The Organisation and Service
of the British 1st Foot Guards
Deployment of Grenadier and Light Companies
by John Cook, UK
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Officers were selected in April 1793 and training commenced at home. In July 1793, two light companies of the1st Foot Guards, and one each from the Coldstream Guards and 3rd Foot Guards were sent to Holland where, it appears, they joined their battalions. This assumption is based on a reference to the attack on Roubaix in 1794 where “.. the light company of First Guards protecting their left (of 7th and 15th Light Dragoons). On the flank battalion of Guards, which was in front, the French opened fire ...” What became of the original light company, formed in March 1793 from elements of the 1st battalions of the three regiments, is not clear. As can be seen we have a reference to a light company, apparently, with a battalion, and the continued existence of the ‘flank battalion’. Would the latter not be called a “grenadier battalion” if the original light company no longer formed part of it? This is an ambiguity I cannot explain. By mid-1794, however, it seems that the remaining guards light companies were ready for service because on 18 July 1794 a further four arrived in Holland, two of which were from 1st Foot Guards. These were added to the existing four light companies sent out the previous year and formed into a battalion of eight light companies, called either the ‘5th’ battalion or ‘light infantry battalion’ commanded initially by Colonel Sir James Duffe, 1st Foot Guards, later by Colonel Manners, 3rd Foot Guards, on promotion of the former in October. What became of the original light company is not clear, but I suspect that it ceased to exist and the men returned to their battalions or, perhaps, incorporated in the new permanent light companies. What is clear is that with the arrival of these additional light companies and the formation of the ‘light infantry battalion’, the grenadier companies from the three battalions now formed a separate ‘4th’ or ‘grenadier battalion’ again, commanded by Colonel Stanhope 1st Foot Guards. The ‘grenadier battalion’ was disbanded in March 1795 and the grenadier companies returned to their battalions. On 13 April 1795 the 1/1st Foot Guards and the ‘light infantry battalion’, comprising 602 men, embarked for England, setting sail on 24 April and arriving at Greenwich on 8th May. the1/1st Foot Guards paraded in St James' Park the following day. The two grenadier companies of the 1/1st Foot Guards arrived at Greenwich on 15th May. By 18 May 1795, the 1/1st Foot Guards, and the 1st Foot Guards light companies, were billeted in Southwark where, they were inspected by the regimental Lieutenant Colonel. The four light companies then proceeded to Windsor where they remained until 26th November, when they returned to their battalions in London. By 29 November the regiment was complete and quartered in London as follows:
2nd Battalion 1st Foot Guards (10 companies) Upper Westminster 3rd Battalion 1st Foot Guards (10 companies) at Tower Hamlets Returns of Quarters clearly show that 1/1st Foot Guards had two grenadier companies, two light companies and eight centre companies. The 2/1st Foot Guards and the 3/1st Foot Guards each had eight centre companies, one grenadier and one light company. In 1798, the eight light companies of the regiments of Foot Guards took part in the abortive raid on Ostend, where those of the Coldstream Guards and the 3rd Foot Guards were taken prisoner. In 1799, the 1st Foot Guards returned to the Low Countries. The 1st Brigade comprised a ‘Grenadier Battalion of Guards’ and the 3/1st Foot Guards; the 2nd Brigade comprised the 1/Coldstream Guards and the 1/3rd Foot Guards. The ‘grenadier battalion’ consisted of the grenadier companies from the three regiments of Foot Guards but I don't have precise details; the implication is the eight available grenadier companies from the three regiments formed this service battalion but this is not clear. Returns for the 3/1st Foot Guards in September 1799 showing officers, the companies they commanded and their designations indicate that companies were not numbered in the regimental hierarchy on service, but rather within the battalion thus:
2nd to 9th Companies Light Company In 1806, the 1/1st Foot Guards and the 3/1st Foot Guards deployed to Sicily, 1421 and 1167 men strong respectively, embarking at Ramsgate on 26 July 1806. They sailed on 17 August via Plymouth where the 45th and 87th Foot, and the 2nd Dragoons joined the force. Whilst disembarked at Plymouth, the six flank companies of the two Guards battalions were formed into a 'flank battalion' commanded by Colonel Henry Clinton. Returns of officers of 1/1st Foot Guards and 3/1st Foot Guards proceeding to Sicily, the companies they commanded and their designations again show a battalion hierarchy on service thus:
Grenadier Company 3rd to 10th Companies Two Light Companies 3/1st Foot Guards comprised:
2nd to 9th Companies Light Company We can extrapolate the composition of the ‘flank battalion’ thus.
Grenadier company 1/1st Foot Guards Grenadier company 3/1st Foot Guards Light company 1/1st Foot Guards Light company 1/1st Foot Guards Light company 3/1st Foot Guards What is also now evident, is that in battalions on service, the companies were not numbered in the regimental sequence, but within the battalion, and that the flank companies occupied numbers in this hierarchy, the Grenadier Company of 3/1st Foot Guards, for example, clearly occupies the number 1 position, even if it doesn't seem to use the number in its title, his numbering within the battalions was, presumably, for operational reasons. It would be very interesting to know what their equivalent numbers were in the regimental hierarchy, for that might answer the question about the regimental numbers of flanks companies and if companies were taken on a ‘pick and mix’ basis from within the regiment when battalions were sent on service. I regret that, as yet, I've not found an answer to that one. The same composition and numbering is seen in the returns of officers and companies of the1/1st Foot Guards and the 3/1st Foot Guards during the Corruna campaign, though I have found no mention of a detachment of grenadier and light companies for a flank battalion during 1808-1809. The two battalions appear to have remained complete, at 12 and 10 companies strong respectively throughout 1808-1809. On 19 November 1808 the flank companies were detached from their battalions and a “flank battalion” was formed under command of Colonel John Lambert. The army embarked following the battle of Corunna during 16/17 January 1809; 1st Foot Guards disembarked at Portsmouth on 25 January, marching to Chatham where they arrived on 8 February. On 23 July 1809 1/1st Foot Guards, still at Chatham, received orders to embark for the Walcheren expedition. They were joined by the flank companies of the three second battalions of Foot Guards and the 3/1st Foot Guards. The composition of the brigade was as shown in Table 1. Organisation This is a very difficult area. It does appear that regiments of Foot Guards had a higher establishment than the line, but it is very difficult to establish exactly what those establishments were precisely. The figures given in the Rules and Regulations 1792 are very low and are evidently for a peace time footing. They are also not specific to Foot Guards and are not much help. A summary of increases during the Revolutionary period shows an establishment of 50 men per company in 1790, which compares with the 30 men per company specified in the Rules and Regulations 1792. In 1792 the establishment was raised in the Foot Guards to 60 men per company, and we have already seen the light companies established in 1793 with 100 men each. On 7 December 1798 the strength of the grenadier companies was raised to 120 men and on 3 July 1798, that of centre companies to 114 men. On 25 November 1799 the establishment of all companies was raised to 150 men. As for officers, none of my sources give any specific figures for company establishments; I doubt there was one. Where nominal returns are made they often include very senior and general officers who held commissions in the regiment but did not serve with it in a regimental capacity. George Nafziger estimates that a typical guards company with strength similar to that in 1799 above, would have a captain commanding, 2 or 3 captains/lieutenants and 1 ensign. His estimates for the regimental staff include a colonel/lieutenant colonel commanding, a lieutenant colonel/major 2IC, an adjutant, a surgeon, 2 assistant surgeons, a sergeant major, a quartermaster Sergeant and a Schoolmaster Sergeant, plus a drummer, a fifer and up to 13 pioneers. I have no reason to question these figures. BibliographyAnon. Colours of the Guards Division 1660-1968 Private Publication. Aldershot, nd.
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The first light company was formed in March 1793 and was attached to the ‘4th’ or 'grenadier battalion', comprising four grenadier compa- nies from the three battalions serving in the Low Countries, which was called the ‘flank battalion'. The company was formed by taking 27 picked men from each of the three battalions comprising the brigade in Holland, 1/1st Foot Guards, 1/Coldstream Guards and 1/3rd Foot Guards. This was evidently a service company because light companies were not au- thorised on a permanent basis until the King's Command of 16 April 1793, which ordered 
1/1st Foot Guards comprised: