Napoleonic ancestor

[orm1]

Hi recently been looking starting Napoleonic skirmishing game and just purchased some British Perry and warlord, by some freak chance whilst researching one of my other hobbies family history I came across a 5x gt grandfather a John Hinchliffe born 1775 who in 1851 census it noted he’d been a soldier in the 23rd foot , he was still working as a miner no rest for the wicked ! But the census could be slightly inaccurate with some details no he was from greasborough in Yorkshire born there dies there. Now searching records mainly cos someone else added a record for a John hinchliffe who was pensioned blind in one eye in 1802 for the 20th regt im doubting that as John was still in Hythe Kent in 1809 and maybe around there till 1817. There’s no record (yet for John in 23rd regt) there is one for the 33rd (maybe census taker mistakenly put 23rd they misspelt names regularly) and the 33rd was a Yorkshire regt though I know soldiers weren’t strictly in a regiment from there region. Trying to find out which regt where about in hythe area in 1810 and basically I’d love to paint my new British foot regiment in John’s regt colours so any advice or knowledge be great apologies if not strictly war gaming thanks

[carlos marighela]

You're right in that regiments did not necessarily recruit on a county or regional basis, that's really more an outgrowth of the late 19thC Cardwell reforms. Even then it wasn't any guarantee that members of a regiment with a nominal geographic association in its name (again more of a feature later in the century). It was noted in the Great War that there were more men from Birmingham in the Royal Welch Fusiliers (the 23rd Foot) than Wales, there being a large Welsh community in Birmingham at the time.

It's also worth noting that depot locations don't correlate to later county associations.

I had a quick look at Depot locations for the period. Incomplete but the only regiment showing up for Hythe is the 95th Foot (Rifle Corps). Admittedly the listing is for 1811 rather than 1810 and depots changed location but that might be a start point for your research.

https://www.napoleon-series.org/military-info/organization/Britain/Infantry/c_infantrydepots.html

[orm1]

Thank you I’ll check it out. Would a soldier have moved between regiments is that a possibility?

[carlos marighela]

Most unlikely.

By the by, your ancestor may have been a member of a local militia unit.