83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot

The 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment. During the Childers Reforms it was united with the 86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Ulster Rifles.

Service history
The 83rd was raised in 1793 by William Fitch, their colonel, in and around Dublin, for service in the French Revolutionary Wars. Their first service was overseas, seeing action and garrison duty in the West Indies between 1795 and 1798. Following this they were returned to Europe, and fought under Wellington in the Peninsular campaign. In this they saw action at Talavera, Busaco, Badajoz and Salamanca. In 1815 they again served under Wellington in the Waterloo campaign, which saw the final defeat of Napoleon.

The 83rd was stationed in Canada from 1834 to 1843. During this time the 83rd was posted in Halifax 1834 through 1837, Quebec 1837, Montreal 1837, Kingston 1838 through 1843, and Quebec 1843. During this period the 83rd supplied detachments to London, St Thomas, and Amherstburg. The primary role of the 83rd while in Lower and Upper Canada was to maintain order during the Rebellion of 1837, and to repel invaders from the United States. A key engagement with rebels and invaders took place at the Battle of the Windmill 1838.

In the post-war colonial period the 83rd were stationed in India, and were engaged in the Sepoy rebellion of 1857.

In 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms the 83rd amalgamated with the 86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles.

Known Stations
The 83rd Regiment of Foot has been Barracked at:


 * Fort Henry Kingston, Upper Canada
 * Fort York Toronto, Upper Canada
 * The Wooden Barracks London, Upper Canada

Known Members
Known members of the regiment are as follows:

Officers
"Colonel George Ralph Collier Westropp (later Inspector General Transport, Indian Army); joined from South Cork Militia 5 Oct 1877 and transferred to Indian Staff Corps 26 April 1880 >
 * Lieutenant-General John Hodgson

Other Ranks

 * Sergeant Jamieson Smith 1810-1881, enlisted 1826, discharged 1850
 * Sergeant Robert Brown 1835-1897, enlisted 86th Foot 19/10/1849, army no 3005, Sgt {band master} 86th Foot from 21/6/1879, WOT {band master} Royal Irish Rifles 1/7/1871

discharged 8/10/1889 Joseph Ashley, 1857 medal, believed died in war in India.