Early history The regiment was raised by Colonel
Edmund Fielding in March 1719 as '''Edmund Fielding's Regiment of Foot
out of independent companies of invalids and Chelsea out-pensioners - soldiers incapable of normal service through disease, age or injury. For much of its early history the regiment undertook garrison duties at Portsmouth. It was renamed the Royal Invalids''' in 1741, The regiment embarked for the
West Indies in 1793 for service in the
French Revolutionary Wars; it took part in the
capture of Martinique in March 1794 and the
attack on Guadeloupe in April 1794 before returning to England in October 1796. It was posted to Canada in 1800 and saw service there during the
War of 1812. It fought under Major General
Isaac Brock at the
siege of Detroit in August 1812 and the
Battle of Queenston Heights in October 1812. Following Brock's death, it fought under Major-General
Henry Procter at the
Battle of Frenchtown in January 1813 and formed the bulk of the attacking force at the
siege of Fort Meigs in April 1813 and the
Battle of Fort Stephenson in August 1813. It then formed part of the crew of the British naval squadron which was defeated at the
Battle of Lake Erie in September 1813 and faced defeat again at the
Battle of the Thames in October 1813. It also took part in the successful
Capture of Fort Niagara and
Battle of Buffalo in December 1813, the
Battle of Lundy's Lane in July 1814, and the
Siege of Fort Erie in August and September 1814.
Shadrack Byfield, a private in the regiment from 1809 to 1815, took part in many of these battles before losing an arm at
Conjocta Creek in 1814 and, after returning home, chronicled the battles in his memoirs.
The Victorian era The regiment was posted to
India in July 1822 and was deployed to
Rangoon for service in the
First Anglo-Burmese War in May 1824. It formed part of an army which advanced up the
River Irrawaddy to the
Kingdom of Ava and then captured
Bagan in February 1826.
Patrick Cleburne, a private in the regiment from 1846 to 1849, subsequently moved to
United States and rose to
major general in the
Confederate Army during the
American Civil War. The regiment landed at
Kalamita in summer 1854 for service in the
Crimean War and fought at the
Battle of Alma in September 1854 and the
Battle of Inkerman, where they captured the
Russian drums, in November 1854 before taking part in the
siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854. 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 41st was linked with the
69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 24 at
Maindy Barracks in
Cardiff. On 1 July 1881 the
Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot to form the
Welch Regiment. ==Battle honours==