Two companies of each regiment were composed of men selected for their experience and fitness. The grenadier company was supposed to contain men suited for vigorous assaults, retaining the traditional name from a bygone era when they hurled grenades over the walls of enemy fortifications; although grenades has long since been set aside, their uniforms retained some vestiges of this honorable service and tall men were preferred for this company. The light infantry company was new to the regimental establishment, having been warranted in 1771 to provide each regiment with a corps of skirmishers; as such, men selected for it tended to be fit and agile, and their uniforms were adapted to their specialized roll. When a regiment formed on parade these companies formed on the right and left flanks, for which reason they were collectively called flank companies.
Men were put into flank companies only after they had mastered the basic duties of a soldier, generally after at least a year of service with their regiment. The requirement for both fitness and experience meant that they consisted mostly of men in their late twenties to early forties. It also meant that men were frequently transferred out of these companies due to illness, wounds, or other conditions that limited their activity; replacements were selected from the regiment's eight battalion companies.
Operationally, the flank companies of British regiments were generally detached and put together into composite grenadier and light infantry battalions. These flank battalions, which varied in size and composition throughout the war depending upon which regiments were in which locations, formed the tactical spearhead on most British campaigns in America. Their first use was on 19 April 1775, when the grenadier and light infantry companies of regiments in Boston were sent to destroy military stores in Concord.
In this installment, we look at two of these companies, the grenadier company and the light infantry company of the 38th Regiment of Foot. The muster rolls of the 38th show us exactly which men were in these companies on 19 April, but it is not possible to determine whether every single man was on the expedition that day. It is also possible, using the muster rolls, to trace their subsequent service. The tables below list the men in the flank companies of the 38th, most of whom were witness to the opening shots of the war, and trace them to the ends of their careers. This information was compiled quickly and is not as complete as it could be - a few men seem to disappear from the rolls, and some transferred to other regiments after which we lose track of them. We were able to make only a limited search of pension records; probably a few more men eventually received pensions than are listed here. Regardless of these shortcomings, it is interesting to get a sense of what became of these selected soldiers who experienced the first battle of a long war.
| Last Name | First Name | Rank (if not pvt) | Other information |
| Adcock | John | Corporal | From battalion and appointed corporal |
| Barratt | John | | Killed |
| Broom | John | | To battalion |
| Bruphy | Thomas | | Discharged |
| Bulkley | James | | To Grenadiers 15 Apr 1775; died |
| Burke | John | | Died |
| | Neil | | To corporal, no date (first indicated on 6 Feb 1776 roll); to serjeant |
| Clarke | Robert | | Pension from |
| Cole | Joseph | | To corporal |
| Collier | Robert | | From battalion |
| Cook | John | | Died of wounds |
| Craddock | Corneleas | | Discharged |
| Cross | Charles | Corporal | Appointed |
| Dowling | Owen | | Died |
| Drake | Hugh | | Joined from desertion |
| Finney | William | | Discharged |
| Gardiner | Charles | Fifer | To battalion and to drummer 17 Nov 1775; discharged 1787 age 38 after 28 years service; pension - born Limerick city, also served in 59th, 60th and 93rd regiments; |
| Gladhill | William | | Disappears from rolls after transfer to battalion, 1780 |
| Hammell | James | | Died |
| | John | | Discharged 1 Mar 1778; pension 13 May 1778 at age 29, 14 years service - a white swelling in his knee; born at Worcester, labourer, |
| Hills | Thomas | | From battalion |
| Hopkinson | John | | To corporal |
| Irwin | James | | Deserted |
| | John | Drummer | From battalion |
| Leighton | John | Corporal | Killed |
| Love | John | | Discharged |
| Marsden | George | | Died |
| Mathews | Thomas | | From battalion |
| McDonald | William | | Prisoner with the enemy (apparently taken on 19 April); to battalion 16 May 1776, no longer indicated as prisoner 12 Jul 1776 rolls; discharged 23 Feb 1777; pension 3 Oct 1777 at age 32, 12 years service - shot through the foot; born near Inverness, labourer |
| McGilvray | Andrew | Corporal | To Serjeant 4 Jul 1775; deserted |
| | Alexander | Fifer | To battalion 17 Nov 1775 as a drummer; discharged 8 Jul 1783; pension 1796 age 54 after 31 years service - born St. Mary's, Kilkenny; pensioned again 1804 after service in the Louth militia |
| McLeod | Angus | | To corporal, no date (first indicated on 6 Feb 1776 roll); disappears after reduction from serjeant and transfer to battalion, 1780 |
| Nealiss | George | | Pension 1787 age 36 after 13 years service - born Arragale, |
| Neill | John | | Discharged 5 Dec 1775; Pension 6 Jun 1776 at age 44, 20 years service - wounded in the left arm; born at Durrow; laborer |
| Peell | William | | Discharged |
| | Daniel | | Died of wounds |
| Ross | Francis | | From battalion |
| Sutherland | Kenneth | Serjeant | Died |
| Sutherland | William | | Discharged |
| Sutherwood | David | | Discharged |
| Talliss | William | | Killed |
| Vass | Jonathan | | To battalion |
| Watkins | George | | Discharged |
| Whitehead | Thomas | | To battalion |
| Whitehead | William | | To corporal |
| | Patrick | Serjeant | Discharged 24 Jun 1777; pension 17 Jul 1777 at age 49, 27 years service - Worn out; born near Newry, labourer |
Light Infantry Company, 38th Regiment, 19 April 1775
| Last Name | First Name | Rank (if not pvt) | Other information |
| Alsop | Thomas | | Killed |
| Armson | William | | Still in regiment through 1788 |
| Asher | John | | From battalion |
| Bates | Edward | | To corporal |
| Beatson | Isaac | | To corporal |
| | Ralph | | From battalion |
| Brookings | John | | Killed |
| Brown | Joseph | | From battalion |
| Cameron | Angus | Corporal | To serjeant |
| Carter | Walter | | Discharged 24 Apr 1777; pension 3 Oct 1777 at age 26, 8 years service - shot through the heel; born at ?cester, labourer; served in Plymouth Invalids for 8 years until 1791 |
| Cox | Samuel | | Died |
| | Thomas | | Discharged |
| Edwards | John | | To battalion 15 Sep 1775, sick; to corporal 4 Aug 1776; reduced 11 Mar 1779; pension 1795 age 42 after 24 years service including 6th regiment - born Tembury, Worcestershire |
| Fogg | Thomas | | From battalion |
| Frazier | Alexander | | From battalion |
| Gallagher | Patrick | | To battalion |
| Golden | James | | To battalion date unknown (before12 Jul 1776); to Light Infantry 24 Nov 1776; died |
| Gunn | Aeneas | Serjeant | Killed |
| Hendon | George | | To battalion |
| Jones | Thomas | | From battalion |
| Jurd | Lincy | | From battalion 15 Apr 1775; to battalion 24 May 1776; to Light Infantry 28 Jul 1778; discharged 27 Jan 1786; served in 55th Foot, Middlesex Militia and Portsmouth Invalids; pension 1799 |
| Long | William | | From battalion |
| Love | John | | To battalion |
| | William | | Died |
| Mason | John | | To battalion |
| McDonald | John | | To battalion |
| McInalty | James | Drummer | Deserted |
| McKay | Hugh | | From battalion 15 Apr 1775; pension 5 Dec 1780 at age 28, 8 years service - lost the use of both hands; born at Dornock Co. Sutherland, labourer |
| Pickup | Samuel | Corporal | Private on |
| Powell | Thomas | | From battalion |
| Powis | Thomas | | Killed |
| Pritchard | Paul | | To battalion |
| Roberts | William | | Discharged |
| Roe | William | | Killed |
| Skinner | Henry | | To battalion |
| Smith | William | | Killed |
| Sutherland | O'Sulivan | Corporal | To serjeant |
| Sutherland | Donald | | To corporal |
| Terry | Joseph | | To battalion 14 Jun 1775 sick; Died |
| Tisdale | John | | To battalion |
| Tone | John | | To battalion |
| Tyrell | Charles | | Killed |
| Yeacott | William | | Pension 1785 age 45 after 16 years service |
I was wondering how one finds out if the company his ancestor served in was a light or grenadier company? If he was not in sick bay that day, my ancestor Sergeant William Fleet served under Major William Montgomery, who was killed in the assault of Ft. Griswold Sept. 1781. Given that that was probably the spearhead of the assault, I assume that it was probably the light company. Descendant William Fleet 40th regiment
ReplyDeleteAt Fort Griswold, the 40th and 54th Regiments both assaulted the fort.
ReplyDeleteThe light infantry and grenadiers were detached from both regiments and formed into a "seperate battalion" led by Lt. Colonel Edmund Eyre who led the attack on the northern end of the fort.
The battalion companies were also detached and formed into "one unit" that assaulted the southern end of the fort led by Major William Montgomery. Montgomery was killed coming over the south wall.
It's impossible to tell where your relative was unless you have the muster rolls.
If you can find your ancestor on the muster rolls, it is easy to determine if the company he was in was the grenadier or light infantry company. Each company had three commissioned officers; in the grenadier and light companies, this included two lieutenants, while the other companies had one lieutenant and one ensign (there is one company that was an exception, but that doesn't matter for this discussion).
ReplyDeleteThe grenadier company was the only company with fifers on its establishment; this means that, in the section of the muster roll for drummers, there will be three or four men instead just one or two. In other words, the grenadier company is the company with 2 lieutenants and three or four drummers and fifers. The light company has two lieutenants, and only one or two drummers.