History of the XX Regiment 1688-1888 Lancashire Fusiliers

This is a regimental history of the Lancashire Fusiliers, one of the greatest names in the British Army for 200 years from its foundation down to 1888. Founded in 1688, the year of William III's Glorious Revolution, the regiment first saw service in the Caribbean before being deployed to defend the Rock of Gibraltar during the great siege. In the War of the Austrian Succession, it took part in the battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy against France; helped suppress Bonnie Prince Charlie's 1745 Jacobite rebellion at Culloden. Probably the Regiment's most famous member was Gen. James Wolfe, and though it missed his great victory at Quebec, the regiment took part in other battles of the Seven Years' War - notably Minden. In the Napoleonic Wars, the Fusiliers were present at Sir John Moore's retreat to Corunna, and in the Peninsular War fought at Vittoria, the Pyrenees, Nivelle and Orthes. During the Crimean War, the regiment fought at all the major battles - the Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and the Siege of Sebastopol. Almost immediately, the regiment was embarked for India to fight the Mutiny - taking part in the relief of the Siege of Lucknow.