The formation of the regiment was prompted by the expansion of the army as a result of the commencement of the Seven Years' War. On 25 August 1756 it was ordered that a number of existing regiments should raise a second battalion; among those chosen was the 8th Regiment of Foot. The 2nd Battalion of the 8th Regiment of Foot was formed on 10 December 1756. In 1764 the regiment reached Ireland. In 1775 the regiment arrived in America in response to a request for reinforcements due to the outbreak of the American War of Independence. The regiment took part in the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, with a third attack, which ended in a bayonet charge, finally breaking the Americans. The regiment remained in Boston after the battle, the town becoming increasingly more uneasy to be in. Finally, in March 1776 the regiment, along with the rest of the forces in Boston, departed, heading for Halifax in Canada. In 1782 the regiment was designated the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot.