52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot

52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot
Cap badge of the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot
Active1755–1881
Country Kingdom of Great Britain (1755–1800)
 United Kingdom (1801–1881)
Branch British Army
TypeLine infantry
RoleLight infantry
SizeOne battalion (two battalions 1799–1803; 1804–1815)
Garrison/HQCowley Barracks, Oxford
Nickname(s)"The Light Bobs"[1]
ColoursBuff and scarlet
March"Lower Castle Yard"
EngagementsAmerican Revolutionary War (1775–1778) including: Lexington and Concord; Bunker Hill; Siege of Boston; Long Island; White Plains; Occupation of Newport, Rhode Island; Fort Washington; Princeton; Brandywine; Philadelphia campaign; Fort Montgomery
Second & Third Anglo-Mysore Wars (1783–1793) including: Cannanore; Bangalore; Seringapatam (1792)
French Revolutionary Wars (1793–1801) including: Pondicherry, Ceylon, Quiberon, Cadiz, Ferrol
Copenhagen (1807)
Peninsular War (1808–1814) including: Vimeiro; Corunna; Côa; Bussaco; Casal Novo; Sabugal; Fuentes de Oñoro; Ciudad Rodrigo; Badajoz (1812); Salamanca; Vitoria; Pyrenees; San Marcial; Bidassoa; Nivelle; Nive; Orthez; Tarbes; Toulouse
Walcheren Campaign (1809)
Holland (1813–14)
Waterloo (1815)
Indian Mutiny (1857–8)
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Sir John Clavering (1762–1778)[2]
Cyrus Trapaud (1778–1801)[3]
Sir John Moore (1801–1809)[4]
Sir John Colborne (1811–15)[5]

The 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The regiment first saw active service during the American War of Independence, and were posted to India during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. During the Napoleonic Wars, the 52nd were part of the Light Division, and were present at most major battles of the Peninsula campaign, becoming one of the most celebrated regiments,[6] described by Sir William Napier as "a regiment never surpassed in arms since arms were first borne by men".[7] They had the largest British battalion at Waterloo, 1815, where they formed part of the final charge against Napoleon's Imperial Guard. They were also involved in various campaigns in India.

The regiment was raised as a line regiment in 1755 and numbered as the "54th Foot"; they were renumbered as the "52nd Regiment of Foot" in 1757. In 1781, the regional designation "52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot" was given and in 1803 the regiment was designated "Light Infantry". In 1881, the regiment was merged with the 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot to become the regiment later known as the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wickes77 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ T. H. Bowyer, ‘Clavering, Sir John (bap. 1722, d. 1777) ’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008 accessed 26 May 2008
  3. ^ Light Infantry.org: Colonels[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chappell12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Glover, p. 345
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bryant101 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Napier, p. 279