Bengal Infantry Regiments
Contents
Introduction
European Regiments
Three units were raised between 1652 and 1765 which became regiments of the British Army in 1861. Three further regiments were formed in 1858 with officers from Native Regiments which had mutinied but these were disbanded after the Indian Mutiny.
Indian Regiments
After the recapture of Calcutta in 1757, fighting units of sepoys were raised with officers from the Madras establishment. These units were called battalions until 1781 when they became regiments. Originally numbered (as theBritish Army) with the 1st being the oldest and the highest number being the youngest, in 1764 the battalions were numbered according to the seniority of their captains. There were subsequent re-numberings in 1775, 1781, 1784, 1796 and 1824 which makes identifying regiments at any particular time quite difficult. The numbering adopted in the lists found in the Category page is generally that of 1824.
External Links
Bengal Native Infantry 1825 British Empire website
Bengal Native Infantry Wikipedia
Indian Infantry Regiments 1860-1914 By Michael Barthorp, Jeffrey J. Burn Google Books
Description of Bengal Infantry Regiments at the time of the Mutiny Google Books
Historical Books on-line
An historical account of the rise and progress of the Bengal Native Infantry, from its first formation in 1757, to 1796 by Captain Wiliams 1817 (Google Books)
The Standing Orders for the Bengal Native Infantry, with a translation into Oordoo, in the Roman, Persian, and Naguree Characters by Brevt. Capt. Samuel Cross Starkey, 7th Regiment B.N.I 1846 (Google Books)
