88th Regiment of Foot ( Connaught Rangers ) The 88th Regiment of Foot ( Connaught Rangers ) ( " the Devil ' s Own " ) was an infantry Regiment of the British Army , one of eight Irish regiment s raised and garrisoned in Ireland . The regiment saw extensive service in the Peninsular War , Crimean War and Indian Mutiny , South Africa 1877 - 1881 , South Africa 1899 - 1902 and The Great War 1914 - 1918 . As part of the Cardwell - Childers reforms of the British Army , the regiment amalgamated with the 94th Regiment of Foot , to form the 1st and 2nd Battalions ( respectively ) of the Connaught Rangers on 1 July 1881 . History . The regiment was raised on 25 September 1793 from the men of Connaught by John Thomas de Burgh , 13th Earl of Clanricard . The River Plate invasion . The 88th Foot embarked in late 1806 on ships to take part in the secret attack on Buenos Aires . They languished on board for a month in Falmouth Harbour , then sailed as part of the convoy to Cape Town . There the troops were not allowed to go ashore . After some time they sailed , via St . Helena , to the Plate estuary , and in July 1807 attacked Buenos Aires . Given they had been on board ships for more than a half - year , they were likely in less than perfect physical condition - and also were fighting an " urban warfare " battle that favoured their Argentinian patriotic adversaries , they were not successful . One company of the 88th were ordered to remove the flints from their rifles before they went into action , which effectively rendered them defenceless . This action was taken to help reduce civilian casualties . Taking many casualties , the remainder of the 88th surrendered . They and the other troops were repatriated under a signed agreement that saw the British abandon their attempt to gain sovereignty over the Plate colonies . The 88th was among the first regiments to sail back towards Europe as part of the agreement . They left behind Lieut . William Parker - Carroll from Nenagh Co Tipperary ( Later Sir William Parker - Carroll ) who was apparently the only British Officer present who could speak Spanish . After the surrender , when things were a bit fraught , he appealed to the noble blood of their Castillian ancestors , following which he was carried shoulder high around the square in Buenos Ayres [ see Vol I , Regimental History of The Connaught Rangers , by Jourdain ] , and given a sword and a horse . Parker - Carroll negotiated the release of many prisoners of war taken earlier in the campaign and was debriefed by Lord Castlereagh on his return to London . Peninsular War . The 88th Foot landed in Portugal 13 March 1809 . In Wellesley ' s advance on Soult at Oporto , the 88th was part of Beresford ' s flanking attack to the east , advancing through the rain and over swollen rivers to reach Chaves and then the Spanish border after a superhuman effort . Then in the attack against Victor , east from Portugal , they saw considerable action , being surprised before Talavera at the Casa de Salinas and routed ; then helped save the day in the initial night attack at Talavera when the King ' s German Legion ( KGL ) was surprised and ran ; and were a steady force on the south side of the Medellin hill in the main Battle of Talavera . In 1810 the 88th had a major role to play in rebuffing the advancing French under Massena on Bussaco ' s ridge in Sept . 1810 . With a bayonet charge under the leadership of Wallace they and the 45th sent the French reeling back down the slope . After Bussaco , they retreated along with Wellesley ' s other troops to the Lines of Torres Vedras . There , they were responsible for the lines just to the east of the town of Torres Vedras itself . Every morning , usually in pouring rain , they would assemble for two hours in the dark , just in case the French attacked in the dawn . In 1811 they led the charge at the battle of Fuentes de Onoro that cleared that town , in the final stages of the repelling of Massena out of Portugal . In early 1812 volunteers of the 88th played a crucial role in the taking of Ciudad Rodrigo . Then in the battle of Badajoz they achieved an incredible success through scaling the walls of the castle , when the British troops elsewhere were suffering terrible casualties at the breaches . On 22 July 1812 , in the Battle of Salamanca , the 88th was the central regiment that climbed the hill at Miranda de Azon that crushed Macaune ' s troops and was the first step in the defeat of the French forces - and the turning point of the Peninsular War . As it was said of the Battle of Salamanca - it was when Wellesley beat 40 , 000 men in 40 minutes . It was in this battle that the regiment took the prized " Jingling Johnny " trophy that was marched at the head of its parades for many years . Crimean War ( 1854 - 1856 ) . Their service in the Crimean War was recognised by the presentation to the City of Galway of a pair of guns " in memoriam " , which until recently remained on prominent display on the city ' s main square , Eyre Square , and now are displayed outside City Hall . India . After the Crimean War , the 88th returned to Britain , but in response to the Indian Mutiny were soon deployed to India . The regiment with a strength of 990 plus a depot of about 100 embarked in July 1857 in four detachments . It arrived in Calcutta in November . By 25 November 1857 , 6 companies had reached the front , 4 at Cawnpore and 2 near Futtipore . By the end of 1858 the total loss of the 88th in the field during the operations , according to the returns of each engagement , amounted to one officer and 16 other ranks killed , and 6 officers and 138 other ranks wounded . The Connaught Rangers served in India until 1870 . On 16 November 1870 they boarded the troopship HMS " Jumna " in Bombay , and the passage home began on the following morning ( 17 November ) . The regiment had been 13 years in India . Nine officers , and 407 non - commissioned officers and men , died in India during this period . The 88th were in January 1881 again based in India . Merger . In 1881 , as part of the Childers Reforms , the 88th amalgamated with the 94th Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion and 2nd . Battalion of the Connaught Rangers respectively . The 88th were always knows as " The Connaught Rangers " and served with the 94th " Scotch Brigade " in General Picton ' s 3rd Light Division in The Peninsular Wars . They were side by side at the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo . The 88th and 94th also served in South Africa 1877 - 1881 .