Oglethorpe's Regiment

Oglethorpe's Regiment Old 42nd Foot
Active	1737-1748
Country	Great Britain
Branch	British Army
Type	Foot
Role	Colonial service in America
Size	Six line companies and a grenadier company
Engagements	Siege of St. Augustine, 1740 Battle of Bloody Marsh, 1742 Battle of Gully Hole Creek, 1742
Commanders
Notable commanders	James Oglethorpe

Oglethorpe's Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed for service in North America during the War of Jenkins' Ear. It was commanded by James Oglethorpe, first Governor of Georgia.[1][2][3]

Service

The raising of the regiment, ranked as the 42nd Regiment of Foot, was authorised in August 1737. The unit formed at Savannah in the following year.[1][4]

The regiment took part in the Siege of St Augustine in June and July 1740 and the Battles of Bloody Marsh and Gully Hole Creek near Fort Frederica in July 1742.[1][2][3]

The regiment was disbanded at the end of the conflict on 24 November 1748.[1] Some of its discharged soldiers enlisted in the South Carolina Independent Companies.[5][6]

Organization

The regiment consisted of six companies of 100 privates each, non-commissioned officers and drummers in addition. Later a company of grenadiers was added. Oglethorpe secured commissions for gentlemen of family and character in their communities. In addition he established twenty young gentlemen of no fortune as cadets in the regiment.[7]

Officers

Officers included:[7]

• James Oglethorpe, Colonel
• James Cochran, Lieutenant-Colonel
• William Cook, Major
• Hugh Mackay, Captain
• Richard Norbury, Captain
• Alexander Herron, Captain
• Albert Desbrisay, Captain
• Philip Delegall, Sr., Lieutenant
• Philip Delegall, Jr., Lieutenant
• Raymond Demere, Lieutenant
• George Morgan, rank not stated
• George Dunbar, rank not stated
• William Horton, Ensign
• James Mackay, Ensign
• William Folsom, Ensign
• John Tanner, Ensign
• John Leman, Ensign
• Sandford Mace, Ensign
• Hugh Mackay, Adjutant
• Edward Dyson, Clerk and Chaplain
• Thomas Hawkins, Surgeon
• Edward Wansall, Quartermaster

Lachlan McIntosh served as a cadet in the regiment.[8]

References

Notes

1. René Chartrand (January 2003). Colonial American Troops 1610-1774 (3). Osprey Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-84176-483-2.
2. David Lee Russell (1 January 2006). Oglethorpe and Colonial Georgia: A History, 1733-1783. McFarland. pp. 30–35. ISBN 978-0-7864-2233-3.
3. "The Old Forty-Second or Oglethorpe's Regiment of Foot". Colbourn's United Service Magazine, Part III. London: Hurst & Blackett. 1867. pp. 201–212. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
4. Richard J. Lenz (1 December 2002). Highroad Guide to the Georgia Coast and Okefenokee. John F. Blair, Publisher. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-89587-281-4.
5. Cashin 2009, pp. 79–80.
6. Foote 1966, p. 314.
7. Knight 1914, vol. 2, part 2, pp. 768-769.
8. Hawes 2021, pp. 4-5.

Sources

• Cashin, Edwar J. (2009). Guardians of the Valley. The University of South Carolina Press.
• Foote, William Alfred (1966). The American Independent Companies of the British Army 1664-1764. Thesis - University of California, Los Angeles.
• Hawes, Lilla Mills (2021). Lachlan McIntosh Papers in the University of Georgia Libraries. Georgia University Press.
• Knight, Lucian Lamar (1914). Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials and Legends. Atlanta, Georgia, vol. 2, part 2, p. 768-769.