Active 1758-1922 Branch Army | Country Indian Empire Type Infantry | |
Part of Madras Army (to 1895)
Madras Command Colors Red; faced orange, 1882 yellow, 1895 white | ||
The 64th Pioneers was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1758, when they were the 5th Battalion Coast Sepoys. Over the years the regiment was known by a number of different titles the 5th Carnatic Battalion 1769–1770, the 4th Carnatic Battalion 1770–1784, the 4th Madras Battalion 1784–1796, 1st Battalion, 4th Madras Native Infantry 1796–1824, the 4th Madras Native Infantry 1824–1883, the 4th Madras Native Infantry (Pioneers) 1883–1901, the 4th Madras Infantry (Pioneers) 1901–1903 and finally after the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army when the names of the presidencies were dropped the 64th Pioneers. During World War I they were in the Mandalay Brigade in the Burma Division. After World War I the Indian Government reformed the army again moving from single battalion regiment to multi battalion regiments. Following these reforms the 64th Pioneers became the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Madras Pioneers in 1922, and then in 1929, they joined the Corps of Madras Pioneers. They were finally disbanded for economic reasons in 1933.