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The Harp and Crown, with the Motto "Quis Separabit?" The Sphinx, Superscribed "Egypt."
Facings, Yellow.   Lace, Silver.

"India." "Cape of Good Hope, 1806." "Bourbon." "Talavera." "Busaco." "Fuentes D'Onor." "Cuidad Rodrigo." "Badajoz." "Salamanca." "Vittoria." "Nivelle." "Orthes." "Toulouse." "Peninsula." "Central India."

          The regiment was formed at Shrewsbury on the breaking out of the war with Frances in 1793, but it was recruited principally in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire, and bore the appellation of "General Cayler's Shropshire Volunteers." The following is a copy of the warrant ordering the formation of the regiment:

       "GEORGE, REX" Whereas, We have thought fit to order a regiment of foot to be forthwith raised under your command, which is to consist of ten companies, with three sergeants, three corporals, two drummers and fifteen private men in each company, with two fifers to the grenadier company, besides a sergeant-major and quartermaster sergeant, together with the usual commissioned officers;
          "These are to authorize you, by beat of drum or otherwise, to raise so many men in any county, or part of our Kingdom of Great Britain, as shall be wanted to complete the said regiment to the above mentioned numbers.
          "And all magistrates, justices of the peace, constables, and other of our civil officers whom it may concern, are hereby required to be assisting unto you in providing quarters, impressing carriages and otherwise, as there shall be occasion.  "Given at our Court of St. James, the first day of November, 1793, in the thirty-fourth year of our reign.  "To our trusty and well-beloved C. Cayler, Esq., major-general in our army, and colonel of a regiment of foot, to be forthwith raised, or to the officer appointed by him to raise men for our said regiment.    "By His Majesty's Command, "(Signed) GEORGE YONGE."
          The regiment was duly raised and officers, of whom there were thirty-three, appointed, and in April 1794 it was removed to Ireland, and shortly after that it received the name of the 86th or "Shropshire Volunteers." In January, 1795, the regiment was selected to serve as marines, and portions of it embarked in the following line-of-battle ships, viz., the "Prince of Wales," "Triumph," "Brunswick" and" Hector," while other portions were posted to the "Prince," "Saturn" and "Boyne." While serving as Marines the regiment went through many stirring scenes, the detachment on the "Boyne" losing all their kit when that ship was burnt and blown up on the first of May, 1795, at Spithead. Other portions of the regiment took part, on board the "Triumph," in the retreat of Vice-Admiral Cornwallis' squadron of five sail before the French fleet of thirty-one sail, twelve of which were line-of-battleships, and in which the" Triumph" and the "Mars" took the principal part, showing so bold a front that the French were induced to give up the pursuit. Other portions were serving in H. M. S. "Prince of Wales" and the "Prince," on June 2, 1795, when these two ships, under Rear-Admiral Harvey, chased part of a French fleet of fourteen sail and captured three of them, the remainder escaping owing to the Island of St. Croix being mistaken for the island of Bell Isle, in consequence of which the English admiral ordered the action to cease for fear the ships might get on shore.
          Early in 1796 volunteering to the marine corps was prohibited, and the detachments doing duty on board ship were ordered to rejoin, and in September of the same year the regiment embarked for the Cape of Good Hope, where it remained till February, 1799, when it proceeded to the East Indies. In 1800, three companies of the 86th formed part of a force under Colonel the Honorable Arthur Wellesley, which landed in Ceylon with the intention of capturing the French Islands of France and Bourbon, but the expulsion of the French from Egypt having been determined on by the Home Government, the force was recalled and returned to Bombay, where Major-General Baird assumed the command on March 30, I80I, the whole force sailing on the following day and landing at Cossier, in Upper Egypt, on June 18. Previous to this three companies, under Lieutenant-Colonel Lloyd, had embarked on December 26, 1800, with a battalion of Bombay Sepoys, and had sailed for Egypt, where they arrived (at Suez) on May 16, 1801. Preparations having been made for crossing the desert to Cairo, on June 4, 1801, the troops were landed, and on June 6 began a march which will ever be memorable in the records of the British army, and which will be best described in the words of the historian of the time.
          "On the sixth, at 6 p. m., the 86th commenced the march, with an allowance of only three pints of water per man for forty-eight hours, and, from the state of the skins, even that quantity could not be insured. Arab sheiks, whom the Vizier had furnished, acted as guides and were made responsible for the safe passage of the detachment. The distance from Suez to Cairo is, in a straight line, not more than 58 miles, but the conductors, fearing that the French might endeavor to intercept the detachment, informed Lieutenant-Colonel Lloyd that a detour of ten or twelve miles would be necessary. The day had been very sultry, with the thermometer at 109°, which, however, as night drew on, fell to 94°.
          "Before 9 o'clock three officers were taken so seriously ill as; to be unable to proceed. At 11 o'clock, after a march of twelve miles, the lieutenant-colonel halted for two hours, when, as the thermometer fell to 86°, the troops moved again and continued marching till 7 o'clock the following morning.
          The day then became so intolerably hot that the commanding officer, contrary to his first intentions on account of the trouble and exertion necessary to load and unload the camels, ordered tents to be pitched that the men might find shelter from the sun. Twenty-six miles of the journey were then calculated to have been performed.
         "At 10 o'clock a.m. the guides advised the lieutenant-colonel that the troops should immediately advance, as the day threatened to become extremely hot, and if the camels rested on the sand their limbs would soon become stiff from the heat and they would require water before they would move again, whereas, if kept advancing, they would not suffer by the heat of the atmosphere in so fatal a degree, adding that they suspected that the camel drivers might steal the water while the soldiers slept, which they feared from the state of the skins would, even as it was, be found scarcely sufficient. These arguments, and the reflection that the guides being responsible for the march should have their wishes as much as possible complied with, determined the commanding officer to proceed. The tents were therefore struck, and at 11 o'clock a.m. the march was resumed , with the thermometer at 109°. Captain Cayler, who had joined in a feeble state of health, fainted, and a camel and two men were left to bring him on .
          "About 1 o'clock the lieutenant-colonel, finding the men were dropping fast to the rear, halted the detachment and, with a view of affording the soldiers as much relief as possible, cast off his own baggage from the camels, which example was followed by all the officers. As many men as could be carried were then mounted on camels and the troops again moved forward. At 2 o'clock the thermometer rose to 116°, and at that time a camseen, or south wind, began to blow. The dreadful sensation experienced when the wind blows from that quarter can scarcely be described, and here its effects were aggravated by every horror. The lieutenant-colonel persevered until 4 o'clock p.m. when the exhausted state of the detachment obliged him to halt. Many officers and soldiers were seized with giddiness, and loss of sight, others fell down gasping for breath and calling out for water. On examining the skins it was fond that the sun had cracked them, which caused them to leak. and the water that remained had become puddles of a very thick consistency, full of maggots. Necessity, however, required that the wretched beverage should be distributed, and the men swallowed it with avidity, though vomiting and violent pains in the bowels were the immediate consequences. The officers had brought with them some wine which they now divided amongst the soldiers. Spirits were mixed with the remaining water, and each man had an equal share poured into his canteen, and the whole were warned that every drop was then in their possession, and that on their own prudence must depend whether or not they would be enabled to accomplish the remainder of the march.
          "At seven o'clock the order to resume the march was given. Seventeen men, unable to proceed (even on the backs of camels) were necessarily left on the ground, and with them, camels to enable them to follow on. After a march of six miles, during which several officers and men felt the extraordinary sensation of seeing water, camels and other animals moving with the most rapid transition before them, the detachment again halted at eleven o'clock at night. The night was excessively dark, and everyone was so fatigued that unconquerable desire to sleep seized upon al1. At four o'clock on the morning of the eighth, the guides awoke Lieutenant-Colonel Lloyd, and the soldiers were formed with difficulty in order of march. A very heavy dew had fallen during the night, so that their limbs were so benumbed with cold that they could scarcely walk. The camseen commenced the same hour as on the day before, but the soldiers were not affected to the same degree as before. By great perseverance the detachment, between four and five in the afternoon, reached the springs of El-Hankre. Nine of the seventeen men who had been left behind on the seventh were never heard of again , The following day the detachment joined the army, and was present at the surrender of Cairo by the French, as was also the detachment with Major-General Baird's division. The object of the expedition being now attained, the detachments of the regiment returned to India the following year, landing at Bombay, July 4, 1802. Meantime the companies left behind in Bombay had taken part in an expedition against the Rajah 'Mulhar Rao' and were present at the taking of Kirkee, the first assault on which place was repulsed with considerable loss, including two officers of the regiment. These companies returned to Bombay in 1802, and the whole regiment was then recruited. For its services in Egypt in 1801, the regiment was granted the distinction of wearing the 'Sphinx,' superscribed Egypt, on its appointments. In the following December the regiment again sailed to Cambay, and were present at the taking of Baroda, after which it was several times employed in detachments against the Gaekwar, who was several times defeated, notably in June, 1803, when a force of 400 rank and file of the regiment, with a battalion of Sepoys, and four field pieces, under the command of Captain Richardson (86th), defeated a large force on the river near Broach, where many of the enemy were driven into the water and were drowned sooner than surrender. In August of the same year it was determined to take the fortress of Broach, and, on the twenty-seventh of that month, a breach being reported practicable, it was decided to storm the fortress. Sergeant John Moore of the Light Company led the 'Forlorn Hope,' with twelve volunteers. Major Cayler and Captain Richardson led the storming parties, and after a desperate resistance the ramparts were gained, the colours of the enemy hauled down, and those of the 86th hoisted. For his gallant conduct in leading the assault, Sergeant Moore was presented by the Bombay government with 500 rupees and he would have been promoted to an ensigncy, had he been otherwise qualified. The loss of the regiment was one captain, two sergeants and ten privates killed, and one major, two captains and twenty-three rank and file wounded. From this time the regiment was employed, till the end of 1804, against Scindia, and, after that chief's submission, against Holkar. During this latter period the force of which the regiment formed a part was forced to retreat in the middle of the rainy season, and, all the gun and baggage animals having died, the guns had to be dragged through the cotton soil, the men up to their waists in water. From May to October in 1804 the regiment lost 118 men. On December 26, Major-General Jones arrived, and took over command of the force, which consisted of the 86th, eight companies of the 65th and four battalions of Bombay Sepoys, with artillery, the whole being termed the Bombay Army, with orders to join the Army of Bengal before Bhurtpore. On February 11, 1805, the Bombay Army reached Bhurtpore after a long and tiring march, and encamped with the Madras and Bengal Army, the latter of whom had already failed in their assaults with considerable loss. General Lord Lake inspected the Bombay Army on the following day. The soldiers of the 65th and 86th were at that time in rags, their uniforms were worn out and patched in all colors, or replaced by red cotton jackets, and they wore, in many cases, sandals instead of shoes, and turbans instead of hats.
          "As the siege had been some time in progress another assault was ordered on February 20. The 86th furnished 250 men for the storming party, and, with the flank companies of the 8th Bengal Sepoys, under Captain Grant (86th), were ordered to storm an outwork which greatly retarded the siege. The party under Captain Grant stormed the outwork and made an unsuccessful attempt to enter at one of the gates with the retiring enemy. The gates were closed to the enemy, who were thus shut out. Having destroyed the gates, the troops retreated to camp with eleven brass guns captured in the outwork, which was successfully reached, after a desperate attack by the enemy who sallied out and directed all their efforts against the men of the 86th.
          "During the day the enemy's cavalry attacked the camp and the total loss of the army on that day was nearly 900 killed and wounded. General Lord Lake expressed in orders his high commendations of the gallantry displayed by the party under Captain Grant, and directed the eleven guns to be placed in front of the encampment of the 86th - an honour which was highly prized by the regiment and by the Bombay Division of the Army. On February 21 another assault was made, in which the flank companies of the 86th formed part of the storming party, but this assault also failed, and, after fighting the greater part of the day, our men were forced to retire, after sustaining a loss of nearly 1000 killed and wounded. The losses of the regiment in these two attacks were two sergeants and twenty-three rank and file killed, and one captain, four subalterns, one sergeant, one drummer and seventy-three rank and file wounded, the greater of whom died. Shortly afterwards, the negotiations with Holkar having been concluded, the army was broken up, and the 86th marched to Bombay, from where it sailed to Goa, and landed on April 3, 1806. The loss of the regiment between November, 1803, and October, 1804, was 298 rank and file and ten officers.
          "In October, 1806, His Majesty was pleased to direct the regiment to be called the '86th or Leinster Regiment.' From April, 1806,till the beginning of 1810, the regiment served in Goa, when it sailed to Madras, from where it again sailed, its destination being unknown, but it was understood to be the French islands of Mauritius and Bourbon. It arrived at the Island of Rodrigues, where Lieutenant-Colonel Keating, of the 56th Regiment. assumed the command, having with him 150 rank and file of the 56th Regiment, and 200 Bombay Sepoys. The troops having been embarked, and the necessary instructions given to the officers commanding brigades, the fleet got under weigh for the attack on the Island of Bourbon.
          "The following is the official report of Lieutenant-Colonel Fraser, second in command, which fully details the part borne by the regiment in the capture of the island:
                          "Saint Denis, Isle of Bourbon,
                                           "July 9, 1810.
          "Sir - I have the honour to forward to you a detailed account of the operations of the detachments of this brigade from the period of our separation from the rest of the force, on the evening of the 6th inst., until your arrival at the post we occupied before Saint Denis at 5 o'clock p.m. the 8th inst.
          " His Majesty's 86th Regiment having been removed from the 'Minerva' transport on board H.M. Ship 'Syrias,' and being joined by the grenadier company and other Sepoys of the 6th Madras Native Infantry, under the command of Captain Moody, amounting to 180 bayonets, a small detachment of coast artillery, consisting of two subalterns, one sergeant, one corporal, two gunners, and sixty Madrasses, commanded by Lieutenant Abdy, with a four and a half inch howitzer and fifty pioneers under orders of Lieutenants Schooler and Davis of the engineer corps. Captain Vym was enabled to make sail about 11 o'clock p.m., and about I o'clock p.m., on the 7th inst., we lay - to off Grand Chaloupe, and immediately commenced our debarkation. The moment the grenadiers, commanded by Captain Lanphier, and the light infantry, led by Lieutenant Archibald McLean, with Major Mathews of the 19th Regiment (who did us the honor to accompany us as a volunteer) had effected their landing at 2p.m., I pushed the latter forward, supported by the former, to drive away small parties of the enemy's riflemen, who were keeping up a harassing fire, and to secure possession of the heights.
          "This service having been most gallantly and successfully performed, I halted for the body of the regiment and, conformably with the orders I received, I moved forward with the regiment without waiting for the artillery, Sepoys, or pioneers, till I reached the heights above Saint Denis, and descended towards it to within range of the enemy's batteries and musketry with about 350 bayonets. At 5.30 o'clock p.m. when the sun was just setting, I had not sufficient daylight to reconnoitre the ground, but I had the mortification to ascertain that I could not, that evening, expect any co-operation or assistance from the other divisions, owing to the apparent impracticability of their landing from the extreme violence of the surf.
          "Under these circumstances I determined to postpone our attack against the enemy's batteries till next morning, and when it became sufficiently dark to conceal our movements, I fell back to the height, and took up a position for the night, to prevent any reinforcements for the garrison arriving from Saint Paul's. In the course of the night I was joined by the artillery with the four and a half inch howitzer, the Sepoys and pioneers with spare ammunition. At 4 o'clock on the morning of the eighth we began to descend the mountain, leaving the Sepoys posted on the summit to protect our rear from any attack which might be meditated by the garrison of Saint Paul's.
          "Before the advanced guard to the 86th had reached the works they occupied on the preceding evening, they were discovered by the enemy's sentries, who had been planted on the road during the night.
          "At daylight the enemy collected in force, and opened a heavy fire of cannon, shells and musketry on the column, and soon after detached some riflemen to gain the high ground on our right. The light infantry supported by the grenadiers were then ordered to descend the hill, and were followed by the remainder of the column, when a heavy fire of grape and musketry opened on us from the enemy who were drawn up in two columns, each with a field piece on the plain, supported by the heavy cannon mounted on the redoubt.
          "On reaching the plain the regiment was ordered to charge, when it immediately rushed on the enemy, who remained at the guns till our brave grenadiers came in contact with them. Their commandant, M. de Saint Suzanne escaped with difficulty, and their second in command was wounded and taken prisoner by Captain Lanphier. The enemy attempted to form behind the parapet of the redoubt, but were pushed so closely by the grenadiers that they were obliged to abandon it, leaving a brass six-pounder in our hands, which was immediately turned upon them. In the redoubt were four twelve-pounders which we found spiked. I instantly directed the King's colours to be planted on the top of the redoubt and detached the grenadiers to storm the two batteries marked No. '7' and '8' in the plan of attack, which service they gallantly performed.
          "In Battery No. 7 were four twenty-four pounders spiked by the enemy. In No. 8 were found a twelve-inch mortar and five twenty– four pounders, two of which were spiked, with a furnace full of red-hot shot. Observing, however, that the enemy could take these batteries in reverse, I recalled the grenadiers, after spiking the remaining guns, and confined myself to maintaining the position I then occupied before the town. Two twelve-pounders in the redoubt were rendered serviceable by the exertions of Lieutenant Abdy and his small detachment of artillery, and these, with our four-and-a-half-inch howitzer, answered the incessant cannonade of the enemy, which continued until the arrival of the rear column of the troops sent to my support.
          "At 4 o'clock in the evening the enemy attempted to retake the redoubt, but were repulsed with the loss of their commanding officer, who was made prisoner. About 4 o'clock in the evening we were joined by Lieutenant-Colonel Drummond's Brigade, and about the same time the enemy sent out a flag of truce to treat for the surrender of the place. I refused to treat unless for the surrender of the whole island. The enemy proposed an honorable capitulation for the garrison, the religion, laws and private property of the inhabitants to be respected, and a suspension of arms for twenty-four hours to arrange the articles of capitulation, the troops remaining at the posts they then occupied. To the two first I readily consented, but refused the latter, insisting that the royal battery should be given up to our grenadiers and the British colours hoisted the moment the terms were signed, and I gave them one hour in which to consider. At the expiration of the time the flag returned with a request that an officer be sent to assist in arranging the terms, upon which I sent in Major Edwards, shortly after which you arrived and assumed the command. I cannot conclude without requesting permission to offer my humble tribute of praise to the noble spirit which animated every individual of my small detachment. From Major Edward, who commanded the regiment, I received the greatest assistance. Captain Lanphier, Lieutenants Archibald, McLean, and every officer and soldier of the corps, displayed the most ardent valour, which must have been conspicuous to the whole force off the coast, who witnessed their heroic conduct.
          "Captain Moody, who commanded the Sepoys, Captain Lambert of the Madras Establishment (who did me the honor to attend as my aid), Lieutenant Davies of the engineers, Lieutenant Abdy, commanding the artillery, and Lieutenant Schooler of the pioneer corps, rendered me the most essential services in their respective departments. To Captain Creagh, my brigade major, I was highly indebted for his unremitted exertions and attention to the duties of his station from the beginning of the service I was sent on to the fatal moment when he was struck by a cannon shot, while he was in the act of encouraging our artillery men in the redoubt, of which we had just possessed ourselves, and this will, I fear, deprive his Sovereign and his country of the services of a most promising officer.
          "I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient humble servant,"
                                                                               (Signed) HASTINGS FRAZER,
                                                                "Lieutenant-Colonel 86th Regiment, commanding 1st Brigade."
             "To LIEUTENANT-COLONEL KEATING,
                       "Commanding the troops &c., &c.,&c., Bourbon.

          "On this occasion the regiment suffered a loss of one field officer, one captain, six subalterns, three sergeants, two drummers, and seventy-five rank and file killed and wounded. Lieutenant John Graham Munro, of the grenadiers, was killed during the charge, and Major Edward, commanding the regiment, Captain Lanphier, Lieutenant Michael Creagh, brigade major Lieutenants McLean, Blackhall, Webb and "White were wounded. The following regimental order was issued on this occasion:
                              [Regimental Orders by Major Edwards.]
                                                           "SAINT DENIS, July 9, 1810.
          "It affords Major Edwards great pleasure to have received Colonel Frazer's directions to confirm the appointment of Captain Lanphier to the grenadier company, a distinction to which that officer is well entitled for the gallant manner in which he led the brave grenadiers to the assault of the redoubt and batteries on the eighth inst. The conduct of the light infantry under Lieutenant Archibald McLean has, on all occasions, been equally distinguished, and Major Edwards sincerely laments the severe wound that gallant officer has received, and trusts he will soon again be restored to the service.
          "Major Edwards has great pleasure in confirming Lieutenant Blackhall's appointment to the grenadiers. He regrets the wound that officer has received, but hopes it will not long prevent him from joining that company which he animated by his zeal and example.
          "The conduct of the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of H.M. 86th Regiment is above all praise. They have fought the enemy under every species of disadvantage and privation, and they have borne the latter without a murmur, and their determined valour has insured victory, in spite of every obstacle. They have nobly sustained the reputation of their country, and it will be gratifying to their feelings to know that their gallant exertions have been witnessed and applauded by the whole of the British force off the shore.
          "Major Edwards cannot conclude without expressing his regret at the loss of Lieutenant Munro of the grenadiers, and the brave men who have fallen on this occasion. Their memory, however, will long survive, and be held dear in the recollection of the 86th Regiment.
          "Most sincerely does he regret the severe wound received by Lieutenant Michael Creagh, but he hopes it will not deprive the service of that valuable and gallant officer, and he trusts that the wound received by Lieutenant White will not long prevent him from joining his corps. He is certain that Dr. Bellars will pay every attention to the wounded men and they may depend on receiving every attention to their misfortune which it is in Major Edward's power to bestow.
          Corporal William Hall, who hoisted the King's colour on the redoubt, is appointed sergeant for his gallant conduct, in place of Sergeant Millan killed. Private John Moore, of the light infantry, is appointed corporal for his gallant behaviour on the eighth.
          "Private John Moore, promoted in the latter part of the above order for his gallant conduct, is the same person, who, as sergeant, on August 20, 1803, led the "Forlorn Hope" at the storming of Broach, and who for his gallantry on that occasion was presented with 500 rupees by the Bombay Government. On the last occasion he climed the flagstaff, the halyards of which were shot away, and, under an incessant fire of round shot and musketry, fastened the King's colour to the staff and descended untouched, amidst the cheers of all who witnessed it, even the French troops cheering the deed, and our gallant sailors off the island also responded. The presence of the well–known flag on the redoubt relieved them from intense anxiety regarding the fate of their small portion of the force.
          On the following morning, July 9, the flank companies of the 86th marched into Saint Denis, occupied the principal battery, struck the French flag, and again hoisted the King's colours of the 86th. The regiment soon after followed, when the French garrison grounded their arms and embarked in transport for the Cape of Good Hope. Detachments were then sent to take possession of the different posts surrendered by the enemy.
          During the period, and for some months previous, both Bourbon and the Isle of France were blockaded by our naval force. The capture of Bourbon emboldened the latter to follow a French fleet within the Isle de Passe, on the southwest side of the Isle of France, where our ships met with a serious reverse, one being hit and sunk and several disabled. This gave the enemy the command of the sea, and, in consequence, two frigates and a brig-of-war appeared off Bourbon menacing the batteries.
          The "Africaine" frigate arrived from England, and, being short of hands, an officer (Lieutenant H. Home) one sergeant and twenty-five men (volunteers) embarked, and in the evening sailed in company with the" Boadicea," Commodore Rowley.
          At daybreak next morning the "Africaine" came up with and engaged the enemy's two ships. The" Boadicea" being becalmed three leagues astern the result was that after a desperate action of two hours and a half against a superior force, the "Africaine," becalmed and a wreck, was obliged to strike, the brave Captain Corbett and upwards of 160 of his weak crew being killed and wounded, and only three men of his detachment escaped, six having been killed and seventeen wounded. Towards evening Commodore Rowley was enabled to come up, when the enemy made sail, leaving the "Africaine," which the " Boadicea" towed into Saint Paul's. This action having taken place within sight of Bourbon excited the utmost anxiety of the regiment.
          The "Ceylon" frigate, with Major-General Abercromby and staff, as well as Lieutenant Clarke and twenty-five men of the 86th onboard, was captured by the "La Venus" a French frigate, after a severe action in which both ships were dismasted. The following morning the indefatigable Rowley appeared in the "Boadicea" and recaptured both ships.
          Lieutenant-Colonel Hastings Frazer was appointed a Companion of the Bath for his conduct at the head of the brigade before Saint Denis on July 8, and the officers of the regiment presented him with a sword, and those of the Company's service in his brigade with a valuable piece of plate. After the taking of Bourbon the regiment was quartered at Port Louis, Isle of France, until it returned to India, landing at Madras in January 1812 . In the same year the appellation of the regiment was again changed to that of the "86th, or Royal County Down Regiment, " which appellation it bore till 1881.
                                                                             [Copy of War Office Letter.]
                                                                                                                     "WAR OFFICE, January 18, 1812.
          "His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, in the name and on behalf of His Majesty, has been pleased to approve of the 86th Regiment being, in future, styled 'The 86th or Royal County Down Regiment,' and bear the 'Irish Harp and Crown' upon their letters.

          This caused a change in the facings from yellow to blue, and in the lace from silver to gold. The regiment now bore the "Irish Harp" in addition to the "Sphinx" and the word "Egypt" on their colours and appointments. Removing from Madras the regiment was quartered at Hyderabad, Muslipatam and other places, and in 1817 were engaged in the Pendaru rebellion, and in the following year it marched to Dallaghabad to embark for England, having been under orders since 1816. But once again the move was countermanded owing to a rebellion which broke out in Ceylon, and the regiment repaired there, and, after much hard labour and many privations, succeeded in stamping out the rebellion, though at the loss of many officers and men from the terrible sickness which prevailed. Shortly after this the regiment returned to England, landing at Gravesend on October 23, 1819, after a voyage of twenty-seven weeks, and an absence from England of over twenty-three years. In 1823 the regiment was granted the distinction of bearing on its colours and appointments the words "India" and "Bourbon." From this period the regiment served in England and Ireland till 1826, and subsequently  in the West Indies till 1837. It embarked again for India in 1842, serving in many places. It was whilst quartered at Kurrachi, in 1846, that it was visited by a most deadly epidemic of cholera, of which the account by the doctor of the 86th Regiment is as follows:
          In June the regiment sustained a heavy loss from a visitation of epidemic cholera, wholly unparalleled in the history of that terrible scourge, either in this or any other country. It often happens that scenes of great calamity produce little of that horror with which the mind is filled when a lapse of time permits us to reflect and dwell on their minutest details. There is really something so appalling in the bare retrospect of the events which were crowded into the few but fatal days during which that terrible death blast swept over our unfortunate corps, as to render it difficult to realize the truth. An attempt to describe them in a brief note would baffle the efforts of the ablest writer. Even the most fertile imagination could not conjure up more horrible pictures of human suffering and woe on the one hand, or more noble traits of the purest philanthropy, self denial, and unwearied attention and care on the part of the soldiers who happily escaped the plague, than those which passed under our observation.
          "The pestilence gave no warning or time to make preparation; it almost literally burst forth like a thunder-cloud, followed by a pestiferous blast, destroying life in a few hours. It was apparently irresistible, the strongest and most robust men suddenly fell before it, and were in the last pangs of horrible death almost before they could be carried to the hospital. Although other corps suffered fearfully from its ravages, yet the malady at once burst forth with its most concentrated virulence, and unhappily first assailed the 86th Regiment and carried off its victims in three-fold numbers. In general, when other diseases of an epidemic or contagious nature break out in a community, they gradually reach to a certain stage and from there decrease in nearly the same ratio. On this occasion, however, the cholera showed itself in its most fatal form, and gradually lost its malignancy as its spread diminished.
          "On Sunday, June 14, a hot, muggy and oppressive day, with very little wind and that from the sea, two bad cases were admitted in the morning. At 12 o'clock, however, others of a most rapid and deadly kind began to show themselves almost simultaneously in every company and at every part of the camp, so that by 4 o'clock ten cases were brought to hospital. The disease continuing to spread with increasing violence and startling rapidity, I went to the commanding officer to have the regiment moved, and, by accident meeting the brigadier (Dundas) in the street, he at once made arrangements to shift the camp next morning. By 5 o'clock twenty cases were in hospital when a dark cloud accompanied by a dust storm - no uncommon event in Scinde - :passed over the cantonment , and was considered the cause, and believed and reported in the newspapers to have been the harbinger of cholera, already raging with unheard -of deadliness. Thus the angel of death remained hovering over our camp. As night closed in the scene within our hospital, where all the victims of cholera were congregated into masses, was perfectly appalling, and such as few minds can conceive or any pen depict. Dhoolies were every few minutes arriving from camp and depositing their ghostly burdens at the doors. The floors were absolutely strewn with the livid bodies of men labouring in the last and most distressing stage of premature dissolution. Many were brought in with the cold and clammy damp of death, as if instantaneous obstruction of every vital function had been produced by the shock of some invisible power. For them all human aid was vain; others, the finest of our regiment, were struggling with all the violence of strong men against the spasmodic action of almost every muscle of the body, while their yells and cries commingled in horrible concert with the subdued groans and gaspings of those nearer to the closing scene. It was indeed a heartrending sight, and one never to be forgotten, to behold the powerful frames of the finest men of a fine corps, who had that morning stood on parade in apparent health, as if at once stricken down and writhing in the last efforts of gigantic strength to resist a death call that would not be refused.
          "By the morning of the fifteenth, or only eighteen hours after the outbreak, there were upwards of one hundred admissions in the hospital, of which scarcely twenty survived. Thus the angel of death appeared to be busy and the pestilence hovered over our camp as its weakened ranks moved out to camp at Phizree Bunder. Every hour brought in four or five cases, and the disease continued at this rate for three days, during which about three hundred men were admitted into the hospitals of the camp and barracks.
          "After the eighteenth the daily admissions rapidly decreased, and the disease became much milder in character and more under the control of medicine. By the twenty-fourth it had almost ceased, with the exception of a casual case which now and then took place, till July 2, when it finally disappeared from our corps. The following table exhibits the admissions from cholera, and deaths in the different classes belonging to the regiment: