The World Turned Upside Down - His Majesty's 37th Foot.

 

The 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot was raised in Ireland in February 1702 by Lieutenant-General Thomas Meredyth, an Irish officer from Dollardstown in County Meath, as Meredyth's Regiment.

The Duke of Marlborough’s spectacular defeat of the hitherto invincible French army of Louis XIV at the Battle of Blenheim on 13th August 1704.
Meredith's Regiment (37th Foot) fought in the centre at Blenheim, under Lieutenant General Charles Churchill, the younger brother of the Duke of Marlborough, as part of Major-General John Webb's Brigade.

In May 1703 it embarked for the Netherlands fighting under the Duke of Marlborough at the Battle of Schellenberg in July 1704, the Battle of Blenheim in August 1704, the Battle of Ramillies in May 1706, the Battle of Oudenarde in July 1708 and the Battle of Malplaquet in September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession.

The Battle of Blenheim, 13th August 1704. War of the Spanish Succession.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Blenheim,_13_August_1704.png

Following the abortive attempt to send troops to Canada in 1711 on the Quebec Expedition, in which the regiment lost 260 men in the ship wreck on the St Laurence River, covered in my post looking at the 4th Foot, it returned to England and eight years later took part in the British expedition to Spain during the War of the Quadruple Alliance, a retaliatory strike by the British in response to Spanish involvement in the Jacobite rising of that year, during which it took part in the Capture of Vigo in October 1719.

The Quebec Expedition in 1711 in which the regiment lost 260 men in the ship wreck on the St Laurence River

With the outbreak of the Austrian War of Succession in 1740 Britain mobilised her forces alongside the Dutch Republic and Hannover in support of the right of Maria Theresa to succeed her father, Emperor Charles VI, as ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, and the regiment next saw action at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743.

37th Regiment of Foot c 1742
Engraving from ' A Representation of the Clothing of His Majesty's Household
and all the Forces upon the Establishment of Great Britain'.

It also fought at the Battle of Falkirk in January 1746 during the Jacobite rebellion when its colonel, Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet, was shot and then finished off with three sword blows to the head. It went on to fight under the command of Colonel Lewis Dejean at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 and was ranked the 37th Foot in 1747. The regiment returned to the Netherlands and fought at the Battle of Lauffeld in July 1747.

The regiment fought at the Battle of Minden in August 1759 during the Seven Years' War, where it suffered heavy losses – 4 officers and 69 men were killed, and another 12 officers and 188 men were wounded, (another 33 subsequently died of their wounds). This was nearly 54% of the regiment.

After the battle the soldiers picked wild roses from the battlefield to wear in their hats and uniforms to celebrate the victory, a tradition that continues to today. It also took part in a skirmish at Grebenstein in June 1762 and another at Fellinghausen in July 1762. It was then garrisoned in Menorca from 1763 to 1769.

The 37th Foot in America 1775-1783

The 37th were ordered out to America in November 1775 as part of a substantial British force. The 477-strong regiment included 20 men from Brunswick and Hesse, these German states supplying some 2,000 soldiers for the expedition.

The 37th Foot was part of 3rd Brigade under Major General Valentine Jones alongside 10th, 38th and 52nd Foot with a strength of 307 men, and part of Lieutenant General Lord Percy's Division.

After landing at Cape Fear, the 37th took part in Howe’s landing on Long Island and the attack on Brooklyn on August 22nd 1776, where it was part of 3rd Brigade under Major General Valentine Jones alongside 10th, 38th and 52nd Foot with a strength of 307 men, part of Lieutenant General Lord Percy's Division, although given that the regiment suffered only one man wounded its role was clearly relatively minor.

British invasion fleet begins to arrive New York Harbour in July 1776.

The regiment was more heavily involved in fighting on 15th-16th September in the Battle of Harlem Height when the British captured New York, the Light Company in particular experiencing sharp fighting as part of the 3rd Battalion of Light Infantry. In December, the 37th were detached from Howe’s main force to join an attack on Rhode Island, a base for privateers and a considerable thorn in the British side.

After Washington’s surprise attack on the Hessians holding Trenton, on the Delaware River, at the end of December 1776 the 37th moved from 3rd Brigade to General Agnew’s 4th Brigade and was involved in the actions at the Brandywine (11th September 1777) and Germantown (4th October 1777). At the latter the 37th suffered three men killed and 20 wounded, the heaviest in 4th Brigade.

The British counter-attack at Germantown (4th October 1777) illustrating the position of the 37th Foot as they and Agnew's 4th Brigade confronted Wayne's and Stirling's Division, suffering the loss of three men killed and 20 wounded, the heaviest in 4th Brigade.

At Monmouth Court House, June 28th 1778, the last encounter of the war between the main armies, the British suffered 60 killed, including two from from the 37th. 

Following the detachment of ten British battalions to reinforce the West Indies, the 37th was employed in the defence of New York, a role which provided few opportunities other than raids and outpost skirmishes. 

In the autumn of 1779 the regiment was badly hit by an epidemic which killed an estimated 60 men. Sickness severely dented the number of available to fight: on September 15th, for example, no fewer than 203 men were reported as sick and only 256 fit for duty.

In 1781 the 37th’s Light Company – part of two battalions sent to reinforce Cornwallis – was involved in the British surrender at Yorktown. It is impossible to ascertain the regiment’s loss in men there, although prisoners released in 1783 on the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris numbered nearly 30.

It became the 37th (the North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot in 1782.

In June 1783 the 37th were among six regiments sent to garrison Nova Scotia where they spent the next six years.

My 37th Foot are composed of the plastic British infantry offering from Perry Miniatures, and this time I chose to model them in the trailed arms pose, which is a classic look for the British infantry of this period, but I wasn't sure how well they would look as a unit, but I now quite like it and the variation in pose will add to the overall variation of look for my British army when it takes to the table.

The regiment is finished off with some glorious Colours from GMB and my low profile sabot bases from Supreme Littleness Designs.

As always, more anon.

JJ