Major Edward Carey Fleming, 2nd West India Regiment, 1815 (c)

Miniature portrait in watercolour on ivory, signed lower right by Samuel John Stump (1778-1863), 1815 (c).

Eight West India Regiments were embodied between 24 April and 1 September 1795, raised to defend Britain's Caribbean colonies.

The harsh environment of the Caribbean took a heavy toll on European units, with disease resulting in many deaths. The War Office decided to raise regiments of black soldiers, who were believed to be more tolerant of the climate and better suited to tropical service.

Many of the first recruits were escaped American slaves who had fought for the British during the American War of Independence (1775-83). Men were also recruited locally in the Caribbean, but not in sufficient numbers to defend the British territories from the enemy.

The ranks of the new regiments were filled with Creole and African slaves, purchased from West Indian sugar plantations or from newly arrived slave ships. Between 1795 and 1807, estimates suggest 13,400 slaves were purchased for the West India Regiments.