96th Regiment of Foot The 96th Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army from 1798 to 1881 , when it became the 2nd Battalion , Manchester Regiment . Its lineage is perpetuated by the Duke of Lancaster ' s Regiment ( King ' s , Lancashire and Border ) . History . Minorca Regiment . The Minorca Regiment was raised in 1798 from German - speaking prisoners of war , formerly in Spanish service , whenMinorca was under British control . In 1801 , the regiment took part in the expedition to Egypt to dislodge a French army of occupation . During the Battle of Alexandria , French cavalry charged the British infantry and were about to break through the lines , such was the ferocity of their charge , but the Minorca Regiment advanced in support and launched volley after volley into the mass of cavalry with devastating effect . The regiment distinguished itself even further , when Private Antoine Lutz left the ranks under his own initiative to seize the colour of the 21st " Demi Brigade Legère " , which had been captured previously by the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment ( later The Black Watch ) before being recaptured during the cavalry attack . Private Lutz shot the French officer holding the colour and took possession of the flag before being ridden over by French cavalry . As two dragoon s charged towards him , Lutz claimed to have shot the horse from under one , whose life he spared . He returned to the British lines with the colour of the 21st " Demi Brigade Legère " and the captured dragoon as trophies . Private Lutz was later awarded a Royal Bounty of £20 per annum for life . In honour of his performance a painting was made , with him posing in uniform holding the French standard he had captured . It is presently located in the Museum of the Manchester Regiment . The regiment had certainly fought with honour and bravery , despite their origins , fighting keenly for the British in the Egyptian Campaign . That year , the regiment was renamed the Queen ' s Own Germans and in 1805 , was given the numeric title , the 97th . The regiment also saw service in the Peninsula War , taking part in the Battle of Vimeiro , emulating their astonishing courage in the campaign in Egypt . The regiment later fought at the battles of Talavera , Busaco and Albuera , and the Siege of Badajoz . They were subsequently posted to the West Indies . In 1814 , they were dispatched to Upper Canada , where they took part in some of the last engagements of the Anglo - American War of 1812 . By 1816 the regiment was renumbered as The 96th ( Queen ' s Own Germans ) Regiment of Foot , though had now only a minimal element of foreign soldiers within its ranks , and was no longer considered a foreign corps in 1810 . It was disbanded in 1818 in Ireland . 96th Foot . In 1824 , the 96th regiment was reformed , inheriting the history and battle honours of their predecessors . The regiment was deployed to a variety of territories in the Western Hemisphere , before providing detachments for convict ships sailing to New South Wales and Van Diemen ' s Land , now Tasmania . In 1843 , during tensions between the British and Māoris , largely caused by the Treaty of Waitangi which had been signed between the British and Māori in 1840 , a detachment from the regiment was dispatched to the northern island of New Zealand . Trouble did occur , with confrontations occurring between the regiment and Māoris . In one incident , the 96th met a large Māori force and in response withdrew in the face of a numerically superior opponent . The Flagstaff War began on 11 March 1845 . The regiment took part in a number of engagements during the war , which lasted into early January 1846 . In 1849 , the 96th arrived in Calcutta in India , which at that time was under control of the British East India Company . They left the sub - continent in 1854 , returning home to the UK , before deploying to Gibraltar for garrison service . In 1862 , the regiment was en route to Canada when the ship they were sailing on hit a storm in the Azores . The 96th spent only a brief time in Canada , being deployed to South Africa in 1863 , after a brief period back home in the UK . In 1868 , the 96th deployed to British India , an entity only created ten years before . They remained there until 1873 . The following year the regiment was officially deemed to be the direct descendant of the Minorca Regiment , later The 96th ( Queen ' s Own Germans ) Regiment of Foot . Amalgamation . On 1 July 1881 , in accordance with the Childers Reforms of the army , the regiment merged with the 63rd Regiment of Foot to form the 2nd Battalion , Manchester Regiment .