95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles) 1st Battalion
Join the 95th of foot, his majesty King George’s rifle regiment! We are a dedicated group of living historians recreating the elite 95th Regiment, during the Napoleonic Wars (1809-1815). We also participate in battles in the American War (1812). Our activities include living history as well as battle reenactments.
The 95th was unique among British regiments, being armed with rifles rather than Muskets. They were also distinguished by their dark green uniforms and black belts. The 95th was trained to fight both in line of battle as well as in skirmishing order. Fighting in pairs the men of the 95th engaged the enemy at long range before the main armies closed for battle. Individual initiative was required as well as the ability to shoot well. Many a Frenchman learned at his cost how deadly the rifles were.
The historic 95th Regiment began on December 25, 1802 when the Experimental Rifle corps was reformed into a line Regiment designated as the 95th Regiment of Foot. The regiment (originally one battalion) was trained by Sir John Moore. In 1805 the 95th was increased in size by the addition of a second battalion. The first action the saw was the siege of Copenhagen in 1897. The 95th was with Moore during the disasterous Spanish campaign and covered the British retreat to Corunna. The 95th became part of the Light Division (which included the 43rd and 52nd Regiments of foot) under the command of Robert (Black Bob) Crauford. In 1809 the 95th returned to Spain, minus the 2nd battalion which had been decimated by Walchern Fever contracted in the Low Countries.
During the peninsular campaign the 95th fought in many of the great battles including The Coa, Busaco, and the sieges of Cicdad Rodrigo and Badajoz. The Regiment was expanded to 3 battalions all of which fought at Waterloo. Five companies of the 3rd battalion were sent to America and fought at New Orleans.
The 95th is undoubtedly one to the most famous British regiments of the Napoleonic wars. This is in part due to the numerous memories left my members of the regiment (Costello, Harris, Leach, Simons, Kincaid, etc). C.S. Forrester (the author of the Hornblower book series) wrote a fictional account of the 95th called Rifleman Dodd.The 95th has also been popularized in Bernard Cornwall’s Sharpe’s series of books and the TV movies based upon them.
Our recreated 95th rifles unit stresses authenticity and soldierly comradeship. We attend a wide range of events, including battles for the public, tacticals with no public and living history displays. We also cooperate with the 3rd Battalion of the 95th at large battle events such as Mississinewa 1812 (in Marion Indiana), and Brigade Napoleon’s Grand Tactique.
Our unit has as its headquarters OldBedfordVillage in BedfordPA. The Curator of this museum has generously allowed us to use the historic village as our base. We conduct 3 living history weekends there per year and well as participate in the Grand Tactique which is also held at Old Bedford. He we can practice drill, give demonstrations for the public and call the historic houses home fro the weekend. The sit also affords the opportunity to conduct meetings,parties, and dances if we so desire. It is a central location for our unit and good place for prospective recruits to come meet us. Use of the historic buildings (36) gives us a lot of opportunities.