THE REGIMENTS OF THE BRITISH ARMY CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED. COMPILED BY RICHARD TRIMEN, LATE CAPTAIN, 35TH ROYAL SUSSEX; AUTHOR OF “AN HISTORICAL MEMOIR OF THE 35TH ROYAL SUSSEX REGIMENT OF FOOT.” LONDON: WILLIAM H. ALLEN AND CO., 18 WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL, S.W. 1878. PREFACE. The object of the following pages is to bring under one head the information that is scattered through Despatches, Army Lists, Gazettes, Books, Magazines, &c. concerning the History of the different Regiments of the British Army; and to enable anyone at a glance to ascertain whether a certain Regiment served during a certain campaign, or was at a certain action, or what its Title or Uniform was at a certain date. The histories of many Regiments have been published separately, some by authority, and a few through, and by, the _esprit de corps_ of some officer, but this is intended to show every existing Regiment’s services, &c. in a small space, in a condensed form, and in one volume. Since the year 1870, much has been seen, and more heard, about organization and localization, but we have also seen the Regiments (which were the admiration of soldiers of every country in Europe), “meddled and muddled” with till they are only a wretched likeness of what they were. We have seen _esprit de corps_ sapped to its foundations, and attempted to be destroyed by the abolition of every Regimental tradition, badge, and even button, that our civilian Army reformers could do away with. Where are the old Regimental officers who were proud to serve the Crown for _nothing_? Where are the magnificent old non-commissioned officers and men that would follow their officers wherever they led? What is the answer? The officers, commissioned and non-commissioned, have all but disappeared, and the ranks are filled by over-educated boys, who consequently think they are as competent to lead their comrades as their officers. Moreover, we now see all ranks looking forward to the time when they shall be turned out of the Regiment, instead of, as formerly, looking on it as their home for the best part of their lives. Then, as another blow to the old constitution of Regiments, and a reduction of their fighting power, we have the new “Brigade Depôts,” and “Linked Battalions.” Do not the pages of the Army List, with this last heading, betray the fact that the Regiments must have been “linked” together by some one who was incompetent to do so?