Annals of the King's Royal Rifle Corps: Vol 3 "The K.R.R.C." 1831-1871

Book excerpt: The third in the excellent five-volume history of the K.R.R.C. takes the story from the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars in the 1830s to 1873. The 19th c. K.R.R.C. was the creation of Col. Robert Beaufoy Hawley, who adapted its early principles to mid-19th century military conditions. The early chapters detail the unit's service in Ireland and the Mediterranean, recounting such hazards as the capture of officers by Balkan brigands, shipwrecks and an outbreak of yellow fever in Jamaica which carried off a Col. A. F. Ellis MP. Serving in South Africa and India, the Corps took part in the 2nd Sikh War under Sir Charles Napier, the siege of Mooltan and camapaigns against the Afghan tribes. The book describes the discontent which led to the Indian Mutiny, and the Mutiny itself, in which the Corps took part in the siege and storming of Delhi - winning no fewer than seven VCs in the action. The Corps took part in the 'Opium Wars' in China, helping to capture Peking (Beijing). Later in the century the Corps was deployed to counter Chartiist unrest in Britain and Irish Fenians in Ireland itself and Canada. It also took part in the Red River expedition under Colonel Garnet Wolseley. With three appendices detailing regimental leisure activities and battle honours, eight illustrations and six maps.