Regimental History

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The Essex Regiment
by W.H. Taylor

The Regiment of is raised

The regiment was one of seven additional regiments of infantry ordered raised in 1740 to augment the regular army during the "War of the Austrian Succession". In response to a letter of authority issued by the War Office, dated the 17th of January , 1741, Colonel James Long, of the 1st Foot Guards (Grenadier Guards) took charge to raise a regiment to be numbered the 55th Regiment of Foot. At this time, for English regiments, there were no regional or county associations and the royal warrant, of January 3rd, 1741, gave authority for the men to be recruited from "any county or part of Great Britain", and Trimen, in his "British Army,"[*] mentions that "the regiment was raised in the southern counties of England." Also, it was still practice, especially by Parliament, to refer to regiments by their Colonels' manes, so the 55th was often called Long's Regiment. At this time, there was already a Marine regiment bearing the 44th number.
*The regiments of the British Army, chronologically arranged / compiled by Richard Trimen, W. H. Allen. 1878.
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The Regiment is Bloodied

The newly raised 55th's baptism of fire came during the disastrous engagement of Jacobite rebels at Prestonpans. With the majority of the British army, and it's experienced regiments, away on the continent, Prince Charles Stuart chose the time to make a grab for the British throne. Most of the British soldiers at Prestonpans had received very little training and had no experience of battle, let alone faced the determined charge of Highlanders driven by passion. Upon the first Jacobite assault, a large part of the British contingent, including the crew of the support cannons, fled before contact was made. Those who stood their ground were thrown into confusion and mauled.
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To Canada

In the middle of January, 1755, under the command of Major General Braddock, the 44th, along with the 48th Regiment, sailed from Cork for Virginia, and onto Canada. After the disastrous skirmish near Fort du Quesne, the British army retreated, led by Colonel George Washington. While in North America the regiment also saw action at Forts Ticonderoga, Niagara and Levi with mixed successes.
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Egypt

Under the command of General Abercromby, as part of the 1808 expeditionary force to Egypt, the regiment saw action at Cairo and took part in the siege of Alexandria. As recognition of their victories earning the Sphinx and "Egypt" were added to the Regimental Colours. The regiment's officers afred better than the men, as they were also gifted with gold medals from the Sultan. However, the regiment paid a hefty price for these honours - the flank companies were reduced to just two sergeants between fit for service.
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2nd Bn of the 44th raised

As part of the increase mobilsation to counter the expansion of Napoleonic France, further battalions of many regiments, including the 44th were raised.
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The Iberian Peninsular

Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bulkeley the 2nd Bn of the 44th arrived at in Portugal on the 4th October, 1810. From there they marched to the Lines of Torres Vedrasjoin to join the main force of the British army at the end of the year. Although the The battalion was present at Fuentes de Oñoro (3rd to 5th May, 1811), only the light company took part in the action. However, the whole battalion was involved in the storming of Badajoz, on the 6th of April, when they were the first regiment to fly their colours from the top of the San Vincente bastion. Another battle honour came when the eagle of the French 62nd Line Regiment was captured by Lieutenant Pearce at Salamanca, on the 22nd of July, 1812. Further action was seen during the siege of Burgos which lasted from September to October. During the retreat from Burgos, the 44th once again engaged the French at Villa Muriel.
However, the past few months had taken a heavy toll upon the battalion, and by the end of October, 1812, the strength of the 2nd Bn had been reduced to just 42 men of all ranks. Despite a draft of 40 Officers and 373 men, only 130 were fit for duty. Therefore, in December 1812 Wellington ordered six companies to England. The remaining fit men formed a Provisional Battalion of four companies, which stayed on in Portugal, eventually returning to England on the 13th of July 13th 1813.
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The "War of 1812"

The long running antagonism between Great Britain and the United States of America flared up once more. The beginning of May 1814 saw the 1st Battalion and Light companies of the 44th, along with battalions from the 4th, 21st and 85th regiments, under Major-General Ross, embarked for North America. On arrival in the August, three brigades was formed. The first, or light brigade, consisted of the 85th, the light infantry companies of the 4th, 21st, and 44th regiments, and a company of marines, under the command of which Colonel Thornton, of the 85th regiment. The second brigade, composed of the 4th and 44th regiments, with Colonel Brooke, of the 44th in command. The third was made up of the 21st and the battalion of marines, commanded by Colonel Patterson, of the 21st.
On the 24th of August 1814, Ross's army reached the town Bladensburg, just under nine miles (14 km) from the capitol, Washington. With about 9,000 men, the Americans numbers were double that of the British. However, they were both ill prepared and poorly positioned. Assessing this, the British attacked with such speed, that the majority of the defenders broke and ran, giving the British a virtually unhindered crossing of the Potomac. Despite gallant resistance by a small contingent US Marines and sailors failed to hold the British, who were able to advance onto Washington that evening.
With no manpower to spare, Ross had no intention of holding the city. Instead, government and other important public buildings were razed to the ground. The most notable building destroyed was the Presidential mansion, but not until after the officers of the British army enjoyed a fine meal that had been prepared for the President.
The 1st battalion were part of the leading assault on the city of New Orleans on the 8th of January, 1815. Despite several determined advances, the defending fire of the Americans was overwhelming. The brigades suffered heavy losses, including many in command, and were forced to retreat. The "Treaty of Ghent", ending the war, was signed on the 24th of December 1815.
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Waterloo

In April 1815 Napoleon escaped from Elba. The 2ndBn 44th, which had been garrisoned at Ostende joined the 9th British Infantry Brigade under Sir Denis Pack. The 2nd Bn took part in the hard action at Quatre Bra, on the 16th of June, 1815, and at Waterloo, on the 18th, a French lancer made for the battalion's Regimental colour. Despite receiving a serious head-wound Ensign Chrisite managed to save the Colours and the lancer was shot dead. Indeed, the actions of the 44th were some of the first to be reported in the British press. Lieutenant Riddoch, who had been severely injured at Quatre Bra, was assaulted by a French lancer. However Riddoch got the upper hand and killed his assailant and rejoined the battalion riding the Frenchman's horse! During this brief campaign, the battalion lost over 160 men. Afterward, the 44th marched on to Paris, and returned to England in January 1816.
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India

The regiment was then posted to do garrison duty, in the Bengal Presidency of India.
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Burma

In 1824, the British Empire expanded eastwards from India, into the Ava kingdom. Manipur, Tenassarim, and Arakan became provinces of British India. The 44th were at the taking of Arakan, in the March of 1825, and the subsequent clearing of enemy forces in the surrounding province. The regiment was awarded the battle honour "Ava" to its Regimental colour. The regiment suffered few casualties during the fighting, but in the ensuing rainy season, they were heavily struck by dysentery and other tropical fevers. Nearly the entire regiment, along with the 54th regiment, were rendered unfit for duty.
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The Last Stand at Gandamak

Retreating from Kabul during the First Afghan War, the British Army suffered its worst disaster in the nineteenth century. On the 6th of January 1842, the British pulled out of Kabul. Under the command of Major General Elphinstone, 4 500 British and Indian troops, along with 12 000 camp followers left for Jalalabad. Along the way, the Afghans, who had previously offered the British safe passage if they were to leave Afghanistan, harrassed the column with hit and run raids and sniper fire. The column suffered terrible losses until reaching Gandamak near the Jagdalak Pass, the last survivors, mainly from the 44th (East Essex), made a last stand. On the 13th of January 1842, the regiment was wiped out. However, during the battle, a small contingent of cavalry tried to break out. One man, Dr William Brydon, escaped to become the sole survivor from an orignal muster of over 15 000 people. Dr Brydon's arrival at Jalalabad became the subject of Lady Butler's "The Remnants of an Army" and W.B.Wollen's "Last stand at Gandamak".
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The Crimean War

During the Crimean, the regiment saw action at the Battle of the Alma, Inkerman, and the Siege of Sevastopol. The 44th took part in the successful attack on dockyard creek.
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The Second Opium War

The regiment participated in the bloody assault and capture of the North Taku entrenchments. Two members of the regiment were awarded Victoria Crosses, Lieutenant Robert Montresor Rogers, and Private John McDougall who was also awarded the VC. The 44th lost fourteen men and forty-six men were wounded.
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The End of the "East Essex"

The Cardwell reforms of 1873 required the infantry regiments to be organised in Districts, usually corresponding to a single county, each with two regular infantry battalions. Most of the amalgamations took place in 1881, when the 44th became the 1st Battalion of the Essex Regiment, with the 56th "West Essex" forming the 2nd Battalion.
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The new badge and Regimental Colours
of the 1st Battalion Essex Regiment

For the list of references, please see the References section on the Credits page

A full family tree of the Royal Anglian Regiment can be found on the website of the Royal Anglian Regiment Museum.