Early years detailing the regimental history decorated with the regiment's colours The regiment was raised as local
militia at
Enniskillen by Colonel Zachariah Tiffin as '''Zacharaiah Tiffin's Regiment of Foot''' in June 1689, to fight against
James II in the
Williamite War in Ireland. The regiment served successfully, most notably at the
Battle of Newtownbutler in July 1689, and it gained a place on the English establishment in 1690 as a regular infantry regiment. As such it then fought at the
Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, at the
Battle of Aughrim in July 1691 and at the
Siege of Limerick in August 1691. A contingent from the regiment took part in the
Siege of Namur in August 1695 during the
Nine Years' War. The regiment was deployed to the
West Indies in late 1739 but returned in December 1740. It formed part of the Government army sent to defeat the
Jacobite rising of 1745, participating in the
Battle of Falkirk in January 1746 and in the
Battle of Culloden in April 1746. At this period they were commonly known as ''Blakeney's'' Regiment after the colonel-in-chief. and fought against the French at the
Battle of Carillon in July 1758 and the
Battle of Ticonderoga in July 1759. The following year, the regiment took part in the successful
three pronged attack against Montréal in September during the
Seven Years' War. It then took part in the
Invasion of Martinique in January 1762 and the capture of
Grenada in February 1762. It also took part in the
Battle of Havana in June 1762 during the
Anglo-Spanish War: the regiment suffered heavy losses and was evacuated to
New York. In September 1775 the regiment returned to
North America to take part in the
American War of Independence, The war with France came to an end in 1783 but broke out again ten years later with the
French Revolutionary Wars and the regiment took part in the
Flanders Campaign of 1793.
Napoleonic Wars The 27th Regiment served throughout the
Napoleonic Wars including in
Egypt where it formed part of
Sir Ralph Abercromby's force that fought the
Battle of Alexandria against the French in March 1801, the 2nd Battalion formed part of the
garrison of that city after its capture. The 1st Battalion served in the Calabrian campaign and fought at
Battle of Maida on 4 July 1806. In this engagement the light company fought in
James Kempt's brigade while the one grenadier and eight line companies belonged to
Lowry Cole's brigade. The 1st Battalion entered the
Peninsular War in November 1812 and participated in the
Battle of Castalla and the
Siege of Tarragona, both in 1813. The 2nd Battalion landed in Spain in December 1812 The 3rd Battalion disembarked in
Lisbon in November 1808. It became part of
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington's army and fought at many of the key battles including
Badajoz in March 1812,
Salamanca in July 1812,
Vitoria in June 1813 and
the Pyrenees in July 1813 before pursuing the French Army into France and fighting them at
Nivelle in November 1813,
Orthez in February 1814 and
Toulouse in April 1814. At the
Battle of Sorauren (Pyrenees), the 3rd/27th lost two officers and 41 men killed, nine officers and 195 men wounded, and seven men taken prisoner. At Toulouse, the unit lost two officers and 23 men killed, and five officers and 76 men wounded. The 1st Battalion went on to fight at the
Battle of Waterloo as part of
John Lambert's 10th Brigade in the 6th Division. At about 6:30 PM, the French captured the key strongpoint of
La Haye Sainte farm. After this success, they brought up several cannon and took the Anglo-Allied lines under fire at extremely close range. At this period, the 698-strong battalion was deployed in
square at the point where the Ohain road crossed the
Charleroi to
Brussels highway. At a range of , the French artillery caused the unit enormous casualties within a short time. At day's end, the 1st Battalion had lost 105 killed and 373 wounded, a total of 478 casualties, without breaking. The unit was described as "lying dead in a square". At the time of Waterloo, the soldiers of the 27th were dressed in red, short-tailed jackets, overall trousers, and a high-fronted shako. The facing colour was buff and it was displayed on the collar, cuffs, and shoulder-straps. The lace on the cuffs and jackets had square-ended loops.
The Victorian era Between 1837 and 1847 the 27th Regiment was engaged in several of the
Xhosa Wars in
South Africa. In 1840, the spelling 'Enniskillen' was changed to 'Inniskilling'. The Gaelic form of the name is
Inis Ceithleann ('the Island of Kathleen'), which is captured by various anglicisations. The Regiment was also nicknamed
The Skins. From 1854 and 1868 it served in
India as part of the suppression of the
Indian Mutiny and helped to maintain law and order in North-West India. As part of the
Cardwell Reforms of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 27th was linked with the
108th (Madras Infantry) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 64 at
St Lucia Barracks, Omagh. On 1 July 1881 the
Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 108th (Madras Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers: the "Twenty-Seventh" became the 1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, with the 108th (Madras Infantry) Regiment of Foot as the 2nd Battalion. ==Battle honours==