8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot

[1] After James was deposed during the "Glorious Revolution" that installed William III and Mary II as co-monarchs, the regiment's commanding officer, the Duke of Berwick, decided to join his royal father in exile.[4] For almost a decade, the regiment undertook garrison duties in England, Ireland, and the Dutch United Provinces, where it paraded for King William on Breda Heath in September 1701.[6] The War of the Spanish Succession, predicated on a dispute between a "Grand Alliance" and France over who would succeed Charles II of Spain, reached the Low Countries in April 1702.[6] John Churchill, Earl (later Duke) of Marlborough, ranked as Captain-General with limited authority over Dutch forces, arrived in the Low Countries soon afterwards to assume control of a multi-national army organised by the Grand Alliance.He invaded the French-controlled Spanish Netherlands and presided over a series of sieges at Venlo, Roermond, Stevensweert, and Liège, in which the regiment's grenadier company breached the citadel.[9] To aid the beleaguered Austrian Habsburgs and preserve the alliance, Marlborough sought to engage the French in a definitive set-piece battle in 1704 by advancing into Bavaria, an ally of France, and combining his force with that of Prince Eugene.[11] According to a contemporary account by Francis Hare, Chaplain-General of Marlborough's army, the Queen's secured a French-constructed "barrier" to prevent it being used as a route of escape, taking hundreds prisoner in its vicinity.[14] In June, French Marshal Villeroi captured Huy and besieged Liège, forcing Marlborough to abort a campaign that lacked appreciable Allied support.[16] In May 1706, Villeroi, pressured by King Louis XIV to atone for France's earlier defeats, initiated an offensive in the Low Countries by crossing the Dyle river.The Queen's joined an advanced contingent under Lord Cadogan which crossed the Scheldt, via pontoon bridges assembled near Oudenarde, as a prelude to the arrival of the main army.[16] While elements of the main army began to arrive at the bridges, Cadogan advanced on the village of Eyne and swiftly overwhelmed an isolated group of four Swiss mercenary battalions; three surrendered and the fourth attempted to withdraw but was intercepted by Jørgen Rantzau's cavalry.After being committed from reserve in the battle's closing stages, the regiment advanced under heavy fire and fought through dense wood, having Lieutenant-Colonel Louis de Ramsay killed.[42] Both battalions formed part of an expedition in 1757 that captured Île d'Aix, an island off the western coast of France,[42] as a precursor to a planned seizure of the mainland garrison town of Rochefort.Caldwell, later 5th Baronet of Wellsborough in County Fermanagh, immersed himself in efforts to foster understanding between the British and Ojibwe, reputedly marrying a member of the tribe and becoming an honorary chief under the adopted name of "The Runner".Born into a prominent New York City family of Dutch origin, DePeyster joined the British Army in 1755, was appointed commander of Fort Michilimackinac in 1774, and in 1777 arranged for roughly 200 hundred Indigenous warriors to travel to Montreal in support of the Saratoga Campaign.Informed by scouts of Foster's retreat, Arnold pursued the British in bateaux across the lake, but was deterred from landing by Forster's men, supported by two captured artillery pieces.[50] In the summer of 1777, Captain Leroult, Lieutenant Henry Bird and 100 men from Fort Niagara participated in St. Leger's expedition—a diversion in support of Major General John Burgoyne's campaign to take control of the Hudson River valley.Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger, a mixed force of regulars, provincials and Indigenous warriors besieged Fort Stanwix on the Mohawk River for three weeks in August.Bird led an advance party that seized the Lower Landing before St. Leger's main body arrived at the fort, but was too late to prevent the unloading of a batteau convoy transports supplies and reinforcements.Angry over false accusations of atrocities after the Battle of Wyoming, and the destruction by American forces of Unadilla and Onaquaga in early October, the Seneca and Cayuga killed 30 non-combatants including women and children.Due to the harsh winter conditions, Bird and Girty lifted the siege after a month and withdrew back to Detroit, shortly before American reinforcements arrived.Of the 200–250 prisoners taken by the Indigenous auxiliaries, most were brought to Detroit, but a number were killed en route, and few others, mostly young women and children, were held captive until the end of the war.[56] In August 1780, Major General Frederick Haldimand, Governor of the Province of Quebec, authorized a large-scale raid against the Schoharie and Mohawk River valleys of New York.[69] The 8th Foot returned to Nova Scotia in April, having had its commanding officer, Major Bryce Maxwell, and four others killed in a skirmish with French soldiers on the Surirey Heights during the advance on Fort Desaix in February.[71] Sporadic raids into Canada on the eastern frontier provided impetus for a former regimental officer, Lieutenant-Colonel "Red" George MacDonnell, to encroach into New York State and attack Ogdensburg in February 1813.The Americans nevertheless overwhelmed the area but subsequently incurred 250 casualties, notably General Zebulon Pike, when retreating British regulars detonated Fort York's Grand Magazine.Although the Americans had two brigadiers captured and suffered losses, the British commander, Colonel John Harvey, considered the possibility of his opponents realising their numerical advantage too compelling to ignore and withdrew.[84] The complex array of motives and causes that culminated in the mutiny of much of the Bengal Army would be catalysed in 1857 by rumours that beef and pork fat was being used to grease paper rifle cartridges.Grouped into the 2nd Column with the 2nd Bengal Fusiliers and 4th Sikhs, the 8th King's attacked Delhi early on 14 September with the intent of capturing the Water Bastion and Kashmiri Gate.In an environment of systematic reprisal by the British, Captain Octavius Anson, of the 9th Lancers, recalled observing acts of punitive violence against Indian civilians, including the alleged killing of incapacitated villagers by soldiers of the 8th Foot.