Early wars The regiment was first raised by Colonel Edward Fox as
Edward Fox’s Regiment of Marines in 1702 to fight in the
War of the Spanish Succession. Elements of the regiment joined the fleet which sailed from
Spithead in July 1702 and saw action as marines at the
Battle of Vigo Bay in October 1702. The marines returned to England in November 1702. The regiment also took part in the
capture and defence of Gibraltar in July 1704 and suffered very heavy losses at the
Battle of Almansa in April 1707. It was disbanded in 1713 but re-raised as
Jacob Borr’s Regiment of Foot in 1714. It then served in Ireland from 1716 to 1734. In summer 1742 the regiment was despatched to Belgium for service in the
War of the Austrian Succession: it was held in reserve at the
Battle of Dettingen in June 1743. but fought at the
Battle of Fontenoy in May 1745. The regiment returned to England in October 1745 and were stationed in
Lancashire during the
Jacobite rising in 1745. On 1 July 1751 a
royal warrant was issued declaring that in future regiments were no longer to be known by their colonel's name, but by the
"Number or Rank of the Regiment". Accordingly, '''General Francis Leighton's Regiment
was renamed as the 32nd Regiment of Foot
. In 1782 all regiments of the line without a royal title were given a county designation and the regiment became the 32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot'''. The regiment were also sent to
Dublin as part of the response to the
Irish rebellion in 1803.
Napoleonic Wars at which the regiment contributed to the storming parties The regiment was deployed to Denmark in July 1807 and were ordered aboard the captured Danish ships as marines at the
Battle of Copenhagen in August 1807 during the
Gunboat War. The regiment landed in Portugal in June 1808, and under General
Sir Arthur Wellesley, fought in the
Battle of Roliça and the
Battle of Vimeiro in August 1808. The regiment fought under General
Sir John Moore in the retreat to
Corunna, and on returning to England they were part of the
Walcheren Campaign in the Netherlands where many were struck down with malaria. After being reinforced the regiment returned to Spain in June 1811, and contributed to the storming parties in the attack on San Vicente fort at Salamanca and then served at the
Battle of Salamanca in July 1812. The regiment pursued the French Army into France and saw action again at the
Battle of the Pyrenees in July 1813, the
Battle of Nivelle in November 1813 and the
Battle of the Nive in December 1813 as well as the
Battle of Orthez in February 1814. The regiment fought at the
Battle of Quatre Bras, arriving about 3 pm on 16 June 1815 just in time to help halt the French advance. Two days later at
Battle of Waterloo the regiment was stationed opposite the French main attacks, standing their ground before attacking
Napoleon's assaulting troops. The 1st Battalion of the regiment was part of the 8th British Brigade commanded by Major-General
James Kempt, which was in turn part of the 5th British Infantry Division under Lieutenant-General
Thomas Picton. The regiment was commanded on the field by Lieutenant-Colonel John Hicks and numbered at 503 men at the battle of Waterloo having suffered casualties at Quatre Bras. It was two men of the regiment's Grenadier company who bore Pictons's body away after he was fatally shot through the head.
The Victorian era of the 32nd Regiment by
William Gush,
Province House (Nova Scotia) The regiment was sent to Canada in June 1830 and fought at the
Battle of Saint-Denis in November 1837 and at the
Battle of Saint-Eustache in December 1837 during the
Lower Canada Rebellion. The regiment also saw action at the
Siege of Multan in autumn 1848 and at the
Battle of Gujrat in February 1849 during the
Second Anglo-Sikh War. The regiment defended
Lucknow from July to November 1857,
Victoria Crosses being awarded to
William Dowling,
Henry Gore-Browne,
Samuel Lawrence The regiment was retitled the
32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) in recognition of its contribution during the rebellion. On 1 July 1881 the
Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot to form the
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. ==Battle honours==