page_title: 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot
section_title: Napoleonic wars
hierarchical_section_title: 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot / History / Napoleonic wars
caption_attribution_description: English: Uniform of 39th Foot Regiment of the British Army in Seven Years' War
context_page_description: The 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 54th Regiment of Foot to form the Dorsetshire Regiment in 1881.
context_section_description: In 1782 the regiment took a county title as the 39th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot. The regiment sailed for the West Indies took part in the capture of Martinique in March 1794, the capture of Saint Lucia in April 1794 and the attack on Guadeloupe in June 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. The British troops at Guadeloupe were forced to surrender in December 1794 and were held in captivity for over a year. The regiment was reformed in Ireland the following year by absorbing the short-lived 104th Regiment of Foot (Royal Manchester Volunteers). The regiment participated in a task force under Major-General John Whyte to capture the Dutch settlements of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice in April and May 1796. The regiment moved to Suriname in October 1800 to Barbados in December 1802 and then returned to England in March 1803.
  In 1803 a 2nd battalion was raised. The 1st battalion moved in Naples in January 1806 and to Sicily shortly thereafter. In 1807 a number of regiments had their territorial affiliations shuffled, with the East Middlesex title passing to the 77th Foot and the 39th taking the Dorsetshire title previously held by the 35th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot to become the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot.
  The 2nd battalion deployed to the Peninsula to support General Sir Arthur Wellesley in June 1809 and fought at the Battle of Talavera in July 1809, the Battle of Bussaco in September 1810 and the Siege of Badajoz in May 1811 as well as the Battle of Albuera in May 1811 and the Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos in October 1811.
  Meanwhile, the 1st battalion deployed to the Peninsula in August 1811 and saw action at the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813 and across the Pyrenees, including the Battle of Sorauren in July 1813. It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at the Battle of Nivelle in November 1813, the Battle of the Nive in December 1813 and the Battle of Orthez in 1814 as well as the Battle of Toulouse in 1814. The battalion was then posted to North America for service in the War of 1812 and took part in the Battle of Plattsburgh in September 1814 before returning to England in July 1815. The regiment formed part of the Army of Occupation in France from 1815 to 1818 when it embarked for Ireland.
caption: Uniform of 39th Regiment, 1756
exif: {}