[2] The regiment was quartered in the newly completed Custom House while it formed, and at the end of the year was assigned to serve as part of the regular garrison in Dublin in the Royal Barracks.

[3] At its formation, the regiment wore scarlet uniforms - the traditional red coats of line infantry - with yellow facings.

The regiment did not have any formal title - the Dublin name would not be added for many years - but was nicknamed "Fitch's Grenadiers", due to the small size of many of its recruits.

The other half of the regiment was sent to garrison Santo Domingo, where it took heavy losses through disease; the remnant of this detachment returned to rejoin the main body in Jamaica in 1798.

[6] The regiment spent a few months in England, rebuilding its strength, and then garrisoned Jersey during 1803–1805; in 1804 a second battalion was raised in Sussex, drawing a large number of men from the 3rd Royal Lancashire Militia.

It was recalled while at sea, following the British defeat at the Battle of Corunna, and then sailed successfully for Lisbon, arriving safely in Portugal on 6 April 1809.

The battalion's casualties were very heavy, with seventy men killed including the commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon, and another 295 wounded, and the 83rd was withdrawn to Lisbon to rest and receive reinforcements.

[14] The battalion spent October 1809 to September 1810 in Lisbon, when it rejoined the army as part of the left brigade in Picton's 3rd Division.

The 83rd played a major role in the attack on La Picurina, an outpost of the fortress, on 25 March, and in the main assault on 6 April.

On the 6th, they led the division's attack, scaling the walls of the castle and securing the gates against a French counter-attack, but at the cost of a third of the force involved (40 killed, 87 wounded).

[17] Through the summer of 1812, the British army advanced into Spain, fighting a major engagement at the Battle of Salamanca on 22 July; here, the 83rd's division counterattacked a large body of French troops spread out in marching order, capturing three thousand prisoners.

[18] In the following year's campaign, the battalion saw service at the Battle of Vittoria, on 23 June 1813, where it led the 3rd Division's crossing of the River Zadara.

Following the battle, the battalion briefly served at the siege of Pamplona before being assigned to secure the flank of the army, where it was lightly engaged on 27 & 28 July.

[21] In October 1817, the regiment, now reduced to a single battalion, was ordered from the Cape of Good Hope to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) for garrison duty.

[24] Two companies were detached for service in Upper Canada, one of which saw action in February at the Battle of Windsor, a skirmish close to the American border against rebel militia.

In November, a detachment of the regiment, patrolling aboard HMS Experiment on Lake Erie, intercepted a Patriot force near Prescott, and besieged them in a windmill while awaiting reinforcements.

The resulting Battle of the Windmill was the 83rd's last major engagement in Canada, with one man killed in action, and effectively ended the "Patriot War".

The bulk of the regiment was marched to Nusseerabad in June and July, with companies at Ajmere, Neemuch, and Ahraedabad, as well as a small group of invalids, with women and children, at Mount Aboo.

During August, detachments of the 83rd disarmed Indian soldiers from the 12th Regiment Native Infantry at Nusseerabad, and fought briefly with a squadron from the mutinying 2nd Bombay Light Cavalry at Neemuch.

The force at Neemuch later attacked the village of Nimbhera (captured on 20 September) and the fort at Jeerun (occupied and demolished 24 October), before being themselves besieged by Indian troops.

[29] Through November and December the regiment concentrated at Nusseerabad, and after the headquarters had arrived from Deesa, it moved to attack the fortress at Awah.

The regiment then joined the two brigades assembled to attack Kotah; the siege lasted 22–30 March, when the city was captured by three columns, one led by the 83rd.

The order was countermanded in January 1881, however, three weeks before the scheduled sailing date, and the regiment was sent instead to South Africa for service in the First Boer War.

[40] In July 1881, as part of the Childers reforms, the regiment was amalgamated with the 86th Foot to form the Royal Irish Rifles.