[2][1] Shortly after its formation, the regiment moved from England to Ireland, where it performed garrison duty until 1763.

[3] In 1782, the closing stages of the Anglo Spanish War, the 59th were assigned to the Gibraltar garrison, remaining there for ten years.

[1] With the outbreak of war with revolutionary France, the 59th formed part of the British force dispatched to Flanders, arriving in 1794.

The campaign was a major reverse for the British and their allies, and the regiment was evacuated back to England in 1795.

On 7 January 1806 the 1st Battalion of the 59th was part of a brigade that landed at the Cape, and within two days the Dutch forces had surrendered.

On 16 January 1809 it took part in the Battle of Corunna, a British tactical victory which allowed for the evacuation of their forces from the Iberian peninsula.

[4] From England, the battalion was dispatched to the Netherlands in July 1809, taking part in the fruitless Walcheren Campaign.

When Napoleon returned to France, triggering the "Hundred Days", the battalion was part of the British force dispatched to Belgium.

[3] For the next twenty years the 59th was engaged in garrison duties in England, Ireland, Malta and the West Indies.

From India the 59th crossed into Afghanistan in November 1878 as part of an invasion force, seeking to stem Russian influence in the region.

A Victoria Cross was awarded on 24 October 1879 to Captain Euston Henry Sartorius during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.