41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot

The 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1719 and amalgamated into The Welch Regiment in 1881.

The regiment was raised by General Edmund Fielding in March 1719 out of independent companies of invalids and Chelsea out-pensioners - soldiers incapable of normal service through disease, age or injury. They were renamed the Royal Invalids in 1741, and in 1751, they were numbered the 41st Regiment of Foot. In 1782, when other regiments took county titles, they were denoted as the 41st (Royal Invalids) Regiment of Foot; in 1787 they ceased to comprise invalids and became a conventional line regiment, dropping the title. They finally received a territorial affiliation in 1831, becoming the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot.

The 41st regiment served with distinction in Canada during the War of 1812 where it gained more battle honours than any other British unit during that period. It participated in the capture of Detroit under Major General Isaac Brock (for which he was knighted). They were involved with the siege of Fort Meigs, the battle of the River Raisin and took part on board British ships during the Battle of Lake Erie. After the defeat, the 41st retired from Fort Amherstburg (Malden) under the command of Major-General Henry Procter and were defeated at the Battle of Moraviantown, or the Thames. Shadrack Byfield was a private in the 41st during this period, and he chronicled the battalion's actions in his diary, before losing an arm.

The unit is still represented today by a group of historical re-enactors from all over Ontario, including Fort George. There is another unit in Wales, the regimental home.