The 1st battalion was part of John Moore's campaign which ended with evacuation after the Battle of Corunna on 16 January 1809. The majority of the 1st battalion was rested and refitted in the UK, though a few small detachments of the 95th were stranded behind which then formed up with other detachments as part of a defence force (1st Battalion of detachments) in Portugal. The 1st returned to the peninsula a few months later in May 1809 and in July was force marched in an attempt to arrive with the main force for the Battle of Talavera but despite covering a notable distance they arrived on 29 July 1809, just after the battle.