The regiment was raised in Salisbury by John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll in 1755 as the 56th Regiment of Foot for service in the Seven Years' War. It was re-ranked as the 54th Regiment of Foot, following the disbandment of the existing 50th and 51st regiments, in 1756. The regiment was deployed to Gibraltar in 1756 and remained there until it moved to Ireland in 1765. The regiment was deployed to North America for service in the American Revolutionary War in 1776 and first saw action at the Battle of Sullivan's Island in June 1776. It went on to fight at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, and the Battle of Rhode Island in August 1778. In July 1779, the regiment was part of a force of 2,600 men led by Major General William Tryon, that conducted a series of raids on the Connecticut port towns of New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk. The regiment went on to assault Fort Griswold in Groton, Connecticut, at the Battle of Groton Heights in September 1781. The regiment returned home in 1781 and adopted a county designation becoming the 54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot in 1782.