The Buffs (East Kent Regiment),
COMPRISING
1st & 2nd Batts. (formerly) The 3rd (East Kent—The Buffs) Regiment of Foot; with a
3rd Batt. The East Kent Militia.
"Veteri frondescit honore."
The United Rose
and Crown.
The Dragon.
The White Horse of Kent.
TITLES.
1665-89. The Holland Regiment (from 1572—temp. Queen Elizabeth—in service of Holland).
1689-1708. Prince George of Denmark's Regiment.
1708-51. The Buffs.
1751-82. The 3rd (or The Buffs) Regiment of Foot.
1782-1881. The 3rd (East Kent—The Buffs) Regiment of Foot.
1881 (from). The Buffs (East Kent) Regiment of Foot.
PRINCIPAL CAMPAIGNS, BATTLES, &c.
1689-97. Flanders.
1689. Walcourt.
1693. Neer Landen.
1703-13. Germany.
1704. Schellenberg.
*1704. Blenheim.
*1706. Ramilies.
*1708. Oudenarde.
1708. Lisle.
1709. Tournay.
*1709. Malplaquet.
1715. Jacobite rising.
1742-49. Flanders.
*1743. Dettingen.
1745. Fontenoy.
1747. Val.
1759. Guadaloupe.
1761. Belle Isle.
1781. America.
1782. Jamaica.
1794-95. Flanders.
1794. Nimeguen.
1796. Grenada.
*1808-14. Peninsula.
*1809. Douro.
*1809. Talavera.
*1811. Albuera.
*1813. Vittoria.
*1813. Pyrenees.
*1813. Nivelle.
*1813. Nive.
*1814. Orthes.
*1814. Toulouse.
1814. Plattsburg.
*1843. Punniar.
*1855. Sevastopol.
*1860. Taku Forts.
*1879. South Africa.
*1895. Chitral.
1900. South Africa.
Uniform.—Scarlet with Buff facings (from 1665).
Regimental Badges.—"The Dragon" (a badge of Queen Elizabeth). Also "The United Red and White Rose with the Imperial Crown" (also probably dating back to the Virgin Queen). Also "The White Horse of Kent," with "Invicta" (in 1751 "The White Horse" was that of Hanover, but with the territorial classification the change was made). Motto, "Veteri frondescit honore." In 1686 the regiment bore "The Red Cross of St. George," bordered with white on a green ground.
Nicknames, &c.—"The Buff Howards" (1737-49—from its Colonel's name). "The Nutcrackers," and "The Resurrectionists" (at Albuera it is said to have shown despatch in cracking the heads, and to have rallied after dispersal at the hands of the Polish Lancers). "The Old Buffs" (to distinguish it from the 31st, the "Young Buffs").
Notes.—The Regiment of Buffs possesses the privilege of marching unhindered through the City of London with drums beating—a relic of Elizabethan days. At Punniar it captured eleven guns and a standard.
Bibliography.—Historical Record of the 3rd Regiment of Foot, or The Buffs. To 1838. Illustrated with plates. [London: Longman. 1839.]