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11 (North Devonshire) Foot: TH TH TH

The 11th (North Devonshire) Foot regiment earned the nickname "The Bloody Eleventh" through their actions at the Battle of Salamanca during the Peninsular War. At Salamanca, the 11th Foot stopped the initial French advance despite taking heavy casualties, losing 55 killed and 295 wounded out of 516 men. For their bravery, the regiment was awarded the battle honour of "Salamanca". The document then provides details on the typical organization and uniforms of British line regiments during the Peninsular War, including the distinctive roles and markings of the center, light, and grenadier companies. It concludes by mentioning two sets of miniatures available to recreate British units from this conflict.

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236 views2 pages

11 (North Devonshire) Foot: TH TH TH

The 11th (North Devonshire) Foot regiment earned the nickname "The Bloody Eleventh" through their actions at the Battle of Salamanca during the Peninsular War. At Salamanca, the 11th Foot stopped the initial French advance despite taking heavy casualties, losing 55 killed and 295 wounded out of 516 men. For their bravery, the regiment was awarded the battle honour of "Salamanca". The document then provides details on the typical organization and uniforms of British line regiments during the Peninsular War, including the distinctive roles and markings of the center, light, and grenadier companies. It concludes by mentioning two sets of miniatures available to recreate British units from this conflict.

Uploaded by

Chimaje Grupo Rock de Madrid
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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11th (North Devonshire) Foot

The “Bloody Eleventh” gained a reputation as a tough and courageous regiment through its actions during the Peninsular War.
The regiment was present at Busaco, Sabugal and Fuentes de Onoro but not heavily involved in these battles. However, the
11th were heavily engaged at the battle of Salamanca and it was here that the regiment earned its sobriquet “The Bloody
Eleventh”. At Salamanca the regiment formed part of Clintons 6th Division and were the first to engage the French advance
between 2 hills, the Greater and Lesser Araphiles. Despite grievous losses the 11th Foot stopped the French advance. At one
stage during the battle both colour sergeants and a musician were all decapitated by a single roundshot. The eventual cost to
the regiment was great. Of 516 officers and men present no fewer than 55 were killed and 295 wounded a total of 340
casualties. For its bravery and fortitude during the battle the regiment was awarded the battle honour “Salamanca”.

British line regiments of the time varied in strength due to the vagaries of recruitment and the
amount of time units had been on campaign. At full compliment a regiment would be formed
from 10 companies of 100 men per company, thus giving a theoretical regimental strength of
1000 men. The realities of recruitment, casualties, disease and desertion meant that regiments
were continually under strength. Eight of the companies were “centre or battalion companies”
whilst the remaining companies were a light company and a grenadier company, these were
collectively known as flank companies.
Regiments carried 2 colours (flags), a Kings Colour based on the Union flag and a Regimental
colour based on the identifying colour of the regiment. In the case of the 11th Foot this
identifying colour was green and was also used on the regiment’s facings (collars and cuffs) as a
further way of distinguishing different regiments.
The bulk of a regiment comprised the 8 centre companies of troops. In the picture to
the left the centre company can be identified by the red and white plume worn on
their “stovepipe” shako and the white shoulder tufts. The official uniform of 11th Foot
also included a red jacket with green collars and cuffs (facings) and white “duck”
trousers. Due to the harsh campaigning during the Peninsular war the white trousers
often got replaced with trousers made from different materials woven from grey,
cream and brown fabrics.
For Wellington neatness in the field was not as important as keeping his men well fed
and equipped.

To the right you will see an image of the light company. They are identified by the
green plume on their shakos and the shoulder “wings” edged with white lace. The light
company men were selected for their superior marksmanship skills, excellent fieldcraft
and speed about the battlefield. Many light company men had been poachers or
gamekeeper in their civilian lives.

Regimental commander used his “elite” light troops to scout ahead of the main body
of troops, to form skirmish lines in front of the regiment and to protect the left flank of
the regiment.

The image on the left shows the other flank company, the grenadier company. They are
recognised by the white plume worn on the shako and the shoulder wings edged with lace.
The men who formed the grenadiers company were the biggest strongest and bravest men
in the regiment. The grenadier company was always positioned on the right, securing the
regiment’s right flank. Grenadier troops were used as shock troops often where the fighting
was hardest. Field commanders would often group grenadier units from different regiments
to create large bodies of elite troops.

Victrix produce two sets of figures that let gamers and modellers create British units for the
Peninsular War. The sets are VX0002 British Peninsular Centre Companies and VX0004
British Peninsular Flank Companies. The sets have many arm and head options allowing a
great variety of poses and giving distinctive character to the units built from them.
The figures are manufactured in “hard” plastic that is easy to glue and paint. However, the
plastic is still soft enough to cut and bend to make available the opportunity to carry out easy conversions. We intend to
produce a news letter on converting Victrix figures at sometime in the near future.

Stephen Hales & Julian Blakeney-Edwards

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