67th Foot
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Origin and History
The French Government having failed to fulfill the conditions stipulated in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and having committed certain encroachments on the British Territories in North America, and other acts of aggression, King George II again prepared for war. The Army and Navy were consequently increased, and, among other augmentations, fifteen of the regiments of infantry were authorised to raise second battalions from August 25, 1756. The present regiment was thus originally raised on September 20, 1756 as the second battalion of the 20th Foot.
On April 21, 1758, this second battalion was detached from its parent regiment to form the “67th Regiment of Foot”. Its first colonel was James Wolfe seconded by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Robinson and Major Thomas Bowyer.
During the Seven Years's War, the regiment was commanded by:
- from April 21, 1758: James Wolfe (from the 20th Foot)
- from October 24, 1759: Lord Frederick Cavendish (removed to the 34th Foot on October 30, 1760)
- from October 30, 1760: Sir Henry Erskine Bart. (removed to the 25th Foot on May 29, 1761)
- from May 29, 1761 to 1774: Hamilton Lambert
Service during the War
From August to September 1758, the regiment took part in the second expedition on the French Coasts. Its grenadiers suffered heavy losses during the re-embarkment at Saint-Cast.
As of May 30, 1759, the regiment was stationed in Salisbury in England and counted 1 battalion for a total of 900 men.
At the beginning of 1760, the regiment was still stationed in Salisbury. It was transferred to Essex in June 1760.
In March 1761, the regiment was part of the amphibious expedition against Belle-Isle, a French island off the coast of Bretagne. On April 8, the British attempted a landing at Port An-Dro. A party of 60 grenadiers of the regiment, who landed at a little distance from the rest, succeeded in climbing up beyond the entrenchments, and formed on the top of the heights above the sea. Could they have been supported all might have gone well, but unfortunately their success was not seen in time. After a gallant attempt to hold their ground, they were overpowered by superior numbers and all but 20 were killed or taken prisoners. The troops then found it impossible to hold their ground or to mount the well-defended slopes in front of them, and, after a hot contest, had to retreat and re-embarked, having lost about 500 men, killed, wounded, and taken. The retiring boats were covered by the fire from the ships. In this action, the regiment lost Captain Thomas Osborne and Lieutenant John Gardner killed; and Lieutenants Marmaduke Green and William Herdsman taken prisoners. The other casualties of the regiment were, 2 sergeants, 1 drummer and 6 rank and file killed;and 16 rank and file wounded. After the capture of the island on June 7, the regiment was stationed there. It lost several men from sickness.
In 1762, the regiment, then counting 824 men under the command of Colonel Hamilton Lambert, sailed from Belle-Isle to join the British contingent assembling in Portugal to assist this country against a Spanish invasion. On June 16, the regiment arrived in Portugal. At the end of August, it marched from Abrantes to Ponte-da-Mucela by Tomar. It was then sent to northern Beira but soon recalled to defend the line of the Zezere river. At the end of October, the regiment was sent to Portalegre.
After the peace in 1763, the regiment was sent to garrison the Island of Minorca which had been retroceded to Great Britain. It would remain on duty at Minorca until July 1771.
Uniform
Privates
| Headgear |
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| Neckstock | white | ||||||||||||
| Coat | brick red lined pale yellow and laced white (white braid with 1 yellowish green stripe) with 3 pewter buttons and 3 white buttonholes (same lace as above) under the lapel
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| Waistcoat | brick red laced white (same lace as above) | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | red | ||||||||||||
| Gaiters | white with black buttons brown, grey or black during campaigns (black after 1759) | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
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Troopers were armed with with a "Brown Bess" muskets, a bayonet and a sword. They also carried a dark brown haversack with a metal canteen on the left hip.
Officers
Officers had silver lace lining the cuffs and lapels, a black cockade hat, and wore a red sash slung over the right shoulder. Sergeants wore straw gloves. Partizans were carried.
Musicians
The drummers of the regiment were clothed in yellow, lined, faced, and lapelled on the breast with red, and laced in such manner as the colonel shall think fit for distinction sake, the lace, however, was of the colours of that on the soldiers' coats.
The front or forepart of the drums were painted yellow, with the king's cypher and crown, and the number “LXVII” under it. The rims were red.
Colours
King's Colour: Union with its centre decorated with a rose and thistle wreath around the regiment number "LXVII" in gold Roman numerals.
Regimental Colour: pale yellow field with its centre decorated with a rose and thistle wreath around the regiment number "LXVII" in gold Roman numerals. The Union in the upper left corner.
References
The section “Origin and History” of this article is essentially an abridged and adapted version of the following book which is in the public domain:
- Cannon, Richard: Historical Record of the Sixty-Seventh or The South Hampshire Regiment of Foot, London: Parker, Furnivall & Parker, 1849, pp. 1-9
Other sources
Fortescue, J. W.: A History of the British Army Vol. II, MacMillan, London, 1899
Funcken, Liliane and Fred: Les uniformes de la guerre en dentelle
Kirby, Mike: The British Contingent - Uniform Information, Seven Years War Association Journal, Vol. XII No. 3
George II: The Royal Clothing Warrant, 1751
Lawson, Cecil C. P.: A History of the Uniforms of the British Army - from the Beginnings to 1760, vol. II, p. 94
Mills, T. F., Land Forces of Britain the Empire and Commonwealth through the Way Back Machine
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
