Dr Abel (General)

by sidtoomey01 , Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Friday, February 25, 2022, 09:31 (1005 days ago) @ Kate

Hi Again Kate,
I apologise in advance if i am robbing you of the feeling of satisfaction whenever you make a discovery about an Ancestor.
The following is a broad summary of Joseph Abell's Army Service as records to date have revealed. I believe there is much much more which can be discovered about this mans army service and the Regiments in which he served. The events occurred at important dates in British military history and some of the regiments were ahead of their time.
We know previously that in 1813, newspaper notices reported that he was originally in the 95th Regiment of Foot, promoted to Surgeon, transferred to 49th Regiment of Foot, then transferred quickly again and promoted to Ensign with the 60th regiment of Foot. (The Regiments were known by other names as well during the time he served)
First. The 95th Regiment of Foot was formed early in the 19th Century ,originally being known as the Regimental Corps of Riflemen. Their tactics were different to a normal infantry regiment, they marched far quicker than the standard number of steps/minute so that they arrived at their destination faster. Their uniform was green for camouflage rather than the standard Red Coat and they went to ground as sharpshooters rather than stand in lines and fire. Joseph Abell was part of this regiment.

Source for the following is "The Napoleon Series, Lionel S. Challis's "Peninsular Roll Call". This is a searchable index of soldiers who fought in the Peninsular Wars against the French and under the overall command of the Duke of wellington.
Joseph Abbell's record is as follows :-
Asst. Surgeon, 95 Foot, 10th April 1806
Surgeon 49th Foot, 15th July 1813.
First Battalion, October 1808 to January 1809, June 1809to May 1810
Second Battalion, January & February 1811.
Engagements (Battles), Carabellos, Siege of Corona, Cadiz.
Also Copenhagen and Battle of Kioge in 1807
The duke of Wellington encouraged his junior officers and those wishing to earn promotion to write histories of their regiments in order to foster an Esprit de Corp. There is a lot written about the Peninsular wars in detail and Wellington also has his official records which should be able to be found online.
"History-the 95th Rifles" is one site which has a detailed record of the units history. Although it is a reenactment unit in Canada it makes interesting reading which probably is pretty accurate.

Continued on another message.

Sid Toomey