Volunteers of Ireland

The Volunteers of Ireland was a British provincial regiment formed in Philadelphia in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War. It was organized for Loyalist service on the British side and recruited primarily from men of Irish birth who were serving in other Loyalist units or living in the American colonies. The regiment was authorized by Francis Rawdon-Hastings, an Anglo-Irish officer who had joined the British Army and received permission to create a unit associated with Ireland, then governed under the British Crown. The regiment initially operated under the name Volunteers of Ireland. In April 1778 it moved with the British Army to New York City, which served as an important British military base during the war. On 2 May 1779, the unit was placed on the American establishment and formally designated the 2nd American Regiment, while retaining its association with the Volunteers of Ireland in contemporary identification. This change reflected the administrative status of provincial forces serving in the North American theater rather than the creation of an entirely separate organization. The regiment subsequently fought in the southern campaign. After the Patriot surrender at Charleston in May 1780, it participated in the British victory at the Battle of Camden. Sergeant Thomas Hudson was recognized for exceptional conduct during the battle; the decoration associated with his service was one of only two such awards granted to a British Army soldier during the Revolutionary War. In 1781 the regiment played a central role at the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill and took part in the relief of the Loyalist fort during the Siege of Ninety-Six. These engagements placed the unit among the British and Loyalist forces attempting to maintain control of the southern colonies and sustain Loyalist resistance. The Volunteers of Ireland remained in South Carolina until the British surrender under General Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown in October 1781. It was then removed from the province and transported by sea to New York. On 25 December 1782, the regiment was transferred to the British establishment and redesignated the 105th Regiment of Foot. This transition gave the unit a formal place within the British Army structure, although the military organization was nearing the end of its active existence. Following the end of the war, the soldiers were mustered out in New York City and transported to Nova Scotia. Their resettlement formed part of the broader British policy for relocating Loyalist soldiers and other colonists displaced by the conflict. The movement also reflected British reluctance to return large numbers of Irish-born soldiers to Ireland or England, as well as the lower cost and strategic value of settling them in British North America. The regiment was placed in cadre status and officially transferred to England in 1784. It did not continue as an active independent regiment. The Volunteers of Ireland should be distinguished from the contemporaneous Irish Volunteers, an autonomous militia movement associated with the Irish Patriot Party in the 1770s and 1780s.

The Volunteers of Ireland emerged in 1777 as a provincial regiment supporting the British war effort in the American Revolutionary War. It was raised in Philadelphia, in the Province of Pennsylvania, under the authority of Francis Rawdon-Hastings. The unit drew much of its identity from the Irish origin of its intended personnel: Rawdon-Hastings had received permission to form a regiment from men born in Ireland who were already serving in other Loyalist formations or were otherwise available to the British military in the American colonies. The regiment moved to New York City with the British Army in April 1778. New York was then a major center of British military operations, administration, and Loyalist activity. On 2 May 1779, the unit was placed on the American establishment as the 2nd American Regiment. The formal designation did not erase its earlier identity, and it continued to be associated with the Volunteers of Ireland in historical accounts. Its administrative reclassification illustrates how provincial forces were incorporated into the British military system while retaining local or community-based recruiting identities. The unit became especially active in the southern theater. Following the Patriot capitulation at Charleston in May 1780, the regiment participated in the Battle of Camden, a significant British victory in South Carolina. Sergeant Thomas Hudson received a decoration for heroism connected with the battle. The award was notable because only two such decorations were given to British Army soldiers during the prosecution of the war. In April 1781, the regiment was the primary British unit at the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill. The engagement formed part of the wider struggle for control of the Carolinas, where British forces sought to capitalize on Loyalist support but faced continuing Patriot resistance. The regiment also participated in the relief of the Loyalist garrison during the Siege of Ninety-Six in May 1781. Its service in these operations placed it at the center of the British effort to defend or recover strategic positions in the southern colonies. The Volunteers of Ireland remained in South Carolina until the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in October 1781. After the capitulation, the regiment was transported by ship to New York. On 25 December 1782, it was placed on the British establishment as the 105th Regiment of Foot. This was the final major change to its official designation. The regiment's postwar fate was shaped by demobilization and Loyalist resettlement. Its soldiers were mustered out in New York City and then transported to Nova Scotia. The British government was relocating military personnel and other Loyalists whose homes or livelihoods had been disrupted by the war. The settlement of the regiment in British North America also avoided the expense of returning its largely Irish-born personnel to Britain or Ireland and supplied the colonial population with experienced settlers. In 1784 the regiment was placed in cadre status and officially moved to England. It did not survive as an active regiment. Its history belongs to the military and Loyalist institutions of the American Revolutionary era rather than to a continuing commercial brand. It is also separate from the Irish Volunteers, the Irish militia movement that supported the Irish Patriot Party during the same period.

• 1784

  Cadre status and transfer to England

  [1]Volunteers of Irelanden.wikipedia.org

  Following demobilization and the resettlement of its soldiers in Nova Scotia, the regiment was placed in cadre status and officially moved to England.

• 1782

  Redesignation as the 105th Regiment of Foot

  [1]Volunteers of Irelanden.wikipedia.org

  On 25 December, the unit was placed on the British establishment under the title 105th Regiment of Foot.

• 1781

  Southern campaign operations

  [1]Volunteers of Irelanden.wikipedia.org

  The unit was a primary British formation at Hobkirk's Hill and participated in the relief of the Loyalist fort during the Siege of Ninety-Six.

• 1781

  Return to New York after Yorktown

  [1]Volunteers of Irelanden.wikipedia.org

  After Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown in October, the regiment was withdrawn from South Carolina and transported to New York.

• 1780

  Service at the Battle of Camden

  [1]Volunteers of Irelanden.wikipedia.org

  The regiment fought in the British victory at Camden after the Patriot surrender at Charleston. Sergeant Thomas Hudson received recognition for heroism.

• 1779

  Redesignation as the 2nd American Regiment

  [1]Volunteers of Irelanden.wikipedia.org

  On 2 May, the unit was placed on the American establishment as the 2nd American Regiment, also identified as the 2nd American Regiment (Volunteers of Ireland).

• 1778

  Movement to New York

  [1]Volunteers of Irelanden.wikipedia.org

  The regiment moved to New York City with the British Army in April as British operations in the North American theater continued.

• 1777

  Formation in Philadelphia

  [1]Volunteers of Irelanden.wikipedia.org

  The Volunteers of Ireland was raised in Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, as a Loyalist provincial regiment for British service.

A Loyalist military regiment organized for British service in North America, with a distinctive recruiting identity linked to Irish-born soldiers.

• 1782

  Transfer to the British establishment as the 105th Regiment of FootStrategy

  Background

  After the British surrender at Yorktown and the unit's return to New York, the regiment's administrative status was revised.

  Action taken

  On 25 December 1782, the regiment was placed on the British establishment and redesignated the 105th Regiment of Foot.

  Aftermath

  The regiment was later demobilized, placed in cadre status, and officially moved to England in 1784.

  Source

• 1779

  Administrative adoption of the 2nd American Regiment designationStrategy

  Background

  The provincial unit required a formal place within the British military administration while operating in the North American theater.

  Action taken

  The Volunteers of Ireland was placed on the American establishment on 2 May 1779 and designated the 2nd American Regiment.

  Aftermath

  The regiment continued to serve in the southern campaign while retaining an association with its original Volunteers of Ireland identity.

  Source

1. 1Volunteers of Irelanden.wikipedia.org