54th Regiment of Foot

54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot
Active	1755–1881
Country	Kingdom of Great Britain (1755–1800)  United Kingdom (1801–1881)
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Size	One battalion (two battalions 1800–1802)
Garrison/HQ	Normanton Barracks, Derbyshire
Engagements	American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars Fifth Xhosa War First Anglo-Burmese War Indian Rebellion

The 54th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army raised in 1755. It amalgamated with the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot, to form the Dorsetshire Regiment in 1881.

The regiment was raised in Salisbury by John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll in 1755 as the 56th Regiment of Foot for service in the Seven Years' War. It was re-ranked as the 53rd Regiment of Foot, following the disbandment of the existing 50th and 51st regiments, in 1756. The regiment was deployed to Gibraltar in 1756 and remained there until it moved to Ireland in 1765.

The regiment was deployed to North America for service in the American Revolutionary War in 1776 and first saw action at the Battle of Sullivan's Island in June 1776. It went on to fight at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, the Battle of Rhode Island in November 1776 and the Battles of Danbury and Ridgeway in April 1777.

In May 1778 100 men of the 54th Regiment of Foot embarked on boats to attack saw mills at Fall River, Massachusetts. The galley Pigot and some armed boats were to provide support. Pigot grounded, but the attack proceeded anyway. A sharp skirmish ensued when the troops arrived at their objective. Even so, they were able to destroy one saw mill and one grain mill, as well as a large stock of planks and boards, other buildings, some cedar boats, and so on. They then withdrew, having lost two men killed and five officers and men wounded. As the tide returned, Pigot was floated off, but as Flora towed her off, Flora lost two men killed and a lieutenant severely wounded.

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