The origins of the 5th Regiment of Foot date all the way back to 1674, as the "Irish Regioment" in the service of Holland; it was transferred to British service in 1685, becoming the 5h Regiment of Foot.
The regiment saw action during the 7 Years War, and in 1774, it was sent to Boston in the face of increasing unrest there and in the other British colonies in North America. [I see I have some stray figures of the yellow faced 30th Regiment - horrors. The Quartermaster shall be summoned to correct this grievous error!)
The regiment saw extensive action in North America, including the battles of Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Long Island, White Plains, the capture of Forts Washing ton (NY) and Fort Lee (NJ), Brandywine Creek, Monmouth Court House, and the raid on Little Egg Harbor (NJ).
In late 1778, the regiment shipped to St. Lucia in the West Indies. A few days after capturing the island, the British garrison of 1400 men was attacked by 9,000 French soldiers. The British defeated the attack, with the French suffering very heavy losses, leading top their withdrawal from the island.
In 1782, it received the county designation of Northumberland, in this case being a nod to the Colonel, Hugh Percy, Earl of Northumberland. The figures are by Perry, and wear the rather inelegant but easy to paint short jackets and round hats; the flag is by Adolfo Ramos.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the regiment served in the Peninsula, earning the nicknames "Old and Bold" and "the Fighting Fifth. It fought at Rolica, Vimiero, La Coruna, Busaco, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vitoria, Nivelle, Orthez, and Toulouse. It returned to North America in 1814, fighting at the Battle of Plattsburg, before returning to the Netherlands shortly after the battle of Waterloo.





Lovely work. You are definitely redressing the imbalance between British and Continental forces now Peter. You must be getting close to being able to put on a game.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lawrence. Yes, the two sides are nearly equal now.
DeleteAnother solid unit Peter and they certainly got about a bit, reading the list of engagements!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Keith. They definitely saw a lot of action, especially during the first 2-3 years of the Revolution.
DeleteSomething about the figures headgear looks so smart. I feel that you must be close to a game soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joe. It is in my plans to do an initial test game of R&P soon, using the rules more or less as written, and one of the dozen generic scenarios included with the rules.
DeleteAnother great looking unit rolls off the painting desk. Well done, Peter.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Richard. They aren't marching onto the blog as fast as I can paint them, which is unusual. As usual planned convention games (HAVOC the end of March and Historicon in July) are big motivators!
Deletenice unit!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Phil!
DeleteGood variety between units will look great enmass
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gary; that's the idea!
DeleteFunctional looking chaps, nicely painted with a great flag!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks, Iain. Functional is certainly the word for this order of dress!
Delete