Line Infantry "Push Your Bayonets", Dejean's Regiment of Foot

BJ37-15

John Jenkins Designs

The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father. It took place during the War of The Austrian Succession, when the bulk of the British Army was fighting in mainland Europe. It proved to be the last in a series of revolts that began in 1689, with other major outbreaks in 1715 and 1719. Charles launched the rebellion on 19th August 1745 at Glenfinnan in the Scottish Highlands, capturing Edinburgh and winning the Battle of Prestonpans in September.
At a council in October the Scots agreed to invade England after Charles assured them of substantial support from English Jacobites and a simultaneous French landing in Southern England. Neither of these assurances were to take place or to materialize, therefore the decision to retreat back to Scotland took place, leading to the defeat at Culloden in April, which ended the rebellion.
Charles was to escape to France, but was unable to win further support for another attempt, and died in Rome in 1788.

The Battle of Culloden on 16th April 1745 which is often cited as the last pitched battle on British soil. It lasted less than an hour and ended in a decisive government victory.

At Culloden the strongest infantry battalion was in fact Dejean’s Regiment, which mustered 426 men. Blakeney’s 27th had just 300. Only the grenadier company in each regiment was maintained at something like its proper strength, by constantly milking the other battalion companies of their most experienced soldiers.

The 37th regiment was raised in Ireland by Lieutenant-General Thomas Meredyth as Meredyth's Regiment in February 1702.
The regiment next saw action at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743 during the War of the Austrian Succession. It also fought at the Battle of Falkirk in January 1746 during the Jacobite Rebellion when its Colonel, Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet, was shot and then finished off with three sword blows to the head.
It went on to fight under the command of Colonel Lewis Dejean at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746.
The regiment returned to the Netherlands and fought at the Battle of Lauffeld in July 1747.
On 1st July 1751 a royal warrant was issued which provided that in future regiments would no longer be known by their colonel’s name, but would bear a regimental number based on their precedence. Dejean’s Regiment became the 37th Regiment of Foot.

There are a number of eyewitness accounts of the actions of the British army at Culloden, written by British officers, and two of the accounts were written by members of Dejean’s Regiment. A grenadier officer mentions how his platoon was almost overrun, and makes an important comment that the men of his regiment were disinclined to take prisoners that day because it was firmly believed that a number of their officers had been murdered in cold blood by the rebels at the Battle of Falkirk, three months earlier.
Another account describes how the front rank men stood fast with charged bayonets, protecting the two ranks behind while they carried on loading and firing. It is believed and widely reported that the innovation and instruction for each man to thrust at the Highlander approaching to his right rather than the one coming directly at him, which bypassed the highlanders targe or defensive shield, was a contributing factor to defeating the Jacobite highlander.
This drill is well illustrated in David Morier’s celebrated painting “Incident In The Rebellion”, and shows the front rank of Barrel’s 4th Foot charging their bayonets.

Dejean’s Regiment were positioned next to Barrell’s 4th Foot, who were overrun by the Highland assault, although Dejean’s Regiment held their ground they also were to suffer heavy casualties at the battle. It was reported that 14 killed and 68 wounded, these losses were only second to the badly mauled 4th Foot.