 Unfortunately for the British , gathering sufficient manpower was difficult and never satisfactorily accomplished throughout the entire war . The shortage of <unk> was such that press gangs were forced to take thousands of men with no experience on the sea , meaning that training and preparing them for naval life would take quite some time . The lack of Royal Marines was even more urgent , and soldiers from the British Army were drafted into the fleet for service at sea . Men of the 2nd . Regiment of Foot - The Queen 's ( Royal West Surrey Regiment ) and the 29th Regiment of Foot served aboard Royal Navy ships during the campaign ; their descendant regiments still maintain the battle honour " 1 June 1794 " . 
