The regiment was deployed to South Africa in 1843 and saw action in the Seventh Xhosa War in 1846 and the Eighth Xhosa War in 1851 before returning home in 1859. In 1866, the regiment became the 45th (Nottinghamshire) (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment of Foot. It took part in the British Expedition to Abyssinia in 1867.