In 1826 the regiment was again in the West Indies and sure enough disease again took its toll. Once again the regiment found itself quartered in Ireland.

With the cessation of hostilities in Europe there began the period known as the вЂlong peaceвЂ™, lasting to the Crimean war in 1854. In 1814 it took part in the attack on Merxem, before being disbanded in Cork in 1816.

The 2nd battalion, raised in 1804, was sent in 1813 on the expedition to the Netherlands to assist in the Dutch revolt against the French. With the regiment in Grenada fighting a French-led slave rebellion, in 1795 a second, home battalion was formed. The Grenadier and Light Companies were present at Admiral HoweвЂ™s great victory on the вЂGlorious First of JuneвЂ™, 1794. New hostilities with Revolutionary France saw the regiment provide marine detachments for service aboard British warships in the Mediterranean, English Channel and the North Sea. It was a remarkable feat and is still celebrated every anniversary of the battle.ДЇollowing prolonged garrison duties on Minorca from 1768 to 1780, the regiment was sent to relieve Gibraltar, and in the same year, for a number of reasons, was retitled вЂthe 25th (Sussex) Regiment of FootвЂ™. Here, in an allied force under Ferdinand of Brunswick, with five other British infantry regiments, the 25th marched in line against 10,000 French cavalry and broke the enemy centre. With the introduction of regimental numbering in 1751, the regiment became the 25th Foot and it was as such that it took perhaps its most famous battle honour at Minden on 1st August 1759. With the same commander it was in action again the following year, but this time in Scotland, when at the battle of Culloden in April of that year it took part in quelling the last of the great Jacobite rebellions (indeed it was the only Scottish regiment to have fought against the rebels in all three insurrections). By 1745 however, it was once again fighting the French, this time as SemphillвЂ™s regiment, as it performed with conspicuous gallantry, losing a third of its men, under the Duke of Cumberland at Fontenoy. Now, known as RothesвЂ™ foot, the regiment was sent to garrison the West Indies, the first of many sojourns in the Caribbean. By now the regimentвЂ™s character was well established and a roll call of the officers from 1739 reads like a list of the principal Borders families. There followed a period of garrison duty in Ireland and Gibraltar, the highlight being the siege of the latter in 1727.

In 1715 it defeated JamesвЂ™s army at Sheriffmuir. With the resurgence of the Jacobite threat, following the death of Queen Anne, the regiment, by this stage named ShannonвЂ™s, found itself again fighting on home soil. It is testimony to their resilience that the survivors rallied and pressed on the attack, for which the regiment was awarded its first Battle Honour. In particular, now going under the name of their new colonel, James Maitland, they made a name for themselves at the siege of Namur on 27th July 1695, when in the course of an assault, 20 officers and 500 men were killed and wounded by an exploding mine. With the Jacobites defeated, the old enemy, France ,once again came to the fore and for the next five years LevenвЂ™s men were in the Low Countries building a reputation in such engagements at Steenkirke and Neerwinden.

27th regiment of foot