Light Infantry of the British Army
The English do not skirmish so well as the Germans or the French; and it is really hard work to make them preserve their proper extended order, cover themselves, and not throw away their fire; and in the performance of this duty, an officer is, I think, far more exposed that in line fighting." (Rory Muir- "Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon")
Deployed in a line or a staggered, spread out order, I’m sure a lot of us are familiar with British Skirmishers from the acclaimed Sharpe Novels (I need to read the India ones). Wellington made good use of them in the Peninsular Campaign, the Portugese got their hands on them after their army’s reform. They were fielded by every faction in the war to my understanding.
From "Wellington's Peninsula Regiments (2) The Light Infantry"
