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British military history class today:

The 63rd Regiment of Foot known as “The Bloodsuckers”, was a British Army regiment in the 18th and 19th centuries.

As part of the Childers Reforms, the 63rd and the 96th Regiments of Foot amalgamated in 1881 to form The Manchester Regiment the heritage continuing through to The King’s Regiment in 1968.

Formed in 1744 as the 63rd (American) Regiment of Foot, they became the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot in 1758.

For most of its history the regiment was a single battalion, but a 2nd Battalion also existed from 1804 until 1814 during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, before the regiment reverted to a single battalion.

Seven Years War

In 1758 the 2nd Battalion of the 8th (The King’s) Regiment of FootCaribbean island of Guadeloupe, which was a French territory, with the intent of capturing the island for Britain during the Seven Years’ War. The invasion began the following year, in January, though many of the soldiers were suffering from a variety of ailments synonymous with service in the Caribbean at that time, which severely sapped the energy and fighting efficiency of the men,. formed the 63rd Regiment of Foot. Later that year the newly created 63rd, along with a number of other regiments and various other assets, set off for the

The British troops landed after the Royal Navy bombarded Basse-Terre, the west part of the island, including Fort Royal, a large citadel. By 24 January British troops had entered the main town. The citadel there had been abandoned, though French forces on the island had merely dispersed to fight a guerrilla campaign against the British forces now in control of Guadeloupe. The enemy had a considerable force, a number of companies of marines, as well as a few thousand natives that could prove deadly in terrain that they knew well.

The 63rd suffered a number of attacks while garrisoning the citadel alone, the rest of the force having moved to the more hospitable east of the island. During one attack the regiment’s commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Desbrisay was killed. The French Governor finally surrendered on 1 May. The 63rd’s duties on the island were, however, not over. They remained there for a further five years. The territory was returned to France by the Treaty of Paris, however this would not be the last time Guadeloupe was captured by Britain in a war against France.

American War of Independence

In 1764 the regiment reached Ireland, and would have a largely uneventful time there. In 1775 the 63rd arrived in America in response to a request for reinforcements due to the outbreak of the American War of Independence. The regiment took part in the Battle of Bunker Hill, with a third attack, which ended in a bayonet charge, finally breaking the Americans. The 63rd remained in Boston after the battle, the town becoming increasingly more uneasy to be in. Finally, in May 1776 the regiment, along with the rest of the forces in Boston, departed, heading for Halifax in Canada.

The regiment took part in the Battle of Long Island, a devastating blow against the Americans, though astonishingly, the American leader General George Washington, managed to reverse the blow that had been struck against much of the Continental Army’s morale in this battle, soon after. Grenadier and Light companies of the 63rd also took part in the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown. The main force of the 63rd took part in the Battle of Fort Clinton. In 1777 the regiment moved to Philadelphia and in the following year took part in the Battle of Monmouth.

In 1779 the 63rd took part in a number of engagements, though in 1780the Carolinas, a campaign that would see their most active involvement in the war. The 63rd took part in the siege and subsequent capture of Charleston, and became the garrison force for the town once the rest of the forces proceeded to other objectives. Elements of the 63rd had become mounted infantry, in effect dragoons. That year the dragoons of the 63rd, augmented by a detachment from Tarleton’s Legion, under the command of the dashing, if somewhat controversial Banastre Tarleton, attacked an American under the command of General Thomas Sumter. the 63rd would become involved in the campaign in

Soon after that engagement, the dragoon element of the 63rd, joined Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s, taking part in a number of successful harassing engagements against American forces. The regiment also took part in number of battles under the command of Lord Cornwallis between 1780–81, as well as taking part in another engagement near Camden in April 1781, as part of a force under the command of General Rawdon.

In 1782 the regiment was designated the 63rd (the West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot.

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