Who Were the British Light Infantry of the American War of Independence?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 มิ.ย. 2024
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The stereotypical Redcoat was an unthinking machine- standing stock still in unyielding line formations while rebel sharpshooters took them out at a distance from cover. The reality could not be further from the truth! During the American War of Independence, the British army had some of the best Light Infantry in the world! So much so that they even began training their entire army, not just the elite units, to fight like them. In this video, I explain who these elite "flank company" soldiers were, how they were equipped and trained, and finally, how they fought.
The Weapons of the LI: • Weapons of the British...
And a great reenactment group portraying them: / 40thbloodhounds
The book recommendations:
"Noble Volunteers," amzn.to/3EApVFS
"With Zeal and With Bayonets Only", amzn.to/3eCCN3H
Don's new book, "These Distinguished Corps," amzn.to/3EArdkc
Video Timestamps:
Introduction 00:00 - 00:57
Who Were the Lights? 00:58 - 03:36
Clothing & Equipment 03:37 - 09:49
Advertisement 09:50 - 12:54
Selection & Training 12:55 - 19:45
Their Organization 19:46 - 23:36
How they Fought 23:37 - 31:59
Conclusion 32:00 - 34:41
The editors,
Mugwumpey's Channel: / mugwumpey
Jaron's website: www.summertimestudios.net/
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Having ran around the woods a lot as a modern light-infantryman and as a hunter/reenactor, I think the biggest benefit of the leather helmet would be protecting your head from bumps and scrapes caused by tree branches, thorns, etc.
This. And it would hold up to that treatment much more than a lighter cover would too.
A lot of people think "guerilla warfare" and light infantry tactics were new to the British. The mere existance of the British light infantry before the Revolution and French-Indian War destroys that myth.
Soooo Americans were just that much better, even back then. Nice.
@@RD1R I don't know how you got that. We kinda got our asses kicked until foreigners came to supply, finance, and train our army. Then we started to win a bit more.
@@FieldMarshalYT France and Spain sure played their vital parts in the British defeat. Which makes for some interesting irony considering how many Americans view France and French military history now a days.
@@Verdunveteran could be worse, the americans repaid their debts to the spanish by taking their empire
@@Verdunveteran yes but both France and Spain came late in the war. France only sent troops in 1780 which took battle in the last major battle of the war Yorktown Spain never sent any supplies.
I was actually researching this today. Brandon has ascended to such a high tier of content he can read minds. This video made my heart sing!
Did it make it sing The British Light Infantry in specific?
@@theaman42069 Haha, no, but I'll sing it from the rooftops now!
That’s quite an ego you’ve got there. Bravo/a
@@johnqpublic2718 My nerdery gives me strength. They don't call it history "buff" without reason.
my eyes were dry from smoke and google ads knew to give me an eye drop commercial, made me wonder if theyre watching my eyeball movements with front facing camera BUT I HAD IT BLOCKED WITH TAPE! google can listenbto your eyeballs blinking!!!! lol tell everyone! spread the word at the subway stations Brother!
"Nothing can ever be simple in the 18th century."
- Brandon F.
"Tell me about it"
- King George III
I have noticed in many different wars, different parts of the army often take a lot of light infantry ideas and apply it to their own, engineers are a good example as a constant area that's take cues from light infantry men in their non armoured / less armoured roles.
If you're a combat engineer you might as well be a grunt. CE's have to know how to fight as well as build.
Brandon is getting better and better at his ad spots. Cheers, sir.
"I can taste the glory and promotions already!"
i thought that was pretty funny too actually.
Let’s go, Brandon! Oops, he’s prolly sick of hearing this. Hopefully if married his wife’s name isn’t Karen 🤣
@@CorePathway I’d imagine their name would be Britannia haha.
Let's go Brandon!
I served 18 years with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (AIRBORNE). PPCLI.
Well this old US Marine says "Semper Fi!" to you! I've heard of the "Princess Pats," a fine and distiguished old regiment if ever there was one!
Oh! 3 PPCLI. One of my coworkers and one of my instructors was a Patricia in 3 PPCLI, great people who always knew what they are doing.
Great video Brandon. I am a former (British) Light Infantryman myself (80s-90s) and can testify that the AWI backdrop was very much part of the legend we trained in then, without any of the details you provide. I read Dan Hagist's Distinguished Corps a few months ago, and had not realised the extent to which the light and grenadier companies had been "brigaded" into "flank" battalions. That custom must have seriously limited the enthusiasm of Battalion and Company COs to send their best men to these companies!
By the Napoleonic period men are being recruited into light infantry battalions (as they are, for example, into the Guards). The fact is, looking back at it, that almost all men who served in the line could have been trained to skirmish and for the other "specialist" roles that the infantry offered in the late 1700s/early 1800s.
Townshend, as I am sure you know, was one of General James Wolfe's brigadiers at Quebec in 1759. A much maligned officer.
Was he as badly maligned as Redvers Buller was over a century later?
Unsung hero's often overlooked because of the iconic Grenadiers or the myth only the Patriots used light infantry tactics.
yes..'Loose files and American scramble' was a British expression
Correction; Traitors to the crown. There, fixed that for you.
@@Nat3ski Oops my mistake.
Might I also add: Tea bashing slavers?
@@otakunthevegan4206 it's better when not mixed with saltwater. :p
@@Nat3ski You're not a traitor if you win
I watched an interesting video about how the British army after the boer war drastically embraced cover, concealment, and camouflage as well as personal marksmanship for the individual soldier as well as the cavalry. So much so that the British regulars were out doing German Jager units. The BEF of 1914 was without a doubt the best trained army of it's day to be sent into battle. The Germans learned to fear that "contemptible little army."
You can not compare british PROFSSIONAL soldiers with german soldiers, being mostly trained for two or three years and then only few training reserve troops.
Can you link the video?
Can't seem to find it
@@matthiasthulman4058 it's called "why the British army was so effective in 1914. Learning lessons of the boer war." By history west midlands.
@@MrAwsomenoob thank you very much.
Yeah, problem was the British Regular Army was also very small, which made it very fragile. A problem when you have a small professional force. Made worse by the fact that you have relatively few Reservists to fill in the gaps caused by casualties.
Which is why by mid 1915 that magnificent Army was more or less gone.
As much as I like it when you destroy Mel Gibson, or Sean Bean with facts and logic, I feel like it is in this style of video is where you shine.
Yes, but what a shame that our only vision of the Southern part of the Revolution is Gibson's Patriot. I would love to see more critique
And I will not hear a word against Sean Bean. He was an actor, not the producer. Even as a very young chick I knew stingy BBC budgets were giving us the wrong picture of the Peninsular War. Surely, battles involved more than a couple of dozen soldiers?
But Young Sean Been kept me watching...
@@kmaher1424 I always knew Sean Bean as a certain warrior of Gondor who died after killing several dozen Orcs.
Sean Bean is an actor. Mel Gibson is an actor, writer, producer and director. Sean is not to blame.
@@jeffreygao3956
When he first met Aragorn, the Broken Sword cut him.
He said Still Sharp--I am not the only one who had seen him before
I would love to see how Sharpe's 95th rifles and the chosen men fall into this.
The 95th (along with the 60th) were organized as rifle regiments as part of a move by the British army in the 1790 into the early 1800's to create dedicated light regiments. The 60th was reorganized as a rifle regiment (or at least one of their battalions was), and the 95th was raised as one as a test subject. The 43rd, 52nd, and 68th regiments of foot were retrained as light regiments as well, while the rest of the army retained their light companies. This push was led by senior officers, many of whom had served in or alongside the light battalions of the American Revolution. Just as the progenitors of the light companies in the American Revolution fought in and alongside the light and ranger regiments of the 7 Years War.
@@marxbruder
The 60th Rifles began life in 1756 as the Royal American Regiment which saw service in the Seven Years War. Formed of American recruits and British officers, though some Americans did serve as officers. George Washington was a colonel of the regiment.
The 60th, 95th and the 43rd/52nd ( which became the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry) were trained by John Moore to become accomplished at marksmanship, movement and fast marching, and independence and use of initiative at every level, making them of enormous use to Wellington in the Peninsula War, where they skirmished in advances and rear-guard actions that enabled him to counter the larger French armies.
@@wuffothewonderdog A family friend and British Army recruitment Colour Serjeant from the "Kings Royal Rifle Corps" (the 60th Rifles), later of course The Green Jackets was a proud and loyal Rifleman for 36 years. During WW2 he had been Regimental Serjeant Major of a battalion of the Kings African Rifles. His description of his regiment (the 60th) was that only regiments with BLACK buttons and Rifle Green were worth joining and that the 60th was the "only regiment in the British Army that was allowed to chew gum on parade". 😉😉 The Rifles regiments of today still represent all the qualities and fighting abilities that are described here.
Good job, Brandon. Thank you for taking some time with this and doing it well.
(one minor correction -- the 40th regiment troops shown defending the Chew House in the Germantown painting are the battalion troops for the regiment, not the light infantry company. The LI company was with the 2nd battalion LI, which is depicted retreating in columns down the middle of Germantown Road... past their bretheren in the core of the 40th regiment heading into the shelter of the stone house)
The actual Chew House doesn't look like the one in the painting either. I suspect the artist was working from descriptions of the action and wasn't at the actual site himself.
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 You would be correct in that assumption.
@@ChristheRedcoat Thanks Chris!
I haven't been to the Chew House myself but have seen photographs of it, it's on my "must-see" list for one of these days.
As I understand it you can still see bullet impact holes in the stonework.
There's a house down the street called "Grumblethorpe," it was the summer home of Sally Wister, the young Quaker girl who left a remarkable diary of the war. I believe the British also used it as a field hospital during the Battle of Germantown. (The Wister's weren't home at the time!)
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 Cliveden, the Chew House, is a magnificent stone house which, yep, looks nothing like the painting -- as you surmize, it's thought this was della Gatta just going with what he knew, and explains why the house in the painting is much more clearly Italianate than what Cliveden looks like.
The uniform details and battle events were clearly the details that St. George most clearly could recall and give to the artist - so della Gatta just filled in the blanks with what he knew.
If you ever make it to Germantown to see the house, also go to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philly to see the original painting!
@@HMthRegtofFootndBattLI Seeing the original painting going to be on my to-do list as well. There's nothing like seeing the paintings "in the flesh" as it were. Photographs or prints in books don't do them justice.
Something I've always wondered is what materials were used for making uniforms in the American War of Independence. You mentioned how the more nuanced combat environment of the American continent made it so changes and new adaptions had to be made. Does this mean more diversity in uniform materials? Or was the usual woolen fabrics used in Europe still the norm? Here in Peru, during both the 18th and 19th centuries, there was quite a variety of fabrics used for uniforms. I currently have one from the Regiment of Cazadores del Alto Peru, a cavalry unit, which is made out of green wool cross-weave, a material we call "bayeta". Other uniforms we've seen were made with cotton, not wool, specially in the desert regions of the coast and the hot weather of the equator.
Depends. Are you talking about strictly British regulars, or the different forces altogether?
The material was pretty much the standard for European armies at the time; a wool coat with other clothes being made of wool or linen. Occasionally you may see leather helmets and breeches (esp. for mounted units), but that was basically it. Add on a greatcoat, capote, or blanket coat for very cold weather. Ideally, you'd have both wool and linen waistcoats and breeches/trowzers, which you could switch out depending on the weather, but logistics are rarely ideal for soldiers in war, and they made do with whatever they had.
Cotton was still prohibitively expensive in North America in the 1770s...America's famous cotton crops wouldn't become a widespread fabric until the cotton gin and the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s.
One piece of clothing seen in the AWI that stands out is the hunting shirt/frock, a simple outer coat of linen or "linsey-woolsey" (linen-wool blend). Because it was a simple pattern compared to the regimental coats, and linen was much cheaper in the states than wool, it became a common uniform item in American (Patriot) regiments. Washington early on proposed it as a standard for the whole army. That never happened, but hunting shirts remained ubiquitous in the Continental army throughout the war. Even soldiers in regiments that were supposed to have the more traditional wool regimentals often made do with a linen hunting shirt during supply shortages. It lacks a lot of the benefits of a wool regimental (insulation, ruggedness, water resistance, etc), but as a cheap outer shell coat it served it's purpose.
Like the British, Continental uniforms adapted over the war. Gaitered trousers replaced breeches, regimental coats often became simpler (false facings, unlined, shortened tails), not only because of the petite-guerre style of the war, but also to reduce cost.
@@dajolaw Breeches were often made of striped ticken, which I think was also used for sail cloth. It was popular in the war because it was hard-wearing and gave protection from mosquito bites.
As an American, I'd say that this video really puts it in perspective how our ancestors fought this foe and won. The British were a very tough opponent, and if we had no foreign help we'd have lost.
Happy New Year, Lindy!
Yeah the French Empire pretty much gave its for america. (They went bankrupt after lending aid and the whole thing fell into the French revolution. Need I say more?)
As a Light Infantry Veteran,"Aucto Splendour Resurgo."
You talk like we were two different people, nations. The American Revolution was very much a Civil War. Any Minute man would have considered themselves as English as the Men in Red.
Lindy? you mean Brandon. Lindybeige is someone else XD
@@danyael777 are you sure? He's very reminiscent.
This was awesome.
Just picked up "Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers who Fought the American Revolution" by Hagist. That fits in well with
this latest video.
Great video as always, honestly this is a topic I have wanting to research for a while
Glad it was helpful! Thank you!
I didn’t know you watched Brandon. I’m Sir Isaac Brock on Instagram lol.
@@kinggeorgeiii7515 I'm quite a fan of his. Honestly what a coincidence
@@BrandonF Could you do a segment on the light infantry of what their drill consisted of when they were training for their light infantry duties. As well as how they would conduct patrols when they were not near the protection of the main combat force? Even in 18th century warfare commanders still needed intelligence of the enemy movements, the ground, what roads to take and avoid, towns, and are the local populous friendly. These armies did not just simply walked wherever they pleased until they bumped into one another. These guys were they eyes and ears of the army and they had to be quick on their feet, and free thinking because when they did run into trouble they had to be able to take care of themselves when they were operating miles away from the protection of the main force.
I wish you had the time to make more of these, you have the talent.....
I am going to have an awful lot more time for videos starting in February, once I get a new apartment with a whole room that I can use as an office! This past year I've been travelling so there have been less opportunities for deep work.
@@BrandonF Well Happy New Year in your new apartment Brandon! Best of luck with it!
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 Thanks, Wayne!
@@BrandonF I have a question probably a dumb one and if you already done a video about this I'll look at that but what happens if somebody like me who once to get into reenacting but is bigger is bigger than the original uniforms not I'm fat I'm just saying I'm a little bit bigger what do I do also do you recommend any books for WWII German ss equipment I always liked offices uniforms and I'm very sorry if that bothers you and also if it's not your thing you re-enact
@@wobbuffetisthebest1297 So long as you're physically capable of reenacting, you can do it! See if you can find some local events and chat with people there, and see if you can't find a group that you are interested in! As to WW2 German I can't say I have any book recommendations, though.
Huzza the Light Bobs!
Really love the look of the light infantry. Some of my favorite uniforms of the era.
Thank you!!!!!!!!! I’m a former Light Infantry reenactor with the 24th Regt of Foote, Company of Select Marksmen. It’s been many years since I’ve worn the King’s Red but I’ve seen so many people I used to event with. Thank you for telling it
Okay that embedded advertising spot was worth a subscription to your channel in of itself.
To bad that I am already subscribed. I guess at least I can give you a thumbs up and a comment to boost your TH-cam stats.
Excellent, really well done. Dispels a lot of myths.
Thank you!
Excellent video! Thank you very much!
very nice to learn about light infantry
That blinkist ad was the only ad I have not skipped EVER! I actually was chuckling the entire thing and for me that’s rare good job
Awesome video mate. The ad bit was hilarious. I would love for you to go into more detail on the different types of fire. I was under the impression during this agree it was either volley fire in lines or free for all chaos. Thank you for in depth and fascinating history.
Absolutely wonderful video. I love learning about all sorts of light infantry forces from 1700-1865!
Thanks...both entertaining and informative.!
Videos like this really help me understand that war and that time. Well done!
Great editing and a very interesting video!
This answered all the questions I had about these men! Thank you!
This taught me alot! Thanks for the video Brandon! Loved the skit in the promotion!
Yet anothor quality video! Well done! And happy new year! Cheers from Sweden!
A must say that this video is very enjoyable and that it has given me a better understanding of the Light Infantry.
I feel encouraged to conduct further research of my own.
Thank you very much Brandon.
Brandon I was curious as to your theories why the British Army was so slow to adopt field ambulances and corpsmen relative to France (1797) and the US (1862)? Why do you think it took until 1875? Did they see the men as mere expendable commoners or was it incompetence?
Definitely not callousness and not entirely incompetence, either. I mean it probably would have benefitted them to see that kind of thing earlier on, but these things are usually pretty complex. I don't know much of anything about the actual establishment of a field ambulance system, but my guess would be that the "need" hadn't made itself apparent to the Brits so early on (Napoleon is deploying hundreds of thousands of men in massive campaigns across all of Europe...the most the British did was deploy expeditionary forces reinforced with foreigners!) and that it would have been logistically too complex for the army to consider at the time.
But again those are pure guesses! I can't say anything for certain because I've not read on that topic yet.
The regimental system (where individual colonels often had far more sway over their men's dress, equipment, food supply and medical care than today) generally saw the appointment of surgeons and the hiring of bearers of the wounded on a unit by unit basis.
@@BrandonF Many thanks for the thoughtful reply! I wish TH-cam would’ve told me when you did three days ago but whatever lol
@@chrisleonard2066 Brandon is more or less correct. The British Army did not really fight many large scale land campaigns, so generally they were deployed in much smaller units than the French would use. As a result the medical arrangements tended to made on a case by case basis. Sometimes they got it right, other times like in the Crimea they got it wrong.
If i recall correctly it was actually the backlash by the British Public that made the British Army finally organise both its medical services and its logistics framework into more professional and centrally organised forms. It was not so much callousness, or the view that the men were expendable commoners, but more that up until that point the more ad hoc arrangements they had made had mostly worked fine.
Hats off, sir. Splendid content, very fine presentation. Top notch, I say. Top notch.
Great video
Another great video, very informative.
I've been waiting for a video like this! I'd also like to see a video in a similar format on the British rifle, guard, and other elite/specialist regiments of the Napoleonic Wars.
Brilliant video sir.......
Great video. The best yet.
Very well done and accurate!
Outstanding video Brandon! It re-enforces everything I've read about the British Light Infantry.
I'd go so far as to say you could take any one of those 18th Century "Light Bobs," bring him into the present, give him an M-16, and he'd get on very well in modern infantry combat.
Given the terrain of course that red coat MIGHT be a problem though!
I wonder what they'd think of MRE's?
Surely they can't be any worse than hard tack, right? ...right?
@@BrandonF They're a hell of a lot better, trust me!
You know, in a way hardtack survived a lot longer than you think! In the C-rations we got in the 1970's there were tins of circular crackers (something like heavy unsalted Saltines) you could eat as-is, break up in the gravy of the meat portions of C-rats, or smear with canned peanut butter. We called them "John Wayne Crackers."
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 yeah, hardtack wasn't made to be tasty anyways, it was made to last a long time in a ship without refrigerators, but I feel sad for the sailors that died from scurvy, they were brave men.
@@maximilianolimamoreira5002 Yes, unfortunately they didn't know as much about nutrition as we do nowadays, although by the 1770's they had figured out adding lemon or lime juice, plus sauerkraut, kept scurvy at bay.
The problem with the salted meat provisions the crews ate was they got the bulk you'd like for a full stomach, but salting killed most of the nutritonal value of the food. It had to be made up some other way.
Crews of coastal vessels or ships that made short voyages and always had access to fresh provisions never had a problem with scurvy.
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 The British rations up until quite recently were liberally supplied with 'Biscuit Brown' a solid piece of material whose principal use was to stop one going to the toilet. I do have on of my great-grandfather's hard tacks which were often used as 'lucky pieces' - i.e good luck charms. No idea why.
An interesting legacy is of light infantry being different on parade can be seen in how rifle regiments march on parade today. Rifle regiments being light infantry march with a much faster shorter gate. The arm is only swung to 45 bellow the horizontal. Where as the rest of the army march in a more natural walk with arms swung to horizontal.
Well done!.
Great videos, Brandon! Three huzzahs from a veteran light infantryman of the 10th Regiment of Foot.
"Blinkist changed my life in a most beneficial manner. I do most heartily recommend it to officers of any age".
The Right Honourable Sir Basil Fotherington-Thomas.
Excellent video.
what Tartan is that,Jon? it looks pretty
Very interesting video. The adoption of light infantry tactics by British line infantry reminds me of an early 1800s Spanish training manual on infantry tactics, which included both kind of tactics.
Fantastic video!
Great job an the video - and great job on advertising your sponsor. i chuckled a lot.
Thank you. I learned a lot here.
A happy new year and a late merry Christmas to you and yours brandon :) keep up the great work 👌
Well, you have a new subscriber. Excellent presentation.
great video,man! love to see one about firing by platoons
I am truly loving your channel as of late even tho I used to watch a long time ago. Love your personality and you have a great sense of humor, keep it up brother.
I love your ad-reads
I would like to see another video about all the different firings..would be very interesting to watch…love the videos man!
Very intersting. And very well done Visuals. Great job!
Edit: Stellar Advertisment. Even learned something in it :)
I’m glad I found this channel and subbed
I'm glad you did, too!
Thank you so much Brandon for these fantastic and educational videos.
And thank you too because for once I've been cackling at an advertisement insert. You tell Blinkist to give you a bonus.
My old regiment is The Light Infantry ( Now The Rifles but first formed as The 68th ) Our command is by bugle rather than drum because of the speed they would move around ... green tunic instead of red ... our cap badge is a bugle with a red backing ... the red is supposed to represent blood as they would dip their green plumes from their shako in the flood of their enemy ... to put fear into them .
Drill just that little bit different..
@@richardroberts6026 quite ... much faster
This was an incredible video, and I thank you for making it. I have created an American War of Independence group, which focuses on the British Army during this time (on Roblox, I know, it is embarrassing). This video will help me out in making my regiment’s light infantry companies more historically accurate.
Informative and super funny :)
Please do more of these.
Once again great ad!
I love, love this video! Feels like 18th century spec ops, so cool!
awesome editing. your editing has improved a lot.
Oh, I haven't a clue for editing. It's thanks to my channel's editors! You can find the two gents who put this one together with me in the description. One has a TH-cam channel where he talks about ancient history, and the other is a writer.
@@BrandonF I see
I’d love a video like this about all types of soldiers, such as marines
I am so glad that I happened onto this site. My interest in military histories are usually WW1, anywhere but Europe, WW2, leaning more to the naval support and Korea. This is enjoyable, thanks!!😎😎
Thanks!
Sorry for my delay in replying to this (annoyingly I don't get notifications of super thanks) but, thank you so much for your generosity!
Thank you, Brandon. I never understood the distinction of 'light infantry' in Revolutionary era and later years. Until now.
Awesome, right what I needed. Thanks for this one Brandon and a happy new year for you. Hope you get close to 200k sub in 2022.
Oh, that would be swell!
@@BrandonF you can make it. Just keep on track and do what is right.
I figured it was time to catch up with your latest video.
Thank you very much for your work. Well researched and very informative. Best wishes fron a German Officer.
For battle prepared in their country's just cause,
Their king to avenge and support all his laws;
As fierce as a tiger, as swift as the roe,
The British Light Infantry rush on their foe.
Great video again, Brandon! It’s always a wonderful day when you post. Happy New Years!
Was looking for this comment 😂😂😂.
Stumbled upon this channel after playing Napoleon Total War. Great content!
I can see echoes of these light infantry--their speed, skill, and cunning adaptability--in Berdan's Sharpshooters (1st and 2nd US Sharpshooters, later consolidated into one regiment) perhaps my favorite historical unit of its kind. There are notable differences--the Sharpshooters were civilians who passed a rigorous marksmanship test, their uniforms were quite distinct from those of regulars (forest green vs dark blue respectively) and they always operated independently--but their emphasis on terrain advantage, camouflage, and rapid movement came about (and evolved) thanks to precursors like the British light infantry.
All that being said, thank you for bringing us a more complete and nuanced picture of the American War of Independence. We here in the states can certainly use it.
You've gotten a lot better at narrating. I like it.
Check out The Royal American Rifles, which became The Kings Royal Rifle Corps, which later became 2nd Bn Royal Green Jackets and eventually ended up as a Bn within the modern The RIFLES regiment. The Royal Americans along with The Rifle Brigade wore dark Green and not Red coats, hence their evolution into The Royal Green Jackets. The regts were the original special forces, and individuals were chosen for their ability, hence the term ‘chosen men’.
I served with 2RGJ from 1976-1986 and am proud to have been a Rifleman.
I wore the badge of the 60th Rifles as a cadet at school in 1956/60 in Victoria, London and attached to the Queen's Westminster Rifles, a KRRC territorial unit. My two older brothers both did national service before then and our grandfather died in the regiment at Arras in 1917. During my cadet days the British army was changing from the old .303 Lee Enfield to a new Belgian rifle, and had billions of .303 rounds to use up. On cadet camps we were were firing machine guns every day. Absolute heaven for small boys.
It really makes you think, with regards to British Imperial Forces (both military and naval, noting the RN was equally skilled in maritime and coastal combat during the period) that the American War of Independence was akin to Georgian Britain as Afghanistan was to the 1890's and 2000's; that the defeat was not in terms of military capability, but the bane of militaries the world over: namely, politics. That public opinion (well, outside of the Americas anyway) was so caught up with dealing with the French, and that sufficient British public sympathy was with the Rebels (for example, the political thoughts of Edmund Burke), that the public and political desire to continue supporting the war effort declined to the point that the forces within the 13 rebel colonies finished as they did. Of course, it is also worth noting that the politics in Great Britain, politics in Revolutionary America, and politics in Loyalist America (ie, United Empire Loyalists and the 25 other British American colonies that didn't rebel) were all significantly different in their support/opinions of the war. In the UK, population (or more so, political) sympathies became less rigid on stopping the rebellion and more focused on stopping the French. The Revolutionaries were, obviously, running an effective guerilla and adequate military war, and the Loyalists were more concerned than their compatriots in Great Britain to continue the fight (as evidenced by the sheer number displaced following the end of hostilities, especially those who would go on to build the English-speaking population of Quebec following the end of the Seven Years War). It's just really curious that, these days, there is one main view (the Revolutionary view), whereas there was a much more complicated and diverse range of views on the topic at the time, and it seems more that these diversified political views, rather than military and naval ability, led to the British defeat in the 13 Colonies.
It's hard to ignore the 7 Year War. This was a global conflict for its time taking place on a great many theaters.
Nice intro, hehe.
Bookworthy.
You are the only TH-camr of wich I watch the advertisements! 😄
Wow surprising Brandon good job my man!! 😎
It's strange, but inevitable, that after leaving the American theatre, the British Army rapidly abandoned Light Infantry training, to focus on traditional line tactics for the European wars that they'd fight for the next 15 years. All of that expertise in light tactics was forgotten, and had to be relearned, with the founding of such units as 5thBn/60th, the Experimental Corps of Rifles (later 95th Rifles), and the 43rd Monmouthshire & 52nd Oxfordshire being retrained for Light Infantry duties at Shornecliff in the early 1800s.
The British Army always seems to be inproperly trained and equipped for every conflict they enter, but emerge, through adaptation & retraining, to boss the battlefield as they leave.
Entering the American Revolution, things were static, and the Army left fluid & adaptable.
Entering the Napoleonic Wars, things had regressed, but the Army left as one of the finest militaries in the world.
Entering Crimea, the Army was only slightly improved from its Napoleonic forbears, but left (emaciated, humble & almost beaten) with the basis to provide itself with the knowledge to become a modern army, with all arms working in tandem & provide the proper services for its fighting men.
Then the Afghan, Indian, Boer Wars, & Zulu Wars, again not prepared. Lessons learned.
WW1. Ugh. Learned more.
WW2. Starting ugh. Finishing top, but losing the Empire.
And lots of lessons since.
The British Army is constantly evolving, as every conflict is different from the last. I find it amazing that the lessons from the American Revolution, the Light Infantry tactics, weren't remembered & practiced for so long after our boys returned from that conflict...
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We took our eye off the ball
You should create an entire Meme history channel because the story telling at 12:00 had me laughing so hard.
I really like Blinkist. Will you do a ten second version of this video so I can pretend to be informing myself?
The Light Infantry wounds like an earlier version of the later Rifles.
11:46 I've never thumbs up'd a video for its ad until now.
Your Ad break was hilarious.
what im starting to see here is stuff im fairly familiar with. even as an aircraft technician, i know some form of this in the modern sense, and you really see where the modern army moved from in terms of tactics
A great video Brandon. What is the music at the end? I'm sure I know it but I've got a memory blank! Thanks
An old hymn called "Thine be the Glory".
My ancesters were in the British Legion or 87th Scotish Emergres. I don't think any of that is covered here. Capt. Alexander Ross was originally brought over in Frasier's 100 to fight at Louisburg. Then under Gen. Wolfe on the "Plains of Abraham" at Ft. Quebec. He married a woman said to be related to Roger Williams and probably moved to the Mohawk Vally before re-enlisting at Ft. Quebec with the rank of Captain. His son enlisted at the same time.
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How they fought reminds me a bit of American football and how they play the game. I was a band geek so I never participated, but correlating heaver formations to defensive lineman, and light infantry and more specialized units being like the defensive lines. The whole game of American football is martial if you bring in the tradition of marching bands.
Brandon, I enjoy your website. I'm working on an essay about the 17th Regiment of Foot. How does one tell from old lists and rolls if an officer is in a battalion company or a light company?
As I recall from the Sharpe Series. Sharpe was put in charge of a Light Infantry Company of the South Essex.
Wellington, after the South Essex under Simmerson has lost the kings colours:
"The South Essex is stood down in name, if I wipe the name I may wipe the shame. I am making you a battalion of detachments, you will fetch and carry!"
"The Light Company put up a fight, so I will let it stand under the command of a NEW captain."
Simmerson: "Under the newly-gazetted Captain Gibbons sir?"
Wellington: "Under the newly-gazetted Captain SHARPE, Sir Henry!"
Classic television! I remember it well! Great series, fine acting!