44th Foot

44th Regiment of Foot
Colours of the 44th Regiment of Foot
Active	1741–1881
Country	Kingdom of Great Britain (1741–1800)  United Kingdom (1801–1881)
Branch	British Army
Role	Infantry
Size	One battalion (two battalions 1803–1816)
Garrison/HQ	Warley Barracks, Brentwood
Nickname(s)	The Fighting Fours
Colours	Old colours of the 44th are laid up at Essex Regiment Chapel.
Engagements	Jacobite rising French and Indian War American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars First Anglo-Burmese War First Anglo-Afghan War Crimean War Second Opium War
Commanders
Notable commanders	James Long Charles Staveley

The 44th Regiment of Foot an infantry regiment in the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot to form the Essex Regiment in 1881.

The regiment was raised by Colonel James Long as James Long's Regiment of Foot in 1741. The regiment saw active service at the Battle of Prestonpans in September 1745 during the Jacobite rising. Ranked as the 55th Regiment of the Line in 1747, the regiment was renamed the 44th Regiment of Foot in 1751. It embarked for North America in January 1755 for service in the French and Indian War and took part in the Battle of the Monongahela where Colonel Sir Peter Halkett was killed while commanding the regiment. The regiment went on to fight at the Battle of Carillon in July 1758 and the Battle of Fort Niagara in July 1759 before returning home in 1765.

The regiment returned to North America landing in Boston in 1775 for service in the American Revolutionary War. It saw action at the Battle of Brooklyn in August 1776, the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777 and the Battle of Germantown in October 1777 as well as the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. In May 1780 the regiment moved to Canada returning home in September 1786. In 1782, most British regiments of foot were given county designations, and the regiment became the 44th (the East Essex) Regiment of Foot.