guard under their own General Paget, now recovered from his wound and Divisional Commander under General Moore. Throughout this gruelling retreat the 28th had been in almost constant contact with the French and had fought many holding and delaying actions. The army reached Corunna on the 11th January and were able to regroup, get some much needed sleep and food, and be issued with arms and ammunition. They then fought the French again just outside of Corunna and succeeded in beating them before being successfully taken off by the Royal Navy. A precursor of Dunkirk? Although the main part of the regiment left the Peninsula it left a detachment behind in Lisbon which as part of a composite battalion under the Duke of Wellington took part in the battle of Talavera. Many more famous battles were fought before the final push in 1813 which saw the defeat of the French at the battle of Toulouse in 1814 and the abdication and exile of Napoleon to the island of Elba.
 

1815

In March of this year Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France gathering popular support as he travelled slowly from the coast to Paris. Whole regiments that were sent to intercept and arrest him defected to his cause. An allied army was assembled in Belgium which included the 28th who had hurried across the sea from Ireland where they had been stationed for several years. Napoleon was aware that he had only a short time to obtain a quick victory whilst the allies were still bickering about who should do what and before the allied army grew to an overwhelming size. He therefore marched towards Brussels on the 15th June. He met the Prussian army at Ligny driving them off and nearly destroying them completely. Wellington had decided to stop the French advance at Quatre Bras some 25 miles south of Brussels and on 16th June at the crossroads the battle was joined. The 28th in square against cavalry valiantly resisted every effort to break them and eventually Marshall Ney, the French Commander was forced to withdraw. During the height of the battle Sir James Kempt, the Brigade Commander rode into the 28th's square, doffed his hat and cried 'Bravo 28th, The 28th are still the 28th and your conduct this day shall never be forgotten'.

After the battle of Quatre Bras the 28th joined the main army at Waterloo. Wellington had chosen the location for it's suitability to his now well known tactic of hiding the exact number and strength of his force by screening parts of it behind dips and rises in the land. As a bonus this also served to protect some units from direct damage from artillery. He intended to deny the battlefield to the enemy until Blucher's Prussians could recover from their mauling at Ligny and come up to re-enforce him. As he said afterwards, "It was a damned serious business, the nearest thing you ever saw in your life". During the course of the evening Napoleon was informed that the Prussians would shortly arrive, and in desperation he flung in the last of his reserves, the famed Imperial Guard. Unfortunately the ploy failed and the Guard were repulsed with heavy loss. Wellington took of his hat and waved it as a signal for a general advance. The French army was broken and fled the field. Napoleon went into exile once again this time to remain there until his death.

The 28th North Gloucestershire Regiment is proud to count Waterloo amongst it's many battle honours and equally proud to have been the only regiment mentioned by name in Wellingtons Waterloo Despatches.
 

This is where our small portion of historical interest ends, but if you want to learn more of this great regiments history please follow our site links to the Regimental Museums.