1803
A short interval from war was ceded to Europe by the peace of Amiens, and during that period the First Consul of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, was secretly making hostile preparations for accomplishing his ambitious purposes; he assumed the position of a dictator to Europe, and when the British government refused to submit to his domination, he assembled an army for the invasion of England, that he might, by one mighty effort, destroy the power of the British people, who appeared as a barrier to his schemes of aggrandizement. The spirit of the nation was aroused by the menace of invasion; patriotic enthusiasm pervaded all ranks; and the "Army of Reserve Act" having been passed for raising men for home service by ballot, the FIFTY-THIRD regiment marched into Yorkshire to receive part of the men raised in that extensive county. The numbers received being considerable, a second battalion was added to the establishment in October, 1803, and was formed at Sunderland under the superintendence of Lieut.-Colonel Scrogs; it speedily mustered one thousand rank and file.
1804
A number of the men, raised under the provision of the Army of Reserve Act, having voluntarily extended their services, they were added to the first battalion in February, 1804; the others, being only liable to serve in the United Kingdom, remained in the second battalion, which embarked from Whitehaven for Dublin, where it arrived on the 3rd of March, under the orders of Lieut.-Colonel Lightburn. In August it encamped on the Curragh of Kildare, and in September returned to Dublin.
1805
The battalion was conspicuous for its good conduct while at Dublin; in July of this year it marched to Galway, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Bingham. The Commander-in-Chief in Ireland, Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart, proceeding with a body of troops to Hanover, he was so highly esteemed by the FIFTY-THIRD, that the men solicited their commanding officer to forward a memorial to head-quarters, requesting permission to extend their services to the Continent, and to accompany his Lordship. They were thanked for their spirited offer; but the circumstances of the service did not require their presence on the Continent at this period. During the winter the battalion marched to Limerick.
1806
In March, 1806, the head-quarters were removed to Rathkeale: in April two hundred men proceeded to join the first battalion in India: they were followed by a further number of three hundred in October: as this detachment was proceeding to the Isle of Wight, one transport was boarded by a French privateer; the soldiers were without arms, otherwise they could have overpowered their enemies: Captain Classen and sixty-five men were taken to France, where the captain died.
1807