The regiment was raised in Somerset and Gloucester by Colonel John Arabin as the 59th Regiment of Foot in 1755 for service in the Seven Years' War. It was re-ranked as the 57th Regiment of Foot, following the disbandment of the existing 50th and 51st regiments, in 1756. The regiment, which originally operated as marines, was deployed to Gibraltar in 1757, to Menorca in 1763 and to Ireland in 1767. It was dispatched to Charleston, South Carolina in February 1776 for service in the American Revolutionary War. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776 and stormed Fort Montgomery at the Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery in October 1777. The regiment's light company then served under General Lord Cornwallis and was taken prisoner at the Siege of Yorktown in October 1781. It adopted a county designation as the 57th (the West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot in August 1782. After this it moved to Nova Scotia in October 1783 and returned to England in November 1790.