The second battalion moved between various stations in southern England through 1805, being presented with its colours on 28 November at the Isle of Wight. In December it was brought up to an establishment of 866 men, raised to a thousand early in 1806. In March 1806 it moved to Guernsey for garrison duties, returning to the Isle of Wight in early 1807, and embarked for India in June. The two portions of the battalion were split up in a gale, one group putting in at the Cape of Good Hope to refit before continuing to Madras in convoy with HMS "Greyhound", arriving in December. The battalion proceeded to Bombay, where it encountered the 1st Battalion for the first time, and moved to Surat in January 1809. At Surat, four companies were detached to aid in the capture of a bandit fort at Mallia in Baroda, returning to the battalion in December.