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| 95th Regiment of Foot (Reid's) | |
|---|---|
| Unit name | 95th Regiment of Foot (Reid's) |
| Dates | 1813–1816 |
| Country | Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Garrison | Falkirk |
| Notable commanders | Colonel William Reid |
95th Regiment of Foot (Reid's) was a short-lived infantry regiment raised during the later stages of the Napoleonic Wars under the authority of the War Office (United Kingdom), associated with recruitment in Scotland and named for its founder, Colonel William Reid. The regiment served in home defence and garrison duties amid the political pressures of the Peninsular War, the post-Jacobin security environment following the Battle of Leipzig, and the broader restructuring of the British Army after the Treaty of Paris (1814). Its existence intersects with figures and institutions such as Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the King's German Legion, and the policies of Lord Liverpool.
The regiment was raised in 1813 at Stirling and Falkirk under the auspices of Colonel William Reid, drawing recruits from Stirlingshire, Lanarkshire, and adjacent Scottish counties during a period when the Board of Ordnance and the War Office (United Kingdom) expanded establishment numbers in response to campaigns led by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte’s field armies, and operations involving the French Empire. Its initial cadre included veterans from the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot, officers formerly of the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot, and non-commissioned personnel with service in the Walcheren Campaign and the Peninsular War. Recruitment and commissioning were influenced by patronage networks tied to Scottish landed gentry, the House of Commons (UK), and local magistrates enforcing the Militia Act 1802.
Although established late in the Napoleonic Wars, the regiment performed duties connected to coastal defence along the North Sea and participated in internal security tasks related to the aftermath of the Hundred Days and the abdication of Napoleon. Elements of the regiment were posted to garrison duties at forts that protected approaches to Edinburgh Castle and naval installations associated with the Royal Navy at Leith. Officers engaged with logistic and administrative interactions with the Army Commissariat Department, the Quartermaster-General to the Forces, and local commanders aligned with policies emanating from Horse Guards and Wellington's headquarters. The regiment’s short active life coincided with campaigns such as the Campaign of France (1814) and diplomatic settlements at the Congress of Vienna that reshaped British force deployments across Europe.
During its home service the regiment occupied barracks and works including detachments at Falkirk barracks, fortifications near Dumbarton Castle, and temporary billets in Glasgow while performing duties that required coordination with the Local Militia and the Yeomanry to manage civil disturbances linked to wartime shortages and the postwar economic dislocation referenced in debates in the House of Commons (UK). The regiment provided escort details for convoys bound for Portsmouth and guards for prisoners of war transferred through ports such as Leith and Hull, operating under regulations issued by the Adjutant-General to the Forces and drawing on medical support from the Army Medical Department. Training and drills followed the drill-books circulated by the Horse Guards and reflected tactical developments observed in the Peninsular War.
The 95th Regiment was organized on a conventional two-battalion foot-regiment model with companies led by captains commissioned via purchase under systems overseen by the War Office (United Kingdom), with junior officers frequently drawn from families active in the Scottish gentry and former officers from the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot or the 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot. Its uniform retained elements characteristic of contemporary line infantry: red coats with regimental facings, stacking equipment regulated by the Board of Ordnance, and accoutrements produced by contractors who supplied other units such as the Coldstream Guards and the Grenadier Guards. Headgear and drill reflected influences from units like the 95th Rifles (Baker's Rifles) notwithstanding the distinct distinction that the regiment remained a line infantry formation rather than a rifle corps.
Following the cessation of major hostilities after the Battle of Waterloo and the financial retrenchment policies of the Government of the United Kingdom, the regiment was disbanded in 1816 as part of broader reductions affecting regiments raised for wartime exigency, with veterans transferred to regiments including the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot and the 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot or placed on veterans’ half-pay lists administered through the Paymaster of the Forces. Though brief, the regiment's service contributed to the manpower adjustments implemented after the Congress of Vienna and its officers and NCOs influenced drilling and recruiting practices in subsequent decades within regiments stationed at Scottish depots such as Fort George and Inverness Barracks. Its memory survives in regimental lists, contemporary Army returns, and local memorials in Stirlingshire and archives preserved by institutions like the National Army Museum and the National Records of Scotland.
Category:Infantry regiments of the British Army Category:Military units and formations established in 1813 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1816