In the siege of Tarifa from 19 December 1811 to 5 January 1812, an Imperial French army under Jean François Leval laid siege to an Anglo-Spanish garrison led by Francisco Copons. Despite the advice of British Colonel John Byrne Skerrett to evacuate the town, Copons decided to hold out. Some wanted to evacuate to and defend the small island that was attached by a causeway from the town.
Royal Irish Fusiliers repel a French assault
Puerta de Jerez, a Tarifa city gate from the Middle Ages
47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot
The 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in Scotland in 1741. It served in North America during the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War and also fought during the Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 81st Regiment of Foot to form the Loyal Regiment in 1881.
Colonel Sir John Mordaunt, founder of the regiment, by Allan Ramsay
Soldier of 47th regiment, 1742
The siege of San Sebastián, where the 2nd battalion lost 17 of its 22 officers and almost half the other ranks in August 1813, by Denis Dighton
Lieutenant Gaynor of the 47th Regiment photographed on campaign in the Crimea in 1855.
