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Royal West India Rangers.
 | Raised 25th October 1806. |
| Disbanded late June 1819. |
Campaigns.
| Guadeloupe 1810 |
| Guadeloupe 1815 (The island supported Napoleon on his return from Elba) |
History
The Royal West India Rangers were formed from European soldiers drafted in from the Royal Africa Corp in 1806. Later convicts were recruited from British prisons as well as French prisoners of war who wanted to escape imprisonment.
The regiment was mainly used for garrison duties in St. Kitts, Antigua and Barbados and it also saw action in two invasions of the French island of Guadeloupe (1810 and 1815).
The regiment suffered from high instances of desertion, probably due to the fact it was permanently stationed in the Caribbean. These desertions were not only due to the nature of the men recruited, but from the feeling the men had that there was no escape from this form of "imprisonment" and disease. Records show that regular regiments also suffered a high numbers of "runaways" if they spent to long stationed in the area.
The regiment left St. Kitts in 1819 for St. John, New Brunswick, Canada where it was disbanded in June of the same year.
Uniform.
| The uniform of the regiment was basically the same as the British 60th Foot: |
| Jacket - Green with red collar, shoulder straps and cuffs. |
| Buttons - White metal in three rows of six and two for the shoulder straps. |
| Pantaloons - Dark blue. |
| Officers Dolman - Green with scarlet collar and cuffs and trimmed with three rows of gilt buttons. |
| Shako - Black stovepipe with a brass bugle badge with the letters R.W.I.R. |
| Accoutrements - Black. |
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Regiments of the British West Indies. ©
Copyright 1999
Sunday, 21 October 2001