55th ( Westmorland ) Regiment of Foot The 55th Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment which existed from 1755 to 1881 . After 1782 it had a county designation added , becoming known as the 55th ( Westmorland ) Regiment of Foot . or simply the Westmorland Regiment . The 55th ceased to exist as a separate regiment when it was amalgamated into The Border Regiment in 1881 as part of widespread army reforms . The regiment was raised in Stirling , Scotland in 1755 . George Perry , Esqr . was appointed Colonel , his commission being dated 25 December 1755 . Originally ranked as the 57th Regiment of Foot , the regiment was re - ranked as the 55th in 1757 following the disbandment of the 50th and 51st Regiments . Service . French and Indian War service ( 1757 - 61 ) . The regiment saw active service overseas in North America and participated in the French and Indian War , arriving in North America in 1757 . The regiment arrived in Nova Scotia on 8 July 1757 to take part in the abandoned attack on the Fortress Louisbourg . During the voyage Colonel Perry died , in September Lord George Augustus Viscount Howe was appointed Colonel of the regiment . In November of that same year , the 55th arrived in Albany , New York . It was during this time that Lord Howe accompanied Major Robert Rogers , commander of His Majesty ' s Independent Companies of Rangers on a scout , to learn the art of " bush fighting . " Lord Howe ' s willingness to learn from the American rangers and his interaction with subordinates won him the respect of both colonist and British redcoat being described as the " Idol of the army . " In the spring of 1758 , Howe began to train and accoutre the men in the 55th more like rangers to better adapt them to warfare in America . One person said of Lord Howe ' s innovations that he has made the men of the 55th " almost as dexterious as the rangers . " The regiment became the example for the whole of General James Aberbromby ' s army that was to assembling to attack the French fort at Ticonderoga . In July of 1758 , a flotila of 15000 men sailed up Lake George en route to Ticonderoga . At the onset of the battle Lord Howe was killed . His death proved to be more than the army of Abercromby could bear , several writers commented on Lord Howe ' s death in regards to the effect it had on the morale of the army . Without Howe , Abercromby was at a loss as to what to do and decided to attack the fort without bringing up the artillery , a decision that would prove costly and lead to the defeat of his army . After Lord Howe ' s death John Prideaux was appointed commander of the regiment though he did not arrive in North America until the following spring . Upon his arrival , he was detached to command the forces bound for Fort Niagara , while the 55th again participated in the successful attacks on Ticonderoga and Crown Point . In an unfortunate accident Prideaux was killed by the blast of a cohorn while walking through the entrenchments during the siege of Fort Niagara . The 55th meanwhile a part of General Jeffery Amherst ' s army participated in the capture of forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point , halting at Crown Point to construct a new , larger fortification . As the warm months were coming to an end the regiment moved south to winter quarters around Albany . The following year , 1760 Colonel James Adolphus Oughton took command of the regiment and the 55th travelled to Oswego , where General Jeffery Amherst was assembling his army to attack the last stronghold in French Canada , Montreal . En route they defeated the French at La Gallete ( present day Ogdensburgh , NY ) and Fort Levis , and then further up the St . Lawrence River they went to witness the fall of Montreal to the British . Following the conclusion of hostilities the 55th garrisoned several frontier outposts in New York including Crown Point , Fort Ontario , and Fort Brewerton . In 1762 William Gansell became the colonel of the 55th Regiment . Pontiac ' s Indian Uprising ( 1763 - 64 ) . Garrisoning posts on the New York frontier , volunteers of the 55th regiment went with James Dalyell to reinforce the British post at Detroit . Fort Detroit was under siege from the neighboring Native Americans led by Pontiac . When Dalyell ' s force arrived there , Dalyell led them to make a surprise attack the Native Americans . The force was ambushed en route , and the 55th suffered heavy casualties . This became known as the Battle of Bloody Run or Bloody Bridge . Other soldiers became part of an ad hoc light infantry unit known as " the Platoons " of which 55th Captain Valentine Gardiner commanded four of them . Their task was to act offensively against the hostile Native Americans , but they were largely ineffective . The next year 98 men of the grenadier and light infantry companies travelled again to Detroit under the command of Colonel John Bradstreet , while many others were drafted into the more established 17th Regiment . Anne Grant , whose father was an officer in the 55th Regiment , wrote ; " they were going to become part of a regiment of no repute ; whom they themselves had held in the utmost contempt when they formerly served together . " American Revolution ( 1776 - 78 ) . The 55th was sent to America for the second time to serve in the American Revolution . Notably , the regiment fought at the Battle of Brooklyn ( 1776 ) , the Battle of Brandywine ( 1777 ) . In 1778 , the 55th was transferred to the West Indies . In 1782 , County designations were given to many foot regiments and the 55th was designated the 55th , or Westmorland Regiment of Foot . China ( 1841 - 1842 ) . The 55th served in the 1st Anglo - Chinese War ( 1840 – 42 ) . The 55th arrived in China in 1841 and was selected as part of the expeditionary force that moved north from Hong Kong on the 20th of August . It participated in the Battle of Amoy on August 24 . On October 1 the 55th was the first to land during the battle of Tinghai . They landed on a beach and then assaulted an enemy strong point called guards hill , where they ascended under heavy fire but eventually took the hill . They then proceeded to take the heights overlooking Tinghai and then immediately descended and placed their colours on the walls of the city . After the battle , a detachment of the 55th and 18th were left to garrison the city . On October 10 , the 55th again was part of the force that engaged Qing troops at the battle of Chinhai where the regiment was left as the garrison after the battle . It remained in Chinhai for the remainder of the year . In 1842 , the 55th saw action at Chapu in May , and ChinKiang Fu in July . They garrisoned ChinKiang Fu until the treaty of Nanking was signed . Part of the 55th remained in Hong Kong after the war . For its service during the war it was awarded with the addition of a dragon badge superscribed " China " on its Regimental Colour . A Chinese flag captured by the 55th at the battle of Tinghai can be seen in the Border Regiment Chapel in Kendal Parish Church , along with a pair of regimental colours used from 1786 - 1801 . Crimean War ( 1853 - 1855 ) . The 55th Foot saw active service in Turkey and Russia during the Crimean War . The regiment was awarded 3 battle honours to its Regimental Colour for service in the Crimea : The Alma , Inkerman , and Sevastopol . Amalgamation as The Border Regiment ( 1881 ) . On 1 July 1881 , as part of the Childers Reforms which removed the numbering of Regiments , the 55th ( Westmorland ) Regiment of Foot united with the 34th ( Cumberland ) Regiment of Foot to form The Border Regiment of which the former 55th formed the 2nd battalion . Modern successor . Through the process of amalgamation and restructuring of the Army , the lineage of the 55th Foot now rests with the 3rd Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster ' s Regiment ( King ' s Lancashire and Border ) . The 18th century colours of the 55th are laid up at Kendal Parish Church .