Other Ranks Button, 1775

The 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot arrived at Philadelphia on 11 July 1767. The regiment was originally posted to Philadelphia and was inspected there in October 1767 by General Gage. The men of the Royal Irish had been trained in bush fighting and were lauded by both Gage and the colonists for the excellent show they provided. In the spring of 1768, seven of the nine companies were ordered to replace the 34th Regt. at the western posts of Ft. Pitt and Ft. Chartres. The other two remained at Philadelphia. A sixth company was sent to Illinois in 1770 and a seventh in 1772.

Artist's conception of soldier of the 18th at Ft. Chartres Museum, ca 1770

The five companies that travelled to Illinois arrived there in September 1768. Members of the Royal Irish would remain in the Illinois County for the next eight years.

The Grenadier Coy participated in the march to Lexington and Concord and the assault on Bunker Hill in the spring of 1775. Although the Royal Irish was drafted in December 1775 and its colours returned to England, over 200 men of the regiment remained behind in other regiments. The drafted men of the Royal Irish remained scattered throughout the British Army fighting at Long Island, Saratoga, Vincennes, Germantown, and Yorktown among other places. Several of the officers remained behind to serve on staffs or held commands in provincial regiments. A minority of the officers and men took up arms for the American Cause. The last men still serving in the British Army returned to England in 1786.