The regiment was raised by Colonel Robert Anstruther[2] as the 60th Regiment of Foot in 1755 for service in the Seven Years' War.[3] It was re-ranked as the 58th Regiment of Foot, following the disbandment of the existing 50th and 51st regiments, in 1756.[3] The regiment embarked for North America in spring 1758 for service in the French and Indian War and saw action at the siege of Louisbourg in June 1758, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in September 1759, the Battle of Sainte-Foy and the subsequent siege of Quebec in April to May 1760. It then took part in the final and decisive campaign between July and September 1760 when Montreal fell. The regiment then moved to the West Indies and, although eight companies of the regiment were captured by the French en route, it took part in the Battle of Havana in summer 1762 during the Anglo-Spanish War.[4] After returning to England later that year it was posted to Gibraltar in 1770 and took part in the Great Siege in the early 1780s.[4] It adopted a county designation as the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot in August 1782.[3]
Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion, which was formed in 1803, saw service initially in Ireland and was then posted to Jersey in April 1804 serving there until 1809.[7] They deployed from Jersey to Portugal arriving in Lisbon[8] on 2 July 1809. The regiment initially deployed as garrison troops for Lisbon. The battalion's headquarters were based at Vila Nova on the northern edge of Lisbon; it fielded some nine companies. One company was commanded by Captain Adam Ferguson.[9] During the autumn of 1810 the newly formed "Fighting 3rd Division" led by General Thomas Picton, had the 2nd Battalion of the 58th Foot placed under its command and ordered it to move to a defensive position at the Lines of Torres Vedras.[9] The battalion then advanced with the 3rd Division and in April 1812 saw action at the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812, the siege of Burgos in September 1812 and the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813.[4] It then pursued the French Army into France and saw action at the Battle of the Pyrenees in July 1813, the Battle of Nivelle in November 1813 and the Battle of the Nive in December 1813 as well as the Battle of Orthez in February 1814.[4] The 2nd battalion were ordered to be reduced in establishment or disbanded on 24 December 1815.[10]
The Victorian era
The regiment was deployed to Jamaica in 1816 and to Ceylon in 1828 and to New South Wales, where it took over garrison duties from the 80th Regiment of Foot, in 1843.[11] It was deployed to New Zealand for service in the New Zealand Wars in March 1845.[4] In December 1846, during the Whanganui campaign, 180 soldiers from the regiment and four Royal Artillery men were landed at Whanganui with two 12-pounder guns and began fortifying the town, building the Rutland Stockade on a hill at the town's northern end and the York Stockade towards the south. The establishment of the garrison heightened Te Mamaku's expectations of government intervention, and he vowed he would protect settlers but fight the soldiers.[12] On 16 April 1847, after a minor chief of the Wanganui people was accidentally shot by a junior army officer, about 500 or 600 heavily armed Māori formed a taua (war party) that swept down the Whanganui River, plundering and burning settlers' houses and killing and mutilating a soldier from the 58th Regiment who ventured out of the town.[12]
When a fire broke out in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1858, eventually destroying an entire city block, the men of the 58th Regiment were instrumental in firefighting efforts under the command of Colonel Robert Wynyard.[13]
Although some men from the regiment chose to settle in New Zealand,[14] the regiment returned home in 1859.[4]
1870–1881: Gen. Sir Arthur Johnstone Lawrence, KCB
References
^ abBurnham, Robert; McGuigan, Ron (2010). The British Army against Napoleon. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Frontline Books. p. 127. ISBN978-1-84832-562-3.
^Late Lieutenant-Colonel of the 26th Regiment of Foot, Beatson, p. 426