The 33rd from 1702 to the Eve of the American War
The regiment that became the 33rd Foot was raised in 1702 by George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, in and around Gloucester, to fight in the War of the Spanish Succession. Like other regiments of the day, it took its name from its colonel, so it began life as Huntingdon’s Regiment. It changed name each time the colonel changed, becoming Leigh’s, Duncanson’s and then Wade’s Regiment. George Wade, later a field marshal and famous for his military roads in Scotland, was colonel from 1705 to 1717.
The 33rd in the American War of Independence
In the early 1770s the 33rd Regiment of Foot served in Minorca and the West Indies. Its colonel since 1766 was Charles, Earl Cornwallis, but as the war went on Cornwallis commanded whole armies, so he rarely led the regiment himself. The man who really led the 33rd was its lieutenant colonel, James Webster. He was the son of an Edinburgh minister and had served in the regiment since joining as a lieutenant in 1760. Webster took command in April 1774 and led the 33rd through almost every campaign of the war, until he was killed at Guilford Courthouse in 1781. His drilling and discipline helped give the regiment its reputation as one of the best-trained in the British Army, and it became known as “The Pattern”, the standard other regiments should aim for. Its red coat was unusual: the facings at collar and cuffs were also red, not a contrasting colour, and officers wore silver buttons and lace.