Talk:96th Regiment of Foot

Swiss or Austrian?

According to Philip Haythornthwaite (The Armies of Wellington), the Minorca Regiment was made up of former Austrian soldiers -the Austrian army was multiethnic- captured by the French and transferred to Spanish service (at a time when Spain and France were allies). My guess is that they were unrelated to the 6 Swiss regiments in Spanish pay (Kayser's, Reding Senior's and Junior's, Preux's, etc). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.8.98.118 (talk) 11:12, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

According to Haythornthwaite: [...]the 97th Foot, originally Stuart's Minorca Regiment, composed of Germans and Swiss who had formed the Spanish garrison of Minorca, mostly ex-Austrian prisoners of war given to Spain by France [...] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.85.148.202 (talk) 17:35, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

"French cavalry standard"

The colour that Anton/Antoine Lutz was credited with capturing was that of a French infantry unit, the 21st Demi Brigade Legère. A battalion of the 21st had been effectively destroyed in a counter attack by the 42nd, Royal Highland Regiment, as the French attempted to outflank Moore's brigade (28th, 42nd, 58th Regts). When the enemy survivors surrendered, Lieutenant Colonel James Stirling of the 42nd took possession of a regimental colour and put in the charge of a grenadier sergeant named Sinclair. Sergeant Sinclair was knocked unconscious in a further French attack and the captured colour lost.

As the Minorca Regiment advanced to support Moore's brigade, the same colour was apparently seen in the hands of a French officer in the front line. Private Lutz was later reported by witnesses from the Minorca Regiment to have rushed from the ranks, shot the officer and taken the colour before being lost to view as French cavalry charged over him. The report of the combat with the dragoons is his. He later appeared with the French colour and a captured dragoon as trophies and was sent deliver them Headquarters. The flag was decorated battle honours of the Army of Italy, including Lodi, where Napoleon described his assault troops as "cette colonne invincible."

Lutz' story was later disputed. The 42nd were accused, incorrectly, of claiming an honour that was not theirs. Suggestions were then made that Lutz had merely found the enemy colour on the ground by the prostrate Sergeant Sinclair. Members of the Highland Society of London were tactless enough to ask the Regiment for clarification before they issued a medal with the image of a Highlander in the act of capturing the flag. Officers of the 42nd were insulted at the inference their Regiment might have falsely claimed another regiment's trophy and the controversy lasted for 14 years until the Duke of York brokered a reconciliation.

Philippe de Loutherbourg's painting of the battle of Alexandria (1802) tactfully depicts both a grenadier sergeant of the 42nd and a private of the Line with the colour between them (but held by the private) as they present it to the mortally wounded Sir Ralph Abercromby while pointing to the British line advancing victoriously with the 42nd prominent in the background.JF42 (talk) 13:08, 6 June 2012 (UTC)