Royal Corsican Rangers The Royal Corsican Rangers was a unit of the British Army , composed mainly of Émigrés , which served during the later part of the French Revolutionary Wars and throughout the Napoleonic Wars . First embodiment . In 1794 , the Corsicans under Pasquale Paoli seceded from the French Republic , and invited British troops to assist in driving French troops from the island . For two years , the island was part of an Anglo - Corsican Kingdom . However , relations between British and Corsicans soured . Spain declared war against Britain in 1796 , putting all British territories in the Mediterranean at risk and prompting the British to withdraw from Corsica . Several pro - Paoli Corsicans fled the island or were exiled , and in September 1798 , they formed a light infantry company known as the " Franc Tireur Corses " on Minorca , which at the time was held by the British . The unit consisted of seven officers and 226 other ranks . In July 1800 , Captain Hudson Lowe of the 50th Foot was detached to command the unit , with the temporary rank of Major . Lowe had served on Corsica during the brief period of British control , and spoke both French and Italian . The unit was transported to Gibraltar , where they impressed General Ralph Abercromby , who was preparing an expedition to remove the French from Egypt , which they had conquered in 1798 . Abercromby issued them with new uniforms , issued them with the Baker rifle , and placed them in his Reserve Division . They took part in the opposed landing at the Battle of Aboukir after which they were re - titled the Corsican Rangers . The unit took part in the subsequent actions in Egypt . They received praise , and were entitled to wear buttons and other equipment decorated with a sphinx . The Peace of Amiens was signed between Britain and France shortly after the French evacuated Egypt . The Corsican Rangers were disbanded in Malta . Second embodiment . When war broke out again between Britain and France in 1803 , Major Lowe was ordered to raise a second Corsican regiment , to serve in the Mediterranean . Most of the officers Lowe nominated were Corsican , as was the hard core of 360 riflemen , organised in six companies . They were augmented by recruits from Sicily , Sardinia and Naples , to a strength of roughly 600 in ten companies . The regiment was officially accepted into the British Army in October 1804 . In July 1805 , the Royal Corsican Rangers took part in a British expedition to Sicily and Naples . On 4 July 1806 , three companies of the regiment took part in the Battle of Maida , which ended with a British victory . From the end of 1806 to 1808 , the Rangers were stationed on Capri , where Hudson Lowe was appointed commander of the garrison . In 1808 , French and Neapolitan forces under Joachim Murat , the King of Naples imposed by the French , attacked the island and conquered it after a severe fight . Some of the Rangers deserted rather than fight Corsicans in French service , but others distinguished themselves . Lowe was forced to capitulate , but his forces were allowed to depart with full military honours . The next year , the regiment took part in an expedition to the Ionian Islands under General Sir John Stuart . By this time , the regiment was commanded by its former second in command , Lieutenant Colonel John McCombe . On 30 September , 600 troops from the regiment , led by Colonel Lowe ( who was appointed second in command to Major General John Oswald , the commander of the division ) , captured Zakynthos from its outnumbered French garrison without fighting . Detachments participated in the capture of other islands of Kefalonia , Ithaca and Kythira . The Rangers were stationed in the Ionian Islands until the end of the Napoleonic Wars . In 1814 and 1815 , some of them took part in further actions against Murat ' s Neapolitan forces . On 13 Feb 1814 , the island of Paxos , in the Adriatic , surrendered to and a detachment of 160 troops . The troops moved so rapidly through the island that the enemy did not have time to organize resistance . As a result , the British force , which included men from the 2nd Greek Light Infantry from Cephalonia , the Royal Corsican Rangers , the 35th Regiment of Foot and other units , and marines and seamen from the " Apollo " , captured 122 enemy troops and a small , well - designed fort of three guns . The regiment was disbanded on Corfu in 1817 . During its service in the Napoleonic Wars , it had worn a uniform similar to that of the 60th ( Royal American ) Regiment , consisting of a dark green jacket with red facings , blue trousers and black gaiters , with black leather equipment .