49th Regiment of Foot

49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot
Cap badge of the 49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot
Active	1743 to 1881
Country	Kingdom of Great Britain (1743–1800)  United Kingdom (1801–1881)
Branch	British Army
Type	Line infantry
Role	Infantry
Size	One battalion (two battalions 1813–1814)
Garrison/HQ	Brock Barracks, Reading
Engagements	American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars War of 1812 First Opium War Crimean War

The 49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised in 1743. The regiment amalgamated with the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) in 1881.

The regiment was raised in Jamaica by Colonel Edward Trelawney as Edward Trelawney's Regiment of Foot in 1743 from eight independent local companies. The regiment was ranked as the 63rd Regiment of Foot in 1747 and re-ranked as the 49th Regiment of Foot in 1751. The regiment landed in Ireland in 1764 and remained there until embarking for Newfoundland in 1772.

The regiment moved to Boston in June 1775 for service in the American Revolutionary War. It fought at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, the Battle of White Plains in October 1776 and the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776. It went on to take part in the Philadelphia campaign, seeing action at the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777, the Battle of Paoli later that month and the Battle of Germantown in October 1777. It was following the British attack on the Americans at Brandywine, where the light company of the regiment took no prisoners and the Americans demanded vengeance, that the regiment decided to insert identifying red feathers in their shako helmets to prevent anyone else suffering on their account. It then sailed for the West Indies in summer 1778 and took part in the British victory at the Battle of St. Lucia in December 1778 before returning to Ireland in 1780. In 1782, the regiment received a county distinction becoming the 49th (the Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot.