During the American Revolution, British light infantry and grenadier battalions figured prominently in almost every battle and campaign. They are routinely mentioned in campaign studies, usually with no context to explain what these battalions were. In an army that employed regiments as the primary deployable assets, the most active battlefield elements were temporary battalions created after the war began and disbanded when it ended. This work is the first operational study of these battalions during the entire war, looking at their creation, evolution and employment from the first day of hostilities through their disbandment at the end of the conflict. It examines how and why these battalions were created, how they were maintained at optimal strength over eight years of war, how they were deployed tactically and managed administratively. Most importantly, it looks at the individual officers and soldiers who served in them. Using first-hand accounts and other primary sources, These Distinguished Corps describes life in the grenadiers and light infantry on a personal level, from Canada to the Caribbean and from barracks to battlefield.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Plates
• Introduction
• 1 ‘First upon all attacks’ and ‘skirmishing through woods’: Grenadier and Light Infantry Companies
• 2 ‘Our men must be drilled’: Flank Battalions in Boston, 1775-1776
  • 3 Attacking the Proper Way: New York and New Jersey, 1776-1777
  • 4 ‘Much harassed during the winter’: New Jersey, 1777
  • 5 ‘Never more eager to press forward’: Quebec and New York, 1776-1777
  • 6 ‘Spirit and determined resolution’: Campaign to Philadelphia, 1777
  • 7 Anxious for their Country’s Honor’: New Jersey and Rhode Island, 1778
  • 8 Green and White Feathers: New York, 1778-1779
  • 9 Acts of Gallantry and Determined Bravery: West Indies, 1778
  • 10 Twilight of the Flank Battalions, 1780-1783
  • I Regimental and Non-Regimental Clothing for British Infantry
  • II Distinctions of the Grenadiers
  • III Distinctions of the Light Infantry
  • IV Rules and Orders for the Discipline of the Light Infantry Companies in His Majesty’s Army in Ireland, 1772
  • V Discipline established by Major General Howe for Light Infantry in Battalion, Sarum September 1774
  • VI General Howe’s Manoeuvres for the Light Infantry
  • VII Notes on the Practice of the 1st Battalion of Light Infantry
  • VIII General Rules for Manoeuvring the 1st Battalion of Grenadiers, 1780
  • IX Signals for the Drum Bugle or Whistle
• Bibliography
• Plates