Flank companies, 38th Regiment, 19 April 1775

Most British regiments serving in America were composed of 10 companies. At the beginning of the war, the established strength of each company consisted of 38 private soldiers, two serjeants (using the period spelling), three corporals, one drummer and three commissioned officers. During the course of the war this establishment was increased twice, then reduced again in the closing years, but when hostilities broke out in earnest on 19 April 1775, this was the established or 'paper' strength of a British company.

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.

Grenadier Company, 38th Regiment, 19 April 1775

Last Name	First Name	Rank (if not pvt)	Other information
Adcock	John	Corporal	From battalion and appointed corporal 15 Apr 1775; deserted 8 Jun 1779; joined from desertion 23 Apr 1783; discharged 27 May 1783
Barratt	John		Killed 17 June 1775
Broom	John		To battalion 24 Jan 1779; died 25 Feb 1779
Brunton	Richard		Deserted 6 Jun 1779 from Verplanck's point; born 1749, engraver in Birmingham before enlisting, became an engraver in America
Bruphy	Thomas		Discharged 5 Oct 1778; pension 27 Apr 1780 at age 32, 10 years service - wounded in the hand; born at Blessington co Wicklow, butcher
Bulkley	James		To Grenadiers 15 Apr 1775; died 16 Feb 1783
Burke	John		Died 27 Jul 1775
Cairns	Neil		To corporal, no date (first indicated on 6 Feb 1776 roll); to serjeant 17 Nov 1775; died 16 Jan 1780
Clarke	Robert		Pension from Guernsey Invalids 1791
Cole	Joseph		To corporal 24 Jun 1777; to battalion as corporal 16 Dec 1778; discharged 24 Jun 1782; pension
Collier	Robert		From battalion 15 Apr 1775; discharged 10 Jun 1785
Cook	John		Died of wounds 9 Jul 1775
Craddock	Corneleas		Discharged 9 Feb 1784; pension
Cross	Charles	Corporal	Appointed 11 Aug 1774; killed 17 Jun 1775
Dowling	Owen		Died 10 May 1775
Drake	Hugh		Joined from desertion 21 May 1775 (no indication of when he had deserted); killed 17 Jun 1775
Finney	William		Discharged 24 Jan 1785; pension
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 14 Sep 1777
Hammond	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 15 Apr 1775; pension 1789 age 43 after 25 years service - born Durham
Hopkinson	John		To corporal 17 Nov 1775; discharged 29 Apr 1786
Irwin	James		Deserted 28 Dec 1777
Johnston	John	Drummer	From battalion 15 Apr 1775; reduced to private 12 Apr 1777; died 28 Jan 1779
Leighton	John	Corporal	Killed 17 Jun 1775
Love	John		Discharged 9 Apr 1787; pension 1796 age 54 after 30 years service including 2 other regiments
Marsden	George		Died 3 Aug 1775
Mathews	Thomas		From battalion 5 Jun 1775; taken prisoner by the rebels 26 Oct 1776; deserted 3 Jun 1779
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 18 Nov 1783
McLean	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, county Tyrone, pensioned again 1791 after service in an invalid corps
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 23 Feb 1783; pension
Rogers	Daniel		Died of wounds 19 Aug 1775
Ross	Francis		From battalion 15 Apr 1775; died of wounds 10 Jul 1775
Sutherland	Kenneth	Serjeant	Died 30 Jul 1775
Sutherland	William		Discharged 24 Oct 1783 to take land grant in Canada
Sutherwood	David		Discharged 24 Aug 1783
Talliss	William		Killed 19 Apr 1775
Vass	Jonathan		To battalion 9 Feb 1779; died 16 Mar 1782
Watkins	George		Discharged 3 Mar 1784
Whitehead	Thomas		To battalion 9 Jan 1779; discharged 24 Jun 1785
Whitehead	William		To corporal 17 Nov 1775; to serjeant 24 Jun 1777; to 7th Regiment 2 Aug 1779
Wilson	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 19 Apr 1775
Armson	William		Discharged 1789, pension
Asher	John		From battalion 16 Jul 1774; killed 17 Jun 1775
Bates	Edward		To corporal 11 Sep 1775; reduced 30 Oct 1776; discharged 24 Jun 1785, pension
Beatson	Isaac		To corporal 12 Oct 1775; to serjeant 17 Nov 1775; discharged 12 Feb 1784, pension
Bell	Ralph		From battalion 31 Jul 1774; deserted 24 May 1780
Brookings	John		Killed 17 Jun 1775
Brown	Joseph		From battalion 8 Apr 1775; killed 7 Dec 1777
Cameron	Angus	Corporal	To serjeant 21 Jan 1775; reduced and to battalion 14 Jun 1775; to serjeant 17 Nov 1775; reduced 8 Jul 1776; to Light Infantry 24 Jul 1778; discharged 24 Oct 1783 to take land grant in Canada
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 31 Aug 1776
Dixon	Thomas		Discharged 24 Apr 1779
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 15 Apr 1775; died of wounds 22 Aug 1775
Frazier	Alexander		From battalion 15 Apr 1775; died 14 Oct 1776
Gallagher	Patrick		To battalion 19 Jul 1778; to grenadiers 9 Dec 1779; died 16 Dec 1779
Golden	James		To battalion date unknown (before12 Jul 1776); to Light Infantry 24 Nov 1776; died 7 Jan 1779
Gunn	Aeneas	Serjeant	Killed 17 Jun 1775
Hendon	George		To battalion 12 Jun 1775; to Light Infantry 13 May 1776; to battalion 23 Dec 1778; deserted 25 Nov 1781
Jones	Thomas		From battalion 27 Jan 1775; killed 17 Jun 1775
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 27 Jan 1775; discharged 24 Dec 1783, pension
Love	John		To battalion 26 Jul 1778;discharged 24 Aug 1783, pension
Marshall	William		Died 3 May 1776
Mason	John		To battalion 24 May 1776; discharged 24 Oct 1783 to take land grant in Canada
McDonald	John		To battalion 26 May 1775; discharged 30 Jan 1782
McInalty	James	Drummer	Deserted 15 May 1783
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 12 Jul 1776 roll; discharged 24 Apr 1783
Powell	Thomas		From battalion 15 Apr 1775; discharged 23 Feb 1783; pension - 1789 age 59 after 23 years service including 35th Regiment
Powis	Thomas		Killed 17 Jun 1775
Pritchard	Paul		To battalion 14 Jun 1775; killed 17 Jun 1775
Roberts	William		Discharged 24 Aug 1782, pension
Roe	William		Killed 17 Jun 1775
Skinner	Henry		To battalion 8 Jun 1775; to corporal 17 Nov 1775; to serjeant 27 Feb 1779; discharged 12 Jun 1786, pension
Smith	William		Killed 17 Jun 1775
Sutherland	O'Sulivan	Corporal	To serjeant 8 Apr 1775; discharged 11 Nov 1780
Sutherland	Donald		To corporal 21 Jan 1775; died of wounds 5 Sep 1775
Terry	Joseph		To battalion 14 Jun 1775 sick; Died 20 Jan 1776
Tisdale	John		To battalion 31 May 1775; discharged and recommended for pension 18 Aug 1775
Tone	John		To battalion 31 May 1775; discharged 17 Mar 1784, pension
Tyrell	Charles		Killed 19 Apr 1775
Yeacott	William		Pension 1785 age 45 after 16 years service

Learn more about British Soldiers!