In 1694, during the Nine Years' War, Sir Richard Atkins was authorised to raise a regiment of foot for service in Ireland.

[6] The regiment's title changed with the name of its colonel: Alexander Luttrell in 1703, Joshua Churchill in 1706 and Sir Henry Goring in 1711.

When one of his aides, an officer of the 3rd Regiment of Foot, corrected the monarch, he then cheered, "Bravo, Young Buffs!

[15] The regiment moved to Saint Vincent in 1772 and lost its commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Walsh, in an ambush by local tribesmen in January 1773.

[17] It saw action at the Siege of Fort Ticonderoga in July 1777[18] but many of its men were taken prisoner at the Battles of Saratoga in September 1777.

[4] Following the ending of that war the regiment formed part of the garrison of Quebec before returning to England in November 1787.

Later, the 1st and 2nd Garrison Battalions also provided men before the move to Ireland and Limerick where officers travelled across the country to recruit from many Militia – including Clare, Kilkenny, Sligo, South Cork, Louth, Kerry, Leitrim, City of Limerick, Londonderry – men were also regularly recruited from Dublin and Enniskillen – so that numbers were also almost doubled (a small group also joined, presumably as light infantry, from the North Devon militia).

Prior to departing to the Peninsula in October 1808, women were required to leave; 92 went to Ireland and 20 went to England, possibly reflecting the make up of the battalion.

As part of Major-General John Randoll Mackenzie's Division, the battalion was placed some miles in advance of Talavera to cover the movement of Gregorio García de la Cuesta's Spanish army back to defensive positions.

[37] Following years of garrison duty in various stations in Europe, in 1824 the regiment were ordered to India under Colonel Pearson and Major McGrego.

Some 54 men of the regiment died on 1 March 1825 when their transport, the East Indiaman Kent caught fire in the Bay of Biscay.

The remainder of the 20 officers, 344 soldiers, 43 women, and 66 children, belonging to the regiment that had embarked on the vessel were rescued.

"[39] With the outbreak of the First Anglo-Afghan War in 1839, the regiment moved to Afghanistan and fought with Sir George Pollock's avenging army at the Battle of Kabul in autumn 1842.

[46] The regiment next saw active service in China, moving there in 1860 during the Second Opium War and taking part in the capture of the Taku Forts.

[4][8] For the regiment's remaining separate existence it was based at various garrisons in the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Malta.