1782
At the termination of the American war, in 1782, the regiment was placed on the peace establishment; and in 1783 it proceeded to Ireland.
1789
The regiment remained in Ireland until the spring of 1789, when it embarked from Cork for Nova Scotia, and landing at Halifax, was stationed in the British provinces in North America nearly four years.
Lieut.-General the Honorable Alexander Mackay died in 1789, and the colonelcy of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS was conferred on General the Honorable James Murray, from the Thirteenth regiment.
1793
While the regiment was in North America a revolution took place in France, and republican principles were extended to the French West India islands, where the inhabitants of colour rose in arms against the European settlers, many of whom sought protection from Great Britain. Under these circumstances the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were removed to the West Indies in the spring of 1793.
The French royalists of Martinique sent pressing applications for assistance, and Major-General Bruce, commanding the British troops in the West Indies, was induced to proceed with a small force to their aid. The TWENTY-FIRST were employed on this service; they landed at Caise de Navire on the 14th of June; the other corps landed on the 16th, and eleven hundred British, and eight hundred French loyalists, advanced to attack the town of St. Pierre: but the Royalists were undisciplined; they got into confusion, fired by mistake on one another, and so completely disconcerted the plan of attack, that the English General, not having a force sufficiently numerous for the purpose without them, ordered the British troops to return on board of the fleet.
1794