Early years The regiment was raised in
Ireland by Lieutenant-General
Thomas Meredyth as '''Meredyth's Regiment''' in February 1702. It embarked for the
Netherlands in May 1703 and fought under the
Duke of Marlborough at the
Battle of Schellenberg in July 1704, the
Battle of Blenheim in August 1704 as well as the
Battle of Oudenarde in July 1708 The regiment embarked for
Canada in 1711 as part of the
Quebec Expedition but lost 8 officers and 253 men when the ships in which it was sailing foundered on the rocks on the
Saint Lawrence River; the expedition returned home. The regiment next saw action at the
Battle of Dettingen in June 1743 during the
War of the Austrian Succession. It also fought at the
Battle of Falkirk in January 1746 during the
Jacobite rebellion when its colonel,
Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet, was shot and then finished off with three sword blows to the head. It went on to fight under the command of Colonel Lewis Dejean at the
Battle of Culloden in April 1746 The regiment fought at the
Battle of Minden in August 1759 during the
Seven Years' War. After the battle the men of the regiment picked
dog-roses from the hedges and put them in their headdresses to celebrate the victory. It also took part in a skirmish at
Grebenstein in June 1762 and another at
Fellinghausen in July 1762. The regiment embarked for
North America for service in the
American Revolutionary War in 1776 and was present at the
Battle of Long Island in August 1776 It became the
37th (the North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot in 1782. to
Gibraltar from 1812 to 1814 and to
Canada from 1814 to 1826.
The Victorian era The regiment embarked for
Ceylon in 1846 and took part in the suppression of the
Matale rebellion in 1847. It moved to India in spring 1857 and, having arrived by steamer on the
Son River, opened fire on the attacking mutineers at the
Siege of Arrah in July 1857 during the
Indian Rebellion. It returned to England in 1861 and was sent to
Ireland in 1865 before returning to India in 1866. 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 37th was linked with the
67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 40 at
Lower Barracks in
Winchester. The regiment returned to England in 1875 and then moved to Ireland in 1880. On 1 July 1881 the
Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot to become the
Hampshire Regiment (later the
Royal Hampshire Regiment). ==Battle honours==