The Napoleon Series British Artillery Battalions and the Men Who Led Them 1793-1815 By Steve Brown 4th Battalion, Royal Artillery 1757: Royal Artillery as a single formation comprising 19 companies 1757: 2 April - augmented to 24 companies 1757: 1 August - Royal Artillery split into two battalions of 12 companies each 1757: 2nd Battalion formed from 12 existing RA companies 1759: 3rd Battalion formed 1771: 1 January - 4th Battalion formed 1779: 1 August - 4th Battalion augmented to 10 companies 1819: Reduced to 8 companies 1825: Companies to be known by number rather than commander's name 1855: Board of Ordinance abolished, Royal Artillery transferred to War Office 1859: Battalion renamed Brigades, Companies renamed Batteries 1862: Royal Artillery absorbed East India Company Artillery 1899: Royal Artillery divided into Royal Field Artillery and Royal Garrison Artillery 1924: RFA and RGA amalgamated as Royal Regiment of Artillery 1936: Brigades renamed Regiments 1947: Permanent numbers allotted to batteries Colonels-Commandant 1777: 25 April - James Pattison 1801: 14 Oct - Vaughan Lloyd 1805: 28 June - George Fead 1815: 21 Nov - William Cuppage Colonels 1782: 1 Dec - William Martin 1794: 20 Oct - William Borthwick 1800: 12 Nov - Thomas Blomefield 1801: 14 Oct - Alexander Shand 1803: 9 Apr - Edward Fage 1804: 20 July - John H Yorke 1806: 1 June - Thomas Desbrisay 1808: 16 December - Flower M Sproule 1809: 20 June - Charles N Cookson 1814: 20 Dec - George Wolff Lieutenant-Colonels 1791: 16 Mar - William Borthwick 1793: 5 Dec - Thomas Blomefield 1795: 7 Jan - Edward Stephens 1795: 6 Mar - Robert Douglas 1796: 9 Dec - Thomas Trotter 1800: 12 Nov - Samuel Rimington 1801: 27 May - Thomas Desbrisay 1801: 14 Oct - Charles Terrot 1804: 20 July - Philip Riou 1804: 20 July - John F Smith 1806: 1 June - John Sheldrake 1814: 14 February - Joseph Carncross 1814: 1 May - Alexander Watson 1814: 20 Dec - Henry Phillott Majors 1790: 14 May - Thomas Paterson 1791: 16 Mar - John Lemoine 1797: 21 Aug - Francis Laye 1799: 16 Jul - Thomas R Charleton 1802: 11 Feb - Henry Rogers 1804: 9 Oct - John Sheldrake 1808: 24 Oct - Thomas Charleton 1808: 1 February - Charles Newhouse 1812: 16 March - Charles C Bingham Page 1 of 6 Placed on the Napoleon Series: July 2016 The Napoleon Series Service Histories of Companies Companies were not given numbers until 1825; until that time, were known by company commander's names, which changed frequently. The 1825 c ompany numbering scheme ignored the previous order of seniority (based on date of formation) as existed in the period 1793-1815. Companies are shown according to seniority in 1815, and referred to by their commanders names in 1793 / 1815. Trotter's / Maxwell's Company, 4th Battalion, Royal Artillery Raised: 1 January 1771 1793: Portsmouth; May - to Flanders; Ostend; Valenciennes; Menin; Cysoing; Tournai; Kain (OC Capt Thomas Trotter) 1794: Ghent; Herlebeek; St Amand; Tournai; Rosendaal; Ossterhuit; Berlikum; Nijmegen; Arnhem; Klingelbeek 1795: Northern Germany; Verden; Grambke; April - England; May - Woolwich (OC Capt John Burton) 1796: Woolwich 1797: Woolwich; July - Sheerness; September - Woolwich 1798: Woolwich 1799: Woolwich 1800: Ringmer 1801: Ringmer 1802: Ringmer; March - Woolwich; April - Perth; November - Leith Fort 1803: Leith Fort (OC Capt W Scott, then Capt James Hawker) 1804: Haddington 1805: Haddington 1806: Woolwich; July - Plymouth; November - Falmouth; to Cape of Good Hope 1807: At sea; March - Cape of Good Hope; to South America; June - Montevideo; September - to Ireland 1808: Cork; February - Portsmouth; March - Woolwich 1809: Woolwich; April - Exeter 1810: Exeter; September - to Portugal; Lisbon 1811: Cabeco da Montachique; Lisbon; Elvas; Albuera; Almendralejo; Torre da Mouro; Villa Vicosa; Portalegre 1812: Gaffitu; Castello Branco; Portalegre; Almendralejo; Zafra; Aranjuez; Idanha a Nova (OC Capt Stewart Maxwell) 1813: Castello Branca; Ladoeiro; Zibreira; Coria; Pente Arenas; Vittoria; Pyrenees; Roncesvalles 1814: Villefranche; Orthez; Toulouse; to Canada; August - Quebec; October - Chambly 1815: Chambly 1825: 1st Company, 4th Battalion RA 1859: 4th Battery, 7th Brigade RA 1914: 72nd Company RGA 1939: 82nd Battery RA Current: Disbanded. Collier's / Wallace's Company, 4th Battalion, Royal Artillery Raised: 1 January 1771 1793: Quebec (OC Capt William Collier) 1794: Quebec 1795: Quebec; October - Niagara (OC Capt John A Schalch) 1796: Niagara; September - Fort William Henry; December - Montreal 1797: Montreal; June - Quebec 1798: Quebec 1799: Quebec 1800: Quebec 1801: Quebec (OC Capt Charles Godfrey) 1802: Quebec 1803: Quebec 1804: Quebec 1805: Quebec (OC Capt William Hall) 1806: Quebec (OC Capt P Durnford, then Capt Charles C Bingham) 1807: Quebec 1808: Quebec 1809: Quebec 1810: Quebec 1811: Quebec 1812: Quebec (OC Capt Peter M Wallace) 1813: Quebec; April - Montreal; May - Kingston; August - Chambly; October - La Prairie; December - Chambly 1814: Chambly; October - Longueuil; December - Montreal 1815: Montreal; June - Quebec; July - to Belgium; August - Ostend; September - Brussels; October - Assche; November - Brussels 1825: 2nd Company, 4th Battalion RA 1859: 6th Battery, 3rd Brigade RA 1914: 105th Battery, XXII Brigade RFA 1939: 105th Field Battery RA 1947: 42nd Light Anti-Aircraft Battery RA Current: 42nd (Alem Hamza) Battery, supporting 12th and 16th Regiments RA. Page 2 of 6 Placed on the Napoleon Series: July 2016 The Napoleon Series Yorke's / Wilford's Company, 4th Battalion, Royal Artillery Raised: 1 January 1771 1793: Plymouth (OC Capt John H Yorke) 1794: Plymouth; August - Roxborough Camp; November - Plymouth 1795: Plymouth; April - to Cape of Good Hope; September - Cape Town 1796: Cape of Good Hope (OC Capt Wiltshire Wilson) 1797: Cape of Good Hope 1798: Cape of Good Hope 1799: Cape of Good Hope; May - 3rd Kaffir War 1800: Cape of Good Hope 1801: Cape of Good Hope 1802: Cape of Good Hope (Capt Robert Hope) 1803: Cape of Good Hope; March - to England; May - Portsmouth; June - Hilsea; July - Woolwich (Capt William Scott) 1804: Woolwich 1805: Woolwich; August - Plymouth 1806: Plymouth 1807: Plymouth; September - to Madeira; December - Funchal 1808: Madeira 1809: Madeira 1810: Madeira 1811: Madeira 1812: Madeira (Capt William Carey) 1813: Madeira 1814: Madeira; October - to England; Woolwich 1815: Woolwich (Capt Ernest C Wilford) 1825: 3rd Company, 4th Battalion RA 1859: 8th Battery, 2nd Brigade RA 1939: 27th (Lloyd's Company) Heavy Battery RA Current: 43rd (Lloyd's Company) Battery, 47th Regiment RA. Laye's / Smyth's Company, 4th Battalion, Royal Artillery Raised: 1 January 1771 1793: Portsmouth; September - to Flanders; Menin; Chateau de Camphin; La Tombe; Tournai (OC Capt Francis Laye) 1794: Ghent; St Amand; Tournai; Oosterhout; Berlikum; Klingelbeek 1795: Northern Germany; Verden; Grambke; April - to England; May - Woolwich; July - Plymouth; August - Roxborough Camp; November - Plymouth 1796: Plymouth 1797: Plymouth (OC Capt J Brooke Young) 1798: Plymouth 1799: Plymouth 1800: Plymouth 1801: Plymouth 1802: Plymouth 1803: Plymouth; January - Gibraltar 1804: Gibraltar (Capt William Henry Gardiner) 1805: Gibraltar (Capt Francis Smyth) 1806: Gibraltar 1807: Gibraltar 1808: Gibraltar; detachment to Cadiz 1809: Gibraltar 1810: Gibraltar 1811: Gibraltar; detachment at Barrosa 1812: Gibraltar 1813: Gibraltar 1814: Gibraltar 1815: Gibraltar 1825: 4th Company, 4th Battalion RA 1859: 8th Company, 1st Brigade RA 1914: 52nd Company RGA 1939: Disbanded. Page 3 of 6 Placed on the Napoleon Series: July 2016 The Napoleon Series Shuttleworth's / Younghusband's Company, 4th Battalion, Royal Artillery Raised: 1 January 1771 1793: Plymouth; December - Guernsey (OC Capt A Shuttleworth) 1794: Guernsey; February - Portsmouth; June - to Flanders; Ostend; Rosendaal; Breda; Berlikum; Nijmegen; Arnhem 1795: Northern Germany; Verden; Grambke; April - to England; May - Woolwich; July - Portsmouth; October - to Barbados (OC Capt Robert Hope) 1796: At sea; April - Barbados; May - Demerara and Berbice; August - Martinique 1797: Martinique 1798: Martinique; April - to Puerto Rico; Martinique 1799: Martinique 1800: Martinique; December - to San Domingo 1801: San Domingo 1802: Various West Indies islands (OC Capt Wiltshire Wilson) 1803: January - Antigua; July - Barbados 1804: Barbados (OC Capt William Payne) 1805: Barbados (OC Capt William Millar, then Capt Charles Younghusband) 1806: Barbados 1807: Barbados 1808: Barbados 1809: Barbados; April - detachment at Surinam; Martinique & Barbados 1810: Martinique & Barbados; detachment to Guadeloupe 1811: Barbados 1812: Barbados 1813: Barbados 1814: Barbados; April - to England; Woolwich 1815: Woolwich; May - to Belgium; Ostend; advance to Paris 1825: 5th Company, 4th Battalion RA 1859: 2nd Battery, 9th Brigade RA 1939: 16th Field Battery RA 1947: 40th Field Battery RA Current: Disbanded. Lawson's / Morrison's Company, 4th Battalion, Royal Artillery Raised: 1 January 1771 1793: Tower of London; February - Woolwich; March - Gibraltar (OC Capt Robert Lawson; Capt J Wilson, died 20 Oct 1794) 1794: Gibraltar (OC Capt J Bradbridge) 1795: Gibraltar 1796: Gibraltar 1797: Gibraltar (OC Capt Hoylett Framingham) 1798: Gibraltar; November - Minorca 1799: Minorca 1800: Minorca 1801: Minorca; March - detachment to Egypt 1802: Minorca; August - Gibraltar 1803: Gibraltar 1804: Gibraltar (OC Capt George Skyring) 1805: Gibraltar 1806: Gibraltar 1807: Gibraltar 1808: Gibraltar; to Portugal; Vimeiro; September - Cascaes; October - artillery depot with Moore; December - Salamanca;