The American War of Independence 1775 – 1783

33^rd Regiment

In 1766 the young Lord Charles Cornwallis became Colonel of the 33^rd, a position he would retain until 1805. With Cornwallis as their Colonel, the 33^rd acquired a reputation for excellence and indeed in 1772 was described as ‘one of the finest Regiments in His Majesty’s Service’; in 1774 Maj-General William Howe found the 33^rd’s drill and discipline ‘Established upon the truest principles, far superior to any other Corps within my observation’.

1775 proved to be as much of a decisive year in the history of the 33^rd as it was for the entire British Empire. In February the following year, as hostilities threatened to grow out of hand, the 33^rd along with a number of other Regiments crossed the Atlantic to deal with the disgruntled colonials. The highly regarded Lord Cornwallis now the Colonel of the Regiment of the 33^rd rather then its Commanding Officer, commanded this reinforcement group. After initially taking part in the aborted attempt to capture Charleston, Cornwallis’ troops were pushed north to join the main army near the city of New York.

Subsequently the Regiment were involved in many separate engagements, including Brooklyn Heights (1776) and White Plains (1776), Brandywine Creek and Germantown (1777) and Freehold (1778).

Towards the end of 1779 the 33^rd headed south to take part in the capture of Charleston, South Carolina. This victory was followed by successes at Camden (1780) and Guilford Court House (1781). However, the tables largely began to turn on the British troops, so much so that Lord Cornwallis was eventually forced in to Yorktown where he was forced to sign a surrender to a huge combined French and American force.

In 1782 it was decreed by Lord Cornwallis that the 33^rd ought to formally recognise the links with the West Riding area of Yorkshire stating, “the 33^rd Regiment of infantry has always recruited in the West Riding”. On 31 August 1782 Lord Cornwallis was informed that the new title of his Regiment would be “33^rd (or 1^st Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot”, thus establishing a link, which still exists today.

The war in the colony finally ended in 1783 with America being granted terms of independence from Britain. When our depleted troops returned to home soil they were obviously suffering from low morale. However the fine reputation the 33^rd had established in the America’s soon led to them being known as the “Pattern” – the Regiment all others should model themselves on.     

76^th Regiment

The huge burden placed on the British Army by the American War of Independence led to a 76^th Regiment once again being raised.

In December 1777 Lord MacDonald of Slate raised the 76^th (Highland) Foot. The Regiment arrived in America 1779 and was deployed in and around New York. In 1781, in a move that mirrored the 33^rd, the 76^th was sent south to Virginia, and in October also surrendered at Yorktown. As soon as peace was signed the 76^th returned to Scotland, once again to face disbandenment as the men returned to tend to their land.