The 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot

The 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot
The history of the regiments began in 1688 when the inhabitants of Enniskillen took up arms in defense of their island town against the threat of occupation by the forces of catholic James II. The spelling of the towns name is derived from the Irish Inis Ceithleann (Ceithlenn's island) which has been anglicised many times over the centuries with ‘Inniskilling’ the spelling at the time the two regiments were raised.

The 27th Regiment served throughout the Napoleonic Wars including in Egypt where it formed part of Abercromby's force that fought at the Battle of Alexandria  in March 1801.

The 27th Regiment’s involvement in the Peninsular War began when the 3rd Battalion disembarked in Lisbon in November 1808. It became part of Wellington's army and fought at many of the key battles including the siege of Badajoz. The French had captured the fortress city from the Spanish in January 1811. Some 6 kilometres from the Portuguese border, Badajoz effectively blocked the Anglo-Portuguese Army's advance into Spain. Because of a chronic lack of siege materials it took Wellington until April 1812 to finally eject the French from the city at great cost to both the allies and the townsfolk who suffered greatly when the victorious troops ransacked the city.

Having rested and recuperated for a month after the siege, the much depleted 3rd Inniskillings were able to fight in the summer campaign of 1812 which included the Battle of Salamanca in July and in June 1813 they played a minor role at  the Battle of Vitoria. They fought in 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 finally at Toulouse in April 1814 before peace was declared and Napoleon was exiled to Elba.

310gm Limited edition of 50 c/w authentication certificate
Illustration by David Higham