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Presented  to  the 

UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO 
LIBRARY 

by  the 

ONTARIO  LEGISLATIVE 
LIBRARY 

1980 


THE  LOWLAND  SCOTS  REGIMENTS 


GLASGOW 

PRINTED     AT     THE     UNIVERSITY     PRESS     BY 

ROBERT   MACLEHOSE    &•  COMPANY    LTD.   FOR 

JAMES    MACLEHOSE    AND    SONS,    PUBLISHERS 

TO    THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    GLASGOW 

MACMILLAN    AND    CO.    LTD.  LONDON 

THE    MACMILLAN    CO.  NEW    YORK 

MACMILLAN    CO.    OF    CANADA  TORONTO 

SIMPKIN,    HAMILTON    AND    CO.  LONDON 

BOWES    AND    BOWES  CAMBRIDGE 

DOUGLAS    AND    FOULIS  EDINBURGH 
MCMXVIII 


DAVID,   3RD  EARL  OF   LEVEN,    1660-1728 
HE  EDINBURGH  REGIMENT,  NOW  THK  KING'S  OWN  Scorn: 


THE  LOWLAND 
SCOTS   REGIMENTS 


THEIR  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  SERVICES 
PREVIOUS  TO  THE  GREAT  WAR   OF   1914 


EDITED   FOR  THE  ASSOCIATION  OF   LOWLAND   SCOTS 


RIGHT  HON.  SIR  HERBERT  MAXWELL,  BT. 

LORD-LIEUTENANT  OF  WIGTOWNSHIRE 
LATE  MAJOR   AND  HON.   LIEUT. -COL.   3RD  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 


GLASGOW 
JAMES   MACLEHOSE   AND    SONS 

PUBLISHERS   TO    THE    UNIVERSITY 
MCMXVIII 


God  of  our  fathers,  known  of  old, 
Lord  of  our  far-flung  battle-line, 

Beneath  whose  awful  hand  we  hold 
Dominion  over  palm  and  pine — 

Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet, 

Lest  we  forget — lest  we  forget ! 

RUDYARD  KIPLING 


TO 

GEORGE  V. 

BY  THE  GRACE  OF  GOD,  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  OF 

GREAT   BRITAIN   AND   IRELAND,   AND  OF  THE 

BRITISH  DOMINIONS  BEYOND  THE  SEAS. 

KING, 

DEFENDER    OF    THE    FAITH,    EMPEROR    OF    INDIA, 

THIS  VOLUME  IS  INSCRIBED  BY  HIS  MAJESTY'S 

GRACIOUS  PERMISSION 

<3o&  save  tbe  •Ring ! 


EDITOR'S    NOTE 

THE  present  volume  has  been  prepared  under  conditions  of  much  difficulty 
arising  out  of  the  absence  of  all  the  Lowland  Scots  regiments  at  the  various 
seats  of  war,  and  the  absorption  in  official  duties  at  home  of  those  officers 
not  employed  in  the  field.  For  the  same  reasons  it  has  not  been  possible 
to  obtain  access  to  the  records  of  all  the  regiments. 

Certain  officers  having  expressed  an  opinion  that  publication  should 
be  delayed  until  the  narratives  could  be  carried  to  the  conclusion  of  the 
present  war,  due  and  careful  consideration  was  given  to  this  question  by 
the  Executive  Committee.  It  was  found  that  this  would  far  exceed  the 
scope  of  a  single  volume,  and  it  was  decided  not  to  carry  the  chronicle 
beyond  August,  1914,  reserving  the  subsequent  doings  of  our  Lowland  Scots 
regiments  in  the  campaigns  in  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa  to  be  recorded 
in  another  volume. 

I  desire  to  thank  the  writers  of  the  chapters  on  the  different  regiments 
for  the  willing  co-operation  which  they  have  shown  in  a  somewhat  arduous 
undertaking,  and  to  acknowledge  gratefully  the  service  rendered  by 
Mr.  Alexander  W.  Inglis,  to  whom  is  owing  the  recovery  of  much  of  the 
old  regimental  music.  His  explanatory  notes  are  appended  to  the  tunes 
over  his  initials.  Readers  will  not  fail  to  appreciate  the  fidelity  with  which 
Mr.  George  Kruger  has  portrayed  the  uniforms  at  various  periods. 

H.  E.  M. 

MONRElTH:  January  1918. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  I 

By  the  EDITOR 

I.    THE  2ND  DRAGOONS — ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS  35 

By  Sir  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL,  C.V.O.,  Lord  Lyon  King-of-Arms 

II.    THE  SCOTS  GUARDS    -  67 

By  Captain  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  of  Newton  Don,  late  Scots  Guards, 
Lord-Lieutenant  of  Berwickshire 

III.  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  (LOTHIAN   REGIMENT)      -         -         -        117 

By  Major  M.  M.  HALDANE,  The  Royal  Scots 

IV.  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS       -         -         -         -  155 

By  Lieut.-Col.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD,  late  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers 

V.    THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH   BORDERERS        -          -         -        189 
By   Brigadier-General   MONTAGU   GRANT  WILKINSON,  C.B.,  M.V.O., 
late  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers 

NOTE  ON  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  K.O.S.B.      -  234 

By  ANDREW  Ross,  Ross  Herald 

VI.    THE  CAMERONIANS  (SCOTTISH  RIFLES)  -  243 

THE  90TH  PERTHSHIRE  LIGHT  INFANTRY     -  279 

By  ANDREW  Ross,  Ross  Herald 

VII.    SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED  -  297 

By  ANDREW  Ross,  Ross  Herald 


VIII.    REGIMENTAL  Music  - 


-       331 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACK 

DAVID,  3RD  EARL  OF  LEVEN,  1660-1728    -----       Frontispiece 
Raised  the  Edinburgh  Regiment,  now  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers, 
in  1689,  and  commanded  it  till  1693 

COLONEL,  2ND  ROYAL  NORTH  BRITISH  DRAGOONS,  1799      -  40 

Scots  Greys 

TROOPER,  2ND  ROYAL  NORTH  BRITISH  DRAGOONS,  1815      -         -         -  48 

Scots  Greys 

MEMORIAL  TO  THE  OFFICERS  AND  MEN  OF  THE   ROYAL   SCOTS  GREYS 

WHO  FELL  IN  THE  SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR,  1900-1903  $6 

Erected  in  Princes  St.,  Edinburgh,  by  Officers  of  the  Regiment  and  their 
friends.     Sculptor,  W.  BIRNIE  RHIND,  R.S.A. 

PRIVATE,  THIRD  REGIMENT  OF  FOOT  GUARDS,  1746  -         -  72 

Now  the  Scots  Guards 

SERGEANT,  GRENADIER  COMPANY  THIRD  REGIMENT  OF  FOOT  GUARDS, 

1790       -.---.-..--  80 

Now  the  Scots  Guards 

PRIVATE,  FIRST  REGIMENT  OF  FOOT,  1700-         -         -  -         144 

The  Royal  Scots 

CORPORAL,  FIRST  REGIMENT  OF  FOOT,  1815        -         -         -         -         -         152 
The  Royal  Scots 

SERGEANT,  21  ST  ROYAL  NORTH  BRITISH  FUSILIERS,  1830       -         -         -         176 
Now  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers 


xii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

COLONEL,  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS,  1914      -----         184 

PRIVATE,  25™  KING'S  OWN  BORDERERS,  1822 208 

Now  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers 

MEMORIAL  OF  JAMES,  EARL  OF  ANGUS,  1671-1692,  WHO  RAISED  THE 
CAMERONIAN  REGIMENT  IN  1689  AND  FELL  IN  COMMAND  THEREOF 
AT  STEINK.IRK  ---------  248 

Erected  at  Douglas  by  the  Officers  of  the  Cameronians,  Scottish  Rifles 
Sculptor,  Sir  THOMAS  BROCK,  K.C.B.,  R.A. 

PRIVATE,  26™  REGIMENT  OF  FOOT,  1807  ------         256 

The  Cameronians 

PRIVATE,  THE  CAMERONIANS,  1914    -------         272 

Scottish  Rifles 


INTRODUCTION 

BY  THE  EDITOR 

THE  oldest  industries  of  the  human  race  are  warfare  and  the  chase.  The 
earliest  annals  of  every  nation  consist  mainly  of  the  record  of  conflict 
— aggressive,  like  the  conquest  of  Palestine  by  the  children  of  Israel,  or 
defensive,  like  the  splendid  valour  of  the  Gauls  against  Imperial  Rome. 
Races  of  men  who  could  neither  defend  themselves  nor  escape  to  other 
lands  were  simply  wiped  out,  leaving  no  chronicle.  We  know,  indeed, 
by  tradition,  by  the  statements  of  early  travellers,  and  by  the  remains 
of  human  beings  in  primitive  sepulchres,  that  a  small,  dark-haired  race 
of  men  inhabited  the  British  Isles  before  the  westward  movement  of  the 
Celts  reached  our  shores.  Ethnologists  claim  to  recognise  a  strain  of  this 
people — Iverians,  they  call  them — among  the  population  of  the  western- 
most seaboard  of  the  three  kingdoms.  But  these  seem  to  have  put  up 
no  effective  resistance  against  the  Celtic  invasion  ;  at  all  events  they  went 
under,  and  left  no  record. 

These  observations  may  appear  to  have  little  or  no  connection  with  the 
history  of  the  Scottish  regiments  ;  nevertheless,  ethnology  is  an  obstinate 
agent,  and  racial  character  is  more  enduring  than  the  hills. 

The  Scottish  nation  is  a  blend  of  five  other  nationalities  which  were 
long  at  bitter  enmity  with  each  other.  In  the  eighth  century,  when  Egbert 
was  resolutely  welding  the  Saxon  Heptarchy  into  the  single  realm  of  England, 
North  Britain,  then  known  as  Alba,  was  divided  into  four  separate  and 
mutually  hostile  kingdoms. 

i.  The  kingdom  of  the  Picts,  extending  north  and  east  from  Drumalban 
— the  great  central  ridge  of  the  Highlands — with  a  seat  of  rule  near  Inver- 
ness. Much  controversy  has  been  waged  over  the  ethnology  of  the  Picts  ; 


2  INTRODUCTION 

but  most  writers  of  authority,  with  the  notable  exception  of  the  late  Sir 
John  Rhys,  have  regarded  them  as  belonging  to  the  Goidhelic  branch  of 
the  Celtic  race. 

2.  In  the  fifth  century  a  colony  of  Goidhelic  Celts  from  Ireland,  known 
as  Scots,  landed  in  the  west  of  the  Pictish  territory  under  Fergus  Mor,  the 
son  of  Ere,  founding  a  colony  which  developed  into  the  little  kingdom  of 
Dalriada  ;   and,  although  this  included  no  more  than  Argyll,  Lorn  and  a 
few  neighbouring  islands,  the  colonists  eventually  gave  their  name  to  the 
kingdom  and  nation  of  Scotland. 

3.  The  kingdom  of  Cumbria  or  Strathclyde,  extending  from  the  river 
Derwent  in  Cumberland  to  Loch  Lomond,  was  peopled  by  Britons  or  Welsh, 
being  the  northernmost  of  the  three  divisions  into  which  the  conquests  of 
Egbert  had  severed  the  Cymric  nation,  the  other  two  divisions  being  Wales 
and  Cornwall.     They  called  their  chief  stronghold  Alcluith — the  cliff  on 
the  Clyde — but  their  Gaelic  neighbours  and  enemies  called  it  dun  Bretann — 
Dunbarton — the  Briton's  fort. 

4.  The  Saxon  kingdom  of  Bernicia  or  Northumbria,  extending  from 
the  Humber  to  the  Firth  of  Forth,  was  governed  from  Bamborough.     Just 
as  the  Scots  of  Dalriada  gave  their  name  to  the  nation,  so  the  Saxons  of 
Northumbria  and  Lothian  prevailed  to  impose  their  speech  upon  the  whole 
kingdom  after  Malcolm  Ceannmor  by  his  victory  at  Lumphannan  on  I5th 
August,  1057,  effectually  established  his  rule,  and  Scotland  took  her  place 
among  the  kingdoms  of  Europe. 

Besides  these  four  principal  sources  of  the  population  of  Scotland  there 
were  Scandinavian  invaders — Danes  and  Norsemen — who  took  possession 
of  Orkney,  Shetland,  Caithness,  the  Western  Isles,  and  made  permanent 
settlement  in  the  southern  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Strathclyde,  leaving 
in  all  these  regions  a  strain  of  blood  which  may  easily  be  recognised  at  this 
day.  There  were  also  the  Niduarian  Picts  of  Galloway,  ruled  by  their 
native  chiefs,  but  tributary  alternately  to  Saxon  (Northumbrian)  and 
Norse  authority. 

Such  was  the  motley  origin  of  the  Scottish  nation,  and  as  such  it  was 
formally  recognised  for  many  centuries  in  the  proclamations  and  charters 
of  the  Kings  of  Scots.  Thus  in  the  original  charter  of  the  Abbey  of 
Melrose  in  1144,  David  I.  addresses  his  subjects  as  "the  Normans,  Eng- 
lish, Scots  and  Galwegians  of  the  whole  realm."  Another  edict  in  1139 


BY  THE  EDITOR  3 

appeals  to  "  Normans,  English  and   Cumbrians,"  and  so  on,  with  many 
variations. 

This  David  (1124-1153)  was  the  first  to  reign  over  Scotland  as  a  feudal 
sovereign,  governing  through  the  Norman  and  Saxon  lords  whom  he  estab- 
lished as  Crown  vassals  yielding  military  service  for  extensive  tracts  of 
lands.  These  tenants  in  capite — earls  and  greater  barons — granted  portions 
of  their  lands  to  lesser  gentry,  who  held  them  by  "  knight's  service,"  pay- 
ing no  rent,  but  undertaking  the  obligation  to  bring  armed  followers  in 
number  proportioned  to  their  several  estates,  and  to  serve  under  their 
superior  in  war.  The  clan  or  tribal  system  in  the  Celtic  parts  of  Scotland 
imposed  the  obligation  of  personal  service,  called  feacht  and  sluaged,  under 
the  chief  of  the  tribe  in  war,  whether  offensive  or  defensive.  In  the  Saxon 
districts,  according  to  immemorial  custom,  every  freeman  was  bound  to 
attend  the  "  hosting  across  the  frontier  "  once  every  year  in  arms.  Out 
of  these  two  systems  grew  what  was  termed  by  feudal  lawyers  Scoticanum 
scrvitium — the  "  Scottish  service  " — sometimes  known  as  forinsecum  ser- 
mtium — "  hosting  beyond  the  frontier."  It  may  be  understood  from  the 
following  passage,  translated  from  the  Moray  chartulary,  that  the  "  Scottish 
service  "  was  rendered  on  foot  and  without  defensive  armour. 

"...  We  have  no  right  to  demand  any  service  from  William  of  Moray  except 
the  Scottish  service  of  our  Lord  the  King  in  hosting  beyond  the  frontier  .  .  . 
and  such  succour  and  aid  as  he  may  render  us  of  his  own  free  will  in  the  defence 
of  the  realm  by  his  force  of  men-at-arms  [armigerorum]  and  horses  and  weapons."  * 

The  Scottish  service  endured  for  several  centuries  alongside  of  the  feudal 
organisation  which  bound  every  lord  of  a  military  fief  to  bring  to  the  royal 
standard  the  quota  of  armed  men  in  proportion  to  his  land.  David  I.  was 
far  too  sagacious  a  reformer  to  attempt  forcing  a  cut-and-dried  system  of 
military  service  upon  his  subjects  in  all  parts  of  the  realm  of  Scotland  ; 
nevertheless,  this  dual  system  did  not  contribute  to  the  discipline 
so  essential  to  the  control  of  an  army  by  a  commander-in-chief,  as  King 
David  found  to  his  cost  at  the  battle  of  the  Standard  (22nd  August,  1138). 
His  tactics  on  that  field  were  disorganised  by  the  wild  Picts  of  Galloway  s 
claiming  to  lead  the  attack  and  refusing  to  fight  unless  what  they  declared 
to  be  their  right  was  accorded  them.  The  immediate  result  was  disastrous, 

1  See  upon  this  subject  Robertson's  Scotland  under  her  Early  Kings,  vol.  i.  p.  208  note. 
8  Ancestors  of  the  men  who  now  fill  the  ranks  of  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers  and 
Royal  Scots  Fusiliers. 


4  INTRODUCTION 

for  these  half-clad  savages  could  not  withstand  the  cloud  of  English  arrows  ; 
they  broke  and  fled,  throwing  the  whole  Scottish  line  into  confusion.  Yet 
the  dual  system  endured  long  after  King  David  had  been  laid  to  rest  under 
the  high  altar  of  Dunfermline.  Indeed  it  may  be  recognised  as  late  as 
1745,  when  the  Fiery  Cross  was  sent  through  the  Airds  by  Macdonell  of 
Barisdale,  and  through  Appin  by  Stewart  of  Invernahyle. 

The  parliaments  of  the  Scottish  Kings  passed  many  Acts  imposing  uni- 
versal military  service,  the  earliest  that  has  been  preserved  being  one  of 
William  the  Lion  (1165-1214).  As  it  prescribes  the  exact  equipment  re- 
quired of  different  ranks  of  freeholders  it  is  worth  quoting  at  length  as  it 
was  transcribed  by  Sir  John  Skene  about  1600. 

"  Cap.  23.  i.  It  is  statute  that  ilk  man  of  the  age  between  saxtie  and  saxtene 
jeires  sail  be  sworn,  and  sail  have  armes  according  to  his  lands  and  moveable  gudes. 

2.  That  is,  he  quha  hes  fiftene  pond  lande,  or  fourtie  marks  1  worth  in  move- 
able  gudes,  sail  haue  ane  horse,  ane  habergeon  [coat  of  mail],  ane  knapiskay  [head- 
piece] of  iron,  ane  sword  and  dagger. 

3.  He  quha  hes  fourtie  schilling  land  or  mair,  vntill  ane  hundreth  schilling 
land,  sail  haue  ane  bow  and  arrowes,  ane  dagger  and  ane  knife. 

4.  He  quha  hes  les  nor  fourtie  schilling  land  sail  haue  ane  hand  axe,  ane 
bow  and  arrowes. 

5.  And  all  others  quha  may  haue  armour  sail  haue  ane  bow  and  arrowes 
outwith  the  forrest,  and  within  the  forrest  ane  bow,  ane  pyle  [javelin]. 

6.  Item,  it  is  statute  that  wapinschaw  salbe  keiped  and  haldin." 

It  may  be  easily  conceived  how  futile  such  legislation  would  have  proved 
unless  measures  had  been  taken  to  ensure  that  the  prescribed  weapons 
were  kept  in  proper  order  and  repair.  This  was  effected  by  the  institution 
of  wapinschaw  (weapon  show),  which  obliged  every  man  of  military  age 
to  attend  a  muster,  held  four  times  every  year  by  the  Sheriff  of  his  county, 
or  by  some  other  lord,  spiritual  or  temporal,  when  he  had  to  produce  his 
arms  for  inspection.  The  exact  procedure  on  these  occasions  is  set  forth 
in  an  Act  of  1457. 

"  Item — It  is  decreeted  and  ordained  that  the  weapon-schawings  be  halden  be 
[by]  the  Lords  and  Barrones  Spiritual  and  Temporal  four  times  in  the  3eir.  And 
that  the  fute-bal  and  golfe  be  vtterly  cryed  downe  and  not  to  be  vsed.  And  that 
the  bow-markes  2  be  maid  at  ilk  Parish  Kirk  a  pair  of  Buttes,  and  schutting  be 
vsed.  And  that  ilk  man  schutte  sex  schottes  at  the  least,  vnder  the  paine  to 
be  raysed  vpon  them  that  cummis  not  at  the  least  * :  two  pennies  to  be  giuen 

1  About  £25  sterling.  »  Targets. 

5  That  is — he  who  does  not  fire  six  shots  is  to  be  fined. 


BY  THE  EDITOR  5 

to  them  that  cummis  to  the  bow-markes  to  drinke.1  .  .  .  And  be  the  nixt  Mid- 
sommer  to  be  reddy  with  all  their  graith2  without  failzie.3  And  that  there  be 
a  bower  and  a  fledgear  4  in  ilk  head  town  of  the  Schire,  and  that  the  toun  furnish 
him  of  stuffe  and  graith,  after  as  needs  him  thereto,  that  they  may  serue  the 
countrie  with.  .  .  .  And  gif  the  Parochin  5  be  meikle,  that  there  be  three  or 
foure  or  flue  bow-marks  in  sik  places  as  gainis  therefore.6  And  that  al  men  that 
is  within  fiftie,  and  past  twelue,  jeires  sal  vse  schutting." 

The  Skene  MS.  in  the  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh,  consists  of  a 
collection  of  Scottish  music  compiled  between  1610  and  1625.  Among  the 
pieces  is  a  lively  pipe  tune  entitled  Pitt  on  your  shirt  on  Monday.  This 
may  be  understood,  not  as  a  general  prescription  for  economy  in  a  gentle- 
man's toilet,  but  an  injunction  to  prepare  for  the  wapinschaw,  which,  after 
it  had  fallen  into  disuse  for  some  years,  was  fixed  by  statute  of  James  V. 
in  1540  to  take  place  "  on  the  morne  after  Law  Sunday  " — i.e.  Low  Sunday, 
the  Sunday  next  after  Easter. 

The  prohibition  of  "  futeball,  golfe  and  vther  vnprofitable  sportes,  because 
they  are  not  profitable  for  the  common  gude  of  the  Realme  and  defens'e 
thereof,"  was  repeated  in  several  subsequent  statutes.  The  expenditure 
of  time,  energy  and  money  upon  these  games  has  been  made  the  subject 
of  grave  rebuke  by  moralists  and  economists  in  these  latter  days ;  but 
they  can  hardly  be  held  accountable  for  the  unreadiness  of  the  nation  for 
war,  when,  in  August,  1914,  it  was  drawn  irresistibly  into  the  European  vortex. 
Successive  governments  had  vied  with  each  other  in  cutting  down  expendi- 
ture on  the  land  forces  of  the  Crown,  and  no  provision  whatever  was  made 
for  the  military  training  of  those  who  took  part  in  these  games,  whether 
as  players  or  spectators.  Lamentably  deficient  as  we  found  ourselves  at 
the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  both  in  men  and  munitions,  the  blame  for  that 
cannot  be  laid  to  the  debit  of  golf  and  football. 

Fines  for  absence  from  wapinschaw  were  fixed  on  a  graduated  scale  by 
a  statute  of  1491.  For  a  landed  gentleman,  403.  for  the  first  offence,  the 
same  for  the  second,  and  £10  for  every  subsequent  one  ;  for  a  bowman, 
IDS.  each  for  the  first  and  second  offence,  and  403.  for  every  subsequent  one. 

1  Twopence  went  a  long  way  in  drink  at  this  time,  when  the  Town  Council  of  Edinburgh 
had  decreed  "  that  na  man  na  woman  brewe  aile  to  sell  derare  than  for  vi  d  or  viij  d  [the  gallon] 
at  the  darrest,  vnder  the  payne  of  escheitt  of  the  aile.     (Records  of  the  Burgh  of  Edinburgh, 
A.D.  1450.) 

2  Armour,  harness.  8  Without  fail.  *  A  bowmaker  and  zfltcheur  or  arrowmaker. 
*  Parish.                                6  As  are  suitable  for  the  purpose. 


6  INTRODUCTION 

Gunpowder  had  been  used  in  war  for  more  than  two  centuries  before 
the  Scottish  government  laid  upon  the  lieges  the  obligation  to  have  fire- 
arms as  part  of  their  equipment.  An  Act  to  that  effect  was  passed  in 
1540. 

"  BECAUSE  the  schot  of  gunnes,  hagbuttes,  hand-bowes  and  vther  small  artail- 
larie  (now  commounlie  vsed  in  all  Cuntries,  baith  be  sea  and  lande  in  their  weeres  *) 
is  sa  felloun  and  vn-escheivable  to  the  pith  of  high  courage  of  Noble  and  vai^ieant 
men,  quhais  actes  and  deedes  cannot  be  schawin  2  without  contrair3  provision 
be  had  of  instrumentes  of  weere  and  battell :  IT  is  herefore  statute  and  ordained 
be  the  Kingis  Hienesse,  with  advise  and  consent  of  the  three  Estates  of  his  Realme, 
that  everie  landed  man  within  the  samin  *  sail  haue  ane  Hagbutte  of  Founde, 
called  Hagbute  of  Crochett,  with  their  Calmes,5  Bullettes  and  pellocks8  of  leed 
or  irone,  with  powder  convenient  thereto,  for  everie  hundreth  pound  of  land  that 
hee  hes  of  newe  extent :  And  he  that  hes  bot  ane  hundreth  marke  land  sail  haue 
twa  culveringes  :  And  ilk  man  havand  fourtie  pound  land  sail  haue  ane  Culver- 
ing,  with  calmes,  leede  and  powder  gainand  thereto,  with  treastes  7  to  be  at  all 
times  reddie  for  schutting  of  the  said  Hagbuttes  :  And  that  everie  man  of  living 
foresaide  sail  haue  ane  man  or  maa,8  as  he  may  furnish,  for  schutting  of  the  saide 
hagbuttes  and  culveringes,  and  to  learne  vthers  to  schutte  the  samin  :  And  that 
everie  man  haue  the  said  artaillarie  effeirand  to  his  living  9  substantiously  furnished, 
as  saide  is,  reddie  within  auchteene  moneths  nixt  aftir  the  publication  of  this  acte, 
vnder  paine  of  doubling  the  price  that  will  bye  ilk  piece  of  the  said  artaillarie, 
to  be  applyed  to  the  Kingis  Grace  vse  for  byeing  of  the  samin  to  himselfe." 

Then  came  the  serious  consideration  how  the  prescribed  fire-arms  were 
to  be  supplied.  In  the  preamble  to  an  Act  of  the  same  Parliament  (yth 
of  James  V.  c.  95)  it  is  set  forth  that  "  nouther  artaillarie  nor  harnes  can  be 
furnished  nor  maid  reddie  without  the  samin  be  brocht  hame  be  Merchandes." 
Apparently  there  were  few  gunsmiths  in  Scotland  capable  of  turning  out 
small  arms 10 ;  it  was  ordained,  therefore,  that  every  merchant  trading  with 
the  Continent  should  bring  home  with  every  cargo  of  goods  "  twa  Hagbuttes 
of  Crochett  or  maa,  with  powder  and  calmes,  or  else  als  meikle  mettall 
as  will  make  the  saidis  Hagbuttes,  with  powder  effeirand." 

1  Wars.         •  Shown.          »  Corresponding.          *  The  same.          6  Moulds.          •  Pellets. 

'  The  treaste  was  a  staff  with  forked  top,  to  serve  as  a  rest  for  the  hagbut  in  aiming  and 
firing.  Cf.  modern  English  "  trestle." 

1  More.  •  In  proportion  to  his  means. 

10  It  is  doubtful,  notwithstanding  the  tradition  about  Mons  Meg,  whether  any  cannon 
could  be  forged  or  cast  in  Scotland.  At  all  events,  when  St.  Giles's  Church  in  Edinburgh  was 
stripped  of  its  ornaments  at  the  Reformation,  the  Town  Council  decreed  (26th  May,  1560) 
that  the  "  Marie  bell  "  and  the  brazen  pillars  should  be  handed  over  to  the  Dean  of  Guild 
to  be  made  into  cannon,  "  and  gif  it  may  nocht  gudlie  be  maid  in  artalyere  in  this  cuntre, 
thai  license  him  to  send  the  samyn  to  Flanderis  to  be  maid  or  coft  [purchased]  thair,  and 
the  gud  toun  sal  beir  the  aventure  thairof." 


BY  THE  EDITOR  7 

From  the  earliest  recorded  times  the  burghs  of  Scotland  lay  under  obliga- 
tion to  supply  men  and  arms  for  the  King's  service.  The  laws  upon  this 
subject  were  codified  in  the  reign  of  David  I.  (1124-1153)  in  the  Leges  et 
Consueludines  Quatuor  Burgorum.  These  four  burghs  were  originally 
Berwick,  Roxburgh,  Edinburgh,  and  Stirling.  Although  the  Leges  were 
drawn  up  specifically  for  these  towns,  they  formed  the  model  whereon  was 
framed  the  constitution  of  every  burgh  subsequently  receiving  charter  of 
incorporation.  It  is  to  be  noted,  therefore,  that  the  4gth  Law  lays  down 
that  no  man  can  be  elected  a  burgess  unless  he  render  to  the  King  the 
(military)  service  due  from  the  owner  of  at  least  a  rood  of  land. 

In  compliance  with  this  duty,  the  city  of  Edinburgh  not  only  contributed 
its  quota  to  the  army  which  James  IV.  led  to  its  doom  at  Flodden,  but 
the  Provost  and  Magistrates  rode  with  their  men.  It  is  not  certain  whether 
the  provostship — an  office  of  great  dignity,  in  the  gift  of  the  monarch — 
was  held  at  the  time  by  Sir  Alexander  Lander  of  the  Bass  or  Archibald  "  Bell 
the  Cat,"  Earl  of  Angus.  Both  gentlemen  were  at  the  battle  ;  Lauder  was 
killed,  and  probably  Angus,  one  of  the  very  few  nobles  who  escaped,  was 
appointed  to  succeed  him. 

Besides  supplying  men  for  the  King's  army,  the  burghs  were  liable  to 
heavy  assessment  for  its  expenses  in  time  of  war.  To  give  a  single  example 
—during  the  autumn  and  winter  of  1559-60,  the  Scottish  government  were 
in  constant  expectation  of  invasion  by  England.  The  Burgh  Records 
teem  with  orders  for  the  preparation  and  disposal  of  men  and  munitions, 
"  the  haill  artalyerie  of  the  toun,  with  the  chalmeris  puder  and  bullattis," 
etc.,  and  on  27th  October  the  Town  Council  grants  the  payment  of  2000 
merks  (about  £1350  sterling)  to  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation  "  for  rasing 
men  of  weir." 

It  is  not  a  simple  matter  to  define  exactly  the  extent  of  military  service 
required  from  the  Church.  There  appears  to  have  been  no  legal  obligation 
upon  warrior  prelates  such  as  Antony  Beck  and  William  de  Melton  to  take 
the  field  in  person ;  but,  when  they  did  so,  they  probably  iied  with  them 
many  subordinate  ecclesiastics  as  volunteers.  The  vast  lands  acquired  by 
the  Church  through  the  benefactions  of  her  pious  or  contrite  sons  certainly 
carried  with  them  the  obligation  of  military  service,  which  devolved  upon 
the  vassals  and  tenants  of  the  beneficiary  house.  A  good  illustration  of  this 
may  be  found  in  the  Register  of  Kelso  Abbey,  the  first  and  richest  of  the 


8  INTRODUCTION 

many  foundations  by  David  I.  Of  the  original  endowments  of  the  Abbey, 
the  most  valuable  was  the  estate  of  Botheldene  or  Bolden  (now  Bowden) 
in  Roxburghshire.  Such  of  these  lands  as  were  not  tilled  or  grazed  by  the 
monks  themselves,  were  let  to  tenants,  partly  for  fixed  money  rents  and 
partly  for  services  to  the  Abbey,  such  as  carting  fuel,  help  in  harvest,  etc. 
But  these  tenants  also  owed  military  service  to  the  King.  Thus  the  lands 
of  Prestfield,  part  of  the  barony  of  Bolden,  were  found  by  an  assize  held 
in  1327  to  be  of  the  extent  of  four  husband-lands,  and,  as  such,  to  be  bound 
to  furnish  one  man-at-arms,  and  thirty  bowmen  under  him.1 

In  times  of  stress,  prelates  certainly  allowed  or  compelled  their  ecclesi- 
astical subordinates  to  fight.  For  instance,  when  Douglas  and  Moray 
invaded  Yorkshire  in  1319,  gallant  Archbishop  Melton  and  Bishop  Hotham 
of  Ely  collected  all  the  force  they  could,  ecclesiastics  as  well  as  laymen, 
and  gave  the  Scots  battle  at  Myton-on- Swale.  They  were  routed  with  so 
much  slaughter  that  Barbour  says  the  battle  was  called  : 

The  Chaptour  of  Mytoun,  for  thar 
Slane  sa  many  prestis  war. 

Besides  exceptional  service  such  as  this,  the  Church  contributed  large 
sums  of  money  in  taxation  for  the  maintenance  of  the  royal  armies  and 
the  expenses  of  campaigns.  This  was  obligatory ;  but  voluntary  grants 
were  forthcoming  also.  For  instance,  in  the  same  year  that  Archbishop 
Melton  was  striving  to  keep  the  Scots  out  of  Yorkshire,  he  received  authority 
from  the  Pope  to  advance  to  King  Edward,  for  the  expenses  of  a  counter- 
invasion,  £2505  145.  id.  out  of  a  fund  which  had  been  collected  for  a  crusade. 

Had  feudal  service  been  made  obligatory  and  universal  in  Scotland 
during  the  thirteenth  century,  it  is  not  likely  that  Wallace  could  have 
raised  the  force  with  which,  on  loth  September,  1297,  he  inflicted  total 
defeat  upon  the  Earl  of  Warenne  at  Stirling  Bridge,  for  he  received  no 
support  from  the  feudal  lords  in  that  campaign.  The  few  who  did  rally  to 
him  at  first,  had  deserted  him  at  Irvine.  His  success  at  Stirling  Bridge, 
where  he  had  nothing  but  foot  soldiers,  brought  some  of  the  waverers  back 
to  him ;  among  them  Sir  John  of  Bonkill,  brother  of  the  Steward  of  Scot- 
land, who  in  the  following  year  commanded  some  squadrons  of  horse  at 
Falkirk  (22nd  July,  1298)  ;  but  this  cavalry  proved  worse  than  useless, 

1  Liber  de  Calchou,  p.  361. 


BY  THE  EDITOR  9 

for,  being  drawn  up  behind  the  line  of  four  infantry  columns,1  when  the 
English  cavalry  charged  both  flanks  of  the  Scots  simultaneously,  Sir  John's 
men  rode  off  the  field  without  striking  a  blow.  The  chroniclers  are  not 
agreed  whether  this  was  the  result  of  panic  or  of  treachery  ;  but  all  accounts 
tend  to  confirm  the  total  defeat  of  Wallace's  army,  with  great  slaughter. 

The  battle  of  Falkirk  is  important  in  the  military  history  of  Scotland, 
inasmuch  as  it  is  the  source  of  our  earliest  information  of  the  field  tactics 
of  Scottish  commanders,  which  differed  very  widely  from  those  of  the 
English.  The  English  relied  in  attack  mainly  upon  the  searching  fire  of 
archers  followed  by  the  shock  of  heavy  cavalry  ;  the  Scots  trusted  to  the 
pike.  The  battle  formation  of  pikemen  was  "  the  schiltrom,"  a  dense 
column  resembling  the  British  infantry  square  which  played  so  fine  a  part 
at  Waterloo.  In  the  absence  of  artillery  and  small  arm  fire,  it  was  impreg- 
nable against  cavalry  when  the  flank  and  rear  rank  men  faced  outwards. 
Two  ranks  knelt,  planting  their  twelve-feet  ashen  pikestaves  at  the  right 
knee  ;  the  inner  ranks  stood  and  levelled  their  fifteen-feet  pikes  over  the 
heads  of  their  comrades.  But  it  was  a  formation  terribly  defenceless  against 
arrow  fire.  It  was  King  Edward's  splendid  corps  of  archers,  not  his  cavalry, 
that  won  the  field  of  Falkirk  for  him.  Hereford  and  the  Earl  Marshal  on 
one  flank,  Antony  Beck,  doughty  Bishop  of  Durham  on  the  other,  charged 
Wallace's  schiltroms  repeatedly,  and  they  charged  in  vain.  But  when 
Edward  moved  up  his  archers  within  range,  the  Scots  were  defenceless 
against  the  flight  of  clothyard  shafts  ;  they  fell  helpless  as  they  stood. 
There  was  a  moment  at  Bannockburn  when  the  like  seemed  about  to  happen. 
From  the  skirts  of  the  Torwood  the  English  archers  were  dealing  death 
upon  Edward  Bruce's  schiltrom  which  formed  the  right  of  the  Scottish 
line.  King  Robert  (who,  by  the  by,  is  alleged  to  have  fought  against 
Wallace  at  Falkirk),  King  Robert,  I  say,  from  his  post  on  Coxet  Hill  descried 
the  peril  and  made  timely  use  of  his  handful  of  horse,  five  hundred  light 
cavalry  under  Sir  Robert  de  Keith.  He  sent  them  forward  to  drive  the 
archers  in,  which  they  did  most  effectively. 

It  is  not  easy  to  account  for  the  marked  inferiority  of  Scottish  archery 
to  the  English.  That  the  Scottish  government  recognised  the  expediency 
of  training  men  to  the  use  of  the  bow  is  manifest  from  the  frequent  statutes 

1  Per  turmas  quatuor,  in  modus  circulorum  rotundorum.  (Walter  of  Hemingburgh's 
Chronicle. ) 


io  INTRODUCTION 

prescribing  compulsory  practice  in  every  parish.  It  is  believed  that  the 
Scottish  practice  was  to  aim  from  a  point  some  distance  below  the  shoulder, 
whereas  the  English  archer  was  trained  to  draw  the  arrow  to  a  point  between 
the  chin  and  the  ear.  Hugh  Latimer,  Bishop  of  Worcester  (1485-1555) 
was  wont  to  startle  his  hearers  by  the  originality,  not  to  say  eccentricity, 
of  his  sermons.  In  one  of  these  he  imparted  the  secrets  of  good  archery. 
"  My  father,"  said  he,  "  was  diligent  in  teaching  me  to  shoot  with  the  bow. 
He  taught  me  to  draw,  to  lay  my  body  to  the  bow,  not  to  draw  with  strength 
of  arm  as  other  nations  do,  but  with  the  strength  of  the  body."  The  in- 
feriority of  the  Scottish  bowmen  makes  it  all  the  more  remarkable  that 
the  Kings  of  France  should  have  chosen  Scottish  Archers  as  their  body- 
guard, a  precedent  followed  by  George  IV.  in  1822,  when  he  bestowed  upon 
the  Royal  Company  of  Scottish  Archers  (incorporated  in  1676)  the  title 
of  "  the  King's  Body-Guard  for  Scotland,"  and  presented  the  Captain- 
General  thereof  with  a  gold  stick,  signifying  that  the  Company  was  thence- 
forward part  of  the  royal  household. 

The  bowmen  of  Ettrick  were  reputed  the  best  in  Scotland,  and  deserve 
honourable  mention  for  their  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Falkirk.  They  have 
received  it,  too,  from  the  English  chronicler,  Walter  of  Hemingf ord  (fl.  1300) , 
who  describes  them  as  men  of  great  stature  and  very  comely.1  When 
Sir  John  of  Bonkill's  cavalry  deserted  him,  and  he  fell  from  his  horse,  the 
men  of  Ettrick — Flowers  of  the  Forest — rallied  to  his  defence,  and  fell, 
almost  to  a  man,  under  the  English  lances.  It  is  recorded  that  they  fought 
at  close  quarters  with  short  swords.  Probably  the  pikemen  carried  swords 
or  dirks  also. 

The  Scottish  knights  in  the  fourteenth  century  fought  on  foot,  and  there- 
fore did  not  wield  the  lance,  which  was  the  weapon  too  much  relied  on  by 
the  chivalry  and  men-at-arms  of  England  in  the  attack.  Thus,  when  King 
Robert  the  Bruce  accepted  the  challenge  of  Sir  Henry  de  Bohun  on  the 
eve  of  the  battle  of  Bannockburn,  he  was  mounted  on 

— ane  gay  palfray 
Litill  and  joly, 

ill  matched  for  encounter  with  de  Bohun's  powerful  destrier.  But  it  was 
nimble,  enabling  the  King  to  avoid  the  English  knight's  lance,  and  to  deal 

1  Hemingford,  ii.  180. 


BY  THE  EDITOR  n 

him  a  fatal  blow  on  the  head  with  his  battle  axe.  Some  knights,  both 
English  and  Scots,  preferred  the  mallet-of-arms,  sometimes  weighing  as 
much  as  25  lb.,  to  the  axe  ;  others  carried  a  mace,  and  all,  of  course,  carried 
the  sword.1  Ecclesiastics,  some  of  whom,  like  Bishop  Antony  Beck  of 
Durham  and  Archbishop  Melton  of  York,  were  very  capable  commanders, 
carried  the  mace,  being  forbidden  by  the  canons  of  the  church  to  draw  the 
sword,  because  it  was  so  apt  to  shed  blood  ! 

The  chief  difference,  then,  between  the  tactics  of  the  two  nations  in  the 
fourteenth  century  was  that  the  English  put  their  faith  in  heavy  cavalry, 
after  preparation  by  archers,  while  the  Scots  believed  in  the  dense  column 
of  infantry  armed  with  pikes.  Chivalry  had  passed  its  meridian  before 
Bannockburn  ;  but  its  spirit  and  tradition  were  still  strong  and  many  of  its 
customs  long  survived.  English  knights  and  men-at-arms  professed  con- 
tempt for  an  enemy  that  fought  on  foot  ;  they  even  despised  their  own 
excellent  archers. 

"  Sir  knight,"  said  Sir  Thomas  Gray  the  elder  to  Sir  William  Marmion 
at  Norham  in  1322,  "  you  have  come  as  knight  errant  to  make  that  helmet 
famous.  It  is  more  meet  that  deeds  of  chivalry  be  done  on  horseback 
than  afoot,  when  convenient.  Mount  your  horse  ;  there  are  your  enemies  " 
[pointing  to  a  squadron  of  Scottish  horse  drawn  up  before  the  castle]  : 
"  set  spurs  and  charge  into  their  midst.  May  I  deny  my  God  if  I  do  not 
rescue  your  person,  alive  or  dead,  or  perish  in  the  attempt."  2 

Howbeit,  experience  brought  English  tacticians  to  another  view.  Edward 
III.  at  Crecy  in  1346,  the  Black  Prince  at  Poitiers  in  1356  and  Henry  V. 
at  Agincourt  in  1415,  all  won  their  amazing  victories  over  immensely  superior 
forces  by  the  intolerable  punishment  inflicted  by  their  archers  upon  massed 
heavy  cavalry,  followed  up  by  the  onslaught  of  dismounted  knights  and 
men-at-arms. 

It  is  recorded  that  the  Scots  adopted  their  field  tactics  from  the  Flemish, 
who,  on  foot,  defeated  the  Comte  d'Artois  and  the  flower  of  French  chivalry 
at  Courtray  in  1302.  So  great  was  the  slaughter  and  the  number  of  French 

1  Distinctive  features  in  twentieth  century  war  are  that  British  regiments  return  their 
colours  into  store  before  going  on  active  service  and  officers  no  longer  carry  swords  in  action. 

2  "  Sire  cheualer,  vous  y  estez  venuz  cheualer  errant  pur  faire  eel  healme  estre  conuz,  et 
si  est  meutz  seaunt  chos  qe  cheualery  en  soit  a  cheual  qe  a  pee  ...  mountez  uotre  cheual, 
veez  la  voz  enemys,  si  ferrez  cheual  dcz  esperouns,  va  assemblere  en  my  lieu  dez  eaux,  si  renay 
Dieux  si  ico  ne  rescouroi  toun  corps  viue  ou  mort,  ou  ieo  murreray."     (Scalacronica.  folio  b.) 


i2  INTRODUCTION 

knights  taken  prisoners  on  that  occasion  that  the  victory  was  called  the 
Battle  of  the  Spurs.1  It  was  a  thing  unheard  of  before  that  time  that  mere 
foot  soldiers  of  the  Ban  should  withstand  the  shock  of  mailed  cavalry  ; 
but  the  lesson  was  not  thrown  away  upon  Robert  Bruce.  His  consistent 
strategy  was  to  avoid  a  pitched  battle,  which  he  succeeded  in  doing,  with 
the  single  exception  of  Bannockburn,  to  which  he  was  committed  by  his 
brother  Edward's  pledge  to  Sir  Philip  de  Mowbray.  The  pike  was  in  Bruce's 
esteem  what  Brown  Bess  was  in  Wellington's  ;  and  his  "  testament  "  was 
cast  into  rhyme  by  an  unknown  hand  for  the  guidance  of  succeeding  genera- 
tions. As  the  spelling  of  old  Scots  is  perplexing  to  modern  readers  it  may 
be  for  their  convenience  to  provide  a  key. 

On  fut  suld  be  all  Scottis  weire,  On  foot  should  be  all  Scottish  war, 

By  hyll  and  mosse  themselff  to  reare.  So  as  to  move  easily  by  hill  and  moss. 

Lat  woods  for  wallis  be  bow  and  speire,  Hold  woods  as  walls  by  bow  and  spear, 

That  innymeis  do  them  na  deire.  That  the  enemy  may  obtain  no  advantage. 

In  strait  placis  gar  keip  all  store.  Cause  all  stores  to  be  kept  in  close  places 
And  byrnen  the  planeland  thaim  befoir  ;        And  burn  all  the  low  country  before  them  ; 

Than  sail  thai  pas  away  in  haist,  Then  shall  they  quit  it  in  haste 

When  that  thai  find  na  thing  bot  waist.  When  they  find  nothing  but  waste. 

With  wyles  and  waykings  of  the  nycht  With  stratagems  and  nightly  alarms. 

And  mekill  noyis  maid  on  hycht,  And  with  loud  noises  in  the  hills, 

Thaim  sail  ye  turnen  with  gret  afirai,  You  will  put  them  in  as  much  fear 

As  thai  ware  chassit  with  swerd  away.  As  if  they  were  chased  away  by  the  sword. 

This  is  the  consall  and  intent  This  is  the  counsel  and  intent 

Of  gud  King  Robert's  testiment.  Of  good  King  Robert's  testament. 

So  long  as  the  Scottish  commanders  followed  this  counsel,  the  chivalry 
of  England  could  gain  no  advantage  over  them.  But  when  they  departed 
from  it  and  assumed  the  offensive,  the  schiltrom  proved  a  fatally  unwieldy 
formation.  An  army  massed  in  line  of  schiltroms  could  not  manoeuvre, 
and  the  result  of  attempting  it  was  seen  in  a  long  series  of  disasters — Dup- 
plin  in  1332,  Halidon  Hill  in  1333,  Neville's  Cross  in  1346,  Flodden  in  1513. 
The  latest  example  is  the  defeat  of  the  Covenanting  army  at  Dunbar  on 
3rd  September,  1650.  General  David  Leslie  had  taken  up  a  strong  position 
on  Doonhill,  and,  being  an  excellent  tactician,  would  have  kept  it,  had  he 
been  let  alone.  But  he  had  to  yield  to  the  demands  of  the  zealot  preachers 
composing  the  Committee  of  Kirk  and  State,  who  insisted  upon  his  taking 

1  The  same  name  was  applied  by  English  writers  to  the  victory  of  Henry  VIII.  and  the 
Emperor  Maximilian  at  Guinegate  in  1513,  because,  it  was  alleged  that  the  French  made 
more  use  of  their  spurs  than  their  swords  ;  but  the  name  of  that  battle  really  was  taken  from 
the  village  of  Spours,  not  far  from  the  field. 


BY  THE  EDITOR  13 

the  offensive.  "  Now,"  exclaimed  Cromwell,  when  he  saw  the  Scottish 
brigades  moving  down  into  the  plain,  "  now  let  God  arise  and  let  His  enemies 
be  scattered  !  "  and  Leslie  sustained  crushing  defeat  through  no  fault  of 
his  own. 

The  pike  continued  to  be  the  distinctive  weapon  of  Scottish  infantry 
long  after  the  introduction  of  fire-arms.  In  William  Patten's  account 
of  the  battle  of  Pinkie  in  1547  there  is  a  graphic  description  of  its  use. 

"  Standing  at  defence  they  [the  Scots]  thrust  shoulders  likewise  so  nie  together, 
the  fore  rankes,  wel  nie  to  kneling,  stoop  lowe  before,  for  their  followers  behynd 
holdyng  their  pykes  in  both  handes,  and  thear  with  [therewith]  in  their  left  their 
bucklers,  the  one  end  of  the  pyke  against  the  right  foot,  tother  against  their 
enemie  brest  hye,  their  followers  crossing  their  pyke  poyntes  with  them  forwarde, 
and  then  each  with  tother  so  nye  as  place  and  space  will  suffer,  though  the  hole 
[whole]  was  so  thick  that  as  easy  shall  a  bare  finger  perce  through  the  skyn  of 
an  angrie  hedgehog  as  any  encounter  the  frunt  of  their  pykes." 

More  than  one  hundred  years  later,  after  the  arquebus  had  given  place 
to  the  matchlock,  and  flintlocks  were  already  in  general  use  for  pistols, 
Sir  James  Turner  described  the  pike  as  "  the  Prince  of  Weapons."  *  Writ- 
ing in  1671  he  says  that  the  proper  length  for  it  is  eighteen  feet,  but  adds 
that  it  does  not  often  exceed  fifteen  feet.  "  If  Officers  be  not  careful  to 
prevent  it,  many  base  Soldiers  will  cut  some  off  the  length  of  that,  as  I 
have  often  seen  it  done."  He  deplores  the  "  supine  carelessness  "  of  some 
commanding  officers  who  were  at  no  pains  to  arm  the  strongest  men  in  a 
battalion  with  pikes,  leaving  the  weaker  men  to  carry  muskets. 

Again,  in  English  Military  Discipline,  a  work  published  in  1680  by  an 
unknown  hand  : 

"  All  pikes  now  a  dayes  are  of  the  same  length,  made  of  strong  ashe,  and  very 
streight,  about  fourteen  or  fifteen  foot  long.  The  head  is  four  inches  long  and 
two  and  a  half  broad  at  the  largest  place,  the  iron  bands  at  the  head  must  be 
long  and  strong,  otherwayes  it  would  be  an  easie  matter  for  the  horse  to  cut 
off  the  ends  of  the  pike  with  their  shables."  * 

Even  after  the  Revolution  of  1688  every  infantry  battalion  was  com- 
posed of  pikemen,  musketeers,  and  grenadiers.  The  Exercise  of  the  Foot, 
published  in  1690,  "  by  their  Majesties'  Command,"  contains  full  directions 
for  the  position  of  these  in  each  company,  and  for  handling  their  weapons. 

1  Pallas  Armata,  p.  169  (Ed.  1683). 

2  "  Shable,"  the  English  form  of  the  French  sabre  ;  from  the  German  s&bel,  a  sword. 


i4  INTRODUCTION 

The  manual  exercise  of  the  pike  is  preceded  by  the  following  instruction 
for  a  pikeman  standing  at  attention. 

"  The  Posture  of  the  Pikeman,  with  his  Pike  Advanced,  must  be  the  same  with 
that  of  a  Musketeer  with  the  Musket  Shouldered,  viz.  That  he  stand  with  a  straight 
Body,  hold  up  his  Head,  look  lively,  his  Eyes  always  upon  the  Commanding 
Officer,  make  no  other  Motion  than  what  he  is  Commanded,  his  Feet  must  be  a 
little  Pace  distant  from  each  other,  his  Heels  in  a  straight  line,  his  Toes  turned 
a  little  outwards,  holding  the  Butt-end  of  the  Pike  in  his  Right  Hand,  stretched 
down  along  his  Body,  the  back  of  his  Hand  turned  outwards,  but  without  con- 
straint, the  Pike  must  be  kept  close  to  his  Shoulder  and  the  outside  of  his  Thigh, 
that  it  may  stand  straight  upward,  this  must  be  always  observed  with  an  Advanced 
Pike." 

Then  the  exercise  begins — "  Pikes,  take  heed  to  your  Exercise  ;  "  "To 
the  front  charge  ;  "  "As  you  were  ;  "  "To  the  Right,  charge  ;  "  and  so 
on,  the  movements  resembling  those  of  the  modern  bayonet  exercise. 

By  the  time  this  drill  book  was  issued,  fire-arms  had  passed  through  many 
complicated  stages  and  had  arrived  at  the  comparatively  simple  matchlock 
musket.  The  firing  exercise,  however,  was  an  elaborate  affair,  for  it  required 
forty  executive  words  of  command  to  call  a  platoon  to  attention,  load, 
fire  and  stand-at-ease.  Thus — "  Musketeers,  take  heed  to  your  Exercise 
— Joyn  your  Right  Hand  to  your  Muskets — Poise  your  Muskets — Joyn 
your  Left  Hand  to  your  Muskets — Handle  your  Matches — Blow  your 
Matches — Cock  your  Matches — Try  your  Matches,"  and  so  forth.  The 
match,  indeed,  was  a  fickle  affair,  as  appears  in  the  caution  provided  with 
the  command  "  Give  fire,"  viz.  "  As  soon  as  this  command  is  given,  you 
draw  the  Tricker  with  the  First  Finger,  drawing  the  cockt  Match  quick 
and  strong  upon  the  Pan.  If  it  discharge  or  not,  you  must  have  a  special 
care  that  you  draw  your  Tricker  but  once."  Sir  James  Turner,  our  principal 
authority  upon  the  Scots  armies  of  the  seventeenth  century,  tells  us  in 
Pallas  Armata  to  observe  that  "  all  this  multitude  of  postures  in  service 
are  redacted  to  three — make  readie,  present  and  give  fire  !  " 

The  pike  died  hard.  The  latest  issue  of  this  weapon  was  in  1703,  in 
the  proportion  of  one  pike  to  every  five  muskets  in  a  battalion ;  but  the 
pikes  were  recalled  in  the  following  year  and  in  1706,  Secretary-at-War 
St.  John  wrote  condemning  the  pike  as  useless  and  requiring  that  all  the 
infantry  should  be  armed  with  musket  and  bayonet.1  The  change  had  been 
impending  ever  since  the  earliest  form  of  bayonet  had  appeared  in  use 

1  Fortescue,  i.  584. 


BY  THE  EDITOR  15 

early  in  the  seventeenth  century.  But  that  was  nothing  better  than  a 
kind  of  dagger  which  had  to  be  screwed  into  the  muzzle  of  the  four-foot 
barrel  after  firing,  thereby  giving  the  enemy  time  to  rally  from  the  effect 
of  a  volley,  before  receiving  the  charge.  Hence  until  the  end  of  that  century 
battalions  were  composed  of  pikes  and  muskets  in  about  equal  numbers, 
the  pikemen  being  held  ready  to  charge  immediately  after  the  musketeers 
had  delivered  their  fire.  It  was  not  until  Mackay  of  Scourie  (defeated  at 
Killiecrankie)  invented,  or  adopted  from  the  French,  a  socket  for  the  bayonet 
to  fit  round  the  muzzle  of  the  piece  that  a  thoroughly  effective  combination 
was  contrived.1  By  the  time  that  Marlborough  became  Captain-General  in 
1702  only  a  small  proportion  of  pikemen  were  retained  in  the  ranks,  the 
matchlock  had  been  discarded  and  his  infantry  were  practically  all  armed 
with  flintlock  muskets  and  bayonets. 

It  has  been  shown  above  that,  from  the  earliest  times,  in  anything 
approaching  the  nature  of  a  pitched  battle,  the  Scots  fought  on  foot.  Never- 
theless, the  Lowland  Scots  were  an  equestrian  race,  and  the  development 
of  Border  raiding  as  a  regular  system  on  a  great  scale  during  the  War  of 
Independence  brought  large  bodies  of  horse  into  constant  use.  But  these 
troops  were  very  different  from  the  heavy  cavalry  of  the  English  and  Con- 
tinental armies.  There  has  always  been  some  doubt  as  to  the  exact  defini- 
tion of  a  man-at-arms  ;  probably  the  term  was  in  use  to  denote  men  of 
various  rank  and  equipment  at  different  periods.  At  all  events,  we  need 
not  trouble  ourselves  much  on  the  subject  in  connection  with  Scottish 
armies,  in  which  there  can  have  been  but  few,  if  any,  of  the  bacheliers  or 
bas-chevaliers  of  the  English  and  French  armies — a  class  of  gentry  who 
had  a  second  horse  and  a  valet  to  groom  horses  and  master. 

The  army  with  which  Moray  and  Douglas  invaded  England  in  1327, 
and  defeated  young  Edward  III.  in  his  first  campaign,  consisted  chiefly 
of  cavalry,  or  at  least  of  mounted  infantry,  for  they  were  of  that  irregular 
kind  which,  some  thirty  years  later,  so  favourably  impressed  the  experienced 
eye  of  Froissart.  He  thus  describes  them  in  his  account  of  the  said 
campaign  of  Weardale. 

"  The  Scots  are  bold,  hardy  and  much  inured  in  war.  When  they  make 
their  invasions  into  England,  they  march  from  20  to  24  miles  without  halting, 

1  "  Bayonet,"  in  French  bawnette,  so  named  from  Bayonne,  where  it  is  said  this  weapon 
was  first  made,  about  1650-60. 


16  INTRODUCTION 

as  well  by  night  as  by  day ;  for  they  are  all  on  horseback,  except  the  camp- 
followers,  who  are  on  foot.  The  knignts  and  squires  are  well  mounted  on  large 
bay  horses,  the  common  people  on  little  nags.  They  bring  no  waggons  with 
them  on  account  of  the  mountains  they  have  to  pass  in  Northumberland  ;  neither 
do  they  carry  with  them  any  provisions  of  bread  or  wine  ;  for  their  habits  are 
so  temperate  in  time  of  war  that  they  will  live  for  a  long  time  on  flesh  half-sodden, 
without  bread,  and  drink  the  river  water  without  wine.  They  have,  therefore, 
no  occasion  for  pots  or  pans,  for  they  dress  the  flesh  of  their  cattle  in  the  skins, 
after  flaying  them  ;  and  being  sure  to  find  plenty  of  cattle  in  the  country  which 
they  invade,  they  carry  none  with  them.  Under  the  flap  of  his  saddle  each  man 
carries  a  broad  plate  of  metal ;  behind  the  saddle  a  little  bag  of  oatmeal.  When 
they  have  eaten  too  much  of  the  sodden  flesh,  and  their  stomachs  feel  weak  and 
empty,  they  place  this  plate  over  the  fire,  mix  their  oatmeal  with  water,  and, 
when  the  plate  is  heated,  they  put  a  little  of  the  paste  upon  it,  and  make  a  thin 
cake  like  a  cracknel  or  biscuit,  which  they  eat  to  warm  their  stomachs.  In  this 
manner  the  Scots  entered  England,  destroying  and  burning  everything  as  they 
passed.  Their  army  consisted  of  4000  men-at-arms,  knights  and  esquires,  well- 
mounted  ;  besides  20,000  men,1  bold  and  hardy,  armed  after  the  manner  of  their 
country,  and  mounted  upon  little  hackneys  that  are  never  tied  up  or  dressed, 
but  are  turned  to  graze  on  the  heath  or  in  the  fields  directly  after  a  days  march."  z 

In  later  years,  after  the  union  of  the  Crowns,  Scottish  commanders 
relied  as  much  upon  their  cavalry  as  Cromwell  did  on  his  Ironsides.  John 
Spalding  has  sketched  for  us  the  appearance  of  the  troops  with  which  Mon- 
trose,  while  still  a  Covenanter,  made  triumphant  entry  into  royalist  Aberdeen 
on  30th  March,  1639,  and  als°  that  of  the  force  raised  by  the  Marquess  of 
Huntly — the  Cock  o'  the  North — to  oppose  him  withal. 

"  Vpone  the  morne.  being  Setterday,  thay  cam  in  order  of  battell  weill  armit 
both  on  horses  and  futt,  ilk  horsman  haveing  fyve  schot  at  the  leist,  quhairof 
he  had  ane  carrabin  in  his  hand,  tuo  pistollis  be  his  sydis,  and  vther  tua  at  his 
sadill  torr.  The  pikmen  in  thair  rankis  [with]  pik  and  sword  ;  the  muskiteiris 
in  thair  rankis  with  mvscat,  mvscat  staf,3  bandileir,  suord,  pulder  [powder], 
ball  and  matche.  Ilk  company  both  on  horss  and  fut  had  thair  capitans,  live- 
tennandis,  ensignes,  serjandis  and  vther  officiares  and  commanderis,  all  for  the 
most  pairt  in  bumll  coatis  and  goodlie  ordour.  Thay  had  5  culloris  or  ensignes  ; 
quhairof  the  Erll  of  Montroiss  had  ane,  haueing  this  motto  drawin  in  letteris 

FOR  RELIGIOUNE,  THE  COVENANT  AND  THE  COUNTRIE. 

The  Erll  Mareschall  had  one,  the  Erll  of  Kingorne  had  one,  and  the  toun  of  Dundy 
[Dundee]  had  two.  Thay  had  trumpettouris  to  ilk  company  of  horssmen  and 

1  These  figures  must  be  taken  with  the  reserve  necessary  in  regard  to  mediaeval  estimates 
of  numbers.  Harbour  is  probably  nearer  the  truth  with  10,000  "  guid  men."  Gray,  in 
Scalacronica,  says  that,  compared  to  the  English,  the  Scots  nestoint  qe  pay  des  gent*— were 
but  few  in  number. 

1  Froissart's  Chronicle,  book  i.  chap.  17. 

3  The  rest  whereon  the  long  musket  was  laid  for  aiming  and  firing. 


BY  THE  EDITOR  17 

drummeris  to  ilk  company  of  footmen.  Thay  had  thair  meit,  drink  and  vther 
prouisioun.  bag  and  baggage,  careit  with  thame,  done  all  be  advyss  of  his  ex- 
celence  Felt  Marshall  Leslie,  whose  counsall  Generall  Montroiss  follouit  in  this 
bussines.  .  .  .  Heir  it  is  to  be  nottit,  that  few  or  none  of  this  haile  army  wantit 
ane  blew  ribbin  hung  about  his  crag  [neck]  doun  wnder  his  left  arme,  quhilk  thay 
callit  the  covenanteris  ribbin,  becaus  the  Lord  Gordoun,  and  sum  vtheris  of  the 
Marques  1  barnes  [children]  and  famelie  had  ane  ribbin,  when  he  was  duelling 
in  the  toune,  of  ane  reid  flesche  cullour,  whiche  thay  weir  in  their  hatis,  and  callit 
it  the  royal  ribbin,  as  a  signe  of  thair  love  and  loyaltie  to  the  King.  In  dispyt 
or  derisioun  quhairof,  this  blew  ribbin  wes  worn,  and  called  the  covenanteris  ribbin 
be  the  haill  soldiouris  of  this  army,  and  wold  not  heir  of  the  royall  ribbin,  sic  wes 
thair  pryd  and  maleiss."  " 

Sir  James  Turner  informs  us  of  an  important  change  that  had  come 
about  in  cavalry  tactics  during  his  service.  In  the  early  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  it  had  been  the  practice  to  attach  to  every  troop  of  cuir- 
assiers, whose  only  fire-arms  were  pistols,  a  number  of  men  armed  with 
carbines  under  officers  of  their  own.  On  the  troop  or  squadron  going  into 
action,  the  carbiniers  were  ordered  to  the  front  to  deliver  a  volley  ;  they 
then  wheeled  outwards  and  retired,  leaving  the  way  clear  for  the  cuirassiers 
to  charge  with  the  sword.  The  lance — the  favourite  weapon  of  the  Scottish 
light  horse  in  the  War  of  Independence — was  no  longer  in  use  in  Turner's 
day,  which  he  was  inclined  to  deplore.  "  I  shall  not  doubt  but  there  be 
strong  reasons  (though  I  know  them  not)  why  our  European  Generals  for 
most  part  have  abandon'd  the  use  of  the  Lance,  yet  it  will  not  be  deny'd 
but  it  hath  been  a  serviceable  weapon  heretofore,  even  since  Gunpowder 
and  all  manner  of  guns  were  found  out."  Turner's  views  upon  this  matter 
have  been  fully  justified  by  the  important  part  played  by  the  lance  in  the 
wars  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  old  distinctive  terms  of  cavalry — Cuirassiers,  Hussars,  Carbiniers 
and  Dragoons — have  parted  with  their  former  significance  in  modern  armies  ; 
but  they  all  had  specific  meaning  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries. 
"  Dragoons,"  says  Turner,  "  are  Musketeers  mounted  on  Horses,  appointed 
to  march  with  the  Cavalry.  .  .  .  Their  service  is  on  foot,  and  is  no  other 
than  that  of  Musketeers.  .  .  .  When  they  alight,  they  cast  their  Bridle 
Reins  over  the  necks  of  their  side-men's  Horses,  and  leave  them  in  that 
same  order  as  they  marched.  Of  ten  Dragoons,  nine  fight,  and  the  tenth 
man  keeps  the  ten  Horses." 

1  George,  2nd  Marquess  of  Huntly,  executed  in  1649. 

1  Memorialls  of  the  Trubles  in  Scotland,  by  John  Spalding,  Spalding  Club,  vol.  i.  p.  154 


i8  INTRODUCTION 

According  to  Barbour,  Scottish  troops  made  their  first  acquaintance 
with  artillery  in  the  campaign  of  Weardale  in  1327. 

Twa  novelryis  that  day  tha  saw  Two  novelties  that  day  they  saw 

That  forouth  in  Scotland  had  been  nane;      Which  previously  in  Scotland  had  not  been; 

Tymbris  for  helmis  was  the  tane,  Crests  for  helmets  was  the  one. 

That  tham  thocht  of  gret  beaute,  Which  they  thought  of  great  beauty, 

And  alsua  wondir  for  to  se  ;  And  also  wonderful  to  see. 

The  tothir  crakis  war  of  wer  The  other  was  cracks  of  war 

That  tha  befor  herd  nevir  er  ;  Which  they  had  never  heard  before. 

Of  thir  twa  thingis  tha  had  ferly.  These  two  things  they  thought  wonderful. 

It  is  not  recorded  that  King  Edward's  cannon  wrought  any  damage 
upon  the  Scots,  so  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  poet  was  more  deeply  impressed 
by  the  new  and  elegant  fashion  of  crests  on  the  helmets  of  knights.  Nor 
do  we  hear  much  of  the  use  of  artillery  in  the  Scottish  service  until  the 
reign  of  James  II.,  when  that  mighty  bombard  called  Mons  Meg,  still  so 
conspicuous  an  object  on  the  north  rampart  of  Edinburgh  Castle,  made 
itself  heard  and  felt.  It  has  never  been  decided  (even  the  Society  of  Scottish 
Antiquaries  maintain  a  discreet  silence  on  the  question)  whether  this  huge 
piece,  13  ft.  long  and  2  ft.  3  in.  across  the  bore,  was  made  at  Mons  in 
Flanders,  as  its  name  would  seem  to  imply,  or,  as  persistent  tradition 
maintains,  was  forged  in  Galloway  by  the  blacksmith  M'Kim  and  his  sons, 
to  enable  King  James  to  breach  the  walls  of  the  Threave,  when  that  strong- 
hold of  the  rebellious  Douglas  was  held  against  him.  Possibly  neither 
view  is  quite  correct,  for  although  the  gun  is  first  mentioned  in  an  entry 
in  the  Exchequer  Accounts  for  1442,  recording  a  payment  of  £5  to  Master 
Nicholas  the  Carpenter,  who  rode  to  Galloway  to  superintend  the  trans- 
port of  the  King's  great  bombard,1  yet  the  Threave  was  not  besieged  until 
1455  ;  wherefore  Mons  Meg,  if  that  is  the  magnum  bombardum  referred  to, 
cannot  have  been  forged  specially  for  that  occasion.  Nor  is  it  probable 
that,  at  any  time,  any  blacksmith  in  a  rural  neighbourhood  could  have 
possessed  the  means  for  forging  this  mighty  piece  of  ordnance.  It  was 
employed  in  the  siege  of  Hatton  in  Berwickshire  in  1453,  whither  it  was 
carried  on  four  carts  at  a  cost  of  £48  153.  6d.  ;  against  Abercorn  and  Threave 
in  1455,  and  again,  by  James  IV.  in  1489  in  the  reduction  of  Dunbarton 
Castle.  The  anonymous  author  of  the  Auchinleck  Chronicle  speaks  with 
admiration  of  the  accuracy  of  practice  with  Mons  Meg  at  the  siege  of  Aber- 
corn. "  The  king  [James  III.]  remanit  still  at  the  sege,  and  gart  2  strek 

1  Pro  levacione  magni  bombardi  domini  regis.  2  Caused. 


BY  THE  EDITOR  19 

mony  of  the  towns  doun  with  the  gret  gun,  the  quhilk  a  Francheman  schot 
richt  wele,  and  falyeit  na  shot  within  a  faldome  1  quhar  it  was  chargit  him 
to  hit."  King  James's  keen  interest  in  artillery  cost  him  dear.  Let  Lindsay 
of  Pitscottie  record  in  his  own  delectable  language  what  happened  at  the 
siege  of  Roxburgh  Castle,  which  was  held  by  the  English,  in  1460. 

"  Albeit  ane  great  pairt  of  the  keiperis  of  the  house  was  parichit  and  tint  for2 
hunger  and  thirst,  straitlie  owersett  be  seigeris,3  jeit  nocht  the  les  they  per- 
sewerit  so  stoutlie  without  regaird  of  all  thair  adverssaris  that  the  persewaris 
war  all  maist  tint 4  in  the  lang  seiging  ;  quhill 5  Alexander  earle  of  huntlieis  com- 
ming,  quho  brocht  ane  great  companie  of  choissin  men,  quhilk  maid  the  king 
so  blytht  that  he  commandit  to  charge  all  the  gunnis  to  gif  the  castell  ane  new 
wollie.8  Bot  quhill  this  prince,  mair  curieous  nor  becam  him  or  the  majestic 
of  ane  king,  did  stand  neir  hand  by  the  gunneris  quhen  the  artail^erie  was  dis- 
chargand,  his  thie  baine  was  doung  in  tua  7  with  ane  peace  of  ane  misframit  gune  8 
that  brak  in  the  schutting,  be  the  quhilk  he  was  strikin  to  the  ground  and  dieit 
haistilie  thereof,  quhilk  grettumlie  discuragit  all  his  nobill  gentillmen  and  freinds 
that  war  standand  about  him.  Bot  he  commandit  all  that  knew  his  misfortoun 
to  hald  thair  sielence  and  nocht  dewullgat 9  the  samin  throwout  the  camp,  incace 
it  sould  discurage  the  souldartis  and  men  of  weir,  and  sa  they  sould  schamefullie 
dissoulve  the  seige."10 

Field  artillery  played  no  great  part  in  the  civil  wars  in  Scotland  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  usually  a  trustworthy  guide  in 
the  history  of  his  country,  was  misled  into  describing  Monmouth's  army 
at  Bothwell  Brig  (1679)  as  being  accompanied  by  "  a  complete  train  of 
field  artillery."  u  In  fact  there  were  but  four  guns  on  either  side  in  that 
battle,12  and  how  the  royal  battery  was  served  may  be  gathered  from  the 
report  of  the  officer  commanding  it. 

"  ARTILLERY  CONCERNS 

humblv  proposed  by  John  Slezer,  Lieut,  of  Artillery. 

The  Establishment  of  Artillery  Attenders  within  the  Kingdom  of  Scotland 
consists  only  of  four  gunners  to  serve  in  his  Majesty's  Castles.  I  am  honoured, 
indeed,  with  a  Lieutenants  place  of  the  Ordnance  for  that  Kingdome.  But  I 
have  neither  Gunner  nor  no  living  soul  to  dispose  on,  nor  do  I  know  where  to 
find  out  one  single  man  fit  for  that  purpose  when  there  shall  be  occasion  for  it, 
as  did  appear  in  the  last  Rebellion  at  Bodwell  Bridge,  when  every  Governor 
thought  to  find  use  for  his  own  Gunners,  and  that,  with  much  adoe,  I  obtained 
only  one  gunner  to  go  along  with  four  pieces  of  Canon,  besides  three  men  that 
were  pressed  from  Leith,  who  proved  very  unfit  for  that  service." 

1  A  fathom.          -  Perished  and  lost.          3  Closely  beleaguered  by  besiegers.  «  Lost. 

;"'  Until.  °  Volley.  ~  His  thigh  bone  was  broken  in  two.  8  Badly  made  gun. 

9  Divulge.  10  Pitscottie,  chap.  xxx.  "  Old  Mortality,  chap.  xxx. 

12  Kirkton,  in  his  Church  of  Scotland,  says  the  Covenanters  army  had  only  one  gun. 


20  INTRODUCTION 

It  does  not  appear  from  Lieut.  Slezer's  report  what  his  guns  were  made 
of.  They  may  have  been  of  iron,  brass  or  leather ;  for,  strange  as  it  may 
seem  in  our  own  days  of  high  explosives,  leathern  ordnance  was  much  in 
use  during  the  seventeenth  century.  Guns  of  that  material  possessed  the 
quality  of  mobility,  so  essential  in  field-pieces,  and  one  hundred  years  had 
yet  to  run  before  Frederick  the  Great  solved  the  problem  by  creating  horse 
artillery.  According  to  one  account  of  the  battle  of  Killiecrankie  (1689), 
Dundee,  though  he  did  not  survive  it,  won  the  victory  by  a  charge  of  cavalry 
that  captured  Mackay's  whole  field  artillery,  consisting  of  three  leathern 
guns  !  Mackay  himself  reported  differently,  declaring  that  the  gun  carriages 
broke  down  after  three  rounds  had  been  fired. 

The  credit  of  inventing  guns  made  of  leather,  strengthened  by  hoops 
of  iron  and  lined  with  tin,  is  claimed  for  Sir  Alexander  Hamilton,  Master 
of  Ordnance  to  Gustavus  Adolphus,  after  whom  they  were  called  by  the 
soldiers  "  Sandy's  stoups."  Gustavus  discarded  these  guns  after  giving 
them  a  good  trial,  for  he  found  they  would  not  outlast  a  dozen  rounds. 
Improvements  upon  the  manufacture  were  afterwards  devised  by  Colonel 
James  Wemyss,  son  of  Sir  James  Wemyss  of  Caskieberry  in  Fife.  This 
officer  was  appointed  Master  Gunner  in  the  English  army  of  Charles  I.  in 
1638,  "  with  a  pension  of  £300  per  annum  for  his  life,"  says  Clarendon, 
"which  was  looked  upon  as  some  disrespect  to  the  nation."1  King 
Charles's  troubles  no  doubt  interfered  with  the  regular  payment  of 
Wemyss's  pension,  which  may  perhaps  account  for  our  finding  him 
serving  as  General  of  Ordnance  in  Waller's  parliamentarian  army.  At 
Cropredy  Bridge,  near  Banbury,  Waller  was  badly  defeated  by  the  King 
in  person  (2Qth  June,  1644).  Wemyss  was  taken  prisoner,  having  lost 
his  whole  park  of  eleven  guns,  besides  what  Clarendon  calls  "  two  barri- 
cadoes  of  wood,  which  were  drawn  upon  wheels,  and  in  each  seven  small 
brass  and  leather  guns  charged  with  case  shot  " — prototypes  of  the  modern 
armoured  car. 

In  1648  Wemyss  shared  the  disfavour  into  which  his  chief  Waller  was 
dragged  by  sectarian  acrimony.  Returning  to  his  native  land,  he  received 
from  the  Scottish  Parliament  privilege  for  the  secret  manufacture  of  leathern 
guns  for  three  terms  of  nineteen  years.  In  the  following  year  he  was  ap- 
pointed General  of  Artillery  in  Lesley's  army  ;  but  ill  luck  still  dogged  him, 

1  Clarendon's  Rebellion,  book  viii. 


BY  THE  EDITOR  21 

and  he  lost  all  his  thirty  field  guns  to  Cromwell  at  the  battle  of  Dunbar 
(3rd  September,  1650)  .* 

Little  has  been  said  in  these  notes  about  the  dress  of  Scottish  soldiers 
before  there  was  any  standing  army  ;  indeed  there  is  very  little  light  on 
this  subject  before  the  eighteenth  century.  Uniform,  in  the  modern  sense, 
for  European  troops  is  first  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Flemish 
militia  at  the  battle  of  Courtrai  in  1302.  In  the  English  army  we  first 
hear  of  it  in  1337,  when  Edward  III.  caused  his  Welsh  spearmen  to  be 
provided  with  a  tunic  and  a  mantle  of  uniform  colour  and  material,  but 
the  colour  of  this  clothing  is  not  specified.2  The  Scottish  Parliament, 
though  from  time  to  time  prescribing  the  weapons  and  defensive  armour 
to  be  carried  by  men  according  to  their  rank,  gave  no  instruction  about 
clothing.  One  cannot  suppose  that  there  was  anything  of  the  nature  of 
uniform  in  Bruce's  army  at  Bannockburn.  His  columns  must  have  been 
in  sombre,  even  dingy,  contrast  to  the  glittering  array  of  King  Edward's 
host.  The  Scottish  rank  and  file  would  wear  their  ordinary  every-day 
clothing — the  lowlanders  in  hodden  grey  and  coarse  blue  or  brown  cloth  ; 
the  men  from  the  Lennox,  Argyll  and  the  Isles,  and  beyond  the  Mounth 
perhaps  in  kilt  and  plaid  of  a  far  simpler  kind  than  the  present  elaborate 
Highland  dress.  Shirts  of  mail  and  iron  caps  would  be  worn  by  all  who 
could  afford  them,  as  a  protection  against  the  dreaded  archery  of  England. 
The  barons,  knights,  and  squires  would  be  clad  in  mail,  with  coloured 
jupons  or  surcoats  over  it,  conspicuous  in  that  dusky  throng.  Barbour, 
who  no  doubt  collected  facts  for  his  great  epic  from  men  who  had  fought 
at  Bannockburn,  has  nothing  to  tell  about  the  dress  of  his  countrymen 
except  that  King  Robert  wore  "  ane  hat  of  quyrbolle  "  3  encircled  by 
a  crown.  But  the  splendour  of  the  English  array  must  have  mightily 
impressed  the  poet's  informant,  for  Barbour  lets  himself  go  on  the  subject. 

And  sone  the  gret  hoste  haf  tha  sene,  And  soon  the  great  host  have  they  seen, 

Quhar  scheldis  schynand  war  sa  schene,  Wherein  shining  shields  were  so  gay. 

And  basnetis  wele  burnist  bricht.  And  basnets  well  burnished  so  bright. 

That  gaf  agane  the  sone  gret  licht  ;  That  reflected  the  sun's  great  light : 

Tha  saw  sa  fele  browdyn  baneris,  They  saw  so  many  broidered  banners, 

Standartis,  and  pennounis  apon  speris.  Standards,  and  pennons  upon  spears, 

1  Wemyss's  son  married  the  Countess  of  Wemyss  in  her  own  right,  was  made  Lord  Burnt- 
island  and  became  the  father  of  the  third  Earl  of  Wemyss. 

2  Fortescue's  History  of  the  British  Army,  i.  28. 

3  Quyrbolle,  i.e.  cuir  bouilli,  jacked  leather. 


INTRODUCTION 


And  sa  fele  knichtis  apon  stedis 
All  flawamand  untill  thar  wedis, 
And  sa  fele  battalis  and  sa  brad, 
That  tuk  sa  gret  roum  as  tha  rad. 
That  the  mast  host  and  the  stoutest 
Of  Cristindome,  and  ek  the  best, 
Suld  be  abasit  for  to  se 
Thar  fais  into  sic  quantite. 
And  sa  arait  for  to  ficht. 


And  so  many  knights  upon  steeds 
All  conspicuous  in  their  attire, 
And  so  many  columns,  and  so  broad, 
That  took  such  great  room  as  they  rode, 
That  the  greatest  host  and  the  strongest 
Of  Christendom  —  aye,  and  the  best  — 
Might  be  dismayed  to  see 
Their  foes  in  such  quantity, 
And  so  well  arrayed  for  fighting. 


Nevertheless,  it  was  essential,  especially  in  the  days  when  battles  were 
decided  by  hand-to-hand  fighting,  that  the  troops  on  either  side  should 
bear  some  distinguishing  badge  or  other  mark  of  comradeship.  We  know 
not  what  device  was  displayed  by  Bruce's  motley  host.  It  may  have  been 
a  scarf,  which  is  the  origin  of  the  sash  worn  by  officers  at  the  present  day, 
or  a  cross  of  some  distinctive  colour,  for  that  symbol  had  come  into  general 
use  in  the  armies  of  all  European  countries  since  the  Crusades.  English 
soldiers  in  the  fourteenth  century  wore  a  white  cross  on  service,  afterwards 
changed  to  the  red  cross  of  St.  George.  When  the  English  fell  out  among 
themselves,  each  side  had  to  choose  some  conspicuous  mark  to  avoid  con- 
fusion with  the  enemy,  as  in  the  Wars  of  the  Roses.  And  this,  no  doubt, 
was  the  origin  of  the  badges  of  the  Highland  clans—  a  spray  of  holly,  oak, 
or  pine,  being  less  liable  to  be  mistaken  in  a  mellay  than  the  exact  "  set  " 
of  a  tartan. 

As  time  went  on,  as  the  kingdom  became  consolidated  and  the  greater 
barons  acquired  power  and  wealth  derived  from  immense  estates,  they 
took  pride  in  arraying  their  armed  followers  in  their  several  liveries.  A 
typical  example  may  be  found  in  Lindsay  of  Pitscottie's  description  of 
the  famous  scene  at  Lauder  in  1482,  when  Archibald,  fifth  Earl  of  Angus, 
won  his  sobriquet  of  "  Bell  the  Cat."  James  III.,  being  in  advance  of  his 
court  in  a  taste  for  letters  and  the  fine  arts,  had  given  grave  offence  to  Angus 
and  other  nobles  by  bestowing  his  own  dead  brother's  earldom  of  Mar  upon 
Thomas  Cochrane,  an  architect,  whom  he  had  made  his  chief  favourite. 
In  1481  Parliament  declared  war  against  "  the  revare  [robber]  Edward 
calland  himself  King  of  England."  Angus,  as  Warden  of  the  Marches, 
summoned  the  forces  to  muster,  and  King  James  marched  at  the  head  of 
his  army  as  far  as  Lauder.  He  had  done  more  wisely  to  leave  Cochrane  in 
Edinburgh  ;  instead  of  that,  he  brought  him  along  in  all  the  pomp  and 
display  appropriate  to  an  Earl  of  Mar.  Angus  and  the  other  lords  could 


BY  THE  EDITOR  23 

not  brook  this.  They  assembled  in  the  kirk  of  Lauder  to  take  measures 
for  purging  the  court  of  "  fiddlers  and  bricklayers."  They  were  all  agreed 
it  should  be  done,  but  who  was  to  do  it  ?  Lord  Gray  sarcastically  compared 
the  meeting  to  that  of  the  mice  who  had  resolved  unanimously,  in  the  com- 
mon interest,  that  a  bell  should  be  hung  round  the  cat's  neck  ;  but  what 
mouse  had  the  hardihood  for  so  ticklish  a  task  ?  "I  WILL  BELL  THE  CAT," 
quoth  Angus. 

What  followed  is  thus  described  by  Pitscottie  : 

"  Couchrane  the  earle  of  Mar  came  from  the  king  to  the  consall,  quhilk  consall 
was  haldin  in  the  kirk  of  Lawder  for  the  tyme.  He  was  weill  accompanit  witht 
ane  band  of  men  of  weir  *  to  the  number  of  iiic  light  aixiss  z  all  clad  in  quhyt 
cloth  and  blak  bendis  thairon,  that  thay  might  be  knawin  for  Couchrane  the 
Earle  of  Maris  men  and  himself  was  clad  in  ane  ryding  pie  of  blak  wellvet,  ane 
gret  chcnzie  of  gould  about  his  hallis  3  to  the  awaillour  of  vc  crounes,  ane  fair 
blawing  home,  witht  ane  baitharage4  of  gould  and  silk  sett  with  pretious  stanis. 
His  home  was  typit  witht  fyne  gould  at  everie  end,  and  ane  pretious  stone  callit 
ane  burriall  6  hingand  6  in  the  midst.  This  Couchrane  had  his  hellmund  7  borne 
besyd  him  ower  gilt  with  gould  and  so  was  all  the  rest  of  his  harnes  and  all  his 
paillseouns  8  was  of  fyne  cammes  of  silk  and  the  cordis  thairof  of  fyne  twynit  9 
silk  and  the  chains  wpoun  his  paillseounis  was  doubill  owergilt  with  gould." 

William  Patten,  whose  testimony  to  the  efficiency  and  discipline  of 
the  pikemen  in  Arran's  army  at  Pinkie  in  1547  has  been  quoted  above, 
wrote  disparagingly  of  the  dress  of  the  Scots  troops  on  that  occasion. 

"  Another  and  not  the  meanest  matter  was  that  their  armour  among  theim 
so  little  differing  and  their  apparail  so  base  and  beggerly,  whearin  the  lurdein 
was  in  a  maner  all  one  wyth  the  horde,  and  the  lounde  wyth  the  larde :  all  clad 
a  lyke  in  jackes  coovered  wyth  whyte  leather,  dooblettes  of  the  same  or  of  fustian, 
and  most  commonly  al  white  hosen.  Not  one  with  either  cheine,  brooch,  ryng 
or  garment  of  silke  that  I  coold  see,  only  cheynes  of  latten  drawen  four  or  fyve 
tymes  along  the  thighs  of  their  hosen  and  dooblet  sieves  for  cuttyng,  and  of  the 
sort  I  sawe  many.  This  vilnes  of  port  was  the  caus  that  so  many  of  their  great 
men  and  gentlemen  wear  kyld  and  so  fewe  saved.10  The  outwarde  sheaw,  the 
semblaunce  and  sign,  whearby  a  straunger  might  discern  a  villain  from  a  gentle- 
man, was  not  amoong  them  to  be  seen." 

The  uniform  of  the  Lowland  Scottish  infantry  regiments  at  the  present 
day  cannot  be  deemed  satisfactory  either  in  a  historic  or  an  aesthetic  sense. 

1  War.  »  Battle  axes.  »  Neck. 

4  Baldrick,  belt.  5  Beryl.  6  Hanging. 

7  Helmet.  »  Tents,  pavilions.  "  Twisted. 

10  It  was  always  an  object  of  importance  to  capture,  rather  than  to  kill,  lords  and  knights, 
in  order  that  they  might  be  held  to  ransom. 


24  INTRODUCTION 

Under  the  reorganisation  scheme  of  Mr.  Childers  in  1881  they  were  all, 
except  the  Scots  Guards,  clothed  in  Highland  doublets  and  tartan  trews.1 
Pipers  also  were  added  to  the  establishment  of  each  regiment,  and  the 
officers  exchanged  the  ordinary  infantry  sword  for  the  claymore.  Now, 
in  the  present  writer's  opinion,  if  the  change  were  to  be  made  it  ought  not 
to  have  stopped  half-way.  Doublets,  trews,  bagpipes  and  claymores  are 
as  essentially  Highland  in  character  as  the  kilt,  the  plaid  and  the  sporran, 
which  are  the  most  attractive  features  in  the  Highland  dress.  Rightly 
or  wrongly,  in  all  foreign  countries,  as  well  as  in  the  Dominions  of  Canada 
and  Australasia,  the  kilt  is  regarded  as  the  distinctive  dress  of  the  Scottish 
infantry.  And  here,  at  home,  one  has  but  to  attend  any  considerable 
review  of  troops  to  witness  the  enthusiasm  aroused  among  English  and 
foreign  spectators  by  the  appearance  of  the  Highland  regiments.  Why, 
then,  should  not  this  sentiment  be  recognised  and  acted  on  ?  Tartan 
trews  and  doublets  are  not  one  whit  more  appropriate  to  Lowland  infantry 
than  the  philabeg  and  sporran  ;  but  there  they  are,  and  the  plain  course 
seems  to  be  to  carry  the  change  a  step  further,  acknowledging  the  Highland 
dress  as  the  national  military  costume,  and  making  it  the  uniform  of  all 
the  Lowland  regiments,  excepting  (perhaps  not  excepting)  the  Scots  Guards. 
Tartan  is  not  essential,  nor  the  theatrical  feather  bonnet ;  witness  the 
splendidly  soldier-like  appearance  of  the  London  Scottish,  clad  in  the 
historic  "  hodden  grey  "  and  Glengarry  caps. 

At  present,  the  Lowland  regiments  undoubtedly  stand  at  a  disadvantage 
in  relation  to  Highland  regiments,  owing  entirely  to  the  superior  picturesque- 
ness,  and  consequent  popularity,  of  the  kilt.2  If  anyone  doubts  this,  here 
is  the  proof.  In  order,  I  suppose  to  gratify  the  expectation  of  tourists, 
the  military  authorities  have  decreed  than  none  but  Highland  regiments 
shall  garrison  the  capital  of  Scotland,  notwithstanding  that  all  the  Low- 
land regiments,  except  the  second  battalion  of  the  Cameronians  (the  old 
goth  Light  Infantry),  are  of  far  higher  antiquity  than  any  of  the  Highland 
corps.  Even  the  old  Edinburgh  regiment,  now  the  King's  Own  Scottish 

1  When  the  Army  Bill  of  that  year  was  in  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  the  late 
Sir  Charles  Dalrymple,  member  for  Buteshire,  holding  a  commission  in  a  Scottish  militia 
regiment,  expressed  strong  disapproval  of  the  change  in  the  uniform  and  exclaimed  in  the 
course  of  a  vigorous  protest—"  Trews,  'tis  trews,  and  pity  'tis  'tis  trews." 

2  Some  of  the  new  battalions  of  the  old  Lowland  Scots  regiments  raised  during  the  war  have  been 
clothed  in  Highland  dress. 


BY  THE  EDITOR  25 

Borderers,  which  was  raised  in  the  capital  in  1689,  is  not  considered  eligible 
as  a  garrison  for  its  own  birthplace  or  to  furnish  a  guard  for  the  Royal  Palace 
of  Holyrood.  Herein  is  a  legitimate  grievance.  Soldiers  themselves  know 
their  duty  too  well  to  give  utterance  to  it ;  but  we  civilians  do  strongly 
protest  against  what  is  virtually  a  slight  upon  regiments  which  have  a 
record  of  service  second  to  none.  It  is  meet  and  right  that  a  full  meed  of 
honour  should  be  accorded  to  our  Highland  regiments  for  their  glorious 
record,  but  it  should  not  be  allowed  to  eclipse  the  fame  or  stint  the  popu- 
larity of  the  Lowland  corps.  We  feel  it  to  be  our  duty  to  show  that  the 
action  of  the  War  Office  has  been  for  many  years  consistently  unfavourable 
to  the  Lowland  regiments,  especially  in  the  vital  matter  of  recruiting.  This 
has  been  notably  the  case  during  the  present  war. 

Take,  for  example,  the  communique  which  appeared  in  the  press  during 
1916  to  the  effect  that  the  military  authorities  had  given  assurance  that, 
recent  regulations  for  recruiting  notwithstanding,  the  Highland  regiments 
should  in  all  cases  be  supplied  with  recruits  of  Scottish  nationality  ;  and 
take  in  connection  with  this  special  act  of  grace  to  Highland  corps  the 
fact  that,  just  about  the  time  this  notice  appeared,  a  strong  draft  was 
taken  from  a  battalion  of  a  certain  Lowland  regiment  and  sent  to 
replenish  the  ranks  of  an  English  battalion,  while  simultaneously,  or 
nearly  so,  that  same  Lowland  regiment  was  receiving  considerable  drafts 
from  battalions  of  the  Sherwood  Foresters,  the  Lincolnshire,  and  one 
of  the  Yorkshire  regiments.  In  the  stress  and  strain  of  a  great  war, 
men  of  course  must  hold  themselves  ready  to  serve  where  there  is 
need  for  them,  regardless  of  their  nationality  or  private  preference  ;  but 
to  exempt  certain  regiments  from  this  obligation  is  to  pass  a  slight  upon 
less  favoured  ones,  wounding  their  amour-propre,  and  weakening  their 
esprit  de  corps. 

Not  only  has  the  character  and  reputation  of  our  Lowland  regiments 
been  obscured  by  the  system  in  vogue,  but  a  slur  has  been  cast  upon  the 
military  spirit  of  the  whole  population  of  the  Scottish  Lowlands,  whence 
it  is  no  disparagement  to  the  Highlands  to  admit  that  by  far  the  larger 
number  of  Scottish  recruits  is  drawn.  This  will  be  clearly  seen  on  com- 
paring the  population  of  the  Highlands  with  that  of  the  Lowlands.  The 
Highlands  have  a  population,  according  to  the  census  of  1911,  of  861,023 
against  3,899,881  in  the  Lowlands,  yet  there  are  twelve  Highland  battalions 


26  INTRODUCTION 

of  the  Line  as  against  ten  Lowland  infantry  battalions  and  one  regiment 
of  Lowland  cavalry.1 

The  disproportion  in  population  was  so  manifest — the  prospect  of  main- 
taining the  strength  of  the  Highland  regiments  with  recruits  drawn  from 
the  Highlands  proper  so  hopeless — that  when  the  new  regimental  districts 
were  formed  in  1882  there  was  assigned  to  the  Highland  regiments  a  Low- 
land area  containing  a  population  of  2,222,891,  while  to  the  Lowland  regi- 
ments was  allotted  an  area  containing  only  1,201,766. 

Even  this  has  not  been  found  sufficient  to  fill  the  ranks  of  the  Highland 
regiments.  Special  facilities  have  been  accorded  to  them  for  recruiting 
in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  and  refused  to  Lowland  regiments.  The  Black 
Watch,  the  Highland  Light  Infantry,  the  Seaforth  Highlanders  and  the 
Argyll  and  Sutherland  Highlanders  were  each  accorded  permission  to  open 
regimental  recruiting  rooms  in  Edinburgh,  but  applications  on  behalf  of 
Lowland  regiments  for  similar  facilities  were  refused. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  great  war  a  remarkable  circular  was  issued  by  the 
Central  Recruiting  Committee  in  Edinburgh  to  other  recruiting  offices.  It 
was  dated  28th  August,  1914,  and  contained  the  statement  that  "  the  High- 
land regiments  are  not  getting  filled  up  as  fast  as  we  would  like,"  and  with 
it  was  enclosed  a  list  of  about  two  hundred  surnames  with  the  following 
injunction  : — "  What  we  would  like  you  to  do  is  to  let  it  be  known  privately 
to  those  in  charge  of  the  Recruiting  Offices  in  your  area  that  men  bearing 
these  names  should  be  encouraged  to  join  Highland  regiments."  Now 
the  compilers  of  the  aforesaid  list  seem  to  have  been  under  the  impression 
that  all  persons  whose  names  begin  with  "  Mac  "  must  be  of  Highland 
descent  or,  at  all  events,  must  be  made  to  pass  as  Highlanders.  Was  there 
ever  a  clearer  instance  of  attempting  a  "  fake  "  ?  Take  the  southernmost 
district  of  Scotland — the  ancient  province  of  Galloway,  which  has  been 
divided  between  two  regimental  districts,  viz.  the  2ist,  that  of  the  Royal 
Scots  Fusiliers,  and  the  25th,  that  of  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers. 
The  late  Mr.  Dudgeon  of  Cargen  devoted  careful  analysis  to  the  surnames 

1  The  six  Highland  regiments  have  each  two  battalions  of  the  Line,  viz.  the  Black 
Watch,  the  Highland  Light  Infantry,  the  Seaforth  Highlanders,  the  Cameron  Highlanders, 
the  Argyll  and  Sutherland  Highlanders  and  the  Gordon  Highlanders.  The  Lowland 
Infantry  regiments,  each  with  two  regular  battalions,  are  the  Scots  Guards,  the  Royal 
Scots,  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers,  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers  and  the  Cameronians 
(Scottish  Rifles).  To  these  must  be  added  one  cavalry  regiment — the  2nd  Dragoons  (Royal 
Scots  Greys). 


BY  THE  EDITOR  27 

of  Galloway,  and  in  a  brochure  which  he  published  on  the  subject  in  1888 
sums  up  the  "  Macs  "  as  follows  : 

"  It  appears  that  the  percentage  of  names  commencing  with  Mac,  Mc  and  M' 
in  all  Scotland  is  about  10.5  per  cent.  In  Galloway  it  is  19.48  per  cent.  ;  Wigtown- 
shire 23.75  per  cent.  ;  Stewartry  of  Kirkcudbright  15.2  per  cent.  No  doubt, 
taking  some  of  the  purely  Highland  districts  the  percentage  of  names  with  the 
prefix  Mac  will  be  found  greater  than  in  Galloway  ;  but  no  one  district  containing 
an  equal  population  to  that  of  Galloway  will,  I  think,  be  found  to  have  so  great 
a  percentage."  1 

But  the  Central  Recruiting  Committee  are  not  satisfied  with  claiming 
all  "  Macs  "  as  Highlanders.  In  the  list  which  they  circulated  are  contained 
names  so  common  in  the  Lowlands  as  Stewart,  Gumming,  Graham,  Davidson, 
Spalding,  Robertson,  Shaw  and  Morrison.  We  in  the  Lowlands  yield  to 
none  in  affection  for  and  pride  in  our  splendid  Highland  regiments  ;  we 
entertain  no  objection  to  their  ranks  being  replenished,  when  necessary, 
by  drafts  from  the  Lowland  corps  ;  but  we  claim  that,  in  the  matter  of 
recruiting,  Highland  and  Lowland  regiments  should  be  placed  on  an  even 
footing. 

The  long  and  wasteful  war  with  England  told  with  desperate  effect 
upon  the  resources  of  Scotland,  draining  alike  the  public  exchequer  and 
the  private  means  of  the  people,  so  that,  before  the  sixteenth  century  had 
run  half  its  course,  grinding  poverty  was  almost  universal  in  the  land. 
Barely  had  its  mineral  wealth  been  tapped,  for  although  the  burgesses  of 
Edinburgh  brought  in  coal  from  Fife,  the  supply  was  not  so  generous  as 
to  earn  for  the  Scottish  capital  its  later  title  of  Auld  Reekie.2  Agriculture 
languished,  and  the  day  was  still  far  distant  when  landowners  should  be  able 
to  fulfil  the  ideal  set  before  them  by  the  Scottish  Parliament  of  1426,  namely, 
"  to  big,  reparrell  and  reforme  their  castles  and  manors,  and  dwel  in  them 
be  them  selfes,  for  the  gratious  governall  of  their  landes  be  gude  policie."  3 
No  attempt  had  been  made  to  restore  by  planting  any  part  of  the  forests 
which  had  been  so  improvidently  consumed.  The  only  goods  exported 

1  Macs  in  Galloway,  by  P.  Dudgeon  of  Cargen  (Edinburgh,  David  Douglas,  1888),  p.  22. 

*  Robert  Chambers,  in  his  Traditions  of  Edinburgh  (1823),  assigns  the  origin  of  the  sobriquet 
to  the  famous  golfer,  James  Durham  of  Largo.  "  He  was  in  the  habit  of  regulating  the  time 
of  evening  worship  by  the  appearance  of  the  smoke  of  Edinburgh.  When  it  increased 
in  density,  in  consequence  of  the  good  folk  preparing  supper,  he  would  say  :  '  It  is  time  noo, 
bairns,  to  tak  the  buiks  and  gang  to  our  beds,  for  yonder's  Auld  Reekie,  I  see,  putting  on  her 
nightcap.'  " 

3  Fifth  Parliament  of  James  I.  cap.  82. 


28  INTRODUCTION 

were  hides,  wool  and  barrels  of  salmon  and  herrings.  The  name  of  Scot 
had  become  a  byword  for  poverty  throughout  Western  Europe. 

But  not  for  poverty  alone.  Scotsmen  were  earning  renown  on  the 
Continent  as  the  hardiest  and  most  dauntless  soldiers  to  be  found  anywhere. 
During  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  the  heads  and  cadets  of 
noble  and  gentle  families  led  their  countrymen  away  to  serve  as  mercenaries 
in  Continental  armies,  in  numbers  altogether  amazing,  if  account  be  taken 
of  the  population  of  the  country,  which  probably  at  no  time  previous  to 
the  Union  exceeded  three  millions.  It  is  to  be  noted  that,  while  the  rulers 
of  England  had  constant  recourse  to  the  press-gang  for  recruits,1  thousands 
of  Scottish  volunteers  were  always  forthcoming  for  foreign  service.  The 
permanent  establishment  of  a  Scottish  contingent  in  the  armies  of  the 
Kings  of  France  may  be  traced  back  to  the  year  1419,  when  John  Stewart, 
Earl  of  Buchan,  landed  at  Rochelle  with  6000  men  to  assist  the  Dauphin 
(afterwards  Charles  VII.)  against  the  English.  Assist  him  he  did,  and  to 
good  purpose,  inflicting  a  severe  defeat  on  the  Duke  of  Clarence  at  Beauge 
(22nd  March,  1421),  where  Clarence  himself  was  killed.  Two  years  later, 
John  Duke  of  Bedford  wrought  revenge  at  Crevant,  where  a  brigade  of 
3000  Scots  were  all  but  annihilated. 

Still  the  little  northern  realm  poured  forth  fresh  troops.  Early  in 
1424  ten  thousand  landed  at  Rochelle  under  Archibald,  fourth  Earl  of 
Douglas,  whom  Charles  VII.  made  Duke  of  Touraine  and  appointed  lieu- 
tenant-general of  his  forces.  Bedford,  whom  Douglas  had  nicknamed 
John-of-the-Leaden-Sword,  sent  a  herald  to  tell  Douglas  that  he  wished 
to  drink  with  him.  Douglas  replied  that  he  had  come  all  the  way  from 
Scotland  for  no  other  purpose.  He  had  taken  up  a  strong  position  in  and 
about  Verneuil.  Had  he  been  allowed  to  hold  it,  he  might  have  awaited 
attack  by  the  English  with  confidence.  He  issued  orders  to  that  effect. 
Unhappily  for  the  Scots,  the  three  nobles  who  held  command  in  the  French 
contingent — the  Due  d'Alengon,  the  Marechal  de  Lafayette  and  the  Viscomte 
de  Narbonne — resented  having  to  march  under  a  foreigner,  and  became 
insubordinate.  Narbonne  swore  that  he  would  never  obey  such  cowardly 

1  One  of  the  chief  complaints  by  the  Parliamentarian  leaders  against  King  Charles  was 
founded  upon  his  use  of  the  press-gang  ;  yet  they  themselves  had  to  resort  to  it  when,  in 
1645,  Fairfax  found  himself  8000  men  short  of  his  complement  of  22,000.  In  Queen  Elizabeth's 
reign  the  chronicler  Stow  states  that  one  Easter  Sunday  all  the  church  doors  in  London  were 
closed,  and  a  thousand  men  were  pressed  for  the  army  from  among  the  congregations. 


BY  THE  EDITOR  29 

orders,  and  led  his  brigade  forward  to  attack  the  English.  To  save  him 
from  being  cut  to  pieces,  Douglas  ordered  a  general  advance.  It  had  been 
agreed  between  the  Scots  and  English  commanders  that  no  quarter  should 
be  given.  Narbonne's  men  soon  had  enough  ;  they  quitted  the  field,  leav- 
ing Douglas  without  support.  Bedford  handled  his  troops  with  consum- 
mate sagacity  ;  the  Scots  fell  before  his  archers  like  corn  under  the  sickle. 
They  were  utterly  routed,  and  very  few  escaped.  Douglas  was  slain,  so  was 
his  son  James  and  his  son-in-law  Buchan,  the  victor  of  Beauge,  with  many 
other  Scottish  knights. 

The  earliest  instance  on  record  of  English  and  Scottish  troops  fighting 
shoulder  to  shoulder  (the  earliest,  that  is,  except  Edward  Balliol's  attempt 
to  seize  the  Crown  of  Scotland  in  1332)  was  in  the  ill-starred,  ill-supported 
expedition  sent  out  by  Queen  Elizabeth  to  the  succour  of  the  French  Pro- 
testants under  the  Prince  de  Conde  in  1562.  A  detachment  of  five  hundred 
English  and  Scots  volunteered  for  a  hare-brained  attempt  to  relieve  Rouen, 
closely  beleaguered  by  the  Due  de  Guise.  The  city  fell,  and  of  the  relieving 
force  hardly  a  man  escaped  ;  but  the  enterprise  is  one  to  be  honoured  in 
remembrance  as  the  earliest  symptom  of  reunion  between  two  nations  which 
had  been  long  at  bloody  variance,  but  which,  alike  in  race  and  speech  and 
creed,  ought  never  to  have  been  sundered.  In  effect,  no  sooner  were  Scots 
and  English  released  from  the  thrall  of  political  or  dynastic  dispute  than 
they  proved  themselves  the  very  best  of  comrades-in-arms,  and  so  they 
have  remained  ever  since. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  brief  sketch  of  the  military  affairs  in  Scotland 
in  early  times  without  referring  to  the  singularly  intense  disfavour  with 
which  service  in  the  army  had  come  to  be  regarded,  certainly  in  the  south 
and  west,  and  probably  in  all  parts  of  the  Lowlands,  until  the  outbreak 
of  the  great  war  in  1914.  This  feeling  of  distrust  and  aversion  was  stronger, 
I  think,  among  the  elder  people — parents  of  families — than  it  was  among 
younger  men.  In  my  own  district— the  extreme  south-west—it  prevailed 
to  reduce  voluntary  enlistment  to  a  minimum.  The  few  young  men  who 
did  join  the  army  were  regarded  as  doing  something  the  reverse  of  credit- 
able to  their  kinsfolk.  I  speak  of  the  generality :  there  were  honourable 
exceptions. 

This  feeling  was  so  strongly  implanted  in  the  community  that  when, 
shortly  before  the  war  with  Germany,  I  was  about  to  inspect  and  address 


3o  INTRODUCTION 

a  corps  of  Boy  Scouts,  I  was  warned  against  anything  that  would  imply 
that  the  organisation  partook  of  a  military  character.  Boys  who  had  been 
eager  to  join  the  Scouts  had  been  prevented  doing  so  by  their  mothers,  for 
fear  they  should  be  turned  into  soldiers.  All  this  prejudice  was  swept 
away  when,  in  August,  1914,  the  drums  sounded  the  point  of  war.  It 
then  became  manifest  that  the  ancient  warlike  spirit  of  the  Lowland  Scot 
was  not  dead,  but  only  slumbering.  Had  every  district  in  the  United  King- 
dom answered  the  call  to  arms  as  readily  as  the  Lowlands,  there  would  have 
been  no  need  for  compulsory  powers. 

Howbeit,  long  before  that  the  prejudice  against  military  service  had 
become  deeply  rooted  and  pervaded  all  parts  of  Scotland.  Perhaps  no 
sentiment  less  universal  and  intense  than  the  fiery  indignation  kindled 
by  the  wrongs  of  Belgium  would  have  prevailed  to  overcome  it. 

It  may  not  be  unprofitable  to  trace  that  prejudice  to  its  source.  Apart 
from  the  glaring  disparity  between  the  soldiers'  pay  and  what  an  able- 
bodied  civilian  may  earn  in  any  of  our  industrial  districts,  it  is  attributable 
mainly  to  two  causes.  The  first  of  these  derives  from  the  ecclesiastical 
wars  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the  King's  troops  were  employed 
to  force  upon  a  resolute  people  conformity  with  a  form  of  religion  distasteful 
to  them.  It  needed  not  the  pious  hand  of  Robert  Paterson — better  known 
as  "  Old  Mortality  " — to  keep  alive  the  remembrance  of  the  "  killing  time." 
In  many  a  kirkyard,  on  many  a  lonely  hillside  and  desolate  moor,  stand 
the  stones  he  tended  with  such  sedulous  care,  each  marking  a  spot  where 
someone  had  been  done  to  death  for  not  renouncing  what  he  conceived 
to  be  the  true  faith.  Old  Mortality  has  been  dead  these  hundred  years 
and  more,1  but  the  memory  of  wrongs  and  official  cruelty  remained  more 
imperishably  graven  on  the  hearts  of  our  people  than  on  his  rude  memorials. 
The  wrongs  and  the  cruelty  were  deliberately  devised  by  the  civil  govern- 
ment ;  but  the  King's  army  was  the  instrument  for  carrying  them  into  effect. 

In  my  youth  I  heard  a  story  which  was  current  in  the  Stewartry  of  Kirk- 
cudbright ;  whether  truth  or  fiction,  it  illustrates  the  vitality  of  the  Cove- 
nanters' tradition  in  that  district.  It  was  told  of  a  hill  shepherd  who,  accord- 
ing to  custom,  was  reading  the  Scripture  aloud  to  his  wife  before  going  to 
bed.  The  chapter  chosen  happened  to  be  Revelation  xii.  When  he  came 
to  the  third  verse  : 

1  He  died  in  1801. 


BY  THE  EDITOR  31 

"  And  there  appeared  another  wonder  in  heaven  ;    and  behold  a  great 
reid  dragoon." 

"  Ye  maun  be  wrang  there,  lad,"  interrupted  the  wife  ;  "  there  never 
was  a  dragoon  in  heaven  ;  it  wad  be  nae  place  for  him." 

"  It  maun  be  sae,  wife,"  replied  her  husband,  "  it  maun  be  sae  ;  for  it's 
in  the  written  Word,  ye  ken." 

"  Atweel,"  rejoined  the  other,  "  if  it's  in  the  Word  it  maun  be  sae ;  but 
there's  ae  thing  I  ken — it  wisna  yen  o'  Claverse's  dragoons." 

The  gudeman  resumed  his  reading,  and  went  on  till  he  came  to  the 
ninth  verse  : 

And  the  great  dragoon  was  cast  oot." 

"  I  tell't  ye  that,  lad,"  broke  in  the  wife  shrilly,  "  I  tell't  ye  that  !  He 
widna  bide  in  Heaven  lang  ;  it  was  nae  place  for  him  !  " 

The  other,  and  perhaps  the  more  potent,  cause  for  military  service 
being  held  in  abhorrence  by  men  of  the  working  class  was  the  appalling 
severity  of  punishment  formerly  inflicted.  I  speak  not  of  the  mediaeval 
code — riding  the  wooden  horse,  the  picket,  and  other  savage  modes  of 
torture  which  often  disabled  a  man  for  life  ;  but  simply  of  the  lash,  which, 
happily,  few  now  living  have  seen  inflicted,  though  many  may  remember 
its  obsequies.  It  died  very  hard,  and  after  a  struggle  so  prolonged  and 
bitter  as  rubbed  the  subject  well  into  the  apprehension  of  the  people.  Though 
the  art  of  heckling  had  not  in  those  years  become  so  highly  organised  as 
we  know  it  now,  still  this  was  made  a  frequent  matter  for  testing  the  prin- 
ciples of  candidates  for  Parliament.  It  is  told  of  the  late  Mr.  Edward 
Horsman  (and  the  story  may  contain  as  much  or  as  little  truth  as  any  other 
election  yarn  *)  that,  when  he  stood  as  a  Whig  for  the  Wigtown  Burghs 
and  was  addressing  the  people  on  the  nomination  day  from  the  open  hustings 
then  in  vogue,  he  fell  into  a  curious  trap.  The  hustings  used  to  be  divided 
into  open  compartments,  in  each  of  which  one  of  the  candidates  and  his 
proposer  and  seconder  were  accommodated.  On  this  occasion,  as  there 
were  but  two  candidates,  the  structure  was  divided  in  half.  Horsman, 
being  an  Englishman,  was  familiar  neither  with  the  Scottish  dialect  nor 
with  some  of  the  questions  which  exercised  the  minds  of  Scottish  electors. 
So  when  a  voice  in  the  crowd  shouted  :  "  What  aboot  the  Decalogue?  " 
he  turned  as  he  thought,  to  one  of  his  supporters  and  asked  :  "  What  on 

1  I  should  not  be  surprised  to  be  told  that  it  has  acquired  all  the  properties  of  a  chestnut. 


32  INTRODUCTION 

earth  is  that  ?  "  Unluckily,  he  turned  to  the  side  of  his  opponent,  whose 
henchman  promptly  whispered  :  "  Flogging  in  the  army."  Horsman  then 
faced  his  questioner  with  the  reply  :  "I  shall  vote  for  its  instant  abolition." 
Sensation  ! 

To  obtain  a  true  impression  of  the  ferocious  character  of  the  military 
code — say  during  the  Peninsular  War,  one  cannot  do  better  than  read  some 
of  General  Sir  Charles  Napier's  letters.  Napier  was  a  man  of  singularly 
mild  disposition,  exceedingly  thoughtful  for  the  men  under  his  command, 
yet  here  is  what  he  wrote  to  his  mother  when  he  was  in  command  of  the 
5oth  Regiment  in  1808. 

"  'You  know  my  antipathy  to  flogging  :  you  know  that  it  is  unconquerable 
.  .  .  this  antipathy  gains  strength  from  principle  and  reason,  as  I  am  convinced 
it  could  be  dispensed  with.  Still,  as  other  severe  punishments  do  not  exist  in 
our  army,  we  must  use  torture  in  some  cases,  until  a  substitute  is  given  by  our 
government.  Mark  this  narrative.  A  robbery  was  committed  in  the  regiment, 
and  the  thief  was  discovered  in  a  few  hours.  ...  I  resolved  to  make  a  severe 
example.  .  .  .  He  was  sentenced  to  nine  hundred  lashes.  Yet  there  was  not 
one  positive  proof  of  the  robbery — all  was  presumptive  evidence  ;  but  I  charged 
him  with  breaches  of  discipline  which  could  be  proved,  and  my  resolve  was  to 
punish  or  not,  according  to  my  own  judgment,  a  commanding  officer  being  in 
truth  despotic. 

"  '  Two  days  I  took  to  consider  every  circumstance,  thinking  if  he  should  be 
afterwards  proved  innocent,  it  would  be  disagreeable  to  have  bestowed  nine  hun- 
dred lashes  wrongfully.  .  .  .  Yesterday  he  was  flogged  in  the  square.  .  .  .  When 
he  had  received  200  lashes  he  was  promised  pardon  if  he  told  where  the  money 
was.  No  !  God  in  heaven  was  his  witness  that  he  was  innocent.  ...  In  this 
manner  he  went  on.  I  was  inexorable  ;  and  it  is  hardly  credible  that  he  received 
600  lashes,  given  in  the  most  severe  manner  .  .  .  praying  for  death  to  relieve 
him.  ...  At  six  hundred  lashes  he  was  taken  down,  with  the  seemingly  brutal 
intention  of  flogging  him  again  on  a  half-healed  back  ...  the  greatest  torture 
possible.  .  .  .  Directions  were  given  that  he  should  be  kept  solitary  to  lower 
his  spirits.  .  .  .  Pain,  lowness  and  the  people  employed  to  frighten  him,  succeeded  ; 
he  confessed  all,  and  told  where  the  money  was  hid.'  "  1 

In  reading  this  sickening  narrative  one  knows  not  whether  to  be  dis- 
gusted most  by  the  brutality  of  the  punishment  or  the  infamy  of  a  system 
under  which  a  man  could  be  punished  for  a  crime  whereof  he  had  not  been 
convicted. 

Napier  says  that  when  he  was  a  subaltern,  men  were  often  sentenced 
by  regimental  courts-martial  to  receive  from  600  to  1000  lashes,  and  that 
the  punishment  was  generally  inflicted  in  full.  Writing  in  1837,  he  expresses 

1  Life  of  General  Sir  Charles  Napier,  by  Lieut-General  Sir  Wm.  Napier,  vol.  i.  p.  87. 


BY  THE  EDITOR  33 

satisfaction  that  even  a  general  court-martial  could  no  longer  sentence  a 
man  to  receive  more  than  200  lashes,  and  that  the  practice  of  bringing  a 
wretched  fellow  out  of  hospital  to  receive  the  balance  of  a  sentence  had 
been  prohibited. 

"  '  I  have  seen,'  he  wrote,  '  many  hundreds  of  men  flogged,  and  have  always 
observed  that  when  the  skin  is  thoroughly  cut  up  and  flayed  off,  the  great  pain 
subsides.  Men  are  frequently  convulsed  and  screaming  during  the  time 
they  receive  from  one  lash  to  three  hundred  lashes,  and  then  they  bear  the  re- 
mainder, even  to  eight  hundred  or  a  thousand  lashes,  without  a  groan.  They 
will  often  lie  as  if  without  life,  and  the  drummers  appear  to  be  flogging  a  lump 
of  dead,  raw  flesh.  Now  I  have  frequently  observed  that,  in  these  cases,  the 
faces  of  the  spectators  assumed  a  look  of  disgust  ;  there  was  always  a  low,  whis- 
pering sound,  scarcely  audible,  issuing  from  the  apparently  stern  and  silent  ranks  ; 
a  sound  arising  from  lips  that  spoke  not.'  " 

I  must  apologise  to  the  reader  for  reopening  so  dark  a  page  in  the 
annals  of  the  British  Army  ;  but  unless  these  unpleasing  facts  are  borne 
in  mind,  it  is  impossible  to  understand  the  causes  of  the  disfavour  with 
which,  until  quite  recently,  the  service  was  regarded  by  the  bulk  of  our 
people.  It  is,  indeed,  difficult  to  believe  that  a  penal  code  so  inhuman 
and  senseless  could  have  been  maintained  so  long,  and  that  its  repeal  should 
have  been  resisted  so  obstinately  by  officers  of  high  distinction.  Even 
Sir  Charles  Napier,  with  all  his  horror  for  the  lash,  was  of  opinion  that 
it  could  not  safely  be  dispensed  with  in  time  of  war.  The  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton, to  whom  the  nation  owed  the  restoration  of  British  military  power 
and  prestige,  remained  to  the  last  an  uncompromising  advocate  of  flogging. 
As  a  witness  before  the  Royal  Commission  on  Military  Punishments  in  1836 
he  said  :  "I  have  no  idea  of  any  great  effect  being  produced  by  anything 
but  the  fear  of  immediate  corporal  punishment."  Asked  whether  he 
could  have  established  discipline  in  his  army  in  the  Peninsula  without  the 
lash,  he  replied  :  "  No :  it  is  out  of  the  question.  .  .  .  Having  had  this  sub- 
ject in  contemplation  for  six  or  seven  years,  I  have  turned  it  over  in  my 
mind  in  every  possible  way,  and  I  declare  that  I  have  not  an  idea  of  what 
can  be  substituted  for  it."  If  the  spirits  of  these  great  captains  are 
permitted  to  follow  the  course  of  the  stupendous  war  now  being  waged, 
they  may  feel  amazed,  but  they  cannot  but  rejoice,  that  the  valour  and 
discipline  of  British  soldiers  are  wholly  independent  of  dread  of  the  lash. 
It  cannot  be  matter  for  surprise  that  the  evil  tradition  long  survived 


34  INTRODUCTION 

the  evil  itself — that  it  required  the  lapse  of  two  or  three  generations  and 
menace  to  the  very  existence  of  the  Empire  and  the  freedom  of  its  citizens 
to  drive  it  into  oblivion.  We  feared — some  of  us — that  the  ancient  military 
fire  of  our  race  had  been  quenched  by  the  accumulation  of  luxuries,  the 
indulgence  of  ease  and  the  sense  of  insular  security.  That  fear  was  strength- 
ened by  the  cold  reception  given  by  the  British  Government  and  people — 
by  the  Government  more  than  the  people — to  Lord  Roberts's  clarion  warn- 
ing, but  it  has  been  dispelled  by  the  noble  and  universal  spirit  of  action 
and  sacrifice  displayed  by  men  of  all  classes  and  creeds  within  the  uttermost 
bounds  of  the  British  Empire. 


I 

THE    SND    DRAGOONS 


BY  SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL,  C.V.O.,  LORD  LYON  KING-OF-ARMS 

IT  was  during  "  the  killing  time  "  in  Scotland  —  the  year  1678,  to  be  more 
particular  —  that  King  Charles  II.,  learning  that  some  dour  Westland 
Whigs  presumed  to  worship  God  in  their  own  way  and  not  in  that  form 
upheld  by  the  King,  and  that  they  were  prepared  to  seek  salvation  at  the 
sword's  point  if  necessary,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Privy  Council.  He  informed 
that  body  that  the  "  Phanaticks  "  had  of  late  "with  great  insolence 
flocked  together  frequently  and  openly  in  meld  conventicles,  those  rende- 
devouses  of  Rebellion  "  ;  they  had  also  actually  dared  to  oppose  his  Majesty's 
forces,  wherefore  "  though  wee  neether  heed  nor  doe  fear  such  insolent 
attempts,  yet  from  a  just  care  of  our  own  authorety,  and  a  kindnesse  to  our 
good  subjects,"  the  Council  were  directed  to  take  measures  for  the  raising 
of  additional  forces.  This  request  resulted  in  three  troops  of  dragoons 
being,  with  other  forces,  embodied.  The  command  of  the  first  troop  was 
given  to  Thomas  Dalyell  of  Binns,  that  of  the  second  to  Lord  Charles  Murray, 
and  that  of  the  third,  which  was  embodied  a  few  months  after  the  others, 
to  Francis  Stuart,  a  grandson  of  the  Earl  of  Bothwell. 

This  was  not  the  first  time  dragoons  had  been  raised  in  Scotland.  They 
had  been  employed  both  north  and  south  of  the  Tweed  in  the  wars  of  the 
earlier  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  When  these  new  companies  of 

1  The  writer  of  this  paper  has  to  acknowledge  his  obligations  to  Cannon's  History  of  the  Regiment 
(1840),  Colonel  Percy  Groves'  capitally  illustrated  sketch  ;  and  the  more  recent  Regimental  History  by 
Almack. 


36  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

dragoons  were  raised  in  1678  they  followed  in  their  character  and  equipment 
that  old  tradition :  they  were  not  cavalry,  they  were  not  infantry,  but 
a  blend  of  both,  being  what  we  should  now  call  mounted  infantry.  They 
had  not  the  defensive  armour  of  the  cavalry,  having  only  in  that  respect 
a  steel  helmet  or  skull-cap.  For  arms  they  had  a  firelock  slung  over  the 
shoulders  (exchanged  in  1688  for  a  fusil),  a  sword,  a  dirk  or  bayonet,  and, 
apparently,  holster  pistols,  though  it  is  doubtful  whether  these  were  carried 
by  every  man.  Their  ammunition  was  carried  in  bandoliers,  and  the  match 
for  the  firelock  was,  when  unlighted,  wound  round  the  hat  or  waist. 

The  companies  raised  in  1678  had  not  long  to  wait  for  their  baptism  of 
fire.  They  took  part — not  very  gloriously — in  the  battle  of  Drumclog, 
and  were  also  in  the  more  successful  engagement  at  Bothwell  Bridge.  But 
not  much  military  prestige  was  to  be  gained  by  fighting  their  countrymen, 
who  were,  rightly  or  wrongly,  upholding  their  opinions  for  conscience'  sake. 

On  25th  November,  1681,  orders  were  received  to  raise  three  more  com- 
panies of  dragoons  of  fifty  men  each  ;  but  whereas  at  the  same  time  the  old 
companies,  which  were  nominally  at  least  a  hundred  strong,  were  reduced 
to  fifty,  not  much  was  gained  by  the  rearrangement.  These  companies 
were  incorporated  as  the  Royal  Regiment  of  Dragoons,  Lieut. -General 
Thomas  Dalyell  of  Binns,  a  name  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  persecution 
of  the  Covenanters,  who  was  then  Commander  of  the  Forces  in  Scotland, 
being  appointed  Colonel  of  the  new  regiment.  At  first  these  dragoons,  and 
probably  other  regiments  also,  were  clothed  in  some  grey  cloth  ;  in  1684 
the  Privy  Council  ordered  the  uniforms  of  the  whole  Scottish  Army  to  be  red, 
but  Dalyell,  with  his  strong  conservative  leanings,  was  furious  at  the  pro- 
posed change,  and  actually  got  the  order  rescinded  so  far  as  his  dragoons 
were  concerned,  and  they  continued  their  grey  dress.  But  after  Dalyell's 
death  they  fell  into  line  with  the  other  regiments  in  the  matter  of  uniform. 
It  is  a  disputed  point  whether  the  regiment  received  its  name  of  "  the  Greys  " 
from  having  been  originally  clad  in  that  colour,  or  from  their  being  mounted 
on  grey  horses.  It  is  more  probable  that  the  latter  is  the  true  origin  of  the 
name  :  it  is  not  until  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  that  we  find 
the  regiment  referred  to  as  "  the  Grey  Dragoons  "  ;  whereas  if  they  had 
earned  the  sobriquet  from  the  colour  of  their  uniform  it  would  be  found 
in  use  at  a  much  earlier  date.  It  was  not  uncommon  in  the  continental 
armies  for  corps  d'Aite  to  be  mounted  on  horses  of  a  uniform  colour,  and 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  37 

it  was  not  unnatural  for  this  regiment  to  follow  their  example,  though  it 
is  curious  why  grey  horses  should  be  selected,  seeing  that  it  is  more  difficult 
to  get  good  animals  of  that  colour  than  of  the  more  ordinary  shades. 

In  1685  the  regiment  took  part  in  the  suppression  of  Argyll's  rising  : 
they  had  a  sharp  encounter  with  the  rebels  near  Dunbarton  and  sustained 
some  loss  ;  but  the  enemy  did  not  wait  for  the  next  assault.  The  rising 
was  badly  contrived  and  still  more  badly  carried  out,  and  it  ended  in  the 
capture  and  execution  of  Argyll. 

The  following  year  was  spent  in  that  persecution  of  the  Covenanters 
which  was  as  foolish  as  it  was  cruel,  and  which  must  have  been  an  un- 
congenial task  to  the  great  majority  of  the  men  of  the  regiment.  In  the 
same  summer  of  1686  they  were  called  upon  to  perform  an  almost  equally 
unpleasant  duty  in  the  Highlands.  A  feud  accompanied  by  bloodshed  had 
broken  out  between  Macdonald  of  Keppoch  and  the  Laird  of  Mackintosh 
in  connection  with  the  occupancy  of  certain  lands  in  Glenroy  and  Glen- 
spean.  The  commander  of  the  King's  troops,  who  had  been  ordered  by 
Government  to  support  Mackintosh,  having  been  killed  by  one  of  Mac- 
donald's  men,  the  Privy  Council  ordered  three  hundred  of  the  Foot  Guards 
and  a  troop  of  the  Dragoons  "  to  destroy  man,  woman  and  child  pertaining 
to  the  land  of  Keppoch  and  to  burn  his  houses  and  corn."  This  order  was 
carried  out  with  merciless  severity  during  August,  1688.  The  troops 
remained  in  the  Braes  of  Glenroy  till  about  the  middle  of  the  next  month, 
when  they  rejoined  headquarters. 

The  regiment  then  crossed  the  Border  and  by  the  end  of  September 
were  in  the  vicinity  of  London.  It  was  quartered  at  Westminster  for 
a  short  time,  but  on  the  loth  of  November  was  ordered  to  Salisbury. 
Two  days  before  that  date,  however,  the  prince  of  Orange  had  landed  at 
Torbay  ;  a  month  later  King  James  fled  to  France  and  sent  word  that 
he  had  no  further  occasion  for  the  services  of  his  army. 

The  Royal  Regiment  of  Dragoons,  together  with  the  Horse  Guards 
(Blues)  and  the  Scots  Horse,  had  been  placed  under  the  command  of  Claver- 
house,  who  had  been  created  Viscount  of  Dundee,  I2th  November,  1688. 
The  regiments  were  then  at  Reading,  and  on  hearing  of  the  revolution 
it  was  resolved  to  march  back  to  Scotland  ;  but  they  had  only  got  so  far 
as  Watford  when  a  message  was  received  from  the  Prince  of  Orange  directing 
them  to  stay  there  ;  they  were,  however,  very  soon  removed  to  Oxfordshire. 


38  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

The  colonel  of  the  Dragoons,  the  Earl  of  Dunmore,  being  faithful  to 
the  old  dynasty,  resigned  his  commission,  and  Dundee  himself  quitted  the 
service  and  proceeded  to  Scotland  with  the  main  body  of  his  own  regiment, 
the  Scots  Horse.  The  Royal  Dragoons,  however,  did  not  follow  that  ex- 
ample, but  remained  attached  to  the  new  government.  They  were  very 
soon  ordered  to  march  to  Edinburgh,  where  they  found,  much  to  the  disgust 
of  some  of  the  older  officers,  the  very  persons  they  had  not  long  before  been 
chasing  about  the  country,  now  in  power.  From  Edinburgh  they  were 
sent  to  Stirling  and  in  April,  1689,  to  Forfarshire,  there  to  watch  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Viscount  of  Dundee.  They  had  not  been  there  long  when 
Major-General  Mackay,1  who  had  been  appointed  commander-in-chief  in 
Scotland,  assembled  the  regiment,  together  with  three  troops  of  Lord  Col- 
chester's Horse  (now  3rd  Dragoon  Guards)  and  200  foot  in  the  town  of 
Dundee.  Leaving  two  troops  of  the  Royal  Dragoons  there,  he  proceeded 
with  the  rest  of  his  little  army  to  search  for  the  enemy. 

Getting  information  that  Dundee  was  expected  at  Elgin,  Mackay  sent 
the  Royal  Dragoons  to  that  town,  anticipating  his  enemy's  intention 
and  compelling  him  to  change  his  route  and  to  march  through  Badenoch 
to  Lochaber.  Mackay  also  got  considerable  reinforcements,  including  the 
two  troops  of  the  Dragoons  which  had  been  left  at  Dundee.  Before  these 
arrived,  however,  Dundee  swooped  down  from  the  mountains  at  the  head 
of  3000  men  and  threw  himself  between  the  Royalist  general  and  his 
approaching  reinforcements.  Mackay,  deeming  prudence  the  better  part 
of  valour,  retired  down  Strathspey  with  considerable  celerity,  marching 
twenty  hours  almost  without  a  halt.  He  managed,  however,  on  5th  June 
to  pick  up  his  additional  troops  and  would  then  have  engaged  Dundee, 
had  not  that  leader  been  warned  of  his  intention  by  some  officers  of  the 
Royal  Dragoons  who  had  no  liking  for  the  service  of  the  Prince  of  Orange. 
The  intrigues  of  these  disaffected  officers  were  discovered  and  strong  measures 
were  at  once  taken  with  them,  Lt.-Colonel  William  Livingston,  Captains 
Murray,  Crichton,  and  Livingston,  along  with  several  subalterns,  being 
put  under  arrest  and  sent  to  Edinburgh. 

Shortly  after  this  a  squadron  of  the  Royal  Dragoons  together  with  a 
squadron  of  Berkeley's  Dragoons  had  a  sharp  skirmish  with  500  High- 

' '  General  Hugh  Mackay  of  Scourie,  formerly  a  brother  officer  of  Claverhouse  in  the  Dutch 
service.     Killed  at  Steinkirk,  1692. 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  39 

landers,  chiefly  Macleans,  who  had  taken  up  a  strong  position  near  Culna- 
kells.  The  detachment  of  the  regiment  employed  amply  indicated  its 
character  for  loyalty,  and  speedily  dispersed  the  rebels,  killing  about  a 
hundred  of  them.  It  was  a  kind  of  expedition  particularly  suited  for  dra- 
goons, as  they  had  to  dismount  and  pursue  the  enemy  in  rocky  ground 
which  would  have  prevented  any  efficient  action  on  the  part  of  cavalry 
proper.  For  this  exploit  the  Royal  Dragoons  were  specially  commended 
in  the  London  Gazette. 

The  regiment  then  marched  to  Inverness,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
some  time  spent  in  quarters  in  Aberdeenshire,  stayed  there  during  the 
winter  of  1689-90.  They  did  not  take  part  in  the  battle  of  Killiecrankie, 
in  which  the  gallant  Dundee  met  his  death,  whereby  the  Jacobite  party 
was  reft  of  hope,  although  Mackay  was  badly  defeated  there. 

Early  in  1690  the  Highlanders,  having  received  reinforcements  from 
Ireland,  attempted  a  descent  upon  Inverness  ;  but  this  was  frustrated  with 
no  difficulty.  The  Royal  Dragoons  took  part  in  the  engagement  at  the 
Haughs  of  Cromdale  on  3Oth  April,  1690,  when  the  Jacobites  were  surprised 
in  their  camp  on  Speyside  and  defeated  with  much  slaughter.  The  regi- 
ment also  assisted  in  the  relief  of  Abergeldie  Castle,  which  had  been  invested 
by  the  Jacobites,  and  then,  hurrying  back  to  Inverness,  it  was  able  to  save 
the  garrison  there  from  a  threatened  attack  by  the  enemy. 

By  the  end  of  1691  the  Jacobite  rising  had  been  finally  subdued,  and 
the  regiment  had  a  period  of  rest.  On  the  7th  June,  1692,  a  Royal  Warrant 
was  issued  in  its  favour  confirming  it  in  its  title  of  THE  ROYAL  REGIMENT 
OF  SCOTS  DRAGOONS  which  it  "  hath  been  formerly  designed." 

In  the  spring  of  1694  the  regiment  once  more  prepared  for  active  service 
and  was  despatched  to  Flanders,  where  King  William  was  conducting  a 
campaign  against  the  Grand  Monarquc  with  indifferent  success.  By 
the  end  of  June  it  was  encamped  near  Birschot,  and  though  it  took  part 
in  the  general  operations  of  the  army  during  the  summer,  our  Dragoons 
saw  no  serious  fighting.  When  winter  approached  they  went,  as  was  the 
comfortable  custom  in  those  days,  into  quarters  near  Ghent.  It  is  un- 
necessary to  go  into  detail  with  respect  to  the  course  of  this  campaign, 
as  the  regiment  was  not  given  any  special  opportunity  to  distinguish  itself, 
but  what  duty  it  had  to  do  was  no  doubt  done  well.  The  peace  of  Rys- 
wick  in  September,  1697,  enabled  all  British  troops  to  be  withdrawn  from 


40  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

the  Continent,  and  the  Dragoons  found  themselves  back  in  their  native 
land  in  time  to  celebrate  "  Auld  Hansel  Monday  "  of  1698.  In  accordance 
with  the  usual  British  custom  which  has  so  often  betrayed  the  country  into 
perilous  straits,  the  strength  of  the  regiment  was  immediately  reduced  from 
520  to  294  officers  and  men.  But  before  many  years  the  war  of  the  Spanish 
Succession  broke  out :  the  Dragoons  were  again  augmented  to  their  former 
strength  of  eight  troops  and  dispatched  to  Holland  in  the  spring  of  1702. 

It  is  about  this  time  that  we  first  find  the  regiment  referred  to  as  the 
"  Grey  Dragoons,"  from  which  we  may  infer  that  they  were  by  this  time 
mounted  on  their  famous  grey  chargers.  Perhaps  the  idea  may  have  been 
taken  from  the  Dutch  troop  of  Life  Guards  which  came  over  from  Holland 
with  King  William  ;  but  in  any  case  we  can  now  refer  to  the  regiment 
under  its  simpler  and  best  known  designation  of  Scots  Greys. 

The  duties  of  cavalry  in  those  days  consisted  more  in  covering  the  move- 
ments of  the  infantry,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  siege  of  a  town,  than 
in  actual  fighting,  and  shock  tactics  were  but  seldom  employed.  This, 
accordingly,  was  the  work  which  principally  fell  to  the  Greys  during  the 
summer  of  1702.  At  the  end  of  the  season's  campaign  they  took  up  their 
quarters  in  Holland,  one  squadron  being  told  off  to  act  as  a  guard  to  Marl- 
borough.  Howbeit,  they  nearly  lost  both  themselves  and  their  commander 
while  escorting  the  boat  in  which  Marlborough  had  embarked  along  the 
banks  of  a  river.  They  missed  their  way  and  got  out  of  touch  with  the 
personage  for  whose  safety  they  were  responsible.  He  was  attacked  and 
overpowered  by  a  party  of  French  sympathisers,  and  had  it  not  been  for 
the  presence  of  mind  of  one  of  his  staff,  who  surreptitiously  handed  him  a 
spare  French  pass  he  happened  to  have,  things  might  have  gone  hardly 
with  the  great  general. 

We  may  pass  over  the  campaign  of  1703  which  saw  the  fall  of  Huy, 
Bonn,  and  Lemburg,  as  there  is  nothing  of  outstanding  interest  to  chronicle 
about  the  regiment.  But  the  campaign  of  1704  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
of  Marlborough's  deeds.  Pushing  south  with  marvellous  rapidity  and 
secrecy,  he  effected  a  junction  with  the  Emperor's  army,  which  had  been 
seriously  threatened  by  the  French,  and  appeared  at  Schellenberg  on  the 
north  of  the  Danube.  This  important  post  he  resolved  to  seize,  and  late 
on  a  summer's  eve  attacked  it  with  all  his  forces.  Several  regiments  of 
cavalry  supported  the  attack  :  the  fighting  was  fierce,  and  ultimately  the 


«,.    ' 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  41 

Greys  were  ordered  to  dismount  and  assist  in  the  infantry  attack.  This 
was  the  very  purpose  for  which  dragoons  were  intended  ;  so,  leaving  their 
horses,  they  advanced  under  the  leadership  of  their  colonel,  Lord  John 
Hay.  Their  timely  aid  enabled  the  attacking  force  to  cany  the  position 
and  to  ensure  a  complete  victory  for  the  Allied  troops.  The  Greys  suffered 
but  slight  loss,  one  officer,  Captain  Douglas,  being  killed,  and  one  officer 
and  seventeen  men  wounded. 

At  the  more  important  battle  of  Blenheim,  which  took  place  about 
six  weeks  later,  the  Greys  were  not  in  the  thick  of  the  fighting,  being  posted 
as  covering  troops  on  the  left  of  the  British  line  ;  but  it  was  largely  owing 
to  their  action  that  the  French  troops  in  the  village  of  Blenheim,  consisting 
of  twenty-four  battalions  of  infantry  and  twelve  squadrons  of  cavalry,  were 
prevented  from  escaping  and  were  made  prisoners.  The  regiment  had 
no  fatal  casualties  on  the  day  of  Blenheim. 

The  campaign  of  1705  was  not  characterised  by  any  victory  of  impor- 
tance ;  on  the  contrary,  Marlborough  had  to  execute  a  long  and  difficult 
retreat  owing  to  his  plans  not  having  been  carried  out  by  the  other  Allied 
commanders.  There  was,  however,  quite  a  pretty  encounter  between  the 
British  cavalry  and  a  large  body  of  French  troops  under  command  of  the 
Marquis  d'Allegre.  It  was  chiefly  a  cavalry  action,  and  resulted  in  the 
enemy's  squadrons  being  completely  routed. 

On  Whitsunday,  1706,  was  fought  the  great  battle  of  Ramillies  ;  the  two 
armies  were  in  position  very  early  on  a  misty  morning ;  by  one  o'clock 
action  was  joined  and  the  engagement  became  general.  The  Greys  were 
on  the  heights  of  Fouly  on  the  right  of  the  line,  brigaded  with  the  Queen's 
Horse  and  the  Royal  Irish  Dragoons,  and  aligned  with  the  infantry  of  Churchill 
and  Mordaunt.  The  infantry  charged  down  the  hill  and  drove  three  French 
battalions,  which  were  proving  too  strong  for  the  Dutch  and  Danish  cavalry, 
into  a  morass.  The  cavalry,  following  hard  after,  crossed  the  morass, 
attained  the  high  ground  beyond  it,  and  fell  upon  the  left  wing  of  the  enemy, 
routing  the  French  horse  and  doing  great  execution  among  the  infantry 
battalions.  The  Greys  then  galloped  into  the  village  of  Autreglise,  driving 
the  enemy  infantry  before  them.  On  their  exit  from  the  village  they  en- 
countered the  French  King's  own  regiment  of  foot  (Regiment  du  Roi),  which 
surrendered  and  gave  up  their  arms  and  colours  to  the  Greys.  However, 
on  the  British  turning  to  resume  the  pursuit  some  of  the  men  of  this  regiment 


42  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

attempted  to  regain  possession  of  their  arms,  for  which  piece  of  treachery 
they  suffered  severely  at  the  hands  of  their  captors.  An  additional  guard 
was  put  over  the  prisoners,  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  was  resumed,  and 
continued  till  two  o'clock  next  morning,  which,  seeing  the  regiment  had 
been  under  arms  since  early  morning  of  the  preceding  day,  was  pretty 
strenuous  work. 

It  was  after  this  battle  that,  while  the  wounds  of  one  of  the  troopers 
in  the  Greys  was  being  dressed,  it  was  discovered  that  the  gallant  soldier 
was  a  woman.  Her  history  is  a  curious  one.  The  daughter  of  a  Jacobite 
Irishman,  Christian  Cavanagh  was  born  in  Dublin  in  1667.  Her  father  was 
ruined  by  the  collapse  of  King  James's  cause  and  his  daughter  was  sent  to 
the  care  of  an  aunt  who  kept  a  public-house.  This  she  ultimately  inherited, 
and  married  her  waiter,  Thomas  Welch.  After  she  had  borne  him  three 
children,  he  disappeared  and  she  found  that  he  had  enlisted.  On  the  chance 
of  discovering  him  she  followed  his  example,  and  was  sent  to  Flanders 
in  Captain  Tichborne's  regiment  of  foot.  She  was  wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Landen  and  taken  prisoner  by  the  French  in  1694,  but  was  exchanged. 
Having  fought  a  duel  with  a  sergeant,  whom  she  dangerously  wounded, 
she  was  discharged  from  her  regiment,  but  immediately  re-enlisted  in  the 
Greys,  in  which  she  remained  till  the  peace  of  Ryswick.  When  war  was 
renewed  in  1701  she  went  out  again  with  the  Greys  and  fought  valiantly 
with  them  in  all  their  engagements.  After  Blenheim  she  accidentally  came 
across  her  husband,  whom  she  found  paying  marked  attention  to  a  Dutch- 
woman. She  made  him  promise  to  pass  her  off  as  his  brother.  As  above 
mentioned,  a  severe  wound  in  her  head  received  at  the  battle  of  Ramillies 
was  the  occasion  of  her  sex  being  discovered.  She  was  then  re-married  to 
her  husband,  the  officers  of  the  Greys  providing  handsome  wedding  gifts. 
Thenceforward  she  served  as  a  sutler  in  the  army.  Welch  was  killed  at 
Malplaquet,  and  her  lamentations  were  so  excessive  as  to  excite  the  pity 
of  one  Captain  Ross,  whose  attentions  to  her  were  so  extravagant  that  she 
received  the  sobriquet  of  Mother  Ross,  by  which  she  was  afterwards  generally 
known.  Three  months  after  her  husband's  death  she  married  Hugh  Jones, 
a  grenadier,  who  was  killed  the  following  year  at  the  siege  of  Saint- Venant. 
She  then  returned  to  England,  received  a  bounty  of  £50  and  a  pension  of 
a  shilling  a  day  from  Queen  Anne,  and  for  a  third  time  entered  the  bonds 
of  matrimony,  marrying  a  soldier  named  Davies,  who  was  ultimately 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  43 

admitted  a  pensioner  in  Chelsea  Hospital.  She  died  7th  July,  1739,  and  was 
buried,  it  is  said,  with  military  honours  in  the  cemetery  belonging  to  the 
hospital.  In  1740  there  was  published  a  book  purporting  to  be  a  relation 
of  her  life  and  adventures.  The  tale  is  curious,  if  somewhat  coarse  ;  some 
doubt  has  been  expressed  as  to  the  authenticity  of  some  of  the  incidents, 
and  even  to  the  fact  of  the  Greys  having  been  the  regiment  in  which  she 
served,  but  the  tradition  has  always  been  to  that  effect. 

In  1707  the  legislative  Union  of  England  and  Scotland  was  carried 
through,  and  the  official  name  of  the  regiment  was  changed  from  the  Royal 
Scots  Dragoons  to  that  of  the  Royal  North  British  Dragoons.  No  more 
dreadful  or  inept  attempt  at  nomenclature  was  ever  perpetrated.  It  was 
proposed  to  call  Scotland  "  North  Britain,"  and  to  let  the  old  historic  name 
drop  into  oblivion.  Fortunately  the  attempt  did  not  succeed  ;  the  Greys 
were  to  live  to  shout  their  famous  slogan  of  "Scotland  for  ever!  "  in  the  great 
charge  of  the  Heavy  Brigade  at  Waterloo.  "  North  Britain  for  ever  "  would 
have  been  unutterable !  In  the  case  of  the  Greys  the  designation  was  discon- 
tinued in  1877,  but  the  preposterous  name  survived  to  our  own  day  in  the 
abbreviated  form  of  "  N.B."  appended  to  postal  addresses.  Even  this, 
however,  has  now  been  officially  declared  obsolete  and  incorrect. 

So  far  as  the  Greys  were  concerned  the  campaigns  of  1707  and  1708  may 
be  characterised  as  "  quiet."  In  the  former  year  a  detachment  had  a  sharp 
skirmish  with  a  body  of  French  foot ;  while  on  nth  July  in  the  latter  year 
they  had  an  opportunity  of  showing  their  mettle  in  the  energetic  pursuit 
of  the  flying  enemy  after  the  battle  of  Oudenarde. 

The  next  winter  was  spent  very  uncomfortably  in  Flanders,  the  cold 
being  so  severe  that  several  men  and  horses  are  said  to  have  been  frozen 
to  death.  In  spring  the  Greys  once  more  followed  their  great  leader  and 
found  Malplaquet  a  much  more  serious  business  than  any  in  which  they 
had  yet  been  engaged.  Ordered,  along  with  the  Royal  Irish  Dragoons, 
with  whom  they  were  brigaded,  to  file  through  a  wood  and  charge,  they 
found  themselves  up  against  a  considerable  force  of  French  horse.  These 
they  succeeded  in  routing,  but  immediately  thereafter  they  were  engaged 
with  superior  numbers  of  the  French  Household  Cavalry,  a  corps  d'elite 
in  "  shining  armour."  These  proved  at  first  too  strong  for  them  ;  but, 
although  forced  back  at  first,  the  Dragoons  rallied  and,  reinforcements 
coming  up,  returned  to  the  assault  a  second  time.  But  the  enemy  was 


44  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

resolute,  and  once  more  they  had  to  fall  back.  Again  they  re-formed 
and  had  a  third  try  for  victory ;  this  time  they  prevailed,  and  the  French 
horse  broke  and  fled.  For  this  exploit  they  received  the  personal  thanks 
of  the  Duke  of  Marlborough.  In  the  light  of  modern  warfare,  with  its 
scientific  death-dealing  paraphernalia,  it  is  surprising  to  find  that  the  whole 
losses  of  the  regiment  in  this  fierce  encounter  only  amounted  to  thirty 
casualties  of  all  sorts  to  officers  and  men. 

Early  in  1710  the  Greys  received  a  welcome,  and  probably  much  needed, 
accession  of  a  hundred  men  and  horses  from  Scotland  ;  their  Colonel,  the 
Earl  of  Stair,  who  had  been  previously  honoured  by  being  twice  sent  home 
with  despatches,  was  on  26th  May  invested  with  the  Order  of  the  Thistle 
in  the  camp  before  Douai,  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  having  received  a 
special  commission  from  the  Queen  to  that  effect.  The  regiment  did  not 
do  much  actual  fighting  this  year  ;  but  one  squadron,  along  with  two  of  the 
Irish  Dragoons,  had  the  good  fortune  of  making  a  brilliant  little  charge 
against  a  sally  party  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Scarpe,  which  had  been  sent 
out  to  intercept  the  British  supplies. 

Nothing  very  exciting  occurs  in  the  annals  of  the  regiment  during  the 
remainder  of  Marlborough's  campaigns.  In  1712  hostilities  ceased,  the 
peace  of  Utrecht  was  proclaimed  nth  April,  1713,  and  the  Greys  returned 
to  Scotland  towards  the  end  of  the  year. 

It  may  be  noted  here  that  though  regiments  were  not  distinguished  by 
numerical  titles  till  the  reign  of  George  II.  the  Greys  had  been  ranked  since 
1694  as  the  4th  Dragoons.  The  reason  of  this  was  that  it  had  been 
decided  that  English  regiments  should  have  precedence,  and  that  Scots 
and  Irish  regiments  should  only  rank  from  the  date  on  which  they  were 
placed  on  the  English  establishment.  This  happened  to  the  Greys  in  1688, 
when  there  were  three  English  Dragoon  regiments  in  existence.  But  in 
1713  another  board  of  general  officers  was  appointed  by  Queen  Anne  to 
consider  the  matter  with  reference  to  some  newly  raised  regiments.  It 
was  then  proved  that  the  Royal  Scots  Dragoons  had  crossed  the  Border 
and  entered  England  in  1685  when  there  was  only  one  regiment  of  English 
dragoons  embodied — on  this  account  the  Greys  were  ultimately  acceded 
the  rank  of  the  2nd  Dragoons. 

After  the  war  the  army  was  considerably  reduced  in  numbers,  and  only 
six  regiments  of  dragoons  were  retained ;  but  the  Greys  themselves  did 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  45 

not  suffer  from  this  reduction,  on  the  contrary,  their  strength  was  aug- 
mented to  nine  troops  instead  of  eight. 

The  regiment  was  not  to  enjoy  a  long  period  of  repose.  Scarcely  had 
George  I.  ascended  the  throne  when  the  Earl  of  Mar's  rising  took  place. 
Again  the  army  was  put  on  a  war  footing  and  three  troops  of  the  Greys 
were  drafted  off  into  a  newly  formed  regiment — now  the  7th  Hussars. 
The  headquarters  of  the  regiment  were  at  Stirling  in  August,  1715.  They 
had  a  sharp  encounter  with  the  enemy  on  23rd  October  near  Dunfermline, 
and  routed  him  handsomely  without  themselves  having  any  serious  casualty. 
They  met  the  Jacobite  forces  again  at  Sherriffmuir  on  I2th  November. 
This  action  was  somewhat  indecisive  in  results,  but  the  Greys  did  their  duty 
well  on  the  right  flank  of  the  Royal  Army,  and  at  first  carried  everything 
before  them,  though  later,  after  the  Jacobite  left  wing  had  been  broken 
and  put  to  flight,  Mar  was  still  in  such  superior  strength  as  enabled  him 
to  beat  a  retreat  unmolested.  The  casualties  in  this  battle  were  light, 
two  men  and  three  horses  of  the  Greys  were  killed  and  six  officers  and  men 
wounded.  When  the  back  of  the  rising  was  broken  the  Greys  were  em- 
ployed under  Argyll  in  chasing  the  fugitive  forces  in  the  north,  after  which 
they  were  sent  into  quarters  in  Glasgow  and  Stirling. 

The  Jacobite  attempt  of  1719  drew  the  Greys,  or  part  of  them  at  least, 
into  active  service  again.  Three  troops  were  employed,  along  with  a  con- 
siderable body  of  infantry,  under  General  Wightman  in  opposing  the 
insurgents  in  the  Highlands.  They  marched  westwards  from  Inverness 
early  in  June,  came  up  with  the  enemy  at  the  picturesque  and  steep  valley 
of  Glenshiel,  and  attacked  them  in  difficult  ground.  The  engagement  lasted 
three  hours  and  was  well  fought  on  both  sides.  Hill  Burton  says  that 
neither  party  could  claim  a  decisive  victory  ;  but  the  advantage  must  have 
been  with  the  royal  troops,  as  it  was  agreed  that  the  Spanish  allies  of  the 
Jacobites  should  surrender,  and  that  as  to  the  others,  they  should  each 
"  gang  their  ain  gait  "  and  disperse.  It  was  not  a  very  bloody  affair,  the 
casualties  on  both  sides  not  being  estimated  at  much  over  a  hundred. 
The  Greys  never  came  into  action  and  suffered  no  loss. 

After  the  Jacobite  risings  came  peace  :  the  strength  of  the  regiment 
was  drastically  reduced  to  207  sabres.  From  1721  to  1727  it  was  stationed 
in  various  quarters  in  England,  except  in  1723,  when  it  was  in  Scotland. 
In  1727,  in  anticipation  of  foreign  service,  the  establishment  was  increased 


46  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

to  nine  troops.  Nothing,  however,  happened,  and  in  1729  its  numbers  were 
fixed  at  309  officers  and  men. 

From  1730  to  1737  the  Greys  were  continuously  in  Scotland ;  then 
they  crossed  the  Border  once  more  and  remained  in  England  till  1742,  when 
George  II.  resolved  to  support  the  claim  of  Maria  Theresa  to  the  throne  of 
her  father,  the  Emperor  Charles  VI.,  in  terms  of  the  Pragmatic  Sanction. 
They  were  then  warned  for  foreign  service,  were  reviewed  at  Kew  by  the 
king,  who,  whatever  his  faults  may  have  been,  was  a  gallant  soldier,  and 
by  the  end  of  June  they  went  into  quarters  near  Ghent.  It  was  not,  how- 
ever, till  next  year  that  the  Greys  were  able  to  distinguish  themselves 
by  any  notable  feat  of  arms.  Their  chance  came  at  Dettingen  when, 
with  their  gallant  colonel,  James  Campbell,  at  their  head,  they  charged  the 
French  cuirassiers  to  some  purpose.  It  must  have  been  a  picturesque 
sight — the  Dragoons  with  their  high  grenadier  caps,  red  coats,  blue  waist- 
coats and  immense  jack-boots,  with  their  feet  thrust  home  in  ample  square 
stirrups,  thundering  along  on  their  grey  horses  against  the  brilliant  steel- 
corsleted  Household  Cavalry  of  France.  The  issue  was  not  long  in  suspense  ; 
the  enemy  broke  and  fled  in  confusion,  leaving  behind  them  a  white  standard, 
which  the  Greys  triumphantly  bore  back  to  their  own  lines,  thereby  earning 
the  commendation  of  the  king,  who  had  witnessed  this  brilliant  feat  of 
arms,  and  who  created  the  colonel  a  Knight  of  the  Bath.1  The  regiment 
had  their  usual  luck  as  regards  casualties  :  they  had  not  a  single  man  killed 
and  only  lost  four  horses,  with  an  officer  and  a  few  privates  wounded. 

They  were  not  so  fortunate  in  the  next  big  action  they  fought.  In  1745 
the  army,  having  marched  to  relieve  Tournay,  encountered  the  enemy  on 
the  plain  of  Fontenoy  and  a  very  sanguinary  engagement  ensued.  The  Greys, 
advancing  in  column  to  cover  the  infantry  on  the  right,  were  subjected  to 
a  heavy  fire  from  the  French  batteries,  and  their  gallant  colonel,  Sir  James 
Campbell,  who  as  a  lieut. -general  was  in  command  of  the  British  cavalry, 
had  his  leg  shot  off  and  soon  died  from  the  wound.  The  attack  failed,  and 
although  the  Greys  had  an  opportunity  of  making  one  of  their  impetuous 
charges,  they  were  fairly  beaten  by  the  superior  numbers  of  the  enemy  :  a 
retreat  was  ordered  and  the  army  fell  back  on  Ath.  The  Greys  lost  in  this 

1  General  Sir  James  Campbell  of  Lawers  (1667-1745)  had  seen  much  service  in  North 
America  and  India,  and  was  killed  at  Fontenoy.  The  Order  of  the  Bath  was  a  purely  military 
Order  in  1742,  restricted  in  number  to  36  Knights,  besides  the  Sovereign  and  a  Grand  Master, 
who  must  be  a  Prince  of  the  Blood.— ED. 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  47 

action  fifteen  men  and  twenty-five  horses  killed,  and  one  officer,  eleven  men 
and  thirty-three  horses  wounded. 

In  February,  1746,  the  regiment  had  actually  embarked  for  Scotland, 
having  been  ordered  home  on  account  of  the  Jacobite  rising,  but  they  were 
driven  back  by  stress  of  weather.  Before  they  were  ready  to  start  again 
the  rising  had  been  suppressed  and  they  were  ordered  back  to  quarters 
on  the  Dutch  frontier.  On  the  nth  of  October  in  this  year  Marshal  Saxe, 
at  the  head  of  a  large  army,  defeated  the  Allies  at  Raucoux,  and  although 
the  Greys,  along  with  the  only  other  two  cavalry  regiments  present,  did 
their  best  and  gave  the  French  infantry  a  severe  lesson,  the  army  was  obliged 
to  retire  across  the  Meuse.  The  Greys  in  this  engagement  lost  two  men 
killed  and  five  wounded. 

But  the  battle  of  Val  or  Laffeldt,  fought  on  2nd  July,  1747,  was  a  much 
more  serious  affair,  and  here  the  Greys  received  the  worst  mauling  they 
ever  had.  Sir  John  Ligonier  led  them  with  great  dash  and  vigour  against 
the  enemy,  who  was  getting  the  advantage.  They  completely  upset  two 
lines  of  cavalry  and  captured  several  standards.  But  their  impetuosity 
had  carried  them  too  far  :  they  came  under  the  fire  of  a  concealed  body 
of  infantry,  Ligonier's  horse  was  shot  under  him  and  he  himself  taken 
prisoner.  The  infantry  were  soon  dispersed,  and  then  the  Greys  and  other 
dragoons  were  faced  by  another  body  of  the  enemy,  which  they  routed  also. 
But  by  this  time  the  French  had  broken  the  Allies'  centre,  and  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland  gave  the  order  to  retire.  It  was  with  much  reluctance 
that  the  cavalry,  who  had  done  so  well  and  so  successfully,  began  to  retrace 
their  steps,  and  they  were  harassed  by  the  pursuing  foe.  One  squadron, 
indeed,  having  been  thrown  into  disorder  by  a  lot  of  Dutch  dragoons  who 
were  escaping  in  hot  haste  from  the  pursuit,  lost  its  standard,  and  when 
they  arrived  at  Maestricht  on  the  same  evening  they  found  their  numbers 
sadly  thinned.  They  had  to  mourn  the  loss  of  ninety-one  privates  besides 
two  of  other  ranks.  Fine  testimony  is  borne  to  their  determined  courage 
in  the  fact  that  the  number  of  wounded  was  much  less,  only  amounting  to 
thirty-nine  privates,  eight  commissioned  officers  and  seven  of  other  ranks. 
One  hundred  and  thirty-nine  horses  were  killed  and  twenty-one  wounded. 

Although  the  regiment  received  a  draft  from  home  of  98  men  and  100 
horses  during  the  spring  of  1748,  it  was  not  destined  to  see  any  more  fighting 
at  this  time.  The  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  was  signed  on  i8th  October, 


48  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

and  the  Greys  returned  to  England  the  following  month ;  but  they  were 
not  to  see  Scotland  again  for  many  years.  They  rested,  with  reduced  ranks, 
in  various  quarters  in  England  till  they  were  once  more  called  out  on  service 
in  1758.  The  light  troop  of  the  regiment  which  had  been  formed  three 
years  before  on  the  analogy  of  the  light  companies  of  infantry  regiments, 
was  brigaded  with  the  light  troops  of  eight  other  regiments  of  cavalry. 
This  troop  of  the  Greys  was  commanded  by  Captain  Lindsay,  and  it  is 
interesting  to  read  how  they  were  instructed  in  "  the  Prussian  exercise," 
which  appears  to  have  consisted  in  digging  large  trenches,  leaping  their 
horses  over  them,  and  leaping  and  swimming  through  other  obstacles.  The 
brigade  was  then  embarked  and  taken  over  to  France,  landing  near  Saint- 
Malo,  which  seaport  they  destroyed  and  burned.  Next  month  they  marched 
to  Cherbourg,  overthrew  the  fortifications  and  destroyed  the  shipping  in 
the  harbour,  returning  to  England  after  a  descent — not  so  successful — on  the 
bay  of  Saint-Lunaire.  Why  a  cavalry  brigade  should  have  been  employed 
for  work  like  this  is  rather  a  mystery,  but  it  seems  to  have  performed  its 
task  efficiently.1 

Meanwhile  the  main  body  of  the  regiment  had  been  sent  to  Holland 
to  take  part  in  what  is  known  as  the  Seven  Years'  War,  and  it  joined  the 
army  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  on  the  3ist  August.  The  principal  enemy 
in  this  campaign  was  the  weather,  which  was  cold  and  wretched  in  the 
extreme.  But  the  Greys  were  at  the  battle  of  Bergen  on  I3th  April,  1759, 
where  the  Allies  were  defeated  by  the  French,  though  the  Greys  themselves 
escaped  without  casualty.  Later  in  the  season,  on  ist  August,  was  fought 
the  battle  of  Minden,  and  here  the  tables  were  turned,  the  French  having 
to  fall  back  from  the  territory  they  had  recently  gained.  Next  summer 
at  Warbourg,  which  was  largely  a  cavalry  action,  the  Greys,  along  with 
other  cavalry,  performed  what  the  commander-in-chief  described  as  "  pro- 
digies of  valour,"  losing  only  one  man  and  one  horse.  There  was  a  sharp 
engagement  in  August  at  Zierenberg,  where  a  magnificent  charge  was  made 
by  the  Greys  and  Inniskillings.  Two  squadrons  of  the  Greys  charged  four 
squadrons  of  French  dragoons  and  chased  them  up  to  the  gates  of  the  town. 
They  paid  lightly  for  their  success  in  having  only  five  men  killed  and  six 
wounded.  Early  in  1761  the  regiment  was  called  out  from  then:  winter 

1  The  Greys,  and  the  light  troops  of  other  cavalry,  were  dragoons,  i.e.  mounted  infantry. 
—ED. 


2ND   ROYAL  NORTH   BRITISH   DRAGOONS 
SCOTS  GREYS 
Trooper  1815 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  49 

quarters  in  most  inclement  weather,  and  underwent  much  suffering  in  the 
campaign,  although  no  pitched  battle  was  fought.  The  next  year  did  not 
see  them  in  the  field  till  May,  and  again  there  was  no  general  action,  though 
the  regiment  had  frequent  successful  skirmishes  with  the  enemy. 

Shortly  after  the  treaty  of  Paris  (February,  1763)  the  Greys  returned  to 
England  and  were  once  more  put  on  a  peace  footing.  Then  ensued  a  long 
period  of  repose,  during  which  they  were  quartered  in  various  places 
in  Great  Britain.  It  may  be  noted  that  this  eminently  Scottish  regiment 
was  only  five  times  quartered  in  Scotland  during  the  thirty  years  from  1763 
to  1793,  and  then  only  for  comparatively  short  periods. 

Early  in  1793  war  was  declared  against  the  republican  government  of 
France.  The  Greys  were  immediately  raised  to  war  strength,  and  in  June  four 
troops  were  despatched  to  Flanders — the  customary  "  cockpit  of  Europe." 
Though  hard  enough  worked  they  did  not  take  part  in  any  important  engage- 
ment that  summer,  but  in  the  following  year  they  had  a  chance  of  display- 
ing their  mettle.  On  loth  May  they  were  placed  in  column  of  troops 
behind  the  left  wing  of  the  allied  army  in  front  of  Tournay.  After  an  unsuc- 
cessful attempt  by  the  enemy  to  turn  the  British  left,  the  Greys,  along  with 
their  old  comrades  the  Inniskillings  and  the  Bays,  led  by  the  Duke  of  York, 
advanced  in  open  form  of  half  squadrons  and  made  a  magnificent  charge. 
In  this,  or  in  another  engagement  shortly  after,  an  officer  of  the  Greys 
rode  into  an  enemy  square,  upset  three  men,  turned  his  horse  and  upset 
six  more,  thus  making  a  gap  for  the  entry  of  his  own  men,  of  which  they 
were  not  slow  in  taking  advantage.  Two  more  squares  were  broken,  and 
the  enemy  was  soon  in  retreat.  This  exploit  cost  the  Greys  eight  men  and 
fifteen  horses  killed,  and  about  a  dozen  officers  and  men  wounded.  But 
this  and  another  less  important  success  could  not  make  up  for  the  fact  that 
the  British  troops  were  largely  outnumbered,  and  were  obliged  to  withdraw 
to  Holland,  where  they  spent  a  most  uncomfortable  winter.  The  Duke  of 
York,  though  a  keen  and  conscientious  soldier,  was  not  a  great  general, 
and  during  the  campaign  of  the  following  summer  he  did  not  achieve  any 
success.1  The  expedition  was  withdrawn  in  November  and  the  four  troops 

1  On  the  contrary,  he  proved  himself  so  incompetent  that  he  was  recalled  in  December, 
1794,  handing  over  the  command  to  the  Hanoverian  Count  Walmoden.  Arthur  Wellesley, 
afterwards  Duke  of  Wellington,  commanded  the  33rd  Foot  in  this,  his  first  campaign.  Long 
afterwards,  when  asked  by  Lord  Mahon  whether  his  experience  in  the  Dutch  campaign  had 
been  of  service  to  him,  he  replied  :  "  Why,  I  learnt  what  one  ought  not  to  do,  and  that  is 
always  something  "  (Conversations  with  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  page  182). — ED. 

D 


50  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

of  the  Greys  rejoined  the  headquarters  of  the  regiment  at  Canterbury  in 
February. 

The  regiment  did  not  again  see  active  service  till  1815,  though  during 
the  intervening  years  they  lived  in  constant  expectation  of  being  ordered 
abroad,  and  their  numbers  fluctuated  according  as  the  hopes  and  fears  of 
the  Government  were  in  the  ascendant.  On  2oth  July,  1814,  they  were 
reviewed  in  Hyde  Park  with  other  troops  by  the  Prince  Regent,  the  Emperor 
of  Russia,  the  King  of  Prussia  and  other  foreign  princes  and  generals.  A 
detachment  of  the  regiment  and  one  of  Cossacks  formed  a  guard  of  honour 
to  the  potentates.  At  that  time  the  establishment  consisted  of  584  officers 
and  men,  but  on  the  reappearance  of  Napoleon  in  France  in  the  succeeding 
year  their  number  was  again  raised  to  ten  troops  with  946  officers  and 
men.  Six  troops  were  immediately  ordered  off  abroad  under  command  of 
Lieut.-Colonel  Inglis-Hamilton,  and  were  brigaded  with  the  Royals  and 
the  Inniskillings,  both  old  companions  in  arms.  Owing  to  a  mistake  in 
orders  on  i6th  June,  Lord  Uxbridge  halted  the  cavalry  division  before 
crossing  the  high  road  from  Mons  to  Brussels,  which  put  Wellington  at 
serious  disadvantage  in  the  general  action  on  that  day  at  Quatre-Bras. 
But  on  the  memorable  iSth  of  June  the  Greys  had  their  full  share  of  hard 
fighting.  The  weather  broke  on  the  afternoon  of  the  I7th.  Heavy  rain 
continued  until  midnight,  turning  the  whole  of  the  rich  plain  between 
Charleroi  and  Waterloo  into  a  swamp.  Young  Hamilton  of  Dalyell  was  a 
subaltern  in  the  Greys,  and  his  journal,  which  has  been  preserved  in  the 
original  manuscript,  gives  a  vivid  description  of  the  effect  of  the  deluge 
during  the  retreat  from  Quatre-Bras. 

"  It  rained  in  such  a  way  as  I  never  saw  either  before  or  since,  it  seemed  as 
if  the  water  were  tumbled  out  of  tubs  .  .  .  the  ground  was  so  soft  that  at  every 
step  our  horses  sank  half-way  to  the  knees,  and  in  several  places  where  we  passed 
over  fallow  land  it  had  the  appearance  of  a  lake,  the  rain  falling  upon  it  faster 
than  it  could  be  absorbed  or  run  off." 

Then  on  the  morrow  of  a  comfortless  night  spent  in  bivouac  : 

"  We  arose  with  daybreak  :  a  miserable-looking  set  of  creatures  we  all  were, 
covered  with  mud  from  head  to  foot,  our  white  belts  dyed  with  the  red  from  our 
jackets,  as  if  we  had  already  completed  the  sanguinary  work  which  we  were  about 
to  begin." 

The  Greys  were  not  brought  into  action  until  about  2.30  P.M.,  when 
the  advance  of  d'Erlon's  massive  columns  of  infantry  in  echelon  of  brigades 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  51 

had  been  checked  by  the  5th  Division  under  Sir  Thomas  Picton  on  the  east 
of  the  Charleroi-Brussels  highway.  Sir  William  Ponsonby  kept  the  heavy 
cavalry  on  the  reverse  slope  of  the  ridge  until  Marcognet's  brigade,  third 
in  the  echelon  of  attack,  wavered  and  broke  under  the  fire  of  Pack's  High- 
land Brigade.1  Then  he  brought  up  the  "  Union  Brigade  "—the  Royals, 
the  Greys,  and  the  Inniskillings — passing  them  through  the  intervals  of 
Pack's  and  Kempt's  brigades  which  had  been  thrown  into  squares,  formed 
line  and  fell  upon  Marcognet's  flank,  hurling  his  column  into  dire  confusion 
and  forcing  back  a  threatening  mass  of  French  cavalry.  Some  of  the  Scot- 
tish foot-soldiers,  catching  hold  of  the  stirrups  of  the  Greys  as  they  passed, 
were  carried  forward  with  them  in  the  charge,  shouting  "  Scotland  for 
ever !  " 

This  charge  of  the  Union  Brigade  lives,  and  will  live,  in  history.  D'Erlon's 
attack,  which  was  directed  by  Ney  in  person,  was  completely  shattered ; 
but  the  heavies  carried  things  too  far  ;  in  the  ardour  of  pursuit  they  got 
out  of  hand  and  suffered  severely.  Sir  William  Ponsonby  fell,  to  rise  no 
more,  and  Colonel  Hamilton  was  seen  at  a  gallop  crying — "  Halt  !  Halt, 
the  Greys  !  "  until  he,  too,  ended  his  career,  falling  dead  within  the  French 
lines. 

Sergeant  Ewart  of  the  Greys  performed  his  doughty  feat  in  capturing 
an  eagle  from  one  of  the  French  regiments,  and  lived  to  describe  the  exploit 
till  1846.  But  he  was  much  more  proud  of  another  incident  in  the  fight. 
A  young  cornet  of  the  regiment,  Kinchant  by  name,  had  asked  him  to 
spare  the  life  of  a  French  officer  whom  he  was  on  the  point  of  cutting 
down.  This  he  unwillingly  did  as  he  did  not  think  it  a  proper  time 
to  be  taking  prisoners.  Kinchant,  to  whom  the  officer  had  surrendered 
his  sword,  ordered  him  in  French  to  go  to  the  rear.  Ewart  prepared  to 
resume  the  charge,  but  hearing  a  shot,  looked  round  and  saw  that  the 
Frenchman  had  shot  Kinchant  dead  with  a  pistol.  Ewart  instantly 
wheeled  round  and  the  prisoner  whined  for  mercy.  "  Ask  mercy  of 
God  !  "  was  the  stern  reply,  "  for  the  deil  a  bit  will  ye  get  at  my  hands," 
and  with  one  mighty  sweep  of  his  sabre  the  Frenchman's  head  flew  into 
the  air. 

1  So-called  ;  but  it  should  be  known  as  the  Scots  Brigade,  inasmuch  as,  besides  the  3rd 
Battalion  42nd  Black  Watch  and  the  gznd  Gordon  Highlanders,  it  contained  the  3rd  Battalion 
Royal  Scots  and  the  2nd  44th  Regiment. 


52  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

There  were  many  more  charges  made  by  the  Greys  on  that  great  day  ; 
some  were  successful,  but  the  infantry  squares  were  hard  to  pierce  and  the 
regiment  lost  many  men.  Even  when  in  comparative  shelter  and  not 
engaged  in  active  fighting  men  were  dropping  from  artillery  fire.  At  last 
the  long  summer  day  drew  to  a  close  and  in  the  dusk  they  saw  the  flash 
of  muskets  and  heard  the  cheering  of  Vivian's  Hussars  and  Vandeleur's 
Light  Dragoons  as  they  pursued  the  retreating  enemy.  The  losses  of  the 
regiment  at  Waterloo  were  upwards  of  a  hundred  officers  and  men  killed, 
and  ninety-seven  wounded,  out  of  a  total  effective  strength  of  391.  They 
also  lost  164  horses  killed  and  60  wounded.  Amongst  the  non-commissioned 
officers  killed  was  Paymaster-Sergeant  Weir,  who,  from  the  nature  of  his 
duties,  was  not  required  to  go  into  action.  At  his  own  request,  however, 
he  was  allowed  to  charge  with  his  regiment.  When  the  field  was  searched 
and  his  body  recognised  it  was  found  that  he  had  written  his  name  on  his 
forehead  with  his  finger  dipped  in  his  own  blood  (it  was  before  the  days  of 
identity  discs).  It  was  presumed  that  he  had  done  this  in  order  that  his 
body  should  be  known  and  that  it  might  not  be  supposed  that  he  had 
disappeared  with  the  money  of  his  troop. 

The  last  survivor  of  the  Greys  who  fought  at  Waterloo  was  Sergeant  - 
Major  Dickson,  an  East  Lothian  man  who  was  born  in  1789  and  died  in 
July,  1880.  He  rode  in  the  charge  alongside  Sergeant  Ewart.  He  was  in 
the  Greys  for  thirty-seven  years,  and  had  a  medal  for  long  service  and 
good  conduct. 

The  Greys,  or  what  was  left  of  them,  rejoined  the  depot  at  Canterbury 
in  1816,  and  later  in  the  year  they  were  sent  to  Edinburgh.  They  were 
again  there  in  1822,  when  Scotland  was  visited  by  George  IV.,  to  whom 
they  acted  as  a  guard  of  honour.  It  was  twelve  years  before  they 
saw  Scotland  again  :  then  they  were  in  India  for  some  time  previous 
to  1843 — the  only  occasion  on  which  the  regiment  has  served  in  that 
country. 

After  a  long  experience  of  garrison  duty  the  Greys  were  once  more 
recalled  to  active  service  by  the  outbreak  of  the  Crimean  war.  They 
arrived  in  the  Crimea  on  24th  September,  1854,  and  a  month  later  were 
present  at  the  battle  of  Balaclava.  They  took  part  there  in  the  great 
charge  of  the  Heavy  Brigade,  and,  though  outflanked  and  outnumbered 
on  either  side  by  the  enemy,  they  fought  their  way  out  and  performed  a 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  53 

very  fine  feat  of  arms,  which  has  been  somewhat  eclipsed  by  the  more 
dramatic,  but  tactically  mismanaged,  charge  of  the  Light  Brigade.  This 
took  place  later  in  the  action,  and  the  Light  Brigade  was  covered  by  the 
Heavies,  who  had  their  full  share  of  fighting  as,  on  the  return  of  what  re- 
mained of  the  Six  Hundred,  they  were  met  by  thousands  of  Cossacks  who 
had  been  placed  in  ambush,  and  a  fierce  combat  ensued  from  which  the 
British  cavalry  extricated  themselves  with  difficulty.  Balaclava  was  per- 
haps the  last  picturesque  battle  that  will  ever  be  fought,  the  conditions 
of  modern  warfare  have  so  much  changed  since  then.  Writing  of  the  com- 
mencement of  the  engagement,  Sir  Edward  Hamley  observes  :  "  There  was 
something  almost  theatrical  in  the  grandeur  of  this  portion  of  the  spectacle  : 
the  French  stationed  on  the  heights  and  the  English  passing  along  them, 
looked  down  as  if  from  the  benches  of  an  amphitheatre,  on  the  two  bodies 
of  cavalry  meeting  in  mortal  shock  on  the  level  grassy  plain,  which,  enclosed 
on  every  side  by  lofty  mountains,  would  have  been  a  fit  arena  for  a  tourna- 
ment of  giants."  When  their  work  was  over  the  regiment  received  special 
encomium  from  Sir  Colin  Campbell.  "  Greys,  gallant  Greys  !  "  he  said 
as  he  rode  up  and  uncovered,  "  I  am  sixty-one  years  old,  and  if  I  were 
young  again  I  should  be  proud  to  serve  in  your  ranks  !  " 

As  an  instance  of  the  confidence  reposed  in  the  ability,  courage  and 
resource  of  the  men  of  the  Greys  it  is  related  that,  when  the  regiment  was 
mounted  and  drawn  up  in  line  behind  a  hill  waiting  for  orders,  an  excited 
A.D.C.  came  up  at  full  gallop  and  said,  "  Colonel,  ten  men  who  dare  go 
anywhere  and  know  no  fear  are  wanted  at  once  ;  they  must  be  desperate 
fellows  as  they  have  a  desperate  job  to  perform  :  please  let  me  have  them 
as  soon  as  possible."  Colonel  Darby  Griffiths,  scarcely  turning  in  his  saddle, 
simply  said  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  "  Greys,  from  your  right,  number 
off  ten  !  " 

After  the  Crimean  war  the  regiment  had  a  long  period  of  rest,  and  was 
stationed  at  various  parts  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  It  was  not  until 
1899  that  war  threw  its  shadow  once  more  across  the  Empire.  On  7th 
September  of  that  year  orders  were  received  to  mobilise  for  active  service 
in  South  Africa,  and  three  months  after  the  regiment  disembarked  at  Cape 
Town.  Then  ensued  a  war  different  from  anything  of  which  the  Greys 
had  had  any  experience  previously.  Gone  was  all  the  glorious  panoply  of 
war,  the  brilliant  uniforms,  the  burnished  accoutrements,  and  even  the 


54  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

beautiful  grey  horses.  In  a  sense,  indeed,  the  latter  were  there,  but  their 
glossy  coats  were  all  stained  khaki  colour.  It  was  indeed  a  khaki  war  against 
an  enemy  which  was  largely  unseen,  and  what  proved  more  deadly  among 
them  than  the  actual  foemen  they  met  were  the  insidious  ravages  of  disease. 
In  dealing  with  a  campaign  such  as  that  of  South  Africa,  where  there  was 
never  what  might  be  called  a  pitched  battle  on  a  grand  scale,  it  is  impossible 
to  go  into  detail.  A  few  of  the  leading  incidents  can  only  be  briefly  sum- 
marised, and  these  can  give  but  a  feeble  idea  of  what  was  really  undergone 
by  the  Greys  and  other  troops  employed. 

When  the  cavalry  was  reorganised  under  General  French  in  the  begin- 
ning of  1900,  the  Greys  formed  part  of  the  ist  Cavalry  Division.  The 
brigade  was  under  the  command  of  Brigadier-General  Porter,  and  con- 
sisted of  the  following  units  :  6th  Dragoon  Guards,  2nd  Royal  Dragoons 
(the  Scots  Greys),  one  squadron  Inniskilling  Dragoons,  one  squadron 
i4th  Hussars,  New  South  Wales  Lancers,  and  F,  A  and  U  Batteries  Royal 
Horse  Artillery.  Later  a  squadron  of  the  Australian  Horse  were  attached 
to  the  Greys  and  remained  with  them  till  the  end  of  October. 

The  work  done  by  the  Greys  was  both  arduous  and  constant.  Exposed 
alternately  to  scorching  heat  and  searching  cold  on  the  veldt,  the  physique 
both  of  men  and  horses  was  tried  to  the  uttermost.  If  the  regiment  had 
no  great  and  glorious  day  such  as  they  had  in  other  wars,  they  had  a  great 
deal  of  success  to  their  credit.  They  were  present  at  the  relief  of  Kimberley 
and  the  surrender  of  Cronje.  They  failed  to  give  the  satisfactory  finishing 
touch  to  the  pursuit  of  defeated  Boers  at  Osfontein  because  their  horses, 
suffering  from  the  change  of  food  and  climate,  were  too  weak  to  gallop 
far.  They  assisted  at  the  capture  of  Blomfontein  on  I3th  March,  1900. 
They  had  an  unfortunate  experience  at  Vredes  Verdrag  on  loth  May,  when 
they  met  with  an  immensely  superior  force  of  the  enemy  and  were  obliged 
to  retire  with  some  casualties.  Another  misfortune  befel  a  squadron  of 
the  Greys  at  Zilikats  Nek  on  nth  July,  when,  after  twelve  hours'  stubborn 
resistance,  they  were  compelled  through  failure  of  ammunition  to  surrender. 
The  horses,  however,  had  been  turned  loose  early  in  the  day  and  rejoined 
headquarters  of  their  own  accord. 

The  story  of  the  campaign  as  a  whole  does  not  lend  itself  to  any  thrilling 
narrative.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  conduct  of  the  Greys  earned 
the  highest  praise  from  all  who  had  the  handling  of  them.  The  best  indica- 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  55 

tion  of  the  hardships  undergone  and  the  spirit  displayed  by  the  regiment 
is  not  to  be  found  so  much  in  the  recital  of  isolated  engagements  as  by  a 
study  of  the  casualty  lists.  The  actual  number  of  officers  and  men  killed 
in  action  was  not  very  great,  being  two  of  the  former  and  twenty  of  the 
latter,  while  four  officers  and  eleven  men  died  of  wounds.  Sickness  accounted 
for  the  death  of  one  officer,  and  thirty-five  men  succumbed  to  disease.  Four 
officers  and  eighty-two  men  were  wounded.  The  losses  in  horses  were 
terrible  ;  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  were  killed  and  five  hundred  and  seven 
had  to  be  destroyed  :  four  hundred  and  sixty-five  died,  mostly  from  sheer 
exhaustion  :  no  less  than  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-seven  were 
invalided  to  the  sick  horse  depots,  while  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  were, 
by  order,  left  on  the  veldt  :  a  few  were  captured  by  the  enemy,  but  these 
were  more  than  made  up  for  by  horses  taken  from  the  Boers. 

Afte*  peace  was  declared  on  3ist  May,  1902,  the  regiment  went  to  Stellen- 
bosch  in  Cape  Colony,  where  they  remained  till  1905.  They  were  then  brought 
home  and  quartered,  first  at  Norwich,  and  in  the  following  years  in  Edinburgh. 
Soon  after  they  were  ordered  to  England  again  on  the  ground  that  the 
barracks  at  Piershill  had  been  declared  insanitary.  Considerable  public 
indignation  was  expressed  at  the  early  removal  of  a  regiment  so  intimately 
associated  with  the  capital  of  Scotland,  especially  as  the  barracks  were 
not  considered  too  unhealthy  enough  to  house  a  detachment  of  Royal  Field 
Artillery,  which  were  sent  there  at  once.  The  public  were  more  or  less 
appeased  by  the  assurance  given  that  the  Greys  would  be  the  first  occupants 
of  the  new  and  up-to-date  barracks  at  Redford,  near  Edinburgh,  which  were 
then  in  course  of  construction.  It  was  not  possible,  however,  to  fulfil  that 
pledge  :  before  the  new  barracks  were  ready  for  occupation  the  Greys 
were  once  more  on  active  service. 

The  part  they  have  played  and  will  yet  play  in  the  Great  World  War 
must  fall  to  be  chronicled  by  some  future  historian.  But  one  thing  is 
certain  :  that  the  regiment  will  never  fail  to  act  up  to  the  spirit  of  its  own 
famous  motto,  and  will  ever  prove  itself  "  SECOND  TO  NONE  !  " 


56  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 


THE  SCOTS  GREYS. l 

0  terrible  grey  horses  !  that  woke  Napoleon's  fears, 
The  thunder  of  your  beating  hoofs  makes  music  down  the  years  ; 
At  Blenheim  and  at  Ramillies  your  fires  of  glory  grew 
To  blaze  upon  a  watching  world,  full-flamed,  at  Waterloo. 
And  still  our  fathers  tell  their  sons  in  many  a  Nor'land  town 
Of  how  their  grandsires  in  the  Greys  rode  the  French  standards  down. 

O  terrible  grey  horses  !  the  Russians  heard  your  tread, 
When  Scarlett's  men,  at  one  to  ten,  rode  up  the  lanes  of  lead. 
The  burgers  saw  your  bridle  reins  shine  silver  in  the  sun, 
When  French  spurred  into  Kimberley  to  say  the  siege  was  done  ! 
And  now  by  Mons  and  Charleroi,  by  Meaux  and  Compiegne 
The  spirit  fed  at  Fontenoy  has  fired  your  troops  again. 

The  men  that  once  opposed  you  with  rifle,  trench  and  sword, 

Are  fighting  on  your  flank  to-day  to  stem  the  Vandal  horde  ; 

The  spirit  of  your  country  calls,  ye  need  no  whip  nor  spur 

To  gallop  'neath  the  gauntlet  hands  that  hold  the  world  for  her. 

Charge  on  and  break  them,  gallant  Greys  !     Your  great  name  keep  and  hold ; 

0  terrible  grey  horses  !  that  Napoleon  feared  of  old. 

W.  H.  OGILVY. 


ARMS,  UNIFORM,  AND  EQUIPMENT. 

Dragoons  being,  as  aforesaid,  originally  more  of  the  nature  of  mounted 
infantry  than  cavalry,  their  arms  corresponded  with  those  of  the  unmounted 
branch  of  the  service.  Twelve  men  in  each  troop  carried  halberts  and  holster 
pistols,  and  were  probably  also  furnished  with  grenades  :  the  remainder 
were  armed  with  matchlocks,  bandoliers,  and  bayonets.  In  1687  dragoons 
were  ordered  to  have  "  snaphanse  musquets,  strapt,  with  bright  barrels 
of  three  foote  eight  inches  long,  cartouche  boxes,  bayonets,  granado  pouches, 
buckets  and  hammer-hatchets."  Bandoliers  had  about  twelve  little  cases, 
each  containing  a  charge  of  powder,  a  bag  with  bullets  and  a  primer  with 
priming  powder.  Bandoliers  were  succeeded  by  an  arrangement  called  patron- 

1  Reprinted  by  kind  permission  of  the  author  and  of  the  editor  of  the  Scotsman,  in  which  the  verses 
first  appeared. 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  57 

tashes,  which  dispensed  with  the  bullet-bag  and  made  the  same  case  hold 
both  powder  and  bullets.  By  1709  at  latest  the  whole  army  was  provided 
with  cartridge  boxes.  Instead  of  trumpets  the  Greys  had  originally  drums- 
two  to  each  troop — thus  emphasising  their  character  as  infantry.  Trumpets, 
indeed,  were  not  adopted  till  1765.  It  is  not  quite  certain  when  the  Greys 
first  carried  swords,  but  as  they  were  practically  assimilated  to  cavalry  at 
an  early  date  it  is  possible  that  they  got  swords  at  that  period,  though  they 
still  continued  to  carry  the  musket.  The  latter  weapon  continued  to  be 
used  up  to  the  introduction  of  carbines,  and  these  in  their  turn  were  super- 
seded by  rifles  during  the  South  African  war.  When  the  regiment  was  first 
formed,  the  uniform,  as  has  been  mentioned  above,  was  grey  ;  but  this 
seems  to  have  been  a  personal  fad  of  General  Dalyell,  and  after  his  death 
the  men  were  probably  clothed  in  the  royal  livery  like  other  regiments. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  we  have  no  definite  description  of  the  details  of  the 
uniform  until  1751,  when  dress  regulations  for  the  regiment  were  issued  to 
the  following  effect  :  The  coats  were  scarlet  double-breasted,  but  without 
lappels,  blue  linings  and  slit  sleeves  turned  up  with  the  same  colours  ;  the 
button-holes  trimmed  with  narrow  white  lace  ;  flat  white  metal  buttons  set 
two  and  two  ;  a  long  sash  pocket  in  each  skirt,  and  a  white  worsted  aiguillete 
on  the  right  shoulder.  The  waistcoat  and  breeches  were  blue,  and  the 
great  coat  or  cloak  scarlet  with  a  blue  collar  and  lined  with  blue  ;  it  had  its 
buttons  on  white  frogs  and  loops  with  a  blue  stripe  down  the  centre.  The 
officers'  uniforms  were  trimmed  with  silver  lace,  and  they  wore  a  crimson 
silk  sash  across  the  left  shoulder.  All  this  gay  attire  was  surmounted  by 
a  tall  blue  grenadier  cap  having  on  the  front  the  thistle  surrounded  by  the 
motto  Nemo  me  impune  lacessit ;  the  flap  was  red  with  the  white  horse 
of  Hanover  and  the  motto  Nee  aspera  terrent  over  it.  The  back  part  of  the 
cap  was  red  and  the  turn-up  blue  with  a  thistle  embroidered  between  the 
letters  II.  D.1  Grenadier  caps  had  probably  been  worn  by  the  regiment 
from  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Ramillies,  previous  to  which  they  had  worn 
the  three-cornered  cocked  hat  common  to  all  regiments,  and  they  continued 
to  be  used  till  1768  or  even  later.  They  were  very  smart,  and  suited  the 
uniform  of  the  period  admirably. 

1  In  .1  coloured  drawing  in  the  British  Museum  of  date  1742  a  Scots  Grey  is  shown  with 
a  grenadier  cap  the  colours  of  which  are  exactly  the  reverse  of  those  mentioned  above  ;  the 
front  of  the  cap  being  red  turned  up  with  blue.  Whether  there  was  a  change  made  by  the 
regulations,  or  whether  the  artist  made  a  mistake,  is  impossible  to  say. 


58  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

In  1764  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  be  mounted  on  long-tailed  horses, 
the  white  worsted  aguillette  was  discontinued  and  an  epaulette  on  the  left 
shoulder  substituted.  It  is  probable  that  all  white  mountings  were  now 
done  away  with,  and  that  the  epaulette  worn  by  the  men  was  of  yellow 
worsted,  while  that  of  the  officers  would  be  gold.  The  following  year  it 
is  certain  that  officers  had  gold  embroidery.  The  colour  of  the  waistcoats 
and  breeches  was  changed  from  blue  to  white,  and  the  heavy  jack-boots 
were  replaced  by  others  of  a  lighter  description. 

The  year  1768  brought  doom  to  the  old  grenadier  cap.  With  that  mania 
for  unnecessary  change  which  has  always  characterised  the  British  military 
authorities,  the  regiment  was  now  directed  to  wear  black  bearskin  caps 
with  the  thistle  ornament  as  before.  But  the  bearskins  seem  to  have  been 
kept  for  high  ceremonial  occasions,  if,  indeed,  the  order  was  carried  into 
effect  at  all  at  this  time.  In  regimental  order  of  i?th  August,  1777,  the 
regiment  is  ordered  to  parade  "  in  short  gaiters  and  grenadier  caps  and 
old  cloaths,"  and  two  years  later  reference  is  made  to  "  the  new  grenadier 
caps  to  be  fitted  for  the  men,"  and  in  1789  "  the  colonel  will  give  half  a  guinea 
to  any  sergeant,  corporal,  or  dragoon  who  shall  contrive  the  best  method 
of  fixing  on  the  grenadier  caps,  and  easiest  for  the  men,  so  as  in  all  situations 
to  prevent  them  falling  off." 

It  was  the  custom  then  and  for  long  after  for  the  men's  hair  to  be  poma- 
tumed, powdered,  and  plaited  in  a  club  behind.  In  1778  we  are  informed 
that  if  any  man's  hair  was  too  short  to  admit  of  this  treatment  he  was  to 
provide  himself  "  with  false  hair  of  the  colour  of  his  own,  twenty-two  inches 
wherefrom  it  is  tied  behind."  The  ribbon  with  which  the  hair  was  tied 
was  to  hang  down,  "about  two  inches  being  sufficient."  Not  only  was 
the  men's  hair  looked  after  with  scrupulous  attention,  but  the  horses'  manes 
were  also  plaited,  though  not  powdered,  and  "  if  opened  out  are  to  be  again 
plaited  up  till  the  morning  of  the  review."  It  was  not  till  1808  that  the 
men  were  allowed  to  wear  their  hair  au  naturel.  In  1784  the  officers  wore 
two  epaulettes — the  only  heavy  cavalry  regiment  who  then  enjoyed  that 
privilege ;  and  four  years  afterwards  the  sword-belts  were  ordered  to  be 
suspended  across  the  right  shoulder  instead  of  being  fastened  round  the 
waist ;  but  the  latter  fashion  was  resumed  again  in  1796,  the  sword-blade 
itself  being  lengthened  to  thirty-two  inches. 

In  1811  the  skirts  of  the  men's  coats  were  considerably  shortened,  and 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  59 

broad  yellow  lace  was  used  for  the  trimmings  instead  of  narrow  white  lace. 
The  tails  to  the  coats  seem  to  have  been  abolished  altogether  by  1834,  and 
by  1864  the  scarlet  tunic  had  been  adopted,  with  a  white  belt  for  the 
cartouche  box  worn  across  the  left  shoulder. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  precise  date  of  the  disappearance  of  the 
grenadier  cap,  there  is  no  doubt  that  at  the  time  of  Waterloo  the  regiment 
was  wearing  bearskins.  The  pattern,  however,  was  rather  different  from 
what  it  now  is.  In  front  there  was  a  brass  peak  bearing  the  regimental 
badge,  and  the  feather  was  not  a  mere  "  hackle,"  but  a  white  plume  curv- 
ing over  the  top  of  the  hat.  The  hackle,  reduced  to  nine  inches  in  height, 
was  introduced  in  1846,  and  the  dress  regulations  of  1894  provide  that  the 
bearskin  is  to  have  a  gilt  thistle  on  front  and  a  gilt  grenade  on  the  left  side 
as  a  plume  socket,  bearing  the  badge  of  St.  Andrew  with  the  royal  arms 
above  and  the  word  "  Waterloo  "  below. 

In  1808  plush  breeches  were  ordered  to  be  worn  instead  of  leather  ; 
but,  as  might  have  been  expected,  this  was  not  found  a  suitable  material, 
and  in  1812  web  breeches  and  grey  cloth  overalls  were  introduced.  These 
were  followed  at  a  more  recent  date  by  dark  blue  cloth  overalls  with  a  yellow 
stripe. 

STANDARD. 

The  Regimental  Standard  is  red,  bearing  a  thistle  surrounded  by  a  green 
ribbon  with  the  motto  Nemo  me  impune  lacessit,  and  a  garland  of  rose, 
thistle,  and  shamrock.  The  ribbon  is  surmounted  by  an  imperial  crown. 
Below,  the  regimental  motto  Second  to  none.  (In  a  standard  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  motto  appears  as  Nee  sunt  tibi  Marie  secundi.)  Below  the  motto 
is  an  eagle  displayed  bearing  a  thunderbolt  between  two  scrolls,  the  upper 
inscribed  "Waterloo"  and  the  lower  "Sevastopol."  There  are  six  other 
scrolls  on  the  colours,  the  three  on  the  dexter  side  bearing  the  names 
"  Blenheim,"  "  Oudenarde  "  and  "  Dettingen  "  ;  those  on  the  sinister 
"  Ramillies,"  "  Malplaquet  "  and  "  Balaclava."  At  the  four  corners  are  the 
white  horse  of  Hanover  and  the  monogram  "  II.  D.,"  each  twice  repeated. 
The  squadron  standards  (discontinued  since  1859)  were  somewhat  similar, 
but  blue  instead  of  red.  The  only  battle  scrolls  on  them  were  "  Waterloo," 
"  Balaclava  "  and  "  Sevastopol." 


60  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 


COLONELS  OF  THE  REGIMENT. 

I.  26th  November,  1681 — September,  1685.    THOMAS  DALYELL,  born  1615, 
eldest  son  of  Thomas  Dalyell  of  Binns  and  Janet  Bruce,  said  to  have  been  a  daughter 
of  the  first  Lord  Bruce  of  Kinross.    Fought  in  the  royalist  army  and  after  the 
death  of  Charles  I.  never  shaved  his  beard.    Entered  the  Muscovite  service,  but 
returned  to  Scotland  in  1665.    Commander-in-chief  in  Scotland,  1666  ;  second 
in  command  to  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  1679  >   a  noted  persecutor  of  the  Cove- 
nanters ;    M.P.  for  Linlithgowshire  and  a  privy  councillor.     Married  Agnes  Ker 
of  Cavers,  and  had  a  son  Thomas  who  was  created  a  baronet. 

II.  6th  November,  1685 — December,  1688.    LORD  CHARLES  MURRAY,  second 
son  of  John,  first  Marquess  of  Atholl,  by  Amelia  Anne  Sophia,  daughter  of  James, 
Earl  of  Derby.     Born  28th  February,  1661.    Lieut.-colonel,  1681 ;  colonel,  1685  ; 
created  Earl  of  Dunmore,  i6th  August,  1686.     Removed  from  his  command  in 
1688  and  suffered  several  periods  of  imprisonment.    Pardoned  at  the  accession 
of  Queen  Anne,  and  sworn  as  privy  councillor,  1703  ;    Governor  of  Blackness 
Castle,  1707.     Died  igth  April,  1710.     Married,  1682,  Catherine,  daughter  and 
heir  of  Richard  Watts  of  Great  Munden,  co.  Herts. 

III.  3ist  December,  1688— 7th  April,  1704.    SIR  THOMAS  LIVINGSTON.    Eldest 
son  of  Sir  Thomas  Livingston,  Bart.,  entered  the  service  of  the  Prince  of  Orange 
and  was  captain,  1678,  and  lieut.-colonel  of  Balfour's  Regiment,  1684.    Came  to 
Britain  with  William  of  Orange,  and  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  Royal  Dragoons. 
Served  in  the  Scottish  campaign  under  General  Hugh  Mackay,  and  defeated  the 
Jacobite  army  at  the  Haughs  of  Cromdale,  ist  May,  1690.     Succeeded  General 
Mackay  as  commander-in-chief  in  Scotland  and  was  sworn  a  privy  councillor. 
Exonerated  from  blame  in  the  matter  of  the  massacre  of  Glencoe.    Major-General, 
1696,  and  had  the  same  rank  on  the  English  establishments,   1698.     Created 
VISCOUNT  TEVIOT  in  December,  1696.     In  1697  commanded  a  brigade  in  the 
Netherlands,  and  became  lieut.-general,  nth  January,  1703.     Author  of  a  scarce 
work  entitled  Exercise  of  the  Foot  with  the  Evolution  according  to  the  words  of 
Command,  1693.     Died  I4th  January,  1711,  aged  60.     Married  a  Dutch  lady, 
Macktellina  Walrave  of  Nimeguen,  but  the  union  was  not  a  happy  one,  and 
they  became  involved   in   litigation.     There   is  a  curious  story  of  his  ghost 
having  appeared  to  his  neglected  wife  at  the  hour  of  his  death  asking  forgiveness 
from  her. 

IV.  7th  April,  1704 — I5th  August,  1706.    LORD  JOHN  HAY,  second  son  of 
the  second  Marquess  of  Tweeddale.     Born  about  1688.    Entered  the  regiment  of 
Royal  Dragoons  ;   was  lieut.-colonel  i6th  August,  1703  ;   and  colonel  (by  pur- 
chase) 7th  April,  1704  ;   brigadier-general,  25th  August,  1704.    Commanded  his 
regiment  in  the  campaigns  under  Marlborough  and  was  a  very  popular  officer. 
Died  at  Courtrai,  I5th  August,  1706.     Married  first  Elizabeth  Dalziel,  a  daughter 
and  heir  of  James,  fourth  Earl  of  Carnwath,  and  secondly  Elizabeth,  daughter 
and  heir  of  Sir  Charles  Orby  of  Croyland,  Bart. 

V.  August,  1706— 20th  April,  1714.    LORD  JOHN  DALRYMPLE,  second  Earl 
of  Stair.    Born  and  August,  1673.    Served  as  a  volunteer  with  the  Cameronian 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  61 

Regiment  of  the  Earl  of  Angus  at  Steinkirk,  8th  August,  1692  ;  second  lieut.- 
colonel  Scottish  Foot  Guards,  I2th  May,  1702  ;  A.D.C.  to  the  Duke  of  Marl- 
borough  in  1703  ;  had  a  commission  as  colonel  in  the  Scots  Brigade  in  Holland 
which  he  exchanged  in  1706  for  the  colonelcy  of  the  Scots  Greys,  and  commanded 
them  at  Ramillies  ;  commanded  a  brigade  at  the  battle  of  Oudenarde,  nth  July, 
1708  ;  major-general,  1709  ;  lieut. -general,  ist  January,  1710  ;  K.T.,  26th  May, 
1710,  being  invested  under  special  commission  by  the  Duke  of  Marlborough 
at  the  camp  before  Douai.  After  the  fall  of  Marlborough  he  had  to  make  over 
his  command  at  a  fixed  price  to  the  Earl  of  Portmore.  He  got  the  colonelcy 
again,  however,  as  after  noted. 

VI.  2ist  April,  1714 — isth  February,  1717.    DAVID,  EARL  OF  PORTMORE. 
Sir  David  Colyear,  second  Baronet,  was  born  in  Brabant  about  1656,  and  was 
naturalised  by  Act  of  Parliament,  1699  ;    served  in  his  father's  regiment  in  the 
Dutch  Brigade  and  in  1688  was  made  colonel  of  what  used   to  be  Wauchop's 
Regiment,  with  which  he  fought  in  Ireland  under  William  III.     He  was  appointed 
governor  of  Limerick,  I3th  October,  1691.     He  was  a  brigadier    before    1695. 
On  ist  June,  1699,  he  was  created  Lord  Portmore,  and  on  I3th  April,  1703,  further 
created  Earl  of  Portmore.     Colonel  of  the  2nd  Foot  (Coldstream  Guards),  27th 
February,  1703  ;   commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  in  Portugal,  3rd  July,  1710  ; 
general,  3ist  January,  1712,  and  afterwards  served  in   Flanders  ;    K.T.,    I7th 
January,  1713 ;  governor  of  Gibraltar,  7th  August,  and  a  representative  peer  for 
Scotland  in  October  of  the  same  year.     Colonel  of  the  Greys,  2ist  April,  1714, 
an  appointment  which  he  retained  till  1717.     Died  in  January,  1730.     Married 
about  1695,  Catherine,  only  child  of  Sir  Charles  Sedley  of  Southfleet,  Barnet, 
and  had  issue. 

VII.  I5th  February,  1717 — nth  May,  1745.    JAMES  CAMPBELL  OF  LAWERS. 
Captain  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers,  25th  February,  1702,  and  colonel,  24th  August, 
1706 ;    served  with  that  regiment  at  Oudenarde.     Lieut. -colonel  of  the  Greys, 
24th  August,  1706,  and  greatly  distinguished  himself  with  them  at  Malplaquet. 
Colonel  of  the  gth  Foot,  27th  July,  1715,  and  colonel  of  the  Greys,  I5th  February, 
1717  ;    groom   of   the   bedchamber  to  George  II.  ;    M.P.  for  Ayrshire,  1727-41  ; 
brigadier-general,  I5th  November,  1735  ;    governor  of  Edinburgh  Castle,  1738  ; 
major-general,  2nd  July,  1739  ;    lieut.-general,  i8th  February,  1742.     Created  a 
Knight  of  the  Bath,  i6th  June,  1743,  for  his  distinguished  services  at  Dettingen. 
Lost  a  leg  at  the  battle  of  Fontenoy,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  died,  30th  April, 
1745.     Married,  1720,  Jean  Boyle,  eldest  daughter  of  David,  first  Earl  of  Glasgow, 
and  had  issue  James,  who  became  fifth  Earl  of  Loudoun. 

VIII.  28th  May,  1745— gth  May,  1747.     JOHN,  EARL  OF  STAIR.     After  the 
sale  of  the  colonelcy  of  the  Greys  to  Lord  Portmore,  as  mentioned  above,  on  the 
death  of  Queen  Anne,  Lord  Stair  was  appointed  gentleman  of  the  bedchamber 
to  George  I.  and  a  privy  councillor.     On  4th  March,  1715,  he  was  made  colonel 
of  the  Inniskilling  Dragoons,  and  in  the  following  September  was  sent  to  France 
as   ambassador    extraordinary.      From  1720  to  1729  he  retired  to  private  life, 
but  in  the  year  last  mentioned  was    appointed  vice-admiral  of   Scotland.     In 
1734  he  lost  all  his  offices  from  political  reasons  ;   but  on  the  fall  of  the  Walpole 
administration  he  received  a  field  marshal's  baton,  i8th  March,  1742  ;  governor 
of  Minorca,  I4th  April,  1742,  and  once  more  colonel  of  the  Inniskillings.     He  was 


62  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

also  ambassador  extraordinary  to  the  States-General  of  Holland,  and  Commander- 
in-chief  of  the  Allied  army  in  Flanders.  He  commanded  under  King  George  II. 
at  the  battle  of  Dettingen  ;  but  being  disgusted  with  the  preference  shown  to 
the  Hanoverians,  he  resigned  his  command. 

In  1744  he  was  appointed  commander-in-chief  in  Great  Britain,  and  again 
got  his  old  colonelcy  of  the  Greys,  28th  May,  1745,  in  succession  to  his  brother- 
in-law,  the  gallant  Sir  James  Campbell ;  on  loth  June,  1746,  he  was  appointed 
general  of  Marines.  He  died  gth  May,  1747.  Married  in  March,  1708,  Lady 
Eleanor  Campbell,  daughter  of  James,  second  Earl  of  Loudoun,  and  widow  of 
James,  first  Viscount  Primrose. 

IX.  28th  May,  1747 — 25th  December,  1749.    JOHN,  20th  EARL  OF  CRAWFORD. 
Born  4th  October,  1702,  and  succeeded  to  the  title  in  1713.    Captain  in  the  Scots 
Greys,  25th  December,  1726,  and  in  the  First  Regiment  of  Foot  Guards,  1734. 
In  1738  he  joined  the  Russian  Army  and  was  severely  wounded  at  the  battle  of 
Krotzka,  22nd  July,  1739.    On  his  return  to  England  he  was  colonel  of  the  Black 
Watch  or  42nd  Foot,  and  of  the  Horse  Grenadiers  in  1740  ;   of  the  25th  Foot 
in  1746  ;  and  in  the  following  year  obtained  the  colonelcy  of  the  Greys.     He  was 
brigadier-general  in  the  Duke  of  Cumberland's  army  in  Flanders,  and  was  pro- 
moted to  major-general.     He  fought  at  Fontenoy,  1745,  and  at  Roucoux,  1746. 
Lieut. -general,    i6th   September,    1747.     Died   24th   December,   1749.      Married 
Lady  Jean  Murray,  daughter  of  James,  second  Duke  of  Atholl,  much  to  the  dis- 
pleasure of  the  Duke,  as  it  was  a  run-away  match.     She  died  in  November,  1747, 
only  eight  months  after  the  marriage. 

X.  i8th  January,  1750 — April,  1752.    JOHN,  EARL  OF  ROTHES.    Born  about 
1698,  succeeded  his  father  as  ninth  earl  in  1722.     By  that  time  he  had  been  some 
years  in  the  army,  having  been  a  captain  of  dragoons  in  1715,  and  of  the  Foot 
Guards  two  years  later.     In  1719  he  was  lieut.-colonel  of  the  Scots  Fusiliers  ; 
governor  of  Stirling  Castle,  1722  ;    lieut.-colonel,  25th  Foot,  1732  ;    brigadier- 
general,  1739  ;   major-general,  1743  ;   and  served  as  such  at  the  battle  of  Det- 
tingen.    In  April,  1745,  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  Scots  Horse  Grenadiers 
and  in  the  following  month  was  transferred  to  the  Inniskilling  Dragoons,  and 
commanded  the  cavalry  brigade  at  the  battle  of  Roucoux,  1746  ;  lieut. -general, 
1747,  and  colonel  of   the  Greys,   1750.      Governor  of  Duncannon    Fort   and 
commander-in-chief   in    Ireland,    1751  ;    transferred   to   the    colonelcy  of   the 
Scots  Foot  Guards,  1752 ;    K.T.,  1753 ;    and   general,   1755.     He    died   loth 
December,    1767.     Married   first,  1741,    Hannah,   daughter   and   co-heiress   of 
Matthew   Howard  of  Hackney ;   and  secondly,    1763,   Mary  Lloyd,    daughter 
of  Gersham  Lloyd. 

XI.  2gth  April,  1752 — gth  November,  1770.    JOHN  CAMPBELL  OF  MAMORE, 
afterwards  fourth  DUKE  OF  ARGYLL.    Born  about  1693,  and  was  a  lieut.-colonel 
in  1712  ;    A.D.C.  to  his  kinsman  John,  Duke  of  Argyll  and  Greenwich,  during 
the  Jacobite  rising  of  1715  ;    colonel  of  the  Scots  Fusiliers,  1738  ;    brigadier- 
general  at  the  battle  of  Dettingen,  1741  ;    major-general,  1744 ;   lieut. -general, 
1747  ;   colonel  of  the  Greys,  2gth  April,  1752  ;  and  governor  of  Limerick,  1761. 
On  isth  April,  1761,  he  succeeded  as  fourth  Duke  of  Argyll ;   K.T.  and  general, 
1765.     Died  in  November,  1770.     Married,  1720,  Mary  Bellenden,  third  daughter 
of  John,  second  Lord  Bellenden. 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  63 

XII.  ioth  November,  1770— 4th  January,  1782.    WILLIAM,  EARL  OF  PAN- 
MURE.     Third  son  of  Harry  Maule  of  Kellie,  third  son  of  George,  second  Earl 
of  Panmure.     He  was  born  in  1700,  and  entered  the  army,  serving  as  an  officer 
in  the  Scots  Foot  Guards ;    he  was  at  Dettingen  and  Fontenoy.     Colonel,  25th 
Foot,  1747  ;  of  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers,  1752  ;    M.P.  for  Forfarshire  from  1735  to 
1782  without,  it  is  said,  once  opening  his  mouth  except  to  say  "  What  a  shame," 
when  the  mob  tried  to  break  the  windows  of  St.  Stephen's  Chapel  during  a  riot 
in  1745.     On  ist  April,  1743,  he  was  created  an  Irish  peer  under  the  title  of  Earl 
Panmure  of  Forth  ;    major-general,  1755  ;    second  in  command  at  Gibraltar, 
1756  ;    lieut. -general,   1758  ;    general,    1770.      In    the  last-mentioned   year    he 
obtained  the  colonelcy  of  the  Scots  Greys,  which  he  retained  till  his  death  on 
4th  January,  1782.     He  was  handsome,  popular,  very  hospitable  and  benevolent, 
and  a  great  gourmet. 

XIII.  i8th  April,  1782— 3ist  January,   1785.     GEORGE  PRESTON.    Son  of 
Major  William  Preston  of  Gorton.     He  served  almost  all  his  life  in  the  Scots 
Greys,  entering  the  regiment  as  cornet,  i6th  July,  1739.     He  obtained  the  lieut. - 
colonelcy,  25th    February,   1757,  and  commanded  the  Greys  during  the  Seven 
Years'  war.     He  was  transferred,  as  colonel,  to  the  I7th  Light  Dragoons,  2nd 
November,  1770  ;    major-general,   1772  ;    lieut. -general,  1777  ;    and  returned  to 
the  Greys  as  colonel,  i8th  April,  1782.     Died  3ist  January,  1785. 

XIV.  4th  February,  1785— 24th  November,  1795.     JAMES  JOHNSTON.     It  has 
not  been  ascertained  to  what  family  this  officer  belonged,  but  he  commenced  his 
military  service  in  the  Royal  Horse  Guards,  fought  at  Dettingen  and  Fontenoy, 
and  was  major  in  the  regiment  in  1750  ;    lieut.-colonel,  1754,  and  commanded 
it  during  the  Seven  Years'  war.     Colonel,  First  Irish  Horse  (now  4th  Dragoon 
Guards),    1762  ;    major-general,    1770  ;     colonel,  nth    Dragoons,  1775  ;    lieut.- 
general,  1777.    He  obtained  the  colonelcy  of  the  Greys  in  February,  1785,  and  died 
24th  November,  1795. 

XV.  2nd  December,  1795 — 30th  October,  1796.     ARCHIBALD,  IITH  EARL  OF 
EGLINTON.     Born  iSth  May,  1726.     Joined  the  Greys   as  cornet,  I5th  March, 
1744  ;    on  3ist  October  in  that  year  he  purchased  a  commission  as  captain  in 
Colonel  Fleming's  Regiment.     He  raised  the  78th  Regiment  of  Highlanders,  and 
had  a  commission  as  their  lieut.-colonel,  4th  January,  1757.      He   commanded 
this  regiment  in  America,  where  he  served  with  distinction  under  General  Amherst. 
Governor  of  Dunbarton  Castle,  1764 ;   deputy  ranger,  Hyde  Park  and  St.  James's 
Parks,  1766 ;    colonel,  5ist    Foot,    1767  ;    major-general,    1772  ;    lieut.-general, 
1777  ;  governor  of  Edinburgh  Castle,  1782  ;  general,  1793  ;  colonel  of  the  Greys, 
2nd    December,   1795.      Died   3Oth    October,   1796.      Married   first  Lady    Jean 
Lindsay,  daughter  of  George,  Earl  of  Crawford,  and  secondly,  in  1783,  Frances, 
only  daughter  of  Sir  William  Twysdan  of  Baydonhall. 

XVI.  2nd  November,  1796 — 28th  March,  1801.     SIR  RALPH  ABERCROMBY. 
The  detailed  account  of  the  career  of  this  distinguished  and  popular  officer  can- 
not be  given  here  :  the  following  brief  summary  must  suffice.    The  eldest  son  of 
George  Abercromby  of  Tullibody,  he  was  born  in  October,  1734.     Cornet,  3rd 
Dragoon  Guards,  1756  ;   went  with  his  regiment  to  Germany  in  1758  and  fought 
under  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  ;  lieutenant,  1760  ;  captain,  1762  ;  major,  1770  ; 


64  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

lieut.-colonel,  1773  ;  major-general,  1787.  Fought  in  the  Flanders  campaign 
under  the  Duke  of  York  and  was  publicly  thanked  by  that  commander  for  his 
conduct  at  Roubaix.  Knight  of  the  Bath,  1795  ;  commanded  the  West  Indian 
Expedition  in  1796  ;  commander-in-chief  in  Ireland,  1797,  and  in  Scotland,  1798. 
He  was  in  command  of  the  ist  Division  in  the  Dutch  campaign  of  1799,  and 
and  if  anyone  could  have  made  it  a  success,  he  was  the  man  ;  but  he  was  super- 
seded by  the  Duke  of  York,  who  made  a  sad  mess  of  it.  He  was  appointed  com- 
mander-in-chief in  the  Mediterranean  in  1800,  and  was  mortally  wounded  in 
the  hour  of  victory  at  the  battle  of  Aboukir,  dying  on  28th  March,  1801.  Married, 
1767,  Mary  Anne,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  John  Menzies  of  Ferntower.  She 
received  a  peerage  after  her  husband's  death,  28th  May,  1801,  as  Baroness 
Abercromby. 

XVII.  i6th  May,  1801 — 27th  January,  1813.    SIR  DAVID  DUNDAS.    The  son 
of  an  Edinburgh  merchant,  who  was  a  cadet  of  the  ancient  family  of  Dundas 
of  Dundas,  he  was  born  about  1735.     After  beginning  the  study  of  medicine  he 
abandoned  that  science  and  obtained  in  1752  a  commission  as  lieutenant  in  the 
Engineers  under  his  uncle,  Colonel  David  Watson,  who  was  at  that  time  making 
a  survey  of  Scotland.     In  1756  he  joined  the  56th  Foot,  and  in  1759  had  command 
of  a  troop  in  a  newly  raised  regiment  of  light  horse  (now  the  i5th  Hussars).     He 
served  in  Germany  in  1760  and  1761  ;    was  A.D.C.  to  Major-General  Elliot  in 
Cuba,  1762  ;   major,  isth  Dragoons,  1770  ;   lieut.-colonel,  lath  Light  Dragoons, 
J775  .'    quartermaster-general  in  Ireland,  1778  ;    lieut.-colonel,  2nd  Irish  Horse 
(now  5th  Dragoon  Guards)  ;    major-general,  1790  ;    colonel,  22nd  Foot,  1791  ; 
commanded  a  brigade  of  cavalry  at  Tournay,  1794 ;    colonel  of  the  7th  Light 
Dragoons,  1795  ;    quartermaster-general,  1796.     He  commanded  a  division  in 
the  expedition  to  Holland  under  the  Duke  of  York  in  1799  ;  colonel  of  the  Scots 
Greys,  i8th  May,  1801,  and  governor  of  Fort  George;  general,  1802  ;   Knight  of 
the  Bath,  1804 ;  colonel  of  the  Rifle  Brigade,  1809 ;  commander-in-chief,  1809- 
1811 ;  colonel,  ist  Dragoons  Guards,  1813.     Died  i8th  February,  1820.     Dundas 
was  a  scientific  soldier  and  published  several  treatises  on  military  tactics.     He 
married  Charlotte,  sister  of  Lieut-.  General  Oliver  de  Lancy. 

XVIII.  27th  January,   1813— 4th  January,   1815.    WILLIAM  JOHN,   FIFTH 
MARQUESS  OF  LOTHIAN.     Born  I3th  March,  1737  ;    cornet,  nth  Dragoons  (a 
regiment  commanded  by  his  father),  26th  June,  1754.    After  serving  as  a  captain 
in  the  5th  Dragoons,  and  major  in  the  i8th  Dragoons,  he  obtained  the  lieut.- 
colonelcy   of   the   I2th   Dragoons  in   1760,   and   subsequently   held   the   same 
rank  in  the  4th  Regiment  of  Horse,  the  Second  Troop  and  then  the  First  Troop 
of  Horse  Guards,  the  latter  being  formed  into  the  first  regiment  of  Life  Guards 
in  1788.     He  succeeded  his  father  in  the  peerage  in  1775,  and  was  created  a  K.T. 
nth  October,  1776.     He  was  removed  from  his  command  in  1789  on  the  recovery 
of  the  King,  owing  to  his  having  supported  the  claim  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to 
the  Regency  ;   general,  1796.     In  1798  he  got  the  colonelcy  of  his  old  regiment, 
the  nth  Dragoons,  and  was  transferred  to  the  Greys  in  January,  1813.  Died 
4th  December,   1815.     Married,  1762,   Elizabeth,  only  daughter  of  Chichester 
Fortescue  of  Dromiskin,  co.  Louth. 

XIX.  i2th  January,   1815— I2th  August,   1839.     SIR  JAMES  STEUART  OF 
COLTNESS,  Bart.    Born  August,  1744.     Cornet,  ist  Dragoons,  I7th  March,  1761, 


SIR  JAMES  BALFOUR  PAUL  65 

and  served  with  that  regiment  in  Germany,  1761,  1762  ;  captain,  I05th  Royal 
Highlanders,  I3th  January,  1763  ;  travelled  in  France  and  Germany  for  two 
years  ;  captain,  5th  Royal  Irish  Dragoons  (now  Lancers),  1766  ;  major,  I3th 
Dragoons,  6th  November,  1772.  The  following  year,  on  his  father  succeeding 
to  the  estate  of  Coltness,  he  took  the  additional  surname  of  Denham,  and  was 
known  as  Steuart-Denham  till  nearly  the  end  of  his  life,  when  he  resumed  his 
original  name  of  Steuart.  Colonel,  I2th  Light  Dragoons,  gth  November,  1791  ; 
major-general,  October,  1793  ;  from  1795  to  1797  he  had  command  of  the  cavalry 
in  Scotland  ;  in  the  last  mentioned  year  he  was  made  a  local  Lieut.-General  with 
the  command  of  Munster,  and  highly  distinguished  himself  by  his  statesmanlike 
ability  during  the  insurrection  of  1798.  Lieut.-General,  ist  January,  1798  ; 
general,  1803  ;  colonel  of  the  Greys,  lath  January,  1815  ;  G.C.B.,  1830.  Died 
I2th  August,  1839.  Married  Alexia,  daughter  of  William  Blacker  of  Carrick, 
co.  Armagh. 

XX.  25th   August,    1839 — 28th   May,   1851.    SIR   WILLIAM    KEIR  GRANT. 
Son  of  Archibald  Keir,   H.E.I.C.S.     Born   1772.     Comet,  I5th  Light  Dragoons 
(now  I5th  Hussars),  30th  May,  1792  :   lieutenant,  1793  ;   served  in  the  Flanders 
campaigns  of  1793-4.     He  took  part  in  a  singularly  gallant  exploit  at  Villiers- 
en-Couche,  when  two  squadrons  of  the  I5th  and  as  many  of  the  Austrian  Leopold 
Hussars  saved  the  Emperor  Francis  II.  from  being  taken  prisoner.     For  this 
he  received  one  of  the  nine  large  gold  medals  presented  to  the  British  officers 
concerned  :    when  he  recorded  arms  in  1805  his  medal  occupied  a  conspicuous 
place  on  the  shield.     He  was  also  made  a  knight  of  the  Military  Order  of  Maria 
Theresa.     He  fought  in  the  Russian  and  Austrian  Armies,  1799-1801.     Lieut.- 
colonel  22nd  Light  Dragoons,  3rd  December,  1800  ;  after  the  peace  of  1801  he  was 
A.D.C.  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  to  Lord  Moira  in  Scotland  ;   adjutant-general 
to  the  King's  troops  in  Bengal,  1806  ;  colonel,  1810  ;  major-general,  1813.     From 
1806  to  1820  his  services  were  entirely  in  the  East ;   commander-in-chief  in  Java, 
1815  ;    Persian  decoration  of   the  Lion    and  Sun,  1820  ;    K.C.B.,  1822  ;    lieut.- 
general,  1825  ;  G.C.B.,  1835  ;    colonel  of  the  Greys,  25th  August,  1839  ;   general, 
1841.     He  died  7th  May,  1852.     Married,  1811,   Rebecca,  daughter  of  Captain 
John  Palmer  Jackson,  R.N. 

XXI.  28th  May,  1851 — 25th  August,  1858.    ARCHIBALD  MONEY.     For  the 
first  time  in  its  history  the  Greys  had  a  colonel  who  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
a  Scotsman,  though  his  actual  parentage  has  not  been  ascertained.     He  joined 
the  nth  Hussars  as  a  cornet  in  1794,  in  which  regiment  he  served  for  twenty-five 
years,  becoming  brevet  lieut. -colonel  in  1814.     He  was  with  it  in  Flanders  and 
Scotland,  in  the   Cadiz  expedition,  in  Egypt  in  1801,  in   the  Peninsular  cam- 
paigns of  1811-12,  and  at  Waterloo,  where  he  commanded  the  regiment  towards 
the  close  of  the  day.     C.B.,  1815  ;   colonel,  1837 ;    major-general,  1846 ;    lieut.- 
general,  1854 ;    colonel  of  the  Greys,  28th  May,  1851.     Died  25th  August,  1858. 

XXII.  i4th   September,    1858— I7th   July,   1860.     LORD  ARTHUR  MOYSES 
WILLIAM  HILL,  afterwards  LORD  SANDYS.     Second  son  of  Arthur,  second  Marquess 
of   Downshire,    by    Mary    Trumbell,    created    (1802)    Baroness   Sandys.      Born 
loth  January,  1792.     Cornet,   loth  Hussars,  1809  ;    lieutenant,  1810  ;    captain, 
1813  ;    brevet-major,   1815  ;    joined   the  Greys  as  captain,  1816  ;    brevet  lieut.- 
colonel,   1819  ;    lieut. -colonel   Scots   Greys,  23rd   March,  1832  ;    colonel  in  the 


66  ROYAL  SCOTS  GREYS 

Army,  1837  ;  major-general,  1846  ;  colonel,  7th  Dragoon  Guards,  1853  ;  lieut.- 
general,  1854  ;  colonel  Scots  Greys,  I4th  September,  1858.  Died  I7th  July, 
1860.  Unmarried. 

XXIII.  i7th  July,  1860 — 3oth  January,  1864.     SIR  ALEXANDER  KENNEDY 
CLARKE-KENNEDY  of  Knockgray.     Son  of  John  Clarke  of  Nunland,  and  grand- 
son of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Kennedy  of  Knockgray,  to  which  estate  he  succeeded 
and  took  the  additional  surname  of  Kennedy.     Born  1782.     Cornet,  1st  Royal 
Dragoons,    1802  ;    lieutenant,   1804 ;    captain,   1810 ;    major,   1825 ;    lieut.-col., 
1830  ;    colonel  in  the  Army,  1841  ;    major-general,  1854  ;   lieut.-general,  1860  ; 
colonel  Scots  Greys,  I7th  July,  1860.     He  served  in  the  Peninsular  campaign 
and  was  at  Waterloo,  where  he  was  twice  wounded,  and  had  two  horses  shot 
under  him.     He  was  an  A.D.C.  to  Queen  Victoria.     Died  30th  January,  1864. 
Married,  1816,  Harriet  Rebekah,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  John  Randall. 

XXIV.  3ist  January,  1864— 22nd  September,  1881.     SIR  JOHN  BLOOMFIELD 
GOUGH,  G.C.B.,  A.D.C.     Son  of  the  Very  Rev.  Thomas  Bunbury  Gough,  Dean 
of  Deny.     Lieut.-general   in   the   Army,    1862.     Married,    ist,    1840,   Carmina, 
daughter  of  E.  Hitchins  ;    2nd,  1846,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Major-General  Sir 
John  McCaskill,  K.C.B.  ;    3rd,  1855,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  George  Arbuthnot 
of  Elderslie.     Died  2Oth  September,  1891. 

XXV.  23rd    September,     1891 — qth     February,     1900.     GEORGE    CALVERT 
CLARKE,  C.B.     Fifth  son  of  John  Calvert  Clarke.     Born  23rd  June,  1814.     Ex- 
changed as  captain  from  8gth  Foot,  1845  ;    major,  1858 ;    lieut.-colonel,  1866  ; 
colonel,  1891.     Died,  unmarried,  igth  February,  1900. 

XXVI.  gth   February,    1900 — loth   July,    1905.     ANDREW   NUGENT,    eldest 
son  of  Patrick  John  Nugent  of  Portnaferry,  oo.  Down.     Born  30th  March,  1834. 
Cornet,  1852  ;    lieut,  1854  ;   captain,  1856  ;    major,  1866  ;   lieut.-colonel,  1869  ; 
colonel  in  the  Army,  1869  ;   colonel  of  the  Greys,  1900.     Died,  unmarried,  loth 
July,  1905. 

XXVII.  nth  July,  1905.    ANDREW  SMITH  MONTAGUE  BROWNE,  eldest  son 
of  Captain  Patrick  Montague  Browne  of  Janeville,  co.  Down.     Born  1836.     Lieut., 
1855  I   captain,  1858  ;   major,  1869  ;   lieut.-colonel,  1877  ;   colonel  in  the  Army, 
1881  ;   major-general,  1893  ;   colonel  3rd  Dragoon  Guards,  1903  ;   colonel  of  the 
Greys,  1905.     Married,  1872,  Alice  Jane,  daughter  of  Lieut.-Colonel  James  A.  D. 
Fergusson. 

H.I.M.  NICHOLAS  II.,  EMPEROR  OF  RUSSIA,  was  appointed 
colonel-in-chief  of  the  Greys,  8th  December,  1894. 


II 

THE   SCOTS   GUARDS 

BY  CAPTAIN  CHARLES   B.  BALFOUR  OF  NEWTON  DON,  LATE  SCOTS  GUARDS, 

LORD-LlEUTENANT    OF    BERWICKSHIRE 

THE  Scots  Regiment  of  Foot  Guards  had  its  origin  in  the  civil 
wars  of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  1642  a  force  was  raised  in 
Scotland  to  help  the  Protestant  settlers  in  Ulster,  who  were  hard  pressed 
by  the  Irish  insurgents  under  Sir  Phelim  O'Neile.  Scotland,  at  the  joint 
request  of  the  King  and  of  the  Parliament  of  England,  was  to  find  the 
men,  while  the  latter  undertook  to  provide  the  money  for  maintaining 
them  in  Ireland. 

Ten  regiments  of  foot  and  600  horse  landed  in  Ulster.  To  follow  their 
campaigns  in  the  north  of  Ireland  would  exceed  the  limits  of  this  narrative  ; 
but  it  may  be  said  that  in  circumstances  of  great  difficulty,  not  the  least 
of  which  was  the  failure  on  the  part  of  the  English  Parliament  to  observe 
their  part  of  the  bargain,  they  saved  the  situation  in  Ulster.  For  seven 
years  they  remained  there,  and  when,  in  October,  1649,  the  remnant  of 
the  army  returned  to  Scotland,  their  numbers  were  so  reduced  that  those 
who  remained  on  pay  were  formed  into  one  battalion  of  six  companies  of 
66  men  each,  and  a  body  of  40  horse.  The  infantry  were  known  as  the 
"  Irish  Companies,"  and  this  body  of  veterans  moved  from  one  quarter 
to  another  in  the  Lowlands  of  Scotland  until  King  Charles  II.  landed  in 
1650. 

On  5th  July  he  was  proclaimed  king,  the  Irish  companies  having  been 
assigned  to  him  on  the  3rd  as  a  Lifeguard  of  Foot,  and  Lord  Lome  was 
appointed  colonel  of  the  regiment.  On  22nd  July  the  king  ordered  new 


68  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

colours  to  be  issued  to  the  regiment  at  Falkland  Palace.  These  were  very 
unlike  the  colours  of  to-day.  The  ensigns  were  blue — that  of  the  colonel 
bore  on  it  the  royal  arms  as  marshalled  in  Scotland — and  each  of  the  others 
displayed  a  royal  device,  but  on  one  side  only.  On  the  other  side  of  each 
ensign  were  the  words  in  large  gold  letters  :  "  Covenant.  For  Religione — 
King — and  Kingdoms." 

The  Foot  Guards  took  part  in  the  defence  of  Edinburgh  against  Crom- 
well, and  suffered  so  severely  at  the  battle  of  Dunbar  that  only  two 
companies  could  afterwards  be  mustered  for  attendance  on  the  king. 
Lieut.-Colonel  James  Wallace  of  Auchans  and  Major  Bryce  Cochrane  were 
taken  prisoners,  and  many  other  officers  were  killed ;  but  they  saved  their 
colours,  for  in  the  illustrated  roll  of  Scottish  colours  taken  at  Dunbar — 
drawn  up  by  order  of  the  English  Parliament— no  colours  resembling  those 
of  the  regiment  appear. 

The  Foot  Guards  were  on  duty  at  Charles  II.'s  coronation  at  Scone  on 
1st  January,  1651,  but  their  depleted  ranks  were  never  filled  up,  and  at  the 
end  of  July,  when  the  march  to  Worcester  began,  they  were  only  236  strong. 
On  3rd  September,  1651,  the  Scottish  army  was  annihilated  at  Worcester ; 
and  the  King's  Life  Guard  of  Foot  shared  in  the  general  fate. 

During  the  Commonwealth  Scotland  was  garrisoned  by  the  parlia- 
mentary army  under  General  Monck,  and  it  was  not  until  the  greater 
part  of  the  English  troops  were  withdrawn  that  the  king  set  about 
reorganising  the  Scottish  forces. 

The  first  to  be  embodied  were  the  Foot  Guards.  On  5th  January,  1661, 
one  company  was  sworn  in  and  placed  as  a  garrison  in  Edinburgh  Castle, 
under  command  of  Captain  Robert  Straiton.  A  second  company  was 
taken  on  pay  in  February  as  the  garrison  of  Dunbarton  Castle.  In  April 
a  troop  of  Life  Guards  was  formed ;  in  May  another  troop ;  and  on 
1st  May  of  the  following  year  Charles  II.  signed  a  warrant  for  the  "  Establish- 
ment of  a  New  Regiment  of  Foot  Guards  to  his  Matie  consisting  of  six 
hundred  souldiers."  There  were  to  be  six  companies,  as  in  the  original 
battalion.  It  was  not,  however,  till  August,  1662,  that  any  additions  were 
made  to  the  existing  establishment.  In  that  month  three  field  companies 
were  raised  by  beat  of  drum  in  Edinburgh,  and  in  September  the  sixth 
company  was  raised  for  the  garrison  of  Stirling  Castle.  On  I3th  September 
five  companies  were  reviewed  in  Edinburgh  by  the  Lord  High  Commis- 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  69 

sioner,  the  Earl  of  Middleton,  and  on  i6th  September  the  regiment 
received  new  colours.  These  were  red,  with  the  white  St.  Andrew's  Cross 
on  a  blue  canton  ;  and  in  the  centre  the  royal  badge  of  the  Golden  Thistle — • 
surmounted  by  the  imperial  crown,  and  encircled  with  the  motto  "  Nemo 
me  impune  lacessit  "  in  gold  letters. 

The  Earl  of  Linlithgow  was  appointed  lieut.-colonel  of  the  regiment 
without  a  company,  although  he  drew  captain's  pay  in  addition  to  his 
own.  Sir  James  Turner,  a  veteran  of  the  continental  and  civil  wars 
(original  of  the  famous  Dugald  Dalgety),  was  appointed  major  with  a  com- 
pany. The  precepts  for  the  pay  of  the  field  and  garrison  companies  were 
issued  to  him  as  major.  This  rule  was  observed  until  the  augmentation 
of  the  forces  in  1666,  when  the  number  of  companies  in  the  Guards  was 
increased. 

The  connection  between  the  garrison  and  field  companies  was  then 
discontinued,  on  the  ground  that  the  augmentation  would  enable  the  officer 
commanding  to  overtake  all  necessary  field  duty  without  calling  for  de- 
tachments from  the  garrisons,  as  had  hitherto  been  the  custom.  It  was 
about  this  time  also  that  Linlithgow  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel. 

Soon  after  the  review  of  the  five  companies  in  Edinburgh  in  September, 
1662,  the  regiment  marched  to  Glasgow,  and  all  six  companies  were  there 
again  reviewed  by  Middleton  ;  and  thus  at  the  beginning  of  their  history 
the  Scots  Foot  Guards  were  connected  with  the  two  cities  of  Scotland  from 
which  they  still  draw  so  many  of  their  recruits. 

As  in  1650,  so  in  1666,  the  first  engagements  of  the  Foot  Guards  were 
in  civil  war,  for  in  the  latter  year  they  took  part  in  the  action  against 
the  Covenanters  at  Rullion  Green,  and  early  in  June,  1679,  a  detachment 
under  Lord  Ross  beat  off  the  attack  of  the  Covenanting  army  on  Glasgow. 
Thence  they  proceeded  to  Bothwell  Brig,  and  it  was  the  charge  of  the  Guards 
under  Lord  Livingstone  which  broke  the  defence  of  the  bridge.  In  1682 
a  grenadier  company  was  added  to  the  regiment — the  first  of  its  kind  in 
Scotland.  Two  years  later  Colonel  James  Douglas,  brother  of  the  Earl 
of  Queensberry,  at  a  parade  on  Leith  sands  took  over  the  command  of  the 
regiment  from  Linlithgow,  who  exchanged  the  profession  of  arms  for  that 
of  the  law,  and  was  appointed  Lord  Justice-General. 

Douglas  was  a  keen  soldier,  and  brought  the  regiment  to  a  high  state 
of  efficiency.  Under  his  command  it  was  increased  to  two  battalions, 


70  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

one  of  which  in  1686  went  up  to  London  and  joined  the  camp  formed  by 
King  James  at  Hounslow  Heath,  being  brigaded  with  the  other  two  regi- 
ments of  Guards  for  the  first  time.  The  uniform  of  the  regiment  is  recorded 
at  this  time  as  "  red  coats — lined  with  white — white  breeches  and  stockings." 
The  pictures  of  the  battle  of  Bothwell  Brig  at  Dalmeny  and  Dalkeith  repre- 
sent the  breeches  and  stockings  as  dark  grey. 

King  James  VII.  changed  the  colours  of  the  regiment  from  what  they 
had  been  under  Charles  II.  to  the  national  flag  of  Scotland— the  St.  Andrew's 
cross  on  a  blue  ground  covering  the  whole  flag — with  no  other  device, 
the  colonel's  colour  being  plain  white  ;  and  these  in  all  probability  con- 
tinued to  be  the  regimental  colours  until  the  Union. 

On  the  outbreak  of  the  revolution  in  1688  both  battalions,  along  with 
the  rest  of  the  army  in  Scotland,  were  ordered  to  England.  One  battalion 
went  to  London,  where  it  is  recorded  that  the  feeling  of  the  men  was 
strongly  anti-Catholic,  and  that  they  declared  they  would  not  fight  against 
the  Protestants.  The  other  battalion  was  with  King  James  at  Salisbury, 
and  fell  back  with  him  to  Maidenhead,  where  it  was  joined  by  the  battalion 
from  London,  and,  in  spite  of  Colonel  Douglas's  remonstrances,  the  whole 
regiment  went  over  to  the  Prince  of  Orange.  Douglas  himself  went  north 
to  Scotland,  but  soon  after  threw  in  his  lot  with  King  William,  who  gave 
him  a  high  command  in  his  army  in  Ireland,  where  the  2nd  battalion 
of  the  regiment  took  part  in  the  battle  of  the  Boyne,  I3th  August,  1690, 
and  in  the  first  siege  of  Limerick,  where  it  lost  heavily. 

The  ist  battalion  had  meanwhile  been  ordered  to  Flanders,  where  it 
had  its  first  experience  of  campaigning  abroad,  and  under  Marlborough 
shared  in  the  successful  action  at  Walcourt,  in  1689.  A  diary  kept  by  an 
officer  in  the  regiment,  which  is  still  in  existence,  illustrates  the  plan  of 
this  action,  and  also  plans  of  many  of  the  camps  which  they  occupied  in 
the  campaign. 

After  returning  to  Scotland  to  recruit,  the  2nd  battalion  joined  the 
ist  in  Flanders,  and  in  April,  1691,  both  battalions  were  brigaded  with  the 
ist  Regiment  of  Guards,  the  Coldstream  Guards  and  the  Dutch  Guards, 
under  the  command  of  Douglas,  their  colonel,  as  brigadier.  While  in 
camp  at  Gerpynes  under  King  William's  command,  his  Majesty  granted 
to  the  captains  of  the  Scots  Guards  the  double  rank  of  lieut.-colonel,  a 
privilege  conferred  on  the  ist  and  Coldstream  Guards  by  James  II. ;  and 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  71 

to  the  lieutenants  of  the  three  regiments  the  double  rank  of  captain.  Soon 
after,  in  July,  Douglas  died,  and  was  succeeded  in  his  command  of  the 
regiment  by  Colonel  George  Ramsay,  brother  of  the  3rd  Earl  of  Dalhousie, 
and  in  the  command  of  the  brigade  of  Guards  by  the  2nd  Duke  of  Schom- 
berg,  son  of  the  famous  field  marshal. 

In  the  campaign  of  1692  the  Guards  were  present  at  the  battle  of  Steen- 

kirk,  and  were  heavily  engaged  at  Neerwinden  or  Landen  in  1693.     The 

defence  of  the  village  of  Neerwinden  was  entrusted  to  the  brigade  of  Guards, 

the  Royal  Scots,  and  the  7th  Fusiliers,  and  the  weight  of  the  French  attack 

fell  on  the  ist  Guards  and  the  Scots  Guards.     Three  times  in  overwhelming 

numbers  the  French  came  on.     At  the  first  onset  the  ist  Guards  were  com- 

pelled to  fall  back  on  the  Scots  Guards,  with  whom  they  rallied,  and  the 

force  of  nine  battalions  against  twenty-six  successfully  repelled  the  assault. 

<-~  *A  no  better.     A  third  time  with  fresh  forces  the  French 

•-"-Uo  was  expended  did  the  British 

70,]   2J  ^^-ATl/jvi.  >rces  of  the  enemy. 

e  first  battle  honour 

S  ^"8'nien«  "  e§e  of  Namur,  where 

rcg'ment  ;„  ;d  the  outworks.     On 

2unx  ._.w  ;  stormed  the  fortress 

and  effected  a  lodgment,  ~._  garrison  capitulated. 

The  war  dragged  on  for  two  years  more  anu  ----  ed  with  the  peace  of 
Ryswick  in  1697. 

The  2nd  battalion  Scots  Guards  returned  to  England  in  1696  and 
to  Scotland  in  1697,  where  they  were  joined  by  the  ist  battalion  from 
Holland  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

For  the  next  twelve  years  the  regiment  was  in  its  own  country,  quartered 
in  Edinburgh  and  Leith,  and  although  the  war  of  the  Spanish  Succession 
broke  out  in  1701,  its  services  were  more  required  at  home  than  abroad. 

The  state  of  affairs  in  Scotland  was  critical  :  the  establishment  of  the 
army  had  been  reduced  to  a  minimum  ;  there  was  discontent  over 
the  failure  of  the  Darien  expedition,  and  friction  between  England 
and  Scotland,  causing  frequent  riots  in  Edinburgh,  which  the  Guards 
were  called  out  to  suppress.  It  is  evident  that  the  government  found  it 
necessary  to  keep  in  the  capital  troops  on  whom  they  could  rely.  It  was 
not,  however,  merely  by  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order  that  the 


0,]   2J  -l/jvi 

"e  2'   ancT7ns°rut  from  after   « 

lvJ"'dl  "  :   "c°rama 


70  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

one  of  which  in  1686  went  up  to  London  and  joined  the  camp  formed  by 
King  James  at  Hounslow  Heath,  being  brigaded  with  the  other  two  regi- 
ments of  Guards  for  the  first  time.  The  uniform  of  the  regiment  is  recorded 
at  this  time  as  "  red  coats — lined  with  white — white  breeches  and  stockings." 
The  pictures  of  the  battle  of  Bothwell  Brig  at  Dalmeny  and  Dalkeith  repre- 
sent the  breeches  and  stockings  as  dark  grey. 

King  James  VII.  changed  the  colours  of  the  regiment  from  what  they 
had  been  under  Charles  II.  to  the  national  flag  of  Scotland — the  St.  Andrew's 
cross  on  a  blue  ground  covering  the  whole  flag — with  no  other  device, 
the  colonel's  colour  being  plain  white  ;  and  these  in  all  probability  con- 
tinued to  be  the  regimental  colours  until  the  Union. 

On  the  outbreak  of  the  revolution  in  1688  both  battalions,  along  with 
the  rest  of  the  army  in  Scotland,  were  ordered  to  England.     One  battalion 
went  to  London,  where  it  is  recorded  that  the  feeling   of  the  men  was 
strongly  anti-Catholic,  and  that  they  declared  they  would  not  fight  againc* 
the  Protestants.     The  other  battalion  was  with  King  James  at  S-" 
and  fell  back  with  him  to  Maidenhead,  where  it  was  joined  T 
from  London,  and,  in  spite  of  Colonel  Douglas's  r<- 
regiment  went  over  to  the  Prince  of  Oran^' 
to  Scotland,  but  soon  after  threw  '- 
him  a  high   command  in  v' 

of  the  regiment  tool  ^, 

and  in  the  first  siege 

The  1st  battalion  Anders,  where  it 

had  its  first   experienc  <tnd  under  Marlborough 

shared  in  the  successful  ...  in  1689.     A  diary  kept  by  an 

officer  in  the  regiment,  \  ^iii  in  existence,  illustrates  the  plan  of 

this  action,  and  also  plant  <tf  many  of  the  camps  which  they  occupied  in 
the  campaign. 

After  returning  to  Scotland  to  recruit,  the  2nd  battalion  joined  the 
1st  in  Flanders,  and  in  April,  1691,  both  battalions  were  brigaded  with  the 
ist  Regiment  of  Guards,  the  Coldstream  Guards  and  the  Dutch  Guards, 
under  the  command  of  Douglas,  their  colonel,  as  brigadier.  While  in 
camp  at  Gerpynes  under  King  William's  command,  his  Majesty  granted 
to  the  captains  of  the  Scots  Guards  the  double  rank  of  lieut.-colonel,  a 
privilege  conferred  on  the  ist  and  Coldstream  Guards  by  James  II. ;  and 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  71 

to  the  lieutenants  of  the  three  regiments  the  double  rank  of  captain.  Soon 
after,  in  July,  Douglas  died,  and  was  succeeded  in  his  command  of  the 
regiment  by  Colonel  George  Ramsay,  brother  of  the  3rd  Earl  of  Dalhousie, 
and  in  the  command  of  the  brigade  of  Guards  by  the  2nd  Duke  of  Schom- 
berg,  son  of  the  famous  field  marshal. 

In  the  campaign  of  1692  the  Guards  were  present  at  the  battle  of  Steen- 
kirk,  and  were  heavily  engaged  at  Neerwinden  or  Landen  in  1693.  The 
defence  of  the  village  of  Neerwinden  was  entrusted  to  the  brigade  of  Guards, 
the  Royal  Scots,  and  the  7th  Fusiliers,  and  the  weight  of  the  French  attack 
fell  on  the  ist  Guards  and  the  Scots  Guards.  Three  times  in  overwhelming 
numbers  the  French  came  on.  At  the  first  onset  the  ist  Guards  were  com- 
pelled to  fall  back  on  the  Scots  Guards,  with  whom  they  rallied,  and  the 
force  of  nine  battalions  against  twenty-six  successfully  repelled  the  assault. 
A  second  attack  fared  no  better.  A  third  time  with  fresh  forces  the  French 
came  on,  and  not  until  their  last  cartridge  was  expended  did  the  British 
and  Dutch  give  ground,  overwhelmed  by  the  superior  forces  of  the  enemy. 

King  William  was  not  a  successful  general,  but  the  first  battle  honour 
on  the  regimental  colours  was  gained  in  1695  at  the  siege  of  Namur,  where 
on  8th  July  the  brigade  of  Guards  stormed  and  carried  the  outworks.  On 
20th  August  the  grenadier  companies  of  the  brigade  stormed  the  fortress 
and  effected  a  lodgment,  and  on  26th  August  the  garrison  capitulated. 
The  war  dragged  on  for  two  years  more  and  ended  with  the  peace  of 
Ryswick  in  1697. 

The  2nd  battalion  Scots  Guards  returned  to  England  in  1696  and 
to  Scotland  in  1697,  where  they  were  joined  by  the  ist  battalion  from 
Holland  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

For  the  next  twelve  years  the  regiment  was  in  its  own  country,  quartered 
in  Edinburgh  and  Leith,  and  although  the  war  of  the  Spanish  Succession 
broke  out  in  1701,  its  services  were  more  required  at  home  than  abroad. 

The  state  of  affairs  in  Scotland  was  critical :  the  establishment  of  the 
army  had  been  reduced  to  a  minimum ;  there  was  discontent  over 
the  failure  of  the  Darien  expedition,  and  friction  between  England 
and  Scotland,  causing  frequent  riots  in  Edinburgh,  which  the  Guards 
were  called  out  to  suppress.  It  is  evident  that  the  government  found  it 
necessary  to  keep  in  the  capital  troops  on  whom  they  could  rely.  It  was 
not,  however,  merely  by  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order  that  the 


72  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

presence  of  the  Guards  in  Edinburgh  gave  security  to  the  inhabitants. 
In  February,  1700,  a  disastrous  fire  broke  out  in  the  Parliament  close,  which 
raged  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  a  battalion  of  the  Guards  was  called  out 
to  help  in  getting  it  under.  Their  efforts  saved  the  Parliament  House  from 
extinction,  and  a  special  grant  was  voted  to  them  by  the  Lords  of  the 
Treasury  as  a  reward  for  their  services. 

A  second  grenadier  company  was  added  to  the  regiment  in  1702,  and  in 
1704  a  Highland  company,  clothed  in  Highland  dress,  and  armed  with 
broadswords,  targets,  guns,  side  pistols  and  dirks.  The  addition  of 
these  two  companies  made  up  the  strength  of  the  regiment  to  eighteen 
companies.  The  Highland  company  was  stationed  in  Inverness  for  the 
protection  of  the  country  north  and  west  of  Loch  Ness.  Two  other  com- 
panies of  the  same  character,  on  the  establishment  of  the  Scots  Fusiliers, 
performed  the  same  duty  in  the  country  to  the  south  and  east  of  the  loch. 

In  1707  the  Union  of  Scotland  and  England  took  place.  The  facings 
of  the  regiment  were  changed  from  white  to  blue,  in  conformity  with 
those  of  the  other  two  regiments  of  Foot  Guards ;  while  the  St.  George's 
cross  of  the  ist  and  Coldstream  Guards,  and  the  St.  Andrew's  cross  of  the 
Scots  Guards  were  combined  in  the  Union  flag  as  the  colours  of  all  three 
regiments.  Also,  in  all  probability  the  present  badges,  of  which  there  is 
authentic  record  for  the  first  time  in  1712,  were  granted  at  this  time. 

The  colours  of  the  Guards  differ  from  those  of  the  regiments  of  the  line 
in  that  the  King's  colour  is  crimson,  and  the  regimental  colour  the  Union. 
Queen  Anne  granted  as  badges  the  royal  arms  of  Scotland,  the  Union 
badge  of  the  thistle  and  rose  as  displayed  on  the  great  seal  of  Scotland 
from  1603,  and  the  star  of  the  Order  of  the  Thistle,  with  appropriate  mottoes, 
to  be  borne  on  what  were  then  the  colonel's,  lieut.-colonel's  and  major's 
colours,  and  are  now  the  king's  colours  of  the  ist,  2nd,  and  3rd  battalions 
respectively.  The  regimental  colours  carry  in  rotation  company  badges 
which  were  granted  to  each  company  at  this  time  also.  The  king's  colours 
of  the  Guards  are  only  lowered  to  members  of  the  royal  family  or  to 
foreign  crowned  heads. 

With  the  union  of  the  legislatures  the  separate  army  establishments  in 
Scotland  and  England  came  to  an  end,  and  it  became  possible  for  govern- 
ment to  move  troops  from  or  to  any  part  of  Great  Britain.  Accordingly 
there  was  no  longer  the  necessity  for  keeping  the  Scots  Guards — now  desig- 


THIRD    REGIMENT   OF   FOOT   GUARDS 

Now  THE  SCOTS  GifARns 
Private  1746 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  73 

natedthe  3rd  Regiment  of  Foot  Guards — at  home,  and  the  2nd  battalion 
was  sent  to  Spain  in  1710,  where  it  joined  the  British  contingent  of  some 
4000  men  under  Stanhope,  as  part  of  the  allied  forces  commanded  by 
Staremberg,  who  in  July  and  August  fought  the  successful  battles  of 
Almenara  and  Saragossa ;  but  in  December  the  British  force  under 
Stanhope  was  cut  off  and  surrounded  by  Vendome  with  a  force  ten  times 
its  number  at  Brihuega.  All  day  on  the  gth  the  British  held  out,  till  their 
ammunition  was  exhausted ;  then,  as  no  relieving  force  appeared  by  night- 
fall, Stanhope  was  compelled  to  surrender,  though  not  without  honour  after 
his  gallant  defence.  In  his  despatches  he  recorded  that  "  Colonel  Verrier 
of  the  Scots  Guards  was  killed,  after  having  performed  wonders  with  his 
battalion."  Colonel  Verrier  was  a  French  Huguenot  who  had  become 
naturalised  as  a  Scot.  The  2nd  battalion  remained  in  Spain  as  prisoners 
of  war  until  1713. 

At  home  the  regiment  was  now  commanded  by  William,  2nd  Marquess 
of  Lothian.  Colonel  Ramsay  died  in  1705,  but  the  colonelcy  was  not  filled 
up  until  April,  1707,  Lieut. -Colonel  William,  5th  Earl  of  Dalhousie,  being 
in  command  in  the  interval.  In  1712  the  Marquess  received  orders  to 
march  south  "  to  attend  on  Her  Majesty's  person."  Accordingly  the  ist 
battalion,  with  the  exception  of  the  Highland  company,  which  did  not 
follow  until  1714,  left  Scotland,  and  for  two  hundred  years  after  no  detach- 
ment of  the  Scots  Guards  did  duty  in  their  native  country,  until  his  present 
Majesty,  King  George  V.,  was  attended  by  a  guard  of  honour  of  the  regi- 
ment when  he  visited  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  in  state  at  the  beginning  ot 
his  reign,  thereby  setting  a  precedent  which  it  is  hoped  will  not  be  allowed 
to  fall  into  oblivion. 

The  battalion  reached  St.  Albans  in  May,  whence  it  proceeded  to  Dover, 
Deal  and  Sandwich  to  embark  for  Dunkirk,  which  it  garrisoned  until 
September,  and  then  returned  to  England,  and  in  January,  1713,  took  up 
its  share  of  the  London  duties.  The  2nd  battalion  arrived  in  London  from 
Spain  in  May,  1713,  and  shortly  after  the  two  battalions  were  inspected  in 
Hyde  Park. 

Later  in  the  year  Lothian  was  removed  from  his  command,  in  consequence 
of  his  political  views  not  being  in  accordance  with  those  of  the  new  Tory 
ministry,  and  on  loth  October,  John,  2nd  Earl  of  Dunmore,  was  appointed 
colonel  of  the  regiment,  a  command  which  he  held  for  nearly  forty  years. 


74  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

Henceforward  the  three  regiments  of  Foot  Guards  at  home  and  abroad 
were  on  duty  together,  and  mixed  detachments  from  the  three  were  con- 
stantly employed  as  units.  For  instance,  when  George  I.  in  1714  landed 
at  Greenwich  the  Grenadiers  of  the  three  regiments  were  on  duty,  and 
during  his  stay  there  provided  the  king's  guard.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
"  pursuant  to  an  order  from  his  Majesty  "  the  drummers  of  the  Guards 
beat  "  the  English  March  and  the  Scots  Reveillez." 

Beyond  a  raid  on  Vigo  in  1719,  in  which  seven  companies  drawn  from 
the  three  regiments  took  part,  the  3rd  Guards  saw  no  service  abroad  until 
Great  Britain  was  drawn  into  the  war  of  the  Austrian  Succession  in  1742. 
In  May  a  brigade  of  Guards,  consisting  of  the  ist  battalions  of  the  ist  Cold- 
stream  and  the  3rd  Guards,  joined  the  allied  forces  in  Flanders,  which  were 
under  the  command  of  Field  Marshal  the  Earl  of  Stair,  a  former  lieut.- 
colonel  of  the  regiment.  The  slowness  of  the  Dutch  prevented  any  forward 
movement  till  the  following  year,  when  King  George  II.  took  command  of 
the  Allies,  and  defeated  the  French  at  Dettingen.  This  remained  the  last 
occasion  on  which  a  British  monarch  has  been  present  with  his  army  at 
the  front  until  King  George  V.  followed  the  example  set  by  his  ancestor. 
Dettingen  is  the  second  battle  honour  on  the  colours  of  the  Scots  Guards. 

The  brigade  was  still  on  the  Continent  in  1745,  under  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland  as  commander-in-chief,  when  he  fought  the  disastrous, 
but  by  no  means  inglorious,  battle  of  Fontenoy.  In  this  action  the 
brigade  was  under  the  command  of  Colonel  George  Churchill  of  the 
Coldstream  Guards,  who  had  succeeded  Charles,  Duke  of  Marlborough,  as 
brigadier  in  1743.  In  their  advance  against  the  enemy  lines  they  met 
the  French  Guards  face  to  face.  When  within  fifty  yards  Lord  Charles 
Hay,  of  the  ist  Guards,  "  stepped  forward  with  flask  in  hand,  and  doffing 
his  hat,  drank  politely  to  his  enemies.  '  I  hope,  gentlemen,'  he  shouted, 
'  that  you  are  going  to  wait  for  us  to-day.'  "  The  Guards  cheered, 
the  French  replied,  and  opened  fire,  "  and  then,"  continues  Fortescue, 
"  the  British  muskets,  so  long  shouldered,  were  levelled,  and  with  crash 
upon  crash  the  volleys  rang  out  from  end  to  end  of  the  line— first  the  ist 
Guards,  then  the  Scots,  then  the  Coldstream,  and  so  on  through  brigade 
after  brigade,  two  battalions  loading  while  the  third  fired — a  ceaseless, 
rolling,  infernal  fire.  .  .  .  Nineteen  officers  and  six  hundred  men  of  the 
French  and  Swiss  Guards  fell  at  the  first  discharge."  Then  the  British 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  75 

advanced  steadily,  but,  being  unsupported  by  the  Dutch,  exposed  to  a  cross 
fire,  and  surrounded  by  reserves  brought  up  by  the  French  (amongst  them 
being  the  famous  Irish  brigade),  they  were  compelled  to  fall  back.  But 
even  in  their  retreat  the  ranks  of  the  Guards  were  unbroken.  The  French 
Household  Cavalry  charged,  the  Guards  faced  about  and  broke  the  charge 
by  their  fire,  and  so,  halting  and  firing  at  intervals,  they  retired  in  perfect 
order  ;  and  when  the  casualty  returns  were  made  up,  though  the  killed 
and  wounded  averaged  some  250  in  each  battalion,  not  a  man  of  the  brigade 
of  Guards  appeared  as  "  missing." 

Later  in  the  year  the  events  of  the  '45  led  to  the  recall  of  the  Guards 
from  Flanders  in  September  ;  but,  except  for  a  body  of  400  volunteers 
from  the  three  regiments  under  the  command  of  the  Earl  of  Panmure  of 
the  3rd  Guards — who  took  part  in  the  reduction  of  Carlisle — they  had  no 
share  in  that  inglorious  campaign. 

In  1747  the  2nd  battalions  of  the  three  regiments  of  Guards  were 
sent  to  the  Continent,  where  the  war  still  continued.  The  Earl  of  Panmure 
was  in  command  of  the  service  battalion  of  the  3rd  Guards,  which,  with 
that  of  the  ist  Guards,  was  under  the  immediate  command  of  H.R.H.  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  the  Coldstream  battalion  being  with  another  portion 
of  the  allied  forces  under  the  Prince  of  Orange.  At  the  battle  of  Lauffeld 
on  2nd  July,  the  ist  and  3rd  Guards  held  the  village  of  Vlitingen  on  the 
right  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland's  force,  having  the  Austrian  contingent 
on  their  right.  The  Guards  maintained  themselves  in  the  positions  allotted 
to  them  until,  in  consequence  of  the  success  of  the  French  on  another  part 
of  the  front,  they  received  the  order  to  retire.  The  withdrawal  of  the  allied 
army  was  effected  in  good  order.  It  fell  back  on  a  position  covering  Maes- 
tricht,  from  which  fortress  it  had  been  the  object  of  the  French  to  cut  it 
off.  The  conduct  of  the  British  troops  on  this  day  won  the  admiration  of 
their  gallant  enemy.  Next  year  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  was  signed, 
but  in  less  than  ten  years  the  Seven  Years'  war  broke  out.  In  the 
interval  of  peace  the  Earl  of  Dunmore  died  on  i8th  April,  1752,  and 
was  succeeded  in  the  colonelcy  of  the  regiment  by  John,  qih  Earl  of 
Rothes. 

A  brigade  of  Guards  consisting  of  the  ist  battalions  of  each  regiment 
took  part  in  a  raid  on  the  French  coast  in  1758,  which  proved  abortive, 
but  their  discipline  called  forth  high  praise  from  the  general  commanding. 


76  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

In  1760  a  brigade  of  the  2nd  battalions — and  a  Grenadier  battalion 
drawn  from  each  of  the  three  regiments — was  sent  to  Germany  under  Major- 
General  Julius  Caesar  of  the  Coldstream  Guards  to  join  the  allied  forces 
under  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick,  the  British  contingent  being  com- 
manded by  the  Marquess  of  Granby.  In  1761  the  brigade  was  at  Velling- 
hausen  or  Kirchdenkern,  where  Ferdinand  won  an  easy  victory  over  Marshal 
de  Broglie.  On  24th  June,  1762,  the  brigade  of  Guards,  the  5th  (Northum- 
berland Fusiliers),  and  the  8th  (now  the  King's  Liverpool),  fought  a  furious 
battle  with  the  left  wing  of  the  French  army  at  Wilhelmsthal  or  Gravenstein, 
during  which  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  French  to  outflank  the  left 
of  the  British  line  was  met  by  Lieut. -Colonel  Molyneux  of  the  3rd  Guards 
wheeling  back  his  flank  companies,  with  the  Coldstream  in  support. 
The  attack  was  repulsed,  and  the  battle  ended  in  the  complete  victory  of 
the  Allies.  A  month  later  the  colours  taken  from  the  French  were  presented 
to  King  George  III.  at  St.  James's  Palace. 

On  8th  August  detachments  from  the  Coldstream  and  3rd  Guards  were 
engaged  in  an  unsuccessful  attack  on  the  town  of  Melsungen.  They  pene- 
trated to  the  chevaux  de  frise,  but  were  unable  to  force  the  gates.  The 
town,  however,  soon  afterwards  surrendered,  as  the  French  continued  to 
retreat  before  the  Allies.  Next  month,  on  2ist  September,  was  fought 
the  last  and  one  of  the  bloodiest  actions  of  the  war,  on  the  river  Ohm  at 
the  bridge  of  Briicke  Miihle.  Prince  Ferdinand  had  secured  the  bridge 
by  occupying  the  castle  of  Amaeneberg  on  the  far  side  of  the  river,  and  by 
a  redoubt  held  by  Zastrow's  Hanoverians  on  the  eastern  bank.  From  5  A.M. 
till  dark  the  French  attacked,  the  concentration  of  their  artillery  on  the 
redoubt  being  so  tremendous  that  the  garrison  had  to  be  constantly  relieved, 
so  severe  were  the  losses  they  sustained.  The  grenadier  battalion  of  the 
Guards  relieved  the  Hanoverians,  the  ist  Guards  the  grenadiers,  then  the 
Coldstream  followed  by  the  3rd  Guards,  and  last  of  all  the  Hessians,  till 
night  put  an  end  to  the  business  without  the  French  having  attained 
their  object.  An  account  of  an  incident  in  the  battle  given  in  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine  a  few  years  afterwards  illustrates  the  character 
of  the  struggle. 

"  The  Foot  Guards  suffered  so  severely  that  the  soldiers  piled  up  the  dead 
bodies  of  their  comrades  and  sheltered  themselves  behind  them  as  behind  a  parapet. 
Thomas  Twistleton,  the  late  Lord  Saye  and  Sele,  then  a  lieut.  and  captain  in 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  77 

the  3rd  Guards,  in  the  height  of  the  slaughter  reprimanding  a  sergeant  whom  he 
heard  utter  some  expression  of  horror,  was  answered  by  him  '  Oh,  Sir,  you 
are  now  supporting  yourself  on  the  body  of  your  own  brother.'  This  was 
his  elder  brother  John,  a  lieut.  and  captain  in  the  Coldstieam  Regt.,  who 
unknown  to  him  had  just  been  slain,  and  the  sergeant  had  been  a  servant 
in  the  family." 

In  November  preliminaries  of  peace  were  signed  in  Paris,  and  in  February, 
1763,  the  3rd  Guards  landed  in  England. 

The  Earl  of  Rothes  died  on  loth  December,  1767,  and  was  succeeded 
in  the  colonelcy  by  H.R.H.  William  Henry,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  who  was 
transferred  to  the  command  of  the  ist  Guards  in  April,  1770,  and  his  place 
as  colonel  of  the  3rd  Guards  was  conferred  on  John,  4th  Earl  of  Loudoun. 

The  next  experience  of  campaigning  for  the  3rd  Guards  was  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic  in  the  war  of  American  Independence.  A  composite 
battalion  of  the  Foot  Guards— 1000  strong— of  which  300  were  supplied 
by  the  3rd  Guards,  sailed  for  America  in  1776.  The  battalion  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Edward  Mathew,  Coldstream  Guards,  was  reviewed 
by  the  King  at  Wimbledon  on  igth  March,  and  reached  Staten  Island  in 
August.  During  the  five  years  of  the  war  the  battalion  was  constantly 
engaged,  and  in  no  single  action  were  they  defeated.  They  fought  at 
Brooklyn  and  at  Brandywine,  took  part  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Washington, 
beat  off  the  American  attack  at  German  Town,  stormed  the  village  of  Free- 
hold and  the  post  of  Young's  House,  forced  the  passage  of  the  Catawba  River, 
and  were  heavily  engaged  in  the  successful  action  at  Guildford  Court  House. 
Not  till  the  concentration  at  York  Town  and  subsequent  surrender  of 
the  British  force  under  Cornwallis  did  disaster  overtake  them.  At  the 
surrender  in  October,  1781,  their  numbers  were  reduced  to  19  officers  and 
500  n.c.o.  and  men,  half  of  their  original  strength.  On  the  conclusion  of 
peace  in  1783  the  battalion  returned  to  England. 

Two  sergeants  of  the  3rd  Guards — Sergeant  W.  Campbell  and  Sergeant 
J.  Colquhoun — were  promoted  to  commissioned  rank  as  adjutants  in  1779 
and  1780  ;  two  of  the  earliest  instances  of  the  many  promotions  from  the 
ranks  in  the  regiment,  which  from  1770  to  the  outbreak  of  the  present  war 
were  some  170  in  number. 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  the  duty  imposed  on  the  battalions  of 
Guards  who  remained  at  home  from  1763  to  1793  was  of  a  light  character. 
In  the  metropolis  not  only  were  they  on  duty  at  the  royal  palaces,  and 


78  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

supplying  a  permanent  garrison  in  the  Tower  of  London,  but  they  were 
constantly  required  for  ceremonial  occasions  and  for  duties  now  carried 
out  by  the  police.  Prisoners  were  escorted  by  the  Foot  Guards,  and  at 
any  trial  where  a  popular  disturbance  was  feared  there  was  a  detachment 
of  them  on  duty  at  the  court.  Popular  disturbances  were  indeed  of  frequent 
occurrence,  and,  as  formerly  in  Edinburgh,  so  now  in  London,  the  3rd  Guards 
were  called  out  for  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order.  Two  of  the  most 
notable  instances  were  in  1768  and  in  1780. 

In  1768  there  were  demonstrations  in  honour  of  the  notorious  John 
Wilkes,  then  a  prisoner  in  the  King's  Bench  Prison.  The  Riot  Act  was 
read,  and  a  picquet  of  the  3rd  Guards  had  to  fire  on  the  mob.  One  William 
Allen  was  killed,  a  mishap  which  the  supporters  of  Wilkes  magnified  into 
"  an  inhuman  murder  by  Scottish  detachments  from  the  army."  Ensign 
Alexander  Murray  (the  officer  in  command),  Corporal  Maclury,  and  Private 
Maclaughlin,  a  grenadier,  all  of  the  3rd  Guards,  were  tried  and  acquitted ; 
and  the  Secretary  of  War,  by  the  King's  commands,  wrote  a  letter  approv- 
ing of  the  action  of  the  Guards  under  very  trying  circumstances.  In  1780 
the  Gordon  riots  broke  out,  arising  out  of  a  demonstration  against  Roman 
Catholics  headed  by  Lord  George  Gordon,  and  developing  into  a  scene  of 
anarchy  which  lasted  from  June  5th  to  June  I2th,  during  the  whole  of 
which  time  the  Household  troops  were  on  duty.  Three  hundred  of  the 
rioters  were  reported  to  have  been  killed,  and  the  damage  to  property  and 
buildings  was  very  great. 

In  1782  the  Earl  of  Loudoun  died,  and  his  successor,  John,  5th  Duke  of 
Argyll,  held  the  colonelcy  of  the  regiment  from  gth  May,  1782,  until  his 
death  in  1806. 

In  1793  began  the  war  with  the  French  Republic  which  was  to  last  with 
little  intermission  for  twenty-two  years.  In  Flanders,  Egypt,  Spain,  and 
finally  at  Waterloo,  the  3rd  Guards  played  a  leading  part,  and  added 
many  a  battle  honour  to  their  record. 

In  February,  1793,  the  French  Republic  declared  war  on  Great  Britain, 
and  their  armies  invaded  Holland.  A  brigade  of  Guards  having  been  ordered 
to  prepare  for  foreign  service,  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  York  paraded  the  brigade 
at  the  Horse  Guards  and  called  for  volunteers.  Every  man  in  the  ranks 
stepped  forward.  The  ist  battalions  of  each  regiment  under  Major- 
General  Lake,  ist  Guards,  with  the  addition  of  a  grenadier  battalion 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  79 

as  in  1760,  were  inspected  by  King  George  III.  and  the  Prince  of  Wales 
on  25th  February  in  St.  James's  Park,  and  embarked  on  the  same  day  at 
Greenwich  for  Flanders,  to  join  the  British  forces,  of  which  the  Duke  of 
York  was  appointed  commander-in-chief.  The  first  stages  of  the  war  were 
favourable  to  the  Allies.  On  8th  May  the  Coldstream,  3rd  Guards,  and  the 
grenadier  battalion  attacked  a  position  held  by  the  enemy  beyond  the 
wood  of  Saint-Amand,  whence  the  Austrian  forces  had  been  three  times 
repulsed  with  a  loss  of  1700  men.  But  the  Guards  were  not  to  be  denied  ; 
the  Coldstream  stormed  the  position,  with  the  3rd  Guards  in  support. 
The  Coldstream  battalion  was  almost  annihilated,  but  falling  back  on  the 
supporting  line,  they  held  the  edge  of  the  wood,  which  decided  the  fortunes 
of  the  day.  Next  morning  the  French  were  in  retreat.  On  25th  July  a 
body  of  150  of  the  Guards  led  the  British  storming  party  against  the  forti- 
fications of  Valenciennes  :  a  lodgment  was  effected  and  the  town  surrendered 
on  the  28th. 

In  this  same  month,  the  day  before  the  capitulation,  four  newly  formed 
companies  of  light  infantry,  two  from  the  ist  Guards  and  one  each  from 
the  Coldstream  and  3rd  Guards,  joined  the  brigade  and  were  attached  to 
the  grenadier  battalion.  These  light  infantrymen  were  trained  to  act  as 
skirmishers,  and  the  tradition  of  their  smartness  and  mobility  still  remains 
in  the  left  flank  companies  of  the  regiment,  who  claim  to  be  their  repre- 
sentatives, as  the  right  flank  companies  deem  themselves  heirs  of  the  old 
grenadier  companies.  The  latter  are  still  the  tallest  men  in  the  battalion, 
the  left  flank  the  next  in  height,  each  company  in  a  battalion  of  Guards 
being  graduated  according  to  its  place  in  line  on  a  ceremonial  parade,  the 
shorter  men  in  the  centre  of  the  battalion,  the  taller  on  the  flanks.  This 
addition  of  light  companies  made  up  the  grenadier  battalion  to  eight  com- 
panies, four  of  grenadiers — wearing  the  fur  cap  which  superseded  the 
distinctive  mitre-shaped  cap  in  1760 — and  four  of  light  infantry,  whose 
new  headdress  was  a  kind  of  shako  with  a  green  feather.  The  other  com- 
panies still  wore  the  three-cornered  hat,  to  be  superseded  by  the  shako  early 
in  the  next  century. 

The  next  action  of  the  campaign  was  one  in  which  the  brigade  of 
Guards  were  the  only  troops  engaged,  and  earned  "  the  warmest  thanks  " 
of  the  commander-in-chief.  On  the  morning  of  i8th  August  the  Dutch 
contingent  under  the  Prince  of  Orange  had  attacked  the  French  position 


8o  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

at  Lincelles,  at  first  with  success,  but  in  the  afternoon  strong  French 
reinforcements  came  up  and  drove  them  back,  the  Dutch  losing  their 
guns.  The  Prince  sent  to  the  Duke  of  York  for  help,  and  the  brigade  of 
Guards — the  ist  Guards  under  Colonel  Hulse,  the  Coldstream  under  Colonel 
Pennington,  and  the  3rd  Guards  under  Colonel  W.  Grinfield — were  sent 
against  the  French  enemy,  who  by  this  time  had  twelve  battalions  strongly 
entrenched  in  position  at  Lincelles.  General  Lake  arrived  in  front  of  the 
enemy  at  about  6  P.M.,  and  at  once  resolved  to  attack.  A  contemporary 
letter  briefly  and  graphically  describes  the  share  of  the  3rd  Guards  in  the 
action. 

"  The  Guards  alone  were  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle,  drove  the  enemy  from 
the  town,  and  in  a  very  short  time  Ensign  John  Campbell  of  Schawfield  had  the 
honour  to  place  the  '  Bloody  Flag  '  [i.e.  the  crimson  King's  colour  with  the  royal 
arms  of  Scotland]  in  one  of  the  strongest  redoubts.  He  and  Lord  Rollo  jumped 
over  the  ditch  among  the  very  first,  each  carrying  the  colours,  and  gave  three 
cheers,  Schawfield  halloaing  to  the  men  to  follow,  as  eager  as  ever  I  saw  him 
at  a  fox  chase." 

This  onslaught  of  the  Guards  drove  the  French  from  their  position, 
the  Dutch  guns  were  retaken  and  "  Lincelles  "  was  added  to  the  battle 
honours  on  the  colours.  On  2gth  October  the  grenadier  battalion,  the  3rd 
Guards,  two  Austrian  battalions,  and  two  squadrons  of  the  7th  and  I5th 
Light  Dragoons,  with  some  British  guns,  under  the  command  of  General 
Abercromby,  attacked  a  French  post  at  Lannoy,  fighting  a  successful  action 
with  slight  loss. 

The  year  closed  favourably  for  the  Allies  as  a  whole  ;  but  misunder- 
standings had  already  arisen  between  the  different  commanders,  and  these, 
added  to  the  bad  generalship  of  the  Austrian  chief  command  and  the  diver- 
gent views  of  the  separate  Governments,  proved  the  ruin  of  their  cause. 
The  French,  on  the  other  hand,  composed  their  internal  differences,  and 
opened  the  campaign  of  1794  with  a  force  of  200,000  men  under  the  redoubt- 
able Pichegru.  A  general  attack  on  the  enemy,  planned  by  the  Austrian 
command  in  May,  broke  down.  The  British  forces  were  for  a  time 
isolated,  and  the  brigade  of  Guards  was  actually  surrounded  at  Roubaix. 
They  extricated  themselves  from  this  predicament  with  a  loss  of  close  on 
200  men ;  but  this  marked  the  turning-point  of  the  campaign,  which 
ended  in  the  retreat  northwards  of  the  allied  force  under  circumstances  of 
appalling  hardship  through  the  winter  of  1794-5.  Throughout  the  retreat 


'•/*?«  $**y" 
^  "  W 


IRD   REGIMENT   OF   FOOT  GUARDS 

Now  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 
Sergeant,  Grenadier  Company,  1790 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  81 

the  brigade  of  Guards  formed  part  of  the  rearguard.  In  March  the  British 
army  reached  Bremen,  and  embarked  for  England  at  the  end  of  April. 

At  the  close  of  1797  recruiting  parties  were  sent  to  Scotland  to  make 
up  the  3rd  Guards  to  war  strength,  and  early  in  the  spring  of  1798  a  battalion 
formed  of  the  light  companies  of  the  three  regiments  took  part  in  a  raid 
on  Ostend,  which  ended  woefully.  Lieut. -Colonel  Campbell  of  the  3rd 
Guards  was  killed,  and  9  officers  and  285  men  and  n.c.o.  of  the  battalion 
were  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  and  taken  prisoners.  Later  in  the  year  the 
ist  battalion  of  the  3rd  Guards  formed  part  of  a  brigade  of  Guards  sent 
to  Ireland  in  consequence  of  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion.  It  remained 
there  until  the  following  year,  when  it  was  recalled  to  take  part  in  another 
descent  on  the  coast  of  Holland. 

This  expedition  to  the  Helder  was  undertaken  in  conjunction  with  a 
Russian  force  with  the  object  of  destroying  or  capturing  the  Dutch  fleet 
and  invading  Holland  from  the  north.  The  Guards  from  Ireland  were 
now  formed  into  two  brigades  :  the  composite  grenadier  battalion  and  the 
3rd  ist  Guards  constituting  the  ist  brigade  under  Major-General  D'Oyly, 
and  the  ist  Guards,  the  ist  Coldstream,  and  ist  3rd  Guards  under  Major- 
General  Burrard  the  2nd  brigade.  The  British  force  of  12,000  men  was 
under  the  command  of  Lieut.-General  Sir  Ralph  Abercromby,  who,  after 
severe  fighting,  effected  a  successful  landing  at  the  Helder  on  27th  August. 
On  the  28th  the  town  was  occupied,  and  the  Dutch  fleet  surrendered  on 
the  3Oth.  Abercromby  then  entrenched  his  force  on  the  ground  that  he 
had  won,  along  the  line  of  the  Zype  canal,  and  here  he  was  attacked  by 
the  French  and  Dutch  on  loth  September.  The  enemy  was  driven  back 
with  heavy  loss,  and  Abercromby  reported  that  the  two  brigades  of  Guards 
repulsed  with  great  vigour  the  column  of  French  which  had  advanced  to 
attack  them.  On  the  I2th  the  Russian  contingent  of  12,000  men  arrived, 
making  up  the  total  force  with  fresh  reinforcements  from  England  to  33,000, 
and  on  the  I3th  the  Duke  of  York  took  over  the  command  of  the  whole 
army. 

On  igth  September  an  unsuccessful  attack  was  made  on  the  enemy  at 
Alkmaar,  but  it  was  renewed  on  2nd  October,  and  he  was  driven  thence 
and  from  Egmont-op-Zee.  Four  days  later  he  was  forced  back  to  Beverwyk 
and  Haarlem.  In  his  despatch  of  7th  October  H.R.H.  gave  special  praise 
to  Colonel  Clephane,  2 ist  and  last  laird  of  Carslogie,  "  commanding  four 


82  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

companies  of  the  3rd  and  one  company  of  the  Coldstream  Guards,  who  by 
a  spirited  charge  drove  two  battalions  of  the  enemy  from  the  post  of 
Akersloot,  making  two  hundred  prisoners." 

Now,  however,  matters  were  at  a  deadlock.  The  Allies  had  sustained 
heavy  losses  and  were  short  of  supplies,  nor  were  they  in  sufficient  strength 
to  force  the  French  position  at  Beverwyk.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  Allies 
were  to  cut  the  dykes  the  whole  country  would  be  inundated  and  the  French 
drowned  out.  Negotiations  were  accordingly  opened,  and  it  was  agreed 
that  the  Dutch  fleet  should  be  retained  by  the  British,  while  8000  Dutch 
and  French  prisoners  of  war  were  restored,  and  the  Allies  were  to  re-embark 
unmolested  by  the  30th  of  November.  Thus  ended  the  first  stage  of  the 
great  war  with  France  so  far  as  this  country  was  concerned,  a  stage  which 
reflected  little  credit  on  the  strategy  of  the  British  Government.  The 
second  and  third  stages  in  Egypt  and  the  Peninsula  were  soon  to  open. 

Bonaparte  had  invaded  and  conquered  Egypt  in  1798  ;  but  Nelson's 
crushing  victory  and  the  destruction  of  the  French  fleet  at  the  battle  of 
the  Nile  on  ist  August  of  that  year  cut  off  the  French  army  from  all  com- 
munication with  Europe,  and  though  Bonaparte  himself  managed  to 
elude  the  vigilance  of  the  British  fleet  and  escape  to  France  at  the  end  of 
the  month,  his  whole  force  remained  in  Egypt.  In  1800  the  British 
Government  resolved  to  employ  against  the  French  army  in  Egypt  a  force 
which  they  had  sent  on  a  futile  expedition  to  Vigo  in  August  of  that  year, 
and  which  afterwards  had  teen  concentrated  at  Gibraltar.  Sir  Ralph  Aber- 
cromby  having  been  entrusted  with  the  command,  he  assembled  his  army 
at  Marmorice  Bay,  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  at  the  end  of  December.  It 
consisted  of  seven  brigades,  in  all  some  15,000  men,  and  included  a  brigade 
of  Guards  under  Major-General  the  Hon.  George  Ludlow,  ist  Guards,  com- 
posed of  the  same  two  battalions  which  had  fought  in  Holland  under  Aber- 
cromby,  viz.  the  ist  Coldstream  and  ist  3rd  Guards,  the  latter  being 
commanded  by  Colonel  Samuel  Dalrymple.  During  January  and 
February,  1801,  the  army  underwent  a  thorough  training  at  Mar- 
morice Bay,  especially  in  disembarkation  from  boats  in  the  face  of  an 
enemy,  which  was  bound  to  be  the  first  formation  for  attack  to 
be  undertaken  in  Egypt.  On  22nd  February  the  expeditionary  force 
sailed,  and  anchored  in  Aboukir  Bay  on  2nd  March,  but  a  landing  was 
delayed  by  gales  until  the  8th.  At  2  A.M.  on  that  morning  the  signal  was 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  83 

given,  and  the  boats  moved  off  with  the  first  division  to  disembark,  con- 
sisting of  the  loth,  23rd,  28th,  42nd,  and  58th  Foot,  the  Corsican  Rangers, 
the  Coldstream  and  3rd  Guards,  the  Royal  Scots  and  the  54th  Foot. 
Under  heavy  fire  from  the  shore  one  boat  of  the  Coldstream  and  one  of 
the  3rd  Guards  were  sunk  ;  but  the  bulk  of  the  force  effected  a  successful 
landing,  and,  after  severe  fighting,  drove  the  French  from  their  line  of  sand- 
hills, with  a  loss  of  600  soldiers  and  100  sailors.  By  the  evening  Aber- 
cromby  was  in  occupation  of  a  strip  of  land  some  two  miles  in  advance  of 
the  landing-place. 

On  the  i3th  the  French  were  driven  back  to  the  lines  of  Nicopolis  in 
front  of  Alexandria.  Reinforced  from  Cairo,  General  Menou  on  the  2ist 
made  a  fierce  attack  on  the  British.  The  right  of  our  line  rested  on  the 
Roman  camp  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  left  on  the  Alexandria 
Canal.  It  was  on  the  right  and  centre  that  the  weight  of  the  attack  fell — 
on  Moore's,  Stuart's  and  the  Guards  brigades.  On  the  left  of  the  latter 
were  the  3rd  Guards.  The  French,  foiled  in  their  frontal  attack  by  the 
steady  fire  of  the  Guards,  attempted  to  turn  the  left  of  the  brigade,  which 
was  met  by  throwing  back  the  flank  companies  of  the  3rd  Guards,  "  who 
for  a  time  appear  to  have  been  very  severely  pressed,  until  the  Royals 
from  Coote's  brigade  on  the  left  came  forward  to  take  the  pressure  from 
them."  :  The  3rd  Guards  lost  nearly  200  officers  and  men,  but  the  French 
effort  failed,  and  General  Orders  record  that  "  Major-General  Ludlow  and 
the  Brigade  of  Guards  will  accept  the  thanks  of  his  Excellency  the 
Commander-in-Chief  for  the  cool,  steady,  and  soldier-like  manner  in  which 
they  repulsed  the  attack  of  the  enemy's  column."  A  last  desperate  attack 
on  our  right  failed  also,  and  the  victory  was  won,  but  at  the  cost  of  Sir 
Ralph  Abercromby's  life,  who  was  carried  from  the  field  only  half  an  hour 
before  the  French  retired,  and  died  on  28th  March.  He  was  succeeded 
in  his  command  by  General  Hutchinson. 

The  victory  of  Alexandria  opened  the  way  to  the  investment  of  the 
city,  in  which  the  brigade  of  Guards  took  part,  while  Hutchinson,  with  half 
of  the  British  army  and  a  Turkish  force  marched  on  Cairo,  an  Indian 
contingent  advancing  simultaneously  from  Kosseir.  The  French  garrison 
of  Cairo  having  surrendered  on  27th  June,  Hutchinson  returned  to  the  siege 
of  Alexandria.  In  August,  Richard,  Earl  of  Cavan,  Coldstream  Guards, 

1  Fortescue. 


84  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

great-great-grandfather  of  the  present  earl  (now  commanding  the  Guards 
division  in  France),  took  over  the  command  of  the  Guards  brigade.  On 
2nd  September  Alexandria,  the  last  stronghold  of  the  French  in  Egypt, 
surrendered,  and  the  campaign  was  over.  The  King's  colour  of  the  ist  3rd 
Guards,  displayed  in  front  of  Pompey's  pillar  on  the  entrance  of  the 
British  army  into  Alexandria,  is  now  in  New  Zealand  in  possession  of  a 
descendant  of  Colonel  Samuel  Dalrymple. 

The  campaign  of  1801  was  the  first  success  of  the  newly  reorganised 
British  army  since  the  opening  of  the  war  in  1793.  To  all  the  regiments 
engaged  therein  was  granted  the  honour  of  bearing  on  their  colours  the 
Sphinx,  with  the  superscription  "Egypt." 

The  Peace  of  Amiens  only  lasted  from  25th  March,  1802,  to  May,  1803, 
and  Napoleon's  "  Army  of  England  "  at  Boulogne  kept  the  British  forces 
at  home  for  two  years  after.  On  the  declaration  of  war  the  Guards  were 
formed  into  three  brigades,  namely,  ist  brigade — ist  and  3rd  battalions  ist 
Guards  ;  2nd  brigade — ist  Coldstream  and  ist  3rd  Guards  ;  3rd  brigade — 
the  2nd  battalions  of  all  three  regiments,  which  formed  the  depot  supplying 
drafts  to  the  other  brigades  until  1810.  The  2nd  brigade  formed  part  of 
Lord  Cathcart's  expedition  to  Hanover  in  1805,  which  effected  nothing, 
and  was  recalled  after  the  crushing  defeat  of  the  Austrians  at  Austerlitz. 

On  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Argyll  in  1806  H.R.H.  William  Frederick, 
Duke  of  Gloucester  and  Edinburgh,  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  3rd  Guards. 

Next  year  the  2nd  brigade  again  went  on  foreign  service  with  the  ex- 
pedition to  Copenhagen,  which  was  sent  to  prevent  the  Danish  fleet  falling 
into  the  hands  of  Napoleon.  This  having  been  accomplished,  the  expedition 
returned  home  in  October. 

It  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  ist  brigade  to  accompany  Moore  to  Coruna  in 
1808-9,  but  in  March,  1809,  it  was  again  the  turn  of  the  ist  Coldstream  and 
ist  3rd  Guards.  In  March  1809,  the  ist  Coldstream,  under  Lieut.-Colonel 
Hulse,  and  the  ist  3rd  Guards  under  Colonel  the  Hon.  E.  Stopford, 
landed  in  the  Tagus,  under  Brigadier-General  Henry  Campbell,  ist  Guards. 
A  contemporary  letter  from  an  officer  of  the  53rd,  Captain  Carss,  writing 
home  in  April,  describes  "  the  two  battalions  of  Guards  as  2200  strong, 
and  the  finest  men  I  ever  saw." 

On  2nd  May  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  arrived  to  take  over  the  command 
of  the  army.  Ten  days  later  he  forced  the  passage  of  the  Douro,  and  on 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  85 

27th-a8th  July  fought  the  battle  of  Talavera.  It  began  at  6  P.M.  on  the 
27th,  and  the  first  phase  lasted  until  2  A.M.,  every  attack  by  the  French 
being  repulsed.  At  6  A.M.  on  the  28th  the  French  renewed  the  attack, 
maintaining  it  vigorously  until  n  A.M.,  when  Captain  Stothert,  Adjutant  of 
the  3rd  Guards,  in  his  narrative  says  :  "  the  firing  ceased  as  if  by  mutual 
consent  for  nearly  three  hours.  At  this  time  the  wounded  were  carried 
off  to  the  rear,  and  while  engaged  in  this  painful  duty  the  British  and  French 
soldiers  shook  hands  with  each  other,  and  expressed  their  admiration  of 
the  gallantry  displayed  by  the  troops  of  both  nations."  At  3  P.M.  the  enemy 
advanced  against  the  ist  division  under  Major-General  Sherbrooke,  of 
which  the  Guards  formed  part,  and  were  met  with  a  murderous  volley  which 
broke  their  ranks,  followed  up  by  the  division  advancing  at  the  charge. 

The  Guards  in  their  ardour  pursued  the  retreating  enemy  too  far,  the 
enemy  threw  in  his  reserve,  and  the  brigade,  being  first  enfiladed  by  artillery 
and  then  attacked  by  the  French  cavalry,  in  a  very  brief  space  of  time 
lost  some  600  killed  and  wounded.  The  48th  and  General  Cotton's  cavalry 
were  ordered  up  in  support,  and  the  situation  was  saved.  The  Guards 
joined  the  48th,  and  with  loud  cheers  again  charged  the  French.  The 
whole  British  line  took  up  the  cheers  :  the  last  effort  of  the  French  had 
failed,  and  though  firing  continued  until  sundown  on  the  28th,  they  made 
no  further  attempt,  and  withdrew  during  the  night. 

Owing  to  the  defeat  of  the  Spaniards  at  Ocafta  in  November  the  British 
army  had  to  retire  into  Portugal,  and  took  up  its  winter  quarters  at  Vizeu. 

From  July  to  September,  while  Wellesley  was  conducting  the  Peninsula 
campaign,  the  disastrous  expedition  to  Walcheren  under  Lord  Chatham 
was  undertaken,  with  Sir  Richard  Strachan  in  command  of  the  fleet. 
From  the  grenadier  and  light  infantry  companies  of  the  Guards  at  home 
were  formed  two  battalions,  in  which  were  the  two  flank  companies  of  the 
2nd  3rd  Guards.  The  expedition  was  as  costly  as  it  was  useless.  Out 
of  a  force  of  30,000  men  4000  died  of  Walcheren  fever,  and  it  is  chiefly 
remembered  by  the  satirical  couplet  on  the  commander-in-chief's  policy  of 
"  wait  and  see." 

"  The  Earl  of  Chatham,  with  his  sword  drawn, 
Stood  waiting  for  Sir  Richard  Strachan. 
Sir  Richard,  longing  to  be  at  'em, 
Was  waiting  for  the  Earl  of  Chatham." 


86  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

In  the  spring  of  1810  the  French  forces  in  the  Peninsula  were  strongly 
reinforced,  so  that  Marshal  Massena  had  103,000  men  at  his  disposal.  When 
he  moved  in  three  columns  under  Junot,  Ney,  and  Regnier  into  Portugal, 
Wellesley,  by  this  time  Viscount  Wellington,  retired  on  the  famous  lines  of 
Torres  Vedras,  fighting  on  27th  September  the  battle  of  Busaco,  when  the 
French  were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss.  On  loth  October  the  British  army 
entered  the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras,  and  the  two  armies  remained  facing  each 
other  until  March,  1811,  the  British  headquarters  being  at  Cartaxo.  Here  in 
general  orders  of  4th  March,  1811,  a  fine  tribute  was  paid  to  the  discipline 
of  the  Coldstream  and  3rd  Guards  battalions.  "  During  the  last  two  years 
during  which  the  Brigade  of  Guards  have  been  under  the  command  of  the 
Commander  of  the  Forces,  not  only  no  soldier  has  been  brought  to  trial  before 
a  general  court-martial,  but  no  one  has  been  confined  in  a  public  guard." 

Meanwhile  three  companies  of  the  2nd  battalion  of  the  3rd  Guards 
had  been  maintaining  the  reputation  of  the  regiment  and  of  the  brigade 
in  another  part  of  Spain.  Cadiz  had  been  invested  by  Marshal  Victor, 
and  in  February,  1810,  a  British  force  under  Lieut.-General  Graham  (after- 
wards Lord  Lynedoch)  was  sent  out  to  reinforce  the  garrison,  the  ist  brigade 
of  which  was  composed  of  a  battalion  of  six  companies  of  the  2nd  battalion 
ist  Guards  under  Lieut.-Colonel  Sebright,  and  a  composite  battalion  of 
three  companies  from  the  2nd  Coldstream  and  three  from  the  2nd  battalion 
3rd  Guards  under  Lieut.-Colonel  the  Hon.  T.  C.  Onslow  of  the  3rd  Guards, 
the  brigade  being  commanded  by  Major-General  Dilkes  of  the  3rd  Guards. 
After  a  siege  of  a  year,  Graham  carried  out  a  movement  against  the  French 
culminating  in  the  brilliant  victory  of  Barrosa  on  5th  March,  1811.  Here 
the  French  were  driven  from  their  position  on  the  heights  with  a  loss  of 
3000  men,  two  guns,  and  several  standards  and  colours  which  were  later 
deposited  in  Whitehall  Chapel  as  trophies.  General  Graham  reported 
"  that  the  brigade  of  Guards  had  gloriously  maintained  the  high  character 
of  his  Majesty's  household  troops  in  an  action  where  all  had  distinguished 
themselves."  Out  of  a  total  of  1243  casualties,  374  were  in  the  brigade  of 
Guards,  and  the  Prince  Regent  gave  orders  that  "  Barrosa  "  should  be  added 
to  the  honours  borne  on  the  colours.  In  May  the  twelve  companies  of  the 
brigade  embarked  for  home,  being  relieved  by  the  3rd  battalion  of  the 
ist  Guards,  ten  companies  strong,  who  remained  there  until  the  siege  was 
raised  in  August,  1812. 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  87 

On  5th  March,  iSu,  Wellington  began  the  advance  which  ended  in 
France  in  April,  1814.  At  Fuentes  d'Honoro  on  5th  May  the  Coldstream 
and  3rd  Guards  were  on  the  right  of  the  ist  division,  which  itself  occupied 
the  right  of  the  line.  In  front  were  the  picquets  of  the  Guards,  about  100 
rank  and  file  under  Lieut. -Colonel  Hill  of  the  3rd  Guards,  which  were  cut 
off  and  surrounded  by  the  French  cavalry  early  in  the  action,  Lieut.- 
Colonel  Hill  and  several  men  being  taken  prisoners.  Later  the  light  in- 
fantry of  the  Guards,  under  Lieut. -Colonel  Guise  of  the  3rd  Guards,  took 
their  revenge  by  breaking  up  an  attack  of  the  French  light  infantry. 
Through  all  the  attacks  which  followed  the  British  line  held  firm  throughout 
the  day.  On  the  6th  and  7th  the  two  armies  remained  facing  each  other  ; 
on  the  8th  the  enemy  withdrew.  It  is  related  that  during  the  action  the 
92nd  Highlanders  came  into  position  short  of  provisions,  and  were  supplied 
by  the  Guardsmen  with  a  ration  of  biscuits  from  their  haversacks,  a  bounty 
which  the  Gordons  received  with  hearty  cheers. 

In  September  Sir  Brent  Spencer  was  succeeded  in  the  command  of  the 
ist  division  by  General  Graham. 

In  1812,  after  the  storming  of  Cuidad  Rodrigo  on  igth  January,  and  the 
victory  at  Salamanca  on  22nd  July,  Madrid  was  entered  by  the  Allies  on 
I2th  August.  Shortly  after  the  unsuccessful  siege  of  Burgos,  the  ist  bat- 
talion ist  Guards  landed  from  England,  and  on  nth  November  the  3rd 
battalion  ist  Guards  joined  Wellington's  army  from  Cadiz.  These  two 
battalions  were  then  formed  into  the  ist  brigade  of  Guards,  under  Major- 
General  K.  A.  Howard,  Coldstream  Guards,  Major-General  Campbell, 
ist  Guards,  having  now  been  promoted  to  the  command  of  a  division. 
Major-General  the  Hon.  E.  Stopford  of  the  3rd  Guards  succeeded  him  in 
the  command  of  the  2nd  brigade  of  the  Coldstream  and  3rd  Guards,  the 
command  of  the  ist  battalion  3rd  Guards  devolving  on  Colonel  the  Hon. 
Thomas  Fermor.  These  two  brigades  formed  the  ist  and  2nd  of  the  ist 
division,  the  3rd  and  4th  consisting  of  the  King's  German  Legion,  the 
divisional  commander  being  Lieut. -General  Sir  William  Stewart,  afterwards 
succeeded  by  Major-General  K.  A.  Howard,  whose  place  as  Brigadier  of 
the  ist  brigade  was  taken  by  Major-General  John  Lambert,  ist  Guards. 

A  serious  outbreak  of  sickness  kept  the  ist  brigade  at  Oporto  until 
I3th  July,  1813.  They  were  not,  therefore,  with  the  Coldstream  and  3rd 
Guards  at  the  victory  of  Vittoria  on  2ist  June,  where  the  ist  and  5th  divisions 


88  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

were  on  the  left  of  the  British  line ;  but  they  rejoined  the  ist  division  in  time 
to  take  part  in  the  siege  of  San  Sebastian,  in  the  storming  of  which,  on  3ist 
August,  the  200  men  of  the  Guards  who  formed  part  of  the  storming  party, 
750  strong,  sustained  160  casualties. 

On  October  7th  the  ist  and  5th  divisions  under  Graham  forded  the 
Bidassoa  and  entered  France.  Shortly  afterwards  Sir  John  Hope  (after- 
wards 4th  Earl  of  Hopetoun)  took  over  the  command  of  the  left  wing  of 
the  army.  Sir  Thomas  Graham  having  been  sent  to  command  the  expedition 
from  England  to  Holland.  This  consisted  of  a  force  of  8000  men,  including 
a  brigade  of  Guards  drawn  from  the  2nd  battalions  of  each  regiment,  six 
companies  to  each  of  the  three  battalions,  with  Colonel  Lord  Proby,  ist 
Guards,  in  command.  The  intention  was  to  help  the  Dutch  who  had  risen 
against  the  domination  of  Napoleon.  It  landed  in  December,  1813,  and  the 
brigade  of  Guards  went  to  the  Hague,  whence  they  were  moved  shortly  to 
the  neighbourhood  of  Bergen-op-Zoom.  On  8th  March,  1814,  a  force  of 
4000  men,  whereof  1000  were  drawn  from  the  brigade  of  Guards,  attempted 
to  carry  the  fortress  of  Bergen-op-Zoom  by  a  coup  de  main.  Of  the  three 
storming  parties,  that  of  the  Guards  alone  succeeded  in  making  good  their 
footing  on  the  ramparts,  where  they  held  their  ground  all  night,  but  were 
obliged  to  withdraw  in  good  order  in  the  morning  of  the  gth.  In  brigade 
orders  special  praise  was  given  to  Captain  the  Hon.  James  Rodney,  3rd 
Guards ;  Ensign  Good,  Coldstream  Guards  ;  and  Ensign  Pardoe,  ist  Guards, 
who  led  the  advanced  and  ladder  parties.  Peace  having  been  signed 
on  23rd  April,  1814,  the  British  troops  entered  Antwerp,  where  the  Guards 
remained  until  August,  1814,  when  they  moved  to  Brussels,  and  were  there 
when  Napoleon  escaped  from  Elba  in  March,  1815.  The  2nd  battalion 
of  the  3rd  Guards  had  left  England  under  Lieut.-Colonel  William  Rooke  ; 
but  he  was  succeeded  in  February,  1814,  by  Colonel  F.  Hepburn,  who  was 
in  command  at  Waterloo. 

To  return  to  events  in  the  Peninsula.  In  November,  1813,  the  right 
wing  of  the  British  army  descended  the  Pyrenees,  driving  the  French  on 
the  loth  from  the  lines  of  Saint- Jean-de-Luz  to  Bayonne  and  the  Nive. 
On  December  loth,  nth,  I2th,  and  i3th  Soult  attacked  the  British,  first 
on  theur  left  and  then  on  their  right  in  a  series  of  actions  on  the  Nive.  The 
Guards  on  the  heights  of  Bidart  were  engaged  on  the  loth  and  nth,  the 
ist  brigade  being  more  in  action  than  the  2nd.  Soult's  attacks  having 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  89 

failed  he  transferred  the  bulk  of  his  army  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Nive,  and 
fought  a  sanguinary  battle  at  Saint-Pierre,  where  he  was  finally  defeated. 

During  the  winter  of  1813-14  the  headquarters  of  the  Guards  were 
at  Saint- Jean-de-Luz.  Early  in  February  Sir  John  Hope  advanced  with 
the  left  wing  of  the  army  to  invest  Bayonne.  On  the  night  of  the  22nd 
Major-General  Stopford,  with  the  2nd  brigade  of  Guards,  marched  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Adour,  and  by  the  evening  of  the  23rd  the  light  company  of 
the  Coldstream,  five  companies  of  the  3rd  Guards,  two  of  the  6oth  Rifles 
and  Congreve's  rocket  battery  had  crossed  in  boats  and  on  pontoon  rafts 
and  established  themselves  on  the  spit  of  sand  on  the  far  side.  Here  they 
were  attacked  at  sundown  by  two  French  battalions  1300  strong ;  but  the 
steady  fire  of  the  Guards,  and  the  alarm  and  execution  caused  by  the  rocket 
battery  (now  used  in  action  for  the  first  time)  broke  the  charge  of  the  French 
columns,  which  fell  back  in  confusion.  Next  day  the  remainder  of  the 
2nd  brigade  and  the  ist  brigade  of  Guards  crossed  and  took  up  their  posi- 
tions north  of  the  citadel  to  complete  the  investment  of  Bayonne.  Here 
was  fought  the  last  battle  of  the  war — fought,  indeed,  actually  after  the 
signing  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  on  nth  April,  the  news  of  which  had  not 
reached  the  combatants. 

In  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  of  I4th  April  the  French  made  a 
desperate  sortie  from  Bayonne,  directed  against  the  village  of  Saint-Etienne, 
which  was  held  by  the  German  legion  and  Major-General  Hay's  brigade  ; 
the  centre  of  the  line  being  held  by  the  picquets  of  the  2nd  brigade  of  Guards, 
on  whose  right  were  the  picquets  of  the  ist  brigade.  The  enemy  pene- 
trated into  the  village  of  Saint-Etienne.  The  picquets  of  the  2nd  brigade 
were  driven  in,  Major-General  Hay  was  killed  and  Brigadier-General  Stop- 
ford  was  wounded,  his  place  being  taken  by  Colonel  Guise,  3rd  Guards. 
The  German  legion  retook  Saint-Etienne,  the  ist  brigade  of  Guards  on 
the  right  moved  up  on  the  enemy's  flank,  and  co-operated  with  Guise's 
2nd  brigade  in  driving  him  back  into  the  citadel,  at  dawn,  with  a  loss  of 
some  900  men.  But  the  British  losses  had  been  heavy  also.  In  the  darkness 
and  confusion  the  commander-in-chief,  Sir  John  Hope,  had  ridden  into 
the  enemy's  ranks  ;  after  his  horse  had  been  shot  under  him,  and  he  had  been 
twice  wounded,  he  was  taken  prisoner.  In  the  2nd  brigade,  the  Coldstream 
had  245  casualties,  and  the  3rd  Guards  203,  losing  the  following  officers  : 
Captain  Luke  Mahon,  Captain  White  and  Capt.  Shiffner,  and  Lieut,  and 


90  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

Adjutant  Francis  Holburne.  Their  remains  were  buried  close  to  where 
they  fell,  at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  which,  broken  by  a  24  Ib.  shot,  was  formed 
into  a  cross  over  the  graves  by  their  comrades.  Part  of  the  tree  still  remains, 
and  the  small  cemetery  having  been  enclosed  and  put  into  thorough  order 
some  forty  years  ago  by  the  relatives  of  Captain  Shiffner  and  Lieut. 
Holburne,  is  carefully  tended  to  this  day. 

Four  days  later  the  news  of  Napoleon's  abdication  reached  Bayonne, 
and  hostilities  were  suspended.  The  two  Peninsula  brigades  of  the  Guards 
returned  to  England  in  1815,  while  the  brigade  composed  of  the  2nd 
battalions  of  the  three  regiments  remained,  as  we  have  seen,  in  Belgium. 
Napoleon,  having  escaped  from  Elba,  reached  Paris  on  2oth  March,  the 
Congress  of  Vienna  broke  up  in  haste,  and  the  Allies  assembled  their 
forces— the  British,  Hanoverians,  Dutch,  and  Belgians  being  concentrated 
in  Belgium  under  the  command  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 

Early  in  April  the  3rd  battalion  of  the  ist  Guards  arrived  from  home, 
and  Major-General  Cooke  was  placed  in  command  of  a  Guards  division, 
the  ist  brigade,  composed  of  the  2nd  and  3rd  battalions  of  the  ist  Guards, 
under  Major-General  Peregrine  Maitland,  ist  Guards,  and  the  2nd  brigade 
of  the  2nd  Coldstream  and  2nd  3rd  Guards  under  Major-General  Sir  John 
Byng  (afterwards  Lord  Torrington)  of  the  3rd  Guards,  with  Colonel  F. 
Hepburn  in  command  of  the  2nd  3rd  Guards. 

On  June  I5th  the  news  arrived  that  the  French  had  crossed  the  Sambre 
and  attacked  the  Prussians.  Between  2  and  3  A.M.  on  the  i6th  the  Guards 
division  left  Enghien  for  Quatre-Bras,  to  support  the  allied  forces,  which 
were  hurrying  into  position  there.  After  a  march  of  25  miles  the  division 
came  into  action,  the  ist  brigade  leading.  They  cleared  the  Bois  de  Bossu, 
and  repulsed  the  flanking  movement  of  the  French  against  the  right  of  the 
5th  division.  The  2nd  brigade  on  arrival  moved  up  in  support,  the  light 
companies  only  of  the  3rd  Guards  and  Coldstream  coming  into  action, 
the  former  under  Lieut.-Colonel  Home  and  the  latter  under  Lieut.-Colonel 
Macdonell,  brother  to  Glengarry.  The  ist  brigade  sustained  548  casual- 
ties, the  light  companies  of  the  2nd  brigade  only  7,  all  in  the  3rd  Guards. 

Although  Ney  failed  in  his  attack  at  Quatre-Bras,  Napoleon  had  defeated 
the  Prussians  at  Ligny,  and  in  consequence  Wellington  withdrew  the  allied 
army  from  Quatre-Bras  on  I7th  June,  and  by  5  P.M.  was  in  position  on 
the  ridge  of  Mont-Saint-Jean,  to  the  south  of  the  village  of  Waterloo.  To 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  91 

the  light  companies  of  the  Coldstream,  3rd  Guards  and  ist  Guards  was 
allotted  the  defence  of  the  chateau  of  Hougomont.  It  lay  in  front  of  the 
right  of  the  allied  line  ;  on  the  rising  ground  behind  it  were  the  2nd  brigade 
of  Guards  in  immediate  support,  and  on  their  left  the  ist  brigade.  The 
light  companies  forming  the  garrison  of  the  chateau  were  commanded — the 
ist  Guards  by  Lieut. -Colonel  Lord  Saltoun,  the  Coldstream  by  Lieut.- 
Colonel  Henry  Wyndham,  the  3rd  Guards  by  Lieut.-Colonel  Charles 
Dashwood,  the  whole  being  under  command  of  Lieut.-Colonel  Macdonell 
of  the  Coldstream.  The  companies  of  the  Coldstream  and  3rd  Guards  were 
posted  in  the  wood  to  the  south  of  the  buildings,  those  of  the  ist  Guards 
in  the  orchard  to  the  east.  Three  companies  of  Hanoverian  Jagers,  sent  up 
as  a  reinforcement,  joined  the  advanced  picquet  of  the  3rd  Guards,  which 
was  under  command  of  Captain  Evelyn  and  Ensign  Standen. 

Macdonell  spent  the  night  of  I7th-i8th  in  putting  the  buildings  and 
garden  walls  into  a  state  of  defence.  At  10  A.M.  the  light  companies  of  the 
ist  Guards  were  relieved  by  a  Nassau  battalion,  which  then  took  over  the 
defence  of  the  wood.  About  eleven  o'clock,  after  a  heavy  cannonade, 
Jerome  led  the  attack  on  Hougomont  with  a  column  of  four  regiments, 
and  the  Nassauers  and  Jagers  were  driven  out  of  the  wood.  Macdonell 
broke  the  French  attack  on  the  chateau,  Saltoun  and  his  light  companies 
were  sent  forward  again,  and  together  with  those  of  the  Coldstream  and 
3rd  Guards  cleared  the  wood  of  the  enemy.  The  great  north  gate  of  the 
chateau  was  kept  open  to  receive  ammunition  from  the  brigade  in  rear, 
and  at  i  P.M.  a  cart  load  arrived  just  before  another  furious  attack  by  the 
enemy.  This  time  the  French  swarmed  into  the  wood,  and  fighting  foot  by 
foot,  the  light  companies  of  the  ist  Guards  fell  back  on  the  orchard,  those  of 
the  Coldstream  and  3rd  Guards  on  the  chateau.  The  enemy,  strongly  rein- 
forced, pushed  through  the  wood  and  made  a  determined  attack  on  the  3rd 
Guards  as  they  retired  on  the  great  north  gate.  In  the  hand-to-hand  fighting 
which  ensued,  two  brothers,  Sergeant  and  Corporal  Graham  of  the  Cold- 
stream,  and  Sergeants  Bryce,  McGregor,  and  Ralph  Fraser,  and  Private 
John  Lister  of  the  3rd  Guards,  specially  distinguished  themselves.  Sergeant 
Fraser,  indeed,  in  order  to  cover  the  withdrawal  of  his  men,  engaged  single- 
handed  the  French  Colonel  Cubieres,  who  was  in  command  of  the 
attacking  battalion,  pulled  him  from  his  horse,  and  rode  back  on  it  into  the 
courtyard.  Mingled  together,  Guardsmen  and  Frenchmen  crushed  through 


92  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

the  gateway  ;  but  at  this  supreme  moment  Lieut.-Colonel  Macdonnell  with 
three  officers  of  the  Coldstream— Wyndham,  Gooch,  and  Harvey— Sergeant 
John  Graham,  and  such  men  as  he  could  muster,  rushed  forward,  driving 
the  French  near  the  gate  before  them.  Then  Macdonell  and  Graham, 
uniting  their  whole  weight  on  the  great  gates,  closed  them  in  the  face  of 
the  French  reinforcements,  barred  and  barricaded  them,  and  the  crisis  was 
over.  "  The  success  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo  turned  upon  the  closing 
of  the  gates  of  Hougomont,"  wrote  the  great  Duke. 

The  chateau,  however,  was  still  surrounded  by  the  French,  so  Byng 
moved  down  the  Coldstream  under  Colonel  Woodford  to  reinforce  the  garri- 
son of  the  chateau,  leaving  two  companies  on  the  ridge  to  protect  the  colours ; 
and  sending  the  3rd  Guards  under  Colonel  Hepburn  into  the  orchard  and 
wood.  Hepburn  sent  the  grenadier  and  another  company  of  the  3rd  Guards 
under  Lieut.-Colonel  Home  to  support  Saltoun  in  the  orchard.  These,  with 
Saltoun's  men  and  some  Hanoverian  Jagers  whom  he  had  rallied,  made  a 
determined  attack  on  the  enemy,  who  had  brought  up  a  gun  to  bear  on 
them.  They  failed  to  take  the  gun,  but  drove  the  French  out  of  the 
orchard  and  re-occupied  and  held  the  outer  hedge.  Between  2  P.M.  and 
3  P.M.  the  3rd  company  of  the  3rd  Guards,  under  Lieut.-Colonel  Mercer  of 
Fordell,  relieved  Saltoun,  who  returned  with  the  survivors  of  the  light 
companies  of  the  ist  Guards  to  the  ist  brigade  and  for  the  rest  of 
the  day  the  3rd  Guards  under  Colonel  Hepburn  in  the  wood  and 
orchard,  and  their  light  company  and  the  Coldstream  in  the  chateau, 
stood  firm  against  every  assault  of  the  enemy.  Under  concentrated  artillery 
fire  the  chateau,  the  chapel  and  the  stables  were  set  on  fire  ;  the  whole  of 
the  French  2nd  corps,  some  30,000  strong,  was  launched  against  them 
again  and  again,  but  at  the  close  of  day  Hougomont  was  still  held  by  the 
Guards,  and  the  Duke  briefly  recorded  in  his  despatch  of  next  day  : 

"  I  had  occupied  that  post  with  a  detachment  from  General  Byng's  Brigade 
of  Guards  which  was  in  position  in  its  rear  ;  and  it  was  for  some  time  under  the 
command  of  Lieut.-Colonel  Macdonell  (Coldstream  Guards)  and  afterwards  of 
Lieut.-Colonel  Home  (3rd  Guards)  ;  and  I  am  happy  to  add  that  it  was  maintained 
throughout  with  the  utmost  gallantry  by  those  brave  troops,  notwithstanding 
the  repeated  efforts  of  large  bodies  of  the  enemy  to  obtain  possession  of  it." 1 

'The  Duke  was  misinformed  as  to  the  details  of  the  defence  of  Hougomont.  Colonel  Home 
never  had  a  separate  command  ;  it  was  Colonel  Hepburn  who  commanded  the  3rd  Guards  in  the  orchard 
and  wood.  In  a  letter  in  the  possession  of  the  Hon.  Hew  Dalrymple,  Colonel  Hepburn  says  "  the  Duke 
realises  he  had  been  misinformed,  but  is  not  a  man  to  correct  a  mistake  publicly." 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  93 

The  losses  of  the  3rd  Guards  were  39  n.c.o.  and  men  killed  and  188 
wounded  ;  Captains  Ashton,  Crawford  and  Hon.  H.  Forbes  and  Ensign 
Simpson  were  killed ;  Lieut-Colonels  Bowater,  West  and  Dashwood, 
Captains  R.  B.  Hesketh,  Montgomerie  and  Evelyn  and  Ensigns  Lake  and 
Baird  were  wounded.  In  addition,  two  of  the  Duke's  aides-de-camp, 
Lieut.-Colonel  C.  F.  Canning  and  Lieut.-Colonel  the  Hon.  Sir  A.  Gordon, 
both  officers  of  the  regiment,  were  killed,  also  Captain  and  Adjutant  W. 
Stothert,  brigade-major  to  the  2nd  brigade  of  Guards. 

In  recognition  of  the  services  of  the  Guards  division  the  Prince  Regent 
granted  the  rank  of  lieutenant  to  all  ensigns  of  the  three  regiments  then 
serving  or  to  be  hereafter  appointed,  thus  completing  the  double  rank 
which,  in  the  case  of  the  captains  and  lieutenants  of  the  Scots  Guards 
dated  from  1691,  when  it  was  granted  to  them  by  King  William  III.  during 
the  campaign  in  Flanders.  In  1871  the  "  double  rank  "  was  abolished  by 
Royal  Warrant. 

After  Waterloo  the  allied  armies  entered  Paris  and  the  2nd  battalion 
remained  there  until  January,  1816,  when  it  returned  to  London  along  with 
the  2nd  battalion  ist  Guards,  now  designated  Grenadier  Guards  in  remem- 
brance of  the  rout  of  the  French  Grenadiers  de  la  Garde  by  the  ist  brigade 
of  Guards  at  the  close  of  the  battle. 

For  some  years  after  the  peace  there  were  disturbances  in  various  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  and  until  the  establishment  of  the  police  force  the  Guards 
were  frequently  called  on  to  deal  with  rioting  and  to  maintain  order.  In 
1819  the  Cato  Street  conspiracy  to  assassinate  members  of  the  cabinet  was 
discovered  and  suppressed.  Ireland  also  was  in  a  state  of  discontent, 
and  a  battalion  of  Guards  was  ordered  to  Dublin  in  1821,  and  from  this 
time  onward  until  1845  a  battalion  was  regularly  quartered  there,  the  3rd 
Guards  taking  their  first  turn  in  1824.  In  1826  disturbances  broke  out  in 
Manchester,  and  the  ist  battalion  were  sent  there  in  May,  with  the  2nd 
Coldstream,  the  latter  being  relieved  in  July  by  the  3rd  Grenadiers. 

In  December  of  the  same  year  an  insurrection  broke  out  in  Portugal, 
and  its  government  appealed  to  Great  Britain  for  assistance.  A  body  of 
5000  British  troops  was  despatched  there  under  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  in- 
cluding a  brigade  of  Guards  composed  of  the  ist  Grenadiers  and  2nd  3rd 
Guards  under  Maj  or-General  Sir  Henry  Bouverie.  To  replace  these  battalions 
in  London,  those  from  Manchester  were  brought  up.  The  battalions  in 


94  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

Portugal  remained  there  until  April,  1828,  and  from  that  time  to  the  Crimean 
war  the  regiment  performed  no  service  abroad. 

On  26th  June,  1830,  William  IV.  succeeded  George  IV.  on  the  throne, 
and  on  24th  June  of  the  following  year,  two  months  before  his  coronation, 
he  was  graciously  pleased  to  restore  a  Scottish  title  to  the  3rd  Guards,  and 
directed  that  they  should  be  designated  in  future  the  Scots  Fusilier  Guards. 
In  1832  the  shako,  worn  by  all  except  the  grenadier  companies  since  1801, 
was  superseded  by  the  bearskin  cap,  which  is  still  worn  by  the  Guards. 
Dark  grey  trousers  had  already  superseded  white  breeches  and  black 
gaiters  in  1823  ;  and  swallow-tailed  coatees  with  epaulettes  came  into  vogue 
in  1820  in  lieu  of  the  short  coat  worn  between  1795  and  that  date.  White 
trousers  were  worn  in  summer.  This  uniform  continued  until  1856,  when 
the  full  dress  tunic  was  introduced  and  white  trousers  were  abolished. 
With  minor  alterations  this  has  continued  to  be  the  full  dress  uniform 
until  the  present  day. 

H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  died  in  1834,  and  was  succeeded  as 
colonel  of  the  Scots  Fusilier  Guards  by  George,  5th  Duke  of  Gordon, 
on  whose  death  in  1836  George  James,  2nd  Earl  Ludlow,  was  appointed ; 
and  in  1842  H.R.H.  the  Prince  Consort  was  given  the  command,  which  he 
held  until  1852,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  command  of  the  Grenadiers, 
and  was  succeeded  by  H.R.H.  George,  2nd  Duke  of  Cambridge. 

In  1854  the  Crimean  war  broke  out,  and  on  28th  February  the  ist 
battalion  paraded  for  service  abroad.  From  Wellington  Barracks  they 
marched  to  Buckingham  Palace,  where  they  were  inspected  by  Queen 
Victoria  and  the  Prince  Consort,  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  being  also  present. 
They  embarked  the  same  day  at  Portsmouth  in  ss.  Simoon,  and  joined 
the  brigade  of  Guards  at  Malta,  the  other  two  battalions  being  the  3rd 
Grenadiers  and  ist  Coldstream,  with  Brigadier-General  Bentinck,  Cold- 
stream  Guards,  in  command.  At  the  end  of  April  the  brigade  was  moved 
to  Scutari,  thence  to  Bulgaria,  and  at  the  beginning  of  September  to  the 
Crimea  ;  where  the  ist  division,  consisting  of  the  brigade  of  Guards  and 
the  Highland  brigade  (42nd,  79th,  and  93rd),  under  the  command  of 
H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  landed  on  I4th  September. 

On  the  igth  the  advance  towards  Sevastopol  began,  and  on  the  following 
day  was  fought  the  battle  of  the  Alma.  Here,  on  the  heights  above  the  river, 
the  Russian  army  under  Menshikoff  was  drawn  up  to  oppose  the  further 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  95 

advance  of  the  Allies  :  the  main  portion  occupied  Kurgane  Hill  in  front 
of  the  British,  the  French  attack  being  directed  against  Telegraph  Hill  on 
our  right. 

The  Light  Division  led  the  British  attack  :  General  Codrington's  brigade 
of  the  33rd  (Duke  of  Wellington's),  23rd  (Welsh  Fusiliers),  and  jth  (Royal 
Fusiliers),  were  in  front  of  the  brigade  of  Guards,  General  Buller's  brigade 
being  in  front  of  the  Highland  brigade.  Codrington  led  his  men  through 
the  vineyards  on  the  river  banks,  across  the  Alma  and  up  the  slopes  to  the 
first  breastwork,  which  they  took,  but  found  the  Russian  reserves  in  front 
of  them,  by  which  they  were  gradually  forced  back.  Meanwhile  the  brigade 
of  Guards  was  moving  up  in  support,  Grenadiers  on  the  right,  Scots  Fusiliers 
in  the  centre,  Coldstream  on  the  left.  On  reaching  the  stone  wall  of  the 
vineyards  the  brigadier  gave  the  order  to  break  the  ranks  and  get  over 
the  wall  and  across  the  vineyard  as  best  they  could.  In  this  way  the  Scots 
Fusiliers  crossed  vineyard  and  river,  halting  on  the  further  bank  to  re-form 
in  comparative  shelter  from  the  enemy's  fire.  At  this  moment  Codrington, 
finding  himself  hard  pressed,  sent  back  an  urgent  message  for  the  Guards 
to  come  on,  and  Major-General  Bentinck  rode  up  and  ordered  the  Scots 
Fusiliers  to  advance  before  they  had  re-formed  line.  Up  the  hill  they  went, 
fixing  bayonets  as  they  advanced,  unsupported  on  either  flank,  for  the  Cold- 
stream,  owing  to  bends  in  the  rivei,  had  been  compelled  to  wade  through 
it  three  times,  and  the  Grenadiers  on  the  right  had  crossed  partly  by  a 
bridge  and  partly  by  fording,  both  battalions  were  in  consequence  in  process 
of  re-forming ;  indeed,  the  left  flank  company  of  the  Scots  Fusiliers  were 
delayed  with  the  Coldstream. 

As  the  battalion  advanced  up  the  hill  some  of  the  Light  Division, 
borne  back  by  the  Russian  masses,  broke  through  its  ranks,  and  swept 
back  with  them  two  or  three  of  the  companies  on  the  left.  Others 
of  the  Light  Division  joined  the  rest  of  the  battalion,  which  continued  to 
advance  till  they  were  within  twenty  yards  of  the  Russian  redoubt.  Then, 
finding  themselves  still  unsupported,  they  were  halted  and  commenced 
firing.  At  this  moment  someone  rode  up  to  Lieut.-Colonel  Sir  Charles 
Hamilton,  who  was  in  command  of  the  battalion,  and  told  him  to  give  the 
order  to  retire ;  the  order  was  accordingly  given.  The  late  Sir  Reginald 
Gipps,  who  went  through  the  action,  was  perfectly  clear  on  this  point. 
Whether  the  message  was  intended  for  the  Fusilier  battalions  of  the  Light 


96  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

Division  is  not  known ;  but  the  order  having  been  given,  the  battalion 
began  to  fall  back,  until  the  officers,  seeing  the  Grenadiers  advancing  on 
the  right,  realised  that  there  had  been  some  mistake,  and  gave  the  order 
to  resume  the  advance.  Owing  to  the  men  of  the  Light  Division  retiring 
through  the  battalion,  and  the  subsequent  mistaken  order,  there  was  some 
confusion.  The  colour  party,  consisting  of  Lieut.  Robert  James  Loyd 
Lindsay  (afterwards  Lord  Wantage),  who  carried  the  Queen's  colour, 
Lieut.  Arthur  Henry  Thistlethwayte  with  the  regimental  colour,  Sergeant 
James  McKechnie,  Sergeant  Nicholas  Lane,  Sergeant  William  Bryce,  and 
Sergeant  Angus  McLeod,  were  for  some  moments  isolated  and  surrounded 
by  the  Russians.  There  were  four-and-twenty  shot-holes  in  the  Queen's 
colour,  and  the  pole  was  shot  asunder,  but  both  officers  were  unwounded. 
Lane  was  killed,  McLeod  was  mortally  and  McKechnie  slightly  wounded, 
but  the  small  knot  of  determined  men  stood  firm.  The  Coldstream  passed 
on  the  left,  the  Grenadiers  on  the  right,  halted  and  opened  fire  to  give 
the  Scots  Fusiliers  time  to  regain  their  formation.  This  was  accomplished 
in  a  few  minutes,  the  battalion  closed  up  on  the  colour  party,  took  its  place 
in  the  general  line,  and  the  advance  was  resumed,  "  the  enemy  giving  way 
before  them,  and,  as  they  came  up  to  the  crest,  the  companies  which  had 
been  borne  back  by  the  retiring  Light  Division  rejoined,  and  the  whole 
brigade  was  complete."  1  Guards  and  Highlanders  poured  a  continuous  fire 
into  the  Russian  masses  till  they  began  to  waver,  then  charged,  driving 
them  from  their  position,  and  the  heights  of  the  Alma  were  won. 

Lieut.  Lindsay  was  thanked  by  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  in  front  of  the 
brigade  on  parade  for  his  conduct  in  command  of  the  colour  party, 
and  both  he  and  Sergeant  McKechnie  were  among  the  first  to  receive  the 
Victoria  Cross  at  the  end  of  the  war.  Lieut.  Thistlethwayte  died  of  illness 
not  long  after  the  Alma.  Private  William  Reynolds  and  Drill-Sergeant 
John  S.  Knox  also  received  the  V.C.  for  their  conduct  in  rallying  men 
round  the  colours  at  the  critical  moment.  Knox  received  a  commission  in 
the  Rifle  Brigade  in  April,  1855.  The  battalion  lost  43  n.c.o.  and  men 
killed  and  121  wounded ;  of  the  officers  Captain  Viscount  Chewton  died 
of  wounds  received,  Lieut.-Colonels  Berkeley,  Dalrymple,  Hepburn  and 
Haygarth,  Captains  Astley,  Bulwer,  Buckley  and  Gipps,  and  Lieut,  the 
Hon.  H.  Annesley,  were  wounded.  The  defeated  Russians  were  not 

1  History  of  the  Coldstream  Guards,  vol.  iii. 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  97 

pursued,  and  after  three  days  the  allied  army  moved  round  Sevastopol  to 
Balaclava,  and  began  the  investment  of  the  city  from  the  south  side. 
Work  in  the  trenches  began  on  loth  October. 

So  far  as  the  brigade  of  Guards  was  concerned,  the  siege  may  be 
divided  into  four  periods.  During  the  first  period,  from  loth  October  to 
5th  November,  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Inkerman,  the  Guards  furnished 
its  proportion  of  four  picquets  of  50  to  70  men  each  in  conjunction  with 
the  Highlanders  until  25th  October.  On  that  date  the  Highland  brigade 
was  moved  to  Balaclava  ;  thenceforward  to  5th  November  the  whole  of 
the  picquet  duty  of  the  ist  division  fell  on  the  brigade  of  Guards,  which 
also  furnished  daily  working  parties  of  50  men  to  assist  the  Royal  Engineers. 
The  average  strength  of  the  whole  brigade  during  this  period  was  1560 
men. 

The  siege  guns  opened  fire  on  iyth  October.  On  25th  October  the 
Russians  attacked  Balaclava  ;  but  as  the  brigade  of  Guards  was  only  in 
support  and  took  no  part  in  the  action,  it  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this 
narrative  to  describe  the  battle  in  which  the  British  cavalry  won  undying 
renown.  The  immediate  result  of  the  action,  however,  was  to  split  up  the 
ist  division,  the  Highlanders  being  moved  down  from  the  hills  to  the  plain 
for  the  defence  of  Balaclava,  while  the  Guards  remained  encamped  on  the 
heights  overlooking  the  Tchernaya  river  and  the  valley  of  Inkerman,  in 
rear  and  supporting  the  camp  of  the  and  division.  Hence  it  came  about 
that  when,  on  5th  November,  the  Russians  made  their  determined  attack 
on  the  right  of  the  British  line  before  Sevastopol,  the  brunt  of  it  fell  on 
this  division  and  on  the  brigade  of  Guards. 

The  morning  was  dark  and  foggy,  and  the  enemy's  advancing  columns 
were  unobserved  until  they  were  close  on  the  line  of  picquets.  By  7.30  A.M. 
the  2nd  division  had  driven  back  this  first  attack  under  General  Soimonoff, 
and  a  second  attack  under  General  Dannenberg  had  begun,  converging  on 
two  spurs  of  the  heights  called  the  Inkerman  Tusk  and  the  Kitspur.  At 
the  extreme  edge  of  the  latter  was  a  breastwork  called  the  Sandbag  Battery, 
round  which  the  hottest  fighting  of  the  day  surged  for  hours.  This  position 
was  held  by  the  4ist  and  4Qth  under  General  Adams,  who  was  soon  hard 
pressed,  and  sent  back  to  the  camp  of  the  Guards  in  rear  asking  for  support. 
The  brigade,  with  the  exception  of  the  companies  who  had  been  on  out- 
lying picquet  for  the  night,  was  already  on  the  move  under  the  Duke  of 


98  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

Cambridge  and  General  Bentinck.  The  Grenadiers  under  Colonel  Reynard- 
son  were  leading,  followed  by  the  Scots  Fusiliers  under  Colonel  Walker,  the 
total  strength  of  the  two  battalions,  as  they  turned  out,  being  only  some  700 
to  800  men.  The  Coldstream,  whose  camp  was  further  to  the  rear,  were 
not  far  behind.  The  Russian  force  in  front  has  been  estimated  at  7000. 

Before  the  Grenadiers  reached  the  Kitspur,  General  Adams  had  fallen 
mortally  wounded,  and  the  Russians  were  pouring  into  the  Sandbag  Battery. 
The  Grenadiers  charged  instantly  and  drove  them  out,  occupying  the  battery 
and  the  ridge  of  the  Kitspur  facing  east.  While  the  Scots  Fusiliers  moved 
up  on  the  left,  they  were  met  by  a  fresh  force  of  Russians,  which  they  charged 
and  drove  down  the  hill ;  the  Fusiliers  then  prolonged  the  line  of  defence 
to  the  left.  Next,  the  Coldstream  under  Lieut  .-Colonel  Dawson  arrived 
and  took  up  their  position  on  the  right  of  the  Grenadiers. 

Meantime  those  of  the  Grenadiers  who  were  in  the  Sandbag  Battery 
found  that,  owing  to  faulty  construction,  the  parapet  was  too  high  to  fire 
over,  so  they  withdrew  to  higher  ground,  where  their  fire  could  be  more  effec- 
tive. Again  the  Russians  surged  into  the  battery,  and  Colonel  Walker,  being 
unaware  that  it  was  untenable,  ordered  a  second  charge  of  the  Scots  Fusiliers 
and  drove  them  out  once  more.  As  before,  the  Russians  re-formed  under 
shelter  and  came  on  again,  and  a  third  time  the  battalion  charged.  Lieut.- 
Colonel  Hunter  Blair,  M.P.  for  Ayrshire,  and  Captain  and  Adjutant  H. 
Drummond  fell,  the  former  mortally,  the  latter  seriously,  wounded  ;  but 
again  the  enemy  was  driven  down  the  hill,  and  the  pursuit  continued  for 
some  distance  before  Colonel  Walker  wa^  able  to  withdraw  the  battalion  to 
the  ridge  again.  He  had  already  been  hit  twice.  As  he  was  giving  orders 
to  move  higher  up  than  the  battery,  which  he  now  perceived  to  be  unten- 
able, he  was  again  wounded,  and  Lieut.-Colonel  Francis  Seymour  took  over 
the  command  of  the  battalion.  General  Bentinck  at  this  time  was  also 
disabled  by  wounds,  and  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  although  commander 
of  the  division,  took  charge  of  the  brigade.  At  this  stage  the  action  resolved 
itself  into  a  series  of  hand-to-hand  fights  ;  sometimes,  ammunition  failing, 
stones  and  rocks  were  hurled  at  the  enemy,  Guardsmen  and  Linesmen  all 
fighting  for  their  own  hand  in  the  brushwood  on  the  Kitspur,  but  deter- 
mined to  thrust  back  the  masses  in  their  front.  During  this  melee  the 
right  flank  company  of  the  battalion  joined  in.  It  had  been  out  all  night 
in  the  trenches,  arriving  in  camp  after  the  brigade  had  left.  They  had  heard 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  99 

the  firing,  and  hastened  up  at  the  double  towards  the  sound  of  the  guns. 
But  between  them  and  the  firing  line  a  mass  of  Russian  infantry  interposed. 
Lieut.  Lindsay,  who  had  so  heroically  carried  the  Queen's  colour  at  the 
Alma,  was  in  command,  and  gave  the  order  to  fix  bayonets  and  charge, 
leading  the  company  with  Sergeant  Alexander  Taylor.  They  cut  their 
way  through  the  enemy  and  so  joined  the  battalion  on  the  Kitspur  :  Lindsay 
was  unhurt,  but  Sergeant  Taylor  fell  beside  him.  As  the  fighting  line  broke 
up  into  groups  and  knots,  it  became  impossible  to  restrain  the  ardour  of 
the  men  as  they  once  more  succeeded  in  hurling  the  Russians  down  the  hill 
and  out  of  the  Sandbag  Battery.  The  Duke  of  Cambridge  managed  to 
keep  together  some  100  men  round  the  colours  of  the  Grenadiers  on  the 
crest  of  the  hill,  partly  Grenadiers,  partly  Coldstream,  partly  men  of  the 
right  flank  of  the  Scots  Fusiliers,  whose  exploit  in  reaching  their  position 
in  the  line  has  just  been  described  ;  but  the  bulk  of  the  brigade  surged  down 
the  hill,  driving  the  Russians  before  them.  At  the  foot  they  were  checked 
by  Gortschakoffs  skirmishers  on  the  Tchernaya,  on  their  left  was  a  fresh 
mass  of  Russians  moving  up  the  hill  between  them  and  the  right  of  the 
2nd  division. 

The  Guardsmen  in  detached  groups  fought  their  way  back  to  the  2nd 
division  camp,  where  they  re-formed,  and  here  the  party  with  the  colours 
of  the  Grenadiers  rejoined  them,  having  gallantly  forced  their  way  through 
another  Russian  column  which  had  surrounded  them.1  It  was  now  between 
ii  A.M.  and  noon,  and  the  French  were  coming  up  to  reinforce  our 
wearied  troops.  As  they  began  to  arrive  General  Canrobert  asked  Lord 
Raglan  to  allow  the  Guaids  to  accompany  them  in  their  advance.  "Les 
Zouaves  feront  mieux  s'ils  voient  les  bons  bonnets-a-poil  avec  eux."  But 
Lord  Raglan  answered  that  the  men  were  exhausted  after  fighting  so  long, 
and  he  could  not  send  them.  He  did,  however,  make  use  of  them  to  support 
two  i8-pounder  guns  which  were  brought  up,  and  which  opened  fire  on  the 
Russian  batteries  with  excellent  effect  from  Home  Ridge,  in  front  of  the 
2nd  division  camp.  Before  these  batteries  were  silenced  the  Guards  suffered 
many  casualties  from  shell  fire  ;  but  they  were  not  again  called  upon  to 
advance.  The  brigade,  including  the  picquets  and  working  parties  who 
joined  up,  went  into  action  1332  strong,  and  came  out  with  a  strength  of  843. 

1  How  the  colours  of  the  Grenadier  Guards  were  saved  is  well  described  by  General  Sir 
George  Higginson  in  Seventy-one  Years  of  a  Guardsman's  Life,  pp.  199-201. 


ioo  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

Lieut.-Colonel  Francis  Seymour,  though  wounded,  remained  in  command 
of  the  Scots  Fusiliers  until  the  end  of  the  day.  Besides  Colonel  Walker  and 
himself  and  Captain  H.  Drummond,  Captain  R.  Gipps,  Captain  Baring, 
Captain  Shuckburgh,  Lieut.  Blane  and  Surgeon  Elkington  were  wounded. 
Colonel  C.  Seymour,  A.A.G.  to  the  4th  division,  was  killed  by  the  side  of 
General  Sir  G.  Cathcart.  Sixty-four  n.c.o.  and  men  were  killed,  and 
one  hundred  and  fourteen  wounded  out  of  a  total  strength  of  372.  In 
consequence  of  their  severe  losses  the  brigade  did  not  resume  duty  in  the 
trenches  until  nth  November. 

From  this  date  onwards  to  23rd  February,  1855,  may  be  reckoned  the 
second  period,  during  which  the  average  strength  of  the  brigade  sank 
to  680  ;  but  it  was  continually  on  duty  in  the  trenches,  except  for  the  first 
twenty  days  of  December.  In  addition,  it  furnished  daily  one-third  of 
its  total  strength  for  outlying  picquets,  and  the  severity  of  this  duty  became 
so  great  that  men  coming  off  trench  duty  in  the  morning  frequently  went 
on  outlying  picquet  in  the  afternoon.  Thus,  no  man  could  look  for  more 
than  one  night  in  his  tent  between  his  turns  of  duty. 

On  2ist  February  the  number  of  men  present  under  arms  in  the  whole 
brigade  had  fallen  to  296,  and  on  the  23rd  it  was  removed  to  the  heights 
above  Balaclava,  where  it  remained  during  the  third  period,  till  i6th  June, 
1855.  Dysentery,  cholera,  insufficient  food  and  lack  of  warm  clothing 
had  thinned  the  ranks  more  than  the  enemy  ;  the  whole  medical  history  of 
the  winter  1854-5  is  melancholy  reading  ;  but  eventually  drafts  from  home 
and  healthier  conditions  restored  the  efficiency  of  the  brigade.  From  i8th 
June  to  8th  September,  the  fourth  period,  the  Guards  were  on  duty  almost 
daily  in  the  trenches  of  the  night  attack.  Between  these  dates,  two  more 
officers  of  the  Scots  Fusiliers,  Captain  and  Adjutant  F.  H.  Drummond  and 
Captain  D.  F.  B.  Buckley  were  killed  and  five  were  wounded.  Captain 
Buckley,  indeed,  was  killed  on  7th  September  in  the  advanced  sap  in  front 
of  the  Redan,  during  the  last  guard  which  was  mounted  in  the  trenches. 
His  body  was  found  in  front  of  the  trenches  by  Sergeant  James  Craig,  who 
volunteered  with  others  to  go  out  under  a  heavy  fire  of  grape  and  small 
arms  to  look  for  their  officer,  who  was  supposed  to  be  wounded.  Craig, 
assisted  by  a  drummer,  brought  the  body  in,  for  which  act  of  gallantry  he 
received  the  Victoria  Cross.  Later  he  was  given  a  commission,  as  were  eleven 
other  non-commissioned  officers  and  men  of  the  regiment  during  the  war. 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  101 

On  8th  September  this  last  guard  of  the  trenches  was  relieved  by  the 
troops  told  off  for  the  assault  on  the  Redan.  It  joined  the  rest  of  the  brigade 
which  was  in  support.  Though  our  attack  on  the  Redan  failed,  that  of 
the  French  on  the  Malakoff  succeeded,  and  their  possession  of  it  rendered 
the  Redan  untenable.  The  following  day  the  Russians  evacuated  Sevastopol, 
and  the  siege  was  at  an  end.  The  war  smouldered  on,  but  with  no  activity 
on  either  side,  until  February,  1856,  when  an  armistice  was  declared,  and 
the  Treaty  of  Paris  was  signed  on  3Oth  March.  The  battalion  embarked 
for  home  on  nth  June  on  the  Princess  Royal,  landed  at  Portsmouth  on 
4th  July  and  proceeded  to  Aldershot,  whence  the  Crimean  brigade  on  gth 
July  went  up  by  train  to  London  and  joined  the  other  four  battalions  in 
Hyde  Park,  where  the  whole  were  reviewed  by  Queen  Victoria. 

After  the  Crimean  war  came  a  long  period  of  peace,  and  it  was  not  until 
1861  that  the  Scots  Fusilier  Guards  went  on  foreign  service.  Friction 
had  arisen  with  the  United  States  over  the  arrest  by  the  captain  of  a 
Federal  man-of-war  of  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell,  envoj's  to  Europe  from 
the  Confederate  States,  when  on  board  a  British  ship.  Matters  looked  serious, 
and  an  expeditionary  force  was  sent  to  Canada,  of  which  the  ist  Grenadiers 
and  2nd  Scots  Fusiliers  formed  a  part.  The  Fusiliers  had  an  adventurous 
journey  in  the  Parana.  Leaving  Southampton  on  igth  December  they 
got  into  very  heavy  storms  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  ship 
actually  ran  aground  on  a  sand-bank  during  a  snowstorm  on  3rd  January, 
1862,  but  succeeded  in  getting  off  and,  going  round  to  St.  John's,  New 
Brunswick,  where  the  battalion  landed  safely  on  22nd  January.  Thence  it 
proceeded  by  sleigh  and  rail  to  Montreal,  where  it  was  quartered  until 
September,  1864,  returning  to  England  in  October.  Going  out  prepared 
for  what  might  have  been  an  arduous  campaign,  officers  and  men  enjoyed 
what  was  for  long  referred  to  as  "  our  picnic  in  Canada." 

Just  before  the  battalion  left  home  on  I5th  December,  1861,  H.R.H. 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge  was  transferred  to  the  colonelcy  of  the  Grenadier 
Guards,  arid  was  succeeded  by  Sir  Alexander  Woodford,  G.C.B.,  G.C.M.G., 
who  died  eight  years  or  so  after,  in  1870.  Sir  John  Aitchison,  G.C.B., 
was  then  given  the  command,  and  on  his  death  in  1875  was  succeeded  by 
Henry,  Lord  Rokeby,  G.C.B.,  who  had  taken  part  as  an  ensign  in  the  regiment 
in  the  defence  of  Hougomont,  and  had  commanded  the  ist  division  in  the 
Crimea  after  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  was  invalided  home  in  November,  1855. 


102  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

In  1877  Queen  Victoria  gave  back  to  the  regiment  its  old  title  of  "  Scot 
Guards,"  which  had  fallen  into  disuse  at  the  Union  of  1707,  although  for 
some  sixty  years  after  that  date  the  regiment  was  designated  in  the  Army 
Lists  as  the  "  3rd  (Scotch)  Regiment  of  Footguards." 

Trouble  having  broken  out  in  Ireland  in  1880,  the  ist  Coldstream  and 
ist  Scots  Guards  were  sent  to  Dublin,  and  in  January,  1882,  the  2nd 
Grenadiers  to  Cork.  The  ist  Scots  Guards  and  ist  Coldstream  returned  to 
London  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  their  places  being  taken  by  their  respec- 
tive 2nd  battalions.  When,  therefore,  the  military  revolt  under  Arabi 
Pasha  broke  out  in  Egypt,  and  the  British  Government  were  compelled 
to  send  out  a  force  to  restore  order,  the  ist  Scots  Guards  was  the  only 
battalion  of  the  brigade  of  Guards  in  London  for  service,  the  others  being 
the  2nd  Coldstream  from  Dublin  and  the  2nd  Grenadiers  from  Cork.  The 
battalion  sailed  from  Tilbury  on  3Oth  July  in  the  Orient,  having  also  on 
board  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Connaught,  in  command  of  the  brigade,  and 
Lieut.-General  Willis  in  command  of  the  ist  division,  with  their  staffs. 
The  battalion  was  commanded  by  Colonel  G.  W.  Knox.  They  landed  at 
Alexandria  on  I2th  August,  and  moved  to  Ramleh,  where  the  brigade 
assembled,  facing  Arabi's  lines  at  Kafr-ed-Dauer.  So  soon,  however,  as 
the  plans  of  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley,  the  commander-in-chief,  were  matured 
by  the  seizure  of  the  Suez  Canal,  the  whole  force,  except  sufficient  troops 
to  cover  Alexandria,  was  re-embarked  on  i8th  August  and  transferred  to 
Ismailia,  where  the  brigade  of  Guards  landed  on  the  22nd.  On  the 
24th  they  moved  out  in  support  of  the  advance  made  by  General  Graham 
on  Tel-el-Mahuta.  Here  they  remained  until  gth  September,  and  while 
General  Graham  moved  forward  to  Kassassin,  it  was  employed  in  clearing 
the  fresh  water  canal  and  the  railwa}'  line  of  the  obstructions  placed  there 
by  the  enemy.  So  effectively  was  this  carried  out  that  the  officer  com- 
manding R.E.  ist  division  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  lieut. -general 
commanding  the  division  "  the  excellent  work  done  by  the  brigade  of 
Guards  on  the  important  work  of  opening  the  communications  on  railway 
and  canal." 

On  gth  September  the  Guards  moved  forward  to  Kassassin  in  support 
of  the  troops  engaged  in  the  action  which  took  place  on  that  day,  and  on 
the  night  of  i2th  September  joined  in  the  advance  on  the  enemy's  position 
at  Tel-el-Kebir,  which  was  stormed  and  taken  in  the  early  morning  of  the 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  103 

I3th.  During  the  action  the  brigade  was  in  support  of  Graham's  brigade, 
which  was  on  the  right  of  the  line.  The  trenches  were  stormed  and  the 
whole  position  carried  in  half  an  hour,  and  Arabi's  rebellion  was  crushed. 
Next  day  the  Scots  Guards  entrained,  and  were  the  first  battalion  to  reach 
Cairo  on  the  i5th,  where  they  marched  up  to  the  citadel,  which  had  been 
occupied  by  a  detachment  of  our  mounted  infantry  that  had  pushed  on 
immediately  after  Tel-el-Kebir.  There  the  battalion  was  quartered  for  the 
remainder  of  its  stay  in  Egypt.  The  campaign  had  not  been  an  arduous 
one  so  far  as  fighting  was  concerned,  but  the  work  at  Tel-el-Mahuta,  when 
supplies  were  delayed  in  transit,  had  been  heavy  while  it  lasted.  At  the 
end  of  October  the  battalion  left  Cairo,  and  arrived  in  London  on  I3th 
and  i6th  November. 

This  campaign  of  1882  was  the  last  in  which  the  British  army  wore  the 
traditional  scarlet  and  took  their  colours  to  the  seat  of  war.  Only  the 
Queen's  colour  of  the  Scots  Guards  went  out,  and  it  was  placed  in  store 
at  Alexandria  until  the  battalion  reached  Cairo. 

In  May,  1883,  Lord  Rokeby  died,  and  General  Sir  Wm.  Knollys,  K.C.B., 
was  appointed  colonel,  but  barely  survived  a  month  after  his  appoint- 
ment. He  was  succeeded  on  24th  June,  1883,  by  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of 
Connaught. 

Our  occupation  of  Egypt  entailed  responsibilities  in  the  Sudan  which 
the  British  Government  had  not  foreseen.  Mohammed  Achmet  had  pro- 
claimed himself  the  Mahdi  who  was  to  restore  Islam  to  its  former  glories, 
and  had  headed  a  revolt  against  the  Khedive.  In  the  eastern  Sudan  a 
similar  movement  was  headed  by  Osman  Digna.  Their  Dervishes  anni- 
hilated an  Egyptian  army  under  Hicks  Pasha  in  October,  1883,  near  El 
Obeid,  and  another  under  Valentine  Baker  Pasha  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Suakin  in  February,  1884.  The  British  Government  having  decided  to 
evacuate  the  southern  Sudan  and  to  attempt  the  restoration  of  order  at 
Suakin,  sent  out  General  Gordon  to  Khartoum  to  bring  away  the  Khedivial 
forces  there  ;  but  Gordon  having  reached  his  destination  found  himself 
unable  to  return.  General  Graham  had  been  sent  with  a  force  to  Suakin  ; 
but,  instead  of  strengthening  it  and  so  securing  the  route  by  Berber  to 
Khartoum,  the  Government  withdrew  all  except  a  small  garrison  in  April, 
and  did  not  resolve,  until  too  late,  to  attempt  to  relieve  Gordon  by  the 
Nile. 


io4  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

The  Nile  expedition  was  organised  in  August,  1884.  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley 
was  given  the  command,  and  his  first  request  on  reaching  Egypt  in 
September  was  for  a  camel  corps  to  be  formed  and  added  to  his  force, 
and  one  was  made  up  accordingly  from  the  Guards,  Cavalry,  and 
Royal  Marines.  The  Guards  Camel  regiment,  commanded  by  Lieut.- 
Colonel  the  Hon.  E.  Boscawen,  Coldstream  Guards  (now  Lord  Falmouth), 
with  Lieut.  Charles  Crutchley,  Scots  Guards,  as  adjutant,  was  composed 
of  280  Guardsmen,  40  from  each  battalion  of  the  brigade,  and  100  Royal 
Marines,  640  men  from  the  cavalry  regiments  at  home,  100  from  the  House- 
hold Cavalry  and  80  from  the  Rifle  Brigade.  The  Camel  Corps  left  England 
on  26th  September  and  landed  at  Alexandria  on  7th  October.  Thence 
it  was  sent  up  the  Nile,  and  reached  a  point  above  Dongola  on  4th  December, 
where  it  joined  the  Mounted  Infantry. 

The  whole  force,  which  it  was  intended  to  push  across  the  desert  from 
Korti  by  Gakdul  to  Metemmeh  on  the  Nile  below  Khartoum,  assembled 
at  Korti  on  nth  December  under  the  command  of  Major-General  Sir  Herbert 
Stewart.  On  the  3oth  it  advanced  to  Gakdul  Wells,  where  a  post  was 
established  and  garrisoned  by  the  Royal  Sussex.  On  I4th  January,  1885,  the 
advance  was  resumed,  and  next  day  it  was  ascertained  that  the  Dervishes 
were  in  force  near  Abu-Klea  to  bar  the  road  to  the  wells  at  that  place.  On 
the  morning  of  the  i7th  the  column  marched  in  square  towards  Abu-Klea. 
In  the  centre  of  the  front  face  were  the  Royal  Artillery  with  the  Mounted 
Infantry  on  their  left  and  the  Coldstream  Guards  on  their  right.  Continu- 
ing the  square  down  the  right  face  came  the  Scots  Guards,  Grenadier  Guards, 
Royal  Marines,  Royal  Sussex,  to  the  angle  of  the  rear  face.  The  Mounted 
Infantry  held  the  angle  of  the  front  face,  and  part  of  the  left  face,  the  Heavy 
Cavalry  prolonging  their  line  round  the  angle  of  the  left  and  rear  face,  the 
Naval  Division  occupying  the  space  between  them  and  the  Royal  Sussex. 
The  igth  Hussars  acted  as  skirmishers  outside  the  square.  As  the  square 
advanced  the  Dervishes  opened  fire,  but  fell  back  until  they  reached  a 
gully  where  some  5000  spearmen  were  lying  concealed.  These  waited  until 
the  square  was  within  400  yards  of  them  ;  then  rose  in  a  body  and  swept 
down  on  it  ;  and  were  within  half  that  distance  of  the  left  rear  corner  before 
the  skirmishers  had  sufficiently  cleared  the  front  to  allow  those  in  the  square 
to  open  fire.  The  whole  weight  of  the  onslaught  fell  on  the  heavy  cavalry, 
who  were  forced  back,  and  the  square  was  broken.  Immediately  opposite 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  105 

to  the  breach  where  the  Dervishes  poured  in  stood  the  Guards  and  the 
Marines.  Outside  the  square  were  masses  of  Dervishes  at  whom  the  front 
rank  were  firing.  Orders  were  at  once  given  for  the  rear  rank  to  turn  about, 
and  a  hand-to-hand  melee  ensued  at  such  close  quarters  that  neither  Dervish 
spears  nor  British  bayonets  could  be  effectively  handled.  Those  who  took 
part  in  it  have  described  it  as  more  like  a  football  scrimmage  ;  but  at  last 
the  Dervishes  were  forced  out,  the  square  was  re-formed,  and  by  its  fire 
broke  up  the  enemy's  attack.  The  British  lost  n  officers  killed  or 
mortally  wounded,  and  65  men  ;  7  officers  and  85  men  wounded. 

Abu-Klea  wells  were  reached  in  the  afternoon,  a  post  was  established 
there,  and  on  i3th  January  the  advance  to  Metemmeh  was  resumed.  On 
reaching  Abu  Kru  the  enemy  was  seen  swarming  out  of  Metemmeh.  A 
zeriba  was  formed  and  garrisoned  by  half  the  force,  while  the  remainder, 
consisting  of  the  Guards,  half  the  heavy  cavalry  and  the  Royal  Sussex, 
under  the  command  of  Lieut. -Colonel  Boscawen,  advanced  towards  the 
river.  Once  more  the  Dervishes  tried  their  wild  rush  ;  but  this  time  the 
fire  from  the  square  caught  them  in  the  open,  and  in  five  minutes  the  attack 
had  melted  away.  The  Nile  was  reached  on  the  20th,  and  the  village  of 
Gubat  was  occupied.  On  the  2ist  a  demonstration  was  made  against 
Metemmeh,  during  which  Lieut,  and  Adjutant  C.  Crutchley,  Scots  Guards, 
was  severely  wounded,  and  the  commander  of  the  force,  Sir  Herbert  Stewart, 
received  wounds  from  which  he  died  on  ijth  February.  Gordon's  steamers 
appeared  on  the  2ist,  and  Sir  Charles  Wilson,  who  had  succeeded  to  the 
command,  left  with  them  for  Khartoum. 

It  is  a  matter  of  history  how  Gordon  fell  at  the  taking  of  Khartoum 
two  days  before  Sir  Charles  got  there,  and  nothing  now  remained  but  to 
withdraw  the  force  which  had  so  gallantly  tried  to  save  him.  Sir  Redvers 
Buller  arrived  at  Gubat  on  nth  February  with  reinforcements,  and  fell 
back  with  the  Camel  Corps  on  Korti,  which  was  reached  on  gth  March. 
Thence  the  Guards'  Camel  Corps  went  to  Dongola,  where  they  remained 
until  they  were  ordered  home  at  the  end  of  May.  While  these  events  were 
taking  place  on  the  Nile  the  British  Government  decided  to  send  an  expedi- 
tion of  13,000  men  to  Suakin,  against  Osman  Digna.  The  expedition  was  as 
abortive  and  as  costly  as  that  on  the  Nile  ;  but  no  discredit  reflected  on  the 
troops  who  took  part  in  it.  Lieut.-General  Sir  G.  Graham,  V.C.,  was  given 
the  command.  The  infantry  formed  three  brigades — the  ist  or  Guards 


106  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

Brigade  under  Major-General  A.  J.  Lyon  Fremantle,  Coldstream  Guards, 
consisting  of  the  3rd  Grenadiers,  ist  Coldstream  and  2nd  Scots  Guards, 
the  latter  under  the  command  of  Colonel  the  Hon.  Walter  Trefusis.  Later, 
the  New  South  Wales  battalion,  the  first  Australian  troops  to  take  part 
in  the  wars  of  the  Empire,  was  attached  to  the  brigade  of  Guards,  Captain 
the  Hon.  North  Dalrymple,  Scots  Guards,  being  brigade  major. 

The  2nd  Scots  Guards,  having  embarked  at  Gravesend  on  the  Pembroke 
Castle  on  2ist  February,  1885,  reached  Suakin  on  gth  March.  They  dis- 
embarked the  same  day  and  joined  the  ist  Coldstream,  who  had  arrived 
on  the  8th  in  the  camp  outside  Suakin.  The  3rd  Grenadiers  arrived  on  the 
loth,  General  Graham  on  the  i2th,  and  on  the  I3th  the  work  of  laying  a  rail- 
way line  to  Berber  began.  The  Dervishes  occupied  Hashin  and  Tamai — the 
former  eight  miles  east,  the  latter  sixteen  miles  south-west  of  Suakin,  where 
Osman  Digna  had  concentrated  the  greater  part  of  his  forces.  On  igth 
March  a  reconnaissance  was  made  against  Hashin,  and  on  the  2Oth  the 
position  was  attacked  by  the  2nd  brigade,  with  the  Guards  Brigade  in  reserve. 
The  Arabs  were  driven  off  with  slight  loss  on  our  side,  but  among  those 
killed  in  the  action  was  Captain  Dalison,  Scots  Guards. 

Tamai  was  the  next  objective.  On  the  22nd  Sir  John  McNeill  with  the 
2nd  brigade  had  advanced  some  eight  miles  towards  it  when  he  was  fiercely 
attacked  while  the  men  were  constructing  a  zeriba  at  Tofrek.  The  attack 
was  driven  off,  but  the  fighting  was  severe.  Next  morning  the  Guards 
Brigade  were  moved  up  to  Tofrek.  The  Coldstream  and  Scots  Guards 
occupied  the  zeriba,  while  the  Grenadiers  returned  with  the  Indian  Brigade 
to  Suakin  as  escort  to  the  wounded,  rejoining  the  column  on  the  26th  to 
relieve  the  Scots  Guards.  Two  days  before  Captain  the  Hon.  North  Dal- 
rymple, Scots  Guards,  had  been  severely  wounded  when  with  a  convoy 
which  the  Coldstream  and  Marines  were  escorting  from  Suakin  to  Tofrek. 
He  was  succeeded  as  brigade  major  by  Captain  the  Hon.  F.  Stopford, 
Grenadier  Guards. 

The  New  South  Wales  battalion,  having  reached  Suakin  on  the  2gth 
of  March,  was  moved  up  with  the  Scots  Guards  from  Suakin,  and  the  rest 
of  the  brigade  from  Tofrek,  against  Tamai  on  2nd  April.  Next  day  Tamai 
was  occupied  and  burnt,  the  enemy  retiring  to  the  south,  after  which  the 
column  returned  to  Suakin.  Here  a  mounted  infantry  detachment  of  two 
companies  was  formed  from  the  brigade,  and  it  also  contributed  a  company 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  107 

under  command  of  Lieut.  Neil  Menzies,1  Scots  Guards,  and  Lieut.  George 
Wyndham,2  Coldstream  Guards,  to  the  newly  raised  Camel  Corps.  Both 
of  these  units  were  much  employed  in  reconnaissances,  but  the  rest  of  the 
brigade  were  turned  on  to  heavy  work  in  cutting  roads,  digging  wells, 
and  protecting  the  navvies  who  were  laying  the  railway.  The  mortifying 
result  of  all  this  proved  to  be  wasted  energy,  for  by  the  middle  of  April 
the  British  Government  decided  to  withdraw  the  expeditionary  force  from 
Suakin  and  to  abandon  the  Sudan.  Accordingly,  re-embarkation  began 
in  May ;  the  brigade  of  Guards  was  transferred  to  Ramleh  and  thence 
to  Cyprus,  where  it  remained  until  August,  the  2nd  Scots  Guards  leaving 
on  27th  August  in  the  Poonah,  and  disembarking  at  Portsmouth  on  loth 
September.  The  Nile  Camel  Corps  had  left  Dongola  on  ist  June,  and 
reached  Alexandria  on  ist  July,  where  they  met  their  comrades  from  Suakin 
on  the  move  from  Ramleh  to  Cyprus.  The  Guards  Camel  Corps  embarked 
at  Alexandria  on  4th  July  and  reached  London  on  I5th  July. 

The  Scots  Guards  did  not  go  again  on  active  service  or  abroad  until 
the  outbreak  of  the  South  African  War. 

Queen  Victoria's  jubilee  was  celebrated  in  1887,  and  in  commemoration 
of  the  event  her  Majesty  granted  three  additional  company  badges  to  the 
regiment,  making  up  the  number  from  thirteen  granted  by  Queen  Anne  to 
sixteen,  the  number  of  the  existing  companies.  To  commemorate  her 
diamond  jubilee  in  1897  her  Majesty  was  graciously  pleased  in  1899  to 
present  a  State  colour  to  the  Scots  Guards,  the  ceremony  taking  place  on 
I4th  July  at  Windsor  Castle.  The  State  colour  of  the  Grenadier  Guards 
dates  from  the  time  of  Charles  II.,  being  the  colour  of  the  King's  com- 
pany, and  is  presented  to  the  regiment  by  each  successive  sovereign  on  his 
or  her  accession.  King  William  IV.  presented  two  State  colours  to  the 
Coldstream  Guards  ;  but  the  Scots  Guards  had  not  hitherto  received  one, 
and  this  mark  of  royal  favour  from  Queen  Victoria  was  highly  appreciated 
by  the  regiment.  The  State  colour  is  of  crimson  silk,  heavily  fringed,  and 
bears  the  Star  of  the  Thistle,  surmounted  by  the  Imperial  Crown,  and  the 
battle  honours  of  the  regiment  embroidered  in  gold  and  silver.  It  is  only 
carried  when  a  guard  of  honour  is  mounted  over  the  person  of  the 
Sovereign,  or  at  a  royal  review  or  inspection  if  ordered  by  him,  and  it 

1  Succeeded  in  1903  as  eighth  and  last  baronet  of  Menzies  ;  died  in  1910. 

2  Afterwards  Under-Secretary  of  State  for  War  1898-1900,  Chief  Secretary  for  Ireland  1900-1905  ; 
died  in  1913. 


io8  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

is  only  lowered  to  the  Sovereign.  It  was  this  colour  which  accompanied 
the  guard  of  honour  furnished  by  the  Scots  Guards  on  the  occasions  of 
State  visits  made  by  King  George  V.  to  Edinburgh  in  July,  1911,  and  to 
Glasgow  in  July,  1914. 

For  a  considerable  time  before  1899  our  relations  with  the  Transvaal 
Republic  had  been  severely  strained.  During  July  and  August  large  quan- 
tities of  arms  and  munitions  were  imported  into  the  Orange  Free  State, 
and  so  threatening  had  the  situation  become  that  in  September  the  British 
force  in  South  Africa  had  been  raised  to  a  strength  of  25,000.  On 
September  2gth  a  further  field  force  of  47,000  men  was  authorised. 
On  7th  October  the  Army  Reserve  was  called  up  and  general  mobilisation 
ordered.  On  gth  October  President  Kruger  sent  an  ultimatum  to  Great 
Britain  :  the  Orange  River  Free  State  then  threw  their  lot  in  with  the 
Transvaal,  while  Canada,  Australia  and  New  Zealand  offered  contingents 
to  the  mother  country. 

On  nth  October  the  Boers  assumed  the  offensive  and  invaded  Natal  ; 
on  the  1 2th  the  Free  States  commenced  hostilities  by  attacking  an  armoured 
train  going  towards  Maf eking,  which  place  was  shortly  afterwards  invested, 
as  was  Kimberley,  and  later,  Ladysmith.  Both  battalions  of  the  Scots 
Guards  were  engaged  in  the  war,  and  on  ist  December  a  3rd  battalion 
was  raised  as  a  reserve  battalion  of  the  regiment.  This  battalion  was 
disbanded  on  3Oth  September,  1906,  and  its  colours  were  received  by 
King  Edward  and  deposited  in  Buckingham  Palace,  whence  they  were 
brought  out  again  and  restored  to  the  regiment  by  King  George,  when 
under  the  stress  of  the  present  war  the  3rd  battalion  was  re-embodied  on 
5th  August,  1914. 

The  ist  battalion  formed  part  of  the  brigade  of  Guards  under  Major- 
General  Sir  Henry  Colville,  Grenadier  Guards,  together  with  the  3rd  Grena- 
dier Guards  and  the  ist  and  2nd  Coldstream.  They  sailed  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Arthur  Paget  on  2ist  October  in  the  Nubia,  and 
arrived  at  Capetown  on  I3th  November,  whence  they  proceeded  to  Orange 
River,  where  Lieut  .-General  Lord  Methuen,  Scots  Guards,  was  assembling 
his  division,  made  up  of  the  brigade  of  Guards,  the  gih  brigade,  and,  at 
a  subsequent  date,  the  Highland  brigade.  Methuen's  aim  was  the  relief  of 
Kimberley,  and  he  began  his  advance  along  the  line  of  railway  from 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  109 

Orange  River  on  2ist  November,  without  waiting  for  the  ist  Coldstream, 
which  was  on  its  way  by  rail  from  Capetown,  and  did  not  join  till  the  next 
day  at  Belmont  Farm.  The  Boers  were  in  position  on  the  hills  close  to 
Belmont  Station,  where  Methuen  attacked  them  on  the  morning  of  the 
23rd  with  the  Guards  and  gth  brigade.  The  Grenadiers  and  Scots  led 
the  attack  of  the  Guards  brigade,  with  the  Coldstream  in  support.  "  In  the 
grey  dawn  the  firing  line  advanced  to  within  350  yards  of  the  steep  face 
of  Gun  Hill  looming  in  front  of  them.  Then  heavy  fire  broke  out  from 
the  defenders,  but  the  attacking  line  pushed  steadily  forward  to 
the  foot  of  the  kopje,  and  after  a  pause  to  recover  breath  and  fix 
bayonets,  clambered  up  the  rocks  in  spite  of  the  well-aimed  fire  of 
the  Boers,  who,  however,  did  not  wait  for  the  final  assault."  1  On  reaching 
the  top  it  was  found  that,  owing  to  defective  maps  and  the  uncertain  light 
of  early  dawn,  the  Grenadiers  had  actually  carried  the  ground  intended 
to  be  attacked  by  the  Coldstream  battalions,  who  were  to  have  moved 
forward  from  their  position  in  support  at  a  given  moment  for  that  purpose. 
These  battalions  were,  however,  already  being  led  against  the  further  objec- 
tive of  Mont  Blanc  beyond  Gun  Hill,  on  the  right  of  the  original  attack. 
The  Grenadiers  moved  on  to  support  them  ;  the  Scots,  towards  the  centre  of 
the  position  still  held  by  the  Boers,  joined  hands  with  the  gth  brigade,  which 
had  completed  its  work  on  Table  Mountain  on  the  left,  and  then,  supported 
by  the  left  half  battalion  of  the  2nd  Coldstream,  the  combined  brigades 
finally  cleared  the  ground  of  the  enemy,  who  mounted  their  horses  and 
hastily  made  off.  Methuen,  hampered  as  he  was  through  his  whole  advance 
by  his  deficiency  in  cavalry,  was  unable  to  undertake  any  pursuit. 

In  the  action  Major  the  Hon.  North  Dalrymple,  who  had  been  wounded 
at  Suakin  in  1885,  was  again  severely  wounded  ;  2nd  Lieuts.  C.  Alexander 
and  J.  H.  R.  Bulkeley,  with  26  n.c.o.  and  men,  were  wounded,  and  17 
were  killed. 

Methuen  moved  forward  next  day,  and  after  an  action  at  Graspan 
on  25th  November,  in  which  the  brigade  of  Guards  was  not  seriously 
engaged,  attacked  the  Boer  position  at  Modder  River  on  the  28th. 
At  4  A.M.  the  division  moved  off,  the  gth  brigade  and  the  Argyll  and 
Sutherland  Highlanders  on  the  left,  the  Guards  on  the  right  of  the  line 
of  railway.  The  Scots  Guards  were  on  the  extreme  right  flank,  with  the 

1  Times'  History  of  the  War  in  South  Africa. 


no  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

1st  Coldstream  in  support  on  their  right  rear.  Nothing  had  been  seen 
of  the  enemy  except  a  small  force  under  Cronje,  which,  when  shelled  by 
our  guns,  withdrew  to  a  sheltered  position.  At  8  A.M.  it  even  seemed  doubt- 
ful whether  any  enemy  was  in  front  at  all.  Ten  minutes  later  a  roar  of 
musketry  and  pom-poms  broke  out.  Colonel  Stopford  of  the  2nd  Cold- 
stream  fell  dead.  The  Maxim  gun  detachment  of  the  Scots  Guards  was  wiped 
out,  Lieut.  H.  C.  Elwes,  who  was  commanding  it,  being  severely  wounded. 
The  whole  attack  over  the  exposed  ground  on  the  right  was  held  up. 

All  day  the  Guards  Brigade  lay  in  the  open,  keeping  up  a  constant 
fire  against  the  Boers  in  front,  while  the  British  artillery  did  magnificent 
work  and  enabled  the  gth  brigade  on  the  left  under  Major-General  Pole- 
Carew,  Coldstream  Guards,  to  make  some  advance  against  the  Free  State 
contingent.  The  Free  Staters  at  length  became  demoralised  by  our  shell 
fire,  and  a  mixed  force  of  the  gth  brigade  succeeded  in  crossing  the  Modder 
below  the  junction  of  that  river  with  the  Riet,  and  occupied  Rosmead 
village.  About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Lord  Methuen  was  wounded, 
and  the  command  of  the  division  devolved  on  Sir  Henry  Colville,  and  of 
the  brigade  of  Guards  on  Colonel  Arthur  Paget.  When  night  fell  the  Scots 
Guards  occupied  a  reservoir  close  to  the  banks  of  the  Riet,  and  preparations 
were  made  to  renew  the  attack  in  the  early  morning  by  moving  the  whole 
force  to  the  crossing  at  Rosmead,  which  was  held  by  Pole-Carew.  During 
the  night,  however,  the  Boers  fell  back  on  Jacobsdal,  and  the  British  crossed 
the  Modder  during  the  2gth.  The  Scots  Guards  lost  9  killed  and  37  wounded  ; 
Lieut.  Elwes  and  2nd  Lieut.  W.  J.  N.  Hill  being  among  the  wounded. 

On  6th  December  Lord  Methuen  was  able  to  resume  command,  and 
resolved  to  attack  Cronje's  force,  which  was  in  position  at  Magersfontein, 
covering  Kimberley.  The  Highland  brigade  had  now  joined,  and  on  the 
night  of  loth  to  nth  December  began  the  attack  on  Magersfontein  which 
ended  so  disastrously.  The  brigade  of  Guards  was  pushed  forward  in  support 
when  the  operation  had  miscarried,  and  covered  the  withdrawal  of  the 
whole  force  on  the  I2th. 

For  some  weeks  the  brigade  lay  at  Modder  River.  On  nth  February, 
1900,  Major-General  Sir  Henry  Colville  assumed  command  of  the  gth  division 
and  was  succeeded  in  the  command  of  the  brigade  by  Major-General  Pole- 
Carew.  On  the  i8th  the  brigade  advanced  to  Klip's  Drift,  and  thence  to 
Bloemfontein,  which  it  entered  on  isth  March,  with  drums  and  fifes  play- 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  in 

ing,  after  having  covered  forty  miles  in  twenty-six  hours.  On  the  i5th  the 
3rd  Grenadiers  and  ist  Scots  Guards  were  despatched  to  open  up  the  line 
towards  Norval's  Pont  and  establish  communication  with  Gatacre,  return- 
ing to  Bloemfontein  when  this  had  been  effected. 

On  gth  April  Colonel  Arthur  Paget  was  promoted  to  the  command 
of  a  brigade,  and  Lieut. -Colonel  W.  P.  Pulteney  took  over  the  command 
of  the  battalion  :  on  the  I2th  Major-General  Pole-Carew  was  promoted 
to  the  command  of  the  nth  division,  and  Colonel  Inigo  Jones,  who  had 
just  arrived  in  S.  Africa  in  command  of  the  2nd  Scots  Guards,  became 
brigadier,  and  remained  in  command  until  the  end  of  the  war.  During  this 
month  the  brigade  took  part  in  the  drive  in  the  S.E.  of  the  Orange  River 
Free  State,  which  relieved  Wepener,  and  forced  de  Wet  to  retreat  towards 
the  S.E.  The  2nd  Scots  Guards,  whose  part  in  the  war  will  have  to  be 
described  in  a  separate  paragraph,  were  with  the  i6th  brigade  also  taking 
part  in  this  operation  from  Springfontein. 

The  advance  on  Pretoria  began  on  ist  May.  On  ist  June  the  brigade 
entered  the  capital  and  took  over  the  various  guards  from  the  Boers,  who 
surrendered  unconditionally.  At  Diamond  Hill  on  i2th  July  the  ist 
Scots  Guards  were  detailed  as  escort  to  the  5-in.  guns,  and  were  not 
seriously  engaged.  They  acted  with  the  brigade  in  the  advance  to 
Komati  Port  against  Louis  Botha's  force,  and  in  the  action  at  Belfast 
on  26th  August  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  Guards  to  drive  out  of  the 
town  the  small  German  force  under  Schultz  which  occupied  it.  This 
was  effected  with  very  few  casualties.  Komati  Port  and  the  Portuguese 
frontier  were  reached  on  24th  September,  and  the  battalion  returned  to 
Pretoria  on  3rd  October.  During  November,  along  with  the  3rd  Grenadiers 
and  ist  Coldstream,  it  bore  a  share  in  the  operations  against  de  Wet  on  the 
borders  of  Cape  Colony  and  the  Free  State. 

Returning  to  Pretoria  in  December,  it  was  employed  in  January,  1901, 
in  mobile  columns  under  Colonel  Pulteney,  Major  G.  Cuthbert  taking  over 
the  battalion  command  on  i7th  January.  It  was  in  French's  drive  through 
the  Eastern  Transvaal  in  the  beginning  of  the  year,  and  when  he  took  leave 
of  his  command  at  Vryheid  on  ist  April  he  paid  the  battalion  a  high 
compliment  in  his  farewell  address. 

"  I  have  particularly  admired  your  extraordinary  power  of  marching  .  .  . 
another  point  which  has  struck  me  is  the  discipline  of  this  fine  regiment  .  .  .  you 


ii2  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

have  gone  through  many  hardships  and  privations  unprecedented  in  this  long 
and  weary  campaign  .  .  .  you  have  maintained  your  splendid  reputation 
throughout." 

Later  in  the  year  the  battalion  was  under  Sir  Bindon  Blood,  when  he 
occupied  Roos  Senekal,  the  last  seat  of  a  Boer  Government.  In  July  it 
returned  to  Bloemfontein,  remaining  there  until  February,  1902,  when  part 
of  the  battalion  was  again  on  trek  in  the  north  of  the  Orange  River 
Colony  and  in  the  Transvaal.  On  peace  being  declared  the  time-expired 
men — about  half  the  battalion — went  home,  and  on  gth  September  the 
rest  of  the  battalion  left  Bloemfontein  for  Capetown,  embarked  on  the 
Winefredian  on  I3th  September  and  reached  England  on  3rd  October. 
On  27th  October  King  Edward  inspected  on  the  Horse  Guards  Parade  all 
the  Guards  battalions  from  South  Africa,  with  the  exception  of  the  2nd 
Scots  Guards,  which  only  reached  England  that  day. 

To  revert  to  the  doings  of  the  2nd  battalion  it  will  be  necessary  to  go 
back  to  March,  1900.  On  the  loth  of  that  month  it  was  inspected  by  Queen 
Victoria  in  Buckingham  Palace  Gardens,  and  on  the  I5th  they  sailed  for 
S.  Africa  in  the  Britannic,  landing  at  Port  Elizabeth  on  8th  April.  Colonel 
R.  Inigo  Jones  went  out  in  command  of  the  battalion,  but  three  days  after 
his  arrival  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Guards  Brigade,  as  stated 
in  the  narrative  of  the  ist  battalion.  Colonel  F.  W.  Romilly  succeeded 
to  the  command  of  the  battalion,  and  held  it  until  the  end  of  the  war.  The 
i6th  brigade,  8th  division,  whereof  the  2nd  battalion  now  formed  part, 
was  made  up  of  the  2nd  Grenadiers,  2nd  East  Yorkshire,  and  ist  Leinster 
Regiment,  and  was  commanded  by  Major-General  Barrington  Campbell 
(now  3rd  Lord  Blythswood),  an  old  officer  of  the  Scots  Guards.  General 
Sir  Leslie  Rundle  was  in  command  of  the  division. 

The  i6th  brigade  was  at  once  sent  up  to  co-operate  from  Springfontein 
in  the  drive  in  the  S.E.  Orange  River  Free  State,  which  had  for  its  object 
the  relief  of  Wepener  and  the  removal  of  de  Wet  and  his  commanders  from 
the  district.  The  Guards  Brigade,  as  has  been  already  shown,  were 
operating  from  the  north.  When  the  advance  on  Pretoria  began  in  May, 
the  8th  division  were  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  army,  and  in  front  of 
them,  about  Senekal  and  Bethlehem,  was  a  strong  force  of  Free  State 
Boers.  Rundle  occupied  Senekal  on  26th  May,  but  on  the  23rd  the  Boers 
held  up  a  force  of  Yeomanry  at  Lindley.  To  assist  in  the  relief  of  this 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  113 

force  the  ibth  brigade  and  the  2nd  Royal  West  Kent,  with  cavalry  and 
guns,  moved  out  along  the  road  from  Senekal  to  Bethlehem.  The  enemy 
was  found  in  force  under  the  command  of  de  Villiers  at  Biddulphsberg, 
and  was  engaged  by  Rundle  on  the  29th.  The  Grenadiers  led  the  attack, 
but  found  themselves  enfiladed  by  a  Boer  force  concealed  in  a  donga  on 
their  flank  ;  while  at  the  same  time  they  were  exposed  to  a  heavy  frontal 
fire  from  rifles,  pom-poms,  and  Krupp  guns,  which  set  fire  to  the  long  grass 
through  which  they  were  advancing.  Before  long  it  sprang  into  a  blaze 
which  completely  held  them  up.  The  Scots  Guards  came  up  in  support, 
but  the  attack  having  failed  Rundle  withdrew  his  force  to  Senekal.  The 
commanding  officers  of  both  battalions  were  wounded  ;  but  while  the  Scots 
Guards  lost  only  6  men  killed  and  16  wounded,  the  Grenadier  losses  were 
much  heavier,  5  officers  and  35  men  killed  and  100  wounded,  and  many 
of  the  latter  suffered  terribly  from  the  flames  of  the  burning  grass. 

During  June  and  July  the  battalion  was  constantly  on  the  move,  the 
8th  division  forming  part  of  the  force  under  Sir  Archibald  Hunter,  which 
succeeded  in  rounding  up  Prinsloo  in  the  S.E.  of  the  Orange  River  Free 
State  at  the  end  of  the  latter  month.  At  Slaapkranz  on  28th  July  the 
Scots  Guards  attacked  and  carried  the  Boers'  advanced  position,  and  at 
2.30  A.M.  on  the  following  morning  occupied  their  main  position  without 
opposition.  Prinsloo  and  de  Villiers,  finding  themselves  hemmed  in  on  all 
sides  by  Sir  Archibald  Hunter's  force,  surrendered  with  5000  men.  During 
the  action  of  the  28th,  only  2nd  Lieut.  F.  G.  Alston  and  five  men  were 
wounded.  More  Boer  commandos  surrendered  on  the  3ist. 

For  the  remainder  of  the  year  the  8th  division  remained  in  this  part 
of  the  country,  and  the  battalion  was  constantly  on  the  trek.  A  sharp 
encounter  with  the  Boers  took  place  at  Lombards  Kop  on  26th  October, 
on  a  return  trek  from  Standerton  to  Harrismith,  when  2nd  Lieut. 
Lord  G.  R.  Grosvenor  and  seven  men  were  wounded,  and  another  on  22nd 
November  at  Tigerskloof,  where  Lieut.  A.  Southey  and  one  man  were 
killed  and  Major  E.  Hanbury  and  two  men  wounded. 

During  the  early  part  of  1901  the  battalion  was  employed  on  the  defences 
of  Harrismith,  and  suffered  from  a  severe  outbreak  of  enteric  fever  :  at 
times,  out  of  a  strength  of  800  men,  300  were  in  hospital.  From  April 
to  the  end  of  July  they  were  on  trek  in  the  Brandwater  basin  and 
Vrede  district,  constantly  in  touch  with  bodies  of  the  enemy,  and  were 


ii4  THE  SCOTS  GUARDS 

under  fire  42  days  out  of  100,  but  with  small  loss :  three  men  only 
were  killed,  and  7  n.c.o.  and  men,  and  one  officer,  Lieut.  A.  Brodie, 
wounded.  During  this  trek  they  covered  some  760  miles.  In  August 
they  were  sent  from  Harrismith  to  Pietermaritzburg  in  Natal,  to  take 
part  in  the  reception  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  York,  who  are 
now  King  George  V.  and  Queen  Mary.  Thence  they  returned  to 
Potchefstrom  in  the  Transvaal,  and  were  employed  on  the  blockhouse  line 
there  during  September.  On  2gth  September,  1901,  they  were  railed  to 
Volksrust,  marching  from  there  with  the  2nd  West  Yorkshire  Regiment  to 
Wakkerstrom,  where  under  the  command  of  Brigadier-General  Bullock  a 
blockhouse  line  was  run  from  that  point  to  Piet  Retief  on  the  Swaziland 
border.  They  continued  in  occupation  of  this  line,  holding  back  Louis 
Botha  and  his  commando  until  he  came  in  on  2Qth  April,  1902. 

Peace  was  signed  on  3ist  May,  1902,  and  in  July  the  battalion  was 
concentrated  at  Volksrust.  On  nth  September  they  left  by  train  for 
Durban,  but  owing  to  the  engine  derailing  next  day,  were  detained  for  a 
fortnight  at  Pietermaritzburg,  and  did  not  reach  their  destination  until 
the  27th,  when  they  embarked  on  the  Michigan,  reaching  Southampton 
on  27th  October.  They  were  railed  straight  to  Aldershot,  and  as  they 
arrived  too  late  for  the  inspection  of  the  remainder  of  the  brigade  of  Guards 
by  King  Edward  on  that  day  in  London,  they  were  inspected  by  him  on  4th 
November  in  Buckingham  Palace  Gardens,  where  Queen  Victoria  had  bid 
them  God-speed  before  they  sailed  for  South  Africa  more  than  two  years 
and  a  half  before.  It  is  the  proud  boast  of  the  Scots  Guards  that  during 
this  long  campaign  no  "  untoward  incident  "  marred  the  record  of  the 
regiment.  No  Scots  Guardsman  surrendered  himself  a  prisoner  of 
war,  and  not  a  man  was  unaccounted  for  on  parade  when  the  rolls  were 
called. 

In  May,  1904,  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Connaught  was  transferred  to  the 
colonelcy  of  the  Grenadier  Guards,  and  Field-Marshal  Lord  Methuen,  G.C.B., 
succeeded  him  as  colonel  of  the  regiment. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  raising  and  disbanding  of  the 
3rd  battalion,  the  latter  event  forming  part  of  a  number  of  army  reforms 
introduced  by  the  Government  which  came  into  office  in  1906.  Amongst 
these,  Egypt  was  assigned  as  a  quarter  for  a  Guards  battalion,  and  the 
ist  Scots  Guards  succeeded  the  3rd  Coldstream  there,  leaving  the  Tower  of 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  B.  BALFOUR  115 

London  for  the  Kasr-el-Nil  Barracks  at  Cairo  on  25th  February,  1911,  and 
returning  home  on  2nd  January,  1913. 

When  the  story  of  the  part  taken  by  the  Guards  in  the  present  war 
comes  to  be  written,  it  may  be  confidently  affirmed  that  in  common  with 
all  other  regiments  of  the  British  army  they  have  worthily  maintained  their 
great  traditions.  They  have  met  the  Prussian  Guards  as  their  predecessors 
did  those  of  King  Louis  and  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  and  with  the  same 
result.  Cut  off  by  the  enemy  at  Festubert,  a  company  of  the  Scots 
Guards  fought  to  a  finish  like  their  ancestors  at  Flodden, 

"  Dying  grimly,  still  unconquered,  with  their  faces  to  the  foe." 

They  were  among  the  first  to  go  out  in  August,  1914,  and  earned  fresh 
laurels  during  the  retreat  from  Mons.  The  2nd  battalion  formed  part  of  the 
original  "  incomparable  7th  Division."  Both  battalions  fought  in  the  battle 
of  Ypres.  At  Loos  the  final  advance  of  the  Guards  recalls  the  stories  of 
Fontenoy,  Waterloo  and  the  Alma.  They  had  their  share  in  the  victory 
of  the  Somme.  Indeed,  the  record  of  honours  won  by  the  two  battalions 
of  the  Scots  Guards  in  the  field  is  evidence  of  how  well  they  have  played 
their  part  in  this  tremendous  struggle.  From  August,  1914,  up  the  3ist 
December,  1916,  these  included  3  V.C.,  i  K.C.B.,  4  C.B.,  4  C.M.G.,  9  D.S.O., 
26  M.C.,  50  D.C.M.,  85  Military  Medals,  in  addition  to  14  foreign  orders 
and  medals  ;  and  last,  but  by  no  means  least,  118  non-commissioned  officers 
and  men  have  been  promoted  to  commissions. 


III. 

THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  (LOTHIAN  REGIMENT) 

BY  MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE,  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

THE  regiment  now  known  as  The  Royal  Scots,  and  formerly  as  The  Royal 
Regiment,  inherits  the  traditions  and  honours  of  several  ancient 
bodies  of  Scottish  troops,  which  acquired  in  the  service  of  France,  Sweden 
and  other  states  a  renown  for  valour,  endurance  and  all  other  military 
virtues  that  has  rarely  been  equalled  and  never  surpassed.  Wherever 
these  troops  served  they  always  had  the  distinction  of  corps  d' 'elite,  and 
they  have  invariably  claimed  the  right  to  the  most  dangerous  posts,  a 
right  which  appears  to  have  been  seldom  refused  to  them. 

Most  of  these  corps  were  recruited  in  the  Lowlands  of  Scotland,  but  one 
at  least,  Mackay's  famous  regiment,  was  raised  principally  in  the  far  North. 
The  Royal  Scots  have  therefore  the  unique  distinction  of  being  the  most 
ancient  both  of  the  Lowland  and  of  the  Highland  regiments,  and  of  being 
more  truly  representative  of  Scotland  and  the  Scottish  nation  than  any 
other.  The  list  of  the  great  pitched  battles  and  sieges  in  which  the  regi- 
ment itself,  or  those  corps  of  which  it  is  the  direct  representative,  have  borne 
a  prominent  part,  presents  in  itself  an  epitome  of  the  history  of  Western 
Europe  from  the  fifteenth  century  onwards,  and  a  record  truly  worthy 
of  the  capital  of  Scotland,  the  centre  of  the  present  regimental  district. 

THE  SCOTTISH  ARCHER  GUARD  AND  THE  GENS-D'ARMES 
ECOSSAIS 

These  two  corps  were  the  most  ancient  in  the  standing  army  of  the 
French  Kings,  and  as  such  were  accorded  seniority  and  precedence. 


n8  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

They  derived  their  origin  from  a  force  of  7000  Scots  which  landed  at  La 
Rochelle  in  September,  1419,  under  John  Stewart,  Earl  of  Buchan,  son  of  the 
Regent  Albany,  to  support  the  Dauphin  (afterwards  Charles  VII.)  in  his  war 
with  England.  On  2ist  March,  1421,  Buchan,  commanding  an  army  com- 
posed of  his  own  Scots  and  their  French  allies,  met  the  English  under  Thomas, 
Duke  of  Clarence,  brother  of  Henry  V.  of  England,  at  Beauge,  and  completely 
defeated  them,  Clarence  himself  being  killed.  In  recognition  of  this  service 
Buchan  was  appointed  Constable  of  France.  But  fickle  is  the  fortune  of 
war.  In  1423  Buchan  returned  to  Scotland  to  raise  recruits,  and  during 
his  absence  the  Scots  and  French  were  badly  defeated  at  Crevant  by  the 
English  and  Burgundians  under  the  Earl  of  Salisbury  (nth  June,  1423). 
Buchan  resumed  the  chief  command  when  he  returned  to  France,  bringing 
with  him  his  father-in-law,  Archibald,  4th  Earl  of  Douglas,  and  10,000 
fresh  troops.  But  his  star  was  near  setting.  On  I7th  August,  1424,  he  was 
attacked  at  Verneuil  by  John,  Duke  of  Bedford,  who  was  too  wise  to  repeat 
his  brother  Clarence's  mistake  at  Beauge  in  attempting  to  overthrow 
infantry  with  cavalry.  Both  sides  fought  on  foot.  After  three  hours  of 
bloody  work,  the  French  broke  and  quitted  the  field  in  disarray,  leaving  the 
Scots  contingent  to  be  cut  to  pieces.  It  is  said  that  nine  thousand  of  them 
were  killed.  Both  Buchan  and  Douglas  fell ;  their  bodies  were  bought 
from  the  victors  and  buried  on  24th  August  in  the  same  tomb  in  the 
cathedral  of  S.  Gratein  at  Tours. 

This  crushing  victory  of  the  English  and  Burgundians  seemed,  at  first, 
to  establish  firmly  English  ascendancy  in  France,  and  so  it  did  for  some 
years.  Bedford,  a  sagacious  statesman  and  most  puissant  soldier,  having  been 
appointed  Regent  of  France  in  1422,  prospered  in  his  rule  until  the  ill-starred 
siege  of  Orleans  in  1429,  "  taken  in  hand,"  as  he  told  the  Privy  Council, 
"  God  knoweth  by  what  advice."  After  he  allowed  Joan  of  Arc  to  go  to 
the  stake  in  1431,  the  cause  of  England  began  to  decline.  A  private 
quarrel  between  Bedford  and  Philip  of  Burgundy  led  to  a  severance  of 
the  alliance  between  England  and  Burgundy,  and  the  cause  for  which 
Bedford  had  so  strenuously  contended,  the  recognition  of  Henry  VI. 
of  England  as  King  of  France,  was  abandoned  at  the  Council  of  Arras 

in  1435- 

The  remnant  of  the  Scots  army  commanded  by  Buchan  and  Douglas 
at  Verneuil  formed  the  nucleus  round  which  grew  the  French  King's  body- 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  119 

guard  of  Scottish  archers,  and  later  the  Gens-d'armes  Ecossais.  These 
two  famous  corps  lasted  until  the  eighteenth  century,  although  by  that  time 
the  union  of  the  English  and  Scottish  crowns  had  so  modified  the  ancient 
entente  between  France  and  Scotland  as  greatly  to  alter  the  composition 
of  the  said  regiments.  During  the  seventeenth  century  there  were  but  few 
Scotsmen  either  holding  commissions  or  serving  in  the  ranks.  Many  of 
the  Scottish  officers  were  transferred  to  Sir  John  Hepburn's  new  regiment 
in  1633,  and  the  vacancies  thus  ensuing  in  the  Bodyguard  were  filled  by 
French  gentlemen  of  Scottish  descent.  However  this  may  be,  The  Royal 
Scots  are  now  the  only  representatives  of  both,  and  may  fairly  claim  to 
inherit  their  traditions  prior  to  the  above  date.  As  the  senior  corps  of  the 
French  army  and  the  personal  bodyguard  of  successive  kings,  they  saw 
much  glorious  service  in  Flanders,  Germany,  Italy  and  Spain.  As,  however, 
they  are  not  identical  with  The  Royal  Scots,  it  seems  better  to  devote  the 
space  allowed  to  those  corps  that  were  actually  absorbed  into  the  regiment, 
merely  recording  here  its  claim  to  represent  the  victors  of  Beauge,  in  the 
same  manner  as  one  family  may  represent  another  by  collateral  descent. 


GRAY'S  REGIMENT 

In  1620  Sir  Andrew  Gray,  a  Scottish  gentleman,  raised  a  regiment  for 
the  service  of  the  Elector  Palatine,  Frederick  IV.,  recently  elected  to 
the  throne  of  Bohemia  by  the  Protestants  of  that  country  ;  or,  rather,  for 
the  service  of  his  wife  Elizabeth  Stuart,  "  The  Winter  Queen,"  daughter  of 
James  VI.  and  I.  ;  loyalty  to  the  House  of  Stuart  being  undoubtedly  the 
motive  that  attracted  Scottish  Catholics,  such  as  Gray  and  Hepburn,  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  Protestant  Elector  against  the  Catholic  Emperor, 
Ferdinand  II. 

Gray's  regiment  was  partly  recruited  from  that  turbulent  material 
for  which  the  Union  of  the  Crowns  had  left  no  place  in  Scotland,  for  it  is 
recorded  that  120  mosstroopers,  arrested  by  the  Wardens  of  the  Marches, 
were  drafted  into  it.  In  similar  fashion,  when  Mackay's  regiment  was 
raised  six  years  later,  it  received  a  draft  of  a  number  of  Macgregors, 
imprisoned  in  the  Tolbooth  of  Edinburgh  for  various  offences.  Indeed, 
the  wars  on  the  Continent  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century 
provided  a  ready  outlet  for  the  energies  of  a  race  that  had  been  reared  in 


120  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

Scotland  during  more  than  three  centuries  of  almost  continuous  warfare 
with  England  and  of  incessant  domestic  feuds  resulting  therefrom. 

Gray's  regiment  sailed  from  Leith  in  the  end  of  May,  1620,  and  joined 
the  forces  of  the  Margrave  of  Anspach  on  the  ist  October.  Spinola, 
commander  of  the  Imperial  forces  in  the  west,  had  occupied  the  Palatinate, 
and  after  a  sharp  skirmish,  in  which  the  Scots  distinguished  themselves, 
the  Margrave  joined  the  army  in  Bohemia,  where  Gray's  regiment  was 
constituted  the  bodyguard  of  the  Elector,  then  facing  Bucquoi's  army  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Danube.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  exploits  in  his- 
tory was  performed  by  a  soldier  of  the  regiment  named  Edmond,  the  son 
of  a  baker  of  Stirling,  who,  without  armour,  and  with  his  sword  between 
his  teeth,  swam  the  deep  and  rapid  Damibe,  evaded  the  Austrian  sentries 
and  bore  off  the  Count  of  Bucquoi,  delivering  him  gagged  and  bound  to  the 
Prince  of  Orange.  Edmond  rapidly  rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel ;  and 
retiring  to  Stirling,  left  the  large  fortune  he  had  amassed  to  his  daughter, 
who  had  married  Sir  Thomas  Livingstone  of  Newbigging. 

At  the  battle  of  Prague  on  the  8th  November,  1620,  Frederick  lost 
both  Bohemia  and  the  Palatinate  and  fled  to  England.  Gray's  regiment 
then  joined  the  force  under  Count  Mansfeldt,  performing  many  brilliant 
actions  during  the  retreat  through  the  Palatinate  and  Alsace  into  Holland. 

On  the  23rd  July,  1622,  Spinola  invested  Bergen-op-Zoom,  which  was 
so  resolutely  defended  by  the  Scots  that  he  lost  12,000  men  and  was  forced 
to  raise  the  siege  on  the  approach  of  Prince  Maurice.  Mansfeldt,  being  now 
dismissed  from  Frederick's  service,  led  his  troops  into  Lorraine,  where  their 
discipline  was  sapped  through  lack  of  pay,  and  they  committed  great  ex- 
cesses, until  the  Dutch,  being  hard  pressed  by  Spinola,  offered  to  take 
them  into  their  service.  On  their  way  to  Holland  they  were  inter- 
cepted at  Fleurus  near  Namur  by  a  detachment  of  Spaniards  under 
Verdugo  and  Gonzalez.  Half  armed  and  starving  as  they  were,  on 
the  3Oth  August  1622  they  broke  through  the  well-equipped  Spanish  army 
and  successfully  entered  Holland,  their  arrival  compelling  Spinola  to 
abandon  for  the  second  time  his  attempts  to  take  Bergen-op-Zoom. 

In  1623  Mansfeldt's  army  was  disbanded,  and  Gray,  having  made  over 
to  Captain  John  Hepburn  the  command  of  the  remains  of  his  regiment, 
returned  to  Scotland. 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  121 

HEPBURN'S  REGIMENT  (Swedish  Service) 

John  Hepburn  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  those  soldiers  of 
fortune  of  whom  Scotland  was  so  prolific  a  mother.  Personally  brave 
and  fearless,  he  was  at  the  same  time  a  man  of  such  military  genius  that 
not  only  did  he  become  the  most  trusted  officer  of  the  great  Gustavus  of 
Sweden,  but  had  been  created  a  Marshal  of  France  just  before  he  was  killed 
at  the  age  of  thirty-six.  He  was  born  of  a  Catholic  family  at  Athelstaneford 
in  East  Lothian. 

In  1625  he  took  service  under  Gustavus  of  Sweden  in  his  war  against 
the  Poles,  who  were  then  besieging  Mewe  in  West  Prussia  with  an 
army  of  30,000  men.  Gustavus,  being  desirous  of  relieving  the  place, 
entrusted  Hepburn  with  the  principal  attack.  Leaving  Dirschau,  Hepburn 
timed  his  march  so  as  to  reach  the  foot  of  the  hill  occupied  by  the  enemy 
at  dusk,  and  guiding  his  own  and  two  other  Scottish  regiments  by  a  pre- 
cipitous path  overgrown  with  trees,  he  led  them  past  the  enemy's  out- 
posts. The  Poles  were  found  working  at  their  trenches,  which  the  Scots 
stormed  at  push  of  pike  ;  but  being  overwhelmed  by  numbers,  Hepburn 
occupied  a  rock,  which  he  held  for  two  days  against  the  Polish  army.  He 
thereby  enabled  Gustavus  to  reinforce  the  garrison  of  Mewe,  whereupon 
the  Poles  retired. 

The  Scot;;  troops  were  sent  to  Dantzig  under  Sir  Alexander  Leslie  of 
Balgonie,  and  in  1626  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  battle  of  Girlinerwals. 
In  the  following  year  Hepburn's  regiment  greatly  distinguished  itself  at 
the  storming  of  Kesmark  in  Prussia,  and  in  the  defeat  of  the  Polish  army 
which  was  marching  to  its  relief .  Later  on  it  was  present  at  the  capture  of 
Marienburg,  and  took  part  in  the  defeat  of  the  Poles  at  Dirschau. 

In  1629  the  Emperor,  jealous  of  the  growing  power  of  Gustavus,  sent 
aid  to  the  Poles  ;  but  Gustavus  was  a  match  for  their  combined  forces. 
In  a  fierce  encounter  near  Thorn  the  Scots  made  a  desperate  onslaught. 
Gustavus,  though  twice  taken  prisoner,  escaped  through  being  dressed 
like  a  private  pikeman.  Captain  Hume  of  Hepburn's  regiment,  who  led 
the  Scots,  was  less  fortunate,  and  remained  a  prisoner  in  the  enemy's  hands. 

In  order  to  deal  with  the  Imperialists,  Gustavus  concluded  a  six  years' 
truce  with  Sigismund  of  Poland.  His  first  enterprise  was  the  relief  of 
Stralsund,  in  which  Leslie's  Scots  troops  distinguished  themselves. 


122  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

In  1630  Gustavus  was  able  to  take  the  field  in  force,  and  Hepburn's 
"  Invincible  Regiment  "  took  the  leading  part  in  the  relief  of  Riigenwalde, 
held  by  his  old  school-fellow  and  comrade,  Munro,  with  a  portion  of  Mackay's 
regiment,  of  whom  more  anon.  Thence  Hepburn's  regiment  proceeded 
to  Kolberg,  where,  with  Mackay's,  it  greatly  distinguished  itself  in  an  action, 
which,  however,  miscarried  owing  to  misbehaviour  on  the  part  of  the  Swedish 
troops.  Kolberg  fell  on  the  26th  February,  1631.  » 

In  that  year  Hepburn's  old  regiment,  Mackay's  Highlanders,  Lumsden's 
Musketeers  and  Stargate's  Corps  were  brigaded  under  the  name  of  Hepburn's 
Scots  Brigade  ;  or,  to  use  the  title  by  which  it  is  better  known,  The  Green 
Brigade.  During  its  short  service  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War  it  made 
for  itself  a  record  that  has  never  been  excelled  by  any  body  of  troops 
in  history.  In  the  meanwhile  we  must  give  some  attention  to  the  previous 
history  of  Mackay's  regiment,  afterwards  known  as  Lord  Reay's. 


MACKAY'S  REGIMENT 

Mackay's  regiment  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  in  Great 
Britain,  perhaps  in  the  world,  whose  records  have  been  printed.  The 
volume,  published  in  1637,  bears  the  title  of  Monro,  his  Expedition  with 
the  worthy  Scots  Regiment  (called  Mackeye's  Regiment}. 

This  regiment,  raised  in  the  Highlands  by  Sir  Donald  Mackay  in  1626, 
and  consisting  of  3000  men  formed  in  fifteen  companies,  was  intended  for 
service  under  Count  Mansfeldt,  the  leader  of  the  army  of  the  Elector  Palatine, 
the  "  Winter  King  "  of  Bohemia.  It  embarked  at  Cromarty,  and  by  the 
middle  of  October,  1626,  had  disembarked  at  Gliickstadt  on  the  Elbe.  The 
winter  quarters  were  established  in  Holstein.  An  old  German  print  of  the 
period  shows  kilted  figures,  which  are  described  as  "  the  Irishmen  (i.e.  Erse 
or  Highlanders)  who  in  an  emergency  can  march  over  70  (English)  miles  in 
a  day  "  ! 

Owing  to  the  death  of  Count  Mansfeldt,  Mackay's  original  enterprise 
was  abandoned,  and  he  took  service  under  the  King  of  Denmark.  After 
various  manoeuvres,  seven  companies  were  ordered  to  march  to  Ruppin 
in  Brandenburg,  while  four  were  left  to  defend  the  passage  of  the  Elbe  at 
Boitzenburg  under  Major  Dunbar.  Boitzenburg  was  shortly  after  attacked 
by  Tilly's  army,  and  after  the  Scots  had  spent  all  their  ammunition,  they 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  123 

repelled  the  assaults  of  the  Imperialists  in  a  hand-to-hand  struggle.  Tilly 
crossed  the  Elbe  higher  up,  and  Dunbar,  under  orders  from  the  Danish 
King,  retired.  Shortly  afterwards  he  was  entrusted  with  the  defence  of 
the  Castle  of  Bredenburg,  which  he  gallantly  maintained  for  six  days. 
Incensed  at  his  refusal  to  surrender,  Tilly  redoubled  his  efforts,  stormed 
the  castle  and  put  all  the  garrison  and  inhabitants  to  the  sword. 

Before  the  remaining  seven  companies  had  left  Ruppin  the  Danish 
forces  in  Silesia  were  defeated,  and  the  Imperialists,  pushing  rapidly  on, 
cut  off  their  retreat  on  Holstcin.  Mackay's  regiment,  therefore,  joined 
the  defeated  army  at  Wismar.  Of  their  stay  here  Monro  has  put  on  record 
the  fact  that  the  Highlanders  endured  the  excessive  flesh  diet  which  was 
forced  on  them  better  than  the  other  troops,  and  also  notes  that  he  has 
observed  "  that  the  townes  of  Germanie  are  best  friends  ever  to  the  masters 
of  the  field,  in  nattering  the  victorious,  and  in  persecuting  the  loser,  which 
is  ever  well  seen  in  all  estates."  Eventually  Mackay's  regiment  was  em- 
barked and  landed  at  Heiligenhaven,  whence  it  was  sent  to  seize  the  Pass 
of  Oldenburg.  This  it  succeeded  in  doing,  throwing  up  hasty  fortifications, 
which  were  immediately  attacked  by  the  enemy.  Apparently  the  regiment 
was  in  reserve  when  the  attack  took  place,  for  it  had  to  be  hurried  up  to 
hold  the  pass  when  the  Holsteiners  began  to  fall  back.  In  this  unequal, 
though  successful,  enterprise  three  officers  and  four  hundred  men  were 
killed  and  thirteen  officers  were  wounded.  That  night,  however,  the  army 
retired  to  Heiligenhaven  :  the  retreat  degenerated  into  a  flight,  and  it  was 
only  the  discipline  of  the  regiment  and  the  determination  of  its  commander 
that  enabled  it  to  embark — the  sole  remnant  of  the  Duke  of  Weimar's 
army,  the  rest  of  which  surrendered  next  morning  to  the  Imperialists. 
The  regiment  proceeded  to  Fiinen  to  refit,  having  lost  in  six  months 
about  two-thirds  of  its  original  strength.  Mackay  returned  to  Scotland 
to  raise  fresh  troops,  and  on  the  igth  February,  1628,  was  raised  to  the 
Peerage  by  the  title  of  Lord  Reay. 

In  November,  1627,  Monro  with  four  companies  proceeded  to  Laaland 
to  check  the  Imperialists,  who  had  crossed  the  Belt  into  the  island  of  Feh- 
marn.  It  is  noteworthy  that,  in  contradistinction  to  the  habits  of  the 
German  soldiery,  the  Scots  here  punished  by  death  an  offence  of  rape  com- 
mitted by  one  of  the  men  of  the  regiment. 

On  the  8th  April,  1628,  Monro,  with  four  companies,  formed  part  of 


124  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

an  expedition  to  Fehmarn  which  successfully  disposed  of  the  Imperialist 
garrison  of  the  island.  A  few  days  later  the  force  was  landed  at  Ecken- 
fiord,  which  was  carried  by  storm.  This  was  followed  by  a  feeble  attack 
on  Kiel,  which  was  repulsed,  the  few  men  of  the  regiment  who  were  included 
in  the  assaulting  detachment  swimming  to  the  ships  to  avoid  capture. 

Soon  after  this  Wallenstein  laid  siege  to  the  free  city  of  Stralsund,  whence 
prayers  for  succour  were  sent  to  the  King  of  Denmark.  The  Reay  Regiment, 
as  it  was  now  called,  accordingly  landed  at  Stralsund  between  the  24th 
and  28th  May.  Lieut. -Colonel  Seton  chose  for  it  the  most  dangerous  part 
of  the  lines,  and  for  six  weeks  it  remained  in  the  trenches  without  relief. 
The  most  furious  attack  was  made  on  the  26th  June,  under  Wallenstein's 
personal  leadership,  but  at  daybreak  the  following  morning  the  Scots, 
though  they  had  suffered  terribly,  still  held  on  to  their  ruined  fortifications. 
The  following  day  they  were  compelled  to  abandon  the  walls  and  to  retire 
to  an  inner  ravelin,  where  they  defended  themselves  until  the  following 
morning,  when  by  a  fierce  charge  they  drove  the  enemy  away.  Fortunately, 
the  arrival  of  Lord  Spynie  with  another  Scots  regiment  saved  the  town 
from  being  surrendered. 

Shortly  afterwards,  by  an  agreement  between  the  Kings  of  Sweden  and 
Denmark,  the  defence  of  Stralsund  was  undertaken  by  the  Swedes,  and  Sir 
Alexander  Leslie  was  appointed  Governor.  Reay's  and  Spynie's  regiments 
marched  to  join  the  Danish  army  at  Wolgast  after  a  final  rally  against  the 
Imperialists.  It  is  stated  that  during  this  siege  the  regiment  lost  five 
hundred  men,  and  that  not  one  hundred  escaped  unwounded.  Inasmuch 
as  the  Danish  troops  proved  no  match  for  the  Imperialists,  Reay's  and 
Spynie's  regiments  narrowly  escaped  destruction.  Reay's,  barely  400  strong, 
was  employed  in  covering  the  embarkation  of  the  king's  beaten  army, 
and  did  so  with  success.  Reay  reorganised  his  regiment  at  Copenhagen, 
the  strength  being  brought  up  to  one  thousand  five  hundred  men  in  ten 
companies,  by  new  levies  from  Scotland,  and  by  the  inclusion  of  a  Welsh 
company  under  Captain  Trafford. 

In  May,  1629,  the  preliminaries  of  peace  between  the  Emperor  and  the 
King  of  Denmark  were  settled,  and  as  the  treaty  contained  a  clause  that 
the  Scots  auxiliaries  were  to  be  dismissed,  the  regiment  took  service  under 
the  King  of  Sweden.  Somewhat  sinister  is  the  light  thrown  on  its  dis- 
ciplinary system  from  the  warrant  granted  by  Gustavus  to  Lord  Reay, 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  125 

dated  at  Marienburg,  I7th  June,  1629,  which  provides  in  the  regimental 
staff  for  four  surgeons,  two  chaplains,  four  provosts,  a  court-martial  clerk 
and  court-martial  beadle,  a  regimental  magistrate  and  an  executioner, 
while  each  company  had  three  drummers  and  three  pipers.  The  regi- 
ment now  mustered  about  two  thousand  three  hundred  strong  in  twelve 
companies. 

Gustavus  landed  in  Pomerania  on  the  24th  June,  1630,  and  almost 
immediately  captured  Stettin  by  a  ruse  in  which  Reay  and  his  regiment 
played  the  principal  part.  Meanwhile  six  companies  had  been  sent  to 
Braunsberg.  Thence  they  proceeded  to  Pillau  and  embarked  for  Wolgast 
in  two  ships.  One  of  these  was  wrecked  on  the  Pomeranian  coast  near 
Riigenwalde,  which  the  Imperialists  occupied,  though  the  castle,  which 
belonged  to  the  Duke  of  Pomerania,  a  partisan  of  Gustavus,  had  been  left 
in  the  hands  of  his  retainers.  Monro  secretly  sent  a  message  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  castle,  promising  that,  if  he  were  provided  with  muskets 
and  ammunition  (for  the  Scots  had  lost  theirs  in  the  wreck),  he  would  clear 
the  town.  Having  obtained  fifty  muskets,  the  Scots  were  secretly  admitted 
to  the  town  at  nightfall,  and  either  killed  or  captured  the  entire  garrison. 
Monro  defended  Riigenwalde  for  nine  weeks  until  relieved  by  Sir  John 
Hepburn. 

Monro  then  marched  to  Colberg,  at  that  time  beleaguered  by  the  Swedes, 
and  was  detailed  to  occupy  the  castle  of  Schiefelbein,  a  ruinous  structure, 
where  he  was  attacked  by  the  Imperialists  under  Count  Montecuculi,  who 
occupied  the  town  with  eight  thousand  men.  Monro  burnt  them  out, 
on  which  Montecuculi  attempted  by  a  flank  march  to  relieve  Colberg  ; 
but  the  main  Swedish  forces  having  come  up,  the  Imperialists  were  forced 
to  retire  with  some  loss  on  the  next  day,  the  nth  November,  1630.  Colberg 
eventually  capitulated  to  the  Swedes,  Reay's  regiment  being  present  when 
the  garrison  marched  out  with  all  the  honours  of  war. 

After  the  capitulation  of  Colberg,  Reay  returned  to  Stettin,  where  the 
regiment  went  into  winter  quarters,  while  he  himself  proceeded  to  Scotland 
to  raise  recruits.  The  plague  was  raging  at  Stettin  during  the  autumn  and 
winter  of  1630,  and  it  was  noticed  that  the  Scots  troops  suffered  from  it 
much  less  than  the  Swedes  and  Germans.  Lord  Reay  did  not  return  from 
Scotland,  being  busy  there  in  raising  fresh  regiments  for  Gustavus,  many 
of  the  officers  of  his  own  regiment  being  promoted  into  them. 


126  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

Early  in  January,  1631,  Gustavus  marched  with  eight  thousand  men 
on  New  Brandenburg.  After  the  Scots  had  stormed  a  ravelin,  the  garri- 
son surrendered  the  place.  Treptow  and  Letts  were  next  captured,  and 
on  the  I4th  February  the  regiment  marched  on  Demmin,  which  was  taken, 
the  Scots,  as  usual,  having  carried  off  the  honours  of  the  day. 


THE  GREEN  BRIGADE 

In  March,  1631,  Gustavus  moved  towards  the  Oder  with  the  bulk  of 
his  forces.  General  Kniphausen  being  left  in  command  at  New  Brandenburg 
with  six  hundred  of  Reay's  regiment  under  Lieut.-Colonel  Lindsay.  The 
place  was  besieged  by  Tilly,  who,  fearing  that  Gustavus  might  attack  him, 
pressed  the  siege  hotly.  For  nine  days  the  garrison  made  a  heroic  resistance, 
but  at  last  the  town  was  stormed  and  practically  the  whole  garrison 
was  massacred  by  the  Austrians.  Captain  Innes  and  Lieut.  Lumsden,  who 
swam  the  wet  ditch  in  their  armour,  appear  to  have  been  the  only 
survivors. 

Gustavus  marched  on  Frankfort-on-the-Oder,  then  occupied  by  Counts 
Schomberg  and  Montecuculi  with  ten  thousand  veteran  troops.  The  attack 
commenced  on  the  2nd  April,  1631,  and  the  following  day,  Palm  Sunday, 
the  town  was  taken.  Hepburn's  regiment  stormed  the  Guben  gate,  Hepburn 
himself  and  Lumsden  of  Invergellie  placing  the  petards  against  it.  Severe 
losses  were  suffered  from  guns  posted  a  little  behind  the  gateway,  some  of 
which  discharged  "  small  shot."  Meanwhile  Mackay's  regiment  forded  the 
moat,  placed  ladders  against  the  walls,  carried  them  by  escalade,  and  joined 
Hepburn's  men  inside  the  Guben  gate.  When  the  Austrians  cried  for 
quarter  the  Scots  replied  "  Remember  New  Brandenburg  !  "  Four  colonels, 
thirty-six  other  officers,  and  some  three  thousand  soldiers  were  killed,  and 
fifty  colours  and  immense  booty  were  taken.  The  most  notable  defence 
was  made  by  an  Irish  regiment  under  Colonel  Walter  Butler,  who  was 
wounded  and  taken  prisoner.  The  Swedish  losses  were  three  hundred  of 
the  Green  Brigade  and  five  hundred  of  the  Blue  and  Yellow  Brigades. 

Gustavus  next  marched  on  Landsberg,  which  was  invested  on  the  8th 
April.  The  assault  was  made  by  two  hundred  and  fifty  musketeers  of 
Mackay's  Highlanders,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  MacDougall  of  Dow- 
battle's  Dragoons,  followed  by  Hepburn  with  one  thousand  musketeers. 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  127 

The  assault  was  successful,  and  the  Austrians,  who  were  about  twice  as 
numerous  as  their  assailants,  surrendered. 

On  the  2gth  April,  1631,  Gustavus  marched  on  Berlin,  and  halted  at 
Potsdam.  The  vacillation  of  the  Dukes  of  Brandenburg  and  Saxony  pre- 
vented him  from  relieving  Magdeburg,  the  sack  of  which  town  by  Tilly's 
army  is  one  of  the  most  savage  episodes  in  history.  Gustavus  was  so  justly 
indignant  at  the  horrors  perpetrated  that  he  threatened  to  imprison  the 
Duke  of  Brandenburg  if  he  did  not  become  his  ally. 

July  was  half  over  before  Gustavus  moved  from  Brandenburg  and, 
marching  by  Rathenau,  captured  Werben,  where  he  crossed  the  Elbe.  Here 
he  was  attacked  by  Tilly,  whose  advanced  guard  received  so  severe  a  check 
that  it  was  not  until  the  22nd  July  that  he  was  able  to  return  to  the  assault. 
The  following  day  a  counter-attack  led  by  Monro,  with  five  hundred  of 
Reay's  musketeers,  brought  about  the  retreat  of  the  Austrians  to  Leipzig. 
On  the  3ist  Gustavus  crossed  the  Elbe  at  Wittenberg,  and  on  the  7th  Sep- 
tember the  battle  of  Leipzig  was  fought.  The  flight  of  the  Saxon  cavalry 
seemed  to  presage  the  loss  of  the  day  ;  but  on  the  Imperial  cavalry  follow- 
ing up  this  initial  success  with  an  attack  on  the  Scottish  regiments,  the 
latter  charged  with  the  pike,  driving  them  back  with  frightful  slaughter. 
It  is  said  that  the  Austrian  army  lost  a  third  of  its  strength  in  killed.  It 
was  at  this  battle  "  that  the  Scottish  regiments  first  practised  firing  in 
platoons,  which  amazed  the  Imperialists  to  such  a  degree  that  they  hardly 
knew  how  to  conduct  themselves."  The  Scots  brigade  was  publicly  thanked 
in  presence  of  the  whole  army.  Owing  to  the  flight  of  the  Saxons,  the 
Swedish  army  cannot  have  mustered  much  more  than  one-third  of  the 
strength  of  that  of  Tilly,  yet  its  own  loss  did  not  exceed  seven  hundred 
men.  This  victory  was  one  of  the  most  decisive  ever  fought,  for  on  its 
result  depended  the  future  of  the  Protestant  religion  on  the  continent  of 
Europe. 

From  Leipzig  Gustavus  marched  on  Wiirzburg,  taking  many  strongholds 
on  the  way.  Monro  pronounces  the  storming  of  Wurzburg  to  have  been 
the  greatest  exploit  performed  during  the  war.  Access  to  the  castle  was  by 
a  bridge,  one  arch  of  which  had  been  broken  by  the  garrison,  and  over  the 
chasm,  fifty  feet  above  the  rapid  river,  a  single  plank  had  been  thrown. 
Tilly  being  close  at  hand,  Gustavus  asked  the  Scots  if  they  would  hazard  the 
attack,  "  knowing  that  if  they  refused  it  was  useless  to  expect  any  others 


128  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

to  go  upon  such  a  forlorn  hope."  The  venture  was  undertaken  by  the 
regiments  of  Sir  James  Ramsay  and  Sir  John  Hamilton.  A  detachment 
crossed  the  river  in  a  boat,  drawing  off  the  attention  of  the  garrison  from 
the  storming  party  at  the  bridge.  A  lodgment  was  made  in  the  castle 
before  nightfall ;  but  on  the  following  day  Gustavus  ungenerously  sent 
forward  some  Swedish  and  German  regiments  to  complete  the  attack. 
This  so  offended  Hamilton  that  he  resigned  his  command,  nor  could  all 
the  excuses  of  the  king  induce  him  to  resume  it.  This  was,  however,  not 
the  only  occasion  on  which  the  Scots  endured  the  brunt  of  the  fighting,  the 
spoils  of  which  were  reserved  for  the  Swedes  and  Germans. 

Gustavus  next  marched  to  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  capturing  further 
towns  and  castles  on  the  way.  The  city  opened  its  gates,  but  the  garrison 
of  the  castle  had  to  be  driven  out.  December  saw  the  fall  of  the  strong 
castle  of  Oppenheim  on  the  Rhine.  The  Green  Brigade  had  to  bivouac 
in  the  snow  under  fire  of  the  enemy's  cannon,  which  plagued  them  much 
at  night  when  the  camp  fires  gave  a  target.  One  hundred  men  each  from 
Reay's  and  Lumsden's  regiments  were  left  as  a  garrison,  and  the  army 
marched  on  Maintz,  reputed  to  be  the  strongest  fortress  in  Germany,  where 
"  Colonell  Hepburne's  Brigade  (according  to  use)  was  directed  to  the  most 
dangerous  part,  next  the  crossing." 

The  place  surrendered  after  three  days'  siege,  the  garrison  being  allowed 
to  march  out,  but  without  arms.  Here  the  army  remained  until  the  5th 
March,  1632.  Out  of  the  very  large  ransom  paid  by  the  townsmen,  which 
was  chiefly  raised  among  the  Jews,  the  Scots  brigade  seem  to  have  got 
nothing,  a  matter  that  draws  some  caustic  remarks  from  Monro. 

From  Maintz  the  army  marched  by  Frankfort  and  Aschaffenburg  into 
Bavaria.  On  the  26th  March  Donauworth  fell,  the  honours  of  the  day 
resting  wholly  with  Hepburn  and  his  brigade.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  Rex  Chancellor  Oxenstiern  ordered  the  German  regiments  to  beat 
the  "  Scots  March"  in  order  to  dismay  the  enemy.  The  Imperialists,  however, 
charged  ;  the  Germans  "  made  a  base  retreate  "  ;  and  it  was  only  the 
timely  arrival  of  the  genuine  Scots  that  decided  the  day  in  favour  of 
Gustavus.  Probably  no  higher  tribute  has  ever  been  paid  to  the  valour  of 
the  Scots  troops  than  this  beating  of  their  march  by  the  Germans,  which, 
indeed,  seems  to  have  amounted  almost  to  a  customary  ruse. 

On  the  5th  April  began  the  celebrated  struggle  for  the  passage  of  the 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  129 

Lech,  at  which  the  terrible  Tilly  received  his  death  wound.  To  Hepburn's 
brigade  fell,  as  usual,  the  honour  of  leading  the  van  when  the  passage  was 
forced  the  following  day.  It  lost  heavily  at  the  abortive  siege  of  Ingol- 
stadt,  where  it  occupied  an  exposed  situation  with  orders  to  hold  it  at  all 
costs,  which  it  did.  City  after  city  was  now  taken,  until  on  the  7th  May 
the  army,  led  by  the  Green  Brigade,  entered  Munich.  Only  the  Scots 
regiments  were  permitted  to  have  their  quarters  within  the  city,  where  they 
formed  the  personal  guard  of  the  king.  This  speaks  volumes  for  the  dis- 
cipline of  these  regiments,  for  Gustavus  made  a  special  point  of  conciliating 
the  inhabitants  by  forbidding  plunder. 

On  the  ist  June  Gustavus  marched  to  meet  Wallenstein,  who,  having 
rallied  the  Imperial  armies  in  Bohemia,  now  threatened  Saxony.  The 
march  was  by  Donauworth,  Weissenburg  and  Fiirth,  which  was  reached 
on  the  7th  June.  Just  before  the  series  of  actions  for  the  defence  of  Nurem- 
berg began,  Gustavus  foolishly  taunted  Hepburn  with  being  a  Catholic. 
Hepburn  at  once  resigned  his  commission,  nor  could  all  the  King's  efforts 
bring  about  a  reconciliation.  He  remained,  however,  until  after  the  principal 
action,  performing  several  very  gallant  feats  as  an  unattached  volunteer. 
The  principal  action  began  on  the  22nd  August  and  lasted  three  days. 
The  brigade,  now  commanded  by  Monro,  suffered  very  severe  losses,  but 
the  battle  was  indecisive.  After  enduring  much  privation,  the  army  retired 
towards  Neustadt  on  the  I4th  September. 

The  losses  of  the  Scots  brigade  were  so  heavy  that  it  was  left  at  Dun- 
kelsbiihl  to  await  recruits.  After  thanking  the  brigade  for  its  services, 
the  King  marched  northwards  to  meet  his  death  at  Liitzen.  Meanwhile 
the  Scots  brigade  with  Ruthven's  brigade  and  some  Swedes  had  taken 
Landsberg,  after  a  race  between  Monro  and  Ruthven  as  to  which  should 
first  reach  the  walls,  in  which  the  senior  brigade  was  foremost.  Kaufbeuren 
and  Kempten,  with  many  smaller  towns,  fell  before  their  onslaughts.  In 
July,  1633,  Monro  of  Obisdell's  regiment  being  reduced  to  a  strength  of 
two  companies,  was  incorporated  in  Reay's  regiment.  Monro  himself 
returned  to  Scotland  to  recruit,  leaving  in  command  Lieut.-Colonel 
John  Sinclair,  who  was  killed  at  Neumark  and  was  succeeded  by 
William  Stewart. 

On  the  26th  August,  1634,  Ferdinand  of  Hungary  and  Clam  Gallas 
defeated  the  Swedes  at  Nordlingen.  This  was  a  most  disastrous  day  for 


i3o  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

the  Scots,  who  had  almost  turned  the  fortunes  of  the  field,  Reay's  regi- 
ment being  reduced  from  twelve  companies  to  one.  Not  long  afterwards 
this  company,  together  with  the  remains  of  thirteen  other  Scottish  regiments 
that  had  fought  so  long  and  so  valiantly  for  Gustavus,  were  incorporated 
in  the  Scottish  Regiment  d'Hebron,  a  corps  of  the  French  army  commanded 
by  the  old  chief  of  the  Green  Brigade,  Sir  John  Hepburn,  whose  name  was 
made  to  assume  that  unfamiliar  form  by  the  French  military  officials. 


LE  REGIMENT  D'HEBRON 

The  history  of  the  regiment  now  known  as  The  Royal  Scots  dates  from 
the  year  1590,  when  a  body  of  Scottish  infantry  was  raised  to  assist  Henry 
of  Navarre  in  his  wars  with  the  League.  These  troops,  at  first  organised 
as  independent  companies,  trained  and  commanded  by  officers  drawn  from 
the  Garde  du  Corps  Ecossais  and  the  Gendarmes  Ecossais,  were  in  1633 
formed  into  a  regiment  under  the  command  of  Sir  John  Hepburn.  In  the 
same  year  a  warrant  was  issued  by  the  Scottish  Privy  Council  empowering 
Sir  John  to  raise  twelve  hundred  men  in  Scotland,  but  from  entries  in  the 
Gazette  during  the  years  1634  and  1635  it  appears  that  the  establishment 
was  eventually  fixed  at  3000  men. 

In  1634  "  le  Regiment  d'Hebron,"  as  it  was  called,  served  at  the  siege 
and  capture  of  La  Mothe,  being  engaged  in  three  attacks  on  the  4th  June 
and  a  fourth  on  the  igth  July.  Hepburn  was  subsequently  engaged  in 
the  relief  of  the  Swedish  garrison  of  Mannheim,  and  on  the  23rd  December 
captured  Heidelberg.  It  was  in  this  year  that  the  French  army  effected 
a  junction  at  Landen  with  the  remains  of  the  Swedish  army  under  Duke 
Bernhard  of  Saxe-Weimar,  when  the  remains  of  the  Green  Brigade  and 
other  Scots  troops,  including  Hepburn's  own  former  regiment,  were  incor- 
porated in  "  le  Regiment  d'Hebron."  Two  years  later  this  regiment  had  an 
establishment  of  8816  officers  and  men,  including  the  lieut. -colonel  (Monro 
of  Foulis),  Major  Sir  Patrick  Monteith,  15  captains,  one  captain-lieut., 
93  lieutenants,  12  staff  officers,  I  piper  (the  last  survivor  of  the  36  pipers 
of  Mackay's  regiment),  664  non-commissioned  officers,  and  48  companies, 
each  of  150  pikes  and  muskets. 

The  regiment  served  in  the  campaign  of  1635  in  Germany,  distinguishing 
itself  greatly  in  the  rearguard  actions  fought  near  Metz,  and  being  remarked 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  131 

on  for  the  manner  in  which  it  bore  the  privations  of  the  retreat.  In  the 
following  year  it  assisted  in  the  relief  of  Hagenau,  and,  at  Hepburn's 
request,  was  given  precedence  over  all  other  regiments  in  the  French 
service.  Hepburn  was  killed  at  the  siege  of  Saverne  in  the  summer  of 
the  same  year.  He  was  buried  in  Toul  Cathedral,  but  his  monument 
was  destroyed  during  the  French  revolution.  Sir  John  was  succeeded 
in  the  command  by  one  of  the  same  name,  probably  his  nephew,  George 
Hepburn,  who  was  killed  while  leading  the  regiment  at  the  assault  of 
Damvillers  in  Lorraine  on  the  i6th  October,  1637,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Lord  James  Douglas,  third  son  of  William,  first  Marquis  of  Douglas. 
The  regiment  was  now  known  as  "  le  Regiment  de  Douglas."  In  1638  it 
took  part  in  the  siege  of  Saint-Omer,  where  the  trenches  were  opened  on 
the  night  of  the  2gth-3oth  June.  On  the  i2th  July  the  Scots  repulsed 
a  sortie  made  by  the  Spaniards  and  captured  a  strong  post.  The  siege  of 
Saint-Omer  having  been  raised,  the  army  next  laid  siege  to  Renty,  which 
surrendered  on  the  gth  August,  and  finished  the  campaign  of  that  season 
by  taking  Catelet  by  storm  on  I4th  September. 

On  the  igth  May,  1639,  sieSe  was  l&id  to  Hesdin,  which  surrendered  on 
the  2Qth  June,  the  regiment  being  brigaded  with  that  of  Champagne.  Opera- 
tions continued  against  the  Spaniards,  and  the  regiment  took  part  in  a  sharp 
skirmish  near  St.  Nicholas  in  which  four  pieces  of  cannon  were  captured. 
In  1643  a  Scots  regiment  commanded  by  Colonel  Andrew  Rutherford, 
afterwards  Earl  of  Teviot,  was  raised  for  the  French  service,  and  played  a 
conspicuous  part  at  the  battle  of  Rocroy  on  the  igth  May,  1643.  It  was 
also  at  the  siege  of  Thionville,  which  capitulated  on  the  loth  August,  after 
which  it  marched  for  Italy.  Both  Douglas's  and  Rutherford's  regiments 
were  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Turin,  which  was  invested  on  the  I4th  August, 
1643,  and  surrendered  on  the  27th  September.  In  the  following  year 
Douglas's  regiment  was  again  in  Picardy,  and  took  part  in  the  siege  of 
Gravelines.  After  two  sorties  had  been  repulsed  by  the  regiment,  the  town 
surrendered  on  the  28th  July. 

In  1644  the  Scots  regiments  were  engaged  in  the  siege  and  capture 
of  Courtrai,  of  Dunkirk  (which  surrendered  on  the  loth  October),  of  Bethune 
and  of  St.  Venant.  In  1645  Lord  James  Douglas  was  killed  in  a  skirmish 
at  Alving  near  Douai,  and  the  command  was  conferred  on  his  eldest  brother 
Archibald,  afterwards  Earl  of  Angus  and  Ormonde.  It  does  not  appear 


i32  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

that  he  ever  commanded  in  person,  and  in  1653  he  resigned  in  favour  of  his 
half-brother,  Lord  George  Douglas. 

Rutherford's  regiment  distinguished  itself  at  the  battle  of  Lens  on  the 
loth  August,  1648.  It  was  about  this  time  that  dispute  became  heated 
with  the  Picardy  regiment,  the  oldest  in  the  French  line,  and  still  in  exis- 
tence as  the  ist  Infantry  Regiment,  on  the  subject  of  precedence.  Claiming 
an  origin  in  1569,  the  French  officers  were  jealous  of  the  Scots  possessing 
the  privilege  of  forming  the  right  of  the  line,  and  gave  them  in  derision 
the  nickname  of  "  Pontius  Pilate's  Bodyguard,"  a  nickname  which  sticks 
to  The  Royal  Scots  to  this  day.  It  was  in  one  of  these  disputes  that  an 
officer  of  Hepburn's  made  the  famous  retort  that  the  Picardy  regiment 
must  be  mistaken,  for  had  the  Scots  really  been  Pontius  Pilate's  Guard 
and  done  duty  at  the  sepulchre,  the  Holy  Body  had  never  left  it.  The 
sting  of  the  retort  appears  to  have  been  due  to  some  recent  dereliction  of 
duty  by  sentries  of  the  French  regiment,  in  sleeping  on  their  posts. 

In  1648  and  1649  the  Scots  regiments  were  engaged  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Paris  in  the  conflict  between  the  Court  and  the  Parliament.  The 
Spaniards  took  advantage  of  the  commotion  to  capture  several  places  in 
Flanders,  among  them  Ypres,  which  was  garrisoned  by  three  hundred  men 
of  one  of  the  Scots  regiments.  They  were  eventually  forced  to  surrender 
to  superior  numbers,  but  marched  out  on  the  6th  May,  1649,  with  all  the 
honours  of  war. 

In  1650  Charles  II.  endeavoured  to  obtain  the  transfer  of  the  Scots 
regiments  to  Scotland  for  the  war  that  ended  at  Worcester,  but  Louis 
refused  to  let  them  go.  They  were  employed  principally  in  Picardy  and 
Flanders. 

On  the  2nd  July,  1652,  a  battle  between  the  royal  troops  and  those  of 
the  Prince  of  Conde  was  fought  in  the  suburb  of  Saint- Antoine.  Douglas's 
regiment  bore  the  brunt  of  the  fighting,  carrying  the  barricades  and  houses 
by  storm  and  subsequently  repulsing  several  furious  counter-attacks.  The 
Spaniards  under  Lorraine  marched  on  Paris,  and,  although  prevented  by 
the  check  they  sustained  at  Villeneuve-Saint-Georges  from  entering  the 
city,  they  succeeded  in  effecting  a  junction  with  Condi's  army  at  Ablon. 
After  confronting  one  another  for  some  weeks,  the  opposing  armies  moved 
into  Champagne.  Frequent  encounters  took  place  during  this  period  in 
which  Douglas's  regiment  took  a  prominent  part,  being  specially  distinguished 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  133 

at  the  siege  and  capture  of  Bar-le-Duc.  This  was  followed  by  the  siege 
of  the  castle  of  Ligny  on  the  river  Ornain.  On  the  2ist  December  the  regi- 
ments of  Douglas  and  York  were  detailed  for  the  attack  after  the  springing 
of  a  mine.  They  moved  forward  before  the  smoke  had  cleared ;  and  on 
reaching  the  walls  across  the  frozen  ditch,  it  was  found  that  no  breach 
had  been  made.  The  ice  broke,  and  both  regiments  suffered  considerable 
losses,  but  the  castle  surrendered  the  following  day.  Chateau  Portieu  was 
taken  early  in  January,  1653,  and  Vervins  fell  on  the  28th  of  the  same 
month.  In  consequence  of  the  losses  sustained  in  these  operations  Douglas's 
regiment  was  sent  into  "  quarters  of  refreshment  "  until  the  following 
June,  when  it  was  employed  in  various  defensive  operations  against 
numerically  superior  Spaniards. 

In  1654  the  regiment  appears  to  have  been  engaged  on  garrison  duties, 
and  does  not  again  figure  in  action  until  the  battle  of  Dunkirk  Dunes,  on 
the  24th  May,  1658,  in  which,  with  Dillon's  Irish  regiment  under  Turenne, 
it  fought  side  by  side  with  Cromwell's  troops  against  English,  Scots,  and 
Irish  Royalist  refugee  regiments  under  the  Duke  of  York,  who  had  joined 
the  Spanish  forces.  The  Spaniards  were  defeated  after  a  fiercely  contested 
struggle  and  Dunkirk  fell.  The  sieges  of  Bergues,  Dixmude,  Oudenarde 
and  Ypres  followed  in  quick  succession.  The  war  ended  with  the  Peace 
of  the  Pyrenees  in  1659,  and  in  1660  Rutherford's  regiment  was  incorpo- 
rated with  Douglas's,  which  was  reduced  to  eight  companies. 

In  1661  Douglas's  regiment  was  recalled  to  England  from  France  to 
support  the  authority  of  King  Charles,  while  the  first  regiments  of  the 
present  British  army  were  being  raised.  It  returned  in  the  following 
year  to  France,  but  in  1665,  on  the  outbreak  of  war  with  the  Dutch,  who 
were  supported  by  Louis  XIV.,  Charles  again  recalled  the  regiment,  which 
landed  at  Rye  on  the  25th  June,  1666. 

The  establishment  was  now  raised  to  twelve  companies  of  one  hundred 
men,  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  of  the  thirty-six  officers,  thirty-two  bear 
names  which  are  distinctly  Scottish,  two  are  apparently  French,  one  is 
Irish  and  one  doubtful.  The  list  comprises  nine  Douglases,  two  Stuarts, 
two  Rattrays  and  two  Tyries  ;  the  only  distinctly  Highland  names  are 
Alexander  Munro  and  Kenneth  Mackeny. 

The  regiment  was  quartered  at  Chatham,  where  in  1667  it  took  part 
in  the  defence  against  the  Dutch  fleet.  From  Chatham  it  proceeded  in 


134  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

the  autumn  of  the  same  year  to  France,  being  quartered  in  1667  in  Lille 
and  in  1668  in  Franche-Comte".  In  1672  it  was  formed  into  two  battalions 
of  eight  companies  each,  and  was  engaged  under  Mare'chal  Turenne  in  the 
capture  of  Grave.  In  the  following  year  it  was  present  at  the  siege  of 
Maestricht,  and  in  1674  was  transferred  to  the  Rhine,  where  it  was  present 
in  several  actions  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Heidelberg,  and  bore  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  the  victory  of  Molsheim.  In  January,  1675,  it  assisted 
in  the  capture  of  Dachstein,  whence  it  moved  to  reinforce  the  garrison 
of  Treves.  After  the  death  of  Marechal  Turenne  before  that  place,  the 
French  field  army  retreated  and  Troves  was  besieged  by  the  Imperialists, 
to  whom  it  surrendered  in  September.  The  defence  was  prolonged  by 
the  conduct  of  the  Scottish  regiment,  which  stood  firm  when  the  French 
troops  mutinied  and  attempted  to  force  the  governor  to  surrender.  The 
regiment  was  also  engaged  in  this  year  in  the  engagements  at  Turcheim 
and  d'Altenheim. 

In  this  year  the  Douglas  Regiment  changed  its  title  and  became  known 
as  Dumbarton's,  in  consequence  of  its  colonel,  Lord  George  Douglas, 
having  been  raised  to  the  peerage  as  Earl  of  Dumbarton.  It  is  to  this 
circumstance  that  the  favourite  quick-step  of  the  regiment  owes  its  name 
of  Dumbarton's  Drums.1  In  the  following  year  the  regiment  formed  part 
of  Luxembourg's  army  on  the  Lower  Rhine  and  greatly  distinguished  itself 
in  the  retirement  at  Saverne,  where  it  gave  an  early  instance  of  the  fire 
discipline  of  British  infantry  by  inflicting  a  severe  check  on  the  German 
cavalry  which  had  driven  in  the  French  rearguard. 

In  1677  the  long  and  glorious  record  of  the  regiment  in  the  service  of 
France  was  brought  to  a  close.  It  took  part  in  the  manoeuvres  which  led 
to  the  surrender  of  the  Prince  of  Saxe  Eisenach's  division  on  an  island  in 
the  Rhine,  in  the  skirmish  of  Kochersberg  and  at  the  capture  of  Freiburg  ; 
but  the  conclusion  of  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  between  Great 
Britain  and  Holland  resulted  in  its  final  recall  to  England.  It  arrived  in 
detachments  between  March  and  September,  1678,  and  these  were  quartered 
in  various  parts  of  the  eastern  and  south-eastern  counties.  It  was  in 
this  year  that  a  grenadier  company  was  first  formed.  In  this  year  also 
an  order  was  issued  that  all  Roman  Catholic  officers  who  had  not  given 
the  necessary  certificate  were  to  be  displaced,  in  consequence  of  which 

1  Two  settings  of  this  air,  the  oldest  and  a  modern  one,  are  given  at  pages  332,  333. 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  135 

the  Earl  of  Dumbarton,  who  was  of  that  faith,  nominally  ceased  to  command 
the  regiment  and  was  appointed  to  the  chief  command  in  Scotland. 

On  proceeding  to  Ireland  in  1679,  the  muster  roll  of  the  regiment  shows 
that  it  consisted  of  twenty-one  companies,  comprising  eighty-two  officers 
(exclusive  of  staff  officers),  sixty-three  sergeants,  sixty-three  corporals, 
forty-two  drummers,  and  eight  hundred  and  ninety-one  privates.  One 
hundred  and  fifty-one  are  recorded  as  absent  and  eight  dead,  bringing  the 
total  down  to  1050  of  all  ranks.  The  record  of  the  staff  officers  shows 
that  besides  the  adjutant,  chaplain,  surgeon,  surgeon's  mate,  quarter- 
master and  drum  major,  the  regiment  had  a  piper  major,  the  first  of  that 
rank  borne  on  the  establishment  of  the  British  army.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  here  that  the  piper  major  was  struck  off  the  establishment  from  motives 
of  economy  about  1764,  and  that,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  the 
Marquis  of  Lome  and  subsequent  colonels,  this  historic  office  has  never  been 
revived  in  the  only  regiment  in  which  it  has  appeared  on  the  officers'  roll. 

In  1680  the  regiment  was  engaged  for  the  first  time  on  service  outside 
Europe.  It  landed  at  Tangier  on  the  2nd  and  3rd  August,  leaving,  however, 
five  companies  in  Ireland.  A  detachment  formed  the  forlorn  hope  of  the 
force  which  left  the  town  to  cover  the  retreat  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Charles, 
and  in  the  subsequent  fighting  the  regiment  greatly  distinguished  itself  and 
suffered  considerable  losses.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  megaphones 
were  used  to  keep  up  communication  between  the  town  and  the  forts. 
Owing,  however,  to  the  presence  of  renegades  in  the  Moorish  forces,  con- 
versation was  conducted  in  Irish  (i.e.  Gaelic),  until  an  Irishman  or  High- 
lander deserted  to  the  enemy,  when  this  also  became  impossible. 

The  regiment  returned  from  Tangier  in  1684  and  a  detachment  formed 
the  bodyguard  of  the  Duchess  of  York  at  Tunbridge  Wells.  About  the  same 
time  King  Charles  conferred  the  title  of  "  The  Royal  Regiment  of  Foot," 
which  was  retained,  with  a  short  break,  until  1881.  The  colours  at  this 
time  bore  the  St.  Andrew's  Cross  with  the  Thistle  and  Crown  and  the  motto 
"  Nemo  me  impune  lacessit." 

In  1685  the  regiment  was  employed  in  the  suppression  of  Monmouth's 
rebellion  in  the  west.  At  the  battle  of  Sedgmoor  the  seniority  of  The 
Royals  was  recognised  in  assigning  them  the  right  of  the  line,  precedence 
being  thereby  yielded  both  by  the  King's  Foot  Guards  (now  the 
Grenadier  Guards)  and  the  Coldstream.  Monmouth  is  recorded  to  have 


i36  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

been  much  perturbed  on  observing  that  The  Royals  were  arrayed  against 
him,  remarking :  "  I  know  these  men  will  fight.  If  I  had  them,  I  would 
not  doubt  of  success."  In  the  ensuing  battle  the  regiment  bore  the  brunt 
of  the  attack,  suffering  heavy  casualties ;  and  Monmouth's  standard  was 
taken  by  Captain  Robert  Hackett.  Twelve  of  the  disabled  men  were 
admitted  to  the  new  charity  of  Chelsea  Hospital.  On  the  reduction  of  the 
establishment  which  followed  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  all  Englishmen 
in  the  regiment  were  discharged.  In  August  King  James  restored  Dumbarton 
to  the  formal  command  of  the  regiment,  and  in  November  he  was  gazetted 
lieut. -general. 

In  1686  the  regiment  was  finally  divided  into  two  battalions,  and  on 
20th  March  the  2nd  battalion  was  moved  to  Scotland  to  replace  the 
Scots  Guards,  who  were  brought  to  London.  This  was  the  first  occasion 
since  the  embodiment  of  the  various  regiments  from  which  it  was  descended 
that  The  Royals  had  ever  paraded  as  a  regiment  in  Scotland. 

The  ist  battalion  moved  in  June  to  a  training  camp  at  Hounslow,  but 
in  August  proceeded  to  Portsmouth  on  garrison  duty,  being  relieved  by 
Buchan's  regiment,  now  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers. 

On  the  landing  of  William  of  Orange  in  November,  1688,  both  battalions 
were  at  Andover,  whence  they  moved  to  Warminster.  Dumbarton  com- 
manded them,  and  wished  to  attack  William  with  his  regiment  alone.  King 
James,  however,  lost  heart,  and  the  royal  forces  fell  back  to  Windsor.  The 
unflinching  loyalty  of  the  regiment  to  its  sovereign  remained  after  James's 
flight  to  France  ;  and  on  the  appointment  of  Schomberg  as  colonel  in  place 
of  Dumbarton,  who  had  accompanied  his  king  into  exile,  The  Royals, 
then  at  Ipswich,  declared  for  James,  and  proceeded  by  forced  marches  to 
Scotland.  They  were  overtaken  at  Sleaford  by  the  Dutch  General  Ginkel 
(created  Earl  of  Athlone  in  1692),  with  a  strong  force  of  cavalry.  Being 
hopelessly  outnumbered  and  surrounded,  they  surrendered  :  the  ringleaders 
were  convicted  of  high  treason  at  Bury  assizes ;  but  King  William,  who 
is  said  to  have  expressed  a  strong  admiration  for  the  loyalty  of  the  regiment 
to  James,  only  cashiered  Lieut.  Gawen,  who  had  headed  the  rising.  This 
incident  was  the  occasion  for  the  Mutiny  Act,  the  basis  of  our  present  Army 
Act.  William's  clemency  was  well  rewarded,  for  after  officers  and  men  had 
acknowledged  him  as  king,  Jacobite  agents  had  less  success  in  producing 
desertion  in  The  Royals  than  in  other  regiments. 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  137 

The  1st  battalion  joined  the  allied  army  in  Flanders  in  June,  while  the 
2nd  battalion  was  raising  recruits  in  Scotland.  In  August  the  ist  battalion 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Walcourt,  where  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Hodges  of  the  i6th,  formerly  the  commander  of  the  grenadier  company  of 
The  Royals,  it  was  acknowledged  that  the  British  troops  behaved  splendidly. 
By  the  beginning  of  1690  the  2nd  battalion  had  joined  the  ist  in  Flanders, 
and  the  regiment  was  represented  at  the  battle  of  the  Boyne  only  by 
its  colonel,  the  Duke  of  Schomberg,  who  was  killed  there.  In  succession  to 
him  Sir  Robert  Douglas  of  Glenbervie,  the  lieut.-colonel,  was  promoted 
to  the  command  in  1691. 

In  the  following  year  King  William  failed  in  an  attempt  to  recapture 
Mons,  which  had  been  taken  by  the  French  in  1691.  He  then  marched  to 
meet  the  French  at  Steenkirk,  The  Royals  forming  part  of  the  advanced 
guard  under  the  Duke  of  Wiirtemberg.  The  British  artillery,  under  Captain 
M'Cracken  of  The  Royals,  who  was  killed  later  in  the  day,  opened  the  action 
on  2nd  June  with  a  very  effective  fire.  Sir  Robert  Douglas  led  his  regiment 
to  the  attack,  which  was  so  hotly  pressed  that  it  was  not  until  Marechal  de 
Luxembourg  had  thrown  in  his  fourth  line,  the  French  and  Swiss  Guards, 
that  the  twelve  British  battalions  engaged  were  forced  back.  One  of  the 
colours  of  the  Royals  was  captured  by  the  French,  but  was  retaken  by 
Douglas  himself,  who  was  almost  at  once  killed,  but  not  until  he  had  flung 
the  colour  back  to  his  own  men.  Owing  to  the  jealousy  of  the  incompetent 
Count  Solmes,  no  support  was  sent  up,  and  King  William  was  defeated  with 
great  slaughter.  The  French,  however,  were  in  no  position  to  follow  them, 
and  the  British  regiments  retired  to  their  camp,  covered  by  the  Royal 
Fusiliers.  The  colonel  of  the  latter  regiment,  Lord  George  Hamilton,  fifth 
son  of  the  third  Duke  of  Hamilton,  and  afterwards  Earl  of  Orkney,  was 
promoted  to  be  colonel  of  The  Royals,  in  which  he  had  once  commanded  a 
company. 

On  the  2gth  July,  1693,  William  III.  met  his  old  opponent  Luxembourg 
at  Landen  or  Neerwinden,  and  suffered  a  crushing  defeat,  losing  76  guns 
and  80  stands  of  colours.  Macaulay  declares  that  this  was  the  bloodiest 
battle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  French  paid  so  dearly  for  their  victory 
that  Luxembourg  could  not  undertake  a  pursuit,  and  King  William  led  his 
shattered  forces  back  to  Brussels  without  further  molestation.  In  this 
action  The  Royals  occupied  the  left  instead  of  the  right  of  the  line,  the 


i38  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

grenadier  company  being  posted  in  a  house  in  New  Landen.  The  allied 
troops  at  this  point  were  The  Royals,  the  Queen's,  and  two  Danish  battalions, 
who  beat  back  the  attack  of  four  French  brigades  ;  but  the  failure  of  the 
Allies  elsewhere  on  the  field  caused  them  to  yield  their  advantage. 

The  year  1694  was  uneventful,  but  in  1695  William  laid  siege  to  Namur, 
whereof  the  incidents  are  so  graphically  described  in  Tristram  Shandy.  To 
The  Royals  was  assigned  the  assault  on  the  suburb  of  Bouge,  which  took 
place  on  the  6th  or  8th  July  (the  date  is  uncertain).  The  assault  was  com- 
pletely successful,  Lord  George  Hamilton,  colonel  commanding  the  regiment, 
was  wounded,  and  on  loth  July  was  gazetted  brigadier-general  for  his 
services.  On  the  24th  the  French  retired  across  the  Sambre  to  the  citadel 
and  The  Royals  were  marched  to  Genappe,  though  two  officers  were  left 
to  do  engineer  services.  The  regiment,  however,  was  brought  back  before 
Namur  had  fallen.  On  20th  August  the  grenadier  company,  with  grenadiers 
of  other  regiments,  succeeded  in  effecting  some  lodgments  in  the  citadel, 
and  on  the  26th  the  French  marched  out  with  the  honours  of  war.  The 
Royals  were  brought  back  to  England  in  1697  and  were  reduced  to  a  peace 
establishment  of  42  men  per  company. 

The  precedence  of  The  Royals  as  ranking  first  after  the  Guards  was 
confirmed  by  a  fresh  warrant  in  1698.  In  the  absence  of  regimental  numbers, 
the  changes  in  the  title  of  a  corps  corresponding  with  the  names  of  successive 
colonels  are  somewhat  apt  to  confuse  the  reader.  Thus  The  Royals,  which 
bore  successively  the  titles  of  Douglas's  regiment,  Dumbarton's  regiment, 
Hamilton's  regiment,  appears  in  official  documents  of  1696,  when  Lord 
George  Hamilton  was  created  Earl  of  Orkney,  as  "  My  Lord  Orkney's  " 
or  "  The  Royal  Regiment  of  Orkney." 

In  1701  both  battalions  sailed  from  Ireland  for  Holland,  each  composed 
of  twelve  companies,  for  the  war  of  the  Spanish  Succession  had  broken  out. 
William  III.  was  dead,  and  Marlborough  was  appointed  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the  allied  army.  When  he  laid  siege  to  Kaiserswerth  in  April,  1702, 
The  Royals  formed  part  of  a  covering  force  at  Cranenberg  under  the  Earl 
of  Athlone.  Probably  there  were  but  few  veterans  in  the  ranks  who  recog- 
nised under  his  brand  new  title  the  Dutchman  Ginkel,  to  whom,  as  mutineers, 
they  had  surrendered  at  Sleaford  in  1688.  After  the  fall  of  Kaiserswerth 
The  Royals  were  transferred  to  Marlborough's  own  command,  serving  in 
the  covering  force  at  the  siege  of  Venloo.  One  battalion  was  engaged 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  139 

in  the  attack  on  Stevenswart,  the  other  in  the  successful  assault  on 
Ruremonde. 

There  is  nothing  to  record  of  the  regiment  in  1703,  but  in  1704  it  marched 
with  Marlborough  to  Bavaria.  It  formed  two  out  of  the  five  British 
battalions  that  were  present  in  the  important  action  of  Schellenberg,  and 
well  did  The  Royals  sustain  the  reputation  which  their  predecessors  in  the 
corps  had  earned  on  the  same  ground  seventy  years  before  under  Gustavus 
Adolphus.  Thirty  officers  of  the  regiment  were  killed  or  wounded. 

On  August  i3th  was  fought  the  battle  of  Blenheim.  One  battalion  of 
The  Royals  attacked  the  village  itself,  while  the  other  took  part  in  the  attack 
on  the  French  centre.  Both  did  well,  and  their  casualties  were  not  so 
heavy  as  at  Schellenberg,  for  they  lost  but  twelve  officers  at  Blenheim. 
The  2nd  battalion  formed  part  of  the  escort  that  took  the  prisoners  to 
Holland,  while  the  ist  remained  to  finish  the  campaign  in  Swabia.  In  the 
following  year  the  ist  battalion  was  engaged  in  the  operations  on  the 
Meuse  and  at  the  successful  siege  of  Huy  in  July.  On  the  I7th  of  that 
month  Marlborough  attacked  the  French  at  Helixhem  and  drove  them 
in,  The  Royals  being  engaged  in  the  battle,  and  in  a  skirmish  on  the  Dyle 
on  the  2ist. 

The  year  1706  was  busy  and  bloody.  On  the  23rd  May  The  Royals 
played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  battle  of  Ramillies,  and  were  later  em- 
ployed in  the  sieges  of  Dendermond,  Ostend,  Menin  and  Aeth. 

In  1707  took  place  the  union  of  Scotland  with  England,  in  consequence 
whereof  the  colours  of  the  Royals  were  altered  so  as  to  combine  the  red 
cross  of  St.  George  with  the  white  saltire  of  St.  Andrew.  The  regimental 
badge,  also,  was  recast,  showing  the  Royal  cipher  within  the  circle  of  St. 
Andrew,  surmounted  by  a  crown. 

In  1708  The  Royals,  with  nine  other  regiments,  were  recalled  to  England 
to  resist  an  attempt  at  invasion  by  King  Louis  of  France  in  support  of  the 
exiled  Stuart  dynasty ;  but  as  no  landing  was  effected  they  returned 
to  Flanders  in  April  and  were  present  at  Oudenarde  in  the  Duke  of  Argyll's 
division  of  twenty  battalions,  on  which  the  brunt  of  the  fighting  fell.  Marl- 
borough's  design  was  to  follow  up  this  victory  by  marching  upon  Paris. 
leaving  a  force  to  mask  Lille,  where  Boufflers  lay  with  15,000  men.  But  the 
Dutch  commanders  considered  this  plan  too  risky,  wherefore  it  was  decided 
to  lay  siege  to  Lille,  the  ancient  capital  of  Flanders,  which  Louis  XIV.  had 


i4o  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

acquired  by  conquest  in  1667.  It  was  a  very  strong  place,  both  in  its 
natural  features  and  in  the  manner  these  had  been  strengthened  by  Vau- 
ban's  fortifications,  and  Marlborough  found  it  a  difficult  task  to  maintain 
communication  with  his  base  at  Ostend.  On  27th  September  a  column 
was  detailed  under  Major-General  Webb  to  protect  a  train  of  waggons  bring- 
ing supplies  from  that  port,  and  Vendome  marched  with  20,000  men  to 
attack  it.  The  two  forces  met  at  Wynendale ;  Webb  skilfully  lured  the 
French  into  an  ambush  which  he  had  laid  in  a  defile  ;  a  bloody  encounter 
resulted  in  the  enemy  falling  into  disorder  and  retiring,  and  the  convoy  was 
brought  safely  into  the  British  lines.  Mr.  Fortescue,  whose  energy  in  research 
is  indefatigable,  has  failed  to  identify  any  of  the  regiments  engaged  in  this 
brisk  affair,  except  one  battalion  of  The  Royals.  Their  conduct  is  com- 
memorated in  some  doggerel  verse  composed  by  John  Scott,  a  private  in 
Lord  Portmore's  regiment,  and  entitled  The  Remembrance. 

"  Our  comand  throu  the  pass  began  to  advance 
With  courage,  conduct  and  skille. 
The  French  brigade  stronglie  canonaded 
And  some  of  our  men  they  did  kill. 
Our  regiments  that  day  advanced  in  array, 
And  brisklie  cleared  the  pass  ; 
The  Royal  Scots  marching  in  the  front 
They  dear  enough  payed  for  the  sausse."  l 

In  the  following  extract  from  the  Amsterdam  Gazette  of  gth  October, 
1708,  due  honour  is  done  to  the  heroism  displayed  by  a  certain  sergeant  of 
The  Royals  in  the  capture  of  some  outworks,  but  unfortunately  his  name 
is  not  mentioned. 

"  Yesterday  a  little  after  noon  we  carry'd  sword  in  hand  the  rest  of  the  two 
Tenailles  and  the  Ravelin.  A  Sergeant  of  the  Royal  Regiment  of  Scots,  advancing 
the  foremost,  observed  that  the  French  were  not  on  their  guard,  as  not  expecting 
to  be  attacked.  He  called  to  our  Ingeniers  and  Workmen  to  hasten  to  him,  upon 
which  the  Grenadiers  advanced  and  found  little  resistance  from  the  French,  who 
were  surprized.  Part  of  them  were  put  to  the  sword,  and  several  of  them  who 
attempted  to  escape  by  swimming  were  drowned,  so  that  very  few  of  'em  got 
into  the  town.  The  Captain,  and  forty  men  who  were  in  the  Tenaille,  was  made 
prisoners.  We  found  in  these  works  5  pieces  of  cannon,  100  pounds  of  powder, 
2,000  weight  of  Ball,  250  Rations  of  Bread  and  other  provision.  We  immediately 
attempted  to  make  a  Lodgement ;  but  before  we  could  cover  ourselves,  the  Enemy 
fired  so  terribly  from  the  Ramparts  that  we  had  50  men  killed  and  100  wounded  ; 
among  the  latter  are  Lieut-General  Wilkins,  Brigadier  Wassemaar  and  Colonel 
Zeden,  but  neither  dangerously.  This  brave  action  of  the  Sergeant,  who  was 
'From  The  Scots  Brigade  in  Holland,  vol.  iii.  (Scottish  Historical  Society). 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  141 

also  slightly  wounded,  was  seen  by  the  Prince  of  Nassau,  and  other  generals,  and 
the  Prince  recommended  him  to  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  who  made  him  a  Lieu- 
tenant that  same  day  and  has  since  made  him  a  Captain." 

When  the  Elector  of  Bavaria  laid  siege  to  Brussels  in  November  The 
Royals  formed  part  of  the  force  detached  to  relieve  that  place,  which  was 
successfully  effected.  Lille  having  surrendered  after  a  heroic  defence, 
Marlborough  proceeded  in  mid-winter  to  besiege  Ghent,  which  place  sur- 
rendered on  2nd  January,  1709,  The  Royals  having  lost  several  men  in  a 
forlorn  hope.  After  the  city  of  Bruges  had  capitulated  to  the  Allies,  Marl- 
borough  allowed  his  army  two  or  three  months  of  well-earned  repose,  and 
it  was  not  until  mid-summer  that  he  undertook  the  reduction  of  Tournay 
and  Mons.  The  operations  against  these  strongly  fortified  towns  consisted 
chiefly  of  trench  work,  mining  and  counter-mining,  wearisome  and  san- 
guinary business  of  the  very  same  character — cceteris  paribus — as  has  been 
so  obstinately  carried  on  during  the  present  war.  Tournay  surrendered  on 
2nd  September,  but  on  the  approach  of  Marechal  Boufflers  to  relieve  Villars, 
who  was  defending  Mons,  Marlborough  had  to  raise  the  siege  in  order  to 
give  the  French  battle  at  Malplaquet.  Both  battalions  of  The  Royals  were 
engaged  in  this,  the  costliest  in  casualties  of  all  Marlborough's  victories, 
but  they  suffered  less  than  most  of  the  other  regiments. 

In  1710  the  regiment  was  present  at  the  siege  and  capture  of  Doubs, 
followed  by  the  taking  of  Bethune  and  Aire,  at  the  latter  of  which  it  suffered 
heavily.  In  1711  it  bore  a  part  in  the  capture  of  Bouchain  on  I3th  Sep- 
tember, at  the  end  of  which  year  Marlborough,  the  victim  of  party 
rancour,  was  superseded  and  recalled  home,  the  Duke  of  Ormond  being 
appointed  commander-in-chief.  On  the  conclusion  of  the  shameful  peace 
with  France,  The  Royals  formed  part  of  the  garrison  of  Dunkirk,  where 
they  remained  until  the  signing  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  in  April,  1713. 
The  regiment  was  then  reduced  to  peace  strength  and  in  the  following  year 
moved  to  Ireland,  where  it  was  split  up  into  small  detachments  scattered 
over  the  country  on  police  duties. 

The  record  of  The  Royals  for  some  years  to  come,  in  common  with  the 
rest  of  the  British  army,  is  not  only  dull  but  melancholy.  Marlborough 
was  dishonoured  and  driven  into  exile  ;  although  he  returned  to  England, 
on  Queen  Anne's  death  in  1714,  and,  the  charges  of  corruption  against  him 
having  been  dropped,  he  was  appointed  Captain-General  and  Master  of 


i42  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

the  Ordnance,  his  influence  with  the  army  was  no  more  ;  the  very  tradition 
thereof  had  waned,  and  with  it  went  the  spirit  of  discipline.  Lord  George 
Murray,  afterwards  Prince  Charles  Edward's  lieut.-general  in  the  fatal 
'45,  had  joined  The  Royal  Scots  as  ensign  in  Flanders  in  1711  ;  but  that  did 
not  prevent  him  deserting  to  the  Jacobites  in  1715  and  commanding  a 
battalion  at  the  battle  of  Sheriffmuir. 

Discipline  was  lax,  but  punishment  was  as  severe  as  ever.  In  1727 
The  Royals  were  still  on  the  Irish  establishment  when  orders  were  received 
to  increase  the  regiment  to  war  strength.  The  enlistment  of  Irish  recruits 
having  been  strictly  forbidden,  the  expedient  was  attempted  of  sending 
Irishmen  to  Scotland,  fitting  them  with  Kilmarnock  bonnets  and  passing 
them  off  before  the  general  as  genuine  Scots.  The  device  was  detected, 
with  the  painful  result  that  five  officers  of  The  Royals  were  cashiered  and 
two  were  suspended. 

In  1730  Sergeant  Donald  MacLeod  was  discharged  from  the  Royals 
in  order  to  act  as  drill  sergeant  to  the  independent  Highland  companies 
which  are  now  the  Black  Watch.  He  had  gained  the  rank  of  sergeant  at 
the  age  of  seventeen,  and  had  seen  much  service  under  Marlborough  He 
had  fought  duels  with  a  French  sergeant,  a  French  officer,  a  German  officer, 
an  Irish  giant,  and,  in  1715,  with  Captain  MacDonald  of  Knoydart  from  the 
Highland  army.  He  fought  at  Sheriffmuir,  in  which  he  killed  two  French- 
men, after  having  been  dangerously  wounded  himself.1  After  much  dis- 
tinguished service  in  the  Black  Watch  he  left  the  army  at  the  age  of  88, 
living  to  be  103.  It  was  in  MacLeod's  plaid  that  General  Wolfe  was  carried 
off  the  field  at  Quebec. 

The  Earl  of  Orkney  died  in  1737  and  was  succeeded  as  colonel  of  the 
Royals  by  the  Hon.  James  St.  Clair,  who  had  been  gazetted  to  an  ensigncy 
in  the  regiment  in  1694,  when  he  was  six  years  old  !  Ten  years  later  he 
exchanged  into  the  3rd  Guards. 

The  ist  battalion  of  The  Royals  was  involved  in  the  disasters  in- 
curred through  the  mismanagement  of  the  expedition  against  the  Spaniards 
in  the  West  Indies  in  1740.  It  formed  part  of  the  force  of  3000  infantry 
sent  out  in  1742  to  reinforce  what  remained  of  General  Wentworth's  division, 
which,  originally  6600  strong,  had  been  reduced  by  yellow  fever  and  casualties 

1  It  docs  not  appear  how  MacLeod  came  to  be  at  Sheriffmuir,  unless  as  a  volunteer,  for  The  Royals 
remained  in  Ireland  during  the  "15. 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  143 

to  about  1700  effectives.  It  is  not  good  to  dwell  on  this  shameful  episode. 
The  fever  settled  upon  these  fresh  troops  with  frightful  effect.  The  expedi- 
tion was  recalled.  When  The  Royals  landed  at  Plymouth  in  December 
only  one  man  in  every  ten  of  those  who  had  sailed  from  Cork  in  February 
answered  to  his  name.  The  battalion — what  was  left  of  it — was  placed 
on  the  establishment  of  Great  Britain,  having  been  on  the  Irish  establish- 
ment since  its  return  from  Flanders  in  1713  ;  but  the  2nd  battalion  was 
placed  on  the  Irish  establishment. 

Hitherto,  although  certain  regiments,  including  The  Royals,  had  received 
regimental  numbers,  many  battalions  continued  to  be  known  by  the  names 
of  the  colonels  commanding  them.  This  trace  of  feudalism  was  suppressed 
in  1743  by  a  warrant  prohibiting  colonels  from  putting  their  crests,  arms 
or  private  badges  on  any  part  of  the  dress  or  accoutrements  of  their  men, 
and  directing  that  the  regimental  number  should  be  used  instead. 

In  that  year  the  ist  battalion  of  The  Royals  were  sent  to  join  the  army 
in  Germany,  arriving  at  Mainz  a  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Dettingen. 
George  II.  had  just  resigned  the  chief  command  to  Field-Marshal  Wade, 
who  had  never  seen  active  service  and  was  seventy  years  old.  Consequently, 
nothing  effective  was  done  until  Wade  having  been  invalided  home,  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland  succeeded  as  commander-in-chief  in  October,  1744. 
He  displayed  more  vigour  in  the  campaign  of  1745,  and  The  Royals  formed 
one  of  the  ten  battalions  in  the  first  line  of  attack  on  the  bloody  field  of 
Fontenoy,  where  they  lost  286  men.  It  was  a  drawn  battle  ;  but  Cumber- 
land had  to  beat  a  retreat  to  Lessines.  In  July,  the  British  headquarters 
being  at  Brussels,  he  despatched  the  Royals,  the  2Oth  and  3ist  Foot,  with 
cavalry,  to  reinforce  the  garrison  of  Ghent.  The  column  was  attacked  by 
the  French  at  Alost.  Colonel  Pechell,  commanding  the  3ist,  reported  to 
Cumberland  as  follows  : 

"  The  enemy's  fire  broke  the  Hussars.  Rich's  Dragoons  [now  the  4th  Hussars] 
followed,  notwithstanding  the  fire  from  the  Nunnery,  for  the  Royal  Scotch,  march- 
ing close  to  'em,  drew  on  themselves  the  fire  from  the  Nunnery,  which  favoured  the 
passage  of  the  Dragoons  beyond  the  Nunnery  ;  but  they  soon  found  the  causeway 
lined  with  the  enemy's  foot,  whose  fire  would  have  destroyed  them  all  if  the  Royal 
Scotch  had  not  moved  forward  to  their  assistance  and  engaged  that  fire  of  the 
enemy,  whilst  the  cavalry  that  had  passed  made  the  best  of  their  way  to  Ghent." 

Certainly  the  honours  of  that  day  rested  with  The  Royals,  for  they  were 
the  only  one  of  the  three  infantry  battalions  that  fought  its  way  into  Ghent. 


i44  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

But  honour  was  their  only  reward  ;  a  few  days  later  Ghent  was  stormed 
and  taken  by  the  French,  The  Royals,  with  the  rest  of  the  garrison,  being 
sent  to  France  as  prisoners  of  war.  War  was  less  ruthless  in  those  days 
than  it  has  become  under  German  kultur  ;  prisoners  were  exchanged  in 
September,  and  the  1st  battalion  of  The  Royals,  returning  to  England  in 
October,  went  into  quarters  in  Kent. 

Meanwhile  the  2nd  battalion  had  been  engaged  in  less  desirable  duty. 
Prince  Charlie  had  unfurled  his  standard  at  Glenfinnan  on  igth  August, 
and  the  Highland  chiefs,  swallowing  their  misgivings,  called  out  their  clans 
to  his  support.  Two  companies  of  The  Royals,  marching  under  Captain 
Scott  from  Perth  with  the  6th  Foot  to  defend  Fort  William,  fell  into  an 
ambush,  surrendered  and  were  released  on  parole.  The  remaining  com- 
panies of  the  2nd  battalion  formed  part  of  General  Hawley's  force  encamped 
at  Falkirk  on  27th  January,  1746,  when  it  was  attacked  and  routed  by 
Lord  George  Murray.  The  Royals  broke  and  ran  with  the  rest,  but  they 
and  the  Buffs  rallied  and  managed  an  orderly  retreat.  Sergeant  Henson  of 
The  Royals  seems  to  have  distinguished  himself  in  re-forming  the  battalion, 
for  he  was  given  a  commission  in  SempilTs  regiment. 

At  Culloden  The  Royals  were  in  Albemarle's  division,  but  of  that  doleful 
day,  when  Scot  met  Scot,  we  need  record  no  more  than  is  told  in  Private 
Alexander  Taylor's  letter  to  his  wife,  preserved  in  the  records  of  the  regiment. 

" .  .  .  It  was  a  very  cold  morning,  and  nothing  to  buy  or  comfort  us ;  but 
we  had  the  Ammunition  loaf,  thank  God  ;  but  not  a  Dram  of  Brandy  or  Spirits, 
had  you  give  a  Crown  for  a  Gill,  nor  nothing  but  Loaf  and  Water.  We  had  also 
the  greatest  difficulty  in  keeping  the  Locks  of  our  Firelocks  dry,  for  the  Rain 
was  violent.  .  .  .  The  Battle  began  by  Cannonading,  and  continued  for  Half 
an  Hour  or  more  with  Great  Guns.  But  our  Gunners  galling  their  Lines,  they 
betook  themselves  to  their  small  Arms,  Sword  and  Pistol,  and  came  running  on 
our  Front  Line  like  Troops  of  hungry  Wolves,  and  fought  with  Intrepidity." 

In  1747  the  ist  battalion  embarked  for  Zealand  and  was  engaged  with 
the  28th  and  42nd  Foot  in  an  attempt  to  relieve  Hulst,  assisting  to  cut  up 
an  enemy  detachment,  which  lost  over  a  thousand  men.  On  5th  May  The 
Royals  were  attacked  at  Fort  Sandberg,  but  after  a  desperate  struggle,  in 
which  Major  Sir  Charles  Erskine  of  Alva  was  killed,  and  half  the  battalion 
killed  or  wounded,  the  French  were  repulsed.  Drafts  from  the  2nd  battalion 
filled  the  losses  in  the  ranks,  and  in  1748  came  the  end  of  the  Seven 
Years'  war,  the  regiment  being  reduced  to  a  peace  establishment. 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  145 

In  1757  the  ist  battalion  was  in  Ireland.  The  2nd  sailed  for  Halifax, 
arriving  in  July,  and  a  year  later  took  part  in  the  siege  and  capture  of 
Louisburg,  which  surrendered  on  the  26th  July,  1758.  By  September  it 
had  been  transferred  to  join  Abercromby's  force  on  Lake  George.  It  took 
part  in  the  operations  that  ended  in  the  abandonment  by  the  French  of 
Forts  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. 

In  1760  a  detachment  of  the  2nd  battalion  had  a  share  in  some  very  trying 
operations  against  the  Red  Indians  in  South  Carolina,  while  the  remainder 
of  the  battalion  was  engaged  in  the  operations  which  ended  in  the  capture 
of  Montreal.  In  the  following  year  four  companies  were  agayi  engaged 
against  the  Cherokees  in  South  Carolina,  two  were  in  garrison  in  New 
York  and  four  others  assisted  in  the  capture  of  Dominica  and  Martinique. 

In  1762  the  four  companies  that  had  been  engaged  against  the 
Cherokees  proceeded  to  Cuba,  where  they  took  the  principal  part  in  the 
storming  of  Fort  Moro,  a  battle  honour  which  has  been  unaccountably 
denied  to  the  regiment  by  the  War  Office,  though  granted  to  a  regiment 
which  was  represented  merely  by  a  detachment  in  support.  Havannah 
fell  on  the  I3th  August.  Meanwhile  the  flank  companies  were  engaged 
in  the  operations  that  turned  the  French  out  of  St.  John's,  Newfound- 
land. In  this  year  the  Hon.  James  St.  Clair  died,  and  was  succeeded 
in  the  colonelcy  by  his  nephew,  Sir  Henry  Erskine  of  Alva,  who  did  not 
hold  it  long,  for  he  died  in  1765,  and  was  succeeded  by  John,  Marquess  of 
Lome  (afterwards  5th  Duke  of  Argyll).  The  2nd  battalion  having  been 
broughl  home  in  1763,  bore  a  hand  in  suppressing  the  Gordon  riots  in  1780, 
and  in  1793  was  engaged  in  the  defence  of  Toulon,  which  had  been  occupied 
by  Admiral  Hood,  in  support  of  the  French  royalists  against  the  army  of 
the  Republic.  The  defenders  of  Toulon  included  a  motley  horde  of  speci- 
inens  of  nearly  all  the  "  Dago  "  nations  of  Europe  ;  and  as  they  proved 
i  f  little  value,  Toulon  was  abandoned,  The  Royals  covering  the  retreat, 
it  is  noteworthy  that  the  Republicans  owed  most  of  their  success  to 
Lieut.-Colonel  Buonaparte  of  the  artillery,  who  made  his  first  mark  as  a 
soldier  in  this  siege. 

From  Toulon  the  army  proceeded  to  Corsica,  where  The  Royals  took  part 
in  the  capture  of  Bastia  and  Calvi  in  1794,  besides  putting  in  some  lemark- 
able  exploits,  in  co-operation  with  the  sailors  of  the  fleet,  in  carrying  artillery 
up  almost  perpendicular  rocks  for  the  attack  on  Convention  Redoubt.  In 


146  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

the  campaign  in  Holland  of  1799  the  2nd  battalion  formed  part  of  General 
John  Moore's  brigade  and  fought  at  Egmont-op-Zee. 

Returning  now  to  the  ist  battalion,  we  find  it  in  1781  taking  possession 
without  much  difficulty  of  the  Dutch  colony  of  St.  Eustatia  in  the  Leeward 
Islands.  Thence  it  proceeded  to  St.  Kitts,  where  it  was  besieged  in  an 
old  fort  by  a  much  superior  French  force,  and  was  forced  to  surrender  after 
a  long  and  stubborn  defence.  The  Royals,  with  some  detached  companies 
of  other  regiments,  were  allowed  to  march  out  with  the  honours  of  war 
and  to  go  to  England  on  parole,  pending  their  exchange,  which  was  effected 
in  May,  1782.  Lord  Adam  Gordon  became  colonel  in  this  year  ;  but  what 
probably  was  reckoned  of  greater  moment  by  the  men  of  the  battalion 
was  the  enlistment  in  1783  of  Samuel  M'Donald — "  Big  Sam  " — a  giant  of 
6  feet  10  inches,  and  of  enormous  strength,  about  whose  memory  many 
legends  still  circle. 

The  next  expedition  of  the  ist  battalion  landed  them  in  Jamaica  in 
1790,  to  engage  in  hostilities  with  the  French  and  the  Negroes  of  San  Domingo. 
But  The  Royals  had  to  deal  also  with  a  far  more  deadly  foe  in  the  shape  of 
yellow  fever,  whereof  the  cause  and  proper  treatment  were  to  remain  alike 
unknown  for  nearly  a  century  to  come.  The  battalion  was  but  400  strong 
when  it  landed  in  February ;  only  123  answered  the  roll-call  in  September. 
The  total  effectives  out  of  seven  battalions  in  the  expedition  numbered  no 
more  than  noo.  When  the  ist  battalion  returned  to  England  in  1797  it 
consisted  of  10  commissioned  officers,  45  non-commissioned,  12  drummers, 
and  88  privates  effective,  having  lost  in  the  seven  years  5  officers  and  400 
men. 

With  the  eighteenth  century  was  brought  to  a  close  a  military  era  upon 
which  no  British  soldier  can  look  back  with  pride.  The  laurels  won  for 
the  army  by  Marlborough  had  been  suffered  to  wither  ;  few  and  scanty 
were  the  wreaths  that  had  been  gathered  to  replace  them.  Undoubtedly, 
the  blame  for  this  must  be  divided  between  generals  who  misused  and 
mishandled  splendid  fighting  material,  and  ministers  who  despatched 
the  troops  upon  expeditions  foredoomed  to  failure.  But  with  the  new 
century  a  fresh  spirit  was  breathed  into  the  upper  ranks  and  saner  counsels 
emanated  from  Downing  Street.  The  memories  of  Abercromby,  Moore 
and  WeUesley  must  ever  be  revered  by  military  men  as  the  true  pioneers  of 
army  reform. 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  147 

The  last  act  of  note  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  the  formation  of 
the  trained  corps  of  riflemen,  which  was  soon  to  become  the  95th  regiment, 
now  the  Rifle  Brigade.  An  experimental  battalion  was  formed  by  drafts 
from  fourteen  regiments,  the  2nd  battalion  of  The  Royals  being  called 
on  to  contribute  a  squad  of  two  sergeants,  two  corporals  and  thirty  privates. 
After  being  trained  with  the  new  weapon,  all  these  squads  were  returned 
to  their  former  battalions,  except  those  from  The  Royals,  the  27th  and  7Qth 
Foot,  which  were  retained  as  the  nucleus  of  the  new  corps.  This  detachment 
was  engaged  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  the  2nd  battalion  in  Pulteney's 
unsuccessful  attempts  upon  Ferrol  and  Cadiz. 

The  new  century  dawned  with  brighter  auspices.  The  2nd  battalion 
of  the  Royals  formed  part  of  the  force  which  landed  under  Sir  Ralph  Aber- 
cromby  on  8th  March,  1801,  in  Aboukir  Bay.  Actions  were  fought  on  the 
i3th  and  2ist,  followed  by  the  capture  of  Rosetta  and  the  surrender  of 
Cairo  by  the  French.  The  share  taken  by  The  Royals  in  shattering  Buona- 
parte's dream  of  the  conquest  of  India  is  commemorated  by  the  Sphinx 
and  "  Egypt  "  borne  on  their  colours. 

The  2nd  battalion  now  returned  to  garrison  duty  at  Gibraltar,  where 
the  evil  results  of  an  army  system  which  combined  lax  discipline  with  a 
ferocious  scale  of  punishment  became  painfully  manifest.  In  March,  1802, 
the  Duke  of  Kent  (father  of  Queen  Victoria),  who  had  succeeded  to  the 
colonelcy  of  The  Royals  on  the  death  of  Lord  Adam  Gordon  in  August,  1801, 
was  appointed  governor  of  Gibraltar,  with  express  instructions  from  his 
brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  commander-in-chief,  to  restore  discipline  in 
the  garrison.  Perceiving  that  drink  was  the  main  source  of  the  mischief, 
the  new  governor  began  by  closing  half  the  wine-shops,  of  which  there 
were  ninety  on  the  rock,  and  forbade  any  but  commissioned  officers  to 
enter  those  which  remained  open.1  The  wine-sellers,  in  revenge,  supplied 
the  soldiers  with  liquor  gratis,  and  at  Christmas  time  a  number  of  men  of 
The  Royals,  maddened  with  drink,  broke  into  open  mutiny.  Before  they 
could  be  subdued  the  grenadier  company  of  the  battalion  had  to  fire  on 
their  comrades,  killing  and  wounding  some,  and  frightening  the  others  into 
submission.  Three  of  the  ringleaders  were  tried  by  court-martial  and  shot, 

1  As  the  Duke  of  Kent  incurred  considerable  unpopularity  through  his  disciplinary  acts, 
it  is  but  fair  to  record  to  his  credit  that  in  closing  these  wine-shops  he  sacrificed  £4000  a  year, 
to  which,  as  governor,  he  was  entitled  for  licensing  fees. 


i48  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

and  the  2nd  battalion  was  sent  in  1803  to  join  the  ist  battalion  in  the  West 
Indies.  The  Duke  of  Kent  was  recalled  to  England  in  March  ;  his  request 
for  a  court  of  inquiry  on  his  conduct  was  refused,  so  was  his  request  to  be 
allowed  to  return  to  Gibraltar.  He  remained  nominally  governor,  but  with- 
out pay  ;  while  the  lieutenant-governor,  Sir  Thomas  Trigge,  revoked  the 
disciplinary  orders  imposed  by  the  duke,  and  matters  became  again  as  bad 
as  ever  in  the  garrison. 

The  2nd  battalion  wiped  out  the  disgrace  incurred  at  Gibraltar  by  gallant 
conduct  in  the  capture  of  St.  Lucia  and  Tobago,  which  was  recognised  by 
the  king  commanding  that  "St.  Lucia "  should  be  placed  among  the  honours 
on  the  colours.  But  the  gallant  fellows  paid  the  usual  deplorable  penalty 
attached  to  service  in  that  deadly  climate.  When  it  returned  to  England 
in  1806  its  strength  was  officially  reported  as  "  i  rank  and  file  fit,  53  sick,  30 
on  command,  704  wanting."  Meanwhile  a  3rd  and  4th  battalion  had  been 
raised  at  Hamilton  in  1804,  and  from  these  the  2nd  battalion  was  made 
up  to  strength  and  sent  to  India,  landing  at  Penang  on  i8th  September, 
1807. 

The  newly  formed  3rd  battalion  embarked  for  service  in  Spain  under 
Sir  John  Moore  in  1808,  was  present  in  the  march  to  Sahagun,  when  Captain 
Waters  of  The  Royals  captured  the  French  despatch  which  caused  Moore  to 
decide  upon  retreat  to  Coruna.  The  steadiness  and  gallantry  of  the  battalion 
in  the  battle  at  that  place  on  I5th  January,  1809,  were  honourably  mentioned 
in  general  orders.  Scarce  time  was  allowed  it  to  repair  the  losses  incurred 
in  the  Peninsula,  for  in  July  of  the  same  year  it  sailed  with  the  ill-starred 
expedition  to  Walcheren  Island.  Next  year  it  returned  to  the  Peninsula, 
forming  part  of  the  5th  (Leith's)  division  in  Wellington's  expeditionary 
force.  It  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Busaco  and  in  the  retreat  on  Torres 
Vedras.  In  1811  it  was  engaged  at  Fuentes  d'Onoro  ;  arrived  a  day  too  late 
to  assist  in  the  storm  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo  on  igih  January,  and  in  the  assault 
on  Badajos,  6th  and  7th  April,  was  retained  by  Wellington  as  his  personal 
guard.  The  title  of  the  regiment  was  changed  by  royal  command  on  nth 
February  from  "  the  First  or  Royal  Regiment  of  Foot  "  to  "  the  First  Regi- 
ment of  Foot  or  Royal  Scots."  In  the  battle  of  Salamanca  on  22nd  July 
the  Royals  sustained  160  casualties,  their  divisional  general,  Leith,  also 
being  wounded.  They  formed  part  of  Graham's  column  in  the  decisive 
victory  at  Vittoria  on  2ist  June,  1813,  and  in  the  following  month  they  were 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  149 

engaged  in  the  siege  of  San  Sebastian,  where  this  young  battalion  added 
signal  lustre  to  the  glorious  record  of  The  Royal  Scots,  being  foremost  in 
the  desperate  assaults  on  i7th  and  2gth  July.  On  the  2gth  Lieutenant 
Macadam  of  the  gth  Foot  led  a  party  of  seventeen  of  The  Royals  as  a  decoy 
to  tempt  the  enemy  to  fire  prematurely  a  mine  in  the  breach.  The  ruse 
failed,  and  Macadam  was  the  only  one  of  the  party  that  returned  to  the 
British  trenches.  In  the  two  assaults  the  battalion  lost  157  killed,  391 
wounded  and  135  prisoners.  This  sacrifice  was  not  made  in  vain.  "  Our 
ultimate  success,"  wrote  General  Graham  (afterwards  Lord  Lynedoch)  in  his 
despatch,  "  depended  on  the  repeated  attacks  made  by  The  Royal  Scots." 

By  an  ironical  stroke  of  fate  the  3rd  battalion  of  The  Royal  Scots, 
which  regiment  is  the  only  lineal  representative  of  a  corps  that  rendered 
superb  service  to  France  for  more  than  three  hundred  years,  was  the  first 
to  cross  the  French  frontier  after  Wellington  led  his  army  from  the  Pyrenees 
in  the  winter  of  1813-14.  They  were  lightly  engaged  on  the  Nivelle, 
loth  November,  1813  ;  more  heavily  on  the  Nive  a  month  later,  and  they 
were  in  Hay's  brigade  on  I4th  April,  1814,  when  Sir  John  Hope,  all  unaware 
that  Napoleon  had  abdicated  a  week  earlier  and  a  suspension  of  arms  had 
been  arranged,  was  engaged  in  blockading  Bayonne.  The  French  made  a 
strong  sortie  ;  Major-General  Hay  and  many  a  good  soldier  fell  in  that 
last  action  of  the  Peninsular  war.1 

Meanwhile,  the  ist  battalion  was  engaged  in  the  American  war.  In 
May,  1813,  it  took  part  in  the  action  at  Sackett's  Harbour,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing month  seized  the  enemy's  post  at  Sodius.  Four  companies  were  for 
some  time  employed  as  marines,  and  in  December  the  Grenadier  company 
performed  a  brilliant  piece  of  work  in  the  storming  of  Fort  Niagara.  On 
the  2gth  of  that  month  they  carried  the  enemy  batteries  at  Black  Rock 
and  Buffalo. 

In  March  and  July,  1814,  the  battalion  was  engaged  in  the  gallant,  but 
unsuccessful,  attacks  on  Longwood,  and,  later,  in  the  successful  repulse 
of  the  enemy  at  Niagara,  for  which  it  won  high  praise.  In  August  it  carried 
out  with  great  steadiness  the  task  of  covering  the  retirement  from  the 
unsuccessful  assault  on  Fort  Erie,  and  in  September  repulsed  one  of  the 
enemy's  sorties.  At  the  conclusion  of  peace  the  battalion  returned  home. 

1  Major-General  Andrew  Hay  commanded  the  3rd  battalion  of  The  Royals  at  Corufia  and 
a  brigade  in  the  Walcheren  expedition.  He  raised  the  Banfishire  Fencibles  in  1798. 


i5o  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

In  this  year  the  4th  battalion  performed  its  only  foreign  service.  It 
had  joined  the  allied  force  under  the  Crown  Prince  of  Sweden  at  Stralsund 
in  August,  1813,  reviving  thereby  the  memories  of  the  days  of  Gustavus  ; 
and  eventually  moved  early  in  January,  1814,  to  join  Graham's  force  in 
Holland,  suffering  severely  on  the  march  from  the  terrible  winter  weather. 
On  the  night  of  3rd  March  it  led  the  assault  on  Bergen-op-Zoom,  and  forced 
an  entrance  at  the  Water  Port.  For  seven  hours  of  darkness — from  n  P.M. 
till  6  A.M.  on  the  4th— The  Royals  held  the  works,  and  finally  had  to  yield 
before  overpowering  numbers  of  the  French  ;  not,  however,  before  they 
had  lost  41  killed  and  75  wounded.  The  remainder,  593  of  all  ranks,  sur- 
rendered as  prisoners  of  war  ;  but  they  were  not  long  in  durance,  returning 
to  England  in  April  after  the  abdication  of  Napoleon.  The  battalion  sailed 
for  Canada  in  May,  returned  to  England  in  January,  1816,  and  was  disbanded. 
The  adjutant,  Lieut.  Galbraith,  had  sunk  the  colours  in  the  Zoom  before 
the  battalion  surrendered  ;  but  the  French  fished  them  up  again  and  placed 
them  in  the  Invalides,  where  they  still  remain. 

The  3rd  battalion  won  its  last  laurels  in  the  Waterloo  campaign  of  1815. 
It  was  in  Pack's  brigade  of  Picton's  5th  division  ;  but  in  the  battle  of 
Quatre-Bras  on  i6th  June  The  Royals  were  attached  to  Kempt's  brigade. 
They  were  commanded  by  Major  Robert  Macdonald,  who  led  them  to  relieve 
the  42nd  and  44th  regiments,  which  were  being  hard  pressed  by  superior 
numbers.  The  Royals  and  the  28th  Foot,  forming  squares,  successfully 
withstood  repeated  attempts  by  the  French  Lancers  to  break  them,  and 
held  their  ground  till  nightfall,  The  Royals  losing  218  killed  and  wounded. 

The  Royals  were  replaced  in  Pack's  brigade  before  Picton's  5th  division 
took  up  its  position,  forming  the  left  centre  of  Wellington's  line  at  Waterloo. 
The  division  was  drawn  up  behind  the  road  to  Chain,  its  right  flank  resting 
on  the  Charleroi  chaussee  just  north  of  the  farmhouse  of  La  Haye  Sainte. 
Picton  fell  early  in  the  action,  but  the  division  held  its  ground  throughout 
that  day  in  the  face  of  Napoleon's  great  battery  of  80  guns  at  La  Belle 
Alliance  and  repeated  attacks  by  d'Erlon's  massive  columns.  The  Royals 
here  lost  143  killed  and  wounded.  They  had  marched  to  Quatre-Bras  on 
the  i6th  624  strong  :  on  the  evening  of  the  i8th  only  261  answered  the 
roll-call.  The  king's  colour  was  saved  with  difficulty,  owing  to  the  chivalrous 
forbearance  of  the  commander  of  a  French  battalion.  Four  officers  of  The 
Royals  had  fallen  in  succession  when  carrying  it.  When  the  fourth,  Ensign 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  151 

Kennedy,  fell,  a  sergeant  of  the  regiment  seized  the  colour,  but  the  dead 
ensign's  grip  on  the  staff  was  so  firm  that  the  sergeant  could  not  release 
it.  He  swung  the  lad  over  his  shoulder  and  carried  him  and  the  colour 
together  to  safety  ;  but  he,  too,  must  have  been  shot  down  had  not  the 
French  colonel  ordered  his  men  not  to  fire. 

The  3rd  battalion  remained  in  France  till  March,  1817,  when  it  completed 
fifteen  years  of  active  service  and  was  sent  home  to  be  disbanded,  those 
men  whose  time  had  not  expired  being  sent  to  the  ist  and  2nd  battalions. 

The  2nd  battalion  has  been  mentioned  as  landing  in  India  in  the 
autumn  of  1807,  after  being  recruited  up  to  strength  with  men  from  the 
3rd  and  4th  battalions.  The  chronicle  of  the  ensuing  years  is  a  melan- 
choly one  owing  to  the  terrible  havoc  wrought  in  the  ranks  by  disease,  much 
of  which  must  be  attributed  to  the  preposterous  dress  which  British  soldiers 
were  obliged  to  wear  in  tropical  climes. 

In  the  war  with  the  Mahratta  princes  in  1817  The  Royals  played  a  leading 
part  in  the  siege  and  storm  of  Nagpore,  being  the  only  European  regiment 
in  Doveton's  division,  and  bear  the  name  of  that  city  on  their  colours  in 
consequence.  They  gained  another  honour  for  the  colours  in  the  Burmese 
war  of  1825,  the  name  "  Ava  "  commemorating  the  capture  of  the  capital 
of  Burma.  In  this  campaign  of  thirteen  months  the  battalion  lost  9  officers 
and  418  n.c.o.  and  men,  chiefly  by  disease,  for  the  Burmese  did  not  put 
up  much  of  a  fight.  A  quarter  of  a  century's  Indian  service  was  brought  to 
a  close  by  the  return  of  the  2nd  battalion  to  England  in  1832.  It  was 
quartered  in  Edinburgh — the  same  corps,  indeed,  as  sailed  for  India  five- 
and-twenty  years  ago  ;  but  it  contained  but  one  individual,  a  private,  who 
embarked  with  it  in  1807,  and  he  died  soon  after  his  return. 

After  four  years  in  home  quarters  the  2nd  battalion  embarked  once 
more,  this  time  for  service  in  Canada,  where  it  was  employed  under  Sir 
John  Colborne  in  the  distasteful  duty  of  suppressing  the  rebellion  of  1836. 
From  Canada  it  was  moved  to  Barbados,  returning  to  England  in  1846, 
in  which  year  Sir  James  Kempt  was  appointed  to  the  colonelcy  of  The 
Royals  in  succession  to  Sir  George  Murray,  Wellington's  famous  quarter- 
master-general in  the  Peninsula,  who  had  received  the  colonelcy  on  Lord 
Lynedoch's  death  in  1843. 

Meanwhile  the  flank  companies,  which  were  in  Hislop's  army,  distin- 
guished themselves  at  the  crossing  of  the  Suprah  river  near  Maheidpoor. 


152  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

Thence  they  marched  to  the  strong  fort  of  Talnair,  which  they  stormed 
on  the  27th  February,  1818,  and  later  took  part  in  the  reduction  of  Trim- 
buck  and  Mallegaum.  The  eight  battalion  companies  were  with  the  force 
that  forced  the  Peishwah  to  surrender,  and  five  of  them  did  good  service 
at  the  siege  and  capture  of  Asseerghur. 

The  Duke  of  Kent  died  in  1820,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  colonelcy  of 
The  Royal  Scots  by  the  Marquess  of  Huntly  (afterwards  fifth  Duke  of 
Gordon),  and  he  in  turn  was  succeeded  in  1834  by  Lord  Lynedoch,  who, 
as  Lieut. -General  Sir  Thomas  Graham,  had  commanded  Wellington's  ist 
division  in  the  Peninsula. 

King  George  IV.,  who,  when  Prince  Regent  in  1813,  had  decreed  that 
the  regiment  should  bear  the  title  of  Royal  Scots,  now  revoked  that  order, 
altering  the  name  back  to  the  First  or  Royal  Regiment  of  Foot.  This  title 
it  bore  until  1881,  when  the  time-honoured  regimental  numbers  were  super- 
seded by  territorial  designations,  and  The  Royals  became  "  the  Lothian 
Regiment  (Royal  Scots),"  and  were  clothed  in  Highland  doublets  and  tartan 
trews.  In  the  following  year,  however,  the  title  was  changed  once  more, 
let  us  hope  for  the  last  time,  to  "  The  Royal  Scots  (Lothian  Regiment)." 

In  1854  tne  Ist  battalion  proceeded  to  the  Crimea  in  the  ist  brigade 
of  the  3rd  division.  It  was  present  at  the  Alma,  but  being  held  in  reserve 
was  assigned  no  active  part  in  the  battle.  On  the  28th  September  it  broke 
the  first  ground  at  Sebastopol,  and  on  the  5th  November  about  half  the 
battalion  was  engaged  in  the  hand-to-hand  fighting  at  Inkerman  in  defence 
of  a  68-pounder  battery.  The  tale  of  that  terrible  winter  of  1854-55,  of 
the  suffering  endured  by  the  allied  armies  in  the  trenches,  and  the  lament- 
able deficiency  of  means  provided  to  mitigate  it,  nothing  need  be  said  here. 
The  lessons  learnt  in  the  Crimean  campaign  have  been  laid  deeply  to  heart, 
and  no  branch  of  the  British  establishment  has  been  brought  to  a  higher 
state  of  efficiency  than  the  medical  and  transport  services.  But  it  was 
far  otherwise  in  1854.  In  those  trying  five  months  the  ist  battalion  of 
The  Royals  lost  only  seven  men  killed  in  the  trenches,  but  321  died  of 


In  April,  1855,  the  2nd  battalion  arrived  in  the  Crimea  and  was  brigaded 
with  the  ist.  It  so  happened  that  throughout  this  campaign  The  Royal 
Scots  enjoyed  less  opportunities  than  other  regiments  of  distinguishing 
themselves  in  action ;  though,  to  be  sure,  they  bore  a  full  share  of  hard 


MAJOR  M.  M.  HALDANE  153 

work  in  the  trenches.  During  the  siege  they  lost  four  officers  and  52  men 
killed  in  action,  and  the  newly  instituted  Victoria  Cross  was  awarded  to 
Private  Prosser  of  the  regiment  for  acts  of  gallantry  on  i6th  June  and 
nth  August,  1855. 

After  peace  had  been  restored  the  ist  battalion  went  to  India  in  1857, 
and  the  2nd  to  Hongkong  in  1858,  being  engaged  in  Sir  Hope  Grant's 
expedition  and  the  capture  of  the  Taku  forts  and  Pekin  in  1860. 

Hitherto,  although  all  the  companies  in  a  battalion  of  infantry  of  the 
line  had  come  to  be  armed  alike,  the  flank  companies  continued  to  be  titu- 
larly  distinguished  as  grenadier  and  light  companies.  That  trace  of 
eighteenth-century  tactics  was  abolished  in  1858,  when  it  was  prescribed 
that  all  the  companies  should  be  designated  by  letters  of  the  alphabet. 

More  drastic  were  the  changes  brought  about  by  Cardwell's  reorganisation 
scheme  in  1881,  when  the  regimental  numbers  of  the  infantry  were  wiped 
out  and  the  line  battalions  were  linked  in  pairs  as  territorial  regiments. 
The  Royals,  and  the  other  regiments  from  the  ist  to  the  25th,  were  less 
affected  by  the  change,  as  each  of  them  consisted  of  two  battalions  ;  but 
the  Militia  of  each  district  was  attached  as  part  of  the  territorial  regiment. 
Thus  the  Queen's  Regiment  of  Light  Infantry  Militia,  which  had  been  raised 
as  the  Fifty-first  or  Edinburgh  Regiment  of  Militia  in  1803,  was  now 
transformed  into  the  3rd  battalion  of  The  Royal  Scots. 

Seven  years  later  the  territorial  system  was  extended  to  embrace  the 
Volunteer  forces  in  each  district,  those  of  the  Lothians  and  Peebles  being 
affiliated  to  The  Royal  Scots.  This  addition  consisted  of  three  battalions 
of  the  Queen's  Edinburgh  Rifle  Volunteer  Brigade,  the  Edinburgh  Volunteer 
Battalion,  the  Leith  Battalion,  a  sixth  battalion  from  Midlothian  and 
Peeblesshire,  a  seventh  from  East  Lothian,  and  an  eighth  from  West  Lothian. 
In  1900  a  ninth  Edinburgh  battalion  (Highlanders)  was  raised — a  kilted 
unit. 

In  August,  1899,  the  2nd  battalion  of  The  Royals  was  in  India.  The  ist 
battalion  was  in  Ireland  and  received  orders  to  prepare  for  foreign  service. 
Mobilisation  was  complete  before  24th  October,  and  the  battalion  sailed 
for  South  Africa  on  6th  November,  Lieut. -Colonel  Morgan  Paylei  in  command. 
As  this  was  the  first  occasion  in  which  the  new  system  of  army  reserves 
was  put  to  the  test,  questions  were  asked  in  the  House  of  Commons  as  to 
the  general  result.  The  reply  of  the  Under- Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  George 


i54  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS 

Wyndham,  deserves  to  be  recorded.     "  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS,"  he  said  "is 

THE  ONLY  REGIMENT  IN  WHICH  EVERY  RESERVIST  IS  ACCOUNTED  FOR." 

The  ist  battalion  took  part  in  the  actions  at  Lopersberg,  in  January, 
1900,  Birds  River  in  February  and  Labuschagne's  Nek  in  March,  after  which 
it  was  reinforced  by  a  company  drawn  from  the  Volunteer  battalions  at 
home.  Later  in  the  year  the  3rd  (Militia)  battalion,  having  volunteered  for 
active  service,  landed  in  South  Africa  and  bore  an  honourable  share  in  the 
operations  until  the  close  of  the  war  in  1902.  Although  it  was  originally 
intended  that  this  battalion  should  be  employed  only  on  lines  of  com- 
munication, it  was  soon  put  to  more  exciting  work,  and  the  powers  of  march- 
ing displayed  by  the  men  composing  it  earned  for  it  the  sobriquet  of  "  The 
Bloody  Greyhounds."  The  3rd  battalion  lost  3  officers,  i  sergeant  and  29 
men  killed  in  action  during  the  war. 

It  would  not  be  possible  in  the  space  at  our  command  to  follow  the 
fortunes  of  the  ist  and  3rd  battalions  in  the  various  actions  of  the  African 
campaign  ;  but  it  was  acknowledged  both  officially  and  through  the  testi- 
mony of  their  comrades  in  arms  that  they  nobly  sustained  the  reputation 
and  tradition  handed  down  to  them  through  the  centuries  by  their  pre- 
decessors in  The  Royal  Regiment.  If  the  spirits  of  Buchan  and  Hepburn, 
of  Mackay  and  Dumbarton,  are  permitted  to  take  cognisance  of  affairs 
on  this  planet,  they  have  good  cause  for  pride  in  the  regiment  which  they 
founded,  formed  and  moulded.  It  has  won  success  and  encountered  disaster ; 
it  has  gained  victories  and  suffered  reverses  ;  but  in  all  its  three  hundred 
years  of  existence  it  has  never  earned  reproach  on  the  stricken  field. 


IV 
THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

BY  LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD,  LATE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

Attention  !  all  ye  soldier  lads  who  love  the  Twenty-first, 
And  hear  one  of  its  gallant  deeds  in  homely  rhyme  rehearsed  ; 
On  many  a  hard  fought  field,  my  lads,  its  laurels  have  been  won, 
And  always  true  are  those  who  wear  the  number  Twenty-one. 

— Old  Regimental  Song. 

THE  origin  of  this  regiment  may  be  traced  in  an  Order  dated  March,  1677, 
for  the  training  as  grenadiers  of  certain  men  of  an  Independent 
Company  commanded  by  Charles,  5th  Earl  of  Mar  (that  is,  fifth  in  the  earldom 
created  by  Queen  Mary  in  1565).  They  were  to  be  instructed  "  in  all  things 
belonging  to  the  artillery,  as  gunnery,  casting  of  hand  grenadoes  and  fyre 
works."  By  a  commission  dated  23rd  September,  1678,  the  said  Earl  of 
Mar,  being  eighteen  years  of  age,  was  appointed  colonel  of  a  regiment  of 
foot  to  be  raised  in  Scotland,  whereof  the  nucleus  was,  no  doubt,  the  existing 
Independent  Company.  In  a  list  of  the  Scottish  establishment,  dated  igth 
October  of  the  same  year,  appeared  "  Ye  Foote  Regiment  commanded  by 
ye  Earl  of  Marre,"  and  on  26th  November  was  issued  an  "  Order  to  the 
Keeper  of  his  Majesties  Magazine  in  Edinburgh  Castle  to  deliver  unto  the 
Earl  of  Marr  or  order  548  English  muskets,  also  many  stands  of  bandoliers, 
with  272  picks  for  the  use  of  the  regiment  whereof  his  Lordship  is  Collonell." 
Despite  the  inexperience  incident  to  his  youth,  Mar  must  have  proved 
himself  a  capable  commanding  officer,  for,  although  most  of  the  corps  raised 
about  this  time  were  disbanded  after  a  short  existence,  his  regiment  was 
retained,  the  establishment  being  one  colonel,  one  lieutenant-colonel,  one 
major,  one  quarter-master,  one  chirurgeon,  one  chirurgeon's  mate,  one 


156  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

marshal  and  eight  companies,  each  consisting  of  a  captain,  a  lieutenant,  an 
ensign,  two  sergeants,  three  corporals,  two  drummers  and  100  privates. 
The  battalion  soon  became  popularly  known  for  obvious  reasons  as  "  the 
Earl  of  Mar's  Grey-breeks,"  but  its  official  title  was  the  Earl  of  Mar's 
Fusiliers.  Infantry  towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  were 
generally  armed  partly  with  pikes  and  partly  with  muskets  ;  but  the 
practice  was  introduced  of  arming  every  private  in  certain  select  corps  with 
fusils — a  light  pattern  of  musket  with  a  sling — and  these  regiments  were 
distinguished  as  Fusiliers.  According  to  a  well-known  work  on  military 
affairs  entitled  Histoire  de  la  Milice  Franfaise,  by  Pere  Daniel,  the  first 
regiment  armed  with  the  fusil  was  one  raised  in  1671,  which  subsequently 
was  converted  into  the  Royal  Artillery. 

The  fusil  was  the  successor  to  the  musket,  and  from  its  name  we  may 
presume  that  it  was  a  French  invention,  or  possibly  Italian,  from  the  word 
facile,  a  flint,  one  of  its  characteristics  being  that  it  was  fitted  with  a  flint 
lock,  as  opposed  to  the  match  lock,  fitted  to  the  musket.  It  was  a  shorter 
weapon,  and  consequently  a  handier  one,  but  apparently  not  so  effective, 
as  it  more  often  missed  fire.  Owing  to  its  being  shorter  and  lighter  it  was 
fired  from  the  shoulder,  and  not  from  the  breast  as  was  the  musket.  There 
are  two  specimens  of  the  fusil  at  the  Tower  of  London,  both  dated  nearly 
contemporaneously  with  the  raising  of  the  regiment. 

The  special  duty  for  which  fusilier  troops  were  originally  appointed 
was  for  the  protection  of  the  guns.  It  was  necessary,  therefore,  that  they 
should  be  lightly  armed,  and  quick  loaders.  In  addition  to  their  firearms 
they  carried  along  with  them  on  the  line  of  march  the  component  parts  of 
chevaux-de-frise,  then  called  "  turnpikes,"  and  it  was  for  this  reason 
probably  that  fusils  were  provided  with  slings,  so  that  the  men  could  hang 
them  over  their  backs  if  they  wished  to  have  their  hands  free.  The  word 
"  fusil  "  was  pronounced  "  fusee,"  which  rather  emphasises  the  presumption 
of  a  French  origin,  and  the  name  was  retained  for  the  lighter  fire- 
lock carried  by  all  sergeants  of  infantry,  after  the  suppression  of  halberts, 
until  the  issue  of  Enfield  rifles  in  1853. 

The  company  officers  of  Fusilier  regiments,  and  those  of  the  flank  com- 
panies of  other  infantry  regiments,  carried  fusils  after  the  discontinuance 
of  spontoons.  These  latter  weapons  are  defined  in  the  Imperial  Dictionary 
as  "  a  kind  of  half  pike — a  military  weapon  formerly  borne  by  officers  of 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  157 

infantry  and  used  as  a  medium  for  signalling  orders  to  the  regiment." 
In  the  regulations  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  dated  in  1743,  we  read : 
"  It  is  His  Majesty's  Order  that  all  officers  on  foot  have  espontons  instead 
of  half  pikes."  Spontoons  or  espontons  were  used  in  the  English  army 
until  1786,  when  it  was  ordered  "  Espontons  to  be  laid  aside  and  swords 
to  be  used."  As  stated  above,  the  officers  of  Fusilier  regiments  never 
carried  spontoons,  as  others  did,  but  had  fusils. 

The  7th  Royal  Fusiliers  claim  to  be  the  senior  regiment  of  Fusiliers, 
although  they  were  not  embodied  until  1685,  seven  years  later  than  the 
Earl  of  Mar's  Fusiliers  ;  but  they  owed  the  distinction  of  an  earlier  regi- 
mental number  to  the  fact  that  the  regiments  on  the  Scots  establishment 
were  designated,  at  first,  by  the  names  of  their  colonels,  and  it  was  not 
until  1694  that  Mar's  Grey-breeks,  known  at  that  time  as  O'Farrell's 
Fusiliers,  were  assigned  their  place  in  the  army  list  as  the  2ist  of 
the  line. 

Lord  Mar's  regiment  was  first  employed  on  active  service  in  the  dis- 
tasteful duty  of  suppressing  the  Covenanters.  It  formed  part  of  Monmouth's 
victorious  army  at  Bothwell  Brig  on  22nd  June,  1679,  an&  continued  during 
the  following  five  or  six  years  to  serve,  chiefly  in  detachments,  in  putting 
down  conventicles  and  hunting  up  recalcitrant  Covenanters.  This  kind  of 
work  was  little  to  the  liking  of  Lord  Mar,  who,  though  he  continued  in  favour 
of  Charles  II.  as  long  as  that  easy-going  monarch  lived,  soon  fell  into  disgrace 
with  his  successor,  James  VII.  and  II.  Having  voted  against  the  bill  for 
the  relief  of  Papists,  he  was  deprived  of  the  command  of  his  regiment  and 
of  the  keepership  of  Stirling  Castle  also.  Three  years  later  this  gallant 
young  earl  died  suddenly  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine.  He  was  succeeded  in 
command  of  the  Fusiliers  by  their  lieut. -colonel,  Thomas  Buchan,  who, 
being  an  ardent  Jacobite,  was  deprived  of  his  commission  at  the  revolution 
of  1688. 

The  connection  of  the  regiment  with  Ayr,  where  its  depot  now  is,  began 
in  1685,  when  six  companies  were  quartered  there,  three  at  Glasgow,  two 
at  Paisley,  and  one  at  Inverness — twelve  companies  in  all.  Its  first  turn  of 
foreign  service  came  in  1689,  when  it  embarked  at  Gravesend  for  Rider, 
to  take  part  in  the  campaign  opened  in  Holland  and  Flanders  by  William 
III.  in  May  of  that  year  against  the  ambitious  designs  of  Louis  XIV.  of 
France.  The  regiment  was  commanded  in  this  campaign  by  Colonel  Francis 


158  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

Fergus  O'Farrell,  and  formed  part  of  the  division  under  Marlborough. 
It  was  engaged  in  the  successful  affair  at  Walcourt  in  Hainault  on  25th 
August,  where  the  French  Marechal  d'Humieres  lost  2000  men  and  some  guns. 
A  weary  period  followed — eighteen  months  of  marching  and  defensive 
manoeuvres — until  after  the  surrender  of  Mons  to  the  French  on  lOthjApril, 
1691,  O'FarrelTs  Fusiliers  were  brigaded,  under  General  Ramsay,  with  the 
Royal  Scots,  Angus's  regiment  (afterwards  the  26th  Cameronians,  now  1st 
Battalion  Scottish  Rifles),  and  the  regiments  of  Mackay  and  Ramsay  (repre- 
senting the  Old  Scots  Brigade  in  the  Dutch  service).  In  a  list  of  the  troops 
serving  in  Flanders  printed  in  July,  1691,  the  uniform  of  O'Farrell's  Fusiliers 
is  specified  as  "  red,  faced  and  lined  with  the  same  colour."  The  "  grey- 
breeks  "  seemed  to  have  been  discarded  for  another  pattern. 

King  William  having  taken  command  of  the  army  in  the  field  in  the 
spring  of  1692,  marched  to  the  relief  of  Namur  ;  but  that  place  fell  to  the 
French  on  20th  June.  In  the  same  month  Colonel  O'Farrell  of  the  Fusiliers 
and  Colonel  Sir  R.  Douglas  of  the  Royal  Scots  were  taken  prisoners  by  some 
French  cavalry,  but  were  released  on  paying  ransom. 

In  the  stubborn  three  hours  of  conflict  at  Steenkirk  on  3rd  August 
our  Fusiliers  had  warm  work  cut  out  for  them,  for  they  formed  part  of  the 
advanced  guard,  and  lost  seven  officers  killed,  namely,  Major  Keith,  Captains 
W.  White,  Cygnol,  R.  Mackenzie  and  Sharp,  Lieutenants  Charles  King  and 
Edward  Griffith,  besides  many  n.c.o.  and  men. 

In  May,  1693,  King  William  drew  the  British  force  together  near  Ghent, 
the  Fusiliers  being  under  their  old  Brigadier  Ramsay,  with  the  Leven  or 
Edinburgh  regiment  (now  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers),  and  the 
Cameronian  corps  formerly  known  as  Angus's.  Angus,  however,  had  been 
killed  at  Steenkirk,  and  the  regiment  was  now  designated  Munro's. 
On  i8th  July  King  William,  notwithstanding  great  inferiority  in  his 
numbers,  resolved  to  await  attack  by  the  Duke  of  Luxembourg  near 
Landen,  and  Ramsay's  brigade  was  appointed  for  the  defence  of  Laer, 
a  village  on  the  right  of  the  position.  The  Fusiliers  were  extended  along 
the  hedges  beyond  the  village,  and  about  6  A.M.  on  the  igth  became 
engaged  with  the  white-coated  infantry  of  the  enemy.  Ultimately,  after 
a  most  bloody  encounter,  the  enemy  carried  the  position  by  sheer 
weight  of  numbers ;  Ramsay's  brigade  became  separated  from  the  rest 
of  the  king's  army,  but  succeeded  in  retreating  across  the  Gheet  and 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  159 

rejoining  the  main  body  at  Neer  Hespen.  It  was  a  defeat  ;  but  it  cost 
the  French  more  dearly  than  the  Allies,  for  although  it  was  reckoned  that 
at  Landen  King  William  lost  10,000  men,  69  guns,  and  60  colours,  his 
enemy  had  to  admit  15,000  casualties. 

The  Fusiliers  remained  in  the  Low  countries  fighting  incessantly,  until 
the  Treaty  of  Ryswick  in  1697,  when  they  returned  to  Scotland,  having,  as 
mentioned  above,  received  permanent  denomination  as  the  2ist  Regiment 
of  Foot. 

Meanwhile  they  had  lost  their  colonel,  who  seems  to  have  earned  King 
William's  approval  at  first,  for  he  promoted  him  to  brigadier-general ; 
but,  being  appointed  in  command  of  Deinse,  when  that  place  was  besieged 
in  July,  1695,  O'Farrell  surrendered  it  without  attempting  any  defence, 
and  was  cashiered  by  sentence  of  a  general  court-martial.  It  is  but  fair 
to  O'Farrell's  memory  to  state  that  Deinse  was  very  imperfectly  forti- 
fied, and  there  were  only  eight  guns  mounted  for  its  protection.  He 
did  not  feel  justified  in  attempting  to  hold  it  against  the  Marquis  de  Feu- 
queres,  and  his  regiment,  in  consequence,  became  prisoners  of  war,  but 
was  released  when  Namur  surrendered  to  William  in  the  same  year  after 
a  siege  of  ten  months. 

The  2ist  Fusiliers  remained  in  Scotland  until  1702,  the  year  of  Queen 
Anne's  accession,  soon  after  which  the  war  of  the  Spanish  Succession  was 
declared  against  France,  and  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Holland  to  serve 
in  the  allied  army  under  the  Duke  of  Marlborough.  It  was  commanded 
by  the  veteran  Colonel  Archibald  Row,  and  was  formed  in  a  brigade  with 
the  2nd  battalion  Royal  Scots,  the  loth,  i6th  and  26th  Foot  under  Brigadier- 
General  the  Earl  of  Derby.  It  was  employed  in  the  sieges  of  Huy  and  Lim- 
burg  in  1703,  and  in  1704  marched  with  Marlborough  into  Germany.  It 
formed  part  of  the  force  which  stormed  the  formidable  positions  of  Schellen- 
burg  on  2nd  July,  and  on  I3th  August  upheld  the  honour  of  their  country 
and  their  corps  in  the  action  which  Sir  Edward  Creasy  has  listed  among 
the  fifteen  decisive  battles  of  the  world,  namely,  Blenheim. 

Here  the  2ist  Fusiliers  were  selected  to  lead  the  attack  against  the 
French  troops  strongly  entrenched  in  the  village  of  Blenheim.  They  were 
supported  by  five  other  regiments  of  Lord  Cutt's  division,  but  the  dominant 
figure  was  the  brigadier-general,  Colonel  Row  of  the  Fusiliers,  who  charged 
on  foot  at  the  head  of  his  own  regiment,  and  fell  mortally  wounded  under 


i6o  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

the  very  muzzles  of  the  enemy's  muskets.  Officers  were  exchanging  sword- 
thrusts  through  the  palisades  when  Lieut.-Colonel  Dalyell1  and  Major 
Campbell  rushed  forward  to  raise  their  colonel.  Both  were  shot  dead.  Their 
men,  maddened  by  the  loss  of  their  three  field  officers,  made  a  desperate 
effort  to  force  the  defences.  They  could  not  accomplish  the  impossible, 
and  received  the  order  to  retire.  The  moment  they  faced  about,  thirteen 
squadrons  of  French  cavalry  swept  forward  and  over  them.  One  of  the 
colours  of  the  Fusiliers  was  captured  ;  but  the  French,  in  turn,  were  routed 
by  the  fire  of  a  brigade  of  Hessians,  and  the  colour  was  retrieved  by  seven 
squadrons  despatched  by  Colonel  Lumley.2  The  course  of  events  during 
the  remainder  of  that  memorable  day  are  part  of  European  history.  The 
Allies  paid  for  their  victory  with  about  5000  killed  and  8000  wounded,  the 
Fusiliers  losing  three  field  officers,  two  captains,  and  four  subalterns  killed, 
and  eight  officers  wounded.  Their  loss  in  n.c.o.  and  men  has  not  been 
recorded,  but  was  undoubtedly  heavy.  The  political  effects  of  the  victory 
were  profound  and  far-reaching.  The  ostensible  trophies  included  100 
guns,  24  mortars,  129  colours  and  171  standards.  Let  him  who  gazes 
reverently  on  the  tattered  skeletons  of  two  of  these  colours,  which  hang  in 
the  chapel  of  Chelsea  Royal  Hospital,  reflect  with  pride  that,  although  they 
be  dim  and  dusk  with  the  mirk  of  more  than  two  centuries,  the  battle 
spirit  of  the  Fusiliers  is  as  formidable  at  this  day  as  when  the  old  regiment 
led  the  attack  on  the  palisades  of  Blenheim. 

Drafts  from  Scotland  having  repaired  the  losses  sustained  by  the  2ist 
at  Schellenburg  and  Blenheim,  the  regiment  took  part  in  the  campaign 
of  1705  ;  and  in  the  following  year  it  distinguished  itself  at  Ramillies, 
where  on  23rd  May,  1706,  Marlborough  inflicted  severe  defeat  upon  the 
combined  French,  Spanish  and  Bavarian  forces.  The  Fusiliers  were 
brigaded  with  the  3rd  Foot  (now  the  Buffs)  ;  shoulder  to  shoulder  with 
that  famous  corps  they  charged  the  enemy's  left  flank  at  a  critical  moment, 
and  drove  three  French  battalions  into  some  marshy  ground  where  they 
were  nearly  all  killed  or  taken. 

1  Lieut. -Colonel  Dalyell  was  the  son  of  General  Thomas  Dalyell  of  Binns.  General  John 
Thomas  Dalyell,  who  is  now  (1917)  the  full  colonel  of  the  regiment,  is  his  direct  descendant. 

1  The  author  of  Fights  for  the  Flag,  in  describing  the  attack  by  the  Fusiliers  on  the  palisades 
at  Blenheim  says  :  "  The  great  breach  at  Badajos  did  not  witness  a  more  fiery  valour ;  but 
Blenheim  was  held  by  a  force  double  in  strength  to  that  attacking  it,  with  every  advantage 
of  position,  and  a  front  of  fire  more  than  double  that  of  the  British,  and  the  attempt  was 
hopeless  from  the  outset" 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  161 

In  1707  the  aist  were  not  called  upon  for  any  severe  service  ;  but, 
that  being  the  year  of  the  union  of  England  and  Scotland,  the  grand  old 
title  of  "  Scots  "  was  taken  away  from  those  regiments  which  bore  it,  and 
the  preposterous  new-fangled  one,  "  North  British,"  was  plastered  on  them 
instead.  Behold,  therefore,  the  Scots  Fusiliers  figuring  for  the  next  170 
years  as  the  2ist  North  British  Fusiliers,  under  which  designation,  pre- 
fixed after  1712  by  the  title  "  Royal,"  they  served  until  the  year  1877, 
when  once  more  the  old  name  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers  was  restored  to  them 
by  royal  warrant. 

In  1707,  the  time  of  the  change,  the  regiment  was  commanded  by  Colonel 
Sampson  de  Lalo,  a  French  Protestant  refugee,  under  whom  it  served  at  the 
battle  of  Oudenarde  (nth  July,  1708),  and  at  the  siege  of  Lille  (isth  August- 
23rd  October).  In  1709  the  North  British  Fusiliers  formed  part  of  the 
force  covering  the  siege  of  Tournay,  and  when  that  place  fell  on  the  3rd 
September,  Marlborough  decided  to  attack  the  Marechal  de  Villars  in  the 
strong  position  of  Malplaquet.  In  the  fierce  engagement  there  on  nth 
September,  last  and  bloodiest  of  Marlborough's  victories,  the  regiment  lost 
its  Colonel  de  Lalo,  who  fell  at  the  head  of  the  brigade  which  he  commanded ; 
three  captains  also,  Munroe,  Wemyss  and  Farley,  were  killed,  and  the  general 
list  of  casualties  was  a  heavy  one.  After  Malplaquet  the  2ist  was  employed 
in  covering  the  force  besieging  Mons,  a  name  which  will  stir  in  the  minds 
of  all  Fusiliers  many  memories  of  the  famous  retreat  from  that  place  in 
the  autumn  of  1914,  wherein  the  ist  battalion  of  the  regiment  played  so 
noble  a  part.1  Mons  surrendered  on  2oth  October.  In  the  subsequent 
campaigns  of  1710,  1711,  1712  the  Fusiliers  were  constantly  fighting,  as 
at  Pont-a-Vendin,  Douay,  Bethune,  Saint  Vencent  and  Aire,  also  in  1711 
at  Arleux  and  Bouchain  ;  until  at  length  after  eleven  years  of  incessant 
fighting  the  inglorious  Treaty  of  Utrecht  in  1713,  and  the  regiment  returned 
to  Scotland. 

The  next  active  service  to  which  the  Royal  North  British  Fusiliers  were 
called  was,  unhappily,  against  their  own  countrymen.  When  John,  sixth 
Earl  of  Mar,  son  of  Earl  Charles,  the  first  colonel  of  the  regiment,  raised  the 
standard  of  the  Stuarts  in  the  autumn  of  1715,  the  2ist  marched  with  the 

1  It  is  interesting  to  record  that  in  August,  1914,  when  marching  to  the  defence  of  Mons, 
they  crossed  the  field  of  Malplaquet,  and  Colonel  Douglas  Smith  (now  Major-General)  who 
was  commanding,  halted  the  regiment,  and  reminded  them  of  the  gallant  deeds  of  their  pre- 
decessors in  1708. 

L 


i62  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

Duke  of  Argyll's  army  from  Stirling  to  suppress  the  rising.  On  I3th  Nov- 
ember Argyll  attacked  Mar's  Highland  levies  at  Sheriffmuir.  What  ensued 
was  little  more  than  a  bloody  scuffle,  in  which  both  sides  showed  an  equal 
want  of  tactical  skill  and  each  claimed  a  victory.  The  2ist  lost  a  captain, 
two  lieutenants  and  88  n.c.o.  and  men  killed,  besides  a  captain  and  26 
men  wounded.  The  rising  collapsed  in  January,  1716,  and  the  Fusiliers 
then  enjoyed  an  unwonted  spell  of  home  service,  being  quartered  in 
Scotland  from  1716  till  1729,  and  afterwards  in  Ireland  till  1739. 

The  2ist  was  included  in  an  expeditionary  force  of  16,000  men  which 
George  II.  sent  out  in  1742,  under  command  of  the  Earl  of  Stair,  to  defend 
in  Flanders  the  interest  of  Austria  against  France  and  Bavaria.  Stair's 
army  having  been  augmented  by  16,000  Hanoverians  and  6000  Hessians, 
George  II.  joined  it  in  person,  and  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Dettingen 
on  27th  June,  1743.  The  Fusiliers  were  commanded  by  Sir  Andrew  Agnew, 
fifth  baronet  of  Lochnaw  and  Hereditary  Sheriff  of  Wigtownshire.1 

About  mid-day  a  staff-officer  warned  Sir  Andrew  that  the  enemy  was 
on  the  move.  "  Sir,"  replied  Sir  Andrew,  "  the  scoondrels  will  never  have 
the  impudence  to  attack  the  Scots  Fusiliers  !  "  He  ordered  the  dinner 
call  to  sound,  and  set  the  example  by  himself  beginning  a  hearty  meal.  But 
this  was  only  bluff,  to  give  his  men  confidence  ;  for  he  had  already  sent 
word  to  warn  Lord  Stair  of  the  enemy's  movements.  The  French  continued 
to  advance  and  had  begun  to  deploy  before  the  wary  old  baronet  ordered 
the  drums  to  sound  the  assembly.  The  Fusiliers  fell  in,  and  their  colonel 
addressed  them  briefly  :  "  My  lads,  ye  see  yon  loons  on  the  hill  yonder. 
Weel,  if  ye  dinna  kill  them,  they'll  kill  you.  Dinna  fire  till  ye  see  the  whites 
o'  their  e'en  !  "  Young  James  Wolfe,  the  future  hero  of  Quebec,  was 
present  as  an  ensign  in  Du  Roure's  regiment  (afterwards  the  I2th,  now  the 
Suffolk  regiment),  and  described  what  happened  in  a  letter  to  his  father. 

"  The  Gensd'armes  or  Mousquetaires  Gris  attacked  the  first  line  .  .  .  they 
broke  through  the  Scots  Fusiliers  .  .  .  but  before  they  got  to  the  second  line, 
out  of  two  hundred  there  were  not  forty  living,  so  they  wheeled  and  came  [back] 
between  the  first  and  second  line,"  when  all  were  killed,  "  except  an  officer  with 

1  His  great-great-grandson,  Lieut.-Col.  Quentin  Agnew,  D.S.O.,  M.V.O.,  began  his  service 
in  the  3rd  (Militia)  battalion  of  the  Scots  Fusiliers  in  1879,  served  on  General  White's  staff 
in  India  and  Burma ;  received  a  commission  in  one  of  the  regular  battalions  in  1886 ;  sub- 
sequently saw  much  active  service  in  India,  Burma  and  South  Africa  ;  was  appointed  to  com- 
mand of  the  3rd  (Special  Reserve)  battalion  of  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers  in  1912,  retiring  under 
the  age  limit  in  1917,  but  was  subsequently  employed  on  active  service  in  France. 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  163 

a  standard  and  four  or  five  men  who  broke  through  the  second  line,  and  were  taken 
by  some  of  Hawley's  regiment  of  dragoons.  These  unhappy  men  were  of  the 
first  families  of  France." 

Sir  Andrew  Agnew,  having  served  in  the  2ist  Fusiliers  for  eight-and- 
twenty  years,  and  having  commanded  the  regiment  for  six  years,  was 
appointed  in  1746  to  the  colonelcy  of  the  loth  Marines.  His  memory  was 
long  cherished  by  the  Fusiliers,  and  the  old  quick-step  of  the  regiment 
"  The  rock  and  the  wee  pickle  tow,"  is  still  called  "  the  Sheriff's  March." 

The  Fusiliers  suffered  heavily  in  the  defeat  sustained  by  the  British 
army  at  Fontenoy  (nth  May,  1745)  ;  Lieutenants  Campbell,  Houston 
and  Sergeant  were  killed,  Captain  Sandilands,  Lieut.  Stuart  and  Quarter- 
master Stewart  were  taken  prisoners  :  one  field  officer,  three  captains,  and 
five  subalterns  were  wounded,  n  sergeants  and  259  rank  and  file  were  killed, 
wounded  or  captured.  The  regiment  then  went  into  garrison  at  Ostend, 
and  when  that  place  was  invested  by  the  French,  the  governor,  being  with- 
out proper  means  of  defence,  surrendered  on  condition  of  being  allowed 
to  withdraw  the  troops  forming  the  garrison.  The  Fusiliers  were  then  sent 
home  to  be  attached  to  the  army  commanded  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland 
in  suppressing  the  Jacobite  rising.  They  did  their  duty,  distasteful  as  it 
must  have  been,  at  Culloden,  where  Prince  Charlie's  cause  was  finally  wrecked, 
and  afterwards  were  sent  back  to  Flanders  to  serve  in  the  campaigns  of 
1747  and  1748,  returning  to  England  after  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle. 

On  1st  July,  1751,  a  royal  warrant  was  issued  prescribing  details  of 
clothing,  colours  and  standards  of  the  army.  The  following  applied  to  the 
2ist  Regiment  or  Royal  North  British  Fusiliers. 

"  In  the  centre  of  their  colours  the  Thistle  within  the  Circle  of  St.  Andrew 
and  the  Crown  over  it  ;  and  in  the  three  corners  of  the  2nd  or  regimental 
colour  the  King's  Cypher  and  Crown.  On  the  Grenadier  caps  the  Thistle, 
as  on  the  colours,  the  White  Horse,  and  motto  over  it  Nee  aspera  terrent 
on  the  flap.  On  the  drums  and  bells  of  Arms  the  Thistle  and  Crown  to  be 
painted  as  on  the  colours,  with  the  rank  of  the  regiment  underneath." 

From  1751  to  1760  the  Fusiliers  were  in  garrison  at  Gibraltar,  and  in 
1761,  war  having  once  more  broken  out  with  France,  they  formed  part  of 
General  Hodgson's  expedition  for  the  capture  of  Belleisle.  The  first  attack 
on  8th  April  was  a  failure,  the  2ist,  under  Lieut.-Colonel  Edward  Maxwell, 
counting  57  casualties,  but  the  place  surrendered  on  7th  June. 


164  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

The  next  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Fusiliers  is  one  of  disaster, 
but  not  of  dishonour.  After  passing  seven  years  in  North  America,  and 
being  brought  back  to  England  in  1772,  it  was  dispatched  again  in  1776 
for  the  relief  of  Quebec,  then  besieged  by  the  Americans.  The  arrival  of 
reinforcements  caused  the  enemy  to  raise  the  siege.  So  far  so  good  ;  but 
in  the  following  year  the  Fusiliers  formed  part  of  the  force  under  Lieut. - 
General  Burgoyne  which  surrendered  to  General  Gates  at  Saratoga  on  I5th 
October. 

Home  again  in  1781,  the  2ist  recrossed  the  Atlantic  in  1789,  were 
stationed  in  Nova  Scotia  for  four  years  and  were  ordered  to  the  West  Indies 
in  1793  to  support  the  French  Royalists  of  Martinique. 

After  three  or  four  years  of  hard  fighting  in  these  islands,  resulting  in 
the  capture  by  the  British  of  Martinique,  S.  Lucia  and  Guadaloupe,  the 
loss  of  a  large  number  of  the  Fusiliers  in  action,  and  a  far  larger  number 
by  disease,  the  regiment  was  brought  back  to  Scotland  in  1796.  The  name 
"  Martinique  1794,"  which  it  is  privileged  to  bear  among  its  honours,  should 
be  held  in  special  esteem  by  all  present  and  future  members  of  the  regiment, 
as  the  memorial  of  a  series  of  gallant  exploits  performed  under  most  trying 
conditions  of  climate  and  hardships  heroically  endured.  There  is  a  diary 
of  Lieut.-Colonel  Dalgleish  in  existence  giving  many  interesting  details  of 
the  fighting  in  the  West  Indies  which  are  too  long  to  quote  ;  but  there  are 
one  or  two  quaint  entries  which  throw  some  light  on  soldiering  in  those 
days.  Colonel  Dalgleish  joined  the  regiment  in  May,  1776,  having  served 
three  years  in  the  Scots  brigade  in  Holland.  The  regiment  was  then  in 
Canada,  so  he  joined  a  recruiting  party  at  Dundee  as  2nd  lieutenant,  and 
he  states  that  according  to  existing  regulations  the  youngest  (he  probably 
means  junior)  lieutenant  had  to  serve  without  pay.  He  went  to  Canada 
in  1777,  and  joined  the  regiment  which  formed  part  of  General  Burgoyne 's 
army,  and  remained  a  prisoner  until  1780,  when  he  was  exchanged  with 
Lieut.  Joshua  Branard  of  the  Connecticut  Militia.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
in  those  days  and  in  fact  up  to  the  year  1853,  the  junior  rank  in  all  Fusilier 
regiments  was  2nd  lieutenant,  and  not  ensign  as  in  all  other  regiments  of 
the  line.  Under  the  date  April,  1791,  we  find  "  the  Regiment  at  this  time 
had  Drummer  Boys — these  had  to  keep  up  their  own  drums." 

In  a  letter  dated  Fort  Matilda,  Guadaloupe,  gth  May,  1794,  Capt.  R. 
Mackay  of  the  2ist  writes  to  Capt.  Dalgleish  (as  he  then  was)  :  "  If  Taylor 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  165 

joins  us  here  I  beg  he  bring  plenty  of  Porter,  and  Madeira,  as  we  have  not 
one  bottle  of  either,  and  nothing  but  our  Salt  ration  to  eat,  which  does  not 
agree  well  with  me."  In  May,  1796,  the  following  entry  occurs  :  "  General 
Orders  from  War  Office  regarding  Uniform — Cord  on  Hats  &  Swords 
and  Sword  Knots."  Under  the  date  I2th  April,  1797,  when  the  regiment 
was  quartered  at  Paisley,  we  find  "  Lieut.-Colonel  Mayrick  dispaches  new 
hats  and  uniforms  from  London,  also  drums,  all  by  waggon  ;  drum-majors' 
and  sergeant-majors'  coats  to  have  silver  lace."  In  October  of  that  year 
Lieut.-Colonel  Dalgleish  disposed  of  his  commission,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Lord  Evelyn  Stuart,  a  son  of  Lord  Bute.  On  the  voyage  from  the 
West  Indies  one  of  the  transports  was  wrecked,  and  Capt.  Grant  and  many 
men  were  lost,  and  also  the  whole  of  the  mess  equipment,  including  the  mess 
plate. 

The  year  1804  is  a  notable  one  in  the  annals  of  the  2ist  Fusiliers. 
Napoleon,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  assembled  a  large  force  at  Boulogne, 
which  he  proposed  to  embark  in  flat-bottomed  craft  for  the  invasion  of 
England.  King  George's  government  decreed  an  immediate  and  con- 
siderable increase  in  the  standing  army,  and  it  was  in  accordance  with  this 
scheme  that  a  2nd  battalion  was  added  to  the  Royal  North  British  Fusiliers. 
The  men  were  raised  in  the  counties  of  Ayr  and  Renfrew  ;  the  new  battalion 
had  its  headquarters  at  Ayr,  and  was  placed  on  the  establishment  of  the 
army  on  Christmas  day,  1804. 

As  this  battalion  was  disbanded  in  1816,  it  may  be  convenient 
to  insert  here  a  brief  review  of  its  services.  It  remained  at  Ayr  till 
August,  1806,  when  it  was  sent  to  Ireland.  Here  it  lost  two  of  its  officers 
in  a  very  lamentable  manner,  Major  C.  and  Capt.  Boyd  fought  a  duel, 
in  which  Capt.  Boyd  was  mortally  wounded.  There  is  no  doubt  that  it 
was  a  duel  honourably  fought,  but  unfortunately  there  were  no  witnesses 
or  seconds,  and  Major  C.  was  tried  on  a  charge  of  wilful  murder  and 
convicted.  In  spite  of  strong  efforts  made  on  his  behalf  for  a  reprieve  he 
was  hanged. 

Having  returned  to  Scotland,  the  battalion  embarked  at  Fort  George 
on  3oth  December,  1813,  to  form  part  of  a  force  of  8000  men  operating 
under  Sir  Thomas  Graham  (afterwards  Lord  Lynedoch)  in  aid  of  the  Dutch. 
This  force  was  composed  of  ten  regiments,  detachments  of  the  Grenadier 
Guards  and  Coldstream  Guards,  4th  battalion  the  Royal  Scots,  2nd  battalion 


166  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

of  our  regiment,  the  33rd,  37th,  44th,  55th,  6qth  and  the  2nd  battalion 
gist  regiments.  On  the  voyage  across  the  North  Sea  the  convoy  experienced 
the  most  appalling  gale,  and  one  of  the  transports  with  half  of  our  regiment 
on  board  was  all  but  lost. 

Graham  was  engaged  in  besieging  the  French  in  Antwerp ;  but  he 
detached  half  his  force,  including  our  Fusiliers,  for  the  purpose  of  seizing 
Bergen-op-Zoom  by  coup-de-main.  The  troops  were  formed  in  four  columns 
of  attack  under  command  of  Major-General  George  Cooke.  The  cold  at 
this  time  of  year  being  terrific,  it  was  calculated  that  the  severe  frost  would 
prevent  the  sluices  being  used  to  raise  and  lower  the  water  in  the  ditch 
surrounding  this  celebrated  fortress.  The  assault  was  delivered  by  night ; 
it  was  unsuccessful,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  gth,  General  Cooke  had  to 
retire  with  the  loss  of  about  half  his  force.  A  detailed  account  of  the  cam- 
paign in  Holland,  including  the  ill-fated  attempt  upon  Bergen-op-Zoom, 
was  contributed  by  an  officer  of  the  2ist  Fusiliers  to  the  United  Service 
Magazine  for  1830,  pt.  ii.  p.  385.  In  this  disastrous  affair  the  regiment 
suffered  severely.  Brevet  Lieut.-Colonel  Robert  Henry,  Capt.  Nicholas 
Darrah,  Capt.  Donald  Mackenzie,  Lieut,  the  Hon.  Francis  Harvey  Moires, 
Lieut.  Harry  Pigou,  and  2nd  Lieuts.  Christopher  Bulteel,  John  Dunbar 
Moody,  David  Rankin  and  Sir  William  Crosbie,  Bart.,  being  wounded, 
besides  several  men  killed  and  wounded. 

The  2nd  battalion  had  no  subsequent  opportunity  of  distinguishing 
itself,  Napoleon's  abdication  in  April,  1814,  having  brought  hostilities  to 
an  end,  it  was  brought  back  to  England  in  September,  and  on  I3th  January, 
1816,  was  disbanded  at  Stirling,  the  colours  being  handed  over  to  the 
honorary  colonel  of  the  regiment,  General  the  Hon.  William  Gordon  of 
Fyvie,  whose  descendant,  the  late  Captain  Alexander  Gordon  of  Fyvie, 
presented  them  to  St.  Giles's  Church,  Edinburgh,  where  they  are  now 
preserved. 

Reverting  now  to  the  ist  battalion.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it 
had  landed  from  the  West  Indies  in  1797.  Between  that  date  and  1805 
it  served  in  various  stations  in  Scotland  and  Ireland,  and  in  that  year  it 
was  brought  over  from  Ireland,  and  formed  part  of  the  force  which  was 
present  at  the  funeral  of  Admiral  Lord  Nelson  in  January,  1806.  From 
London  it  was  sent  to  Colchester,  and  on  April  embarked  at  Tilbury  for 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  167 

Sicily.  In  March,  1807,  an  expedition  under  Major-General  Fraser  Mac- 
kenzie was  ordered  to  proceed  from  Sicily  to  Egypt  to  assist  the  Mamelukes 
against  the  Turks  under  Mehemet  Ali  ;  but  an  attack  on  Rosetta  failed, 
and  the  army  was  forced  to  retreat  to  Alexandria.  News  of  this  reverse 
having  been  received  in  Sicily,  reinforcements  were  ordered  to  proceed  to 
Alexandria,  and  on  the  i5th  May  the  2ist  and  6and  regiments,  with  a 
detachment  of  the  2Oth  Light  Dragoons  and  Royal  Artillery,  embarked 
for  Egypt.  Shortly  afterwards,  however,  the  Turks  sued  for  peace,  and 
in  October  the  Fusiliers  returned  to  Sicily.  During  their  stay  in  Egypt 
officers  and  men  had  suffered  severely  from  ophthalmia.  The  following 
extract  is  from  a  diary  kept  by  Corporal  David  Brown,  who  enlisted  at 
Kilmarnock  in  1805  and  served  with  the  light  company  in  Sicily,  Egypt 
and  the  United  States.  "  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  we  had  upwards  of 
200  men  some  of  them  blind  in  both  eyes,  and  some  of  one,  and  those 
that  could  see  a  little  on  being  disembarked  were  put  in  front,  and 
those  that  could  not  see  took  hold  of  his  neighbour's  coat  tails  until 
they  arrived  at  the  General  Hospital,  which  was  a  shocking  sight  to 
see  :  This  was  occasioned  by  ophthalmia  which  raged  very  much  in 
Egypt." 

In  June,  1809,  the  Fusiliers  took  part  in  the  operations  under  Sir  John 
Stuart,  with  the  object  of  delivering  the  island  from  Murat,  whom  Napoleon 
had  made  King  of  Naples.  The  chief  action  in  which  they  were  engaged 
was  at  Messina,  near  which  seaport  General  Cavaignac  landed  4000 
Neapolitan  troops  on  the  night  of  i7th  September,  1810.  The  2ist  under 
Lieut. -Colonel  F.  Adam,1  together  with  the  3rd  infantry  battalion  of  the 
King's  German  Legion  and  two  field-pieces  interrupted  the  landing,  and 
took  prisoners  such  part  of  the  enemy  force  as  had  already  come  ashore, 
numbering  over  1000  of  all  ranks.  In  the  capture  of  Genoa  (i7th-igth 
April,  1813),  the  Fusiliers  lost  one  lieutenant,  one  sergeant,  and  14  men 
killed  or  wounded.  At  the  peace  of  1814  they  were  sent  to  Gibraltar,  whence 
they  sailed  with  the  2gth  and  62nd  Foot  to  join  General  Ross's  force  in 
Bermuda.  The  two  other  regiments  being  destined  for  Canada,  the  2ist 
formed,  with  a  battalion  of  Marines,  the  3rd  brigade  of  General  Ross's 

1  Afterwards  General  the  Right  Hon.  Sir  Frederick  Adam,  G.C.B.,  fourth  son  of  the  Right 
Hon.  Wm.  Adam  of  Blair  Adam,  Co.  Kinross  ;  died  in  1853.  His  portrait  is  included  among 
those  in  the  well-known  picture  of  the  Wellington  Banquet  now  at  Apsley  House. 


168  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

force,  the  brigadier  being  Colonel  Wm.  Paterson  of  the  2ist.  The  troops 
disembarked  on  igth  August  in  the  Patuxent  river  about  4500  strong, 
with  one  6-pounder  and  two  3-pounders — a  lilliputian  column  judged 
by  the  scale  on  which  war  is  now  being  conducted  ;  but  it  sufficed  to  beat 
the  Americans  on  the  24th  at  Bladensburg,  and  to  capture  Washington, 
whither  President  Madison  had  fled  for  safety.  The  2ist  was  the  first 
regiment  to  enter  the  city,  where,  although  private  property  was  scrupu- 
lously respected,  the  capitol,  and  all  other  public  buildings,  and  the  archives 
were  burnt  by  General  Ross's  orders.  The  Fusiliers  lost  68  killed  and 
wounded,  including  Major  Robert  Rennie  severely  wounded  and  Lieut. 
James  Gracie  killed.  In  commemoration  of  this  remarkable  exploit  the 
regiment  carries  "Bladensburg"  inscribed  on  their  colours.  Further,  by 
royal  warrant,  i5th  August,  1815,  General  Ross's  widow  and  descendants 
were  entitled  to  use  the  honourable  title  "  Ross  of  Bladensburg  "  as  a 
memorial  of  his  loyalty,  ability  and  valour.1 

General  Ross's  next  objective  was  Baltimore,  in  advancing  upon  which 
city  he  was  killed  in  a  skirmish  in  the  forest,  and  the  command  of  the 
expedition  devolved  on  Colonel  Brooke  of  the  44th  Foot.  His  force  was  now 
reduced  to  about  3000  effectives,  with  which  it  would  have  been  folly  to 
attack  the  chain  of  palisaded  redoubts  held  by  15,000  Americans,  with 
many  guns,  on  the  hills  round  Baltimore.  The  British  troops,  therefore, 
re-embarked ;  the  2ist  went  into  quarters  in  Jamaica,  where  they  received 
a  strong  draft  from  the  2nd  battalion  to  repair  their  losses. 

The  next  active  service  on  which  the  Fusiliers  were  engaged  was  the 
expedition  against  New  Orleans  in  December,  1814,  and  January,  1815. 
The  Americans  were  strongly  posted  on  both  banks  of  the  Mississippi  some 
five  miles  below  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  the  main  body  under  General 
Jackson  holding  a  position  nearly  a  mile  in  extent  on  the  left  bank.  This 
was  one  of  the  most  unfortunate  affairs  to  which  British  troops  have  ever 
been  committed,  all  the  more  lamentable  because,  unknown  to  the  com- 
manders on  either  side,  peace  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States 
had  been  concluded  at  Ghent  on  Christmas  Eve.  In  the  operations  which 
foUowed  the  2ist  lost  4  officers,  including  Major  R.  Rennie  and  Captain 

1  The  present  representative  is  General  Ross's  grandson,  Sir  John  F.  G.  Ross  of  Bladens- 
burg, K.C.B..  K.C.V.O.,  LL.D.,  late  Royal  Artillery  and  Coldstream  Guards,  author  of 
History  of  the  Coldstream  Guards.  1815-1885. 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  169 

Donald  Macdonald  of  Tormore,  Skye^and  69  n.c.o.  and  men  killed,  5  officers 
and  161  n.c.o.  and  men  wounded,  and  9  officers  and  229  n.c.o.  and  men 
taken  prisoners.  The  commander-in-chief,  Major-General  Sir  Edward 
Pakenham,  who  had  served  with  great  distinction  under  Wellington  in 
the  Peninsula,  fell  under  the  walls  of  New  Orleans. 

No  story  of  the  regiment  would  be  complete  without  a  special  mention 
of  Major  Rennie.  Shortly  after  the  attack  on  New  Orleans  he  was  pro- 
moted to  brevet  lieut. -colonel  for  his  gallant  conduct  at  the  capture  of 
Bladensburg.  In  a  letter  written  by  Major  Sir  Norman  Pringle  of  the 
regiment  in  reply  to  a  statement  in  a  work  by  Mr.  Stuart  entitled  Three 
Years  in  North  America,  published  in  Edinburgh,  1833,  which  gives  an 
account  of  the  attack  and  capture  of  Washington,  the  following  extract 
is  of  interest  : 

"  And  now  from  my  heart  I  thank  Stuart  for  the  opportunity  of  paying  a 
tardy  and  just  tribute  to  the  memory  of  one  of  my  earliest  and  most  esteemed 
friends — to  one  of  the  bravest  soldiers  that  ever  drew  a  sword — I  mean  the  late 
Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  Rennie  of  the  2ist  Scots  Fusiliers,  nephew  of  the 
late  Sir  David  Baird.  This  officer  had  been  wounded  severely  in  the  knee  at  the 
attack  on  Washington,  and  still  more  severely  on  landing  to  attack  Baltimore. 
Neither  of  these  wounds  were  yet  healed,  but  nothing  could  prevent  Rennie  from 
performing  his  duty.  Sir  Edward  Pakenham  had  given  Col.  Rennie  a  separate 
command  for  the  purpose  of  acting  on  the  American  right  flank,  and  here  I  shall 
forego  the  partial  testimony  of  a  friend,  and  record  the  gallantry  of  Col.  Rennie 
in  the  words  of  his  enemy  General  Jackson's  biographer,  Mr.  Eaton,  '  Colonel 
Rennie  of  the  Fusiliers  was  ordered  to  storm  a  redoubt  on  the  American  right. 
Rennie  executed  his  orders  with  great  bravery,  and  urging  forward  arrived  at  the 
ditch,  and  reaching  the  works  and  passing  the  ditch  Rennie,  sword  in  hand,  leaped 
on  the  wall,  and  calling  to  his  troops  bade  them  follow  him.  He  had  scarcely 
spoken  when  he  fell  by  the  aim  of  one  of  our  riflemen.  Pressed  by  the  impetuosity 
of  superior  numbers  who  were  mounting  the  walls,  and  entering  the  embrasures, 
our  troops  had  retired  to  the  line  in  rear  of  the  redoubt.  To  advance  or  maintain 
the  point  gained  was  equally  impracticable  for  the  enemy.  The  situation  of 
these  brave  fellows  may  be  easily  conceived.  They  were  nearly  all  killed  or  taken 
prisoners.'  .  .  .  There  is  another  circumstance  connected  with  Colonel  Rennie's 
death.  The  night  previous  to  the  action  of  the  8th  January,  he  said  to  me  '  I 
am  always  hit,  and  in  case  I  should  fall  to-morrow,  I  beg  you  will  use  every 
endeavour  to  recover  this  ring,  this  brooch  with  some  hair  in  it,  and  my  watch, 
and,  if  you  survive,  deliver  them  to  my  sister.'  After  the  attack  on  the  lines  had 
failed,  a  flag  of  truce  was  sent  from  Sir  John  Lambert  to  General  Jackson.  I 
wrote  a  few  lines  by  the  officer  who  carried  it  to  the  American  General, 

1  Lieut.-Coloncl  Maurice  E.  M'Conaghney,  who  commanded  one  of  the  battalions  in  the 
present  war,  and  was  killed  in  action  in  April,  1917,  was  a  great-grandson  of  Captain  Donald 
Macdonald. 


ITO  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

mentioning  my  friendship  for  Col.  Rennie,  and  his  request  to  me.  On  the  return 
of  the  flag  of  truce,  I  received  a  polite  message  from  General  Jackson  saying  that  it 
gave  him  much  pleasure  to  comply  with  any  request  made  by  the  friend  of  so  gallant 
a  soldier  as  Col.  Rennie  ;  that  he  had  taken  care  to  protect  his  remains,  and  had 
ordered  for  them  an  honourable  grave — the  watch,  ring  and  brooch  were  all 
returned  to  me.  .  .  .  Well  might  the  late  Sir  Alexander  Cochrane  say  in  his 
despatch  to  the  Admiralty,  dated  i8th  January,  1815,  that  the  hardships  undergone 
by  the  seamen  and  troops  had  rarely  been  equalled.  I  will  venture  to  say  that 
in  the  whole  annals  of  glorious  service  the  Admiralty  never  had  the  combined 
energies  of  British  seamen,  and  soldier  more  severely  put  to  the  test ;  all  were 
animated  by  the  same  enthusiasm — officers  and  soldiers.  Admirals  and  seamen 
were  seen  hauling  on  the  same  rope  and  dragging  the  same  gun.  It  is  not  for 
British  soldiers  and  sailors,  any  more  than  other  mortals,  to  command  success, 
but  in  this  expedition  they  deserved  it. 

"  I  shall  now  speak  of  the  retreat  of  our  troops  from  the  American  shores. 
It  will  naturally  be  supposed  that  we  were  harassed  to  a  degree  by  the  enemy — 
that  he  followed  up  his  victory  by  driving  us  before  him.  No,  General  Jackson 
knew  better  than  to  leave  his  stronghold.  It  was  the  prayer  of  every  soldier 
that  he  would  do  so.  We  remained  in  our  position  until  the  i8th,  and  commenced 
our  retreat  on  the  evening  of  that  day.  A  retreat  equally  honourable  to  the 
general  commanding  (Sir  J.  Lambert)  and  to  the  soldiers  under  him." 

The  2ist  was  now  brought  home,  landing  at  Cork  just  about  the  time 
that  the  battle  of  Waterloo  was  fought,  and,  having  received  fresh  drafts 
from  the  2nd  battalion,  was  sent  to  France  in  July,  under  Lieut.-Colonel 
Maxwell,  to  form  part  of  the  army  of  occupation  under  Wellington.  They 
were  quartered  for  some  time  at  Saint-Denis,  and  subsequently  at  Com- 
piegne,  and  other  towns  in  France. 

In  1816,  Napoleon  having  been  safely  interned  at  St.  Helena,  the  British 
army  was  drastically  reduced,  and  the  2nd  battalion  of  the  2ist  Fusiliers 
was  disbanded.  The  remaining  battalion  was  ordered  to  the  West  Indies 
in  1819,  where  in  1823  it  was  employed  in  suppressing  a  formidable  in- 
surrection of  negroes  in  Demerara,  for  which  the  regiment  received  the 
thanks  of  His  Majesty  George  IV.,  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  York  and  the  general 
commanding  the  Windward  and  Leeward  Islands.  Further,  the  Court  of 
Policy  of  the  Colony  voted  "  as  a  special  and  permanent  mark  of  the  high 
estimation  in  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  Colony  held  the  services  of  Lieut.- 
Colonel  Leahy  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  2ist  Royal  North  British 
Fusiliers,"  500  guineas  to  purchase  plate  for  the  officers'  mess,  200  guineas 
for  a  sword  for  Lieut.-Colonel  Leahy,  and  50  guineas  for  a  sword  for  Lieut. 
Brady.  The  last  named  officer,  who  had  been  wounded  and  taken  prisoner 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  171 

at  New  Orleans,  had  specially  distinguished  himself  by  coolness  and  intre- 
pidity in  critical  circumstances.  The  gift  of  500  guineas  was  applied  to 
the  purchase  of  a  silver  centre-piece  which  still  adorns  the  mess  table  of 
the  ist  battalion.  During  its  eight  years'  service  in  the  West  Indies  the 
regiment  lost  by  disease  8  officers  and  400  men,  and  eventually  returned 
to  England. 

After  six  uneventful  years  spent  in  quarters  in  England  and  Ireland, 
the  regiment  was  sent  to  the  Antipodes,  and  detailed  for  the  unpleasant 
task  of  guarding  in  detachments  gangs  of  convicts  in  New  South  Wales 
and  Van  Diemen's  Land,  as  Tasmania  was  then  called,  until  1841,  when 
it  embarked  for  its  first  tour  of  duty  in  India.  It  returned  to  England  in 
1848  (the  voyage  home  lasting  nearly  six  months),  having  been  absent 
on  foreign  service  for  16  years,  and  it  spent  the  next  four  years  in  detach- 
ments, first  in  Scotland  and  then  in  the  north  of  England. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  ever  since  the  Fusiliers  were  first 
embodied  in  1678  as  the  Earl  of  Mar's  Grey-breeks,  the  uniform  of  all 
ranks  had  been  constantly  subject  to  change  according  to  the  whim  of 
royal  personages  and  the  taste,  or  want  of  taste,  of  military  tailors.  Ever 
since  the  abolition,  about  1768,  of  the  grotesque  conical  cap  assigned  to 
Grenadiers  and  Fusiliers,  the  distinctive  head-dress  of  all  Fusilier  regiments 
had  been  a  bear-skin  cap,  with  a  white  hackle  on  the  right  side  for  the  2ist. 
About  the  year  1840,  when  Prince  Albert  married  Queen  Victoria,  all  the 
Fusilier  regiments  were  ordered  to  wear,  instead  of  the  bear-skin,  a  hideous 
bell-topped  chaco  with  a  white  pompon.  The  change  was  not  popular, 
especially  as  it  was  believed  that  the  chaco  was  "  a  German  hat."  The 
shape  of  the  chaco  was  altered  later,  and  the  2ist  were  given  the  distinc- 
tion of  wearing  a  white  plume,  which  old  Fusiliers  say  gave  the  regiment 
a  very  fine  appearance  on  parade. 

When  the  headquarters  of  the  regiment  were  at  Hull  in  1853,  one  hundred 
Minie  rifles  were  issued  for  experiment.  Lieut.-Colonel  F.  G.  Ainsley, 
killed  in  the  following  year  at  Inkerman,  was  then  in  command,  and  keenly 
undertook  the  improvement  of  the  shooting  by  his  men.  In  order  to  en- 
courage them,  he  instituted  a  series  of  distinctive  badges  for  markmanship. 
The  ten  best  shots  in  each  company  were  distinguished  by  crossed  muskets 
sewn  on  the  right  sleeve,  the  best  shot  being  further  distinguished  by 
grenade  over  the  musket,  and  the  best  shot  in  the  regiment  by  a  crown 


172  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

over  the  grenade,  thereby  anticipating  the  system  which  was  afterwards 
adopted,  and  prescribed  by  the  School  of  Musketry. 

In  June,  1853,  the  2ist  Fusiliers  were  moved  to  Ireland,  and  in  March, 
1854,  when  in  Dublin,  its  strength  was  augmented  to  twelve  companies, 
the  establishment  being  1400  n.c.o.  and  men. 

On  I5th  August  they  embarked  at  Cork  for  the  Crimea.  Before  em- 
barkation they  were  inspected  by  Major-General  Mansfield,  who,  after 
going  down  the  ranks  of  three  companies  only,  exclaimed :  "  That  will  do, 
Colonel  Ainslie  ;  close  your  ranks  and  march  past,  I  never  inspected  such 
a  regiment  !  " 

The  2ist  were  attached  to  the  4th  division  of  Lord  Raglan's  army, 
commanded  by  Major-General  Sir  George  Cathcart,  the  other  infantry 
regiments  in  the  division  being  the  2oth,  46th,  5yth  and  63rd  Foot  and 
2nd  battalion  Rifle  Brigade.  Landing  in  Kalamita  Bay  on  I4th  September 
these  troops  went  into  bivouac  on  the  seashore,  and  were  drenched  by 
pitiless  rain  all  night.  There  was  no  service  dress  in  those  days  ;  no  special 
campaigning  kit.  In  whatever  climate  they  were  called  on  to  fight,  our 
Fusiliers  embarked  in  ordinary  marching  order — to  wit,  a  scarlet  coatee 
with  all  the  paraphernalia  of  wings,  stock,  etc.,  blue  cloth  trousers  and 
full  dress  headgear,  which,  as  above  noted,  consisted  of  a  heavy  chaco 
with  a  white  ball  or  pompon.  Cholera  had  already  begun  its  ghastly  ravages 
amongst  the  troops,  and  medical  science  had  not  yet  succeeded  in  ascertain- 
ing its  nature  or  grappling  with  it. 

In  the  battle  of  Alma  on  the  20th  September  the  4th  division  was  held 
in  reserve,  the  only  man  of  the  division  killed  being  Private  Derrick  of  the 
2ist  ;  and  on  the  27th  it  reached  the  heights  above  Sebastopol,  where  it 
continued  encamped  during  the  whole  siege.  The  Fusiliers  were  under 
arms  at  Balaclava  on  25th  October  ;  but  were  not  engaged  in  what  was 
almost  exclusively  a  cavalry  action.  At  Inkerman  they  fought  in  two  wings, 
the  right  wing  being  commanded  by  Lieut.-Colonel  Ainslie,  until  he  was 
killed,  when  Brevet  Lieut.-Colonel  Haines,  who  afterwards  became  a  field 
marshal  and  full  colonel  of  the  regiment,  succeeded  him.  Brevet  Lieut.- 
Colonel  Lord  West  commanded  the  left  wing.  The  battalion  paraded  only 
402  strong  before  the  action,  many  of  their  men  being  on  duty  in  the  trenches 
and  many  others  sick.  It  lost  2  officers  killed  and  5  wounded,  13  rank  and 
file  killed,  and  n  sergeants  and  90  men  wounded  and  missing.  "  The 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  173 

Fusiliers,"  says  Kinglake,  in  his  voluminous  chronicle  of  the  campaign,  "  were 
magnificent  troops,  men  of  the  finest  natural  quality,  and  highly  trained." 

Throughout  that  long  and  terrible  winter  of  1854-5  the  old  aist  took 
a  full  share  of  peril  and  patience  in  the  trenches.  They  furnished  a  party 
for  the  capture  of  the  Quarries  on  7th  June  ;  they  were  engaged  in  the  first 
assault  in  the  Redan  on  the  i8th,  and  were  in  reserve  during  the  second 
assault  on  8th  September.1  After  the  fall  of  Sebastopol  they  formed  part 
of  the  expedition  to  Kinbourn  in  October,  and  remained  in  the  Crimea  till 
May,  1856,  when  they  sailed  for  Malta  under  their  new  commanding  officer, 
Colonel  Ramsay  Stuart. 

The  strength  of  the  2ist  Fusiliers,  on  embarking  for  the  Crimea,  was 
330  officers  and  974  n.c.o.  and  men.  During  the  twenty  months  of  active 
service  there  they  received  in  reinforcement  25  officers  and  575  n.c.o. 
and  men ;  total,  58  officers  and  1549  n.c.o.  and  men.  Two  officers  and 
372  n.c.o.  and  men  were  killed  in  action  or  died  in  the  Crimea,  25  officers 
and  221  n.c.o.  and  men  were  invalided  home. 

Medals  and  other  decorations  were  harder  to  come  by  sixty  years  ago 
than  they  have  since  become.  The  following  n.c.o.  and  men  of  the  2ist 
were  awarded  the  medal  for  distinguished  service  in  field  during  the  cam- 
paign :  Colour-Sergeant  G.  Yeates  ;  Corporals  T.  Denton,  W.  T.  Morgan, 
W.  Steggles  and  G.  Woolcoot  ;  Privates  G.  Blackwell,  No.  2381  J.  Campbell, 
No.  2826  J.  Campbell,  R.  Campbell,  D.  Curley,  M.  Grimmison,  J.  Kite, 
J.  M'Guire,  M.  Maddigan  and  P.  Murray. 

While  the  regiment  was  at  Malta,  where  it  remained  until  1860,  the 
colours  which  it  had  carried  in  the  Crimean  campaign  were  retired,  and 
on  28th  January,  1858,  new  colours  were  presented  by  Lady  Pennefather, 
wife  of  Lieut.-General  Sir  John  Pennefather,  commanding  the  troops  in 
Malta.  The  old  colours,  presented  to  the  regiment  by  King  George  IV., 
were  placed  with  ceremony  in  the  old  parish  church  of  Ayr  in  October, 
1875,  where  they  may  still  be  seen  opposite  to  the  colours  presented  in  1858; 
thus  the  two  sets  of  colours  met  once  more. 

In  1857  ^  was  decided  to  increase  the  strength  of  the  army  by  the  addi- 
tion of  second  battalions  to  all  infantry  regiments  of  the  line,  up  to  and 

1  There  remains  at  least  one  survivor  of  the  Fusiliers  who  took  part  in  the  attack  on  the 
Redan,  namely,  Major  Richard  Browne,  residing  at  Teddington.  Promoted  sergeant  in  the 
Crimea,  he  subsequently  became  regimental  sergeant-major  of  the  ist  battalion.  Later  he 
•was  appointed  quartermaster,  and  was  loved  and  respected  by  all  ranks. 


174  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

including  the  25th  King's  Own  Borderers.  This  order  did  not  affect  the 
1st  regiment,  the  Royal  Scots,  which  had  consisted  of  two  battalions,  and 
sometimes  three  or  more,  ever  since  1686 ;  but  in  April,  1858,  the  2nd  battalion 
of  the  2ist  Royal  North  British  Fusiliers  was  formed,  for  the  second  time, 
at  Paisley  under  Colonel  Last,  of  the  ist  West  India  Regiment  (and  late 
of  the  ggth  Foot).  The  nucleus  of  this  new  battalion  consisted  of  a  number 
of  old  soldiers  recently  returned  from  the  Crimea,  whereby  the  honourable 
traditions  of  the  regiment  and  its  admirable  system  of  interior  economy 
were  preserved  and  handed  on. 

The  ist  battalion  was  sent  to  Barbados  in  April,  1860,  where  it  remained 
till  1864,  returning  to  England  in  August  of  that  year,  and  occupying  various 
quarters  in  the  three  kingdoms  until  I5th  February,  when  it  embarked  for 
India.  Before  the  battalion  embarked,  Colonel  John  Ramsay  Stuart,  C.B., 
bade  farewell  to  them.  He  had  served  in  the  battalion  for  upwards  of 
thirty-seven  years,  during  thirteen  of  which  he  had  been  its  commanding 
officer.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  command  by  Lieut.-Colonel  J.  T.  Dalyell, 
now  general  and  full  colonel  of  the  regiment.  Another  loss  much  felt  in  the 
battalion  at  this  time  arose  through  the  transfer  of  Surgeon  A.  J.  Greer 
to  the  I7th  Lancers  ;  he  had  served  fifteen  years  in  the  Fusiliers,  and 
had  won  the  affectionate  esteem  of  all  ranks,  notably  under  the  trying 
conditions  of  the  Crimea  campaign. 

In  1865  all  Fusilier  regiments  were  relieved  of  the  chaco,  which,  it 
may  be  remembered,  had  been  prescribed  as  the  regulation  for  full  dress 
at  the  beginning  of  Queen  Victoria's  reign  instead  of  the  bearskin  cap,  and 
had  never  been  either  comfortable,  becoming  or  popular  in  any  of  its 
phases.  A  sealskin  cap  was  now  made  the  Fusilier  head-dress,  and  held 
the  field  till  the  old  bearskin  cap  was  restored,  but  without  the  white  hackle 
of  yore.  In  1866  the  nationality  of  the  North  British  Fusiliers  received 
official  recognition  in  the  addition  of  a  diced  border  to  the  forage  cap  of 
officers  and  men. 

In  December,  1872,  the  two  battalions  of  the  regiment  met  for  the  first 
time,  when  the  ist  battalion  relieved  the  2nd  at  Madras.  Both  battalions 
were  affected  by  the  localisation  of  the  forces  scheme,  whereby  it  was 
sought  to  strengthen  the  territorial  connection  of  regiments  with  their  several 
districts.  The  2  ist  Fusiliers  were  confirmed  as  the  Ayrshire  Regiment  by 
the  establishment  of  the  depots  of  the  ist  and  2nd  battalions  at  Ayr,  as 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  175 

the  6ist  Brigade  Depot  (now  known  as  the  2ist  Regimental  District). 
A  further  change  took  place  in  1877  when  Lieut.-Colonel  Pole  Collingwood 
commanding  the  2nd  battalion  succeeded  in  persuading  the  authorities 
to  discard  the  unpleasing  title  of  "  North  British  "  and  restore  the  original 
"  Scots."  The  regiment,  accordingly,  was  styled  henceforward  the  2ist 
Royal  Scots  Fusiliers. 

By  Mr.  Childers's  Army  Act  of  1881  the  uniforms  of  many  regiments  were 
considerably  altered,  our  regiment,  as  well  as  all  Lowland  regiments  of  the 
line,  being  put  into  doublets  and  trews.  Down  to  that  date  the  pipers 
of  the  regiment  had  worn  the  Royal  Stuart  tartan,  but  this  was  now 
given  up,  and  all  ranks  were  dressed  in  the  Campbell  tartan.  The 
two  Militia  battalions  (as  they  then  were)  had  their  uniform  similarly 
changed.  Another  change,  small  in  itself  and  annoying  to  the  regiment, 
was  made  at  this  time.  The  non-commissioned  officers  in  the  Guards  and 
all  Fusilier  and  Light  Infantry  regiments  wore  their  chevrons  on  both 
arms,  and  not  only  on  the  right  arm,  as  in  other  regiments.  At  this  date 
this  distinction  was  abolished,  a  petty  economy  being  thereby  effected. 

By  the  same  act  the  infantry  regiments  of  the  line  were  deprived 
of  their  historic  numbers  ;  regiments  with  but  one  battalion  were  linked 
together,  and  fused  so  as  to  give  each  regiment  two  line  battalions  under 
one  title,  while  the  Militia  and  Volunteers  included  in  the  several  terri- 
torial districts  were  constituted  as  auxiliary  battalions  of  the  territorial 
regiment.  Under  this  arrangement  the  Scottish  Borderers  Militia  became 
the  3rd  Battalion  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers,  and  the  Prince  Regent's  Royal 
Ayrshire  and  Wigtownshire  Militia  became  the  4th  battalion.  In  1890 
the  3rd  battalion  was  transferred  to  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers 
as  their  3rd  battalion,  and  our  4th  battalion  became  the  3rd. 

We  must  now  go  back  to  the  2nd  battalion,  which,  it  will  be  remembered, 
was  formed  afresh  at  Paisley  under  Colonel  Last  in  April,  1858.  After  a  short 
tour  of  duty  in  Wales  it  was  moved  to  Aldershot,  where  Colonel  Last  gave 
up  the  command,  and  was  succeeded  by  Lieut.-Colonel  Lowe  from  the  32nd 
Light  Infantry.  Colonel  Lowe  in  1862  exchanged  with  Colonel  Robertson 
of  the  6th  regiment,  who  later  was  appointed  adjutant-general,  Madras 
Presidency,  and  is  now  Sir  Donald  Robertson,  K.C.S.I.  It  was  under 
his  command  that  the  battalion  embarked  on  its  first  tour  of  Indian  service 
on  nth  July,  1863,  and  was  quartered  in  the  Madras  Presidency. 


176  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

In  May,  1872,  a  severe  cyclone  broke  upon  the  Madras  roads,  several 
vessels  dragging  their  anchors  and  stranding  amidst  the  boiling  surf.  The 
Fusiliers,  who  were  quartered  in  Fort  St.  George,  rendered  excellent  service 
in  assisting  to  rescue  the  unfortunate  passengers  and  crews  of  the  stranded 
ships ;  their  conduct  on  this  occasion  received  cordial  recognition  by  the 
Madras  government,  and  the  inhabitants  and  merchants  presented  a  massive 
silver  vase  to  the  officers,  which  still  adorns  their  mess-table.  The  bat- 
talion returned  home  in  1873,  and,  after  passing  five  years  in  various  quarters 
in  Scotland  and  England,  they  were  moved  to  Ireland  in  1878,  and  were 
stationed  in  Dublin. 

In  August  of  that  year  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough,  the  wife  of  the 
Lord-Lieutenant,  presented  new  colours  to  the  2nd  battalion.  On  nth 
of  September  the  old  colours  were  deposited  in  Greyfriars  Church,  the 
parish  church  of  Dumfries,  and  on  the  28th  of  that  month  the  battalion 
left  Dublin  for  the  Curragh. 

In  the  meantime  a  serious  state  of  affairs  had  broken  out  in  South  Africa 
with  the  Zulus,  and  the  Fusiliers  were  suddenly  ordered  on  active  service 
at  ten  days'  notice  to  reinforce  the  British  forces  stationed  there.  They 
embarked  on  2oth  February,  1879,  under  command  of  Colonel  W.  Pole 
Collingwood.  On  their  voyage  out  a  somewhat  stirring  incident  occurred. 
When  entering  Simons  Bay  in  the  teeth  of  a  gale,  the  ship  became  un- 
manageable, and  she  ran  stem  on  to  the  Roman  Rocks.  The  incident  was 
well  described  by  a  correspondent  of  the  Ayr  Advertiser  who  was  on  board. 

"  It  was  very  dark,  it  was  blowing  a  gale,  and  there  were  noo  men  on  board. 
The  captain  gave  his  order  with  coolness  and  courage  from  the  bridge  ;  the 
boats  were  made  ready  for  lowering  ;  signals  of  distress  were  sent  up  and  all  made 
ready  for  lowering.  The  Scots  Fusiliers  behaved  with  admirable  coolness,  nothing 
could  have  been  better  ;  the  young  fellows  vied  with  their  older  comrades  in  their 
apparent  contempt  of  danger.  Happily  for  all  on  board  the  gale  was  increasing, 
and  catching  the  ship  on  the  port  side,  pushed  her  off  the  rocks,  and  putting  on 
full  steam  we  now  went  ahead  and  passing  through  forbidden  water,  over  sunken 
rocks,  we  got  into  Simons  Bay  with  no  water  to  speak  of  in  the  hold.  An  episode 
is  worth  relating  as  an  illustration  of  the  good  behaviour  of  the  men.  The  instant 
the  ship  struck  the  rocks,  the  quartermaster  at  the  wheel  uttered  an  exclamation 
of  horror,  and  crying  '  All  is  lost ! '  made  a  rush  to  the  nearest  boat.  Two  or 
three  young  soldiers  at  once  seized  the  wheel,  and  did  their  best  to  steer  the  ship 
until  another  quartermaster  could  be  got  hold  of." 

The  battalion  was  transferred  to  H.M.S.  Tamar,  and  landed  at  Durban 
on  the  3ist  March.  On  arrival  it  proceeded  at  once  to  Pietermaritzburg, 


IST   ROYAL  NORTH   BRITISH  FUSILIERS 

NOW  THE  ROVAI.  SCOTS  FUSILIEKS 
Sergeant  1830 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  177 

arriving  there  on  5th  April.  Two  companies  under  Captain  Willoughby 
remained  there,  the  remainder  proceeded  to  Ladysmith  and  joined  Major- 
General  Newdigate's  division  on  the  24th  May.  "  The  2ist,"  writes  the 
special  correspondent  of  the  Daily  News,  in  a  letter  dated  the  25th  May, 
1879,  "  marched  into  camp  yesterday  from  Doornburg.  It  looked  very 
fit  and  soldier  like,  as  the  column  came  swinging  over  the  ridge  with  its 
kilted  pipers." 

Colonel  Pole  Collingwood  was  now  appointed  to  command  the  2nd 
brigade,  and  Major  Hazelrigg  assumed  command  of  the  battalion,  which  was 
posted  to  the  ist  brigade.  It  is  only  the  movements  of  this  brigade,  so 
far  as  they  concern  the  Fusiliers,  with  which  we  are  here  concerned. 

On  3rd  June  they  reached  the  Ity-oty-ozi  River  close  to  the  spot  where 
the  ill-fated  Prince  Imperial  of  France  had  been  killed,  and  having  crossed 
this  river,  camped  on  the  ground  just  vacated  by  Wood's  flying  column. 
It  was  here  that  this  battalion  came  for  the  first  time  under  fire,  being 
engaged  in  a  slight  skirmish  against  some  Zulus. 

Fort  Newdigate  was  now  constructed  and  garrisoned  by  two  companies 
of  the  Fusiliers  and  a  troop  of  the  ist  Dragoon  Guards,  to  keep  communica- 
tions open.  On  i8th  June  the  remainder  of  the  battalion  resumed  its 
march  under  Major  Hazelrigg  towards  Ulundi.  It  was  just  before  this 
battle  that  the  battalion  lost  a  very  promising  young  officer,  Lieut.  J.  H. 
Scott-Douglas,  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  G.  H.  Scott-Douglas,  Bart.,  of  Spring- 
wood  Park,  Roxburghshire.  He  was  chief  of  the  signalling  staff  of  the  2nd 
division,  and  accompanied  by  Corporal  Cottar,  I7th  Lancers,  conveyed  an 
important  message,  which  owing  to  the  state  of  the  weather  could  not  be 
transmitted  by  signalling,  to  Fort  Evelyn,  twenty  miles  from  camp.  He 
reached  Fort  Evelyn  in  safety,  but  on  his  return  journey  he  and  his  orderly 
fell  into  an  ambuscade  of  Zulus,  and  both  were  killed. 

On  the  4th  July  Lord  Chelmsford,  commanding  the  forces,  fought  and 
gained  the  battle  of  Ulundi.  The  division  advanced  in  a  hollow  oblong 
square,  its  front  and  flanks  being  covered  by  cavalry  under  Redvers  Buller, 
while  its  rear  was  protected  by  two  squadrons  of  the  I7th  Lancers  under 
Drury-Lowe  and  Shepstone's  Basutos.  For  the  first  time  for  many  days 
the  colours  were  unfurled,  and  this  is,  it  is  believed,  the  last  time  that  colours 
were  taken  into  action.  The  Queen's  colour,  carried  by  2nd  Lieut,  the  Hon. 
A.  Hardinge,  had  a  bullet  through  it. 


178  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

At  about  8.30  A.M.  the  Zulus  were  seen  advancing  from  various  quarters, 
the  sun  shining  upon  their  white  shields.  Buller's  cavalry  were  now  far 
out,  hovering  on  the  three  sides  of  the  square,  which  was  well  closed  up  ; 
the  men  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  every  rifle  and  gun  loaded.  The  enemy 
began  to  close  in  on  all  sides.  The  guns  moved  out  on  the  flanks,  and  got 
into  action,  while  the  cavalry  galloped  back  to  take  refuge  inside  the  square  ; 
the  infantry  formed  "  fours  deep,"  the  two  front  ranks  kneeling,  and  opened 
fire.  On  came  the  Zulus  like  a  huge  black  wave,  led  by  a  chief  mounted  on 
a  white  horse,  the  warriors  clashing  their  hide-covered  shields  and  shouting 
their  war  cry.  In  spite,  however,  of  their  splendid  bravery  they  could  not 
withstand  the  deadly  hail  of  bullets  poured  in  by  an  oblique  and  concen- 
trated volley,  and  these  gallant  but  ill-armed  men,  after  a  momentary 
pause,  fled  in  dismay  and  tumult.  They  never  came  within  thirty  yards  of 
the  square.  It  is  estimated  that  the  enemy  numbered  between  15,000 
and  20,000  men,  of  whom  1500  fell.  The  British  force  lost  five  killed  and 
fifty  wounded.  Amongst  the  latter  were  Major  Winsloe,  who  had  served 
in  the  Crimea  and  who  later  commanded  the  2nd  battalion,  with  ten 
Scots  Fusiliers.  At  a  parade  held  two  days  after  the  battle  General  New- 
digate  warmly  complimented  the  battalion  on  its  steady  valour  and  cool- 
ness under  fire,  and  expressed  his  intention  of  reporting  their  admirable 
conduct  to  H.R.H.  the  commander-in-chief.  Colonel  Winsloe  subsequently 
received  the  C.B.,  and  was  appointed  A.D.C.  to  Queen  Victoria. 

On  the  26th  August  the  battalion  started  on  its  march  to  Pretoria. 
Before  arriving  there,  however,  they  were  destined  to  take  part  in  another 
adventure,  the  storming,  capture  and  destruction  of  Secocoeni's  stronghold, 
an  isolated  hill  known  as  the  "  Fighting  Kopje  "  in  the  Lydenburg  district. 
Secocoeni  was  a  Basuto  chief  who  for  some  time  past  had  caused  the  Cape 
Government  considerable  trouble  ;  he  had  taken  up  arms  against  the  Trans- 
vaal Republic,  and  had  sided  with  Cetewayo,  the  Zulu  chief.  The  Fusiliers, 
as  usual,  bore  their  part  nobly  in  this  enterprise,  losing  three  men  killed 
and  Captains  Willoughby  and  Gordon  and  sixteen  men  wounded.  After 
the  subjugation  of  Secocoeni  and  his  lawless  Basutos  the  Fusiliers  were 
ordered  once  more  to  proceed  to  Pretoria,  the  chief  town  of  the  Transvaal, 
where  they  arrived  on  the  22nd  December. 

In  May,  1880,  Lieut  .-Colonel  Gildea,  who  had  joined  from  England, 
took  over  command  of  the  battalion.  On  the  i6th  July  of  that  year  the 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  179 

regiment  sustained  a  sad  loss  in  the  death  by  fever  of  Major  and  Brevet 
Lieut-Colonel  Arthur  Grey  Hazelrigg,  who  had  served  twenty-five  years 
in  the  regiment  and  had  commanded  the  2nd  battalion  at  the  battle  of 
Ulundi  and  the  affair  of  the  Secocoeni  stronghold. 

About  this  period  the  attitude  of  the  Boers,  who  had  for  some  time 
been  seething  with  discontent,  assumed  a  serious  position,  and  at  length 
matters  reached  a  climax.  On  the  2oth  December,  at  Brunker's  Spruit, 
an  armed  part  of  them  attacked  without  warning  a  part  of  the  94th  Regi- 
ment, now  the  2nd  battalion  of  the  Connaught  Rangers,  some  300  strong, 
who  with  their  band  and  colours  were  escorting  a  convoy  from  Lydenburg 
to  Pretoria.  About  120  officers  and  men  were  killed,  and  the  remainder  were 
taken  prisoners,  with  the  exception  of  Conductor  Parsons  of  the  commissariat 
and  Sergeant  Bradley  of  the  94th,  who  had  managed  to  carry  off  the 
colours,  tearing  them  from  their  poles  and  concealing  them  on  their  persons. 

On  2ist  December  Colonel  Gildea  left  Pretoria  on  a  reconnoitring 
expedition,  as  he  knew  that  the  94th  had  been  ordered  to  march  to  Pre- 
toria and  that  the  Transvaal  Republic  had  been  proclaimed.  When  about 
two  miles  from  Pretoria  he  fell  in  with  Parsons  and  Bradley,  who  handed 
over  the  colours  of  the  94th  Regiment  to  him.  Colonel  Gildea,  on  his  return 
to  Pretoria,  offered  the  colours  to  Major  Fred  Buckley  Campbell  of  the  94th 
Regiment,  but  that  officer  asked  the  colonel  if  he  would  be  good  enough 
for  the  present  to  guard  them  with  the  colours  of  the  Scots  Fusiliers.  To 
this  request  Colonel  Gildea  at  once  agreed,  and  the  colours  of  the  94th 
were  entwined  with  the  colours  of  our  2nd  battalion  on  their  respective 
poles,  and  so  remained  until  the  end  of  the  war.  At  a  full  dress  parade 
on  the  6th  April,  1881,  Colonel  Gildea  formally  restored  the  colours  to  the 
94th,  who  cordially  thanked  the  Fusiliers  for  taking  charge  of  them,  adding 
that  their  kindness  would  never  be  forgotten  by  the  94th.  It  is  these 
incidents,  small  in  themselves,  which  promote  the  feeling  of  camaraderie 
between  regiments. 

On  the  outbreak  of  the  Transvaal  war  the  2nd  battalion  of  the  Fusiliers 
was  distributed  as  follows.  At  Pretoria — Headquarters  with  A,  B,  F  and 
H  companies,  and  half  a  troop  of  mounted  infantry  under  Lieut.  A.  W. 
Collings.  At  Potchefstroom — C  and  D  companies,  with  half  a  troop  of 
mounted  infantry  under  Lieut.  Lindsell,  the  detachment  being  under  the 
command  of  Brevet  Lieut.-Colonel  Winsloe.  At  Rustenberg — E  company, 


i8o  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

under  the  command  of  Captain  D.  Auchinleck,  one  of  the  best  and  most 
beloved  officers  who  ever  served  in  the  regiment. 

The  siege  of  Pretoria  lasted  for  102  days,  and  although  Colonel  Gildea 
was  able  to  make  certain  reconnaissances  in  force  up  to  February,  1881, 
after  that  date  the  garrison  was  able  only  to  act  on  the  defensive.  On  the 
1 2th  February  Colonel  Gildea  and  several  men  were  wounded  in  a  skir- 
mish near  the  Red  House  kraal.  During  the  siege,  which  entailed  very 
hard  work  and  great  privations,  both  the  military  and  civilians  showed 
the  greatest  fortitude  and  cheerfulness.  Amongst  those  who  particularly 
distinguished  themselves  was  Mrs.  Gildea,  the  wife  of  the  gallant  colonel, 
who  was  unremitting  in  her  kindness  and  attention  to  the  sick  and  wounded. 
Queen  Victoria  subsequently  conferred  on  her  the  decoration  of  the  "  Royal 
Red  Cross." 

At  Potchefstroom  the  first  shots  were  interchanged  between  the  British 
and  the  Boers  on  the  i6th  December,  1880,  when  a  slight  skirmish  between 
our  mounted  infantry  and  the  Boers  took  place.  The  attack  did  not 
last  long,  and  the  enemy  retired  with  some  loss.  A  detachment  of  the 
garrison  occupied  the  Landroost's  office  under  Captain  Falls.  On  i8th 
December  determined  attacks  were  made  on  this  post  by  the  enemy; 
Captain  Falls  was  killed  and  several  of  the  men  wounded.  At  length  the 
post  became  untenable,  and  arrangements  were  made  to  evacuate  it. 

The  fort,  which  was  only  25  yards  square,  now  sheltered  the  whole 
garrison,  besides  a  number  of  women,  children,  horses  and  mules,  and  it 
was  invested  on  three  sides.  As  there  was  no  water  within  the  fort,  save 
what  could  be  obtained  from  a  well  which  had  been  sunk  to  a  depth  of  30 
feet,  but  which  only  yielded  nine  gallons  a  day,  considerable  suffering  was 
entailed,  especially  among  the  women  and  children.  Luckily  a  heavy 
rainstorm  occurred  on  igth  December  and  provided  sufficient  water  until 
the  2ist,  and  on  this  latter  day  a  further  heavy  rainfall  took  place.  On 
this  day  all  the  horses  and  mules  were  turned  adrift,  so  as  to  lessen  the 
demand  for  food  and  water,  and  a  second  well  was  sunk,  which  fortunately 
yielded  a  good  supply. 

On  ist  January,  1881,  the  enemy  opened  a  heavy  fire  on  the  fort,  and  in 
addition  brought  into  play  a  ship's  gun.  This  was  silenced  after  about 
two  hours,  but  several  of  the  garrison  had  been  disabled.  The  defences  of 
the  fort  consisted  chiefly  of  sandbags  made  from  the  tents  and  other 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  181 

materials  available.  The  whole  of  the  tents,  except  five  reserved  for  the 
sick  and  wounded,  were  appropriated  for  this  purpose,  men,  women  and 
children  all  living  and  sleeping  in  the  open.  On  the  22nd  January  a  very 
gallant  sortie  was  made  by  a  party  of  eleven  men  led  by  Lieut.  Dalrymple- 
Hay.  Seven  of  them  reached  a  trench  which  held  eighteen  of  the  enemy, 
of  whom  four  were  taken  prisoners,  eleven  were  killed  or  wounded  and 
three  made  their  escape.  In  February  the  food  supply  ran  short,  and  the 
garrison  began  to  suffer  severely  from  dysentery,  enteric  fever  and  other 
kindred  diseases.  In  March,  the  food  being  exhausted,  and  the  sick  and 
wounded  dying  for  want  of  nourishment,  it  was  found  impossible  to  hold 
out  any  longer,  and  negotiations  for  surrender  were  opened.  The  garrison 
were  then  allowed  to  march  out  with  all  the  honours  of  war,  flags  flying 
and  drums  beating. 

At  Rustenberg  Captain  Auchinleck,  having  received  notice  of  the  declara- 
tion of  war  by  the  Boers,  at  once  set  about  building  a  small  fort  in  the  centre 
of  the  Maidan,  and  this  he  held  with  E  company,  which  he  commanded 
for  over  100  days,  although  twice  severely  wounded.  Captain  Auchinleck 
informed  the  writer  that  the  fort  was  a  very  poor  affair,  though  it  was 
the  best  that  they  could  make  in  the  short  time  ;  that  the  Boers  could  have 
rushed  it  with  the  bayonet  at  any  time,  but  luckily  they  had  a  great  dislike 
to  cold  steel.  With  Captain  Auchinleck  was  his  subaltern  Lieut.  Despard, 
now  chief  constable  of  Lanarkshire,  and  a  conductor  named  Luck  of  the 
commissariat,  and  these  three  had  to  take  it  in  turns  to  be  on  watch  every 
night,  which  left  little  time  for  sleep,  considering  the  heavy  duties  by 
day.  There  was  also  a  private  of  the  commissariat  named  Bishop,  two 
civilians,  Butter  and  Hill,  a  volunteer  lieutenant  named  Daniels  and 
Dr.  Ritchie — five  Kaffirs  completed  the  garrison.  The  garrison,  on  an 
armistice  being  declared,  was  at  length  permitted  to  march  out  with  the 
honours  of  war.  During  the  campaign  Lance-Corporals  H.  Hampton  and 
P.  Cunnief  and  Private  H.  Bush  gained  the  medal  for  distinguished  service 
in  the  field.  Peace  was  shortly  afterwards  declared,  and  on  3rd  January, 
1882,  the  battalion,  being  the  last  regiment  to  leave  the  Transvaal,  em- 
barked at  Durban  for  the  East  Indies,  and  were  stationed  at  Secunderabad, 
relieving  the  ist  battalion,  who  had  gone  home  in  December,  1881. 

In  1884  the  regiment  had  the  unique  distinction  of  having  three  of 
its  battalions  commanded  by  officers  holding  the  appointment  of  A.D.C. 


182  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

to  the  Queen.  Colonel  Gildea  commanded  the  ist  battalion,  Colonel 
Winsloe  the  2nd  battalion  and  Colonel  Walker  the  3rd  (Militia)  battalion, 
all  of  whom  held  that  appointment. 

As  stated  above,  the  ist  battalion  arrived  from  India  in  December, 
1881,  and  passed  their  service  in  various  stations  in  England,  Ireland 
and  Scotland,  finishing  their  tour  of  home  service  in  1896,  when 
they  embarked  again  for  India,  and  on  arrival  were  stationed  at 
Sialkot. 

Down  to  the  time  the  ist  battalion  went  to  Aldershot  in  1883  the 
pioneers  of  the  regiment  were  permitted  to  wear  white  aprons  and  gauntlets, 
and  as  in  those  days  the  pioneers  of  all  regiments  wore  beards,  they  had  a 
fine  appearance  at  the  head  of  a  battalion  on  the  march.  To  the  great 
disgust  of  the  regiment  this  privilege  was  abolished  by  an  order  of  the 
commander-in-chief.  This  tour  of  home  service  cannot  be  passed  over 
without  reference  being  made  to  an  inspection  of  the  ist  battalion  by  the 
said  commander-in-chief,  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  at  Maryhill  Barracks, 
Glasgow,  when  it  was  under  the  command  of  Lieut.-Colonel  E.  C.  Browne, 
Captain  Thorburn  being  adjutant  and  Sergeant-Major  John  Smith  the 
regimental  sergeant-major.  At  the  end  of  the  inspection  his  Royal  High- 
ness, after  alluding  to  a  former  inspection  of  the  battalion  by  him,  when 
he  had  paid  it  high  compliments,  said  "  Never  in  the  old  days  of  rigid  move- 
ments, nor  in  the  new,  have  I  had  the  privilege  of  witnessing  such  an  ex- 
hibition of  drill  and  exercises  in  arms  as  to-day."  This  was  a  compliment 
worth  having  indeed  from  one  who  had  known  the  army  intimately  ever 
since  the  old  days  of  the  Crimea. 

We  left  the  2nd  battalion  at  Secunderabad  in  1882.  In  1884  it  was 
moved  to  Burma,  the  headquarters  and  four  companies  being  stationed 
at  Thayetmyo,  the  remaining  four  companies  going  to  Tongoo.  From 
December,  1885,  to  December,  1887,  it  was  employed  in  small  detachments 
with  various  columns  sent  to  operate  against  the  rebels  and  dacoits  who 
infested  the  country.  The  honour  "  Burma  1885-1887  "  bears  witness  to 
the  Fusiliers'  share  in  these  operations,  in  which  Major  Auchinleck,  who  had 
been  twice  wounded  in  South  Africa,  died  of  wounds.  In  1887  the  battalion 
left  Burma  for  the  Bengal  Presidency,  going  first  to  Umballa.  It  remained 
in  various  stations  in  this  Presidency  until  November,  1896,  when  it  returned 
to  England  under  Lieut.-Colonel  A.  J.  Pollock,  and  was  stationed  at  Chatham, 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  183 

whence  it  furnished  a  detachment  for  the  Tower  of  London  during  the 
absence  of  the  Guards  on  summer  drills. 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  ist  battalion  to  see  active  service  again  ; 
this  time  in  a  wild  stretch  of  mountainous  country  beyond  the  North  West 
frontier  of  India  called  Tirah,  the  stronghold  of  the  Afridi  clan  of  Pathan 
tribesmen,  which  had  never  before  been  entered  by  a  British  force.  Before 
leaving  Sialkot  it  was  inspected  by  Colonel  W.  J.  Vousden,  V.C.,  whose 
father  served  in  the  Crimea,  was  severely  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Inker- 
man,  and  was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy  in  the  regiment  in  recognition  of 
his  distinguished  conduct  on  that  occasion. 

On  i7th  August,  1897,  orders  were  received  for  the  headquarters  and 
one  wing  of  the  battalion  under  Lieut.-Colonel  Spurgin  to  proceed  to  Kohat 
for  field  service,  in  consequence  of  disturbances  on  the  frontier.  On  the 
27th  E  and  H  companies  were  engaged,  as  part  of  the  force  under  Major- 
General  Yeatman-Biggs,  C.B.,  in  the  action  at  the  Ublan  Pass.  One  who 
was  there  said  to  the  writer  that  the  "  day  of  the  action  was  one  of  the 
hottest  I  ever  experienced,  even  on  the  Indian  frontier,  and  we  all  suffered 
very  much  from  heat  and  thirst."  Captain  A.  G.  Baird-Smith  and  Lieut. 
L.  G.  North  were  severely  wounded  during  these  operations,  and  one  private 
was  killed.  On  I7th  November  orders  were  received  for  the  wing  to  join 
the  Tirah  Expeditionary  Force  under  Sir  William  Lockhart,  K.C.B.  It 
was  engaged  in  rearguard  actions  on  27th,  28th  and  2Qth  November, 
two  privates  being  killed  and  four  severely  wounded.  The  half  battalion 
forming  part  of  the  2nd  division  under  Major-General  Yeatman-Biggs, 
C.B.,  was  constantly  engaged  in  the  Bara  Valley  from  7th  to  I4th 
December,  during  which  time  the  force  was  entirely  cut  off  from  com- 
munication with  the  rest  of  the  world.  The  transport  was  cut  down  to 
a  minimum,  and  there  were  no  tents,  although  the  cold  was  intense. 
Captain  F.  de  S.  Shortt  was  dangerously  wounded,  one  private  was  killed, 
nine  other  ranks  being  severely  or  dangerously  wounded,  of  whom  two 
subsequently  died  of  wounds,  and  five  privates  were  reported  missing. 
Among  the  wounded  was  Colour- Sergeant  J.  Walker,  who  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy.  He  remained  a  prisoner  of  war  in  the  hands  of  the  Afridis 
for  some  weeks,  and  was  on  the  whole  well  treated  by  them,  which  was  a 
somewhat  unusual  experience,  as  the  custom  of  the  Afridis  is  to  kill  their 
prisoners.  Owing  to  a  difference  of  opinion  among  his  captors  he  was 


i84  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

assisted  to  escape,  and  was  guided  back  to  the  British  lines.  Mountain 
passes  over  8000  feet  in  height  were  traversed  in  the  face  of  tribesmen 
renowned  for  their  marksmanship,  and  the  troops  suffered  considerably 
from  exposure  to  wet  and  cold  and  hard  work.  The  frontier  clans,  how- 
ever, received  a  severe  lesson,  and  the  regiment  gained  another  honour, 
"  Tirah,"  for  its  colours.  On  the  last  day  of  1897  the  Fusiliers  returned 
to  Peshawar.  Captain  Bowes,  Captain  Northcott  and  Captain  Scudamore, 
D.S.O.,  were  promoted  brevet-majors  in  recognition  of  their  services  in 
these  operations,  and  Sergeant  Stewart  Donald  gained  the  medal  for 
distinguished  service  in  the  field.  The  battalion  remained  in  India  until 
December,  1908,  when  it  was  moved  again  to  Rangoon.  On  ist  November, 
1909,  King  Edward  approved  of  the  honorary  distinction  of  "  Martinique 
1794  "  being  borne  on  the  colours  of  the  regiment. 

On  gth  September,  1899,  the  2nd  battalion,  having  been  stationed  at 
Chatham  on  its  return  from  India  in  1896,  was  moved  to  the  North  Camp, 
Aldershot.  In  October  of  that  year,  on  the  outbreak  of  the  South  African 
war,  it  sailed  from  England  for  South  Africa  to  form  part  of  the  greatest 
army  that  hitherto  had  been  sent  oversea  from  Great  Britain.  On  arrival 
at  Capetown  it  became  part  of  the  6th  or  Fusilier  Brigade  under  the  com- 
mand of  Major-General  Barton,  C.B.  Half  of  the  battalion  was  present 
in  the  action  at  Colenso,  losing  there  n  n.c.o.  and  men  killed  and  28 
wounded.  For  gallant  conduct  in  this  affair  Private  G.  Ravenhill  was 
awarded  the  Victoria  Cross.  Under  heavy  fire  he  left  his  sheltered  position, 
as  one  of  the  escort,  three  times  to  assist  in  withdrawing  the  guns  of  the 
i4th  and  66th  Batteries  R.F.A.,  when  the  detachments  serving  them  had 
fallen  or  been  driven  off. 

The  Fusiliers  were  with  the  Ladysmith  relief  force  throughout  General 
Buller's  operations,  and  in  February,  1900,  were  daily  in  action  for  thirteen 
continuous  days,  being  specially  mentioned  in  the  commander-in-chief's 
despatches  for  the  capture  of  Green  Hill.  They  also  bore  a  full  part  in  the 
severe  fighting  in  the  assault  and  capture  of  Pieters  Hill,  when  4  officers  and 
24  n.c.o.  and  men  were  killed  in  action  or  died  of  wounds,  and  the  colonel, 
8  other  officers  and  60  n.c.o.  and  men  were  wounded.  It  was  the  signalling 
sergeant  of  the  Scots  Fusiliers  who  received  the  first  message  from  Ladysmith 
after  its  relief. 

The  Fusiliers  subsequently  had  their  share  of  fighting  in  Cape  Colony, 


ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 


ILIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  185 

including  the  action  at  Rooidam,  and  they  were  the  first  British  regiment 
who  entered  the  Transvaal,  the  leading  company  of  the  advanced  guard 
being  under  the  command  of  Captain  Quentin  Agnew,1  and  the  two  subalterns 
being  Lieut.  Fraser  and  Captain  Vaughan  of  the  3rd  battalion,  attached 
as  a  subaltern.  The  battalion  took  part  in  the  hoisting  of  the  British 
flag  at  Christiana,  the  first  Transvaal  town  captured. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  colonel  with  a  party  of  three  officers, 
the  pipers  and  105  n.c.o.  and  men  proceeded  to  Potchefstroom  (formerly 
mentioned  in  this  brief  story  as  having  been  gallantly  held  by  a  detach- 
ment of  the  regiment  against  the  Boers  in  1880  and  1881),  and  there  hoisted 
a  British  flag.  This  flag,  buried  at  the  time  of  the  peace  of  1881  by  the 
loyal  residents  of  Pretoria,  had  shortly  afterwards  been  disinterred  by 
Colonel  Gildea,  and  had  remained  in  possession  of  his  family  until  it 
was  once  more  hoisted  on  the  reoccupation  of  the  Transvaal  by  the 
British. 

The  Fusiliers  experienced  much  hard  fighting  in  the  Transvaal.  Two 
companies  were  mentioned  for  their  great  dash  at  the  action  at  Venkerstroom, 
and  later,  in  October,  1900,  the  battalion  was  almost  daily  in  action  for  three 
consecutive  weeks,  during  the  last  six  days  of  which  it  formed  part  of  a 
small  force  surrounded  at  Frederickstadt  by  General  De  Wet  and  3000 
men.  In  the  successful  final  attack  on  the  Boer  position  the  utmost  gallantry 
was  shown  by  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers,  who  suffered  heavily,  two  officers, 
Lieutenants  Finch  and  Vernon  Lewis,  and  u  n.c.o.  and  men  being  killed; 
five  officers  (including  Capt.  Dick  and  Lieut.  Elliot)  and  36  n.c.o.  and 
men  wounded.  Pipe-Major  Muir  was  killed  while  playing  a  company 
across  a  thousand  yards  of  bare  level  ground. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  war  the  battalion  was  engaged  on  trek, 
in  garrison  and,  on  the  lines  of  communication,  on  blockhouse  duty, 
upholding  the  reputation  of  the  regiment  under  very  arduous  conditions. 
Whilst  engaged  on  trek  it  made  the  record  march  of  thirty-five  miles 
in  sixteen  hours,  and  was  specially  thanked  by  Lord  Kitchener  for  this 
performance.  During  the  progress  of  the  war  five  officers  from  the  3rd 
(Militia)  battalion  who  had  volunteered  for  duty  2  did  good  work  with  the 


2  Captains  G.   Fergusson-Buchanan,  G.  Macalister,  the  Earl  of  Cassillis,  D.  Browne  and 
J.  E.  Vaughan. 


i86  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

battalion,  bringing  with  them  the  men  of  the  Militia  reserve  of  that  battalion 
to  replace  casualties. 

The  call  made  in  January,  1900,  for  a  volunteer  service  company  from 
the  territorial  Volunteer  battalions  of  the  regiment  was  quickly  responded 
to,  and  a  company,  complete  in  strength  and  detail,  joined  the  battalion 
after  the  relief  of  Ladysmith,  and  served  with  it  continuously  until  after 
the  action  at  Frederickstadt,  all  ranks  distinguishing  themselves  by  steadiness, 
coolness  and  soldierlike  behaviour.  The  company  then  proceeded  down 
country  for  home,  but  was  detained  for  garrison  duty  at  Smal  Deel  for  seven 
more  months.  A  further  service  draft  of  Volunteers  of  one  officer  and  23 
n.c.o.  and  men  joined  the  battalion  at  Middelburg,  Transvaal,  in  March, 
1902,  and  served  with  the  battalion  on  blockhouse  duty  until  the  pro- 
clamation of  peace  in  June. 

Many  honours  were  gained  individually  during  the  war  by  officers, 
n.c.o.  and  men.  Amongst  the  latter,  one  man,  as  stated  above,  was 
awarded  the  Victoria  Cross,  one  warrant  officer  and  nine  n.c.o.  and  men 
the  distinguished  conduct  medal,  and  three  privates  were  promoted 
corporals  for  gallantry  in  the  field. 

An  officer  who  served  in  the  Natal  field  force,  1899-1900,  though  not 
belonging  to  the  Fusiliers,  wrote  as  follows  about  General  Thorneycroft,  C.B.  : 

"  No  one  who  was  a  member  of  that  force  will  easily  forget  the  nature 
and  value  of  the  services  rendered  by  Colonel  Thorneycroft,  as  he  was  then, 
during  that  arduous  and  anxious  period.  A  striking  figure  from  his  enormous 
stature  and  splendid  build,  he  was  a  man  who  made  a  strong  impression  on  all 
who  met  him  ;  he  inspired  all  with  respect,  and  those  who  knew  him  well,  or  served 
with  him,  with  a  strong  affection  as  well  as  admiration.  The  Natal  army  well 
knew  how  at  a  critical  moment,  on  Spion  Kop,  he  saved  the  situation,  exposing 
himself  fearlessly  at  point  blank  range  in  a  way  that  seemed  almost  certain 
death,  and  by  his  personal  example  put  fresh  heart  in  small  body  of  sorely  tried 
and  hard  pressed  infantry.  Why  he  was  not  killed  is  a  mystery ;  possibly  the 
following  explanation  suggested  afterwards  by  a  Boer  who  was  there,  may  be 
correct,  viz.  :  that  his  magnificent  figure  and  stupendous  voice  so  overawed 
them  that  for  the  moment  they  forgot  to  shoot.  His  subsequent  action  on  Spion 
Kop  was  criticised,  but  not  by  anyone  in  Natal  from  the  commander-in-chief  to 
the  youngest  private,  and  it  is  impossible  not  to  think  that  with  a  fuller  knowledge 
based  on  personal  experience  of  the  country,  this  criticism  would  never  have  been 
made." 

On  the  representation  of  Colonel  Carr,  C.B.,  who  commanded  the  battalion 
throughout  the  campaign,  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers  were  again  permitted 


LIEUT.-COL.  REGINALD  TOOGOOD  187 

to  wear  the  white  hackle  in  the  sealskin  head-dress  as  a  recognition  of  their 
services  in  South  Africa.  This  highly  valued  distinction,  as  before  stated, 
was  previously  worn  by  the  regiment,  and  when  it  was  abolished  about 
1837  its  loss  was  greatly  felt. 

The  2nd  battalion  returned  to  England  in  February,  1903,  after  having 
served  in  South  Africa  for  over  three  years.  The  total  casualties  during  the 
war  amounted  to  7  officers  and  114  n.c.o.  and  men  killed  in  action  or 
died  of  wounds,  disease,  etc.,  and  12  officers,  143  n.c.o.  and  men  wounded. 
The  following  soldiers  of  the  regiment  won  special  distinction  for  their 
gallantry  on  the  field  of  battle  in  this  campaign. 

The  Victoria  Cross. 
Private  G.  Ravenhill.     Battle  of  Colenso,  I5th  December,  1899. 

Medal  for  Distinguished  Conduct. 

Sergt. -Major  J.  Steel  ;  Colour-Sergts.  W.  Kimberley,  A.  Ferguson  ; 
Sergeants  F.  C.  Roberts,  R.  Taylor  ;  Lance-Corporal  J.  Shields  ;  Privates 
W.  Farr,  R.  M'Allester,  W.  Downie,  A.  Curdie. 

On  ist  October,  1907,  the  2nd  battalion  was  moved  to  Dublin,  being 
stationed  at  the  Royal  Barracks,  whence  it  went  to  Londonderry,  and 
subsequently  to  Gosport,  where  it  was  stationed  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
great  war  on  the  4th  August,  1914,  and  on  ist  January,  1915,  embarked  at 
Southampton  for  Gibraltar.  The  ist  battalion,  which  we  left  in  Burmah, 
returned  to  England  in  1914  and  were  stationed  at  Gosport,  taking  over 
the  New  Barracks  recently  vacated  by  the  2nd  battalion.  Their  next 
move  was  to  France  on  the  outbreak  of  the  great  war. 

Four  new  battalions  were  then  ordered  to  be  raised,  and  the  ist,  4th,  and 
5th  battalions  to  be  mobilised.  The  2nd  battalion  at  this  date  was 
stationed  at  Gibraltar.  The  6th  battalion  was  formed  at  Ayr,  under 
Lieut. -Colonel  H.  H.  Northey  of  the  regiment,  and  the  7th  under  Colonel 
D.  Mackenzie  Stuart,  who  had  just  given  up  command  of  the  2nd 
battalion,  and  whose  father,  Colonel  John  Ramsay  Stuart,  C.B.,  gave  up 
command  of  the  ist  battalion  in  1867.  The  8th  battalion  was  formed  by 
Lieut. -Colonel  H.  V.  Bunbury,  formerly  of  the  Royal  Scots,  and  the  gth 
battalion  by  Colonel  Bremner.  This  last  battalion  remained  at  home 
during  the  war,  and  supplied  drafts  of  officers  and  men  as  required  to  the 
other  service  battalions ;  it  has  now  ceased  to  be  one  of  the  units  of  the 


i88  THE  ROYAL  SCOTS  FUSILIERS 

regiment,  and  has  been  turned  into  the  55th  Training  Reserve  Battalion. 
The  3rd  (formerly  Militia)  battalion,  until  lately  under  command  of 
Colonel  G.  Quentin  Agnew,  M.V.O.,  D.S.O.,  and  is  now  commanded  by 
Lieut.-Col.  D.  H.  A.  Dick,  formed  the  Special  Reserve  Battalion. 

Perhaps  to  complete  the  story  of  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers  down  to 
the  outbreak  of  the  great  war  in  August,  1914,  some  reference  should  be 
made  to  the  Regimental  Association.  This,  we  believe,  has  been  of 
great  service  to  those  non-commissioned  officers  and  men  of  the  regiment 
and  their  families  who,  owing  to  sickness,  old  age  and  other  causes, 
have  fallen  temporarily  on  evil  times.  It  was  started  on  its  present  basis 
in  1909,  and  from  small  beginnings  is  now  in  the  fairly  sound  position  of 
having  invested  about  £4450  on  sound  security.  No  case  is  assisted 
without  the  fullest  enquiry.  One  often  hears  the  expression  "  a  good 
regiment,"  and  it  appears  to  the  writer  that  two  of  the  essentials  to  fulfil 
this  definition  are,  first,  that  the  regiment  should  be  known  as  "  good 
fighters,"  and,  second,  that  the  men  of  the  regiment  should  be  well  looked 
after.  Those  who  have  read  the  foregoing  story,  and  who  are  aware  of 
how  the  regiment  has  borne  itself  in  the  present  war,  will  have  no  doubt 
in  their  minds  that  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers  have  in  the  past  fulfilled, 
and  is  in  the  present  fulfilling,  the  first  qualification,  and  it  is  hoped  that 
the  efforts  of  the  association  go  towards  fulfilling  the  second. 

We  have  now  come  to  an  end  of  a  short  summary  of  the  doings  of  the 
Royal  Scots  Fusiliers  down  to  the  outbreak  of  the  great  war,  and  we  ven- 
ture to  think  that  it  is  a  glorious  record.  The  regiment,  during  its  career 
of  230  years,  has  served  in  every  portion  of  the  globe  where  British  soldiers 
are  to  be  found,  except  in  China  and  the  Straits  Settlements.  It  bears  on 
its  colours  the  following  honours  :  "  Blenheim,"  "  Ramillies,"  "  Ouden- 
arde,"  "  Malplaquet,"  "  Dettingen,"  "  Martinique  1794,"  "  Bladensburg," 
"  Alma,"  "  Inkerman,"  "  Sevastopol,"  "  South  Africa  1879,"  "  Burma 
1885-1887,"  "  Tirah,"  "  Relief  of  Ladysmith,"  and  "  South  Africa  1899- 
1902." 

During  the  present  war  the  seven  battalions  which  have  been  engaged 
in  it  have  shown  themselves  to  be  worthy  heirs  of  the  honours  won  in  the 
two  preceding  centuries. 


V 
THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

BY  BRIGADIER-GENERAL  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON,  C.B.,  M.V.O. , 
LATE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

THE  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers,  as  the  regiment  is  at  present 
designated,  has  been  known  under  various  titles,  such  as  Leven's 
or  the  Edinburgh  Regiment,  the  Sussex  Regiment,  the  25th  Foot,  and 
King's  Own  Borderers.  It  has  the  privilege  of  being  closely  connected 
with  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  where  it  was  originally  raised,  and  was  named 
— as  regiments  were  in  those  days — after  the  name  of  the  colonel,  and 
was  first  known  as  Leven's  or  the  Edinburgh  Regiment. 

Owing  to  the  five  Border  counties,  viz.  Berwick,  Roxburgh,  Selkirk, 
Dumfries  and  Kirkcudbright,  being  allotted  as  the  regimental  district, 
it  has  been  assumed  that  the  Scottish  Borderers  were  named  as  borderers 
between  Scotland  and  England,  whereas  they  were  in  fact  borderers  between 
Lowlands  and  Highlands,  having  been  raised  in  Edinburgh  to  defend  the 
Lowlands  against  the  Highlanders,  and  marched  shortly  after  being  raised 
to  meet  the  Highlanders  in  battle  at  Killiecrankie.  The  corps  was  originally 
called  Leven's  or  the  Edinburgh  Regiment,  having  been  raised  by  David 
Earl  of  Leven,  who  landed  in  England  with  the  Prince  of  Orange  in  November, 
1688,  and  in  March,  1689,  received  authority  from  the  Scottish  Convention 
of  Estates  to  enrol  a  regiment  for  the  defence  of  the  city.  According  to 
some  accounts  the  full  establishment  of  800  men  was  completed  within  four 
hours,  and  the  new  regiment  immediately  took  possession  of  the  Parliament 
House,  and  held  it  until  the  Estates  of  Scotland  declared  King  William 
and  Queen  Mary  sovereigns  of  that  kingdom.  The  Duke  of  Gordon  was 


igo          THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

at  this  time  governor  of  Edinburgh  Castle,  and  held  it  for  King  James 
until  i3th  June,  when  he  surrendered,  unconditionally  on  his  own  part, 
but  on  favourable  terms  for  the  garrison. 

In  the  meantime  the  regiment  was  augmented  to  1000  strong  (accord- 
ing to  some  accounts  this  number  was  reached  on  the  day  the  regiment 
was  raised),  and  soon  marched  to  the  north  under  command  of  the  Earl 
of  Leven,  and  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Killiecrankie,  which  is  described 
in  the  following  extracts  from  the  London  Gazette : 

"  Edinburgh :  July  y>th.  On  Friday  the  26th  instant  Major  General  Mackay 
marched  from  St.  Johnstown,  Perth,  with  about  4000  Foot  and  four  troops  of 
Horse  Dragoons,  and  lay  that  night  at  Dunkell.  The  next  day  continuing  his 
march,  he  was  informed  that  the  Viscount  Dundee  advanced  towards  him  ;  and 
about  two  miles  on  this  side  of  Blair  Athol,  he  came  in  sight  of  the  Rebels,  and 
drew  up  his  men  to  attack  them.  The  Fight  began  about  five  in  the  afternoon, 
and  was  very  sharp  for  some  time  ;  but  some  of  our  Regiments  giving  way,  and 
Dundee's  men  exceeding  ours  in  number,  they  being  about  6000,  part  of  our 
Forces  were  put  into  disorder;  whereupon  Major-General  Mackay  thought  fit 
to  retire  with  the  rest  towards  Stirling  ;  where  he  arrived  last  night,  with  1500 
men,  who  retreated  in  a  Body,  and  in  good  order  :  Of  this  number  were  the  Regi- 
ments of  the  Earl  of  Leven  and  Colonel  Hastings,  who,  as  well  Officers  as  Soldiers, 
behaved  themselves  with  extraordinary  Bravery  and  Resolution  ;  maintaining 
their  ground  to  the  last ;  and  keeping  the  Field  after  the  Rebels  were  drawn 
off  to  the  Hills.  The  loss  on  both  sides  is  yet  uncertain  :  On  ours,  the  only  Officers 
of  Note  that  are  missing  are  Colonel  Balfour  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mackay." 

Another  version  is  given  in  Douglas's  Peerage  and  in  Laing  (vol.  ii.) 
which  says  : 

"  The  Viscount  Dundee,  after  a  conversation  at  the  postern  gate  of  the  garri- 
son with  the  Duke  of  Gordon,  governor  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  which  then 
held  out  for  King  James,  proceeded  to  Stirling,  where  he  called  a  Parliament 
of  the  friends  of  the  abdicated  Monarch.  The  Convention  sent  a  party  to  appre- 
hend him  ;  but  he  retired  into  Lochaber,  and  summoning  a  general  rendezvous 
of  the  Clans,  raised  upwards  of  2000  men,  and  had  a  reinforcement  of  300  more 
from  Ireland.  With  these  he  proceeded  to  Blair,  in  Athol;  and  Mackay,  King 
William's  General,  advancing  with  3000  foot  and  two  troops  of  Horse,  they  met 
at  the  pass  of  Killiecrankie  27th  June  1689,  when  Mackay  was  defeated,  with 
the  loss  of  2000  men,  and  escaped  with  difficulty  to  Stirling,  apprehensive  of  the 
pursuit  of  Dundee.  But  Dundee  was  now  no  more.  After  a  desperate  and 
successful  charge  on  the  Artillery,  which  he  seized  with  his  Horse,  he  returned 
to  restore  the  battle  on  the  Left,  and  to  renew  the  attack  against  two  Regiments 
that  remained  entire.1  At  that  moment,  while  his  arm  was  extended  to  his 

•Leven's  Edinburgh  regiment  and  Hastings's  regiment,  now  the  Somerset  Light  Infantry 
(1 3th  Foot). 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     191 

troops,  and  his  person  conspicuous  to  the  Enemy,  he  received  a  shot  in  his  side, 
through  an  opening  in  his  armour,  and  dropped  from  horseback  as  he  rode  off  the 
field.  He  survived  to  write  a  concise  and  dignified  account  of  his  victory  to  James." 

That  Leven's  regiment  behaved  well  is  confirmed  by  other  authorities. 
Unfortunately  the  list  of  its  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  in  this  affair  has 
not  been  preserved. 

After  the  battle  of  Killiecrankie  the  magistrates  of  Edinburgh  con- 
ferred upon  Leven's  or  the  Edinburgh  Regiment  the  exclusive  privilege 
in  future  of  beating  up  at  all  times  within  the  city  for  recruits  without 
asking  permission  of  the  Lord  Provost.  The  privilege  was  also  given  later 
of  marching  through  the  city  of  Edinburgh  with  bayonets  fixed  and  colours 
flying.  This  privilege  was  exercised  in  late  years  when  the  ist  battalion 
was  sent  to  Edinburgh  in  1896  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  the  Emperor 
of  Russia,  in  1906  when  a  guard  of  honour  was  sent  to  Edinburgh  for  the 
unveiling  of  a  memorial  by  the  ist  battalion,  and  again  in  1911  when 
a  party  of  the  2nd  battalion  went  to  Edinburgh  from  Belfast  to  hand  over 
the  old  colours  to  be  placed  in  St.  Giles's  Cathedral.  On  all  occasions  the 
drums  and  pipes  beat  up  and  obtained  recruits. 

The  regiment,  after  having  recruited  its  losses  at  Killiecrankie,  formed 
part  of  the  small  army  retained  in  Scotland  for  maintaining  the  internal 
peace  of  the  country  and  remained  there  for  two  years.  In  1691,  the  year 
after  the  battle  of  the  Boync,  it  proceeded  to  Ireland  with  other  Scottish 
troops  under  Lieut. -General  Mackay,  and  on  7th  June  marched  from 
Mullingar  to  Ballymore,  which  place  was  held  by  the  Irish  army,  but  after 
preparations  had  been  made  for  the  assault  it  surrendered  at  discretion. 

General  Mackay  then  advanced  on  Athlone,  and  the  regiment  took  part 
in  the  siege  of  that  city.  After  several  unsuccessful  attempts  to  force 
the  passage  to  the  bridge  over  the  Shannon,  it  was  determined  to  ford 
the  river,  which  was  deep  and  rapid.  This  was  gallantly  carried  out 
by  the  troops  under  a  discharge  of  grape  and  musketry,  and,  with  the  help 
of  pontoons  and  planks  over  the  broken  arch  of  the  bridge,  they  made 
good  the  crossing  in  several  places.  This  so  astonished  the  enemy  that 
he  abandoned  the  town,  which  was  captured  with  very  small  loss. 

The  regiment  was  also  present  at  the  battle  of  Aughrim  on  I2th  July, 
1691,  where  the  British  forces,  numbering  18,000  men,  encountered  the 
Irish  army  of  25,000,  and  entirely  routed  it,  capturing  a  number  of  prisoners 


192          THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

and  every  sort  of  munition.  Then  followed  the  siege  of  Galway  in  July, 
1691,  which  place,  after  being  closely  invested,  surrendered  by  capitulation 
on  Sunday,  26th  July,  when  the  garrison  was  allowed  a  safe-conduct  to 
Limerick.  Leven's  regiment  suffered  considerably  at  the  siege  of  Limerick, 
but  the  actual  casualties  have  not  been  recorded. 

In  March,  1692,  the  regiment  embarked  for  Flanders,  where  it  had  some 
hard  fighting,  notably  at  the  battles  of  Steenkerke  (1692)  and  Landen 
(July,  1693).  In  the  latter  battle  the  Allies  were  forced  to  retreat,  but  the 
enemy  suffered  severe  losses  and  paid  a  heavy  penalty  for  his  victory. 

In  1695  Leven's  regiment  took  part  in  the  investment  of  Namur,  which 
commenced  on  the  3rd  July ;  but  the  place,  which  was  strong  by  nature, 
had  been  so  much  strengthened  that  both  the  town  and  citadel  were  con- 
sidered impregnable.  On  the  i8th  July,  however,  the  attack  was  com- 
menced, and  on  the  27th  of  the  same  month  the  English  and  Scottish  troops 
assaulted  the  advanced  counterscarp,  which  enclosed  the  great  sluice  or 
waterstop,  near  the  gate  of  St.  Nicholas.  In  this  work  they  were  terribly 
exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  counter-guard  and  demi-bastion  of  St.  Roch, 
and  the  enemy  exploded  a  mine  whereby  twenty  officers  and  upwards  of 
500  men  of  Leven's  were  killed.  Some  confusion  ensued  ;  but  the  troops 
having  rallied,  returned  to  the  assault  with  redoubled  vigour,  compelling 
the  enemy  to  give  way  after  a  desperate  resistance.  The  British  pursued 
and  effected  a  lodgment  in  front  of  the  gate  of  St.  Nicholas.  Finally  the 
town  capitulated  on  ist  September.  The  capture  of  this  place  was  one  of 
the  greatest  achievements  of  the  army,  and  that  the  Edinburgh  regiment 
was  not  in  the  background  is  abundantly  manifest  from  the  heavy  casualties 
it  sustained. 

During  this  campaign  the  handles  of  the  bayonets,  being  solid,  were 
screwed  into  the  muzzles  of  the  muskets,  so  that  when  fixed  the  men  could 
not  fire.  But  the  French  contrived  an  improvement  on  the  bayonet,  by 
rendering  the  handles  hollow,  so  as  to  fit  over  the  muzzles,  whereby  the 
men  were  enabled  to  fire  when  the  bayonets  were  fixed.  It  so  happened 
that  this  improved  method  was  first  tried  by  a  French  regiment  against 
Leven's  thus  described  by  Grose,  the  well-known  writer  on  military 
antiquities  : 

"  In  an  engagement  during  one  of  the  campaigns  of  King  William  III.  in 
Flanders,  there  were  three  French  regiments  whose  bayonets  were  made  to  fix 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     193 

after  the  present  fashion  (1790),  a  contrivance  then  unknown  in  the  British  Army, 
One  of  them  advanced  with  fixed  bayonets  against  Leven's  (now  the  25th)  Regi- 
ment, when  Lieut. -Col.  Maxwell,  who  commanded  it,  ordered  his  men  to  screw 
bayonets  into  their  muzzles,  thinking  the  enemy  meant  to  decide  the  affair  point 
to  point ;  but  to  his  great  surprise,  when  they  came  within  proper  distance,  the 
French  threw  in  a  heavy  fire,  which  for  a  moment  staggered  the  men,  who  never- 
theless recovered  themselves,  charged  and  drove  the  enemy  out  of  the  Line." 

In  October,  1697,  the  skeleton  of  the  Edinburgh  regiment  (to  which 
Colonel  Maitland  had  been  appointed  in  room  of  the  Earl  of  Leven  on  the 
igth  March,  1694)  was  sent  home  to  Edinburgh  for  recruiting  its  estab- 
lishment. So  soon  as  this  was  accomplished  the  regiment  was  sent  to 
Fort  Augustus,  Fort  William  and  other  stations  in  that  part  of  the  country, 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  inhabitants  in  subjection  ;  remaining  in 
the  north,  according  to  Governor  Home's  account,  during  the  whole  of 
Queen  Anne's  war,  which  ended  by  the  Peace  of  Utrecht  in  April,  1713. 
But  Colonel  Farquharson,  when  revising  the  regimental  records,  found 
that  Lawrence  Sterne,  whose  father  was  a  captain  in  the  Edinburgh 
regiment,  stated  that  it  was  stationed  in  Lisle  in  1712,  and  in  Dunkirke 
the  following  year,  which  seems  to  imply  that  it  served  under  the 
Duke  of  Marlborough  in  some  of  his  campaigns  in  Flanders  ;  but  no 
positive  evidence  of  this  is  forthcoming,  nor  can  any  information  be  gathered 
respecting  the  regiment  for  nearly  fourteen  years,  except  that  on  I5th 
April,  1711,  William  Breton  succeeded  James  Maitland  as  colonel,  and 
on  27th  January,  1715,  Breton  was  succeeded  by  Richard,  Viscount 
Shannon. 

Shannon's  or  the  Edinburgh  regiment,  having  been  withdrawn  from 
the  north  of  Scotland,  was  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Sheriffmuir  on  the 
I3th  of  November,  1715,  where  the  Jacobite  force  under  the  Earl  of  Mar, 
about  9000  strong,  both  cavalry  and  infantry,  were  opposed  by  the  Duke 
of  Argyll  with  a  force  not  exceeding  4000.  The  left  of  the  Earl  of  Mar's 
men  having  attacked  the  right  wing  of  the  King's  troops,  a  sharp  conflict 
ensued  for  about  half  an  hour,  when  Mar's  men  gave  way,  and  the  duke 
pursued  them  as  far  as  the  Water  of  Allan,  three  miles  to  the  rear.  He 
was  supported  by  Brigadier  Wightman  with  three  battalions  of  infantry ; 
while  Clanronald  and  Glengarry,  with  the  right  of  the  Jacobites,  obliged 
the  left  of  the  King's  troops  under  General  Whethem  to  retreat  ;  and, 
having  followed  them  for  some  distance,  returned  to  the  field,  numbering 


i94          THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

about  5000,  and  formed  in  rear  of  Brigadier  Wightman,  who  in  consequence 
faced  about  to  oppose  them. 

In  the  meantime  Argyll  returned  from  the  pursuit,  and  joined  Brigadier 
Wightman,  with  whom  he  remained  until  the  evening,  when  the  Jacobites 
drew  off  towards  Ardoch.  The  duke  kept  his  position  above  Dunblane 
during  the  night,  and  next  morning  caused  the  wounded,  and  four  pieces 
of  cannon  left  by  the  enemy,  to  be  carried  off  the  field.  The  number  of 
killed,  it  is  supposed,  was  well  over  500  on  each  side.  Although  both  sides 
claimed  the  victory,  the  advantage  was  evidently  in  favour  of  the  King's 
troops,  as  the  Jacobites,  having  been  unable  to  pass  the  Forth,  retreated  to 
Perth.  There  are  various  accounts  of  this  affair,  and  it  is  very  hard  to 
obtain  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  actual  composition  of  the  King's  troops  ; 
but  undoubtedly  the  Edinburgh  regiment  was  not  on  the  flank  that  gave 
way  and  retreated  to  Stirling.  The  facts  stated  above  are  taken  from 
Argyll's  despatch,  dated  Stirling,  I3th  November,  1715,  and  an  extract 
from  the  London  Gazette  dated  Whitehall,  i8th  November,  1715.  From 
these  it  appears  that  of  the  King's  troops  the  Earl  of  Forfar  was  severely 
wounded  and  taken  prisoner — "  he  had  received  two  wounds,  and  was  allowed 
quarter,  but  afterwards  the  rebels  finding  they  could  not  carry  him  off, 
did,  in  a  barbarous  manner  give  him  seventeen  wounds  more — his  life  is 
doubted."  Lord  Hay  and  Colonel  Hawley  were  wounded.  On  the 
Jacobite  side  the  Earl  of  Strathmore  was  killed,  while  the  Earl  of  Panmure 
was  severely  wounded  and  taken  prisoner,  together  with  several  gentlemen, 
including  Walkingshaw  of  Barrowfield,  Drummond  of  Logic,  young  Murray 
of  Auchtertyre.  Eight  sets  of  colours  were  also  taken. 

Captain  the  Honourable  Arthur  Elphinstone  of  the  Edinburgh  regiment 
having  been  present  with  the  corps  at  Sheriffmuir,  on  hearing  that  James 
had  landed  at  Peterhead  on  22nd  of  December  following,  took  leave  of  the 
officers  of  the  regiment,  told  them  he  resigned  his  commission,  and  im- 
mediately set  off  for  Perth,  where  he  joined  James,  who  had  arrived 
there. 

In  1717,  10,000  men  from  the  army  were  disbanded,  and  Shannon's 
Edinburgh  regiment,  after  having  made  up  its  loss  at  Sheriffmuir  by 
recruiting,  remained  quartered  in  Scotland  until  1718,  when  it  was  sent 
to  Ireland.  Owing  to  hostilities  having  commenced  against  Spain,  it  was 
embarked  from  Ireland  for  the  Isle  of  Wight,  to  join  an  expedition  forming 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     195 

there  ;  but  the  transports  were  driven  by  contrary  winds  into  Milford 
Haven  and  then  passed  up  to  Bristol,  where  the  regiment  landed  and  marched 
to  Plymouth  to  embark  again  for  the  Isle  of  Wight.  It  then  sailed  with 
the  expedition  to  Spain  under  Lord  Cobham  on  2ist  September,  1719. 
Landing  at  Vigo  Bay,  the  British  reduced  the  place  with  little  difficulty, 
and  Ponte-Vedra  submitted  without  resistance.  The  regiment  then  re- 
turned to  Ireland,  went  to  Wicklow  in  1720,  and  marched  to  Dublin  in 
1721,  in  which  year  Lord  Shannon  was  transferred  to  the  Carabineers  and 
John  Middleton  was  made  colonel  in  his  place.  After  being  quartered  at 
Carrickfergus,  Mullingar  and  Londonderry,  the  regiment  sailed  for  Gibraltar 
in  1726,  remaining  there  for  ten  years,  though  still  borne  upon  the  Irish 
establishment. 

Owing  to  a  secret  treaty  between  the  Emperor  of  Germany  and  the 
King  of  Spain,  for  placing  the  Pretender  on  the  throne  of  Great  Britain 
and  wresting  from  her  Gibraltar  and  Minorca,  the  Spanish  Ambassador 
left  the  court  of  St.  James,  and  soon  after  Gibraltar  was  invested  by  the 
Conde  de  las  Torres  at  the  head  of  20,000  men.  Reinforcements,  however, 
arrived,  and  though  the  garrison  suffered  from  sickness,  they  were  plenti- 
fully supplied  with  provisions,  and  were  able  to  withstand  all  attacks  success- 
fully. Through  the  mediation  of  France,  a  cessation  of  hostilities  took 
place  and  the  siege  was  raised  in  the  following  May,  1732. 

The  Earl  of  Rothes  was  appointed  colonel  in  room  of  John  Middleton, 
who  was  removed  to  Lord  Mark  Kerr's  regiment,  the  i3th  Foot,  on 
29th  May,  1732. 

In  1736  all  the  privates  of  the  Edinburgh  regiment  were  drafted  into 
Oglethorpe's  regiment  and  sent  to  Georgia,  where  that  corps  was  stationed. 
The  commissioned  and  non-commissioned  officers  returned  to  Ireland 
to  raise  the  battalion  afresh  to  ten  companies  of  thirty-four  privates 
each. 

The  following  is  the  oldest  return  of  the  officers  of  the  Edinburgh 
regiment  which  has  been  retained — 1739  : 

Colonel :  Earl  of  Rothes. 

Lieut. -Colonel :  James  Kennedy. 

Major  :   Biggar. 

Captains  :  James  Dalrymple,  David  Cunningham,  Henry  Ballenden,  Robert 

Armiger,  John  Maitland,  Richard  Worge,  Lord  Colville. 
C apt. -Lieutenant :   Fred  Bruce. 


ig6          THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

Lieutenants :  William  Baird,  Walter  Brodie,  George  Scott,  Hairstreet  James, 

William  Lucas,  James  Hamilton,  David  Watson,  Archibald  Douglas,  David 

Home,  Charles  Stevens. 
Ensigns :    James   Livingston,   George  M'Kenzie,   Thomas  Goddard,   James 

Sandilands,  Robert  Hay,  Alexander  Gordon,  —  Mackay,  Thomas  Goodrick, 

Patrick  Lundie. 

In  consequence  of  the  Spanish  war  the  Edinburgh  regiment  sailed  in 
1740  for  the  West  Indies,  its  strength  being  70  men  per  company,  which 
was  augmented  in  1742  by  a  lieutenant  and  30  men  per  company.  Early 
in  1743  it  was  sent  to  England,  re-embarking  for  Flanders  with  the  igth 
and  42nd  Foot.  Landing  at  Ostend,  they  joined  the  Confederates  a  few  days 
after  the  battle  of  Dettingen,  which  had  been  fought  on  26th  June.  The 
regiment  went  to  Ghent,  but  moved  to  Brussels  the  same  year. 

War  was  declared  between  France  and  Great  Britain  in  March,  1744,  the 
allied  army  consisting  of  British,  Hanoverians,  Dutch  and  Austrians.  The 
Edinburgh  regiment,  which  may  now  be  designated  by  the  number  25,  which 
it  retained  for  more  than  150  years,  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Bruges. 

On  25th  April,  1745,  Lord  Sempil  was  removed  from  the  42nd  High- 
landers and  appointed  colonel  of  the  Edinburgh  regiment  in  place  of  the 
Earl  of  Rothes,  removed  to  the  Enniskilling  (6th)  Dragoons.  On  the  nth 
May,  1745,  the  25th  lost  206  officers  and  men  at  Fontenoy,  where,  owing 
to  the  apathy  of  their  Dutch  allies,  the  British  were  obliged  to  quit  the 
field.  Such,  however,  was  the  vigour  of  the  British  attack  that  at  one 
period  of  the  action,  it  is  said,  if  the  Dutch  had  fired  but  one  shot,  the  vic- 
tory would  have  been  ours.  The  retirement  was  carried  out  in  such  good 
order,  the  battalions  facing  about  and  fronting  the  enemy's  every  hundred 
paces,  that  there  was  not  the  least  attempt  made  by  the  French  to  molest 
the  Allies.  Indeed,  the  enemy  suffered  so  severely  that  they  were  unable 
to  follow  up  their  victory.  The  Allies  having  retreated  from  Ath  took  up 
a  position  and  intrenched  themselves  beyond  the  canal  of  Antwerp,  leaving 
the  Edinburgh  regiment,  with  a  Dutch  battalion  and  some  detachments 
of  Dutch  troops,  to  defend  Ath. 

In  the  beginning  of  July  the  French  invested  Ath,  but  finding  the  garrison 
reinforced  proceeded  to  Oudenarde,  Ghent  and  Dendermonde,  all  of  which 
surrendered  to  them  in  succession.  In  the  end  of  September  the  enemy 
returned  to  Ath,  where  after  a  short  time,  owing  to  the  misconduct  of  the 
Dutch  troops,  Sempil's  Edinburgh  regiment  had  to  surrender,  not  having 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     197 

more  than  400  effectives  left.  Howbeit,  it  received  the  most  favourable 
terms,  and  marching  out  with  all  the  honours  of  war,  joined  the  allied  army 
near  Brussels. 

About  the  middle  of  October,  in  consequence  of  the  Jacobite  rising 
under  Prince  Charles  Edward,  the  regiment  was  brought  home  and,  land- 
ing at  Grays  in  Essex,  moved  shortly  after  to  Coventry,  whence  it  marched 
to  Carlisle,  arrived  in  Edinburgh,  via  Newcastle,  in  January,  1746,  and 
occupied  the  castle.  It  then  assisted  in  the  relief  of  Stirling  on  2ist  January 
under  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  and  went  on  to  Aberdeen,  where,  on  being 
joined  by  the  Duke  of  Gordon,  the  Earls  of  Aberdeen  and  Findlater  and 
several  other  persons  of  distinction,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  remained 
until  the  beginning  of  April,  when  the  army  marched  to  attack  the  Jacobite 
army,  which  was  assembled  at  Inverness. 

On  Cumberland's  arrival  at  Nairn  he  received  intelligence  that  the 
enemy  had  taken  post  on  Culloden  Muir,  distant  about  nine  miles,  with 
the  intention  of  giving  him  battle.  They  attempted  to  surprise  the  King's 
troops  by  marching  towards  Nairn,  in  two  columns,  on  the  night  of  the 
I5th  ;  but  from  want  of  discipline  and  experience  they  found  they  would 
be  unable  to  reach  the  duke's  camp  before  sunrise  the  following  morning  ; 
they  therefore  began  their  retreat  before  daylight,  and  resumed  their  former 
position.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  i6th  April  the  Duke  of  Cumberland 
advanced  from  Nairn  and  found  the  enemy  drawn  up  in  order  of  battle  in 
thirteen  divisions  or  clans  to  the  number  of  about  4000  men,  with  a  few 
pieces  of  artillery,  but  almost  without  cavalry,  and  altogether  much 
inferior  in  numbers  to  the  royal  army,  which  the  duke  formed  immediately 
into  three  lines. 

About  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  battle  began  by  a  cannonade. 
The  Jacobite  artillery,  being  ill  served,  had  little  effect  upon  the  King's 
troops,  whereas  theirs  did  great  execution  upon  the  enemy.  This  made 
the  Highlanders  impatient  for  a  close  attack  ;  accordingly,  their  right 
wing  advanced  and  charged  the  left  of  Cumberland's  line,  which  suffered 
severely  and  was  in  a  bad  way.  Whereupon  Sempil's  25th  (the  Edinburgh 
regiment)  and  Bligh's  37th  Foot  advanced  to  their  assistance,  checking 
the  Highlanders  and  repulsing  them  with  great  loss.  A  charge  by  the 
Dragoons  on  their  left  wing  completed  their  discomfiture  ;  they  fled  in  great 
disorder,  though  a  small  body  of  French  troops  covered  their  retreat.  They 


ig8         THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

were  pursued  as  far  as  Inverness,  and  the  road  from  Culloden  House  to 
Inverness  was  strewn  with  the  bodies  of  killed  and  wounded.  Their  right 
wing,  however,  having  rallied,  marched  off  the  field  in  tolerable  order, 
with  their  colours  flying  and  bagpipes  playing,  and  dispersed  as  soon  as 
they  had  quitted  the  plain.  The  contest  lasted  about  half  an  hour,  and 
Prince  Charles's  army  lost  about  1200  men  in  killed  and  wounded.  The 
Edinburgh  regiment  lost  only  one  private  killed  and  thirteen  wounded. 
Among  the  prisoners  taken  was  Lord  Balmerino,  who,  as  Captain  the 
Hon.  Arthur  Elphinstone,  had  thrown  up  his  commission  in  the  Edinburgh 
regiment  after  the  battle  of  Sheriff muir  in  1715 .  He  was  afterwards  beheaded 
on  Tower  Hill  on  i8th  August,  1746. 

The  25th  then  marched  through  Perth  to  Burntisland,  where  it  em- 
barked in  the  beginning  of  August  and  landed  at  Williamstadt  to  form  part 
of  the  force  to  assist  Maria  Theresa,  Empress  of  Austria,  the  French  of  course 
fighting  on  the  other  side.  It  remained  at  Williamstadt  until  the  middle 
of  September,  when  it  joined  the  army  under  Prince  Charles  of  Lorraine 
on  the  3oth,  just  as  the  battle  of  Roucoux  commenced.  It  did  not, 
however,  take  an  active  part  in  the  engagement,  but  formed  a  part  of  the 
force  to  cover  the  retreat  of  the  Allies,  after  which  it  went  into  winter 
quarters  at  Bois-le-Duc. 

On  the  death  of  Lord  Sempil,  the  Earl  of  Crawford  was  removed  from 
the  Highlanders  and  appointed  colonel  of  the  Edinburgh  regiment  on  the 
25th  December,  1746. 

In  July,  1747,  the  regiment  was  engaged  in  the  sanguinary  battle  of 
Val  or  Laffeldt,  capturing  two  stands  of  colours,  which  were  sent,  the  day 
after  the  battle,  to  the  headquarters  of  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Cumberland, 
and  were  delivered  by  Ensign  Melville.1  The  regiment  had  i  officer, 
4  sergeants,  and  26  rank  and  file  killed,  and  4  officers,  5  sergeants  and 
87  rank  and  file  wounded  and  missing. 

In  1747  the  Edinburgh  regiment  took  part  in  the  defence  of  Bergen- 
op-Zoom,  where,  with  other  Scottish  troops,  it  behaved  with  great  gallantry. 
It  was  after  only  the  column  had  lost  two-thirds  of  its  men  that  the  position 
had  to  be  evacuated.  The  French  owned  to  six  thousand  wounded. 

On  ist  December,  1747,  William  Earl  of  Panmure  was  appointed  colonel 
of  the  25th,  in  place  of  the  Earl  of  Crawford,  removed  to  the  Scots  Greys. 

1  Afterwards  General  Robert  Melville,  died  in  1809. 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     199 

At  the  end  of  June,  1748,  the  Edinburgh  regiment  marched  to  William- 
stadt,  where  it  embarked  the  following  November  for  Ireland,  but  owing 
to  contrary  winds  the  transports  eventually  arrived  at  Harwich  in  December. 
On  the  i8th  January,  1749,  it  sailed  from  Harwich,  and  made  the  Downs 
on  the  igth,  when  contrary  winds  obliged  it  to  remain  until  the  agth,  when 
it  again  sailed.  This  time  a  violent  gale  sprang  up,  driving  one  of  the 
transports  upon  the  coast  of  Normandy,  about  three  leagues  and  a  half 
from  Caen.  She  became  a  total  wreck,  but  the  men  were  saved  and  marched 
to  Caen.  Thence  they  moved  to  Cherbourg,  embarked  on  board  an  English 
transport  and  sailed  for  the  Isle  of  Wight.  After  six  weeks  they  re-embarked 
in  a  third  transport  and  again  sailed,  but  were  driven  into  Falmouth,  and 
detained  there  several  weeks  by  stress  of  weather.  They,  however,  ultimately 
reached  Kinsale  on  27th  April.  Such  were  the  difficulties  and  uncertainties 
of  transport  compared  with  the  present  day. 

The  regiment  was  quartered  in  Ireland  for  six  years,  during  which 
time  the  Earl  of  Home  was  appointed  colonel  in  place  of  the  Earl  of 
Panmure.  On  26th  March,  1755,  it  moved  to  Scotland,  then  to  England  in 
January,  1756,  where  it  remained  till  September,  1757,  when  it  embarked 
with  an  expedition  against  the  Isle  of  Aix.  After  the  forts  had  been 
dismantled  it  returned  to  Spithead.  On  the  2Oth  July,  1758,  it  embarked 
again  for  Germany,  and  on  the  ist  August,  1759,  was  engaged  in  the  battle 
of  Thorhausen  or  Minden,  where  the  British  troops,  allied  with  Prussians 
and  Hanoverians,  decisively  defeated  the  French  and  inflicted  heavy  losses 
on  them.  The  25th  was  one  of  the  famous  six  British  regiments  which 
received  and  repulsed  charge  after  charge  of  sixty  squadrons  of  the  best 
cavalry  of  France,  routed  two  brigades  of  French  infantry  and  swept  away 
a  body  of  Saxon  foot— all  this  under  a  heavy  cross-fire  of  artillery.  Well 
might  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick,  who  commanded  the  allied  army, 
say,  on  revisiting  the  spot  years  afterwards  :  "It  was  here  that  the 
British  infantry  gained  immortal  glory  !  " 

The  Edinburgh  regiment  had  i  officer  and  19  men  killed,  and  7  officers 
and  128  rank  and  file  wounded  and  missing.  Together  with  other  regiments 
that  fought  at  Minden,  the  25th  still  cherish  the  privilege  of  wearing  roses 
on  ist  August  in  commemoration  of  the  victory.  Minden  is  noted  in  the 
annals  of  the  British  army  as  being  the  first  engagement  in  which  our 
troops  took  aim  by  placing  the  butt  of  the  fire-lock  against  the  shoulder 


200          THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

and  viewing  the  object  along  the  barrel.  Previous  to  this  the  firelock 
was  brought  up  breast  high  and  discharged  towards  the  enemy  a  good 
deal  at  random,  because  it  was  considered  unchivalrous  to  take  aim. 

The  25th  was  next  engaged  in  July,  1760,  in  the  engagement  at  Warburg 
against  the  French,  their  casualties  being  12  killed  and  26  wounded.  On 
I5th  October  in  the  same  year  it  fought  at  the  battle  of  Campen,  losing 
4  officers  and  28  rank  and  file  killed,  7  officers  and  30  other  ranks  wounded, 
and  45  taken  prisoners.  Lieut.-Colonel  Lord  Downe  died  from  wounds 
received. 

On  I5th  and  i6th  July,  1761,  the  regiment  took  part  in  the  battle  of 
Fellinghausen.  In  the  special  orders  of  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick 
delivered  after  the  battle  he  drew  attention  to  the  generosity  and  humanity 
with  which  the  soldiers  treated  the  great  flock  of  prisoners  they  took,  which, 
in  his  opinion,  does  them  as  much  honour  as  subduing  the  enemy. 

At  the  battle  of  Wilhelmstal,  I4th  June,  1762,  the  25th  was  in  the  right 
wing  of  the  army  ;  but  was  so  slightly  engaged  as  to  suffer  no  casualties. 
During  this  campaign  Sir  Henry  Erskine  became  colonel  of  the  regiment 
in  1761,  and  was  succeeded  on  2gth  December,  1762,  by  Lord  George  Henry 
Lennox.  The  regiment  returned  home  in  1763  with  a  reputation  second 
to  none. 

At  Newcastle-on-Tyne  a  curious  and  interesting  ceremony  was  per- 
formed when  the  tattered  and  war-worn  colours,  which  for  twenty  years 
had  led  the  Edinburgh  regiment  to  victory,  were  buried  with  military 
honours.  They  had  been  carried  at  Fontenoy,  Culloden,  Roucoux,  Val, 
Minden,  Warburg,  Campen,  Fellinghausen  and  Wilhelmstal. 

From  May,  1764  to  1768,  the  regiment  was  quartered  in  Scotland,  and 
in  June,  1767,  after  being  reviewed  by  the  Marquis  of  Lome,  marched  to 
Dumfries,  Annan  and  Kirkcudbright.  It  moved  south  in  1768,  was  reviewed 
by  King  George  III.  on  26th  April  at  Hampstead,  and  on  the  loth  and 
nth  November  embarked  for  Minorca,  where  it  remained  till  December, 
1775,  when  it  returned  to  England. 

In  1782  the  Edinburgh  Regiment  was  deprived  of  the  title  which  it  had 
made  glorious  on  many  a  stricken  field  and  in  many  a  trying  campaign. 
Henceforward  for  three-and-twenty  years  it  was  to  bear  the  name  of  the 
Sussex  Regiment.  Military  historians  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  reason  for 
this  change.  According  to  one  account  it  was  done  in  accordance  with  a 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     201 

scheme  of  the  War  Office  to  stimulate  recruiting,  whereby  each  infantry 
regiment  of  the  line  should  bear  the  name  of  an  English  county.  It  was 
in  compliance  with  the  request  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  whose  principal 
residence  was  at  Goodwood  in  Sussex,  and  whose  brother,  Lord  George 
Lennox,  was  colonel  of  the  Edinburgh  regiment,  that  the  adjutant-general 
issued  an  order  on  3ist  August,  1782,  to  the  effect  that  the  25th  Foot  or 
Edinburgh  regiment  was  to  take  the  name  of  the  Sussex  regiment.  It  is 
said  that  the  colonel,  Lord  George  Lennox,  was  strongly  opposed  to  the 
change  ;  at  all  events,  he  never  thereafter  allowed  the  Scottish  beats  to 
be  discontinued. 

According  to  another  account,  while  the  regiment  was  quartered  in  the 
south  of  England  Lord  George  Lennox  sent  a  party  to  Edinburgh  to  beat 
for  recruits,  in  accordance  with  undoubted  privilege.  The  magistrates 
of  Edinburgh,  however,  interfered  to  prohibit  the  enlistment  of  recruits, 
which  so  roused  the  indignation  of  Lord  George  that  he  petitioned  the 
king  that  the  name  might  be  altered  from  the  Edinburgh  regiment  to  the 
Sussex  regiment,  which  was  done  accordingly,  and  the  25th  Foot  bore 
the  latter  title  until  1805. 

On  29th  August,  1782,  the  regiment  was  sent  to  reinforce  the  hard-pressed 
garrison  of  Gibraltar,  which,  under  General  Eliott,  afterwards  Lord  Heath- 
field,  was  besieged  by  the  combined  forces  of  France  and  Spain.  It  arrived 
in  time  to  take  a  share  in  resisting  the  culminating  effort  of  the  besiegers, 
when  the  royalty  and  nobility  of  France  and  Spain  gathered  on  the  surround- 
ing hills  to  witness  the  success  of  the  famous  floating  batteries  which  had 
been  prepared  at  enormous  expense  to  annihilate  the  stubborn  garrison. 
British  pluck  and  red-hot  shot,  however,  prevailed  against  their  utmost 
efforts,  until  at  last  the  shattered  enemy  raised  the  siege.  On  the  2oth 
January,  1783,  preliminaries  of  peace  were  signed  between  Great  Britain, 
France  and  Spain.  During  this  time  the  25th  lost  one  officer  and  34  rank 
and  file. 

The  regiment  returned  to  England  in  March,  1792,  and  in  the  following 
year  transferred  its  services  from  the  land  to  the  sea,  and  acted  as  Marines, 
in  which  capacity  they  were  fortunate  enough  to  earn  a  large  amount  of 
prize-money  by  the  capture  of  a  vessel  of  the  value  of  £1,000,000,  and  to 
participate  under  Lord  Howe  in  the  glorious  victory  over  the  French  fleet 
off  Brest  on  the  ist  June,  1794.  The  headquarters  and  one  company  of 


202          THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

the  regiment  were  on  board  the  Marlborough  in  the  van  squadron  under 
Admiral  Graves,  one  company  on  the  Gibraltar,  centre  squadron  under 
Lord  Howe,  and  one  company  on  the  Intrepid.  Their  casualties  were 
i  sergeant  and  21  rank  and  file.  The  distinction  with  the  Mural  Crown 
given  for  this  battle  was  refused  a  few  years  ago  to  the  regiment  because 
it  only  had  three  companies  present,  as  the  number  to  earn  it  was  fixed 
at  half  a  battalion.  Part  of  the  regiment  was  also  present  at  the  siege 
of  Toulon  (where  Napoleon,  then  a  lieutenant  of  artillery,  was  wounded  by 
a  British  bayonet)  and  at  the  capture  of  Corsica. 

Between  1793  and  1795  the  25th  was  present  and  took  part  in  the 
actions  at  Ollioules,  Heights  of  de  Grasse  and  Heights  of  Pharon ;  in  the 
affairs  near  Malbousquet  and  Cape  Brun,  Heights  of  Arrennes,  in  the  retreat 
from  Toulon,  the  capture  of  the  Martello  Tower,  the  storming  of  Convention, 
the  capture  of  St.  Fiorenzo,  of  Bastia  and  Calvi,  and  in  the  action  off  Cape 
Noli,  in  the  Gulf  of  Genoa;  losing  altogether  one  officer  and  72  other 
ranks. 

On  the  gth  February,  1795,  the  regiment  proceeded  under  sealed  orders 
to  the  West  Indies  and  arrived  at  Grenada  on  the  1st  April.  At  Mount 
Pleasant  they  were  attacked  by  brigands,  whom  they  drove  off,  and  after- 
wards, with  three  other  regiments,  the  2gth,  58th  and  68th  Foot,  attacked 
the  principal  post  of  the  enemy  without  success ;  but  the  brigands  lost 
very  heavily  and  were  eventually  driven  off  from  Pilot  Hill,  which  was 
occupied  and  held  by  the  25th  regiment. 

The  following  order  was  published  : 

"  Richmond  Hill,  Grenada, 

I3th  March,  1796. 

The  Commander-in-Chief  has  been  pleased  to  signify  his  highest  satisfaction 
at  the  conduct  of  Major  Wright  of  the  25th  Regiment,  and  the  officers  and  men 
under  his  command,  during  the  siege  of  Pilot  Hill ;  and  to  desire  that  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief's  approbation  thereof  should  be  made  known  in  the  most  public 
manner  to  the  Army  under  his  Command. 

(Signed)        J.  G.  DREW, 
Captain  45th  Regt,  Brigade  Major." 

On  25th  February,  1795,  a  second  battalion  was  raised,  principally 
formed  from  detachments  serving  as  Marines  in  the  Mediterranean,  British 
Channel  and  North  Sea,  together  with  such  recruits  as  were  formed  at 
the  depot.  However,  on  24th  September  the  2nd  battalion  was  incor- 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     203 

porated  with  the  ist  battalion,  which  now  was  composed  of  ten  companies, 
with  two  lieut. -colonels  and  two  majors. 

When  on  the  voyage  to  join  the  regiment  in  the  West  Indies  the  trans- 
port conveying  the  officers  and  men  of  the  disbanded  2nd  battalion  was 
captured  by  a  French  corvette.  The  officers  having  noticed  a  great  want 
of  discipline  in  the  crew  of  the  corvette,  planned  a  scheme  for  seizing  the 
ship,  of  which  scheme  Lieut.  Johnstone,  grenadier  company,  was  the  origin- 
ator ;  but  they  were  betrayed  by  one  of  their  own  men,  a  foreigner,  and  in 
consequence  the  officers  were  landed  and  imprisoned  on  the  island  of  St. 
Martin's.  They  were  then  put  on  board  of  another  ship  in  irons.  But  the 
high  spirit  of  the  men  of  this  regiment  was  not  broken  by  captivity.  By  a 
well-concerted  plan  they  overpowered  and  secured  the  crew,  and  forced 
the  master  to  navigate  the  ship  into  Grenada,  where  they  joined  the 
regiment. 

In  1796  the  25th  regiment  was  in  Grenada  at  Richmond  Hill,  the  only 
part  of  the  island  not  in  the  hands  of  the  insurgents,  who  threatened  it  in 
force.  Reinforcements  having  arrived  from  Barbados  and  St.  Lucia  General 
Sir  Ralph  Abercromby  attacked  the  enemy,  inflicting  severe  defeat  upon 
him  and  forcing  him  to  surrender  his  camp  on  i8th  May.  The  25th  returned 
to  England  in  July,  and  remained  at  home  till  1801. 

In  May,  1797,  an  attempt  was  made  to  seduce  the  garrison  of  Plymouth 
from  its  allegiance,  and  the  sergeants  of  each  corps  in  garrison  determined 
to  stop  this  by  offering  rewards  for  the  detection  of  the  offenders.  The 
following  proclamation  was  issued  and  signed  by  all  the  non-commissioned 
officers  of  the  25th  regiment  : 

NEMO  ME  IMPUNE  LACESSIT  l 

The  subscribing  N. -Commissioned  Officers  of  His  Majesty's  25th  Regiment 
of  Foot  find  with  great  regret  that  attempts  have  been  made,  by  base  and  in- 
famous persons,  to  alienate  some  of  the  soldiers  in  this  garrison  from  their  duty 
to  their  King  and  Country  by  circulating  inflammatory  papers  and  hand-bills, 
containing  the  grossest  falsehood  and  misrepresentation,  thereby  insulting  the 
character  of  the  British  soldier.  In  order  to  bring  such  incendiaries  to  the  punish- 
ment they  so  justly  deserve,  we  hereby  offer  a  reward  of  ten  guineas  (to  be  paid 
on  conviction)  to  the  person  or  persons  who  will  inform  upon,  secure,  or  deliver 
over  to  any  of  the  subscribers,  the  author,  printer  or  distributor  of  papers  or 

1  It  may  be  noted  that  although  the  old  Edinburgh  regiment  had  been  officially  known 
for  fifteen  years  as  the  Sussex  regiment,  it  retained  and  was  proud  of  the  defiant  national 
motto  of  Scotland. 


204          THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

hand-bills  criminal,  to  the  military  establishment  and  laws  of  the  Country  ;  or 
for  any  information  against  any  person  found  guilty  of  bribing  with  money, 
or  of  holding  out  any  false  allurements  to  any  soldier  in  this  District,  tending  to 
injure  the  good  order  and  discipline  of  the  Army  ;  which  reward  of  ten  guineas 
is  raised  and  subscribed  by  us  for  this  purpose,  and  will  immediately  be  paid 
on  conviction  of  any  such  offenders. 

GOD  save  the  King  ! 

In  August,  1798,  the  regiment  moved  to  Jersey,  and  remained  there 
till  I5th  June,  1799,  when  it  was  quartered  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  In  August, 
1799,  it  embarked  at  Ramsgate  on  the  expedition  to  Holland.  At  this 
period  many  British  regiments  contained  a  proportion  of  foreigners,  and 
the  25th  was  no  exception  to  the  rule.  Consequently  one  sergeant  and 
84  rank  and  file  who  were  Dutchmen  were  left  at  Deal  to  await  the  result 
of  the  landing  in  Holland.  The  25th  formed  part  of  General  Moore's 
brigade.  The  fortifications,  naval  and  military  magazines,  and  shipping 
of  the  Helder  were  first  secured,  and  ample  supplies  being  landed,  the  army 
was  ready  to  move  forward  by  3ist  August.  It  was  under  the  command 
of  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  York,  and  was  joined  by  about  10,000  Russians 
under  General  Essen.  During  the  action  at  Egmont-op-Zee  and  preliminary 
operations  the  25th  lost  3  officers  and  36  other  ranks  killed  and  8  officers 
and  76  other  ranks  wounded.  In  October  of  the  same  year,  owing  to  the 
Russians  exceeding  their  orders  by  advancing  too  far,  a  general  engagement 
was  brought  on  at  Castricum  on  unexpected  ground,  whereof  the  result 
was  that  the  British  were  forced  to  retire  on  their  position  of  the  Zype, 
and  shortly  after  the  Duke  of  York  found  it  expedient  to  commence 
negotiations,  which  ended  in  the  evacuation  of  Holland  and  the  with- 
drawal of  the  forces.  The  25th  regiment  landed  in  England  313!  October, 
1799. 

On  27th  May,  1801,  it  left  England  as  part  of  the  reinforcements  sent 
to  Egypt  and  joined  the  division  under  Major-General  Coote  before 
Alexandria,  arriving  at  Aboukir  Bay  on  gth  July.  On  I2th  August  the 
investment  of  Alexandria  commenced  ;  on  3rd  September  the  Allies  took 
possession  of  the  French  lines  and  outworks,  and  the  surrender  of  the 
garrison  of  11,000  was  complete. 

The  25th  then  proceeded  to  Malta  about  loth  September,  and  went 
on  to  Gibraltar  on  igth  November,  news  having  been  received  that  hos- 
tilities with  France  had  ceased,  and  a  treaty  of  peace  was  daily  expected. 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     205 

Here  the  regiment  remained  till  June,  1803,  when  it  embarked  for  England 
and  proceeded  shortly  afterwards  for  Ireland. 

In  October,  1805,  a  second  battalion  was  raised  at  Penrith.  Lord  George 
Henry  Lennox  died  in  1805,  having  held  the  colonelcy  of  the  25th  regiment 
since  22nd  December,  1762,  a  period  of  forty-two  years  and  three  months. 
He  was  particularly  attached  to  the  regiment  :  so  much  so  that,  notwith- 
standing his  great  interest  and  his  being  a  personal  friend  of  the  king, 
George  III.,  he  was  understood  to  have  declined  being  removed  to  any  other 
corps.  He  was  truly  a  father  to  the  corps,  never  sparing  any  expense  in 
its  equipment,  and  never  failing  to  use  all  his  interest  in  promoting  the 
officers  to  every  vacancy  that  occurred  ;  and  he  has  been  known,  in  antici- 
pation of  a  failure  in  this  respect  with  the  commander-in-chief,  to  have 
solicited  and  succeeded  with  His  Majesty  in  preventing  promotion  from 
passing  out  of  the  regiment. 

King  George  III.  now  commanded  that  the  regiment  should  take  the 
name  of  "  King's  Own  Borderers  "  in  place  of  "  The  Sussex."  Thereby 
it  became  a  royal  regiment,  the  facings  being  altered  from  yellow  to  blue 
on  7th  May,  1805. 

On  24th  December,  1807,  the  25th  King's  Own  Borderers  sailed  with 
the  fleet  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Sir  S.  Hood  and  made  the  Island 
of  Madeira,  which  was  supposed  to  have  been  taken  possession  of  by  the 
French  ;  but  this  being  found  not  to  be  the  case,  after  dropping  two  regi- 
ments and  some  artillery  and  engineers,  the  25th  regiment  with  others 
sailed  for  the  West  Indies  in  the  beginning  of  January,  1808,  and  in  January, 
1809,  joined  the  fleet  for  the  capture  of  Martinique.  The  great  action 
was  fought  on  2nd  February,  and  on  the  24th  the  fort  and  all  the  dependencies 
of  the  island  surrendered.  A  detachment  of  the  Borderers  also  took  part 
in  the  capture  of  the  Island  of  Guadaloupe  in  February,  1810. 

On  igth  March,  1811,  an  allowance  of  £25  per  company  per  annum 
was  granted  by  the  Piince  Regent  to  regiments  serving  at  home,  in  aid  of 
the  officers'  mess.  This  was  supposed  to  be  in  lieu  of  the  duty  upon  wine 
allowed  to  the  officers  of  the  royal  navy,  and  is  now  commonly  known  as 
Regent's  allowance. 

On  the  25th  June,  1813,  a  colour-sergeant  was  appointed  to  each  com- 
pany in  obedience  to  the  circular  dated  Horse  Guards,  6th  June,  1813. 

The  regiment  remained  in  the  West  Indies  until  1817,  when  it  embarked 


206          THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

on  isth  June  for  England,  after  the  following  general  order  had  been 
issued  : 

"  Hd.-Quarters,  Barbadoes, 

I2th  June,  1817. 

The  Commander  of  the  Forces  has  received  very  favourable  reports  of  the 
correct  and  creditable  state  of  discipline  evinced  upon  all  occasions  by  this  respect- 
able corps,  during  a  service  of  many  years  in  this  Command ;  and  he  requests 
that  Lieut.-Colonel  Farquharson  will  offer  to  the  Regiment  the  assurance  of  the 
Lieut-General's  best  wishes  for  their  future  welfare." 

On  24th  December,  1819,  an  order  was  issued  by  the  adjutant-general 
notifying  that  His  Majesty  had  been  pleased  to  approve  of  the  flank  com- 
panies of  the  25th  regiment  being  permitted  to  wear  on  their  appointments 
the  word  "  Martinique,"  in  commemoration  of  the  distinguished  services 
of  that  part  of  the  regiment  which  participated  in  the  reduction  of  the 
island  of  Martinique,  in  the  month  of  February,  1809. 

On  23rd  February,  1820,  the  King's  Own  Borderers  received  permission 
to  bear  on  its  colours  and  appointments  the  word  "  Egmont-op-Zee,"  in 
commemoration  of  its  very  distinguished  services  at  that  place  on  2nd 
October,  1799.  The  regiment  was  at  this  time  constantly  well  reported  on 
and  considered  to  be  in  a  very  highly  satisfactory  state.  One  of  the  many 
good  reports  made  is  given  as  a  sample  : 

"  loth  May,  1821. 

The  Major-General  has  the  greatest  satisfaction  in  expressing  to  Colonel 
Farquharson  the  high  opinion  he  entertains  of  the  25th  Regt.,  King's  Own  Bor- 
derers. Though  the  Battalion  is  in  a  very  divided  state,  the  same  uniformity 
and  good  system  was  evident  in  the  detachments  as  characterised  that  part  of 
the  Regiment  stationed  at  Head  Quarters.  Such  discipline  not  only  reflects 
the  greatest  credit  on  the  zeal  and  talents  of  the  Commanding  Officer,  but  also 
on  the  Field  Officers,  Captains  and  Subalterns,  for  their  active  cooperation  in 
carrying  the  same  into  effect." 

The  regiment  remained  in  various  home  stations  until  I2th  December, 
1827,  when  it  embarked  for  the  West  Indies,  where  it  appears  to  have  spent 
a  good  deal  of  its  service  about  this  period.  It  arrived  at  Barbados  on 
28th  and  2gth  January,  1826.  Between  that  time  and  1829  there  was 
much  sickness,  the  hospital  and  medical  arrangements  and  sanitary  pre- 
cautions being  very  different  from  those  at  the  present  time.  One  officer 
and  no  men  died  of  disease  in  1828. 

In  March,  1835,  the  25th  embarked  for  Ireland  and  took  up  quarters 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     207 

at  Templemore.  Nothing  of  interest  is  recorded  until  July,  1839,  when 
it  was  ordered  to  hold  itself  in  readiness  to  proceed  to  Canada  ;  but  on  the 
24th  August  this  was  countermanded,  and  fresh  orders  were  received  to 
prepare  for  service  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  25th  sailed  in  two  trans- 
ports on  28th  September,  arriving  in  Table  Bay,  all  well,  on  I2th  March, 
1840,  and  occupied  the  Main  Barracks. 

In  1842  the  Dutch  Boers  of  Natal  became  disaffected,  repudiating 
their  allegiance  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain.  The  Queen's  troops  having 
suffered  severely  in  attacking  the  Boers'  encampment,  detachments  of 
the  25th  regiment  were  despatched,  and  arrived  at  Port  Natal  on  26th 
June.  The  insurrection  was  speedily  quelled.  Major  D'Urban  of  the 
25th  was  specially  thanked  for  the  part  taken  by  the  detachment  he  com- 
manded in  the  operations. 

At  the  end  of  1842  the  regiment  proceeded  to  India,  and  was  quartered 
in  the  Madras  Presidency.  In  1848,  owing  to  disturbances  and  the  chance 
of  a  rupture  with  China,  it  was  held  in  readiness  to  proceed  there  ;  but  was 
sent  instead  in  August  to  Ceylon,  where  some  riots  had  taken  place.  It 
was  recalled  to  India  in  January,  1849,  in  consequence  of  the  scarcity  of 
troops  in  Bengal  arising  from  the  Sikh  war. 

In  1853  the  Borderers  proceeded  to  Seringapatam,  having  by 
their  exemplary  conduct  earned  the  encomium  passed  on  them  in  the 
following  extract  from  an  order  issued  by  the  Governor  on  their  leaving 
Madras  : 

"  The  exemplary  conduct  of  the  25th  Regiment  during  the  period  it  has  been 
stationed  at  the  Presidency  has  been  specially  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Right 
Hon.  The  Governor  by  the  Chief  Magistrate,  who  reports  that,  while  freely  mix- 
ing with  the  inhabitants,  the  men  have  at  all  times  comported  themselves  in  so 
peaceable  a  manner  as  to  have  gained  the  confidence  of  the  natives  in  a  degree 
that  he  has  never  before  witnessed,  there  being  no  instance  of  outrage  against 
the  person  or  property  by  any  man  of  the  Regiment  since  its  arrival. 

There  is  no  better  evidence  of  the  real  state  of  discipline  of  a  corps  than  the 
steady  orderly  conduct  of  all  ranks  in  quarters  ;  and  in  this  respect,  as  well  as 
in  the  mode  in  which  their  military  duties  have  been  performed,  the  Borderers 
have  well  maintained  the  reputation  of  their  distinguished  corps." 

In  April,  1854,  the  Borderers  returned  to  England.  New  colours  were 
presented  to  the  regiment  by  Lady  Smith  on  23rd  July,  1856,  Lieut.- 
General  Sir  Harry  Smith  being  in  command  of  the  Northern  District.  The 
old  colours  were  cut  up  and  pieces  of  them  were  presented  to  the  officers. 


208         THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

In  October,  1856,  four  companies  were  formed  into  a  depot  to  form  part 
of  a  depot  battalion. 

Although  the  regiment  had  been  at  home  for  only  two  years,  it  was 
sent  to  Gibraltar  in  January,  1858.  About  this  time  the  authority  for  pipers 
being  borne  upon  the  strength  of  the  regiment  having  been  called  in  ques- 
tion, the  following  letter  was  received  from  the  Horse  Guards  on  24th  April, 
1858: 

"  25th  Foot,  King's  Own  Borderers. 
Sir, 

I  have  laid  before  the  General  Commanding-in-Chief  your  letter  of  the  loth 
ultimo,  with  its  enclosure,  relative  to  the  pipers  possessed  by  the  25th  Regiment  ; 
and  am  directed  to  acquaint  you  in  reply,  that  as  it  appears  from  Lieut.-Colonel 
Hamilton's  report  that  the  permission  for  these  men  is  lost  in  time.  His  Royal 
Highness  will  authorise  their  continuance. 

It  must,  however,  be  clearly  understood  that  these  men  are  to  be  on  the  foot- 
ing of  bandsmen,  and  not  of  drummers,  as  regards  their  being  borne  on  the  strength 
of  the  Regiment,  and  also  that  the  public  is  put  to  no  expense  for  their  clothing 
as  pipers. 

(Signed)        W.  F.  FOSTER, 
Dept.  Adjt.-General." 

In  December,  1859,  a  second  battalion  was  formed  at  Preston  in  Lanca- 
shire, being  the  third  raised  since  the  first  embodiment  of  the  regiment  in 
1689.  The  present  2nd  battalion  was  raised  in  accordance  with  an  order 
dated  Horse  Guards,  7th  of  November,  1859,  an(i  received  its  first  recruit 
on  the  28th  December  of  the  same  year.  It  was  completed  to  its  full  com- 
plement of  53  sergeants,  49  corporals,  14  drummers  and  932  privates,  by 
the  2gth  of  March,  1860.  Brev.  Lieut.-Colonel  Allan  from  the  8ist  Foot 
was  brought  in  as  lieut.-colonel.  Captain  H.  J.  Walker  from  ist  battalion 
was  appointed  major,  and  five  other  officers  from  the  ist  battalion.  Two 
months  after  completion  to  full  complement  the  battalion  was  inspected 
on  loth  May,  by  Lieut.-General  Sir  John  Pennefather,  K.C.B.,  who  expressed 
unqualified  approval  of  its  great  state  of  efficiency,  declaring  publicly  that 
he  would  bring  most  prominently  before  the  notice  of  the  commander-in- 
chief  the  extraordinary  progress  so  young  a  battalion  had  made  both  in 
drill  and  discipline. 

In  May,  1862,  the  2nd  battalion  left  for  Edinburgh,  and  on  25th  April, 
1863,  colours  were  presented  in  the  Queen's  Park  by  Lady  Juliana  Walker, 
who  handed  them  to  Ensigns  Leadbetter  and  Shirley.  On  the  28th  July, 
1863,  the  2nd  battalion  began  its  first  tour  of  foreign  service,  sailing  in 


KING'S  OWN   BORDERERS 

Now  THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERS 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     209 

H.M.S.  Himalaya  for  Ceylon,  where  it  was  stationed  till  January,  1868, 
when  it  went  on  to  India. 

On  2 ist  May,  1864,  the  regiment  was  allowed  to  resume  the  glengarry 
forage-cap  with  dice-band  border.  In  1871  the  2nd  battalion  won  the  cup 
given  by  the  commander-in-chief  in  India,  Lord  Napier  of  Magdala,  for 
good  shooting,  beating  twenty-seven  other  regiments. 

Meanwhile  the  ist  battalion  remained  at  Gibraltar  till  3rd  June,  1862, 
when  it  proceeded  to  Malta,  whence  it  sailed  for  Canada  on  8th  June, 
1864,  arriving  at  Quebec  on  the  28th.  It  was  called  upon  to  assist  in  quelling 
an  attempt  by  Fenians  to  threaten  the  frontier  of  Canada  in  1866.  After 
a  short  brush  the  Fenians  were  driven  off  with  a  loss  of  about  5  killed 
and  1 6  prisoners,  and  the  rising  died  out. 

In  1867  the  Snider  breech-loading  rifle  was  issued  to  the  regiment 
in  place  of  the  old  muzzle-loaders,  but  being  found  defective  in  the  breech, 
alterations  were  made  which  rendered  necessary  a  new  kind  of  cartridge, 
and  for  some  time,  notwithstanding  the  frequent  incursions  of  the  Fenians, 
the  regiment  was  without  a  round  of  ammunition.  In  1867  the  ist  battalion 
returned  to  England  and  lay  with  headquarters  in  Glasgow  and  two  com- 
panies in  Stirling,  where  the  depot  companies  had  already  proceeded  under 
Captain  Hope,  leaving  two  companies  at  Ayr  and  one  in  Paisley. 

In  March,  1869,  authority  was  received  for  the  issue  of  a  new  pattern 
chaco-plate  as  a  special  grant  to  the  regiment.  This  plate  consisted  of 
the  Castle  of  Edinburgh  encircled  by  a  wreath  of  laurel  and  surmounted 
by  a  crown,  with  the  mottoes,  "  Nisi  Dominus  frustra  "  and  "  Honi  soit 
qui  mal  y  pense." 

From  1870  to  October,  1875,  the  ist  battalion  served  at  various  stations 
in  Ireland,  embarking  on  I2th  October,  1875,  in  H.M.S.  Malabar  for  India, 
where  it  arrived  at  Fyzabad  in  November.  The  2nd  battalion,  in  the  mean- 
time, was  in  India  till  February,  1875,  thence  moved  to  Aden,  and  arrived 
at  Shorncliffe  27th  March,  1876. 

The  ist  battalion  in  India  suffered  severely  from  a  cholera  epidemic 
in  1878,  and  was  under  orders  for  Dum  Dum  ;  but  at  the  express  wish 
of  all  ranks  not  to  be  passed  over  for  active  service,  on  2ist  October,  at 
three  days'  notice,  it  proceeded  to  the  front  to  join  the  Peshawar  Valley 
field  force  under  the  command  of  General  F.  F.  Maude,  V.C.,  C.B.,  and 
arrived  at  Jumrood  on  i7th  December.  The  cause  of  the  trouble  in 


210          THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

Afghanistan  was  the  murder  of  the  British  envoy,  Sir  Louis  Cavagnari. 
The  battalion  took  part  in  the  second  Bazaar  Valley  expedition,  advancing 
in  three  columns  from  Jumrood,  Ali  Musjed  and  Lundi  Kotal  by  the 
Bori  Pass.  Most  of  its  time  was,  however,  taken  up  on  the  lines  of  com- 
munication, where  it  performed  a  lot  of  hard  work.  It  took  part  in  a 
small  punitive  expedition  against  the  Zakka  Khels  in  January,  1879, 
afterwards  proceeding  to  Lundi  Kotal,  where  it  remained  till  peace  was 
signed  at  Gundamuck.  It  then  moved  to  Peshawar.  In  December,  1879, 
it  formed  part  of  the  Cabul  field  force  under  command  of  General  Doran, 
and  took  part  in  the  operations  against  the  Momunds  early  in  1880. 
On  27th  January  part  of  the  battalion  marched  into  Jellalabad,  while 
the  remainder  joined  the  Lughman  Valley  Expedition,  under  Major-General 
Bright,  forming  part,  later,  of  the  column  that  operated  against  the  Waziri 
in  April. 

In  1881  all  infantry  of  the  line  were  organised  as  territorial  regiments 
with  affiliated  Militia.  The  Borderers,  however,  instead  of  having  its  depot 
in  Scotland,  as  was  expected,  was,  much  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  sent 
to  York  in  May,  1880,  with  the  four  depot  companies  which  for  some  time 
had  been  with  the  battalion  at  home.  It  was  first  proposed  that  the  title 
should  be  "  The  York  Regiment,  King's  Own  Borderers,"  the  affiliated 
Militia  battalions  being  the  5th  and  2nd  West  York  Militia,  which  were  to 
become  the  3rd  and  4th  battalions,  and  both  of  these  donned  the  glen- 
garry with  diced  border  !  Exceedingly  strong  protest  was  made  against 
turning  one  of  the  oldest  Scottish  regiments  out  of  Scotland.  A  deputation, 
headed  by  some  Scottish  members  of  parliament  and  others,  waited  on  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  War,  Mr.  Childers,  to  inform  him  of  the  profound 
sense  of  injustice  felt  by  the  officers  and  all  others  connected  with  the  regi- 
ment. Mr.  Childers  was  convinced  by  the  arguments  submitted  to  him, 
and  on  3oth  June,  1881,  Major  C.  E.  Hope,  commanding  the  depot  at  York, 
received  this  telegram  :  "It  has  been  decided  to  locate  the  25th  King's 
Own  Borderers  at  Berwick- on-Tweed  as  '  King's  Own  Borderers  '  with 
no  Militia  or  Volunteer  battalions."  The  West  York  Militia,  who  were 
then  on  parade,  were  dismissed  by  their  commanding  officer  when  the  news 
was  taken  to  him,  and  on  the  next  parade  there  were  no  dice-band  glen- 
garries. It  had  been  a  great  fight  to  save  the  regiment  from  destruction,  but 
it  had  been  won.  Apparently  the  authorities  at  the  time  had  no  knowledge 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON    211 

of  the  history  of  the  regiment,  and  were  equally  ignorant  of  why  the  regiment 
had  been  raised  or  where.  The  depot  moved  to  Berwick-on-Tweed  in  July, 
1881,  where  it  is  now  located.  The  counties  comprising  the  regimental 
district  were  Berwickshire,  Roxburgh,  Selkirk,  Dumfries  and  the  Stewartry 
of  Kirkcudbright.1  In  1881  the  old  colours  of  the  ist  battalion  were  sent 
to  Edinburgh  and  deposited  in  St.  Giles's  Church. 

In  January,  1882,  Queen  Victoria  approved  of  the  King's  Own  Borderers 
adopting  the  dress  of  a  Lowland  regiment,  viz.  doublet,  trews,  claymore, 
etc.  The  tartan  prescribed  was  what  was  known  as  the  universal  pattern, 
irreverently  known  as  the  M'Childers,  having  no  historical  association  with 
the  regiment.  Endeavour  was  made  to  secure  the  Leslie  tartan,  being 
the  family  tartan  of  the  Earl  of  Leven  and  Melville,  but  permission  could 
not  be  obtained  at  the  time  of  the  change. 

In  1880  the  2nd  battalion  moved  to  Ireland,  and  was  stationed  at 
Fermoy,  Kinsale  and  Dublin  until  1886.  While  at  Fermoy  in  1881  and 
1882  it  was  constantly  employed  in  aid  of  the  civil  power,  assisting  the 
police  in  carrying  out  evictions  and  other  irksome  duties  ;  but  the  friendly 
relations  between  the  men  and  the  Irish  people  were  never  strained,  even 
when  they  had  to  protect  the  police  at  Mitchelstown. 

In  February,  1886,  the  2nd  battalion  embarked  at  Kingstown  for  Gibraltar, 
but  in  June  of  the  same  year  returned  to  England,  and  was  at  Aldershot 
till  1888.  It  took  part  in  the  great  reviews  to  celebrate  the  jubilee  of  Queen 
Victoria  in  1887.  When  out  on  manoeuvres  in  the  following  year  it  received 
orders  to  proceed  to  Egypt  on  short  notice. 

At  the  end  of  November  this  battalion  left  Cairo  for  Suakin,  where  it 
remained  till  January,  1889,  during  which  time  it  helped  to  raise  the  siege 
of  that  place  by  the  Dervishes,  and  on  the  aoth  December,  1888,  took  part 
in  the  action  of  Gemaizah,  the  good  conduct  and  perfect  discipline  of  the 
battalion  earning  General  Sir  Francis  Grenfell's  special  approbation.  It 
left  Cairo  on  3Oth  July,  under  command  of  Colonel  Talbot  Coke,  to  assist 
in  driving  back  the  Dervishes,  upon  whom  Sir  Francis  Grenfell  inflicted  a 
heavy  defeat,  completely  routing  them  at  Toski  before  the  Borderers 
could  arrive. 

In  1887  it  was  finally  decided  to  give  the  regiment  a  3rd  (Militia)  battalion, 
and  the  3rd  battalion  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers,  formerly  known  as  the  Scottish 

1  The  eastern  half  of  Wigtownshire  was  subsequently  added  to  the  district. 


212          THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

Borderers  Militia,  and  recruited  from  the  same  district  as  the  King's  Own 
Borderers,  was  transferred  to  it.  The  regiment  then  became  officially  desig- 
nated "  The  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers."  Nothing  could  have  been 
happier  than  this  selection.  This  time  the  authorities  had  undoubtedly 
done  the  right  thing,  and  one  much  appreciated  by  the  regiment,  as  the 
Scottish  Borderers  Militia,  at  that  time  commanded  by  Colonel  Sir  George 
G.  Walker,  K.C.B.,  had  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  finest  Militia 
battalions  in  the  kingdom.  Special  mention  will  be  made  of  them  later. 

The  2nd  battalion  left  Egypt  in  January,  1890,  for  India,  where  it  started 
on  a  tour  of  duty  at  Sabathu. 

The  ist  battalion  left  India  in  November,  1889,  for  Burmah,  forming 
part  of  a  punitive  expedition  against  the  Chins  and  Lushais  in  Upper  Burmah, 
under  Brigadier-General  Symons,  and  throughout  seven  months'  hard  work, 
with  much  sickness,  maintained  an  admirable  and  soldier-like  spirit.  It 
left  Rangoon  in  December,  1889,  and  arrived  at  Plymouth  on  7th  February, 
1890. 

The  2nd  battalion,  under  command  of  Colonel  Henry  Dixon,  formed  part  of 
the  Chitral  relief  force  in  1895,  greatly  distinguishing  itself  at  the  taking  of  the 
Malakand  Pass,  and  fighting  successfully  at  the  Swat  River  and  Panjkhora 
River.  Work  still  more  severe  was  undertaken  by  the  same  battalion  from 
October,  1897,  until  January,  1898,  when  it  was  engaged  in  the  campaign 
against  the  Afridis  in  the  Tirah  country.  Much  hardship  and  danger  had 
to  be  faced  in  marches  through  ice-cold  streams  and  the  mountainous  passes 
of  the  North-West  frontier,  constantly  under  fire  of  the  tribesmen.  The 
Scottish  Borderers  were  in  action  twenty-three  times,  including  the  capture 
of  the  heights  of  Dargai,  Sampazha  Pass,  Arhanza  Pass,  Tirah  and  Bara 
Valleys,  at  Bagh  and  the  Shimkanar  Pass,  and  also  in  many  rearguard 
engagements  ;  and  had  four  officers  and  36  men  killed  and  wounded  during 
the  operations.  No  higher  tribute  could  be  paid  to  any  body  of  men  than 
that  paid  to  them  by  their  Brigadier,  General  Westmacott,  who,  in  bidding 
good-bye  to  a  large  number  of  time-expired  men,  said :  "  I  am  very  sorry 
to  see  so  many  of  you  going  off,  and  trust  you  may  never  regret  going. 
We  have  been  together  now  for  some  months — long  enough  for  me  to  find 
out  for  myself  what  I  had  always  heard,  that  the  Borderers  are  one  of  the 
finest  regiments  in  the  service.  You  have  been  tried  very  highly  :  con- 
stant rearguard  actions,  marching  through  ice-cold  water,  and  then  going 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON    213 

up  on  the  highest  hills  on  picquet  duty,  and  fighting  all  night  without  either 
food  or  blankets  :  and  I  have  never  heard  a  murmur  or  an  unsoldier-like 
word.  It  is  you  men,  and  men  like  you,  who  have  made  the  name  of  the 
Fourth  Brigade  famous  throughout  the  civilized  world.  I  am  very  proud 
of  having  had  the  Borderers  in  my  command,  and  it  will  be  my  pride,  so 
long  as  I  live,  that  I  have  commanded  the  Fourth  Brigade." 

During  the  Tirah  campaign  distinguished  conduct  medals  were  awarded 
to  Colour-Sergeants  Cross  and  Milton,  Sergeants  Armstrong,  Watson  and 
Jackman,  and  Drummer  Challis. 

The  ist  battalion,  being  quartered  at  York  in  1896,  proceeded  on  25th 
September  to  Edinburgh,  and  furnished  a  guard  of  honour  under  Captain 
G.  Verner  at  Leith  railway  station  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  the  Emperor 
and  Empress  of  Russia.  The  rest  of  the  battalion  lined  the  streets.  The 
battalion  exercised  its  ancient  privilege  of  marching  through  Edinburgh 
with  bayonets  fixed  and  colours  flying,  and  also  of  beating  up  for  recruits. 
In  1897  it  took  part  in  the  celebration  of  Queen  Victoria's  diamond 
jubilee,  lining  the  streets  in  the  vicinity  of  Buckingham  Palace. 

In  1898  a  detachment  of  the  same  battalion  carried  out  a  recruiting 
march,  arriving  from  Aldershot  at  Berwick-on-Tweed  on  I2th  September, 
then  marching  through  Duns,  Coldstream,  Jedburgh,  Melrose,  Galashiels, 
Hawick,  Langholm,  Lockerbie,  Annan  and  Dumfries.  The  reception 
throughout  the  march  was  enthusiastic  in  the  extreme  and  was  a  great 
success.  The  battalion  then  crossed  from  Stranraer  to  Belfast  and  thence 
to  Dublin.  At  the  end  of  1899  it  received  orders  to  prepare  for  service 
in  South  Africa,  and  proceeded  to  Aldershot. 

On  4th  January,  1900,  the  ist  battalion  embarked  on  the  Braemar 
Castle,  a  strength  of  27  officers  and  1082  other  ranks,  Lieut.-Colonel  Godfray 
in  command.  In  addition,  a  company  of  mounted  infantry  was  formed, 
consisting  of  4  officers  and  126  rank  and  file.  On  arrival  in  South  Africa 
it  formed  part  of  the  7th  division  under  Lieut.-General  C.  Tucker. 

It  moved  forward  with  the  division  in  pursuit  of  General  Cronje,  and 
on  I5th  February  lost  eight  men  in  making  its  first  acquaintance  with 
the  Boers  at  Waterval  Drift.  It  marched  with  the  column  to  Paardeberg, 
and  assisted  in  investing  Cronje's  force  from  i8th  to  27th  February,  and  in 
resisting  General  De  Wet's  attempts  at  relief.  On  the  22nd  their  position 
at  Osfontein  was  attacked  by  the  enemy,  who  was  repulsed  and  swung 


2i4         THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

to  the  left,  only  to  find  himself  surrounded  by  the  Buffs,  who  took  eighty 
prisoners.  On  the  zyth  the  Borderers  had  the  satisfaction  of  witnessing 
the  surrender  of  Cronje  and  over  4000  Boers. 

This  was  followed  on  yth  March  by  the  action  at  Poplar  Grove, 
but  the  speedy  flight  of  the  Boers  on  finding  themselves  outflanked 
gave  little  opportunity  for  fighting.  The  march  to  Bloemfontein  was 
continued  on  the  nth,  and  the  capital  of  the  Orange  Free  State  was  occupied 
on  I3th  March.  Here  the  battalion  had  a  spell  of  rest,  very  welcome  after 
long  marches  and  short  rations. 

The  country  round  Bloemfontein  was  much  harassed  by  small  patrols 
of  the  enemy,  working  from  Karee,  a  point  about  twenty  miles  north  of 
Bloemfontein  on  the  railway,  where  a  formidable  line  of  hills  was  occupied 
by  the  enemy  in  strong  force,  with  guns.  On  28th  March  the  Scottish 
Borderers  formed  part  of  a  column  sent  to  dislodge  the  enemy,  and  to 
them  fell  the  honour  of  bearing  the  brunt  of  the  fight.  As  they  advanced, 
eight  battalions  of  infantry  moving  in  echelon,  the  hills  in  front  seemed 
so  silent  that  it  was  thought  the  Boers  had  abandoned  the  position,  when 
suddenly  at  short  range  a  tempest  of  fire  opened  upon  two  companies  of 
the  Borderers.  The  companies  principally  exposed  got  under  cover  and 
reformed,  a  hot  artillery  and  musketry  duel  then  ensuing  between  the 
opposing  forces.  The  numbers  of  the  Boers  and  the  strength  of  their 
position  made  it  impossible  for  some  time  to  push  the  attack,  but  the 
flanking  movement  of  the  cavalry  brigade  under  General  French  at  length 
alarmed  the  Boers,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  they  abandoned  their  trenches 
and  fled,  leaving  the  path  clear  for  the  advance  of  Lord  Roberts  to  Pretoria. 
This  ridge  was  strategically  important,  and  from  2Qth  March  to  2nd  May 
was  the  most  advanced  post. 

The  total  loss  in  the  eight  battalions  was  160  killed  and  wounded,  of 
which  number  83  were  Scottish  Borderers,  principally  in  A  and  B  companies, 
in  which  two  officers  were  killed  and  three  wounded.  An  independent 
eye-witness  on  the  Staff  stated  that  the  behaviour  of  the  Scottish  Borderers 
was  one  of  the  finest  things  he  had  ever  seen. 

On  3rd  May  Lord  Roberts'  main  force  assembled  at  Karee  and  com- 
menced the  march  on  Pretoria.  The  Scottish  Borderers  were  present 
in  the  actions  at  the  Vet  River  on  5th  and  6th  May  and  the  Zand  River 
on  loth  May.  On  I2th  May  Kroonstadt  was  occupied,  the  ist  Volunteer 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON    215 

Service  Company  joining  the  battalion  there.  The  advance  was  rapid,  and 
on  3ist  May  the  army  entered  Johannesburg.  Two  days  were  spent  there, 
and  then  a  move  was  made  on  Pretoria,  thirty  miles  distant.  On  4th  June 
the  enemy  was  found  in  force  on  the  ridges  commanding  the  narrow  nek 
which  led  to  the  Boer  capital.  After  some  hot  fighting  the  ridge  was 
taken,  and  that  night  the  Borderers  lay  on  the  hills  hungry  and  cold, 
with  the  electric  lights  of  Pretoria  twinkling  below  them.  Next  morning, 
following  the  Guards,  the  brigade  to  which  the  Borderers  were  attached 
marched  into  Pretoria. 

At  this  time  Christian  de  Wet  commenced  harassing  the  lines  of  com- 
munication, and  attacked  Major  Haig  of  the  Borderers,  who,  having  about 
1000  details  as  well  as  some  men  of  his  own  regiment,  drove  him  off. 
The  battalion  was  then  drafted  into  General  Ian  Hamilton's  new  force, 
consisting  of  four  battalions  of  infantry,  some  artillery  and  some  Colonials. 
This  column  joined  in  the  combined  movement  eastwards  and  went  as  far 
as  Balmoral,  where  a  storm  of  unusual  violence  was  encountered,  resulting 
in  the  loss  by  exposure  of  over  300  animals.  The  enemy,  however,  offered 
very  little  resistance. 

De  Wet  was  now  attempting  to  break  into  the  Transvaal  and  join  hands 
with  Delarey,  who  was  harassing  the  garrison  of  Rustenburg ;  Hamilton's 
for  cewas  therefore  recalled  and  despatched  westwards.  The  enemy  was 
dislodged  from  Zilikat's  Nek  on  22nd  August,  the  Borderers  losing  about 
forty  men  in  casualties.  Continuing  the  march  the  battalion  held  Com- 
mando Nek,  while  the  remainder  of  the  force  marched  on  Rustenburg, 
where  Baden  Powell  was  relieved  and  brought  in.  Passing  through  the 
Witwatersberg  at  Hekpoort,  it  marched  on  through  Kaalfontein  to  Vlak- 
fontein  and  Oliphant's  Nek,  where  resistance  was  met  and  overcome.  A 
further  advance  through  difficult  country  brought  the  column  to  Warm 
Baths,  whence  it  trekked  back  to  Pretoria.  A  well-known  writer  says 
that  this  force  put  in  as  much  hard  work  in  fighting  and  marching  as  any 
body  of  troops  in  the  whole  campaign. 

Early  in  May,  1901,  the  battalion  moved  to  Krugersdorp  and  thence 
to  Naauwpoort  West  to  join  the  mobile  column  commanded  by  Brigadier- 
General  H.  Dixon,  himself  an  old  Borderer.  On  the  2Qth  this  column 
was  operating  at  Vlakfontein  in  the  dangerous  country  near  the  Magalies- 
berg  range  of  hills,  a  neighbourhood  which  had  been  the  scene  of  more 


216         THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

than  one  mishap  to  British  arms.  On  its  way  back  to  camp  the  column 
found  a  veldt  fire  raging,  and  suddenly  from  out  of  the  smoke  500  Boer 
horsemen  dashed  upon  the  rearguard,  under  support  of  a  fierce  musketry 
fire  from  another  party  of  Boers.  In  a  few  minutes  two  British  guns  were 
captured  and  turned  upon  the  rest  of  the  column,  and  the  rearguard  was 
broken  and  scattered.  However,  the  companies  of  the  King's  Own  Scottish 
Borderers,  with  those  of  the  Derbyshire  regiment,  came  speedily  to  the  rescue, 
and  in  a  dashing  charge  re-captured  the  guns  and  drove  back  the  Boers, 
who  vanished  into  smoke,  leaving  forty-one  of  their  number  dead  on  the 
field.  In  this  brisk  encounter  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  the  Volunteer 
Service  Company  shared  in  the  honours  of  the  day.  The  casualties 
amounted  to  175,  but  very  few  amongst  the  Borderers. 

The  mounted  infantry  company  of  the  Borderers  did  much  excellent 
service  throughout  the  war  and  were  reported  by  their  various  column 
commanders  as  highly  efficient.  Lieutenant  and  Adjutant  G.  H.  B.  Coulson 
won  the  Victoria  Cross  on  i8th  May,  1901,  by  his  heroic  self-sacrifice  in 
rescuing  a  comrade  from  danger,  after  having  on  many  previous  occasions 
displayed  great  coolness  and  gallantry  under  fire  ;  but,  alas  !  he  did  not 
survive  to  wear  it. 

From  June  to  September  the  Borderers  were  in  a  column  that  hunted 
the  kloofs  and  dengas  of  the  Magaliesberg  with  singular  success.  The  most 
notable  incident  of  this  period  was  the  capture  of  Commandant  Woolmaraus 
and  thirty  Boers  in  a  kloof  at  Damhoek,  by  Major  Mayne  and  a  small  party 
of  the  Borderers  (Galloway  section  of  Volunteer  Service  Company).  The 
battalion  then  occupied  a  blockhouse  line  on  the  Mooi  River,  being  moved 
afterwards  to  a  line  from  Naauwpoort  West  to  Tafee  Kop,  where  it 
remained  until  peace  was  concluded  on  the  3ist  May,  1902. 

The  Militia  and  Volunteers  were  in  no  way  behind  their  regular  com- 
rades in  the  spirit  shown  by  them  during  the  campaign.  The  3rd  (Militia) 
battalion  volunteered  for  active  service  and  proceeded  to  South  Africa  in 
March,  1900,  and  did  not  return  until  June,  1902.  During  that  time  it  did 
excellent  service  in  the  arduous  and  dangerous  work  of  guarding  the  lines 
of  railways  from  the  marauding  Boers,  while  the  Volunteer  Service  Com- 
panies joined  the  regular  battalion  and  shared  with  it  the  hardships  and 
perils  of  the  campaign.  The  total  casualties  during  the  campaign  amounted 
to  ii  officers  and  126  n.c.o.  and  men  killed  or  died  of  wounds,  disease, 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     217 

etc.,  and  5  officers  and  90  n.c.o.  and  men  wounded.  .Seventeen  Distin- 
guished Conduct  Medals  were  won  by  non-commissioned  officers  and  men. 

At  the  end  of  1898  authority  had  been  given  for  the  regiment  to  adopt 
the  Leslie  tartan  in  place  of  the  universal  tartan  issued  in  1882  ;  but,  although 
the  officers  took  it  into  wear,  the  new  pattern  was  not  issued  to  the  rank 
and  file  until  the  end  of  the  Boer  war.  The  Scottish  Borderers  had  long 
been  anxious  to  wear  this  tartan,  being  that  of  the  family  of  the  Earl  of 
Lcven  and  Melville,  and  Lord  Leven  himself  had  used  all  the  influence  he 
could  to  obtain  the  requisite  authority ;  for  the  tartan  meant  something 
to  the  regiment,  which  the  universal  tartan  did  not. 

The  ist  battalion  returned  from  South  Africa,  arriving  at  Queenstown 
on  i6th  February,  1903,  and  proceeded  to  Belfast.  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of 
Connaught,  commanding  the  forces  in  Ireland,  inspected  the  battalion  on 
I2th  May,  1903,  and  distributed  South  African  medals.  In  July  of  the 
same  year  King  Edward  VII.  visited  Belfast,  Newtownards  and  London- 
derry, and  the  ist  battalion  at  each  place  formed  guards  of  honour  and 
lined  the  streets.  The  regiment  at  the  same  time  took  into  wear  a  Kilmar- 
nock  bonnet,  which  had  been  approved  as  the  full  dress  head-dress  in  lieu 
of  the  blue  helmet.  A  blackcock's  tail  is  worn  fastened  under  the  brooch. 

After  the  Tirah  campaign  in  1898  the  2nd  battalion  remained  in  India 
till  November,  1903,  when  it  went  to  Burmah,  leaving  Rangoon  again  in 
December,  1905,  for  Aden,  where  it  was  quartered  for  a  year  before  return- 
ing home  in  1906,  when  it  was  stationed  in  Glasgow. 

The  ist  battalion,  after  their  tour  in  Ireland,  went  to  Colchester  in 
January,  1905,  proceeded  to  Egypt  in  November,  1906,  and  was  quartered 
in  Cairo.  In  1906  it  was  supplied  with  the  S.M.L.E.  rifle  and  bandolier 
equipment.  While  this  battalion  was  at  Colchester  the  following  observa- 
tion was  made  by  General  Lord  Methuen,  commander-in-chief,  Eastern 
command,  in  his  annual  report  : 

"  The  only  fault  I  can  find  in  this  Battalion  is  paucity  of  numbers.  I  know 
of  no  Battalion  where  there  is  a  higher  tone  or  a  more  soldier-like  spirit — no  regi- 
ment I  would  sooner  put  a  son  into.  It  is  true  the  men  are  small,  but  only  because 
they  are  young,  and  it  is  a  good  sign  to  see  the  Territorial  system  working  so 
well." 

On  4th  October,  1906,  an  interesting  ceremony  took  place  in  Edin- 
burgh in  connection  with  the  regiment,  namely,  the  unveiling  of  a  group 


218         THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

of  statuary  placed  in  one  of  the  pedestals  of  the  North  Bridge  in  com- 
memoration of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers 
who  had  fallen  in  action  in  Afghanistan,  India,  Burmah,  Egypt  and  South 
Africa  between  the  years  1879  and  1902.  A  guard  of  honour,  composed 
of  four  officers  and  100  other  ranks,  with  band,  drums  and  pipes  from  the 
ist  battalion  at  Colchester,  was  present,  together  with  representatives  from 
the  depot,  3rd  battalion  and  Volunteer  companies.  An  interesting  feature 
was  a  detachment  of  veterans,  mostly  in  civilian  dress,  who  were  drawn 
up  behind  the  Volunteers.  The  ceremony  was  of  a  dignified  and  impressive 
character,  and  attracted  a  large  amount  of  public  interest.  The  unveiling 
ceremony  was  performed  by  Lieut. -General  Sir  E.  P.  Leach,  V.C.,  K.C.B., 
C.V.O.,  commanding-in-chief  the  forces  in  Scotland,  in  presence  of  the 
Lord  Provost  Sir  Robert  Cranston  and  many  past  and  present  officers 
of  the  regiment.  At  a  luncheon  given  by  the  Lord  Provost,  Magistrates 
and  Council  of  the  city  in  the  City  Chambers,  Sir  Robert  Cranston  made 
stirring  reference  to  the  regiment  and  its  special  privileges,  and  the  duty 
of  civilians  towards  those  soldiers  of  Scottish  regiments  when  they  had 
left  the  colours  and  returned  to  civil  life.  The  memorial  was  subscribed 
to  by  officers,  n.c.o.  and  men  of  the  regiment,  and  the  surplus  balance 
was  devoted  to  the  Queen  Victoria  School  at  Dunblane,  for  the  special 
maintenance  of  sons  of  Scottish  Borderers. 

The  ist  battalion  embarked  at  Port  Sudan  in  February,  1911,  for  India, 
and  was  subsequently  quartered  at  Ranikhet,  Bareilly  and  Lucknow,  a 
detachment  taking  part  in  the  Delhi  Durbar  of  1912. 

The  2nd  battalion  remained  in  Glasgow  till  2yth  January,  1910,  and 
in  the  autumn  of  1909  supplied  the  guard  of  honour  for  King  Edward  at 
Ballater,  under  command  of  Captain  T.  P.  Wingate.  The  battalion  moved 
to  Holywood  Barracks,  Belfast,  in  January,  1910. 

On  I7th  October,  1912,  the  old  colours  of  the  2nd  battalion  were  sent 
to  Edinburgh  to  be  deposited  in  St.  Giles's  Church,  where  a  most  impressive 
ceremony  took  place.  The  battalion  sent  over  a  guard  of  honour  of  five 
officers  and  100  rank  and  file,  with  band,  drums  and  pipes.  Smaller  parties 
representing  the  depot,  the  3rd  and  the  Volunteer  battalions  were  also 
present.  The  ist  battalion  Black  Watch,  who  were  quartered  at  the  castle, 
sent  a  complimentary  guard  of  four  officers  and  50  men.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
Wallace  Williamson  accepted  the  colours  on  behalf  of  the  authorities  of 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON    219 

the  Church  and  delivered  a  fine  address.  After  the  ceremony  there  was 
a  very  large  gathering  of  past  and  present  officers  and  members  of  the 
regimental  association. 

In  November,  1912,  the  2nd  battalion  moved  from  Holywood,  Belfast, 
to  Dublin.  On  26th  July,  1914,  a  daring  and  successful  attempt  was  made 
to  land  guns  and  ammunition  for  the  Irish  volunteers  at  Howth,  where 
over  1000  men  took  possession  of  them.  A  party  of  Constabulary  and  100 
of  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers  were  sent  out  from  Dublin  to  prevent 
the  removal  of  the  arms.  Shots  were  fired  from  revolvers,  and  only  about 
twenty  rifles  were  captured.  On  the  return  march  the  party  of  100  Borderers 
was  reinforced  by  about  200  more  from  barracks,  but  was  met  and  stoned 
by  a  very  hostile  crowd  near  O'Connel  Bridge.  Although  no  order  appears 
ever  to  have  been  given,  shots  were  fired  and  two  or  three  of  the  crowd  were 
killed  and  several  injured,  a  number  of  the  soldiers  also  being  injured. 

The  2nd  battalion  was  in  Dublin  and  the  ist  battalion  in  Lucknow 
on  the  5th  August  when  war  was  declared  against  Germany. 

The  regiment  has  fought  in  the  following  battles  and  campaigns,  the 
names  of  officers  commanding  being  given  in  brackets. 

1689-1693  :  Killiecrankie,  Athlone,  Aughrim,  Galway,  Limerick,  Stein- 
kirk  and  Landen.  (David  Earl  of  Leven.) 

1696  :   Siege  of  Namur.     (James  Maitland.) 

1715-1719  :  Sheriffmuir  and  capture  of  Vigo.  (Richard  Viscount 
Shannon.) 

1736  :   Siege  of  Gibraltar.     (John  Earl  of  Rothes.) 

1745-1746  :   Fontenoy,  Ath,  Culloden.     (Hugh  Lord  Sempil.) 

1746—1747  :    Roucoux,  Val.     (John  Earl  Crawford.) 

1757-1760  :  Expeditions  against  Rochefort  and  St.  Malo,  Minden,  War- 
burg and  Campen.  (William  Earl  of  Home.) 

1761-1762  :   Fellinghausen  and  Wilhelmsthal.     (Sir  H.  Erskine.) 

1782-1783  to  1801  :  Siege  of  Gibraltar,  Toulon,  Corsica,  Egmont-op- 
Zee,  Alexandria  and  Cairo.  (Lord  George  Lennox.) 

1807-1809  :  Capture  of  Madeira  and  Martinique.  (Hon.  George  Fitz- 
roy.) 

1878-1880  :  Afghan  Campaign.  (Colonel  Ruddell,  Majors  Ramsay  and 
Terry.) 

1888  :   Soudan.     (Colonel  J.  Talbot  Coke.) 


>         THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

1889-1890  :  Chin  Lushai.     (Colonel  Carleton  and  Major  Stoney.) 
1895-1898  :    Relief  of  Chitral  and  Tirah.     (Colonel  H.  G.  Dixon,  C.B., 

A.D.C.) 
1900-1902  :   South  Africa.     (Colonel  Godfray,  C.B.,  and  Colonel  Mayne, 

C.B.,  Majors  Wilkinson  and  Macfarlane,  D.S.O.) 


As  mentioned  above,  the  Scottish  Borderers  Militia  was  added  to  the 
King's  Own  Borderers  as  the  3rd  battalion  in  1887.  This  battalion  was 
originally  raised  and  embodied  at  Dumfries  in  1798,  when  Britain  was 
threatened  with  invasion  by  France.  Among  other  measures  then  taken 
for  the  defence  of  the  country  was  an  Act  passed  in  July,  1797  (37 
George  III.  cap.  103),  authorising  the  raising  by  ballot  of  6000  Militia  in 
Scotland.  The  Act  appointed  the  Lords-Lieutenant  and  their  deputies  to 
carry  out  the  provisions  therein  contained  in  August,  1797.  When  that 
time  came  it  was  found  impossible  to  carry  the  Act  into  execution,  as 
there  was  strong  opposition,  and  the  cry  was  raised  that  the  Act  was  a 
violation  of  the  Act  of  Union.  It  was  thought  this  was  only  the  first  of  a 
series  of  measures  for  enforcing  military  service,  and  that  some  pretext 
would  be  seized  for  ordering  the  Militia  on  foreign  service.  The  authorities, 
however,  took  all  available  means  of  informing  the  people  of  the  real 
nature  of  the  Act,  and  at  the  same  time  appealed  to  their  patriotic  spirit. 
These  measures  were  successful,  and  the  disturbances  appear  to  have  ceased 
almost  as  suddenly  as  they  arose. 

At  the  close  of  1798  the  Earl  of  Dalkeith  was  able  to  say  that  "  he 
had  much  pleasure  in  observing  the  alacrity  with  which  young  men  came 
forward  when  the  first  quota  of  Militia  was  called  out."  Five  counties 
were  associated  with  that  of  Dumfries  to  form  the  regiment  then,  and  long 
afterwards  it  was  known  as  the  Dumfriesshire  Militia. 

The  first  numbers  called  on  to  serve  were  as  follows  : 

Peebles         -        -        -     51        Kirkcudbright          -  125 
Selkirk  -     25        Wigtown         -        -     90 

Roxburgh    -        -        -  150        Dumfries          -        -  247 

The  first  commanding  officer  was  the  Earl  of  Dalkeith  (afterwards 
4th  Duke  of  Buccleugh),  who  held  the  command  from  1798  to  1837.  After 
performing  garrison  duty  at  Edinburgh  Castle,  Dunbar,  Kirkcaldy,  Mussel- 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON    221 

burgh  and  Dalkeith,  the  regiment  was  disembodied  in  1802.  The  Edin- 
burgh Evening  Courant  of  ist  May,  1802,  gave  a  pleasant  picture  of  the 
relationship  between  officers  and  men  that  had  been  formed  during  the 
four  years  of  service  together.  The  men  of  the  different  companies  drew 
their  respective  officers  in  carriages  through  the  streets  of  Dalkeith,  and 
afterwards  carried  them  on  their  shoulders,  with  the  highest  demonstration 
of  gratitude  and  attachment. 

On  the  26th  June,  1802,  an  Act  was  passed  to  place  the  Scottish  Militia 
on  a  permanent  footing  (42  George  III.  c.  91),  and  in  May,  1803,  the  regi- 
ment was  again  embodied  and  marched  to  Musselburgh,  where  it  remained 
three  years.  Eight  months  were  then  spent  in  Edinburgh  Castle,  and  the 
subsequent  two  years  at  Dalkeith.  The  regiment  was  now  recruited  from 
Dumfries,  Roxburgh  and  Selkirk.  One  of  the  earliest  complimentary  letters 
about  it  was  received  from  Major-General  Leslie  and  was  inserted  in  regi- 
mental orders. 

"  Musselburgh, 

2ist  May,  1809. 
My  Lord, 

Not  having  the  honour  of  meeting  your  Lordship,  I  take  this  method 
of  expressing  the  great  satisfaction  which  the  orderly,  good  conduct,  soldier-like 
appearance,  and  excellent  discipline  of  your  Lordship's  Regiment  has  given  me 
ever  since  they  made  a  part  of  my  Brigade.  This  testimony  can  add  nothing 
to  the  merit  of  the  corps,  but  I  feel  grateful  in  bestowing  it. 
I  have  the  honour  to  be, 

Your  Lordship's  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)         D.  LESLIE,  M.G. 
The  Earl  of  Dalkeith." 

In  1809  the  regiment  marched  to  Haddington,  and  a  year  later  proceeded 
to  Woodbridge  in  Suffolk,  where  the  men  were  engaged  in  constructing 
coast  defences  until  July,  iSir,  when  they  embarked  for  Ireland.  After 
serving  two  years  in  that  country  the  regiment  returned  to  Dumfries  for 
a  stay  of  a  few  months,  when  it  proceeded  again  to  Dalkeith. 

The  discipline  of  the  army  was  in  these  days  enforced  with  what  now 
seems  atrocious  severity.  The  attention  of  the  commander  of  the  forces 
in  Ireland  at  this  time  was  called  to  this  state  of  matters,  and  a  general 
order  was  issued  pointing  out  "  that  where  corporal  punishment  had  been 
most  prevalent,  general  officers  have  found  most  room  for  disapprobation, 
and  pointing  out  that  when  the  commanding  officer  of  a  regiment  performs 


222         THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

his  duties  with  punctuality,  precision,  firmness,  temper  and  impartiality, 
there  are  very  few  instances  where  the  due  exercise  of  these  high  military 
qualifications  have  not  produced,  in  all  placed  under  their  command,  habits 
of  obedience  and  regularity,  and  feelings  of  contentment  and  confidence." 
Out  of  the  eight  regiments  thus  honourably  mentioned  it  is  pleasant  to 
observe  the  name  of  the  Dumfries  Militia. 

On  the  I5th  August,  1814,  the  regiment  was  again  disembodied.  Thus 
they  had  been  for  fifteen  out  of  sixteen  years  at  the  outset  of  their  career 
soldiers  in  everything  but  name,  and  during  the  whole  of  that  time 
received  nothing  but  praise  from  the  general  officers  under  whom  they 
served. 

In  April,  1815,  orders  were  given  to  raise  men  by  beat  of  drum  at  four 
guineas  bounty,  with  a  guinea  to  the  bringer,  but  there  is  no  record  of 
the  success  of  the  endeavour.  On  20th  May  in  that  year  the  colonel  was 
ordered  to  have  clothing  prepared  for  the  full  establishment  of  the  regiment 
within  a  month  after  the  receipt  of  the  order.  Before  that  time  had  elapsed 
the  battle  of  Waterloo  had  been  fought  and  won,  rendering  the  embodiment 
of  Militia  regiments  unnecessary. 

On  igth  April,  1819,  Colonel  the  Duke  of  Buccleugh  died  at  Lisbon, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother-in-law,  Charles,  5th  Marquis  of  Queens- 
berry,  who  as  Sir  Charles  Douglas,  Bart.,  of  Kelhead,  had  served  as  a  captain 
from  1798  to  1808.  For  a  considerable  time  after  this  the  old  constitutional 
force  suffered  chilling  neglect  at  the  hands  of  successive  governments.  From 
1814  to  1820  no  trainings  were  performed  :  after  which  there  is  a  gap  of 
five  years.  In  1825  the  regiment  was  inspected  after  its  training  and  received 
a  most  gratifying  report  from  the  inspecting  officer,  Major-General  Sir 
Sydney  Beckwith.  From  1825  till  1854  there  were  no  trainings,  and  the 
regiment  ceased  to  exist,  except  in  so  far  as  there  was  always  a  cadre  of 
officers  and  a  small  permanent  staff. 

On  the  28th  February,  1833,  the  numbers  of  the  Militia  regiments  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  were  rearranged  by  ballot.  The  Dumfriesshire 
then  became  No.  81,  which  it  retained  till  it  became  the  battalion  of  a 
Territorial  regiment. 

On  3rd  April,  1837,  Colonel  the  Marquis  of  Queensberry  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  brother  John,  6th  Marquis. 

From  1825  the  Militia  remained  in  a  state  of  coma  till  the  outbreak 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON    223 

of  the  Crimean  war.  Attention  was  then  bestowed  upon  this  long-neglected 
force.  An  Act  was  passed  on  i2th  May,  1854,  authorising  the  sovereign 
to  embody  the  Militia  whenever  there  was  war  with  a  foreign  power.  The 
Scottish  Borderers  was  one  of  the  first  to  be  embodied  on  ist  February, 
1855.  An  extract  of  an  account  written  by  the  late  Colonel  Sir  G.  G.  Walker, 
K.C.B.,  in  1877,  describes  the  difficulties  that  had  to  be  encountered  in 
the  resuscitation  of  the  regiment. 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  anything  more  cheerless  and  depressing 
than  the  muster  parade  of  the  Regiment  at  Dumfries.  There  was  a  bitter  frost 
with  heavy  snow,  for  the  winter  was  a  severe  one,  elsewhere  than  on  the  ridges 
round  Sebastopol.  Groups  of  dingy-looking  men  and  lads  gathered  about  the 
street  corners,  and  smoking  and  shivering,  waited  what  would  come,  with  a  dull 
mixture  of  distrust  and  curiosity. 

A  dingy  room,  approached  through  a  close  and  a  common  stair,  with  a  window 
looking  down  Assembly  Street  had  been  hired  as  an  orderly  room,  and  here  was 
made  such  preparation  as  might  be  for  our  first  parade. 

At  10-0  A.M.  two  improvised  buglers,  in  plain  clothes,  sounded  some  imita- 
tion of  the  assembly  on  two  battered  cornopeans.  The  Colonel,  with  the  Adjutant 
and  the  few  officers  who  had  as  yet  joined,  descended  into  the  street,  and  aided 
the  ten  staff  sergeants,  of  whom  just  half  were  inefficient  from  age  and  infirmity, 
to  lead  and  hustle  the  Battalion  into  some  semblance  of  a  column.  It  was  no 
easy  task,  but  was  succeeded  after  a  fashion.  The  Grenadier  Company  at  the 
head  of  the  column  standing  about  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  fountain,  the 
Light  Company  near  the  Midsteeplc.  It  was  a  sorry  spectacle.  Of  the  officers, 
only  two,  the  Colonel  and  the  Adjutant,  were  in  uniform,  five  or  six  of  the  staff 
wore  antiquated  coatees  and  wings  :  the  remainder  and  the  whole  of  the  rank 
and  file  were  in  plain  clothes,  262  rank  and  file  only  answered  to  their  names, 
out  of  334  enrolled. 

There  was  no  trouble  about  issue  of  arms,  clothing,  necessaries,  etc.,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  there  was  none  to  issue.  It  was  over  six  weeks  before  the 
men  were  all  clothed,  and  considerably  longer  before  they  were  armed.  After 
many  entreaties  one  chest  arrived  from  the  Tower,  and  was  found  to  contain 
500  bayonet  scabbards,  the  muskets,  belts  and  bayonets  not  arriving  for  weeks 
afterwards. 

After  the  men  had  fallen  in  the  noise  and  confusion  from  the  crowd  surround- 
ing us  became  so  intolerable  that  the  Colonel  ordered  us  to  march  to  the  un- 
finished Militia  Barracks,  where  we  were  comparatively  quiet.  There  was  barely 
standing-room  among  the  building  materials,  the  men  were  noisy  and  bewildered, 
the  cold  was  intense,  and  it  was  past  mid-day  before  the  men  were  paid  off. 

For  drill  purposes,  a  field  had  been  hired  in  the  outskirts  of  Dumfries,  about 
300  yards  from  the  present  station,  and  on  the  following  morning  it  was  decreed 
we  should  march  there.  How  to  move  270  utterly  undrilled  men,  without  con- 
fusion, through  the  streets  was  a  problem.  It  was  solved  by  making  all  hands 
turn  to  the  right  (we  were  standing  in  column  by  the  left)  ;  the  front  and  rear 
men  were  ordered  to  take  each  other's  hands,  and  the  whole  moved  off  two  and 


224          THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

two  and  hand  in  hand  !  Of  the  drill  sergeants,  at  least  half  were  absolutely 
incapable,  consequently  the  officers  had  to  act  as  drill-instructors,  as  best  they 
could,  reading  up  one  evening  what  they  had  to  teach  the  next  day." 

Notwithstanding  all  these  drawbacks  the  regiment  was  inspected  in 
June  the  same  year  by  Lord  Melville,  then  commanding-in-chief  in  Scotland, 
who  expressed  himself  both  gratified  and  astonished  at  the  efficiency  so 
quickly  obtained. 

Colonel  the  Marquess  of  Queensberry  retired  in  1854,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Lieut.-Colonel  John  M'Murdo,  who  had  previously  served  in  the  Indian 
army  and  had  retired  with  the  rank  of  major.  The  headquarters  during 
embodiment  were  at  Dumfries,  but  companies  were  detached  to  Kelso, 
Hawick,  Jedburgh  and  Annan,  until  disembodiment  in  May,  1856. 

It  is  said  that  the  difference  between  the  rough  materials  gathered 
together  in  February,  1855,  and  the  well-disciplined,  soldier-like  men  who 
were  present  at  the  disembodiment  was  most  remarkable,  and  reflected 
great  credit  on  the  commanding  officer,  and  on  all  others  who  took  part 
in  effecting  the  change. 

During  the  Indian  Mutiny  in  1857  a  portion  of  the  Militia  was  embodied, 
to  supply  the  place  of  regiments  ordered  to  India.  The  Dumfriesshire  was 
the  first  Scottish  regiment  embodied.  It  assembled  at  Dumfries  on  ist 
October,  and  on  the  loth,  only  nine  days  after  its  assembly,  it  unanimously 
volunteered  for  foreign  service.  It  remained  embodied  till  April,  1859, 
being  stationed  in  the  South  Camp,  Aldershot.  A  great  deal  of  praise  was 
earned  during  this  period  from  the  authorities  at  Aldershot,  and  it  is 
pleasing  to  note  that  the  battalion  did  not  suffer  by  comparison  with  the 
regular  troops. 

Early  in  February,  1858,  the  old  percussion  muskets,  which  had  been 
issued  during  the  Crimean  war,  were  exchanged  for  the  new  Enfield  rifle. 
In  1857  the  regiment  received  new  colours,  but  they  were  not  consecrated, 
and  were  received  with  no  public  ceremony.  The  regimental  colour  was 
yellow  (the  facings  of  the  regiment)  with  small  Union  Jack  in  the  corner, 
and  in  the  centre  a  wreath  surmounted  with  a  crown  and  the  words  Dumfries, 
Roxburgh  and  Selkirk  Militia  within  the  wreath. 

From  1859  to  the  South  African  war,  January,  1900,  there  was  no 
embodied  service,  and  the  annual  trainings  took  place  at  Dumfries  at 
Kingholm  Camp,  or  in  brigade  with  the  Ayr  and  Galloway  Militia  at  Ayr. 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     225 

In  1867  Colonel  John  M'Murdo  died  and  was  succeeded  by  Colonel  the 
Hon.  Henry  Butler-Johnstone,  who  retired  in  1873,  when  the  command 
devolved  on  Colonel  George  Gustavus  Walker  of  Crawfordton. 

On  the  27th  July,  1877,  new  colours  were  presented  to  the  regiment 
by  the  Duchess  of  Buccleugh.  The  colours  were  the  gift  of  the  ladies  of 
the  counties,  and  there  was  a  very  interesting  ceremony,  which  was  largely 
attended.  The  regimental  colour  was  yellow,  and  on  the  king's  colour 
was  inscribed:  "  LXXXI.  Scottish  Borderers  Militia."  Colonel  G.  G. 
Walker  was  the  commanding  officer  at  this  time,  and  during  the  twenty 
years  he  had  command,  from  1873  till  his  retirement  on  account  of  ill- 
health,  the  regiment  rose  to  a  very  high  state  of  efficiency.  In  recognition 
of  his  services  as  a  Militia  officer  he  was  in  1884  appointed  A.D.C.  to  the 
Queen,  and  later  in  1892  was  made  a  K.C.B.  Several  changes  took  place 
during  his  period  of  command,  as  in  1881  when  all  Militia  regiments 
were  made  battalions  of  line  regiments,  to  carry  out  the  new  Territorial 
system ;  the  Scottish  Borderers  Militia  becoming  the  3rd  battalion  of  the 
Royal  Scots  Fusiliers.  However,  in  1887,  owing  to  the  King's  Own  Borderers 
having  no  affiliated  Militia  battalion,  and  as  they  recruited  from  the  same 
counties  as  the  King's  Own  Borderers,  the  battalion  was  transferred  and 
became  the  3rd  battalion  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers.  Owing  to  these 
changes  new  colours  were  received,  and  an  imposing  ceremony  took  place 
on  20th  July,  1888,  when  the  Duchess  of  Buccleugh  presented  them. 

In  1882  the  regimental  preliminary  drill  of  recruits  was  abolished  by 
general  order,  and  it  was  directed  that  in  future  recruits  were  to  be  trained 
on  enlistment  at  the  depots.  An  exception  was  made  in  the  case  of  the 
Scottish  Borderers,  and  the  continuance  of  the  practice  of  a  preliminary 
drill  of  the  recruits  has,  in  the  opinion  of  the  officers,  done  much  to  promote 
the  efficiency  of  the  battalion.  Since  the  order  was  given,  recruits  were 
given  the  option  of  being  trained  at  the  depot,  but  few  availed  themselves 
of  it. 

On  Colonel  Sir  George  Walker's  retirement,  Colonel  Archibald  Hume 
of  Auchendolly  was  appointed  to  command.  In  1898  the  battalion  cele- 
brated its  centenary — and  in  August  took  part  in  manoeuvres  on  Salisbury 
Plain.  In  October  Colonel  Hume  was  succeeded  by  Colonel  J.  Maxwell- 
Witham  of  Kirkconnell. 

The  battalion,  being  one  of  thirteen  Militia  regiments  embodied  by  a 


226         THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

special  army  order  dated  4th  January,  1900,  was  called  out  on  the  25th 
January,  and  proceeded  to  Belfast  for  training.  On  being  asked  to 
volunteer  for  active  service  abroad,  true  to  former  traditions  the  officers 
and  men  at  once  replied  they  were  willing.  On  gib.  March  the  battalion 
sailed  from  Queenstown  in  the  Kildonan  Castle,  and  on  arrival  at  Cape 
Town  proceeded  to  Modder  River  ;  three  companies  moving  to  Dronfield, 
eight  miles  north  of  Kimberley.  It  put  in  a  lot  of  useful  work  in  the 
Kimberley  district,  at  Warrenton,  Jacobsdal,  Vryburg,  etc.,  and  on  2gth 
January  the  headquarters  and  two  companies  moved  to  Bulawayo.  The 
detachments  left  at  Vryburg  and  Jacobsdal  eventually  rejoined  head- 
quarters at  Bulawayo.  Here  the  headquarters  and  certain  companies 
remained  till  the  battalion  was  ordered  home,  companies  and  parties  being 
constantly  detached  for  various  duties,  including  armoured  trains,  one  of 
which  was  named  "  His  Majesty's  Train,  Borderer." 

On  29th  May,  1902,  the  battalion  embarked  at  Cape  Town  in  the 
Roslin  Castle,  the  strength  being  14  officers,  255  n.c.o.  and  men.  Lieut. 
Colonel  J.  Maxwell-Witham,  C.M.G.,  had  been  in  command  during  the 
whole  of  the  campaign.  The  regiment  had  an  enthusiastic  reception  on  its 
return  to  Dumfries  in  June,  1902,  after  an  absence  of  over  two  years.  The 
following  order  was  published  by  the  officer  commanding  Kimberley  district 
igth  May,  1902  : 

"  On  the  departure  of  the  detachment  of  the  3rd  Battalion  King's  Own  Scottish 
Borderers  from  Kimberley,  the  Officer  Commanding  the  district  desires  to  thank 
them  for  the  excellent  services  rendered  by  them  during  so  many  long,  weary, 
and  at  times  critical,  months  at  Koffyfontein,  and  later  at  Jacobsdal. 

"  The  Battalion  as  a  whole  has  been  more  or  less  intimately  connected  with 
the  Kimberley  district  from  an  early  stage  in  the  war,  and  its  services  are  by 
no  means  forgotten  or  unappreciated.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  Militia  Battalion 
leaves  South  Africa  to  enjoy  its  well-earned  rest  at  home  with  a  higher  reputation 
than  the  3rd  Battalion  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers." 

After  the  training  of  1904  Colonel  Maxwell-Witham  retired  from  the 
command  and  was  succeeded  by  Lieut.-Colonel  C.  V.  E.  Laurie,  D.S.O., 
of  Maxwellton.  The  battalion  has  since  been  commanded  by  Lieut.-Colonels 
W.  C.  Critchley-Salmonson  and  H.  W.  A.  F.  Crichton-Browne,  the  latter 
being  in  command  when  the  European  war  of  1914  broke  out.  In  December, 
1904,  the  king  approved  of  the  battalion  being  permitted,  in  recognition 
of  services  rendered  in  South  Africa,  to  have  upon  its  colours  "  South 
Africa,  1900-1902." 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON    227 

In  conclusion  the  3rd  battalion  has  always  held  a  very  high  record 
for  efficiency  in  musketry  as  well  as  in  drill,  discipline  and  interior  economy. 
It  has  always  been  a  principle  of  first  moment  that  all  the  officers  of 
the  regiment  should  either  belong  to  or  have  family  connections  with  one 
of  the  Border  counties,  and  this  rule  has  done  much  to  create  and  foster 
that  esprit-de-corps  for  which  the  Borderers  have  always  been  remarkable. 
"  Once  a  Borderer  always  a  Borderer." 

The  Volunteer  battalions  at  first  affiliated  to  the  King's  Own  Scottish 
Borderers  were  : 

The  ist  Roxburgh  and  Selkirk  (Border  Rifle)  Volunteer  Corps. 

The  2nd  Volunteer  Battalion  (Berwickshire). 

The  3rd  Volunteer  Battalion  (Dumfriesshire). 

The  Galloway  Rifle  Volunteer  Corps  (Kirkcudbright  and  Wigtown). 

The  ist  Administrative  Battalion,  Roxburgh  Rifle  Volunteers,  was 
formed  on  gth  November,  1861,  with  headquarters  at  Melrose,  and  included 
ist,  2nd,  3rd,  4th  and  5th  Roxburgh  Rifle  Volunteer  Corps,  to  which  were 
added  in  1862  the  ist  and  2nd  Selkirk  Rifle  Volunteer  Corps.  The  title 
of  "  The  Border  Rifles  "  was  conferred  upon  the  battalion  in  1868.  In 
1863  the  uniforms  of  all  the  corps  were  assimilated,  the  slate  grey  being 
retained  for  tunics,  trousers  and  shakos.  Blue  Kilmarnock  bonnets  were 
worn  in  undress  till  1885,  when  they  were  replaced  by  glengarries.  The 
headquarters  of  the  battalion  were  transferred  from  Melrose  to  Newtown 
St.  Boswells  on  3oth  June,  1878,  and  on  7th  April,  1880,  under  W.O. 
authority,  the  battalion  was  consolidated  under  the  title  of  ist  Roxburgh 
and  Selkirk  (The  Border)  R.V.C.,  with  nine  companies,  two  each  at  Hawick, 
Galashiels  and  Selkirk. 

In  1887  (by  general  order  61  of  May)  the  battalion  was  transferred  from 
the  2ist  (Royal  Scots  Fusiliers)  to  the  25th  (King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers) 
Regimental  District,  and  in  the  same  year  one  of  the  companies  was  removed 
from  Selkirk  to  Galashiels.  On  ist  April,  1892,  a  loth  company  was  raised 
at  Hawick.  In  1901  the  establishment  was  raised  to  twelve  companies, 
but  in  1902  these  new  companies  were  again  reduced,  the  headquarters  being 
transferred  to  Melrose,  and  the  cyclists  formed  into  one  company  with  head- 
quarters at  Newcastleton.  In  this  year  the  helmets  were  replaced  by  a 
grey  felt  hat  with  black  and  white  feathers,  turned  up  on  the  left  side  with 


228         THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

a  badge  of  the  Douglas  heart,  and  crown,  and  the  motto  Doe  or  die.  The 
first  commanding  officer  was  Lord  Polwarth,  appointed  in  1861. 

The  2nd  (Berwickshire)  Volunteer  Battalion  was  formed  on  igth 
November,  1863,  as  the  ist  Administrative  Battalion,  Berwickshire  Rifle 
Volunteers,  with  headquarters  at  Duns.  The  companies  wore  various  kinds 
of  uniform  except  the  6th  and  7th,  which  adopted  what  had  been  decided 
on  for  the  whole  battalion,  viz.  scarlet  tunics  and  scarlet  cuffs  and  collar, 
black  braid  all  round  and  Austrian  knot,  dark  grey  trousers  with  ij-inch 
scarlet  stripes,  dark  grey  shakos  with  red  band,  royal  arms  in  front,  and 
a  light  green  ostrich-feather  plume  and  cock's  feathers  for  officers.  The 
headquarters  were  moved  from  Duns  to  Coldstream  in  1876,  and  about 
the  same  time  the  uniform  was  modernised.  In  1880  blue  helmets  with 
silver  star  and  crown  badge  replaced  the  shakos,  and  the  battalion  was 
consolidated  as  the  ist  Berwickshire  Rifle  Volunteers,  with  seven  companies. 

In  1884  the  battalion  was  transferred  to  the  Royal  Scots  and  adopted 
their  uniform.  In  1885  the  headquarters  were  moved  back  to  Duns,  and 
in  1887  the  battalion  was  transferred  to  the  25th  (King's  Own  Scottish 
Borderers)  Regimental  District,  and  became  the  2nd  Volunteer  battalion 
of  that  regiment  by  general  order  181  of  1887.  In  1891  a  new  company 
was  raised  at  Duns,  bringing  the  establishment  up  to  eight  companies,  viz. 
at  Duns,  Coldstream,  Ayton,  Greenlaw,  Lauder,  Earlston,  Chirnside  and 
Ladykirk.  In  1900  a  cyclist  section  was  formed  and  a  new  company 
at  Ladykirk,  but  in  1905  one  of  -the  companies  at  Duns  was  disbanded.  In 
1900  the  helmet  was  replaced  by  the  glengarry  bonnet  with  diced  border 
as  the  sole  head-dress,  and  the  tartan  of  the  trews  changed  to  Leslie.  Sashes 
were  permitted  to  be  worn  by  sergeants. 

The  regiment  was  first  commanded  by  Hon.  A.  F.  Cathcart  in  1863. 

On  4th  January,  1862,  the  ist  Administrative  Battalion,  Dumfriesshire 
Rifle  Volunteers,  was  formed,  with  headquarters  at  Dumfries.  The  first 
commanding  officer  was  Lord  H.  I.  M.  Douglas-Scott,  appointed  8th  February, 
1862.  The  original  uniform  was  Elcho  grey  tunic  and  trousers,  with  scarlet 
collars,  cuffs,  piping  and  Austrian  knot,  Elcho  grey  shakos,  with  scarlet 
band  and  ball-tuft,  with  a  bugle  and  crown  badge  and  "  60  "  (the  county 
precedence  number)  in  the  centre  of  the  bugle.  The  undress  cap  was  a 
grey  Balmoral  bonnet,  with  blue,  grey  and  red  diced  border,  but  was  re- 
placed in  1864  by  a  round  grey  forage  cap  with  scarlet  band.  In  April,  1880, 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON    229 

the  battalion  was  consolidated  as  the  ist  Dumfriesshire  Rifle  Volunteers, 
with  headquarters  at  Dumfries,  and  ten  companies,  two  at  Dumfries,  and 
one  each  at  Thornhill,  Sanquhar,  Penpont,  Annan,  Moffat,  Langholm, 
Lockerbie  and  Lochmaben.  In  March,  1885,  the  Penpont  company  became 
a  section  of  that  at  Thornhill,  and  a  new  company  was  formed  at  Eccle- 
fechan,  and  in  1888  the  headquarters  of  the  Lochmaben  company  were 
removed  to  Canonbie. 

The  battalion  was  transferred  by  general  order  in  May,  1887,  from  the 
2ist  (Royal  Scots  Fusiliers)  to  the  25th  (King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers 
Regimental  District,  and  it  assumed  the  title  of  3rd  Volunteer  Battalion 
of  the  latter  regiment  by  general  order  181  of  December,  1887,  consequent 
upon  which  in  February,  1888,  the  uniform  of  the  King's  Own  Scottish 
Borderers  was  adopted.  The  helmet  was  introduced  with  this  uniform 
and  was  worn  until  1900,  when  the  glengarry  was  used  as  the  sole  head- 
dress, and  the  trews  were  changed  to  Leslie  tartan.  The  headquarters  at 
Dumfries  included  a  large  drill-hall.  The  Annan  company  had  similar 
arrangements,  and  the  battalion  in  all  possessed  twelve  rifle  ranges. 

The  Galloway  Administrative  Battalion  of  Rifle  Volunteers  was  formed 
on  30th  June,  1860,  with  headquarters  at  Newton-Stewart,  and  William 
K.  Lawrie  was  appointed  the  first  commanding  officer  on  the  same  date. 
The  original  uniform  of  the  corps  was  steel  or  dark  grey,  but  varied  greatly 
from  year  to  year,  one  company  appearing  one  year  with  plumes  of  cocks' 
feathers  and  the  next  with  shakos  of  Highland  Light  Infantry  pattern, 
etc.  Uniformity  was  first  attained  in  December,  1873,  when  the  whole 
battalion  was  clothed  in  dark  grey  tunics  and  trousers,  with  scarlet  cuffs, 
collars,  piping  and  Austrian  knot,  dark  grey  shakos  with  black  ball-tuft 
and  black  belts.  In  May,  1883,  the  shako  was  replaced  by  a  plain  blue 
glengarry,  and  in  1905  the  uniform  was  changed  to  drab  service  dress  with 
scarlet  piping  on  the  trousers,  and  glengarry  with  diced  border  and  K.O.S.B. 
badge.  In  March,  1885,  headquarters  were  transferred  to  Castle  Douglas, 
and  in  1899,  by  Army  Order  65,  the  battalion  was  removed  from  the  2ist 
to  the  25th  (King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers)  Regimental  District.  On 
6th  September,  1904,  battalion  headquarters  were  removed  from  Castle 
Douglas  to  Maxwelltown. 

All  the  Volunteer  battalions  contributed  to  the  Volunteer  service  com- 
panies for  service  in  South  Africa  with  the  ist  battalion  King's  Own  Scottish 


230         THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

Borderers,  while  a  certain  number  of  others  served  with  various  other 
regiments.  The  service  companies  of  the  Border  Rifles  consisted  of  Major 
A.  Haddon,  Lieuts.  Craig,  Brown  and  J.  Herbertson  and  82  men ;  2nd 
Volunteer  battalion,  Captain  J.  Stevenson,  Lieuts.  R.  Stoddart  and  R. 
Christie-Thomson  and  63  men  ;  3rd  Volunteer  battalion,  Lieut.  R.  J. 
Cunningham  and  72  men ;  Galloway  Rifles,  Captain  J.  Blackwell  and 
80  men.  Besides  these  4  officers  and  49  men  served  with  other  corps. 

The  Volunteer  service  companies  did  exceptionally  good  work  and  were 
brought  to  notice  on  several  occasions.  On  i7th  August,  1901,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  telegraphed  from  Pretoria  to  Colonel  Kekewich  :  "I  am 
much  pleased  to  hear  of  your  success,  and  the  good  work  of  Major  Mayne 
and  Volunteer  Company,  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers."  This  telegram 
was  in  connection  with  the  capture  of  thirty  armed  Boers  and  their  com- 
mandant, Woolmarans,  near  Damhoek,  on  the  loth  August,  1901,  when 
Lance-Corporal  J.  M'Millan  and  Private  R.  Dixon  of  the  Volunteer  company 
were  promoted  corporals,  and  Colour-Sergeant  R.  Grierson  of  the  same 
company  specially  mentioned  by  the  general  commanding-in-chief  for 
distinguished  gallantry  in  the  field. 

The  commanding  officer  of  the  ist  battalion  spoke  as  follows  on  2ist 
May,  1902  :  "  The  Commanding  Officer,  on  the  departure  of  the  Second 
Volunteer  Service  Company,  wishes  to  place  on  record  the  good  work  done 
by  them  in  the  field  during  the  time  they  have  been  attached  to  the  ist 
King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers.  He  wishes  to  thank  all  ranks  for  their 
cordial  support  on  all  occasions,  and  takes  this  opportunity  of  wishing  them, 
in  the  name  of  the  Regiment,  a  speedy  and  safe  return  home." 

In  1908  the  Volunteer  battalions  became  Territorial  Force  battalions, 
the  ist  Border  Rifles  and  2nd  Volunteer  Battalion  K.O.S.  Borderers  being 
amalgamated  as  the  4th  (the  Border  Battalion),  the  K.O.S.  Borderers;  and 
the  3rd  Volunteer  Battalion  K.O.S.  Borderers  and  the  Galloway  Volunteer 
Rifles  became  the  5th  (Dumfries  and  Galloway)  Battalion  King's  Own 
Scottish  Borderers.  The  Hon.  Colonel  of  the  4th  battalion  is  Colonel  Sir 
Richard  Waldie-Giiffith,  Bart.,  and  Colonel  J.  Murray  Kennedy,  M.V.O., 
is  hon.  colonel  of  the  5th  battalion. 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON    231 


NOTE  I 

The  Name  and  Privileges  of  the  Regiment 

On  the  7th  May,  1805,  shortly  after  the  Hon.  Charles  Fitzroy  was 
appointed  colonel  of  the  25th  regiment,  King  George  III.  commanded  that 
it  should  be  called  "  The  King's  Own  Borderers."  It  thus  became  a  royal 
regiment,  and  the  facings  were  altered  accordingly  from  yellow  to  blue. 
Soon  afterwards  the  regiment  adopted  a  breast-plate  with  "  King's  Own 
Borderers  "  inscribed  upon  it,  and  a  badge  upon  the  plate  with  the  White 
Horse  in  the  centre  of  the  shield  encircled  by  the  words,  "  In  veritate 
religionis  confido,"  but  down  to  the  gth  May,  1828,  there  was  nothing 
to  show  why  they  had  adopted  the  White  Horse,  and  why  they  had  annexed 
to  the  White  Horse  a  religious  motto  which  had  no  connection  with  it. 

In  the  year  1828  the  regiment  was  about  to  receive  a  new  pair  of  colours, 
and  there  being  no  authority  in  existence  for  inscribing  upon  them  any- 
thing whatever  save  the  words  "  King's  Own  Borderers,"  the  late  General 
the  Hon.  C.  Fitzroy  stated  on  the  gth  May,  1828,  to  the  adjutant-general 
to  the  forces  the  circumstances  that  King  George  III.,  at  the  time  he  directed 
the  regiment  should  take  the  name  of  "  King's  Own  Borderers,"  commanded 
also  that  it  should  adopt  the  motto  of  In  veritate  religionis  confido, 
and  the  colours  then  about  to  be  prepared  had  those  words  accordingly 
inscribed  upon  them,  but  the  matter  had  not  been  fully  placed  on  record. 

It  was  desired  that  this  omission  should  be  rectified,  and  that  the  origin 
of  the  assumption  of  the  motto  should  be  placed  on  record,  and  that  which 
was  conceived  to  be  the  true  meaning  of  it  made  manifest.  As  the  regiment 
had  been  raised  for  the  purpose  of  guarding  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  it  had 
taken  the  name  of  "  The  Edinburgh  Regiment,"  as  well  as  that  of  the 
colonel  commanding  it  (vide  Gazette,  28th  March,  1689).  The  arms  of  Edin- 
burgh are  a  castle  on  a  shield,  with  the  words  Nisi  Dominus  frustra,  and 
it  is  supposed  that  when  King  George  III.  commanded  that  the  regiment 
should  adopt  the  motto  In  veritate  religionis  confido,  it  was  with  reference 
to  the  religious  motto  of  Nisi  Dominus  frustra  that  belongs  to  the  arms  of 
Edinburgh.  It  was  therefore  proposed  that  the  badge  of  the  regiment  should 
be  the  castle  of  Edinburgh  with  the  motto  Nisi  Dominus  frustra,  and  the 
name  of  King's  Own  Borderers  placed  round  it,  and  that  the  whole  should 


232         THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

be  surmounted  by  a  crown,  to  show  that  the  corps  is  a  royal  regiment, 
and  that  the  new  motto  which  King  George  III.  commanded  to  be  adopted 
should  be  placed  in  two  corners  of  the  colours  attached  to  the  crest  of 
England,  in  contradistinction  to  the  lion  of  England,  which  is  borne  by 
the  4th  or  King's  Own  regiment.  By  this  was  attained  the  twofold  object 
of  better  identifying  the  motto  In  veritate  religionis  confido  with  the  pleasure 
of  the  king,  and  also  of  more  closely  explaining  the  meaning  of  it  with 
reference  to  that  of  the  motto  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh.  And  as  it  was 
supposed  that  the  regiment  must  have  borne  the  White  Horse  of  Hanover 
in  common  with  some  other  regiments  as  a  badge,  it  was  proposed  to  set 
it  in  the  fourth  corner  of  the  colours  with  the  appropriate  military  motto 
of  Nee  aspera  terrent.  This  was  officially  sanctioned  in  1832,  but  the  crown 
was  to  be  surmounted  by  a  lion,  and  placed  over  the  motto  In  veritate 
religionis  confido.1 

I  have  been  unable  to  find  a  record  of  the  actual  letter  from  the  magis- 
trates of  Edinburgh  conferring  upon  Leven's  or  the  Edinburgh  regiment 
the  exclusive  privilege  of  beating  up  at  all  times  for  recruits  without  asking 
the  permission  of  the  Lord  Provost  shortly  after  the  battle  of  Killiecrankie  ; 
but  in  1829  the  following  letter  was  sent  by  the  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh, 
in  answer  to  one  from  Major  Chambers,  who  was  in  command  of  the  depot 
companies  in  the  castle  of  Edinburgh. 

"  Sir, 

I  this  day  read  your  note  to  me  of  the  nth  current  to  the  Magistrates  and 
Council ;  and  I  was  authorized  to  inform  you  that,  so  far  as  they  can  restore  the 
privileges  of  the  25th  Regiment,  they  are  most  happy  to  do  so ;  and  therefore 
your  men  may  beat  up  for  recruits  through  all  the  streets  any  day  of  the  year, 
Sunday  of  course  excepted. 

The  Magistrates  and  Council  hope  also  that  your  Regiment  may  soon  be 
restored  to  its  primitive  name  and  honours ;    and  if  they  can  in  any  way  aid 
you  to  obtain  them,  it  will  afford  them  much  pleasure. 
I  have,  etc., 

(Signed)        W.  ALLEN,  Lord  Provost. 

To  Chambers,  Commanding  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers." 

"  Harley  Street, 

9th  May,  1828. 
Sir, 

I  beg  leave  to  state,  for  the  information  of  Lord  Hill,  that  on  his  late  Majesty 
appointing  me  to  the  25th  Regiment,  the  Regiment,  by  his  Majesty's  gracious 

1  The  lion  and  crown  has  been  irreverently  known  as  "  The  Dog  and  Bonnet." 


BRIGADIER-GEN.  MONTAGU  GRANT  WILKINSON     233 

order,  was  made  Royal,  and  the  facings  changed  to  Blue,  and,  by  his  Majesty's 
express  dictations,  styled  '  King's  Own  Borderers,'  and  the  motto  '  In  veritate 
religionis  confido,'  particularly  named  by  his  Majesty,  and  directed  to  be  placed 
as  part  of  the  insignia  on  the  Colours  ;  which  commands  were,  of  course,  obeyed, 
and  adhered  to  ;  and  I  should  be  very  tenacious  in  preserving  the  motto  thus 
named,  as  a  mark  of  respectful  memory  of  his  late  Majesty's  commands  ;  from 
a  personal  consideration,  as  well  as  conceiving  it  a  mark  of  distinction  and  favour 
to  the  Regiment. 

I  have,  etc., 

(Signed)        CHAS.  FITZROY,  General, 

Col.  25th  or  King's  Own  Borderers. 
To  the  Adjutant-General,  Horse  Guards." 

"  London, 

24th  March,  1832. 
Sir, 

We  have  the  honour  to  acquaint  you  the  following  memorandum  appeared 
in  the  Gazette  of  the  23rd  instant,  viz. 

His  Majesty  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  permit  the  25th  Regiment  of 
Foot,  or  "  The  King's  Own  Borderers,"  which  on  its  formation  in  the  year  1689 
was  called  the  Edinburgh  Regiment  (it  having  been  raised,  in  the  short  space  of 
a  few  hours,  for  the  purpose  of  guarding  the  City  of  Edinburgh)  to  bear  on  its 
Colours  and  appointments  the  arms  of  Edinburgh,  with  the  motto  "  Nisi  Dominus 
frustra  "  ;  also  to  retain  the  motto  "  In  veritate  religionis  confido,"  which  was 
authorized  by  His  late  Majesty  King  George  the  Third,  in  reference  to  the  badge 
and  motto  above  specified.  The  motto  to  be  placed  under  the  crown,  surmounted 
by  a  lion  in  two  corners  of  the  regimental  colour.' 

We  have  the  honour  to  be,  Sir,  etc., 

(Signed)         GREENWOOD. 
The  Officer  Commanding  25th  Foot." 

"  London, 

6th  October,  1832. 
Sir, 

We  have  the  honour  to  acquaint  you  the  following  memorandum  appeared 
in  the  Gazette  of  the  5th  instant  : 

In  addition  to  the  distinctions  formerly  granted  to  the  25th  Foot,  His  Majesty 
has  been  pleased  to  permit  the  Regiment" to  bear  "  The  White  Horse"  and  the 
motto  "  Nee  aspera  terrent "  1  in  the  fourth  corner  of  the  regimental  colour. 
We  have  the  honour,  etc., 

(Signed)        GREENWOOD. 
The  Officer  Commanding  Reserve  25th  Foot." 

Shortly  after  the  regiment  had  become  King's  Own  Borderers,  and  as 
a  royal  regiment  adopted  royal  blue  facings  instead  of  yellow  in  1805,  the 

1  "  Danger  affrights  them  not  "  :   a  motto  which  the  annals  of  the  K.O.S.B.  prove  to  have 
been  no  vain  boast.     The  Roman  poet's  eulogy  might  well  be  claimed  for  this  regiment  : 

"  Serpens,  sitis,  ardor,  arenas, 
Gaudia  virtutis."  — ED. 


234         THE  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

pipers  took  into  wear  the  royal  Stuart  tartan,  presumably  with  the  sanction 
of  His  Majesty  George  III.,  and  have  continued  to  wear  it  ever  since,  a 
period  of  over  no  years.  The  authority  to  wear  this  tartan  was  evidently 
lost  and  does  not  appear  in  the  authority  to  have  pipers,  which  was  given 
in  1858. 

It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  when  regiments  were  first  numbered,  but 
numbers  will  be  found  affixed  to  every  regiment  in  Millan's  Secession 
of  Colonels  for  1744,  nevertheless,  for  some  years  later  regiments  con- 
tinued to  be  designated  by  the  names  of  their  colonels  in  the  Gazette  accounts 
of  engagements.  The  Borderers  were,  however,  always  known  as  "  The 
Edinburgh  Regiment  "  as  well  as  by  the  name  of  their  colonel. 


NOTE  II 

On  the  Origin  of  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers 
BY  ANDREW  ROSS,  Ross  Herald 

IN  his  family  history  of  the  Melvilles  and  Levens  Sir  William  Eraser  states 
that  David  Earl  of  Leven 

"  raised  a  regiment  of  his  countrymen  in  Germany  and  Holland.  The  proposal 
to  do  so  emanated  from  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  and  was  highly  approved 
by  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who  thought,  however,  that  the  task  would  be  a  somewhat 
difficult  one  in  respect  of  the  rank  and  file,  though  officers  would  be  easily  got . 
But  the  enrolment  was  accomplished  within  a  comparatively  short  time,  the 
proposal  being  made  in  August,  and  the  Earl's  commission  as  colonel  being  dated 
on  7th  September  1688,  and  this  regiment  which  became  the  25th  was  honoured 
to  render  very  important  service  in  effecting  the  Revolution.  At  the  head  of  it, 
the  Earl  accompanied  the  Prince  to  England  in  the  following  November,  and 
when  Plymouth  surrendered,  as  it  was  the  first  of  the  English  towns  to  do  so, 
the  Earl  received  instructions  to  proceed  thither  with  his  regiment,  receive  the 
town  and  garrison  it,  which  was  done." 

After  a  reference  to  the  revolution  in  Scotland  and  to  the  presence  of 
the  Earl  of  Leven  in  the  Convention  of  Estates  held  in  Edinburgh  in  March, 
1689,  the  narrative  proceeds  : 

"  A  day  or  two  after  the  Convention  met  in  Edinburgh  the  military  character 
of  the  Earl  was  recognised,  and  he  was  entrusted  in  this  capacity  with  the  necessary 


ANDREW  ROSS  235 

powers  to  secure  that  their  deliberations  should  be  conducted  in  peace.  The 
Duke  of  Gordon  had  possession  of  the  castle  and  held  it  for  King  James,  refusing 
to  surrender.  Claverhouse  and  his  dragoons  were  in  the  town,  he  himself  attending 
the  Convention.  But  on  discovering  that  the  meeting  was  unfavourable  to 
James,  Claverhouse  had  a  hasty  conference  with  the  Duke  of  Gordon  at  the 
western  postern  of  the  fortress,  and  departed  to  rouse  the  Highlands  in  his  master's 
interest.  In  consequence  of  this  an  order  was  issued  empowering  the  Earl  of 
Leven  to  raise  a  regiment  eight  hundred  strong  to  guard  the  town,  disperse  all 
parties  bearing  arms  save  themselves,  and  prevent  any  person  entering  or  leaving 
the  Castle.  His  own  regiment  being  still  about  Plymouth,  the  Earl  formed 
the  new  regiment  out  of  entirely  fresh  levies,  but  these  were  chiefly  and  readily 
supplied  by  west-countrymen,  who  had  come  to  Edinburgh  for  the  special  purpose 
of  strengthening  the  hands  of  the  promoters  of  the  Revolution.  The  measure 
however  was  merely  temporary,  until  the  arrival  of  regular  troops  from  England, 
whither  the  Scots  had  sent  their  regiments  for  the  time. 

..."  Permission  was  also  accorded  to  him  to  quarter  his  regiment,  which 
was  now  under  orders  to  proceed  from  England  to  Scotland,  wherever  he  pleased 
in  Fife.  King  William's  first  Scottish  parliament  sat  in  Edinburgh  on  5th  June, 
1689,  but  the  Earl  of  Leven  is  not  mentioned  as  taking  any  special  part  in  its 
work  further  than  being  present  and  protesting  for  the  precedency  of  his  title 
over  the  Earl  of  Callendar.  There  was  other  business  on  hand  more  congenial 
to  his  military  tastes.  His  regiment  was  now  with  him  having  left  Plymouth 
in  the  month  of  May  for  Chester,  thence  to  pass  to  Kirkcudbright  by  sea  ;  and 
the  Earl  received  a  new  commission  as  its  colonel,  with  the  captaincy  of  a  company 
in  it  from  their  Majesties  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  which  was  dated  20  June 
1689,  but  was  ordered  to  rank  from  7th  September  of  the  previous  year,  the 
date  of  his  last  commission  granted  by  the  King  as  the  Prince  of  Orange."  l 

The  facts  as  gleaned  from  the  public  records  and  contemporary  authorities, 
in  one  or  two  details  confirm,  but  more  frequently  contradict  these  state- 
ments. 

The  Earl  of  Leven  accompanied  the  Prince  of  Orange  in  his  invasion 
of  England  in  November,  1688.  On  7th  March,  1689,  the  earl  received  a 
pass  for  Scotland,2  and  was  present  at  the  opening  of  the  Convention  of 
Estates  at  Edinburgh  on  Thuisday,  the  i4th  of  that  month.3  On  Monday 
the  i8th  he  was  authorised  by  the  Convention  to  levy  a  regiment  of  800  men 
by  beat  of  drums  and  to  rendezvous  them  in  the  Abbey  Close.4  The  call 
was  so  instantly  responded  to  that  on  the  same  day  500  men  entered  on 

I  The  Mdvilles  Earls  of  Melville,  and  the  Leslies  Earls  of  Leven,  by  Sir  William  Eraser, 
vol.  i.  p.  248  et  seq. 

-  Calendar  of  State  Papers  :  Domestic,  1689-90,  p.  16. 

II  Acts  of  the  Parliaments  of  Scotland,  Record  Edition,  vol.  ix.  p.  3. 
4  Ibid.  p.  ii. 


236     ORIGIN  OF  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

pay.1  By  Wednesday  the  2Oth,  four  sergeants,  six  corporals,  six  drums,  a 
scrivener  and  168  private  men  were  added,  bringing  the  numbers  up  to 
685. z  The  officers  then  present  with  the  regiment  were  two  captains, 
two  lieutenants  and  two  ensigns,  who  are  noted  as  having  joined  on  the 
2oth.3  On  the  25th  Captain  Henry  Verriere,  a  Huguenot  officer  in  the 
earl's  regiment  in  England,  received  a  pass  to  join  his  colonel.4  On  the 
same  date  the  commander-in-chief,  Major-General  Hugh  Mackay,  arrived 
in  Edinburgh  with  the  skeletons  of  the  three  Scots-Dutch  regiments  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Barthold  Balfour,  Colonel  George  Ramsay  and  himself.5 
The  general  brought  a  supply  of  money,  and  the  earl's  share  enabled  him 
to  bring  up  his  levy  to  780,  the  strength  authorised  for  the  English  establish- 
m?nt.« 

The  news  of  the  earl's  feat  travelled  quickly.  In  the  London  Gazette, 
Monday,  March  25th-Thursday,  March  28th,  1689,  it  is  stated  that  the 
Convention  "  ordered  800  men  to  be  levied  under  the  command  of  the 
Earl  of  Leven,  who  likewise  came  over  with  his  Majesty  ;  which  were  raised 
and  armed  in  two  hours'  time,  and  appointed  to  guard  the  town."  In 
the  regimental  record  the  account  is  given  with  the  variation  that  the 
regiment  was  raised  in  four  hours.7  In  the  latest  official  record  it  is  stated 
to  have  been  completely  recruited  up  to  1000  men  within  the  space  of  four 
hours,  and  this  tradition  is  confirmed  by  an  entry  in  the  books  of  the  Scottish 
Treasury.8 

No  further  reference  to  the  recruiting  of  the  regiment  at  this 
period  appear  in  the  Scottish  records,  as  it  was  paid  from  the  English 
establishment.9 

The  swiftness  with  which  the  regiment  sprang  into  being  is  unparalleled 
in  our  military  annals,  and  in  the  opinion  of  the  individual  most  competent 

1  Treasury  Sederunts,  from  I3th  September,  1688,  to  4th  August,  1690.  H.M.  Register 
House,  Edinburgh. 

Ibid.  »  Ibid. 

Calendar  of  State  Papers:  Domestic,  1689-90,  p.  41. 

Acts  of  Parliament,  ix.  21. 

Memoirs  of  Major-General  Hugh  Mackay,  Maitland  Club,  1833,  p.  6. 

Records  of  the  King's  Own  Borderers,  by  Capt.  R.  T.  Higgins,  1873,  p.  I. 

Short  Histories  of  the  Territorial  Regiments  of  the  British  Army,  edited  by  R.  de  M. 
Rudolf.  I.S.O.  of  the  War  Office,  London.  No.  25. 

•  In  April,  1689,  the  Scottish  Treasury  pay  £50  ...  Stg.  to  the  Earl  of  Leven  "  for  advances 
and  levy  money  for  24  seamen  taken  as  volunteers  to  serve  their  Majesties  forces."  These 
men  no  doubt  served  in  the  fleet. 


ANDREW  ROSS  237 

of  judging,  Major-General  Mackay,  commanding  in  Scotland,  it  was  com- 
posed of  some  of  the  best  recruits  raised  in  Scotland  at  a  time  when  the 
cream  of  the  country  was  eager  to  join  the  army.  They  were  the  men 
who  faced  Dundee  at  Killiecrankie,  where  they  behaved  in  a  way  which 
repeatedly  called  forth  the  general's  commendations.1  They  were  a  body 
totally  distinct  from  the  western  men  with  whom  Sir  William  Fraser  confuses 
them.2  None  of  the  western  men  joined  Leven's.  In  March,  1689,  they 
declined  to  serve  under  any  officers  other  than  those  elected  bv  themselves.3 
To  the  number  of  several  hundreds  they  had  mounted  guard  on  i8th  March 
around  the  castle  of  Edinburgh  to  intercept  communication  between  the 
castle  and  the  city.4  They  returned  home  on  the  28th  of  that  month 
after  receiving  the  thanks  of  the  Convention  for  their  services,5  and  thfey 
formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Cameronian  Regiment,  late  26th.  The  blockade 
of  the  castle  was  continued  by  the  three  Scots-Dutch  regiments,  each 
of  which  was  quickly  augmented  to  two  battalions  of  1200  men.6  On 
the  2nd  of  April  the  Earl  of  Leven  obtained  permission  to  withdraw  the 
regiment  to  Fife  to  quarter  it  where  he  thought  suitable.7 

Turning  now  to  the  Leven  Regiment  in  England,  the  earliest  reference 
observed  to  it  is  in  a  marching  order  by  King  William  : 

"  Our  will  and  pleasure  is  that  forthwith  upon  the  receipt  of  this  our  order, 
you  with  your  Regiment  now  in  garrison  at  Plymouth  do  march  with  what  expedi- 
tion you  conveniently  can  unto  our  city  of  Chester,  and  having  with  the  assistance 
of  the  Mayor  and  magistrates  of  the  said  city,  provided  such  shipping  as  shall 
be  necessary,  that  you  embark  your  said  Regiment  and  transport  the  same  to 
Kirkcubrig,  or  any  other  port  which  you  can  best  make  upon  the  west  of  Scotland, 
when  you  will  receive  our  further  directions.  Given  at  our  Palace  at  Hampton 
Court  the  22  clay  of  March  1688-9."  Addressed  "  To  the  Earl  of  Leven  or  his 
Lieutenant  Colonel."  8 

1  Mackay's  Memoirs,  pp.  57,  59,  256,  273. 

2  There  is  no  room  (or  doubt  on  this  point.     The  order  for  the  Convention  dated  2ist  March, 
1689,  runs  thus  :    "  The  Meeting  of  Estates  doe  ordaine  that  such  Centinells  as  the  Earle  of 
Leven  hes  levied  be  payed  by  James  Oswald,  Generall  receiver,  att  six  shillings  Scots  per 
diem  since  the  tyme  of  their  respective  enrollments,  and  that  the  officers  be  payed  conforme  ; 
As  also  that  the  Countrymen  who  have  served  as  guardes  hitherto  have  a  week's  pay  from 
Mundaj  last  in  the  same  manner  to  the  number  of  f yve  hundered,  And  that  ther  officers  have 
the  thanks  of  the  meeting."     Acts  of  Parliament,  ix.  18.     The  payment  to  the  Le/en  recruits 
duly  appears  in  the  Treasury  Accounts.     There  is  no  record  of  payment  to  the  countrymen 
(Cameronians),  whose  principles  did  not  permit  of  their  accepting  it. 

3  See  the  Note  on  the  Angus  Regiment  in  this  volume. 

4  Faithful  Contending!.  '-  Acts  of  Parliament,  ix.  23. 
6  Mackay's  Memoirs.  '  Acts  of  Parliament,  ix.  33. 
8  War  Office  Records,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  Class  5,  vol.  5,  fol.  114. 


238       ORIGIN  OF  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

This  is  the  order  alluded  to  in  a  letter  from  Sir  James  Dalrymple  of 
Stair  to  the  Earl  of  Melville,  Lord  Leven's  father,  dated  from  London, 
23rd  March,  1689,  where  he  writes  :  "I  was  yesterday  at  Hampton  Court 
and  spoke  with  both  the  King  and  Mr.  Renting  [Bentinck].  I  got  an  order 
for  the  Regiment  to  march  to  Chester  and  then  to  be  provided  in  a  ship 
to  Kirkcudbright."  1  For  some  unexplained  reason  the  order  was  not 
carried  out.  Two  or  three  days  afterwards  the  news  reached  London 
of  the  extraordinary  rapidity  with  which  Lord  Leven's  regiment  in  Edin- 
burgh had  sprung  into  existence,2  and  on  the  nth  April  Sir  James  writes 
Lord  Melville  :  "  I  had  gotten  a  warrant  for  Lord  Leven's  Regiment  to 
march  to  Scotland  by  Chester,  but  I  thought  it  unnecessar  to  bring  a  handfull 
of  strangers  that  way,  and  to  retard  the  officers."  3 

The  officers  then  proceeded  to  Scotland  alone.  What  became  of  the 
"  handfull  "  of  private  men  referred  to  by  Sir  James  can  only  be  surmised. 
The  corps  mustered  at  the  landing  at  Torbay  on  5th  November,  1688, 
two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  private  men,  as  appears  from  the  following 
warrant  : 

"  Our  will  and  pleasure  is  that  you  forthwith  prepare  and  send  the  debentures 
for  the  pay  of  Our  Regiment  of  Foot  commanded  by  Our  Right  Trusty  and  Right 
Wellbeloved  Cousin  and  Councillor  Daniell  Earl  of  Levin  according  to  the  severall 
numbers  and  for  the  respective  times  hereafter  menconed  the  same  to  be  computed 
att  the  rates  allowed  by  our  Establishment  to  the  officers  and  souldiers  of  our 
army  regiments,  vizt.  one  colonell,  one  lieutenant  colonell  nine  other  captains 
six  lieutenants  eight  ensignes  on  chirurgeon  and  his  mate,  one  adjutant  ten  Serjeants 
tenn  corporalls  ten  drummers  and  227  privat  soldiers,  to  be  allowed  from  the 
5th  of  November  1688  inclusive  (being  the  day  We  landed  in  England)  to  the 
ist  March  i688[89]  exclusive.  And  from  the  said  ist  day  of  March  to  the  last 
of  December  1689  inclusive  one  collonel  one  lievtenant  collonel  one  major  nine 
other  captains,  12  lievtenants  12  ensignes  one  chirurgeon  and  his  mate,  one  adjutant 
one  quarter  master  one  chaplaine  24  Serjeants  36  corporalls  24  drummers  and 
780  private  soldiers.  And  Our  further  pleasure  is  that  you  make  out  like  deben- 
tures for  the  pay  of  the  said  Regiment  from  the  ist  of  January  i68g[9o]  to  the 
last  of  August  past  according  to  such  muster  rolls  as  shall  be  taken  off  them  for 
the  months  of  September  and  October  last  by  the  commissary  general  of  Our 
musters  in  Scotland  or  his  deputy,  pursuant  to  our  Establishment  of  the  said 
Regiment.  And  We  do  likewise  direct  that  in  your  said  debenture  you  include 
the  pay  of  12  captains  of  arms  at  i4d  a  day  each  from  the  said  ist  of  March  i688[8g] 
to  the  last  of  December  1689  aforesaid.  And  for  so  doing  this  shall  be  your  warrant. 

1  The  Leven  and  Melville  Papers,  p.  3. 

2  London  Gazette,  from  Monday,  March  25th  to  Thursday,  March  z8th,  1689. 
'  The  Leven  and  Melville  Papers,  p.  10. 


ANDREW  ROSS  239 

Given  at  Our  court  at  Kensington  on  this  26th  of  November  1690,  in  the  second 
year  of  our  reign.  By  his  Majestys  command."  1  Addressed  to  the  Earl  of 
Ranelagh. 

Judging  by  the  fate  of  other  weak  regiments  at  the  time,  there  is  little 
doubt  that  Leven's  was  incorporated  with  other  corps.  The  new  king  and 
his  advisers  regarded  the  three  kingdoms  simply  as  recruiting  grounds 
for  the  army  in  the  Netherlands,  and  corps  were  formed,  broken  up  and 
incorporated  with  others  with  little  regard  to  nationality.  Even  the  Guards 
were  not  exempt.  The  experience  of  the  three  Scots-Dutch  regiments 
which  accompanied  Major-General  Mackay  to  Edinburgh  is  in  point. 
While  in  the  south  the  king  stripped  them  to  strengthen  his  English  regi- 
ments, and  on  arrival  in  Scotland  they  mustered  barely  noo  men.2  They 
were  ordered  to  be  recruited  at  home  to  a  strength  of  1200  men  each.3 
It  may  be  added  that  at  the  revolution  the  garrison  of  Plymouth  was 
under  the  command  of  the  Earl  of  Bath,  colonel  of  the  loth  Regiment 
of  Foot,  who  had  then  been  governor  for  many  years.4  Intimating  his 
adherence  to  the  Prince  of  Orange  within  a  fortnight  of  the  landing  at 
Torbay,5  he  was  continued  in  his  post,  which  he  held  for  some  years  subse- 
quently.6 The  Earl  of  Leven  at  no  time  held  that  command. 

With  the  exception  of  three  Huguenots,  the  officers  of  Leven's  were 
men  of  Scots  families,  Hamiltons,  Gordons,  Fullertons,  Maxwells,  Moncrieffs, 
and  so  forth.7  The  commissions  of  the  Earl  of  Leven  as  colonel  and  of 
William  Arnot  as  lieutenant-colonel  are  both  dated  2Oth  June,  i689,8 
the  others  are  of  subsequent  dates  in  that  year.  The  regiment  remained 
in  Fife  until  the  end  of  May,  1689, 9  when  it  moved  to  Dundee,10  and  before 
the  encounter  with  Dundee  at  Killicrankie  (27th  July,  1689)  mustered 
900  men,  200  of  whom  were  on  the  day  of  battle  in  garrison  at  Inverness.11 
Major-General  Mackay  pays  a  high  tribute  to  the  ability  and  courage  of 

I  English  Treasury  Records,  5^,215. 
'  Mackay's  Memoirs,  p.  5. 

Life  of  Lieut.-General  Hugh  Mackay  of  Scourie,  by  John  Mackay  of  Rockfield,  1842,  p.  18. 
3  Ibid.  p.  21.  *  Dalton's  English  Army  Lists,  i.  12. 

5  Dalrymple's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  Appendix,  second  pagination,  p.  335. 

6  Dalton,  ii.  31,  38.  '  Dalton,  iii.  85. 

8  Warrant  Book,  Scotland,  I5th  May,  i68g-26th  February,  1690. 

8  Acts  of  Parliament,  ix.  81.  lo  Mackay's  Memoirs,  p.  253. 

II  A  Military  History  of  Perthshire,  by  the  Marchioness  of  Tullibardine,  p.  256,  n.  I,  and 
the  authorities  there  cited. 


24o      ORIGIN  OF  KING'S  OWN  SCOTTISH  BORDERERS 

the  officers  of  Leven's  on  that  day.1  Immediately  afterwards  the  regiment 
was  quartered  in  Edinburgh  and  Leith,2  where  its  ranks  so  quickly  refilled 
that  in  the  following  December  it  was  called  upon  for  reinforcements  for 
the  Scots  regiments  in  the  Netherlands.3  It  remained  in  the  south  of 
Scotland  until  November,  1691,  when  it  received  orders  to  proceed  to 
Holland,  sailing  from  Leith  in  February  following.4  It  served  with  distinc- 
tion throughout  the  war,  which  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the  peace  of 
Ryswick,  concluded  in  October,  1697.  On  ist  February,  1698,  the  regiment, 
then  under  the  command  of  Brigadier  Maitland,  was  ordered  to  return 
to  Scotland  to  garrison  Fort  William.5  On  its  arrival  Colonel  Hill's  regiment, 
which  for  many  years  had  formed  the  garrison,  was  disbanded,  and  for 
several  years  Leven's  occupied  the  post. 

At  a  meeting  of  a  Board  of  General  Officers  held  in  London  on  Wednesday, 
25th  February,  1712,  summoned  by  Queen  Anne, 

"  to  enquire  into  the  commission  of  the  Earl  of  Leven,  Colonel  of  your  Majesty's 
Regiment  of  Foot,  now  under  the  command  of  Brigadier  Breton,  touching  a 
particular  clause  therein,  which  has  been  represented  to  your  Majesty  to  entitle 
the  said  Regiment  to  a  higher  rank  than  has  been  by  the  General  Officers  allowed 
to  it.  As  also  that  the  said  General  Officers  should  lay  before  your  Majesty, 
the  time  the  said  Regiment  actually  came  upon  the  English  establishment,  and 
whether  it  was  ever  in  service  with  the  Regiments  of  Sterne,  Newton,  Sutton, 
Handasyd,  Sabine,  or  Primrose,  and  if  so,  what  rank  it  then  had  with  respect 
to  any  of  those  Regiments. 

"  The  General  Officers  do  therefore  most  humbly  acquaint  your  Majesty,  that 
a  commission  from  the  late  king  bearing  date  the  20th  of  July  1689, 6  has  been 
produced  unto  them  constituting  the  Earl  of  Leven  colonel  of  the  said  Regiment, 
wherein  there  is  a  clause  authorising  and  appointing  the  said  Earl,  to  take  rank 
in  marching  and  encamping,  or  in  garrison  as  if  that  his  said  Majesty's  commission 
had  been  dated  upon  the  yth  of  September  preceding  which  the  General  Officers 
take  leave  to  observe  to  your  Majesty,  to  be  two  months  before  the  landing  of 
that  king  in  England. 

"  The  General  Officers  do  further  find  by  an  authentic  Certifycate  that  the 
said  Regiment  came  under  the  Earl  of  Ranalegh's  care  of  payment  upon  the 
5th  of  November  1688. 7  But  the  same  does  in  no  way  appear  ever  to  have  had 

1  Mackay's  Memoirs,  pp.  258,  273.  *  Ibid.  284. 

3  Calendar  of  Slate  Papers:  Domestic,  1690-91,  p.  182. 

'  Eraser,  i.  264. 

6  Warrant  Book,  Scotland,  6th  April,  i695-2nd  June,  1698. 

8  The  date  in  the  Warrant  Book.  Scotland,  is  zoth  June,  1689. 

'  The  date  of  the  landing  at  Torbay. 


ANDREW  ROSS  241 

rank  of  any  of  the  regiments  before  mentioned,  some  whereof  it  has  been  upon 
service  with,  which  regiments  were  accordingly  posted  by  the  Regulation  made 
at  Roosbeck  Camp  in  the  year  1694."  1 

The  warrant  of  William  III.,  dated  from  the  Roosbeck  Camp  loth  June, 
1694,  laid  down  the  rule  that  "  a  Scotts  Regiment  coming  upon  the  English 
establishment  should  take  a  rank  with  other  Regiments  from  that  time."  2 

There  could  be  no  question  of  the  precedency  of  the  i8th  Foot  (Sterne's), 
an  Irish  regiment  summoned  to  England  on  the  threat  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange's  invasion  in  1688,  and  which  remained  on  English  pay  until  it 
re-embarked  for  Ireland  in  August,  1689. 3  The  circumstances  of  the  other 
four  regiments  were  different.  The  commission  of  the  first  colonel  of  the 
igth  Foot  (Sabine's)  was  dated  the  28th  of  February,  1689,  but  as  the 
regiment  was  formed  of  independent  companies  raised  about  the  middle 
of  November,  1688,  it  was  granted  precedence  from  20th  November,  i688.4 
The  same  remarks  apply  to  Newton's  (20th  Foot).5  The  first  commissions 
in  the  22nd  (Handasyd's),  in  the  23rd  (Sabine's)  and  in  the  24th  (Primrose's) 
are  all  dated  8th  March,  1689,  and  the  three  corps  came  into  existence 
between  that  date  and  the  August  following.6 

As  the  general  officers  point  out  in  their  report,  the  Prince  of  Orange 
was  not  in  England  in  September,  1688.  It  was  not  then  in  his  power 
to  fix  the  status  of  any  Scots  or  English  regiment.  It  is  clear,  therefore, 
that  although  the  corps  brought  over  by  the  Earl  of  Leven  at  the  revolution 
drew  English  pay  from  5th  November,  1688,  yet  its  subsequent  disappear- 
ance, the  raising  of  the  new  regiment  in  Edinburgh  and  the  issue  of 
commissions  for  it  on  2oth  June,  1689,  decided  the  Board  in  fixing  the 
rank  and  precedence  of  Leven's. 

1  War  Office  Records,  Chancery  Lane,  71,  2,  fol.  151. 

'Ibid.  26,  7,  fol.  129. 

3  Cannon's  Historical  Record  of  the  iSt/i  Foot,  pp.  1-6 

*  Cannon's  Historical  Record  of  the  igth  Foot,  pp.  1-2. 

6  Cannon's  Historical  Records  of  the  2oth  Foot,  pp.  1-2. 

•  Cannon's  Historical  Records  of  the  22nd  Foot,  pp.  1-3;  Of  the  23rd  Foot,  pp.  1-2;  Dalton's 
English  Army  Lists,  iii.  69,  70,  71. 


VI 

THE  CAMERONIANS  (SCOTTISH  RIFLES) 
I.  THE  26TH  CAMERONIAN  REGIMENT 

By  ANDREW  ROSS,  Ross  Herald. 

THE  time  when,  the  place  where  and  the  way  how  the  Cameronian 
Regiment  came  into  existence  unite  in  making  the  story  of  its  origin 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  British  regimental  annals. 

When  King  James  VII.  and  II.  took  the  step  so  fatal  to  his  interests, 
of  withdrawing  the  regular  troops  from  Scotland  in  November,  1688,  his 
power  in  that  country  came  to  an  end,  and  for  some  months  the  Cameronians 
were  masters  of  the  south  of  the  kingdom.  Known  in  history  by  various 
names  in  the  past — United  Societies,  Society  People,  Mountain  Men,  Hill 
Men  or  Cameronians — they  had  maintained  throughout  the  reigns  of 
Charles  II.  and  his  brother  James  VII.  the  binding  obligation  of  the 
National  League  and  Covenant  of  1638  upon  the  King  and  people  of 
Scotland,  and  of  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  of  1643  upon  the  rulers 
and  the  ruled  of  the  three  kingdoms  of  Scotland,  England  and  Ireland. 
They  led  the  rising  which  was  quelled  at  Rullion  Green,  28th  November,  1666, 
and  that  which  ended  at  Bothwell  Brig,  22nd  June,  1679.  Down  to  the  latter 
date  their  attitude  as  loyal  subjects  was  one  of  protest  against  the  laws  enacted 
and  put  in  execution  by  the  Parliament  and  Privy  Council  of  Scotland.  But 
in  their  Sanquhar  Declaration  of  22nd  June,  1680,  they  renounced  allegiance 
to  Charles  II.  as  King  of  Scotland,  and  declared  war  against  him.1 

At  Torwood  in  Stirlingshire,  in  September  of  the  same  year,  their 
leader,  Mr.  Donald  Cargill,  excommunicated  the  King,  the  Dukes  of  York, 

1  The  Sanquhar  Declaration  is  printed  at  length  in  Wodrow,  2nd  edition,  iii.  212. 


244  THE  CAMERONIANS 

Monmouth,  Lauderdale  and  Rothes,  General  Dalyell  and  the  Lord- Advocate, 
Sir  George  Mackenzie  of  Rosehaugh,1  and  this  sentence  was  found  posted 
on  the  walls  of  Edinburgh  two  days  after  it  was  uttered.  In  their  Apolo- 
getical  Declaration  in  November,  1684,  they  re-stated  their  position  and 
declared  war  anew.  Thenceforth,  the  forms  of  justice  so  far  as  they  were 
concerned  were  dispensed  with,  the  execution  of  the  laws  being  committed 
to  the  commanders  of  the  military  forces,  the  Cameronians  were  compelled 
to  take  refuge  among  the  bogs  and  muirs  of  the  southern  uplands. 
Diminished  in  numbers  by  the  fierceness  of  the  persecution,  but  unbroken 
in  spirit,  they  still  presented  a  front  to  their  opponents,  when  the  news 
arrived  of  the  landing  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  in  England.  With  quick 
resolve  they  summoned  a  meeting  of  their  party  to  be  held  in  the  Vale  of 
Douglas,  near  the  town  and  castle  of  that  name  in  the  county  of  Lanark, 
to  decide  upon  their  future  procedure.  Among  them  were  some  hundreds 
of  armed  men  formed  in  companies  under  officers  of  their  own  selection. 
Their  leader  was  Captain  Daniel  Ker  of  Kersland  in  the  county  of  Ayr. 
He  had  been  a  fugitive  in  the  muirs  since  the  time  of  the  Argyll  Rising  in 
1685,  and  his  patrimony  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Earl  of  Melfort.  Under 
his  leadership  the  Cameronians  proceeded  in  the  winter  of  1688  to  turn 
the  tables  upon  their  opponents.  There  was  no  force  in  the  country  to 
oppose  them,  and  they  went  through  the  lowland  counties  of  the  kingdom 
ejecting  from  their  charges  those  of  the  parish  clergy  who  had  been 
inducted  by  the  bishops.2  The  Prince  of  Orange  having  summoned  the 
Estates  of  Scotland  to  meet  at  Edinburgh  on  I4th  March,  1689,  the 
Cameronians  sent  a  delegation  of  their  own,  accompanied  by  their  ministers, 
to  attend  the  Convention  and  secure  a  settlement  of  Church  and  State  in 
accordance  with  their  views. 

A  body  of  500  supporters  came  also,  so  well  armed  and  organised  under 
their  own  officers  that  they  were  invited  by  the  authorities  to  blockade  the 
Castle  of  Edinburgh,  then  held  by  the  Duke  of  Gordon  for  King  James,  so 
that  the  Estates  might  meet  and  vote  with  safety.3  Accordingly,  on  i8th 

1  A  Hind  let  Loose,  p.  138. 

*  The  Memoirs  of  John  Ker  of  Kersland  in  North  Britain,  Esq.    London,  1727,  vol.  i.  pp.  7-11. 

3  Siege  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  Bannatyne  Club,  p.  42.  A  Short  Memorial  of  the  Sufferings 
and  Grievances,  past  and  present,  of  the  Presbyterians  of  Scotland  :  particularly  of  those  called 
by  the  Nickname  Cameronians.  Printed  in  the  year  1690  :  page  40. 


ANDREW  ROSS  245 

March  they  commenced  work  on  the  trenches  planned  to  intercept  com- 
munications between  the  castle  and  the  city,  and  remained  on  duty  until 
the  25th,  when  they  were  relieved  by  Balfour's,  Mackay's  and  Ramsay's 
regiments  of  the  Scots  Brigade,  which,  coming  from  Holland  with  William 
of  Orange,  had  been  commanded  to  Scotland  to  oppose  Viscount  Dundee. 
For  these  services  they  were  ordered  a  week's  pay  to  run  from  i8th  March  ; 
but  the  Cameronians  had  come  prepared  to  fend  for  themselves  in  the  dis- 
charge of  what  they  considered  their  plain  duty,  and  they  declined  to  accept 
the  payment  voted  by  the  Estates.  Three  days  afterwards  they  received  the 
thanks  of  the  Estates  for  their  "  good  acceptable  and  seasonable  services," 
and  were  invited  to  betake  themselves  home  with  their  arms. 

The  delegates  remained  to  watch  the  proceedings  of  the  Estates.  When 
that  body  decided  to  offer  the  crown  to  William  and  Mary,  rigid  Cameronians 
raised  objections.  They  dreaded  "  sinful  association  "  with  men  several 
of  whom  not  long  before  had  been  their  persecutors.  They  desired  to 
know  the  conditions  on  which  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  to  be  chosen  king, 
"so  to  evidence  to  the  world  that  though  we  are  against  tyranny  and 
tyrants,  yet  we  are  for  magistracy  and  magistrates  when  they  are  duly 
constituted  and  appointed  ;  and  that  we  hate  anarchy  equally  with  tyranny, 
and  are  for  order  and  government."  Events  moved  too  quickly  for  them. 
The  paper  containing  their  declaration  was  not  submitted  to  the  Estates. 
It  was  proposed  instead  that  "in  this  juncture  of  affairs,  when  religion, liberty, 
country  and  all  were  in  great  danger,"  the  Cameronians  should  raise  a 
regiment  of  twenty  companies  in  two  battalions,  under  the  Earl  of  Angus 
as  colonel,  and  William  Cleland,  son  of  Thomas  Cleland,  garner  keeper 
to  the  Marquess  of  Douglas,  the  earl's  father,  as  lieut. -colonel.  The 
adherents  of  the  party  were  summoned  to  meet  at  Douglas  on  the  2gth 
April  to  consider  the  proposal. 

A  great  multitude  assembled ;  all  agreed  that  the  regiment  should  be 
raised.  Still  there  were  hesitations  and  doubts.  It  was  urged  that  to 
have  a  regiment  of  the  Society  people  under  pay  would  involve  sinful 
association  with  malignants  in  the  army ;  that  they  would  be  obliged  to 
fight  under  and  obey  the  officer  commanding  in  Scotland,  Major  General 
Hugh  Mackay,  "  whom  they  knew  not  nor  what  he  was  for  or  against." 
So  they  tried  to  bargain  with  the  military  authorities.  They  proposed  that 
in  the  regiment  to  be  raised  the  superior  officers  and  captains  of  companies 


246  THE  CAMERONIANS 

should  be  men  of  integrity,  willing  to  renew  the  covenant  obligation  ;  that 
each  company  should  select  its  inferior  officers,  those  already  chosen  being 
continued  in  their  posts  ;  that  the  regiment  should  choose  its  own  minister, 
with  an  elder  in  each  company,  and  that  the  military  laws  against  immoral 
conduct  of  speech  and  behaviour  should  be  put  into  severe  execution. 
Finally,  they  desired  that  the  regiment  should  have  liberty  to  represent 
to  government  the  grievances  and  oppressions  of  byegone  years,  and  impeach 
the  chief  instruments  thereof  in  Church  and  State.  Their  proposals  were 
sent  to  Edinburgh  for  consideration  by  the  authorities. 

Meanwhile  the  captains  named  by  the  men,  with  others  selected  by 
William  Cleland,  were  busy  organising  their  companies,  and  another  meeting 
was  held  at  Douglas  on  I2th  May.  Two  days  were  spent  in  wrangling  over 
the  conditions  of  service.  The  military  authorities  declared  it  impossible 
to  accept  them,  and  at  a  council  of  war  held  in  Douglas  Castle  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  I4th,  they  resolved  to  abandon  the  idea  of  raising  the  regiment. 

Cleland  had  determined  otherwise.  His  commission  as  lieut.-colonel 
had  passed  the  Committee  of  Estates  on  28th  April,  and  he  had  in  his  pocket 
the  marching  orders  dated  I2th  May  for  a  regiment  which  was  still  to  be 
formed.  He  had  spent  the  night  before  in  canvassing  the  men  with  a  simple 
form  of  declaration  to  which  the  military  authorities  had  no  objection. 
He  now  appeared  before  them  as  they  were  drawn  up  in  companies  by  the 
Douglas  Water,  and  first  addressed  himself  to  the  company  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  Captain  John  Hadow.  He  declared  he  had  met  several  of  his 
friends  who  agreed  to  enlist  on  terms  which  he  now  desired  Captain  John 
Campbell  of  Moy  to  read  :  "  To  declare  that  you  engage  in  this  service, 
of  purpose  to  resist  popery  and  prelacy  and  arbitrary  power,  and  to  recover 
and  establish  the  work  of  reformation  in  Scotland,  in  opposition  to  popery, 
prelacy  and  arbitrary  power  in  all  the  branches  and  steps  thereof,  till  the 
government  in  church  and  state  be  brought  to  that  lustre  and  integrity 
which  it  had  in  the  best  times." 

The  reading  was  followed  by  an  exhortation  from  the  chaplain,  Mr. 
Alexander  Shields.  The  procedure  was  repeated  before  each  of  the  twenty 
companies  in  turn.  Military  spirit  rose  high,  all  agreed  to  serve.1  And  so, 
"  all  in  one  day,  without  beat  of  drum  or  expense  of  levy  money,"  the 
Angus  Regiment  was  raised.  It  is  a  tradition  in  Maybole,  the  capital  of 

1  Faithful  Contending!  Displayed,  Glasgow,  1780,  pp.  370-404. 


ANDREW  ROSS  247 

Carrick,  that  the  first  to  enlist  was  a  man  from  Knockbrake  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  that  town.1  Among  them  was  young  John  Blackader, 
son  of  the  minister  of  Troqueer,  serving  as  a  cadie  in  the  regiment  he  was 
destined  to  command.2 

The  marching  orders  of  I2th  May  directed  the  lieut. -colonel  to  proceed 
to  Perth,  halting  at  Stirling  on  the  way  thence  to  send  to  the  Committee 
of  Estates  a  report  on  the  condition  of  the  regiment,  and  on  what  was 
required  to  complete  its  equipment.  On  20th  May  there  mustered  1200 
centinels,  40  drums,  60  corporals,  and  40  sergeants.3  On  ist  June  the 
strength  was  returned  at  a  colonel,  lieut. -colonel,  major,  aidmajor,  surgeon 
and  mate,  20  captains,  20  lieutenants,  20  ensigns,  40  sergeants,  60  corporals, 
40  drums  and  1140  centinels.  From  Stirling  magazine  they  received  400 
pikes  and  500  firelocks,  with  powder,  ball  and  match,  40  halberds  and  40 
drums.  They  were  then  quartered  at  Kilsyth,  St.  Ninians,  Doune  and 
Dunblane.4  At  the  latter  town  on  loth  July  the  regiment  was  again 
mustered.  There  were  present  1307  non-commissioned  officers  and  men. 
The  rolls,  which  have  been  preserved,  are  unique  among  Scots  lists  for  the 
variety  of  surnames.  Hamiltons  were  most  numerous,  twenty-eight  of 
them,  and  Douglas,  Oliphant,  Cunningham,  Johnstone,  Muir,  Lockhart, 
and  Wallace  frequently  occur.  Many  names  have  disappeared  or  are  now 
rarely  met  with,  such  as  Allwayes,  Bogrie,  Carbney  ;  there  are  two  Dreedans, 
both  sergeants,  Fauloe,  Glencairn,  Heich,  Haning,  Hair  (nine),  Kago,  Lang- 
rig,  Manersone,  Perat,  Raveltoune,  Stobo,  Sherpra,  Torrokill,  Wheelas, 
Wallett,  Wicketshaw.  There  are  fifty-six  Macs,  indicating  a  contingent 
from  Galloway,  such  as  Corporal  John  MacMath  and  Corporal  Gilbert 
M'lvreck  but  there  is  a  centinel  Gregory  M'Gregory  and  a  Sergeant  John 
M'Gregor,  and  the  wonder  is  how  they  got  into  that  galley.5 

In  July,  1689,  they  were  at  Perth,  where  they  remained  to  be  at  the 
disposal  of  Major-General  Hugh  Mackay,6  who  was  overthrown  by  Viscount 
Dundee  at  Killiecrankie  on  Saturday  the  27th  of  that  month.  When  the  first 

1  Information  from  Mr.  James  Gibson,  Town  Clerk,  Maybole. 

-  The  Life  and  Diary  of  Lieut. -Colonel  J.  Blackader  of  the  Cameraman  Regiment  and  Deputy- 
Governor  of  Stirling  Castle.     By  Andrew  Crichton,  Edinburgh,  1824,  p.  73. 

3  Treasury  Sederunts,  H.M.  Register  House,  Edinburgh. 

4  Acts  of  the  Parliaments  of  Scotland,  Record  Edition. 

*  Muster  Rolls,  Army  Portfolios,  H.M.  Register  House,  Edinburgh. 
6  Leven  and  Melville  Papers,  p.  33. 


248  THE  CAMERONIANS 

panic  of  the  defeat  was  over,  the  Cameronians  were  ordered  to  advance  to 
Dunkeld,  and  arrived  on  Saturday,  I7th  August.  In  a  hostile  country  Lieut.- 
Col.  Cleland  set  about  preparations  for  the  security  of  his  post.  The  stone 
walls  round  the  policies  of  the  Marquess  of  Atholl's  house,  the  building  itself 
and  the  church  adjacent  were  made  defensible  for  infantry.  Four  outposts 
were  established  in  the  town.  Captain  William  Hay  and  Ensign  Lockhart 
with  28  men  were  stationed  "  on  a  little  hill,"  with  a  stone  fence  at  its  foot. 
Lieutenant  Forrester  and  Ensign  Campbell  at  the  west  end  of  the  town 
with  24  men,  a  lieutenant  with  14  men  at  the  east  end,  and  Lieut.  Stuart 
in  a  barricade  at  the  cross  with  40  men.  On  Monday  the  igth  Lord  Cardross 
arrived  with  two  troops  of  horse  and  three  of  dragoons.  On  Tuesday 
morning  the  combined  force  sallied  out  to  reconnoitre,  and  drove  back 
for  a  mile  or  two  a  body  of  Highlanders  who  were  observing  their  proceedings, 
inflicting  a  loss  of  thirty  men.  At  night  Lord  Cardross  received  an  order  to 
fall  back  on  Perth.  He  urged  that  in  face  of  the  enemy  it  was  necessary 
he  should  remain.  The  reply  was  a  peremptory  summons  to  return,  which 
he  felt  compelled  to  obey.  Some  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Angus 
Regiment,  on  the  departure  of  the  cavalry,  proposed  that  they  also  should 
march  away,  the  post  being  difficult  of  defence,  and  the  numbers  of  their 
opponents  continually  increasing.  The  lieut. -colonel  and  the  other  officers 
"  used  all  arguments  of  honour  to  persuade  them  to  keep  their  post.  And 
for  their  encouragement  and  to  assure  them  they  would  never  leave  them, 
they  ordered  to  draw  out  all  their  horses  to  be  shot  dead.  The  souldiers 
then  told  them  they  needed  not  that  pledge  for  their  honour,  which  they 
never  doubted,  but  seeing  they  found  their  stay  necessar,  they  would  run 
all  hazards  with  them." 

At  daybreak  on  Wednesday  the  2ist  the  main  body  of  the  Highlanders, 
about  3000  strong,  under  Lieut. -General  Cannon,  attacked  the  four  de- 
tached parties  in  the  town.  The  MacLeans  led,  and  after  a  fierce  struggle 
all  four  detachments  were  compelled  to  retire  with  loss  on  the  main  body. 
Hector  MacLean  of  Torrestan  and  Hector  MacLean,  a  son  of  Kingerloch, 
were  killed,  and  Sir  Alexander  MacLean  of  Otter  severely  wounded.1 

The  outposts  forced,  the  assailants  surrounded  the  mansion-house  and 
church.  Notwithstanding  the  shot  "  liberally  pour'd  in  their  faces,"  they 
pressed  up  to  the  slender  defences  and  broadsword  met  pike  and  halberd. 

1  Account  of  the  History  of  the  Clan  MacLean  by  a  Seannachie,  London,  1838. 


ANDREW  ROSS  249 

The  supply  of  bullets  ran  out,  lead  was  stripped  from  the  roof  of  the  mansion- 
house,  melted,  run  into  furrows  in  the  ground,  cut  into  slugs  and  distributed 
amongst  the  musketeers.  The  lieut. -colonel  was  mortally  wounded  by 
two  balls  and  struggled  to  reach  the  church  that  his  fall  might  not  dis- 
courage his  men.  The  major  and  the  two  senior  captains  were  killed,  and 
the  command  fell  on  Captain  Monro,  who  handed  over  his  own  charge  to 
Lieut.  Stuart  of  Livingstone.  The  conflict  increased  in  intensity,  and  the 
houses  in  the  town  nearest  the  scene  of  conflict  were  filled  with  Highland 
marksmen  whose  aim  was  deadly.  Parties  of  the  garrison  sallied  out  with 
burning  faggots  on  their  pikes  and  set  fire  to  the  houses  from  which  the 
destructive  musketry  came.  The  Highlanders,  discouraged  by  the  stub- 
bornness of  the  defence,  drew  off  about  an  hour  before  noon,  when  the 
Cameronians  "  gave  glory  to  God  and  praised  him,  after  they  had  fitted  them- 
selves for  a  new  assault."  The  loss  of  the  Cameronians  was  stated  by 
themselves  at  four  officers  and  15  men  killed,  two  officers  and  50  men 
wounded.1  A  Jacobite  writer  places  their  loss  at  300. 2  The  successful 
defence  of  Dunkeld  neutralised  the  effects  of  Dundee's  victory  at  Killie- 
crankie.  It  depressed  King  James's  friends  as  much  as  it  encouraged 
King  William's.  It  set  free  for  the  Irish  campaign  the  English  regiments 
then  in  Scotland.3  With  one  exception  they  departed  for  Ireland,  the 
last  detachment  sailing  from  Portpatrick  on  iyth  October.4  There  re- 
mained but  Sir  James  Leslie's5  (late  i5th,  the  East  Yorkshire).  During 
its  stay  in  Scotland  that  corps  was  so  largely  recruited  there,  that  it  was 
called  on  regularly  to  furnish  its  quota  of  reinforcements  to  the  Scots  regi- 
ments serving  in  Flanders,6  until  it  went  there  itself  in  June,  1694. 7  In 
December  the  Cameronians  were  reduced  to  thirteen  companies  of  sixty 
men  each,  including  the  grenadier  company. 

1  The  Exact  Narrative  of  the  Conflict  at  Dunkeld  betwixt  the  Earl  of  Angus' s  Regiment  and  the 
Rebels.     Collected  from  several  Officers  of  that  Regiment  who  were  Actors  in  or  Eye-witnesses 
to,  all  that's  here  narrated,  in  reference  to  these  Actions,  Edinburgh,  1689. 

2  Memoirs  of  Locheill,  Abbotsford  Club,  pp.  286-87. 

3  Register  of  the  Privy  Council  of  Scotland,  igth  September,  1689,  H.M.  Register  House. 

4  Ibid.  28th  October,  1689. 

5  Ibid.  26th  September,  1689. 

•  Privy  Council  Register,  various  dates  1691-93. 

'  The  History  of  the  Campagne  in  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  Anno  Dom.  1694.  With  the 
Journal  of  the  Siege  of  Huy.  By  Edward  D'Auvergne,  M.A.,  Rector  of  St.  Brelade  in  the  Isle 
of  Jersey,  and  Chaplain  to  their  Majesties  Regiment  of  Scots  Guards.  London,  1694,  p.  16. 


25o  THE  CAMERONIANS 

Before  August,  1690,  four  companies  were  detached  to  join  the  garrison 
of  Inverlochy,  which  already  consisted  of  four  companies  of  the  Argylls, 
nine  of  Grant's,  and  Menzies  of  Weems's  company.  Sir  John  Hill,  com- 
manding the  garrison  at  Inverlochy,  wrote  on  4th  July,  1690  :  "  I  have 
such  a  parcel  of  rogues  that  I  am  perpetually  in  trouble  with  them,  except 
Angus's  men,  who  carry  well."  1  The  other  nine  under  Lieut.-Colonel 
John  Fullarton,  who  had  succeeded  Lieut.-Colonel  Cleland,  were  stationed 
at  various  points  in  the  Highlands.  In  January,  1691,  the  grenadier  company 
was  provided  with  "  pie-coats  and  shirts,  grenadiers'  caps,  patrontashes 
and  belts,  grenadier  caps  badges  and  belts,  and  sixty  bayonets  with  slipones 
conform."  z  The  regiment  was  then  stationed  at  Arbroath  and  Montrose, 
Captain  Herries  with  his  company  being  in  garrison  at  Kildrummie,  the 
modern  Castleton  of  Braemar.  On  2gth  August  Lieut.-Colonel  Fullarton 
certified  that  John  Wright,  late  a  soldier  in  the  Angus  regiment,  was  disabled 
in  the  engagement  with  the  Highlanders  at  Dunkeld,  and  a  warrant  was 
issued  by  the  Privy  Council  to  Dr.  Adam  Freer,  overseer  of  the  Invalids,  to 
place  him  on  the  Invalid  Roll  and  pay  him  accordingly.3 

The  Angus  Regiment  embarked  at  Leith  for  Flanders  in  February.4 
In  March  they  were  encamped  at  Halle  in  South  Brabant,  along  with  the 
Scots  Guards,  the  ist  battalion  of  the  Royals,  Ramsay's  and  Mackay's  of 
the  Scots  brigade,  and  Hodge's  Regiment  (late  i6th  Foot,  now  the  Bedford- 
shire) .  While  stationed  here  Lieut.  John  Blackadder  fought  a  duel  with  Lieut. 
Robert  Murray  of  The  Royals,  who  was  killed.  Through  the  influence  of 
the  Count  de  Solms,  Blackadder  was  pardoned  and  restored  to  his  rank 
(W.O.  Records  26.  7.  folio  18).  In  May  they  were  encamped  near  Brussels 
as  part  of  General  Ramsay's  brigade,  which  consisted,  in  addition,  of  the 
two  battalions  of  the  Royals,  Mackay's  and  Murray's  of  the  Scots  brigade, 
and  O'Farrell's  (now  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers).  At  this  time  the  regiment 
had  white  facings.5 

On  gth  July  King  William  reviewed  the  fifteen  English  battalions 
then  present  with  the  army,  and  on  the  I3th  the  ten  Scots  battalions.  They 
were  two  of  the  Scots  Guards,  two  of  the  Royals,  Mackay's,  Graham's 

1  State  Papers,  Domestic,  1690-91,  p.  48.  »  Treasury  Sederunt,  H.M.  Register  House. 

s  Invalid  Portfolio,  Gen.  Register  House. 

1  Some  Account  of  the  26th  or  Cameraman  Regiment  from  its  Formation  to  the  present  period, 
London,  1828,  p.  4. 
•  Ibid.  p.  4. 


ANDREW  ROSS  251 

and  Lauder's  of  the  Scots  brigade,  O'Farrell's,  Leven's  (now  the  King's 
Own  Scottish  Bordeiers),  and  Angus's1  regiments.  The  last-named  corps 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Steenkirk,  3rd  August,  when  King  William  attacked 
the  Duke  of  Luxembourg.  That  day  Angus's  was  brigaded  with  Cutts's 
(disbanded  1697)  and  Mackay's  and  Graham's  of  the  Scots  brigade.  The 
Duke  of  Wirtemberg  commanded  the  first  line  of  the  King's  army,  con- 
sisting of  six  battalions,  including  the  Royals  and  the  Scots  Fusiliers,  and 
by  a  vigorous  attack  thrust  back  the  enemy  through  the  denies  and  hedges, 
and  took  post  in  the  wood  on  the  right  of  the  French  line,  on  which  he 
opened  a  vigorous  cannonade.  The  regiments  of  Cutts,  Mackay,  Graham 
and  Angus  were  interlined  with  English  horse,  and  advanced  to  the  right 
skirt  of  the  wood  ready  to  support  Wirtemberg  in  a  further  advance.  On 
the  left  were  Hesse's  (late  6th),  Lauders'  of  the  Scots  brigade  and  Leven's 
(late  25th),  interlined  with  the  left  wing  of  the  horse.  A  narrow  valley 
was  now  all  that  separated  the  main  lines  of  the  armies,  and  Wirtemberg 
again  advanced  to  the  attack.  A  desperate  conflict  ensued,  but  in  the 
end  the  French  remained  masters  of  the  field,  although  their  losses  were 
too  severe  to  permit  of  them  following  up  the  advantage.  Amongst  the 
slain  was  the  young  Earl  of  Angus,  Lieut. -Colonel  John  Fullarton,  Major 
Daniel  Ker  of  Kersland  who  had  led  the  Cameronians  in  their  rabbling  of 
the  curates  in  1688,  with  other  officers  and  many  privates  from  the  town 
of  Douglas.  The  colonelcy  was  given  to  Lieut. -Colonel  Andrew  Munro 
from  the  Royal  Scots,  fourth  son  of  Sir  Robert  Munro,  third  baronet  of 
Foulis.2  The  regiment,  however,  long  continued  to  be  known  as  the  Angus 
Regiment,  and  the  Angus  star  (heraldically  termed  a  mullet),  still  in  use  by 
the  corps,  is  the  last  survival  in  the  British  army  of  those  family  distinctions 
which  George  I.  and  George  II.  took  so  much  pains  to  eradicate.3 

A  more  disastrous  conflict  was  that  of  Landen  or  Neer-Winden,  i8th 
July,  1693,  where  King  William  was  out-generalled  by  Marshal  Luxembourg. 
The  Cameronians,  with  O'Farrell's,  Mackay's,  Lauder's  and  Leven's  were 
under  Brigadier-General  Ramsay  on  the  right  of  the  line.  After  a  long 

1  A  Relation  of  the  most  Remarkable  Transactions  of  the  last  Campaigns  in  the  Confederate 
Army,  under  the  command  of  his  Majesty  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  after,  of  the  Elector  of  Bavaria, 
in  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  Anno  Dom.  1692,  London,  1693,  p.  33. 

*  Ibid.  pp.  41,  46. 

3  The  star  is  derived  from  the  arms  of  Douglas,  which  display  three  stars  or  mullets  argent 
on  a  chief  azure.  It  is  now  conjoined  in  the  regimental  badge  with  the  bugle  carried  by  the 
old  goth  Perthshire  Light  Infantry. — ED. 


252  THE  CAMERONIANS 

struggle  the  King  was  compelled  to  leave  the  field  with  the  loss  of  his 
artillery  and  many  standards  and  colours,  214  officers  killed,  296  wounded, 
6000  rank  and  file  killed  and  prisoners,  and  4000  wounded.  The  Cameronians 
had  Captain  Stuart  and  Ensign  Hutchison  wounded,  and  Captains  Alex- 
ander, Campbell,  Fullarton  and  Munro  prisoners ;  their  loss  in  rank  and 
file  is  not  stated.  On  the  7th  of  August  the  King  moved  to  Halle.  There 
was  great  sickness  in  the  camp  and  many  officers  died,  including  Colonel 
Munro  of  the  Cameronians,  and  the  command  was  given  to  Colonel  James 
Ferguson,  a  cadet  of  Badifurrow,  formerly  in  Scots  brigade,  but  latterly 
Lieut. -Colonel  of  the  Cameronians.1  The  regiment  went  into  winter  quarters 
at  Ostend. 

In  1694  reinforcements  arrived  from  Scotland,  and  in  the  following 
year  the  regiment  marched  from  its  winter  quarters  to  Dixmude,  and  on 
gth  June  was  engaged  in  the  attack  on  Fort  Kenoque  at  the  junction  of 
the  Loo  and  Dixmude  canals.  The  attack  failed,  and  the  losses,  amounting 
to  about  400  killed  and  wounded,  fell  chiefly  on  the  Cameronians  and  Tiffin's 
regiment  (Royal  Inniskilling  Fusiliers,  late  the  27th  Foot),  Captain  Turnbull 
of  the  Cameronians  being  among  the  killed.  The  Cameronians  then  marched 
to  take  part  in  the  siege  of  Namur,  which  fell  on  25th  July,  1695. 2  The 
Peace  of  Ryswick  was  concluded  in  1697,  and  as  the  English  Parliament 
refused  supplies  for  more  than  an  establishment  of  10,000,  Ferguson's 
Cameronian  regiment  was  taken,  with  some  other  corps,  into  Dutch  pay. 
It  remained  in  Holland  until  1700,  when  it  came  on  English  pay  and  was  sent 
to  Scotland,  and  in  1702  passed  again  to  Holland.3 

The  Cameronians  served  through  all  Marlborough's  campaigns.  A 
detachment,  130  strong,  which  took  part  in  the  attack  on  the  entrenched 
position  of  Donawert  held  by  the  French  and  Bavarians  under  Count  D'Arco 
(2nd  July,  1704),  lost  one  sergeant  and  18  men  killed,  2  officers,  3  sergeants 
and  57  men  wounded.  At  Blenheim  they  were  under  command  of  Brigadier 
Ferguson.  They  mustered  on  that  day  41  officers,  33  sergeants,  31  corporals, 
24  drums  and  522  private  men.  They  had  five  officers  killed,  Captain 
Alexander  Campbell,  Lieutenants  Archibald  Douglas,  George  Seaton  and 

1  D'Auvergne  s  Campaign  in  the  Netherlands,  pp.  62,  94,  103. 

1  The  History  of  the  Campagne  in  Flanders  for  the  year  1695,  with  an  Account  of  the  Siege 
of  Namur.  By  Edward  D'Auvergne,  M.A.,  etc.  London,  1696,  pp.  32,  45,  99. 

»  Historical  Record  of  the  Twenty-sixth  or  Cameronian  Regiment.  Edited  by  Thomas  Carter. 
London,  1867,  p.  29. 


ANDREW  ROSS  253 

Moncrieffe,  and  Ensign  James  Hay.  Wounded  :  Lieut.-Colonel  Livingstone, 
Captains  Smart,  Blackader,  Borthwick  and  Wilson,  Lieutenant  Ferguson, 
Ensigns  Barnard,  MacLean,  Ogilvy,  Row,  Dalrymple,  Oliphant  and  Marshall, 
and  Quartermaster  Stephenson.  Brigadier  Ferguson  died  suddenly  at  the 
Bush  in  Brabant,  and  on  24th  October,  1705,  Lieut.-Colonel  John  Borthwick 
succeeded  to  the  command.  On  ist  January  following,  Colonel  Borthwick 
exchanged  with  John  Lord  Dalrymple,  afterwards  Earl  of  Stair,  colonel 
of  one  of  the  regiments  of  the  Scots  brigade  in  the  service  of  Holland,  and 
on  the  same  date  George  Lord  Forrester  became  lieut. -colonel.  The 
regiment  was  present  at  Ramillies  on  23rd  May,  where  Capt.  Denon  was 
killed  and  Colonel  Borthwick,  so  lately  its  commander.  The  Cameronians 
then  moved  to  Louvain  on  the  25th,  to  Brussels  on  the  26th  and  to  Cambrai 
on  5th  June.  On  24th  August  Lieut.-Colonel  George  Preston  from  the 
Scots  Greys  succeeded  as  colonel  to  James  Earl  of  Stair,  who  became 
colonel  of  the  Greys.  In  this  year  the  Cameronians  assisted  at  the  sieges 
of  Dendermonth  and  Aeth,  and  before  taking  up  their  winter  quarters 
at  Ghent  they  were  sent  to  Courtrai  to  assist  in  repairing  the  fortifications.1 
On  nth  July,  1708,  at  the  battle  of  Oudenarde  they  formed  part  of  the 
right  wing  under  Prince  Eugene.  They  were  exposed  to  a  cannonade  for 
nearly  two  hours  and  had  many  killed  and  wounded.  The  losses  on  both 
sides  were  heavy.  At  the  siege  of  Lille  the  Cameronians  were  at  first  em- 
ployed with  the  covering  army.  On  7th  September  the  besiegers  effected 
a  lodgment  in  an  outwork,  losing  1000  men  in  the  assault.  On  the  I2th 
Major  Blackader  was  employed  in  an  attack  with  400  grenadiers,  of  which 
he  gives  the  following  account  : 

"  About  12  we  marched  into  the  trenches,  and  about  4  Prince  Alexander  of 
Wirtemberg  came  and  gave  us  orders.  He  desired  me  to  speak  to  the  grenadiers 
and  tell  them  that  the  Duke  of  Maryborough  and  Prince  Eugene  expected  they 
would  do  as  they  had  always  done — chase  the  French  ;  adding,  that  it  was 
better  to  die  there  than  make  a  false  step.  I  answered  that  I  hoped  we  should 
all  do  our  duty.  He  then  shook  hands  with  me  and  went  away-  About  7  the 
signals  being  given  by  all  our  cannons  and  bombs  going  off  together,  I  gave  the 
word  on  the  right,  '  Grenadiers  in  the  name  of  God,  attack.'  They  sprang  over 
the  trenches  and  threw  their  grenades  into  the  counterscrap,  but  they  fell  into 
some  confusion.  I  then  ordered  out  about  50  more  to  sustain  them  and  went 
out  myself.  In  a  little  time  I  got  a  shot  in  my  arm,  but  as  the  bone  was  not 
broken  and  all  the  rest  of  the  officers  were  wounded,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  stay 
and  encourage  the  grenadiers  to  keep  their  warm  post.  About  a  quarter  of  an 
'  Historical  Record,  p.  51. 


254  THE  CAMERONIANS 

hour  afterwards  the  fire  continuing  very  hot,  I  got  another  shot  in  the  head.  I 
then  thought  it  was  time  to  come  off,  and  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  out  of 
the  trenches  in  three  hours."  1 

The  regiment  took  part  in  the  fight  at  Wynendale,  where  the  attempt 
of  the  French  to  intercept  the  supplies  of  the  besiegers  was  beaten  off  with 
loss.  The  town  of  Lille  was  surrendered  on  22nd  October,  and  Marshal 
Boufflers  retired  into  the  citadel.  Colonel  Blackader  rejoined  the  regiment 
on  24th  of  November  recovered  from  his  wounds.  The  works  for  the  attack 
on  the  citadel  being  well  advanced,  a  summons  was  sent  to  offer  an  honour- 
able capitulation,  provided  the  garrison  surrendered  before  the  batteries 
opened.  Marshal  Boufflers  accepted  the  offer  and  the  garrison  marched 
out  on  gth  December  with  the  honours  of  war.  Ghent  capitulated  on 
the  30th. 

Malplaquet  was  fought  nth  September,  1709.  The  share  which  the 
Cameronians  had  in  this  battle  was,  first,  "  in  occupying  a  situation  in 
which  they  were  exposed  to  a  cannonade  the  most  severe  they  had  ever 
suffered,  and  by  which  they  experienced  a  considerable  loss.  The  soldiers 
however  endured  it  without  shrinking,  very  patiently  and  with  great 
courage."  They  were  afterwards  honoured  with  a  task  in  which  their 
discipline  and  resolution  underwent  another  severe  trial,  and  in  which 
with  some  other  regiments  they  rendered  very  good  service,  for  it  was 
by  the  success  of  Lord  Orkney's  attack  on  the  enemy's  centre  that  victory 
was  secured  to  the  allies.  The  Cameronians  were  ordered  to  occupy  an 
intrenchment  which  the  enemy  had  left ;  the  allied  cavalry  had  suffered 
repulse,  but  the  stand  made  by  Orkney's  troops  enabled  them  to  rally, 
and  the  ruinous  consequences  which  must  have  attended  their  defeat  were 
averted.  This  affair  took  place  under  the  immediate  observation  of  Marechal 
Boufflers,  who  in  his  dispatch  attributes  his  loss  of  the  battle  to  the  con- 
duct of  the  allied  infantry  of  which  the  Cameronians  formed  a  part.  Lieut.  - 
Colonel  Cranston,  commanding  the  regiment,  was  killed  along  with  Captain 
Shaw  and  Ensign  Inglis.  Lieutenant  Cockburn,  Ensign  Burnet  and  Sergeant 
Wilson  were  wounded.  Major  Blackader  succeeded  to  the  lieut.-colonelcy 
on  28th  October. 

The  Cameronians  served  at  the  siege  of  Douai,  which  was  invested  on 
the  23rd  of  April,  1710.  The  garrison  made  a  sortie  on  the  7th  of  May  and  so 

1  Life  and  Diary  of  Lieitt.-Colonel  J.  Blackader.  p.  329. 


ANDREW  ROSS  255 

severely  handled  the  two  regiments  guarding  the  work  parties  that  the 
Cameronians,  who  had  been  till  then  with  the  covering  army,  were  ordered 
into  the  trenches,  their  first  turn  being  on  the  I2th  of  May.  On  the  lyth, 
before  break  of  day,  a  second  sortie  was  attempted,  but  the  Cameronian 
sentinels  gave  warning  and  the  attack  was  repulsed.  The  place  surrendered 
on  27th  June.1 

The  regiment  was  employed  in  the  siege  of  Bouchain,  which  was  invested 
on  25th  August  and  surrendered  on  i3th  September.  At  Bouchain  on  I2th 
October  Colonel  Blackader  left  the  regiment  after  a  service  of  twenty- 
two  years.  Returning  to  Scotland,  he  became  deputy-governor  of  Stirling 
Castle,  which,  with  the  deputy-governorships  of  Edinburgh,  Stirling  and 
Dumbarton  Castles  remained  until  long  after  the  Napoleonic  wars  the  sole 
pieces  of  military  patronage  in  Scotland,  and  were  bestowed  upon  deserving 
regimental  officers.  They  were  abolished,  indeed,  only  a  generation  or  two 
ago,  chiefly  through  the  agency  of  a  fussy  demagogue  who  represented  a 
Scots  constituency  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

On  igth  May,  1713,  Brigadier  Preston,  the  colonel  of  the  Cameronians, 
was  appointed  governor  of  Dunkirk.  In  September  following  the  regiment 
left  Dunkirk  for  Ireland,  and  was  in  that  kingdom  when  the  civil 
war  of  1715  broke  out  in  Scotland.  At  the  same  time  there  was  a  rising 
in  England  under  Mr.  Foster,  who  received  a  commission  as  general  from 
the  Earl  of  Mar.  The  Jacobite  forces  had  occupied  the  town  of  Preston 
on  loth  November,  putting  to  flight  two  troops  of  Stanhope's  dragoons 
(afterwards  disbanded)  quartered  there.  General  Wills,  marching  from 
the  south  with  six  regiments  of  dragoons  and  the  Cameronians,  reached 
the  bridge  of  Ribble,  near  Preston,  on  the  I2th.  Mr.  Foster,  who  con- 
sidered himself  secure  in  that  direction,  received  no  intelligence  of  their 
approach,  and  a  body  of  Highlanders  under  the  command  of  Lieut. -Colonel 
James  Farquharson  of  Invercauld  rushed  to  defend  the  bridge,  but  were 
ordered  to  retreat  to  Preston.  The  Cameronians  under  Lieut.-Colonel 
Lord  Forrester,  supported  by  fifty  mounted  men  from  each  of  the  six  dragoon 
regiments,  advanced  to  attack  the  town.  After  a  severe  struggle  they  were 
compelled  to  fall  back  ;  but  the  entrance  to  the  town  by  the  Wigan  road 
being  less  strongly  held,  Lord  Forrester  ultimately  effected  a  lodgment 
in  the  enemy's  line.  Next  day  additional  forces  arrived,  the  town  was  com- 

1  Historical  Record,  p.  69. 


256  THE  CAMERONIANS 

pletely  invested  and  surrendered  on  the  I4th.  Just  as  the  successful  defence 
of  Dunkeld  in  1689  gave  a  fatal  turn  to  the  Jacobite  cause  in  Scotland 
at  the  Revolution,  so  now  the  capture  of  Preston  brought  to  an  end  the 
rising  in  England  in  1715.  Of  the  142  casualties  sustained  by  King  George's 
army  in  the  engagement,  92  were  in  the  Cameronians.  Lieut.-Colonel 
Lord  Forrester  and  Major  Lawson  were  wounded,  and  Captain  Preston 
died  of  his  wounds.1 

In  1716  the  Cameronians  returned  to  Ireland.  On  igth  July  John 
Hope,  cadet  of  Kinross,  became  lieut.-colonel,  succeeded  on  5th  April, 
1718,  by  Robert  Ferguson,  a  nephew  of  Brigadier  Ferguson.  On  3rd 
May,  1720,  Philip  Anstruther  became  colonel  vice  Brigadier  Preston. 
The  regiment  remained  in  Ireland  for  eight  years.  It  was  in  England 
in  December,  1726,  and  embarked  at  Portsmouth  for  Gibraltar  in  January, 
1727.  It  was  present  at  the  siege  of  the  fortress  in  that  year,  and 
remained  in  the  garrison  until  1738,  when  it  was  transferred  to  Minorca, 
remaining  there  until  1748.  In  1754  it  was  permitted  to  return  to 
Scotland,  and  stayed  there  until  the  spring  of  1757.  During  that  time 
several  English  regiments  were  ordered  to  form  second  battalions,  and  many 
of  them  were  sent  to  Scotland  to  enable  them  to  do  so.  The  Cameronians, 
now  to  be  known  as  the  26th  Regiment  of  Foot,  although  in  Scotland  at 
the  time,  were  not  allowed  to  raise  a  second  battalion. 

In  the  spring  of  1757  they  returned  once  more  to  Ireland.  In  1760 
Colonel  Edward  Sandford  was  removed  from  the  colonelcy  of  the  52nd  to 
that  of  the  26th. 

In  1767  the  regiment  left  Ireland  for  Canada,  and  was  stationed  there 
when  the  American  revolution  broke  out  in  1775.  British  ministers,  who 
had  provoked  the  colonists  to  rebellion  by  a  series  of  impolitic  and  violent 
measures,  made  no  preparations  to  enforce  those  orders  whereof  the  voluntary 
and  peaceable  execution,  in  the  existing  temper  of  men's  minds,  could 
not  reasonably  be  expected.  When  they  were  at  last  aroused  from  apathy, 
their  attention  was  diverted  from  Canada  to  what  are  now  the  United 
States,  where  the  danger  appeared  most  imminent.  All  Lower  Canada 
was  left  to  the  protection  of  two  regiments,  the  7th  and  the  26th,  who  were 
on  a  peace  footing  of  340  men  each.  The  8th  Foot  was  in  Upper  Canada. 
These  forces,  slender  as  they  were,  were  isolated  in  garrisons  remote  from 
J  Some  Account,  pp.  38-40. 


ANDREW  ROSS  257 

one  another,  which  fell  in  succession  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  until 
only  Quebec  remained.1  That  city  too  was  besieged,  and  was  only  relieved 
by  reinforcements  from  Great  Britain  in  July,  1776.  When  the  fortunes  of 
war  placed  large  numbers  of  the  insurgents  in  the  hands  of  the  British  army, 
exchanges  were  effected.  On  6th  October,  1777,  the  Hon.  Charles  Stuart 
became  lieut.-colonel,  and  in  the  same  month  the  regiment,  forming  part 
of  the  command  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  attacked  and  carried  forts  Mont- 
gomery and  Clinton  on  the  Hudson  River.  It  continued  under  Clinton's 
command  until  1779,  when  it  was  "  turned  over  "  bodily  to  other  corps.2 
In  December,  1780,  the  staff  under  Captain  William  Myers  embarked  at 
New  York,  and  on  their  arrival  in  Great  Britain  in  1780  was  ordered  to 
Tamworth  in  Staffordshire  to  recruit. 

On  i6th  May,  1782,  Major-General  Sir  William  Erskine  of  Torry  from 
the  8oth  Royal  Edinburgh  Volunteers  (disbanded  1783)  was  appointed 
colonel  in  succession  to  Major-General  Lord  Adam  Gordon,  appointed  to 
the  Royals. 

In  March,  1783,  the  regiment  proceeded  to  Scotland,  and  was  stationed 
at  Musselburgh  until  October,  when  it  embarked  for  Ireland.  On  i6th 
February,  1786,  Sir  William  Erskine  secured  official  permission  for  the 
regiment  to  be  known  in  future  as  the  26th  or  Cameronian  Regiment.  They 
embarked  at  Kinsale  for  Canada,  24th  May,  1787.  Major-General  the  Hon. 
Sir  Charles  Stuart,  K.B.,  on  25th  March,  1795,  succeeded  Sir  William  Erskine 
of  Torry  as  colonel.  In  May,  1797,  the  regiment  was  at  Quebec,  where  it 
received  a  draft  of  350  men  from  the  4th  or  King's  Own  Regiment  of  Foot. 
The  greater  part  of  these  men  were  transferred  without  their  consent. 
Soldiers  were  then  enlisted  for  general  service  and  were  not  allowed  to 
return  home  with  their  regiments  so  long  as  any  corps  remaining  on 
foreign  service  were  incomplete.  The  system  of  recruiting  for  particular 
regiments  came  into  force  in  1798. 

The  Cameronians  returned  to  Great  Britain  in  1800.  On  28th  March, 
1801,  Lieut.-General  Andrew  Gordon  became  colonel  in  succession  to  Lieut.- 
General  Sir  C.  Stuart  deceased.  In  this  year  the  regiment  formed  part  of 
Sir  Ralph  Abercromby's  expedition  to  Egypt.  It  embarked,  24  officers, 
31  sergeants,  14  drums  and  462  rank  and  file,  at  Portsmouth  on  28th  May, 
under  Lieut.-Colonel  Lord  Elphinstone,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  command 
1  Some  Account,  pp.  41,  42.  8  Sows  Account,  p.  46. 


258  THE  CAMERONIANS 

in  1798,  and  landed  at  Aboukir  on  i8th  July  following.  They  joined  Major- 
General  Eyre  Coote's  corps,  and  were  engaged  in  the  successful  affair  of 
i6th  August  and  in  the  action  of  the  22nd  which  drove  the  enemy  under 
the  walls  of  Alexandria.  They  shared  in  the  remaining  operations  of  the 
siege  until  the  surrender  of  the  town  on  the  2nd  of  September.  During 
their  service  in  Egypt,  officers  and  men  were  so  reduced  by  ophthalmia  and 
dysentery  that  there  were  scarcely  enough  men  for  the  ordinary  camp 
duties.  Relief  from  these  troubles  was  afforded  by  the  embarkation  on 
23rd  October,  but  although  many  recovered  on  the  passage  the  effects 
remained  long  after  the  return  home.1 

The  Cameronians  left  Plymouth  for  Scotland  on  ist  November,  1802, 
and  disembarked  at  Leith  on  the  I3th.  On  the  I5th  they  proceeded  to 
Linlithgow,  reaching  Stirling  on  the  following  day,  where  they  remained 
until  ist  February,  1803,  when  they  commenced  their  march  in  three  divi- 
sions for  Fort  George  by  Perth,  Dundee,  Aberdeen,  Keith  and  Elgin,  reach- 
ing their  destination  on  the  2gth.  They  remained  at  Fort  George  until 
July,  when  they  embarked  for  Leith,  arriving  there  on  the  3ist,  and  marched 
to  Stirling,  leaving  two  companies  at  Falkirk.  In  this  year  a  second  battalion 
was  raised,  into  which  a  large  number  of  old  soldiers  of  the  ist  battalion 
were  drafted.  This  2nd  battalion  was  stationed  at  various  places  in 
the  United  Kingdom  during  the  period  of  its  existence,  and  sent  repeated 
drafts  to  the  ist  battalion  until  it  was  disembodied  on  24th  October,  1814. 
Early  in  December  the  ist  battalion  left  Stirling  on  its  route  for  Portpatrick, 
where  it  arrived  on  the  i3th,  passing  through  Glasgow,  Kilmarnock,  Ayr 
and  Maybole.  At  the  special  request  of  the  magistrates  of  Maybole  the 
successive  detachments  on  their  march  through  the  town  on  the  2nd,  4th, 
5th  and  6th  of  December,  were  halted  to  receive  a  "  refreshment,"  the  cost 
of  which  was  defrayed  by  public  subscription  among  the  inhabitants,  who 
seized  this  opportunity  of  showing  for  the  sake  of  auld  lang  syne  their  good- 
will to  the  regiment.2 

The  battalion  remained  in  Ireland  until  November,  1805,  and  on  loth 
December  sailed  for  Germany— 1000  rank  and  file.  Of  the  five  transports 
in  which  they  embarked,  two,  the  Maria  and  the  Aurora,  were  totally  lost. 
The  Maria,  in  which  were  five  officers  and  two  companies  and  a  half,  was 
wrecked  on  the  Haak  Sands  off  the  Texel  on  the  I4th  December,  and  5  officers, 

»  Some  Account,  pp.  48,  49.  «  Historical  Record,  p.  105. 


ANDREW  ROSS  259 

224  non-commissioned  officers  and  men  and  22  women  and  children  were 
lost ;  Captain  Frederick  Jones,  Assistant-Surgeon  Armstrong  and  15  men 
who  had  volunteered  for  what  was  considered  the  hopelessly  dangerous 
enterprise  of  attempting  to  reach  the  shore  in  a  small  boat  to  obtain  assis- 
tance, escaped.1  The  Aurora,  containing  the  headquarters  of  the  battalion 
under  Major  Davidson,  struck  on  the  Goodwin  Sands,  and  all  on  board, 
including  9  officers,  250  non-commissioned  officers  and  men  and  30  women 
and  children  of  the  Cameronians,  were  drowned.2  By  this  double  catas- 
trophe the  regiment,  which  had  been  completed  in  the  previous  May  to 
an  establishment  of  noo  rank  and  file,  lost  one  half  of  its  effective  strength, 
including  the  grenadier  company.  A  third  transport  was  driven  back  to 
England  and  the  men  were  landed  at  Deal.  The  other  two  transports 
contrived  to  land  their  men  in  Germany,  so  that  four  companies  reached 
their  destination  and  joined  the  expedition.  The  successes  of  the  French, 
however,  had  been  so  rapid  and  decisive,  that  an  operation  directed,  as  this 
was,  to  a  quarter  of  no  vital  importance  was  soon  found  to  be  inefficient. 
The  troops  were  therefore  withdrawn  in  February,  1806,  after  occupying 
the  country  between  the  Elbe  and  the  Weser  for  about  six  weeks,  and 
returned  to  the  south  of  England.3 

On  24th  April  Major-General  John  Lord  Elphinstone  was  appointed 
colonel  in  succession  to  Lieut. -General  Andrew  Gordon  deceased,  and  in 
the  same  month  William  Maxwell,  younger  of  Monreith,  a  captain  in  the 
23rd  Light  Dragoons,  succeeded  Lieut. -Colonel  Hope  in  command  of  the 
Cameronians.  In  May,  1807,  the  regiment  embarked  for  Ireland,  practically 
a  skeleton  battalion,  but  it  received  several  drafts  from  Scots  militia 
regiments,  Dumfriesshire  in  particular  furnishing  the  regiment  with  eighty 
recruits.  Still,  on  24th  December  the  battalion  only  mustered  514  bayonets. 
For  this  result  the  officers  were  lectured.  The  comment,  after  stating 
what  was  not  the  case,  viz.  that  the  strength  was  less  by  thirty  men  at 
the  end  of  the  year  than  it  was  at  the  beginning,  runs  on  thus  : 

"  This  decrease  was  owing  to  a  mistaken  policy  which  had  caused  the  offers 
to  be  rejected  which  were  made  by  the  men  of  several  regiments  of  Irish  militia, 
and  particularly  by  those  of  the  Galway,  who  would  have  volunteered  into  the 
26th  ;  and  thus  the  services  of  some  hundreds  were  lost  to  the  corps.  Its  nation- 
ality was  indeed  a  principle  of  great  value  if  discreetly  managed,  and  well  worthy 
of  every  reasonable  effort  to  maintain  it,  but  wholly  to  sacrifice  the  efficiency 
1  Some  Account,  p.  90.  « Ibid.  *  Ibid.  p.  53. 


26o  THE  CAMERONIANS 

of  the  regiment  to  any  abstract  principle  was  an  extreme  which  could  not  be 
justified."  1 

The  critics  in  their  haste  confounded  numbers  with  efficiency.  The 
officers  soon  reaped  the  reward  of  their  determination  to  retain  the  national 
character  of  the  corps.  In  the  following  June  and  August  drafts  of  477 
men  were  received  from  the  2nd  battalion  in  Scotland,  and  the  establish- 
ment was  raised  to  1000  rank  and  file. 

Thus  reinforced  the  Cameronians  formed  part  of  the  expedition  fitted 
out  under  the  command  of  Sir  David  Baird  to  co-operate  with  Sir  John 
Moore  in  Spain.  The  general  idea  of  the  campaign  was  to  employ  a  British 
corps  of  30,000  infantry  and  5000  cavalry  to  operate  in  the  north  of  Spain 
with  the  Spanish  army  against  the  French.  Moore's  appointment  as  com- 
mander-in-chief  reached  him  at  Lisbon  on  6th  October.  He  was  at  the 
same  time  informed  of  the  approaching  departure  of  Sir  David  Baird's 
contingent  from  Falmouth.  The  original  intention  was  that  Moore  advanc- 
ing towards  the  north-east  from  Lisbon,  and  Sir  David  towards  the  south- 
east from  Coruna,  should  unite  at  Salamanca,  Valladolid  or  Burgos. 

Sir  David  reached  Coruna  on  I3th  October.  To  his  astonishment 
the  junta  of  Galicia,  the  province  in  which  Coruna  is  situated,  refused 
him  permission  to  land.  More  than  a  fortnight  was  spent  in  vexatious 
correspondence,  and  when  he  was  at  length  permitted  to  disembark  his 
troops  it  was  only  on  condition  that  he  should  do  so  in  small  divisions  at 
a  time  and  advance  into  Leon  in  the  same  manner.  The  numbers  of  the 
army  (rank  and  file)  which  marched  out  from  Coruna  under  Sir  David 
were,  Royal  Horse  Artillery  177,  Royal  Artillery  434,  the  7th,  loth  and  I5th 
Hussars — in  all  1538  sabres,  the  ist  and  3rd  battalions  of  the  1st  Foot 
Guards,  the  3rd  battalion  of  the  Royals,  the  2nd  battalion  of  the  i4th  Regi- 
ment, the  2nd  battalion  of  the  23rd,  the  26th,  43rd,  5ist  and  7&th  Foot, 
and  detachments  of  the  95th,  the  Rifle  brigade — 7401  bayonets.2  One  or  two 
other  corps  accompanied  Sir  David.3  They  did  not  disembark,  but  pro- 
ceeded to  Lisbon,  from  whence  Sir  David  received  the  52nd,  5gth  and 

1  Some  Account,  p.  55. 

-A  Narrative  of  the  Campaign  of  the  British  Army  in  Spain  commanded  by  His  Excellency 
Lieut.-General  Sir  John  Moore,  K.B.  By  James  Moore.  2nd  Edition,  London,  1809,  Ap- 
pendix, p.  55. 

•  They  will  be  found  enumerated  by  Mr.  Fortescue  in  his  History  of  the  British  Army,  vol. 
vi.  p.  297,  n.  3. 


ANDREW  ROSS  261 

8ist  regiments,  and  some  details  of  the  royal  waggon  train,  bringing 
up  his  total  numbers  to  about  12,000.  The  26th,  under  the  command  of 
Lieut.  -Colonel  William  Maxwell,  mustered  745  men.  Colonel  Maxwell's 
order  book,  now  in  the  possession  of  his  grandson,  Sir  Herbert  Maxwell 
of  Monreith,  covering  the  period  from  ist  November,  1808,  to  I3th 
April,  1809,  has  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  compiler  to  aid  in  the 
effort  to  present  an  articulate  narrative  of  the  share  taken  by  the  26th  in 
the  campaign. 

The  Cameronians  disembarked  at  Corufla  on  30th  October,  and  the 
next  day  marched  for  Betanzos.  The  first  entry  in  Colonel  Maxwell's 
order  book  is  : 

"  G.O.  Corunna,  ist  November,  1808. 

Sir  David  Baird  directs  the  utmost  respect  may  be  paid  to  the  religious 
opinions  of  the  people  of  the  country.  Whenever  the  Host  passes,  which  will 
be  known  by  the  respect  shewn  by  the  people,  officers  will  take  off  their  hats 
and  soldiers  touch  their  caps.  Guards  will  present  arms  and  regiments  or  detach- 
ments marching  halt  and  present  arms.  No  soldier  is  to  enter  a  church  except 
he  goes  there  from  motives  of  devotion." 

It  may  occur  to  the  reader  to  speculate  with  what  feelings  the  stern 
Covenanters  who  founded  the  Cameronian  regiment  would  have  regarded 
an  order  in  these  terms. 

On  2nd  November  another  General  Order  intimated  that  : 

"  As  a  compliment  to  the  Spanish  nation,  the  army  will  wear  the  red  cockade 
in  addition  to  their  own.  Cockades  ate  ordered  for  this  purpose  for  the  non- 
commissioned officers  and  men  and  will  be  sent  from  Madrid,  bat  in  the  mean- 
time the  officeis  are  requested  to  provide  themselves." 

It  is  noted  in  General  Orders  of  the  following  day  that  the  ration  of 
spirits  was  one-sixth  of  a  quart  per  man  per  day.  The  26th  left  Betanzos 
on  the  6th  November  and  Lugo  on  the  nth,  furnishing  on  that  day  an 
escort  for  the  commissariat  chest.  Before  leaving  Lugo  commanding 
officers  were  recommended  to  send  back  to  Corufia  such  women  as  had 
not  strength  to  accompany  the  regiments,  and  a  subaltern  of  the  26th 
was  detached  to  escort  the  sick  and  women  back  to  the  port.  On  the  I5th, 
at  Villa  Franca,  the  regiment  paraded.  As  pipe-clay  was  not  to  be  had 
the  soldiers  were  ordered  to  wash  their  belts.  Astorga  was  reached  on 


Regimental  Order  Book  of  the  26th  Foot. 


262  THE  CAMERONIANS 

Meantime  Sir  John  Moore,  after  setting  his  columns  in  motion,  had 
left  Lisbon  on  27th  October.  He  was  at  Almeida  on  8th  November,  at 
Ciudad  Rodrigo  on  the  nth,  and  reached  Salamanca  on  the  I3th,  vainly 
endeavouring  by  the  way  to  ascertain  the  truth  as  to  the  real  condition 
of  the  Spanish  armies,  of  which  such  exaggerated  notions  had  been  formed 
at  home.  He  was  greatly  desirous  of  penetrating  the  designs  of  the  French 
marshals  and  of  gaining  some  definite  idea  of  the  numbers  they  controlled. 
His  chief  dependence  was  upon  the  reports  of  his  friend  and  aide-de-camp, 
Colonel  Thomas  Graham  of  Lynedoch,  who  a  few  years  previously  had 
raised  the  goth  Perthshire  Light  Infantry.1  The  colonel  was  then  on 
duty  at  the  headquarters  of  the  central  Spanish  army,  and  the  advices 
received  from  him  and  others  caused  Sir  John  the  gravest  misgivings.  He 
wrote  to  Sir  David  from  Salamanca  on  the  igth  to  advance  a  part  of  his 
corps  to  Benavente,  close  up  the  rest  to  Astorga  and  then  advance  to  Zamora. 
Sir  John  added  that  as  the  propriety  of  these  movements  depended  upon 
those  of  the  enemy,  their  execution  was  left  entirely  in  Sir  David's  discre- 
tion, who  was  to  be  guided  by  the  information  he  received.2  Sir  David's 
reply  from  Astorga,  dated  23rd  December,  stated  that  after  consulting 
with  the  general  officers  of  his  division  all  were  of  opinion  that,  as  the 
French  were  reported  to  have  pushed  as  far  forward  as  St.  Vincento  de 
la  Burena  and  Colombas  on  the  igth,  it  would  be  inadvisable  to  make 
any  forward  movement,  and  that  in  the  event  of  their  continued  advance 
he  proposed  to  retreat.3  His  division  was  warned  accordingly  to  be  in 
readiness  to  march  on  the  shortest  notice  and  have  always  two  days  pro- 
visions in  advance.  The  army  was  ordered  to  form  three  deep  till  further 
notice.  Bandsmen  and  drummers  were  told  off  to  assist  the  medical  officers 
in  the  field ;  when  not  required  for  that  purpose,  to  guard  the  baggage 
mules  and  keep  them  well  up.4 

At  Astorga  on  the  23rd  Sir  David  was  joined  by  Lord  Paget,  and  in 
his  orders  for  that  day  he  expressed  surprise  that  his  lordship  and  staff 
had  been  allowed  to  come  into  the  city  by  the  Iron  Gate  at  4  o'clock  in  the 
morning  without  being  challenged  by  the  sentinels,  and  directed  that  the 
guards  in  future  should  be  more  vigilant.  On  the  same  day  Sir  David 

1  Moore's  Narrative,  pp.  10,  etc.  There  are  frequent  references  in  the  course  of  the  campaign 
tojthe  value  of  the  colonel's  services.  See  p.  112. 

» Ibid.  p.  38.  •  Moore's  Campaign,  p.  48.  «  Regimental  Order  Book, 


ANDREW  ROSS  263 

made  "  A  Distribution  of  the  army  till  further  orders."     It  shows  the 
composition  of  his  force  : 


"  7th  Light  Dragoons 
loth      „ 


Brig. -Gen.  Slade. 

Captain  Tagle,  B.M. 

Lieut. -Gen.  Lord  Paget. 

Lieut.-Col.  Kelly,  A.A.G. 

Mr.  Gordon,  Acting  Commissary. 


I4>  23rCo1-  Crawfurd. 
43rd  and  52nd  Regts.,     Capt.  Cruthers,  B.M. 

{Col.  Anson. 
Capt.  Murray,  B.M. 
Capt.  Cook,  D.A.A.G. 
5ist,    5Qth   and   76th/Col.  Chinny. 

Regts.,  \Capt.  Roberts,  B.M. 

The      Royals,      26th, / Col.  Hay. 

and  8ist  Regts.,       \Capt.  Smyth,  A.B.M. 


Maj.-Gen.  Ward. 


Maj.-Gen.  Manningham. 
Capt.  Jones,  D.A.A.G. 


Baggage  Master  to  the  Army,  Capt.  Sanders,  Royal  Waggon  Train. 
One  brigade  of  artillery  attached  to  each  of  Colonel  Crawfurd's,  Colonel  Anson 's, 
and  Colonel  Hay's  brigades."  1 

On  the  24th  news  reached  Sir  David  that  the  French  had  advanced 
to  Rio  Seco  and  Ampudia,  and  he  decided  to  fall  back  forthwith.2  Colonel 
May's  brigade  commenced  their  march  at  10  A.M.  on  the  morning  of  the 
24th,  the  light  infantry  of  the  brigade  with  two  bugle  horns  under  com- 
mand of  Major  Gordon  of  the  Royals,  accompanying  Captain  Wall's  brigade 
of  guns.  It  reached  Bembibre  on  the  26th,  where  2537  pairs  of  shoes  were 
issued  to  the  troops.  They  were  still  there  on  the  28th.3  On  the  27th 
Sir  John  Moore  came  to  the  decision  that,  although  a  further  movement 
into  Spain  would  be  one  of  great  hazard,  yet  it  was  worth  the  risk  "  if  the 
government  and  people  of  Spain  are  thought  to  have  still  sufficient  energy 
and  the  means  to  recover  from  their  defeats."  4  Accordingly,  he  wrote 
to  Sir  David  on  that  day  to  advance  to  Benavente.5  Before  any  step 
could  be  taken  a  second  message  from  Sir  John  arrived,  dated  the  even- 
ing of  the  following  day,  announcing  the  defeat  and  dispersal  of  the  army 
of  Castanos  at  ludela  on  22nd  November  ;  that  he  saw  no  chance  of  being 
able  to  effect  a  junction,  and  he  had  therefore  determined  to  retreat  on 

1  Colonel  Maxwell's  Order  Book,  Astorga,  23rd  November,  1808. 

1  Moore's  Narrative,  p.  66.  a  Colonel  Maxwell's  Order  Book. 

4  Moore's  Narrative,  p.  65.  5  Ibid.  p.  66-67. 


\ 


264  THE  CAMERONIANS 

Portugal  with  his  own  corps,  and  desired  Sir  David  to  retire  on  Corufia.1 
The  retreat  was  accordingly  resumed,  the  26th  reaching  Cacabelos  on  2nd 
December,  Villa  Franca  on  the  3rd  and  Soltrado  on  the  6th.  From  that 
place  all  sick  and  those  unable  to  march  were  directed  to  be  sent  to  Corufia. 
Lugo  they  reached  on  the  7th.2  At  this  point  Sir  David  received  intelli- 
gence from  Sir  John  Moore,  dated  from  Salamanca,  5th  December,  that 
the  people  of  Madrid  had  taken  up  arms  and  were  barricading  the  streets, 
and  that,  although  he  thought  the  French  were  too  strong  to  be  resisted 
in  that  manner,  he  had  made  up  his  mind  "  to  give  it  a  trial,"  and  desired 
Sir  David  to  retrace  his  steps  to  Astorga.3  This  was  followed  by  a  more 
pressing  message  from  Sir  John  the  following  day  urging  Sir  David  to  return 
"  bag  and  baggage  "  to  Astorga.  Sir  David  acknowledged  these  letters 
on  the  8th,  and  once  more  marched  to  the  south-east.  He  left  Lugo  on  the 
loth,  and  as  the  regiments  were  to  move  by  forced  marches,  no  baggage 
was  allowed  but  what  could  be  carried  on  mules.  Three  days'  provisions 
were  carried  by  the  men,  the  bread  and  rum  by  the  commissariat.  They 
reached  Villa  Franca  on  the  nth,  and  Cacabelos  on  the  i2th.4  On  the 
8th  Sir  John  had  written  from  Salamanca  to  Sir  David  that  Madrid  still 
held  out  "  and  as  long  as  there  is  a  chance  we  must  not  abandon  the  country," 
desiring  him  to  push  on  to  Benavente,  and  to  send  to  Sir  John  to  Zamora 
two  regiments  of  cavalry  and  one  brigade  of  horse  artillery,  keeping  a 
regiment  of  cavalry  and  one  brigade  of  horse  artillery  with  himself.6  On 
the  I2th  he  again  writes  to  Sir  David  from  Salamanca,  intimating  his  inten- 
tion to  march  to  Valladolid,  from  whence,  according  to  the  information 
he  received,  he  might  move  on  Palencia  and  Burgos,  threatening  the  enemy's 
communications.  He  would  in  that  event  cover  Sir  David's  force  while 
it  was  assembling  at  Astorga  and  Benavente,  "  and  may  bring  you  on 
to  me,  or  fall  back  on  you  as  occasion  requires."  6  On  the  I4th  Sir  John, 
by  means  of  an  intercepted  letter  written  by  Marshal  Berthier  to  Marshal 
Soult,  became  aware  for  the  first  time  of  the  fall  of  Madrid  and  the  numbers 
and  positions  of  the  French  troops.  He  at  once  advised  Sir  David  from 
Alaejos  that  he  had  abandoned  his  intention  of  moving  on  the  following 
day  to  Valladolid,  and  should  instead  be  at  Toro  with  his  troops.  "  My 

1  Moore's  Narrative,  p.  69.  *  Colonel  Maxwell's  Order  Book. 

1  Moore's  Narrative,  pp.  91,  92.  '  Colonel  Maxwell's  Order  Book. 

8  Moore's  Narrative,  p.  in.  «  Ibid.  p.  118. 


ANDREW  ROSS  265 

object  is  now  to  unite  the  army  as  soon  as  possible  ;  you  at  Benavente  and 
I  at  Toro,  from  whence  either  by  a  forward  or  flank  movement,  the  two  corps 
can  be  united."  *  On  the  I5th  and  i6th  Sir  John  was  at  Toro,  on  the  I7th 
at  Castro  Nuevo.  On  the  i8th,  still  bent  on  cutting  the  French  communica- 
tions with  Madrid,  he  crossed  the  Douro  at  Zamora  and  Toro,  and  marching 
by  Villalpando  and  Valderas,  arrived  on  the  20th  at  Mayorga.  On  the 
i6th  the  26th  were  at  La  Banezo,  and  while  Sir  David's  headquarters  were 
at  Benavente  on  the  i8th,  the  26th  were  still  on  the  igth  at  La  Baneza. 
On  the  2oth  Sir  David,  with  the  Guards  and  Manningham's  brigade,  united 
with  Sir  John  at  Mayorga.  Here  Manningham's  brigade,  which,  after  the 
redistribution  of  the  infantry  into  four  divisions  by  Sir  John  Moore  on  his 
junction  with  Sir  David,  now  consisted  of  the  Royals,  the  26th  and  the 
8ist,  was  ordered  to  halt  until  further  notice  ;  but  the  order  was  recalled 
and  the  26th  reached  Sahagun  on  the  22nd.  On  the  23rd  Sir  John  announced 
his  intention  of  marching  that  night  to  the  Carrion  and  the  next  day  to 
Saldanha  to  attack  the  corps  under  Marshal  Soult.  The  march  was  timed 
to  commence  at  7  P.M.  in  two  divisions,  Sir  David  in  command  of  the  left. 
Part  of  the  troops  were  already  on  the  march  when  the  general  received 
information  which  satisfied  him  that  Napoleon  had  penetrated  his  design, 
and  that  should  he  persist  in  his  attempt  the  rapid  concentration  of  the 
French  armies  would  engulph  his  own  force.  The  march  was  counter- 
manded, and  orders  were  given  to  retreat  to  Astorga,  Sir  John  taking  the 
route  by  Benavente  and  Sir  David  that  by  Valencia.  Sir  David  marched 
accordingly  on  the  morning  of  the  25th.  The  light  company  of  the  Royals 
formed  the  advance  guard,  then  followed  in  the  order  detailed  Major- 
General  Manningham's,  Major-General  Lord  William  Bentinck's,  Major- 
General  Ward's  brigade  and  Captain  Bain's  brigade  of  artillery.  The 
rearguard  was  composed  of  the  old  and  outlying  picquets.2  Sir  David's 
instructions  were  to  cross  the  Esla  by  the  ferry  opposite  Valencia,  and  remain 
on  guard  on  the  other  side  until  Sir  John's  division,  marching  on  Benavente 
by  Castro  Gonzalo,  had  also  crossed.  On  the  night  of  the  25th  Sir  David's 
column  reached  Valdesason,  and  here  complaints  reached  his  ears  of  soldiers 
breaking  into  wine-cellars  and  bakehouses  for  wine  and  bread.3  There 
was  at  that  time  no  scarcity  of  supplies,  but  the  commissariat  was  hope- 
lessly disorganised.  After  the  supply  of  ship  provisions,  which  the  soldiers 
2  Colonel  Maxwell's  Order  Book.  »  Ibid. 


266  THE  CAMERONIANS 

took  with  them  from  Coruna,  was  exhausted,  no  regular  provision  was 
made  for  their  wants  by  the  commissaries,  who,  with  an  unbounded  com- 
mand of  money,  and  in  a  country  of  ample  resources  for  the  temporary 
supply  of  the  troops,  whose  progress  through  the  country  was  slow  and 
measured,  left  them  almost  wholly  destitute.  Often  it  happened  that, 
after  arriving  at  the  halting-place,  parties  had  to  be  sent  out  to  collect 
sheep,  or  oxen  were  taken  from  the  baggage  carts  ;  wood  was  to  be  fetched 
from  a  distance  and  wine  brought  from  stores,  instead  of  those  articles 
being  got  ready  at  the  convents  by  hired  labourers.  The  soldiers'  meal  was 
thus  deferred  till  midnight,  and  when  obtained  was  indifferent  in  quality. 
These  defects,  in  arrangements  so  necessary  to  the  well-being  of  any  army, 
were  owing  in  part  to  the  remissness  and  want  of  energy  of  the  Spanish 
authorities,  but  much  more  to  the  total  ignorance,  inexperience  and  absence 
of  almost  every  necessary  qualification  for  the  service  displayed  by  the 
officers  in  the  commissariat.1 

In  addition,  the  hardships  of  the  incessant  marching  and  counter-march- 
ing began  to  tell  upon  the  strength  and  spirits  of  the  men.  Disappointment 
was  universal,  depression  and  discontent  prevailed  in  the  ranks,  disheartened 
by  retreat.  On  26th  December  the  Cameronians  reached  the  Esla.  The  ferry- 
boat was  useless,  but  a  ford  was  discovered,  as  it  was  said,  by  the  chance 
enterprise  of  an  officer,2  and  the  division  crossed  over,  the  men  carrying  their 
arms  and  accoutrements  over  their  heads,  only  with  the  loss  of  some  bag- 
gage. On  the  27th,  when  the  Cameronians  were  at  Toral,3  a  brigade  order 
was  issued  directing  that  at  all  times,  when  it  should  be  necessary  to  press 
cattle,  commanding  officers  were  in  the  first  instance  to  apply  to  the  alcalde, 
and  on  no  account  to  take  draught  cattle.  Dating  from  his  headquarters 
at  Villa  Manm'ana  on  the  same  day  Sir  David  expressed  his  surprise  at 
the  number  of  women  accompanying  the  army,  and  directed  that  they 
and  the  sick  should  be  sent  off  immediately  to  Astorga  and  from  thence 
to  Lugo.  By  a  second  order  of  the  same  date  the  whole  baggage  of  the 
brigade,  the  women  and  the  sick,  were  dispatched  that  evening  to  Astorga 
under  charge  of  an  officer  of  the  26th. 

On  the  28th  the  brigade  paraded  at  Villa  Manniana  for  an  inspection 
of  arms  and  ammunition,  the  baggage  being  dispatched  to  Seguillo.  The 
divisional  order  reads  : 

>  Some  Account,  p.  58.  »  Ibid.  p.  59.  »  Colonel  Maxwell's  Order  Book. 


ANDREW  ROSS  267 

"  As  there  is  great  difficulty  in  baking  bread  in  great  quantities  for  the  troops, 
what  was  issued  yesterday  must  be  made  to  go  as  far  as  possible  and  flour  will 
be  delivered  to  make  up  the  deficiency.  A  greater  allowance  of  meat,  or  perhaps 
a  certain  quantity  of  wheat,  may  be  issued  of  which  an  excellent  mess  may  be 
made.  The  above  substitutes  for  bread  will  of  course  only  be  had  recourse  to  in 
case  of  absolute  necessity,  and  it  is  hoped  by  the  extension  of  the  commissary 
department  and  quarter  masters  of  regiments,  by  whom  every  effort  will  be  made 
to  get  the  necessary  supplies,  this  may  be  rendered  unnecessary."  1 

On  the  28th  the  headquarters  of  the  division  were  moved  to  Santa 
Maria,  and  by  a  regimental  order  dated  from  that  place  on  the  2gth  an 
inspection  of  the  arms  and  accoutrements  took  place  in  the  morning,  followed 
by  the  major-general's  inspection  in  the  afternoon.  At  Sequillo  on  the 
2gth  general  officers  were  ordered  to  reconnoitre  the  front  flanks  and  rear 
of  the  cantonments,  and  to  station  posts  at  the  most  eligible  points  so  as 
to  communicate  with  each  other  by  a  connected  chain  of  picquets.  All 
heavy  baggage,  sick  and  women  which  were  not  sent  off  yesterday  were 
sent  off  this  day  to  Astorga,  and  two  days'  bread,  to  last  for  three  days, 
was  served  out.2  On  the  2gth  also  Sir  John  Moore  left  Benavente,  and 
on  the  3Oth  united  with  Sir  David's  division  at  Astorga. 

On  the  3ist  the  Cameronians,  who  now  formed  part  of  the  reserve, 
quitted  Astorga  on  the  march  to  Lugo.  As  there  were  no  means  of  trans- 
port, great  part  of  the  ammunition  and  military  stores  were  destroyed  at 
Astorga,  including  the  whole  of  the  camp  equipage  of  Sir  David  Baird's 
division  which  had  been  brought  up  from  Coruna  to  that  place.3  Sir  John 
now  realised  that  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  provisions  and  the  proximity 
of  the  enemy,  forced  marches  would  be  necessary  to  reach  the  coast.  The 
reserve  reached  Camberos  on  the  evening  of  the  3ist,  and  on  New- Year's 
day  1809  arrived  at  Bembibre.  The  weather  and  the  commissariat  did  their 
worst.  Deluges  of  rain  fell,  chilling  and  drenching  the  soldiers,  who  waded 
through  vile  roads  deep  in  mud.  In  the  fatigues  and  sufferings  from  hunger 
and  bad  weather  the  Cameronians  had  their  share.  From  any  participation 
in  the  excesses  which  were  committed  they  appear  to  have  been  pretty 
free,  as  only  one  man  in  the  regiment  was  punished.4  On  the  morning  of  2nd 
January  they  set  out  for  Villa  Franca.  That  night  they  halted  at  Cacabelos. 
On  the  3rd  the  French  cavalry  advanced  and  some  skirmishing  took  place. 
In  the  evening  Sir  John  withdrew  the  reserve  to  Villa  Franca,  and  in  view 
1  Colonel  Maxwell's  Order  Book.  '  Ibid. 

3  Moore's  Narrative,  p.  184.  *  Some  Account,  p.  60. 


268  THE  CAMERONIANS 

of  the  approach  of  a  great  part  of  the  enemy's  army,  at  10  o'clock  at  night 
left  that  town  and  arrived  at  midnight  at  Herrerias.  On  the  4th  accounts 
were  received  of  the  respective  advantages  of  Vigo  and  Corufia  as  points 
of  embarkation.  Sir  John  immediately  sent  off  expresses  to  Rear-Admiral 
Sir  Samuel  Hood  to  request  he  would  send  round  the  transports  to  Corufia.1 
On  the  same  day  the  reserve  reached  Nogales,  quitted  it  on  the  morning 
of  the  5th,  and  that  day  reached  Lugo.  The  army  still  occupied  its  position 
in  front  of  Lugo  on  the  7th.  On  the  evening  of  that  day  the  Cameronians 
exchanged  their  quarters  in  the  town  for  the  field,  but  were  not  brought 
into  action.  The  stragglers  were  not  numerous,  and  nearly  all  rejoined 
on  the  6th,  the  regiment  being  quite  efficient  when  it  took  its  post  in  the 
line.2  Only  some  skirmishing  took  place,  and  after  offering  battle  all  day 
the  troops  began  to  draw  off  after  nightfall.  Early  in  the  morning  of 
the  8th  the  army  was  again  marshalled  in  array  and  offered  battle  to  the 
enemy.  Sir  John  rode  through  the  ranks  and  had  the  pleasure  of  finding 
that  in  consequence  of  the  orders  he  had  issued,  of  the  exertions  of  the 
officers,  and,  above  all,  of  the  hopes  of  an  action,  regularity  was  restored.3 
Marshal  Soult,  however,  made  no  sign.  As  it  was  impossible  to  maintain 
the  position  owing  to  the  failure  of  the  commissariat  either  to  furnish 
stores  or  to  bring  them  up  from  Betanzos,  and  as  there  were  still  eleven 
leagues  to  cover  before  that  town  could  be  reached,  Sir  John  resolved  to 
decamp  without  delay.  At  10  o'clock  at  night,  leaving  fires  burning  to 
deceive  the  enemy,  the  brigades  quitted  their  ground.  After  marching 
all  night  they  arrived  at  Valmeda  on  gth  January,  exposed  without  shelter  to 
torrents  of  rain.  Early  in  the  evening  the  march  was  resumed,  and  about 
ii  on  the  morning  of  the  loth  the  Cameronians  arrived  at  Betanzos.  In 
these  eleven  leagues  the  miseries  and  hardships  of  the  march  reached  their 
climax.  On  arrival  the  regiment  mustered  only  14  officers  with  the  colours 
and  50  men,  23  of  the  latter  being  of  the  light  company.  The  greater 
part,  however,  came  in  during  the  day.4  Two  days'  bread  and  meat  were 
issued  in  addition  to  one  day's  allowance  of  spirits,  along  with  a  pound  of 
flour  as  a  gratuity  to  each  man,5  There  was  no  parade  on  the  loth  except 
regimental  roll-call,  that  the  men  might  have  full  time  to  put  their  arms, 

1  Moore's  Narrative,  p.  190.  *  Some  Account,  p.  61. 

*  Moore's  Narrative,  p.  198.  *  Some  Account,  p.  62. 

*  Colonel  Maxwell's  Order  Book. 


ANDREW  ROSS  269 

accoutrements  and  clothing  into  the  best  possible  order  for  service.1  On 
the  nth  the  army  left  Betanzos  on  its  last  day's  march  to  Corufia.  The 
Cameronians  were  quartered  in  the  town,  and  the  eighteen  days'  retreat 
in  the  depth  of  winter,  through  250  miles  of  mountain  defile  and  river,  in 
weather  and  over  roads  unspeakable,  was  ended  at  last.  The  forced  march, 
the  shelterless  bivouac,  famine,  cold  and  sickness  had  done  their  worst. 
They  failed  to  overcome  the  British  soldier,  whose  spirit,  in  spite  of  his  suffer- 
ings, remained  unbroken.  The  arms  and  accoutrements  were  all  complete 
and  in  a  serviceable  state.2  The  clothing  was  in  tatters,  and  officers  in 
charge  of  companies  were  empowered  to  provide  out  of  the  stores  stockings 
and  such  other  necessaries  as  were  most  needful.  Five  hundred  pairs  of 
shoes  were  issued  to  each  regiment,  and  as  cloth  for  breeches  was  not  to  be 
had,  stout  flannel  drawers  were  issued  to  be  worn  under  the  rags.3 

The  transports  had  not  arrived,  and  on  the  I2th  the  French  appeared 
in  force  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Mero.  On  the  I3th  Sir  David  Baird's 
division,  including  the  Cameronians,  marched  out  of  Corufia  at  mid-day 
to  take  up  position  on  the  rising  ground  immediately  behind  the  town. 
On  the  i4th  the  enemy  opened  artillery  fire,  but  when  this  was  returned 
they  drew  off  their  guns. 

On  the  evening  of  the  I5th  the  British  transports  hove  in  sight,  and 
next  morning,  when  preparation  for  embarking  was  nearly  complete,  Marechal 
Soult  advanced  to  the  attack.  The  British  force  numbered  about  15,000, 
the  French  16,000.  Soon  after  one  o'clock  the  battle  commenced  on  the 
right,  which  was  the  weak  part  of  the  position,  and  here  the  enemy  made 
his  most  vigorous  efforts,  but  these  were  successfully  repelled.  During 
the  progress  of  the  action,  first  Sir  David  Baird  and  aftenvards  Sir  John 
Moore  were  carried  off  the  field  wounded,  but  the  enemy  was  compelled  to 
draw  back  his  left  wing.  Soult's  next  effort  was  against  the  British  centre, 
where  he  was  opposed  by  Manningham's  brigade,  forming  the  left  of  Sir 
David  Baird's  division,  and  by  part  of  Leith's  brigade,  forming  the  right 
of  Hope's  division.  By  five  o'clock  not  only  was  every  attack  successfully 
repulsed,  but  ground  was  gained  at  almost  all  points,  and  a  more  forward 
line  was  occupied  than  at  the  commencement  of  the  action.4  General  Cope 
in  his  dispatch  wrote  :  "  The  brunt  of  the  action  fell  upon  the  4th,  42nd, 

1  Ibid.  '  Some  Account,  p.  26. 

3  Colonel  Maxwell's  Order  Book.  '  Some  Account,  p.  63. 


270  THE  CAMERONIANS 

5oth  and  8ist  regiments,  with  parts  of  the  brigade  of  Guards  and  the  26th 
Regiment."  l  The  Cameronians  lost  Lieuts.  Cheevers  and  Nunn  killed  ;  a 
round  shot  tore  off  the  left  arm  of  the  colonel  commanding,  William  Maxwell, 
and  Lieuts.  Shearman  and  Thompson,  and  Surgeon  Messiter  were  wounded.2 
When  the  Cameronians  embarked  the  condition  of  all  ranks  was  wretched 
in  the  extreme,  and  there  was  much  sickness  on  the  voyage  home  ;  with 
the  result  that,  on  reaching  England,  numbers  were  sent  to  hospital,  and 
when  the  regiment  assembled  at  Horsham  it  mustered  only  350  effectives. 
Reinforcements  were  received  from  Scotland,  particularly  from  the  Lanark- 
shire Militia,  which  made  up  the  effective  strength  to  800  men.8 

The  Cameronians  were  not  allowed  much  time  for  repose,  but  were 
told  off  to  form  part  of  the  ill-starred  and  ill-managed  Walcheren  expedition 
in  July.  The  regiment  embarked  at  Portsmouth  on  the  I5th  under  their 
old  colonel,  William  Maxwell.  Landing  on  the  30th  they  advanced  towards 
Flushing,  where  the  battalion  was  actively  employed  in  the  trenches  and 
sustained  some  losses.  On  I3th  August  the  British  batteries  opened, 
and  the  Cameronians  were  ordered  to  protect  them.  The  fire  proved  so 
destructive  that  on  the  I5th  the  enemy  sent  out  a  flag  of  truce,  and  on 
the  i8th  the  Cameronians  had  the  honour  of  taking  post  at  the  east  gate 
while  the  garrison  denied  as  prisoners  of  war  before  them.  On  7th  September 
the  regiment  moved  into  farm-houses  near  the  Scheldt.  The  weather  was 
unfavourable  and  sickness  among  the  troops  increased  rapidly.  The  in- 
capacity of  the  general  dispirited  the  troops.  The  attack  on  Antwerp, 
which  had  been  the  main  objective  of  the  expedition,  was  abandoned. 
The  armament  and  its  commander  returned  home,  leaving  a  large  garrison 
at  Flushing,  which  rapidly  diminished  under  the  Walcheren  fever,  and 
after  a  few  months  the  survivors  re-embarked,  having  destroyed  the  arsenal 
and  fortress.  The  Cameronians  landed  at  Portsmouth,  and  marched  to 
Horsham  barracks  on  New- Year's  day,  1810,  with  only  90  men  left  effective 
of  the  800  who  had  embarked  six  months  before.  Many  rejoined  from 
hospital  afterwards,  but  many  officers  and  men  never  recovered  from  what 
they  had  gone  through.4  Colonel  Maxwell,  who  had  lost  an  arm  at  Coruna, 
was  wounded  again  in  this  campaign.  The  annals  of  the  other  regiments 
employed  tell  an  equally  dismal  tale.  Few  of  those  who  underwent  the 

1  Moore's  Narrative,  p.  237.  *  Some  Account,  p.  66.  *  Some  Account,  p.  66. 

4  Some  Account,  pp.  66-68. 


ANDREW  ROSS  271 

ordeal  of  Walcheren,  the  most  disastrous  expedition  in  the  history  of  the 
British  army,  ever  again  saw  active  service  in  the  field. 

In  June  the  battalion  was  ordered  to  Jersey,  remaining  there  until 
23rd  June,  1811,  when  it  embarked  for  Portugal  :  38  sergeants  and  613 
rank  and  file,  a  large  proportion  of  them  being  men  who  had  been  invalided 
from  Walcheren  and  now  rejoined.  On  3ist  July  they  joined  the  ist 
division  of  Wellington's  army  at  Alpalhao,  being  brigaded  with  the  24th, 
42nd  and  ygth  regiments,  then  under  Lord  Blantyre.  Fever  and  ague 
made  such  havoc  in  the  Cameronian  ranks  that  the  regiment  was  not  fit 
to  join  in  the  siege  and  storm  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo,  8th-2ist  January,  1812, 
and  it  was  ordered  to  Gibraltar  to  replace  the  82nd.  On  2ist  May,  1813, 
George  Earl  of  Dalhousie,  became  colonel  in  place  of  Lord  Elphinstone.  In 
1822  the  regiment  moved  to  Ireland,  having  been  reduced  from  ten  to  eight 
companies,  and  from  35  sergeants,  22  drummers  and  650  rank  and  file  to 
29  sergeants,  12  drummers  and  556  rank  and  file.  On  25th  March,  1825, 
the  establishment  was  again  augmented  by  two  companies.  Recruiting 
parties  were  immediately  sent  to  Scotland,  in  addition  to  those  permanently 
stationed  at  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh.  Owing  to  the  great  distance  which 
the  Cameronians  were  then  placed  from  their  resources,  it  was  not  practicable 
so  quickly  to  complete  their  new  establishment  as  those  corps  did  which 
recruited  on  the  spot.  This  circumstance  gave  the  latter  an  appearance  of 
advantage  ;  but  the  continued  popularity  of  the  regiment  is  strongly  shown 
by  148  recruits  having  joined  in  the  last  eight  months  of  1825  and  136  more 
in  the  first  six  months  of  1826,  so  that  a  body  of  284  men  were  raised  in 
fourteen  months  who  came  almost  all  from  Scotland.  In  thus  applying 
to  their  countrymen  to  complete  their  ranks,  the  Cameronians,  who,  as  a 
regiment,  had  not  been  in  Scotland  since  1803  (except  indeed  the  2nd 
battalion,  which  was  disbanded  there  in  1814),  had  to  contend  against 
great  disadvantages.  The  long  period  of  their  absence,  the  distance  from 
their  country  when  the  recruiting  commenced,  the  small  number  of  men 
who  had  been  able  to  obtain  furloughs  to  see  their  friends,  and  the  conse- 
quently very  limited  intercourse  which  had  subsisted  between  them  and 
their  countrymen,  were  circumstances  which  could  not  but  have  a  tendency 
to  diminish  their  influence.  Yet  with  all  these  disadvantages  the  established 
character  of  the  regiment  operated  so  powerfully  in  its  favour  that  if  there 
had  not  been  a  large  proportion  of  old  soldiers  to  discharge,  which  produced 


272  THE  CAMERONIANS 

a  continued  diminution  of  numbers,  the  establishment  would  have  been 
completed  early  in  1826. 

The  regiment  remained  in  Ireland  until  October,  1827,  when  it  was 
moved  to  England,  and  in  May,  1828,  embarked  for  India  38  officers,  39 
sergeants,  20  drummers  and  714  rank  and  file,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.- 
Colonel  Henry  Oglander.  This  officer's  entire  energies  were  devoted  to 
the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  men  under  his  command.  By  the 
adoption  of  a  few  simple  rules  the  health  of  the  regiment  and  its  consequent 
capacity  for  the  King's  duty  was  maintained  at  a  high  standard.  The  use 
of  flannel  belts  and  woollen  bedgowns  was  enjoined.  Drill  took  place  at 
reasonable  hours.  Every  precaution  was  taken  to  check  excess  in  the 
use  of  liquor  or  fruit,  and  a  regular  diet  of  four  meals  a  day  ensured  the 
soldier's  comfort  and  health  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  commanding 
officer  that  which  he  prizes  most  highly,  a  healthy  regiment  always  fit  for 
the  King's  service. 

The  stay  in  India  was  marked  by  some  incidents  of  regimental  interest. 
The  recruiting  depot  in  Scotland  was  so  successful  that,  having  exceeded  the 
establishment,  recruiting  was  stopped.  The  appearance  and  conduct  of  the 
men  were  creditable,  but  they  were  not  allowed  to  remain  in  the  regiment. 
Calculating  on  the  effect  of  the  volunteering  from  corps  about  to  return 
home  to  complete  the  deficiencies  in  the  Cameronians,  the  commander-in- 
chief  directed  that  the  depot  should  be  drafted  into  regiments  thus  circum- 
stanced, to  effect  which  a  bounty  was  offered  as  an  inducement  to  the  men 
to  change  ;  so  that  the  depot  from  which  a  fresh  supply  of  good  soldiers 
was  expected  became  reduced  nearly  to  a  skeleton,  since  there  only  remained 
a  few  undersized  men,  with  some  old  soldiers  who  were  awaiting  their 
discharge.  In  India  234  men  were .  transferred  from  a  regiment  then 
serving  there,  who  were,  according  to  the  regimental  record,  no  acquisition 
either  in  appearance  or  in  morals. 

On  7th  December,  1830,  the  regiment  started  to  march  from  Chinsurah. 
where  they  were  stationed,  to  Kurnaul  near  Meerut,  a  distance  of  905  miles. 
The  feat  was  accomplished  in  80  marches,  being  somewhat  over  n|  miles 
daily,  the  longest  being  16  and  the  shortest  under  3  miles.1 

Colonel  Oglander,  who  had  commanded  since  March,  1818,  having  been 
appointed  brigadier  at  Cawnpore,  resigned  the  command  igth  December, 

1  Historical  Record,  pp.  167-68,  173. 


THE  CAMERONIANS 

SCOTTISH  RIFLES 

Private  1914 


ANDREW  ROSS  273 

1836,  to  Lieut.-Colonel  William  James.  Although  cholera  and  dysentery 
continued  to  claim  an  occasional  victim,  the  health  of  the  regiment  con- 
tinued good,  owing,  in  part  at  least,  to  the  existence  of  a  temperance  society. 
On  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  China  the  regiment  embarked  at 
Calcutta  on  24th  March,  1840,  mustering  28  officers,  44  sergeants,  16  drum- 
mers and  842  rank  and  file,  leaving  behind  only  6  sick.  Lieut.-Colonel 
William  James  was  in  command,  but  Colonel  Oglander,  relinquishing 
his  sick  leave  and  local  rank  as  major-general,  obtained  permission  to 
join,  and  overtaking  the  battalion  at  Singapore,  resumed  the  command. 
Unfortunately,  this  excellent  officer  died  of  dysentery  on  22nd  June. 
Chusan  was  reached  on  4th  July,  and  a  landing  having  been  effected 
the  following  day,  possession  was  taken  of  Tinghae,  the  principal  city, 
with  little  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese.  The  26th  were 
encamped  on  a  hill  within  the  city  walls,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
shore,  up  a  very  steep  ascent.  The  regiment  being  without  native 
followers  had  to  carry  their  provisions  and  perform  other  fatigue  duties, 
which,  coupled  with  those  of  a  military  nature,  were  so  severe  as  not 
to  give  a  single  day  of  rest,  and  all  under  a  burning  sun.  Provisions, 
mostly  salt  and  of  the  very  worst  description,  and  frequently  so  bad  as 
not  to  be  fit  for  use,  a  climate  inimical  to  Europeans,  and  the  irregularity 
of  the  ground,  which  would  not  admit  of  the  tents  being  pitched  so  as  to 
afford  proper  shelter,  reduced  the  corps  in  six  weeks  to  a  mass  of  debilitated, 
dying  soldiers.  The  sickness  became  so  appalling  that  the  regiment  moved 
into  the  city  of  Tinghae  in  September,  where  four  hundred  sick  were  placed 
in  a  large  building,  ill  adapted  from  its  site  and  want  of  glazed  windows 
for  an  hospital.  An  effort  to  re-embark  the  corps  failed,  the  transports 
which  had  brought  them  having  been  filled  with  naval  stores.  A  party, 
however,  was  embarked  and  sent  to  Manilla  in  November  in  hopes  that  the 
sea  voyage  would  benefit  them.  Meanwhile  the  officer  commanding 
received  a  communication  from  the  adjutant-general's  office,  Calcutta, 
dated  i3th  November,  1840,  stating  that  the  Court  of  Directors  of  the 
East  India  Company  had  considered  the  report  of  the  medical  board  on  the 
health  of  the  European  troops  ;  the  comparative  immunity  from  mortality 
and  sickness  enjoyed  by  Her  Majesty's  26th  Regiment  had  impressed  itself 
on  the  Court,  and  desiring  to  know  the  details  of  the  arrangements  adopted 
for  the  internal  economy  of  the  26th  for  transmission  to  the  home  authorities. 


274  THE  CAMERONIANS 

We  hear  no  more  of  the  system  which  secured  to  the  Crown  the  services 
of  healthy  soldiers,  instead  of  burdening  its  resources  with  invalids. 

And  now  the  regiment  suffered  terribly  owing  to  want  of  the  most 
ordinary  forethought  on  the  part  of  the  officials  concerned.  The  men 
sent  to  Manilla  did  not  recover  as  expected.  There  were  many  deaths 
among  them,  and  the  survivors  were  in  a  wretched  condition.  Never- 
theless, it  was  by  detachments  of  the  26th  and  4gth  regiments,  under  com- 
mand of  Brevet-Major  William  Johnstone  of  the  Cameronians,  that  the 
forts  of  Cheumpee  were  attacked  and  carried  on  7th  January,  1841.  Shortly 
after  possession  was  taken  of  the  island  of  Hong  Kong,  and  an  armistice 
agreed  to.  It  was  acceptable  to  neither  side.  Hostilities  were  renewed, 
and  the  troops  advanced  towards  Canton.  Shortly  after  Lieut. -Colonel 
James  left  on  sick  leave  and  the  command  fell  to  Brevet  Lieut. -Colonel 
Pratt,  who  led  the  regiment  with  distinction  in  the  various  services  in  which 
it  was  engaged.  On  26th  December  this  year  the  arrival  of  262  recruits 
from  home  raised  the  numbers  to  584. 

The  regiment  was  ordered  north,  and  arrived  at  Ningpo  on  7th  February, 
1842.  Percussion  muskets  were  issued  to  the  regiment  immediately  before 
starting,  which  were  gladly  adopted  in  lieu  of  the  flint-locks  previously  in  use. 
After  a  series  of  smart  operations,  in  which  the  Cameronians  took  the  lead- 
ing part,  the  Emperor  of  China  sued  for  peace,  and  the  troops  re-embarked 
and  returned  to  Hong  Kong  on  3Oth  October.  In  commemoration  of  the 
services  of  the  26th  during  these  campaigns  authority  was  given  for  the  word 
"  China  "  and  the  device  of  the  Dragon  to  be  inscribed  on  the  regimental 
colour  and  appointments.  On  20th  December  the  regiment  embarked  for 
Singapore.  Information  was  here  received  that  Major  Johnstone  had  been 
promoted  to  the  brevet  rank  of  lieut. -colonel  for  services  in  the  Canton 
river,  and  on  reaching  Calcutta  it  became  known  that  that  officer  had  died 
at  sea  when  on  leave  on  igth  October,  1842,  of  disease  contracted  in  China.1 

The  headquarters  arrived  in  Calcutta  on  the  7th  of  February,  1843. 
Lieut.-Colonel  Mountain  assumed  command  on  i6th  February,  and  before 
leaving  India  the  regiment  received  the  public  thanks  of  the  authorities 
for  the  signal  service  they  had  rendered.  It  landed  at  Gravesend,  July- 
August,  1843,  and  immediately  proceeded  to  Edinburgh.  During  the 
winter  the  corps  made  weekly  marches,  generally  taking  some  gentleman's 
1  Historical  Record,  pp.  185-198. 


ANDREW  ROSS  275 

place  or  remarkable  spot  for  its  object.  Arthur's  Seat  was  one,  and 
it  was  observed  at  the  time  that  no  regiment  had  been  there  for  forty 
years. 

On  3rd  May,  1844,  new  colours  were  given  by  the  Hon.  Colonel  Lord 
Seaton,  consecrated  by  Principal  Lee  and  presented  to  the  Cameronians 
by  Lady  Douglas,  wife  of  Sir  Neil  Douglas,  the  officer  commanding  in 
chief  in  Scotland,  who  before  the  regiment  left  issued  a  general  order 
congratulating  Lieut. -Colonel  Mountain  upon  its  fine  appearance, 
the  state  of  its  arms,  clothing  and  accoutrements,  and  of  its  interior 
economy. 

In  August,  1844,  the  regiment  was  moved  to  England,  when  volunteering 
for  the  53rd  Foot  was  encouraged,  whereby  it  was  brought  considerably 
below  the  establishment.  Had  the  regiment  been  permitted  to  remain  in 
Scotland  no  doubt  it  would  soon  have  filled,  but  owing  to  the  changes  in 
the  recruiting  officers  there  was  much  delay,  and  the  lieut.-colonel  was 
informed  that  unless  the  establishment  was  completed  by  the  end  of  the 
year,  recruiting  would  be  extended  to  England  and  Ireland. 

In  May,  1845,  the  standard  for  recruits  was  lowered  half  an  inch,  with 
the  result  that  about  200  recruits,  mostly  of  an  inferior  description,  were 
poured  in  upon  the  Cameronians  in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  In  June 
the  regiment  went  to  Ireland,  and  in  February,  1847,  an  order  was 
received  to  recruit  1000  rank  and  file.  This  order  for  general  recruiting 
was  a  blow  at  the  nationality  of  the  corps  and  was  much  regretted. 
In  September,  1847,  Colonel  Mountain,  C.B.,  quitted  the  26th  to 
accompany  the  Earl  of  Dalhousie,  Governor-General  of  India,  to 
Calcutta  as  his  military  secretary.  He  was  succeeded  in  command  by 
Major  Hogarth. 

On  the  3rd  of  August  Queen  Victoria  landed  at  Cork  and  a  guard  of 
honour  composed  of  the  two  flank  companies  under  Captains  Layard  and 
Casey  was  furnished  from  the  26th  to  receive  her  Majesty,  the  rest  of  the 
regiment  with  the  other  troops  in  garrison  lining  the  streets  as  the  Queen 
went  through.  Brevet-Major  Mylius  received  her  Majesty  at  Cove,  since 
named  Queenstown  in  commemoration  of  the  event.  Six  companies  of  the 
regiment,  20  officers  and  604  non-commissioned  officers  and  men,  proceeded 
to  Gibraltar  on  5th  March,  1850,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.-Colonel 
Hemphill,  four  companies  being  left  behind  at  Cork  as  depot.  On  I3th 


276  THE  CAMERONIANS 

May  these  companies,  consisting  of  10  officers  and  462  non-commissioned 
officers  and  men,  proceeded  to  Jersey,  and  next  year  to  Wales.  From 
Gibraltar  the  battalion  companies  sailed  for  Canada,  the  headquarters 
arriving  off  Quebec  on  28th  May.  On  3ist  March,  1854,  Major-General 
Philip  Bainbrigge,  C.B.,  was  appointed  colonel  vice  Lieut.-Colonel  Lord 
Seaton,  G.C.B.,  removed  to  the  2nd  Life  Guards.  On  3rd  December  the 
service  companies  proceeded  to  Bermuda.  Two  companies  of  the  depot 
under  Lieut.-Colonel  Whittingham,  C.B.,  joined  the  service  companies 
at  Bermuda,  with  two  other  detachments  at  separate  times — in  all  about 
327  men.  Owing  to  the  war  with  Russia  the  majority  were  young  undrilled 
recruits,  and  a  watchful  superintendence  over  them  was  necessary  in  such 
a  climate.  Great  attention  was  paid  to  prevent  unnecessary  exposure 
to  the  sun,  and  by  limiting  the  hours  and  selecting  shady  places,  drill  was 
carried  on  and  completed  without  any  sickness  being  observable  amongst 
them.  In  March,  1856,  the  Enfield  rifle  was  issued  to  the  regiment.  On 
i8th  October,  1859,  the  headquarters  embarked  for  Portsmouth,  and  pro- 
ceeded thence  to  Kingstown.  In  May,  1860,  the  Enfield  rifle  was  withdrawn 
and  another  weapon  issued  named  the  interchangeable  rifle. 

On  2nd  and  6th  May,  1861,  the  battalion  left  Ireland  for  Edinburgh 
in  two  detachments.  For  the  second  time  a  presentation  of  colours  took 
place  at  Edinburgh,  in  presence  of  the  troops  in  garrison,  the  Royal  Scots 
Greys  and  a  battery  of  the  7th  Royal  Artillery.  They  were  the  gift  of 
Lady  Belhaven,  were  consecrated  by  the  Rev.  James  Millar,  garrison 
chaplain,  and  presented  by  Major-General  Walker,  the  regiment,  under 
command  of  Lieut.-Colonel  Carey,  being  drawn  up  on  the  north  side  of 
the  parade  ground  in  the  Queen's  Park,  facing  St.  Antony's  Chapel. 
The  regiment  removed  from  Scotland  to  Aldershot  in  four  divisions  in 
May,  1862.  On  6th  June  an  official  memorandum  was  received  requesting 
to  know  whether  any  authority  had  been  received  for  men  being  employed 
as  pipers  in  the  Cameronians,  and  the  result  was  that  three  were  authorised. 
The  regiment  returned  to  India  in  1855,  under  command  of  Lieut.-Colonel 
Shurlock  Henning,  and  next  year  it  won  the  silver  cup  given  by  Sir  R. 
Napier,  commander-in-chief  at  Bombay,  to  be  shot  for  by  non-commis- 
sioned officers  of  regiments  in  the  Presidency. 

In  1868  the  regiment  formed  part  of  the  Abyssinian  expeditionary 
force.  Leaving  Belgaum  830  strong  it  landed  at  Zoula  and  was  sent  up 


ANDREW  ROSS  277 

country  in  detachments.  The  men  were  armed  with  the  Snider  breech- 
loading  rifle.  After  a  march  of  fourteen  miles  across  the  desert  the  Camer- 
onians  halted  at  Koomaylie,  at  the  entrance  of  the  great  rocky  valley  or 
ravine  known  as  The  Passes,  nearly  fifty  miles  long,  which  leads  up  to  the 
plain  of  Senate.  On  arrival  there  they  received  news  of  the  release  of  the 
captives,  the  capture  of  Magdala  and  the  death  of  King  Theodore,  and 
they  were  back  in  Bombayon  nth  June.  In  January,  1870, the  Cameronians 
proceeded  to  Cawnpore,  and  by  Lucknow  to  Fyzabad.  In  August,  1871, 
Colonel  F.  A.  Willis  from  the  38th  regiment  assumed  command,  having 
exchanged  with  Colonel  Henning.  While  at  Fyzabad  the  Cameronians 
were  the  best  shooting  regiment  in  India  and  the  second  best  in  the  army. 
They  were  at  other  stations  in  India  before  they  left  it  on  25th  November, 
1874,  reaching  Portsmouth  on  2ist  January,  I875.1 

In  May,  1876,  Lieut. -Colonel  Collins  succeeded  Colonel  Willis  in  com- 
mand. On  7th  August  the  regiment  disembarked  at  Greenock  from  H.M.S. 
Orontes,  and  occupied  Gallowgate  Barracks,  Glasgow.  In  March,  1878, 
when  war  with  Russia  seemed  imminent,  the  Cameronians  being  in  the 
ist  Army  Corps  for  foreign  service,  received  350  volunteers  from  twenty- 
three  different  regiments.  On  igth  April  the  Army  Reserve  was  called 
out  and  about  230  joined  the  regiment,  making  the  strength  about  1300 
of  all  ranks.  In  July  the  Army  Reserve  was  sent  home.  In  August,  1880, 
the  Cameronians  were  sent  to  Malta,  whence  they  were  ordered  to  the  Cape 
in  March,  1881  ;  but  the  war  there  having  come  to  an  end,  the  Egypt  was 
stopped  at  Gibraltar  and  the  regiment  was  conveyed  home  to  Portsmouth. 
Lieut.-Colonel  Hale  succeeded  to  the  command  in  May.  On  3ist  May 
300  Cameronians  were  sent  to  the  74th  Highlanders,  thus  reducing  the 
battalion  to  little  more  than  a  depot. 

On  ist  July  the  reorganisation  of  the  British  army  took  place,  and 
the  74th  Highlanders  ceased  to  be  linked  with  the  26th.  The  26th  and 
the  goth  Perthshire  Light  Infantry  were  united  as  "  The  Scotch  Rifles, 
Cameronians."  This  title  was  soon  altered  to  "  The  Cameronians,  Scottish 
Rifles."  On  the  ist  July,  1881,  therefore,  the  history  of  the  old  single 
regiment,  the  26th  Cameronians,  came  to  an  end,  the  battalion  under  its 
new  title  remaining  at  Shorncliffe  under  the  command  of  Lieut.-Colonel 
M.  H.  Hale.  As  rifle  regiments  carry  no  colours,  a  farewell  ceremony 

1  Conclusion  of  Records  of  the  Twenty-sixth  or  Cameraman  Regiment,  pp.  1-5. 


278  THE  CAMERONIANS 

of  a  somewhat  pathetic  character  was  transacted  on  26th  June,  1882. 
The  old  colours  having  been  brought  on  parade,  the  Cameronians,  clad  in 
their  new  rifle  uniform,  marched  past,  saluted  them,  and  then  advanced 
in  line  and  gave  them  a  royal  salute.  The  battalion  then  stood  in  line 
while  the  band  played  "  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  and  the  colours  were  marched 
off  parade  for  the  last  time. l 

1  An  interesting  custom  is  still  observed  in  the  Cameronian  Regiment,  derived  from  the 
troublous  times  when  the  proscribed  Covenanters  had  to  observe  precautions  against  being 
surprised  by  the  forces  of  the  Government  when  attending  a  hill  preaching  or  conventicle. 
Whenever  the  regiment  is  in  camp  or  billets  the  men  parade  for  divine  service  with  their 
rifles  and,  usually,  five  rounds  of  ball  cartridge.  A  picquet  is  sent  out  and  sentries  are 
posted,  and  not  until  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  picquet  reports  "  All  clear  "  does  the  officer 
commanding  the  parade  inform  the  clergyman  that  he  may  proceed  with  the  service.  When 
the  regiment  is  quartered  in  permanent  barracks,  rifles  are  not  carried,  but  each  man  has 
to  bring  the  Bible  which  was  issued  to  him  with  his  kit  on  enlistment. 


THE  90™  PERTHSHIRE  LIGHT  INFANTRY 

[Now  2nd  Battalion  of  the  Cameronians  (Scottish  Rifles)\ 

/^VX  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  the  French  Revolution  on  ist  February, 
^-J  1793,  several  additions  were  made  to  the  British  army,  and  some 
of  the  new  regiments  were  raised  in  Scotland.  Mr.  Thomas  Graham  of 
Balgowan,1  in  the  county  of  Perth,  was  one  of  those  who  asked  and  obtained 
letters  of  service  entitling  them  to  do  so.  His  success  was  so  complete 
that  on  i3th  May,  1794,  he  was  able  to  parade  at  Perth  7  officers  and  746 
non-commissioned  officers  and  men  before  Lieut.-General  Lord  Adam 
Gordon,  then  commanding-in-chief  in  Scotland,  who  was  highly  pleased 
with  the  appearance  of  the  regiment,  which  was  made  up  of  95  Highlanders, 
430  Lowlanders,  165  English  and  56  Irish.  It  was  equipped  and  drilled 
as  a  light  infantry  battalion,  and  added  to  the  establishment  as  the  goth 
Regiment  of  Foot,  or  Perthshire  Volunteers.  Brevet-Major  George  Mon- 
crieffe  of  the  nth  Foot  and  Captain  Rowland  Hill  of  the  53rd  (afterwards 
Lord  Hill)  were  both  brought  into  the  regiment  with  the  rank  of  lieut.- 
colonel ;  but  Thomas  Graham  retained  command  as  lieut. -colonel  com- 
mandant. On  24th  June  the  regiment  mustered  29  sergeants,  43  corporals 
and  1042  private  men.  The  completion  of  the  battalion  so  elated  Mr. 
Graham  that  he  offered  to  raise  a  second  of  1000  men.  The  offer  was 
accepted,  and  he  was  able  in  August  to  report  its  completion.  Two  years 
afterwards  this  second  battalion  was  "  turned  over  "  to  the  Marines. 

Colours  were  presented  to  the  ist  battalion  at ,  Winchester  on  4th  June, 
1795,  and  in  August  following  it  embarked  for  the  coast  of  France  as  part 
of  an  expedition  formed  to  aid  General  Charette,  one  of  the  royalist  leaders 
in  La  Vendee.  The  Isle  Dieu  was  seized  on  2gth  September,  by  the  force 
which  was  formed  in  two  brigades,  the  second  under  Colonel  Graham 

1  Afterwards  General  Lord  Lynedoch. 


28o        THE  90TH  PERTHSHIRE  LIGHT  INFANTRY 

consisting  of  the  78th  and  goth.  It  was  occupied  for  two  months,  but  the 
strength  of  the  republicans  prevented  General  Charette  from  obtaining 
any  of  the  supplies  destined  for  him,  and  the  force,  being  too  weak  to  assist 
him  by  any  offensive  movement,  was  recalled  at  the  end  of  November. 

In  April,  1796,  the  regiment  was  sent  to  Gibraltar,  whence  in  September 
1798,  it  went  with  the  expedition  to  seize  Minorca.  The  island  was  reached 
on  6th  November,  and  ten  days  later  the  governor  capitulated.  In  April, 
1800,  a  curious  bit  of  luck  fell  to  the  corps,  Captain  M'Nair,  the  paymaster, 
had  when  in  London  some  time  before  taken  a  ticket  in  one  of  the  State 
lotteries  in  name  of  the  regiment.  It  gained  a  prize  of  £20,000.  In  Sir 
Ralph  Abercromby's  expedition  to  Egypt  in  1801  the  goth  was  brigaded 
with  the  8th,  i3th  and  i8th  Foot  under  Major-General  Craddock.  The 
army  encamped  on  the  shore  of  Marmorice  Bay,  where  they  were  detained 
until  the  Turks  chose  to  fulfil  the  obligations  they  had  undertaken.  A 
gale  of  unusual  violence  broke  over  the  camp — a  storm  of  hailstones,  some  of 
them  as  large  as  walnuts,  sweeping  down  from  the  hills  and  covering  the 
ground  to  a  depth  of  two  feet.  The  horses  broke  loose  and  the  men  were 
unable  to  face  the  freezing  deluge.  Great  damage  was  done  to  shipping 
in  the  bay.  Between  the  confusion  caused  by  the  storm  and  the  dilatori- 
ness  of  the  Turks  it  was  23rd  February  before  the  army  sailed  for  Aboukir, 
and  on  ist  March  it  anchored  in  the  bay.  The  geographical  informa- 
tion available  was  imperfect.  No  map  of  Egypt  could  be  depended  on. 
Sir  Sydney  Smith  was  the  only  officer  who  knew  anything  of  the  coastal 
district,  and  he  furnished  Colonel  Rowland  Hill  of  the  goth  with  a  map, 
which  was  found  invaluable  in  the  subsequent  operations. 

The  weather  prevented  a  landing  until  the  morning  of  the  8th,  when 
the  ist  division  pulled  for  the  shore  under  a  heavy  fire,  and,  forming  up 
as  they  advanced,  stormed  the  heights.  In  the  meantime  the  boats 
returned  for  the  remainder  of  the  army,  including  the  goth.  All  were 
landed  before  night,  when  a  position  was  taken  up  about  three  miles  from 
Aboukir,  the  right  resting  on  the  sea  and  the  left  on  Lake  Maadie.  On 
the  i2th  Abercromby  marched  about  four  miles  to  Mandora  Tower,  where 
the  column  encamped  in  three  lines.  Next  day  he  advanced  to  attack 
the  French  posted  on  a  ridge  of  hills,  the  approach  to  which  was  perfectly 
open  and  afforded  a  clear  field  of  fire  to  their  artillery.  As  Sir  Ralph 
determined  to  turn  their  right,  their  left  being  refused,  the  British 


ANDREW  ROSS  281 

marched  in  two  columns  of  regiments  from  the  left.  They  had  not  far 
advanced  out  of  the  wood  of  date  trees  in  front  of  Mandora  when  the 
enemy,  leaving  the  height,  moved  down  by  his  right,  opening  a  heavy 
fire  of  musketry  and  artillery.  The  goth  regiment  under  Colonel  Row- 
land Hill  led  the  right  column,  and  the  92nd  led  the  left.  The  advance 
guard  of  the  goth,  consisting  of  the  flank  and  two  battalion  companies 
commanded  by  Lieut. -Colonel  Kenneth  Mackenzie,  had  only  moved  a 
short  distance  when  it  came  under  a  hot  fire,  and  a  strong  cavalry  corps 
was  observed  preparing  to  charge.  The  rest  of  the  battalion  moved  up, 
and,  forming  up  as  if  on  parade,  awaited  the  onset  of  the  French  cavalry. 

The  goth  wore  helmets  at  that  time,  and  were  mistaken  by  the  enemy 
for  a  body  of  dismounted  cavalry.  Anticipating  an  easy  victory  over 
those  whom  they  imagined  must  be  fighting  under  difficulties,  they  charged 
under  General  Bron,  and  were  allowed  to  approach  within  a  few  yards, 
when  a  volley  broke  their  ranks  and  a  second  obliged  them  to  retire.  The 
front  shown  by  the  goth  was  the  means  of  saving  the  commander-in-chief 
from  being  made  prisoner.  His  horse  was  shot  under  him  and  he  was 
nearly  surrounded  by  the  enemy's  troopers,  when  he  was  rescued  by  a 
party  of  the  goth.  Lieut.-Colonel  Hill  of  the  goth,  having  been  struck 
from  his  horse  early  in  the  action  by  a  musket-ball,  which  hit  the  rim  of 
his  helmet  and  wounded  him  on  the  head,  Lieut.-Colonel  Mackenzie  took 
command,  and  on  the  retreat  of  the  French  cavalry  formed  up  with  the 
remainder  of  Major-General  Craddock's  brigade.  The  army  now  formed 
in  two  lines,  the  reserve  in  column  on  the  right,  the  Guards  in  rear  of  the 
right  of  the  second  line  and  General  Doyle's  brigade  moving  on  rear  of  the 
left  in  column.  In  this  order  they  pushed  on,  the  French  retreating 
before  them  over  the  plain  into  their  lines  on  the  heights  above  Alexandria. 
Abercromby,  anxious  to  follow  up  his  success  by  capturing  the  position, 
continued  to  advance,  ordering  General  Hutchinson  with  the  second  line 
to  move  forward  to  the  left  and  secure  a  projecting  rising  ground.  General 
Moore  was  directed  to  the  right,  so  that  both  flanks  might  be  assaulted  at 
the  same  time.  The  first  line  remained  in  the  plain  rather  to  the  right. 
General  Hutchinson  advanced  to  occupy  the  rising  ground,  and  found  some 
protection  for  his  troops  from  the  broken  nature  of  the  soil.  The  centre 
remained  exposed,  and  came  under  a  heavy  fire  from  the  enemy's  guns, 
until  Abercromby,  not  deeming  it  prudent  to  attempt  the  forcing  of  the 


282        THE  90TH  PERTHSHIRE  LIGHT  INFANTRY 

heights,  withdrew  the  army  at  sunset,  to  occupy  the  position  won  in  the 
morning.  In  this  engagement  the  French  lost  about  500  men.  The  British 
had  noo  killed  and  wounded.  The  casualties  in  the  goth  were  22  rank  and 
file  killed,  8  officers,  n  sergeants  and  203  rank  and  file  wounded.  Next 
day  the  following  order  was  issued  : 

"  Camp  four  miles  from  Alexandria 

14  March  1801. 

The  Commander  in  Chief  has  the  greatest  satisfaction  in  thanking  the  troops 
for  their  soldier  like  and  intrepid  conduct  in  the  action  of  yesterday.  He  feels  it 
incumbent  on  him  particularly  to  express  his  most  perfect  satisfaction  with  the 
steady  and  gallant  conduct  of  Major-General  Craddock's  brigade,  and  he  desires 
that  Major-General  Craddock  will  assure  the  officers  and  men  of  the  goth  Regiment 
that  their  meritorious  conduct  commands  his  admiration.  To  the  Q2nd  and 
Regiment  of  Dillon  an  equal  share  of  praise  is  due,  and  when  it  has  been  so  well 
earned,  the  Commander  in  Chief  has  the  greatest  pleasure  in  bestowing  it." 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  2ist  the  French  again  advanced  to  the 
attack.  It  was  General  Menou's  intention  to  make  a  feint  against  the 
British  left  wing,  while  his  main  body,  forcing  the  centre  and  wheeling 
round  to  the  right,  should  drive  the  British  into  Lake  Maadie.  It  was 
an  able  design,  but  it  was  not  carried  into  effect.  General  Craddock's 
brigade  prevented  any  forward  movement  against  the  left,  whilst  Generals 
Moore  and  Oakes  defeated  all  attempts  made  upon  an  old  Roman  camp 
which  formed  a  main  feature  on  the  right.  Towards  the  end  of  the  engage- 
ment the  British  regiments  ran  short  of  ammunition  ;  but  General  Menou, 
finding  that  all  his  movements  had  failed,  and  that  the  impression  made 
on  the  British  lines  justified  no  hopes  of  a  tactical  success,  withdrew  his 
troops  in  good  order  to  the  heights  of  his  position.  Sir  Ralph  Abercromby 
was  struck  by  a  bullet  early  in  the  morning,  but  continued  walking  about 
and  directing  the  battle  until  the  retreat  of  the  enemy's  columns,  when 
he  was  taken  on  board  the  Foudroyant  and  died  on  the  28th. 

The  command  devolved  upon  Lieut. -General  Hely  Hutchinson,  who 
advanced  on  5th  May  with  a  force  composed  of  the  brigades  of  Generals 
Craddock  and  Doyle,  4000  Turks  under  Caia  Bey  and  twelve  field-pieces.  On 
the  8th  they  took  possession  of  El  Aft,  and  next  day  advanced  to  within 
four  miles  of  Rhamanieh,  where  they  beat  off  an  attack  by  the  French 
cavalry  and  light  troops.  The  allied  troops  lay  on  their  arms  that  night  ; 
next  day,  as  they  were  advancing  to  the  assault,  the  fort  surrendered, 
the  main  body  of  the  French  falling  back  in  the  direction  of  Cairo.  Thither 


ANDREW  ROSS  283 

they  were  followed  by  the  British,  and  although  sickness  prevailed  among 
the  troops  to  an  alarming  degree,  their  spirits  rose  as  they  approached 
Cairo.  On  i6th  June  Hutchinson  encamped  at  Shubrah,  where  he  remained 
until  the  2ist  preparing  for  the  assualt  ;  but  on  the  morning  of  the  22nd 
a  French  officer  with  a  flag  of  truce  was  brought  before  the  general  to  arrange 
for  the  evacuation  of  Cairo  and  the  return  of  its  garrison  to  France,  which 
was  agreed  to  the  following  day.  On  gth  August  the  army  was  redis- 
tributed, the  goth  forming  part  of  the  3rd  brigade  commanded  by  Brigadier- 
General  Hope,1  which  joined  the  camp  at  Alexandria  on  the  nth.  General 
Hutchinson  resumed  command  on  the  i5th,  and  expressed  his  intention 
of  immediately  besieging  Alexandria.  Hope's  brigade  moved  into  the 
front  line  on  the  following  day.  The  siege  was  vigorously  pressed  until 
the  3oth,  when  General  Hope  entered  the  town  to  sign  the  capitulation.  On 
the  3rd  September  the  goth  took  possession  of  one  of  the  gates  of  the  city, 
and  the  Eygptian  campaign  being  at  an  end  the  regiment  was  sent  to  Malta. 

In  preparation  for  inspection  by  General  Fox  at  this  time,  a  regimental 
order  contains,  inter  alia,  instruction  that  "  the  men's  hair  is  well  tied  and 
dressed  at  the  sides,  and  that  the  officers  themselves  are  properly  regiment- 
ally  dressed.  Uniform — jacket,  red  waistcoat  and  buff  breeches,  long 
gaiters,  helmet  and  regimental  sword  and  feather.  .  .  .  The  officers  are 
likewise  desired  to  wear  powder." 

In  December  the  goth  Perthshire  Volunteers  were  startled  by  a  rumour 
that  the  men  were  to  be  called  on  to  volunteer  for  some  of  the  older  regi- 
ments with  a  view  to  the  reduction  of  the  corps.  In  consequence  of  these 
reports  Colonel  Hill  applied  to  General  Fox,  commanding  the  forces  in 
the  Mediterranean,  and  received  the  following  reassuring  reply : 

gir  "  Head  Quarters  Malta  12  December  1801. 

General  Fox  being  informed  that  a  report  has  been  circulated  that  the 
men  of  the  goth  Regiment  would  be  allowed  to  enlist  in  the  older  regiments, 
I  am  directed  by  His  Excellency  to  say  that  such  report  is  without  any  founda- 
tion, and  that  the  reason  of  the  goth  not  being  included  in  the  number  of  regiments 
allowed  to  enlist  men  from  the  Ancient  Irish  Fenciblcs  is  that  the  goth  being 
looked  upon  as  a  national  regiment,  the  recruiting  of  it  is  to  be  confined  as  much 
as  possible  to  North  Britons.  DAT" 

1  Succeeded  his  half-brother  as  4th  Earl  of  Hopetoun  in  1816.  As  adjutant-general  he 
was  wounded  in  the  engagement  on  2ist  March,  and  was  appointed  to  command  the  3rd  brigade 
on  gth  August. 


284        THE  90TH  PERTHSHIRE  LIGHT  INFANTRY 

The  regiment  reached  Scotland  about  the  middle  of  this  year  for  the 
purpose  of  recruiting,  and  in  March,  1803,  proceeded  from  Fort  George 
to  Belfast.  A  second  battalion  was  raised  in  1804,  and  in  January,  1805, 
the  ist  battalion  embarked  at  Youghal  under  the  command  of  Lieut.- 
Colonel  John  M'Nair  for  service  in  the  West  Indies,  and  was  stationed 
in  St.  Vincent.  It  formed  part  of  the  force  which  landed  in  Martinique 
on  3Oth  January,  1809,  and  received  the  surrender  of  Fort  Royal  by  the 
French  on  24th  February.  The  goth  also  had  a  share  in  the  capture  of 
Guadaloupe  in  February,  1810,  after  which  the  regiment  returned  to  St. 
Vincent.  From  the  West  Indies  it  proceeded  to  Canada,  arriving  at  Quebec 
on  20th  June,  1814,  and  crossed  over  to  Fort  Niagara,  which  it  occupied 
until  22nd  May  in  the  following  year,  when  hostilities  with  the  United 
States  ceased  and  the  fort  was  given  up.  A  few  weeks  afterwards  the 
regiment  left  Canada  to  form  part  of  the  army  of  occupation  in  France. 
It  was  in  May  of  this  year  that  an  order  was  issued  directing  that  the  goth 
should  be  armed,  clothed  and  drilled  as  the  other  light  infantry  corps  in 
the  army  were,  viz.  the  43rd,  5ist,  52nd,  68th,  yist  and  85th  regiments. 
In  June,  1816,  the  goth  returned  to  England  and  in  1817  received  the  privilege 
of  adding  "  Mandora,"  "  Martinique  "  and  "  Guadaloupe  "  to  the  honours 
of  the  regiment.  The  2nd  battalion  was  disbanded  in  the  same  year. 

In  October,  1820,  the  regiment  left  for  Malta,  and  in  the  following  year 
for  the  Ionian  Islands,  where  it  remained  until  1830.  On  returning  home 
it  proceeded  to  Edinburgh,  where  it  remained  a  year  under  the  command 
of  Lord  G.  W.  Russell,  and  then  marched  to  Glasgow,  which  it  left  in  1832 
for  Ireland.  On  4th  January,  1836,  the  goth  sailed  from  Cork  for  Ceylon, 
where  it  remained  until  February,  1846,  when  it  returned  home.  Three 
companies  of  the  regiment  were  on  board  the  transport  Maria  Somes  when 
she  encountered  a  terrific  storm  in  the  Indian  Ocean  which  lasted  three  days. 
The  starboard  cabin  was  stove  in,  the  skylight  of  the  saloon  burst  open ; 
only  the  mizen  and  fore-lower  masts  were  standing ;  there  were  fourteen 
feet  of  water  in  the  hold  and  the  rudder  was  carried  away.  The  sufferings 
of  the  men,  women  and  children  were  terrible,  several  deaths  ensuing 
from  exhaustion.  When  the  storm  abated  the  chief  difficulty  was  the  want 
of  a  rudder.  When  a  new  one  was  improvised,  the  difficulty  arose 
how  to  fix  it  in  its  place.  An  examination  of  the  sternpost  led  to  the 
discovery  of  the  pintails  and  gudgeons  of  the  old  one  some  depth  below 


ANDREW  ROSS  285 

water.  There  seemed  no  means  of  getting  them,  and  their  recovery  was 
about  to  be  abandoned  when  Private  Gunnion  of  the  goth  volunteered  to 
dive.  After  many  attempts,  attended  with  great  danger  from  the  sharks, 
he  succeeded  in  regaining  the  much  coveted  articles.  The  rudder  was 
placed  in  position,  the  foreyard  rigged  as  a  jury  mast,  and  in  about  a  fort- 
night's time  the  vessel  made  the  Mauritius,  where  the  greatest  hospitality 
was  shown  by  the  governor,  Sir  William  Gomm,1  and  the  ship  ultimately 
reached  the  Cape  in  safety.  The  voyage  of  the  headquarters  had  been 
favourable,  and  on  their  arrival  at  the  Cape  they  were  ordered  to  take 
part  in  the  operations  against  the  Kafirs,  General  Sir  Peregrine  Maitland 
commanding-in-chief .  They  were  directed  to  sail  round  to  Algoa  Bay,  and  on 
landing  to  push  on  to  the  front.  Graham's  Town  was  reached  on  28th  April. 
The  three  companies  on  board  the  Maria  Somes  arrived  at  Graham's 
Town  about  midsummer,  and,  with  part  of  the  7th,  gist  and  Cape  Mounted 
Rifles,  took  the  field  with  Sir  Peregrine  Maitland,  and  encamped  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Fish  River.  On  6th  July  150  men  of  the  gist  and  part  of 
the  goth  made  their  first  march  from  Fish  River  mouth  along  the  shore 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Reka,  where  they  encamped.  On  the  I5th  they  arrived 
at  Buffalo  River.  On  the  ijth  they  proceeded  to  the  Dike  flats  via  King 
William's  Town,  en  route  to  the  Amatolas,  to  intercept  the  Gaikas.  On 
the  2ist  they  encamped  four  miles  from  King  William's  Town,  and  on  the 
igth  of  August  were  at  Fort  Beresford.  In  August  the  detached  companies 
of  the  regiment  were  called  in  and  moved  by  the  Fish  River  on  Block  Drift, 
where  a  force  of  the  27th,  46th,  part  of  the  gist  and  a  battery  of  artillery 
was  encamped,  of  which  Lieut. -Colonel  Slade  of  the  goth  on  his  arrival 
took  the  command.  While  in  this  permanent  camp  two  companies  of 
the  goth  under  Captain  Bringhurst  crossed  the  Kei  to  harass  the  enemy. 
On  their  return  the  river  was  in  flood  and  they  had  to  bivouac  on  its  banks 
for  three  days  before  they  were  able  to  rejoin  headquarters.  About  I3th 
September  the  division  moved  towards  the  mouth  of  the  Fish  River,  which 
it  reached  on  the  igth.  In  October  the  goth  under  Lieut. -Colonel  Slade, 
the  45th  under  Lieut. -Colonel  Erskine,  a  troop  of  the  7th  Dragoon  Guards 
and  some  artillery,  moved  inland  on  Block  Drift.  By  the  end  of  November 
the  principal  Gaika  chiefs  had  given  in,  and  on  6th  January,  1847,  the  goth 
received  orders  to  embark  for  home. 

1  Appointed  field-marshal  in  1868  ;  died  in  1875. 


286        THE  90TH  PERTHSHIRE  LIGHT  INFANTRY 

The  regiment  concentrated  and  marched  for  the  coast.  On  arrival 
at  Port  Elizabeth  it  was  found  that  the  Thunderbolt,  on  which  they  were 
to  embark,  had  not  arrived.  She  did  not  appear  until  3rd  February,  and 
the  men  were  eagerly  watching  her  rounding  Cape  Receif  when  she  struck 
a  sunken  rock  and  leaked  so  badly  that  she  had  to  be  driven  ashore.  In 
spite  of  pumps  working  night  and  day  the  water  in  her  did  not  decrease, 
and  the  engineer  suspected  that  the  sea-pipe  must  be  open.  As  the  vessel 
was  full  of  greasy  opaque  water,  it  seemed  impossible  for  anyone  to  reach 
the  engine-room  to  close  it.  Once  more  Private  Gunnion  came  to  the 
rescue.  After  receiving  precise  instructions  as  to  the  situation  of  the  pipe 
he  descended,  and  naturally  lost  his  way  in  the  filthy  liquid,  but  with  in- 
domitable pluck  he  went  down  again  and  again,  until  finally  he  succeeded. 
The  pipe  was  open,  he  closed  it,  and  the  water  in  the  ship  was  reduced. 
The  injuries  she  had  sustained,  however,  were  of  so  serious  a  nature  that 
she  had  to  be  broken  up.  In  a  few  days  the  President  came  into  the  bay. 
The  goth  embarked  and  proceeded  to  Cape  Town  in  daily  expectation  of 
leaving  for  home;  but  affairs  on  the  frontier  again  looking  serious,  they 
were  sent  by  wings  on  the  Rosamond  to  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  River.  In 
January,  1848,  they  returned  to  Cape  Town  and  embarked  for  Spithead 
on  1 8th  April. 

In  1851  the  regiment  went  to  Ireland,  and  in  1854  was  on  the  roster 
for  India  when  orders  came  by  telegram  to  embark  for  the  Crimea,  and  it 
landed  at  Balaclava  on  5th  December,  1854,  and  was  attached  to  the  2nd 
brigade  of  the  Light  division.  The  day  after  its  arrival  it  was  sent  into 
the  trenches  and  occupied  the  advanced  rifle  pits.  From  that  date  onwards 
the  goth  was  employed  in  trench  duty,  and  lost  many  men  killed  and 
wounded  in  action,  and  many  more  from  disease  and  exposure,  insufficient 
clothing  and  shelter.  Even  the  common  necessaries  of  life  were  denied 
them.  It  was  no  uncommon  sight  to  see  from  four  to  six  men  removed 
from  the  tents  in  the  morning  for  burial.  On  soth  December  Lieut. 
Garnet  J.  Wolseley l  was  posted  to  the  right  attack  as  assistant  engineer, 
a  position  he  retained  throughout  the  siege. 

At  midnight  on  22nd  March,  1855,  the  Russians  made  a  sortie  with 
8000  men  against  our  advanced  trenches  and  the  French  works  in  front 
of  the  Mamelon.  Captain  Delavoye  in  his  records  of  the  goth  writes  : 

1  Afterwards  field-marshal ;  created  Baron  Wolseley  of  Cairo  in  1882,  Viscount  in  1885: 
died  in  1913. 


ANDREW  ROSS  287 

"  In  this  attack  on  the  rifle  pits,  the  mortar  battery  was  carried  by  an  enormous 
force  of  the  enemy  who  held  it  for  about  15  minutes.  At  the  time  the  heavy 
fire  between  the  French  and  the  Russians  was  going  on,  a  portion  of  the  goth 
Regiment  was  employed  on  fatigue  duty,  on  the  right  of  the  new  advanced  works 
on  our  right  attack.  They  were  in  the  act  of  returning  to  their  posts  in  the 
Gordon  battery  just  at  the  moment  the  heavy  firing  on  the  right  had  ceased, 
when  a  scattered  irregular  fusilade  commenced  in  the  dark  on  the  left  of  their 
position,  close  to  the  mortar  battery.  Captain  Vaughton  who  commanded  the 
party  of  the  goth,  ordered  his  men  to  advance  along  the  covered  way  to  the 
works.  They  moved  up  in  double  time  and  found  the  Russians  in  complete 
possession  of  the  mortar  battery.  The  goth  at  once  opened  as  heavy  a  fire  of 
musketry  as  they  could  upon  the  enemy  who  returned  it,  when  an  alarm  was 
given  that  our  men  were  firing  on  the  French  ;  but  the  mistake  was  speedily 
discovered  by  the  enemy's  fire  being  poured  in  with  more  deadly  effect,  and 
the  small  party  of  the  goth  suffered  considerably.  Then  with  a  loud  '  hurrah ' 
the  gallant  little  band  sprang  with  the  bayonet  upon  the  enemy,  who  at  once 
precipitately  retired  over  the  parapet  followed  by  our  rifle  balls  which  were 
poured  in  upon  them  incessantly  till  every  round  in  the  men's  pouches  was  ex- 
pended. In  order  to  keep  up  the  fire  the  men  groped  about  among  the  dead 
Russians  and  exhausted  all  the  cartridges  they  could  find  among  the  enemy's 
pouches.  The  names  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  goth  whose  conduct  was 
distinguished  in  this  affair  were  Sergeants  Clarke,  Brittle  and  Nash,  Corporal 
Carruthers  (severely  wounded)  and  Privates  Fare,  Walsh,  Nicholson  (wounded) 
and  Nash.  Captain  Vaughton  received  a  severe  contusion  in  this  affair." 

On  7th  June  the  Allies  made  a  combined  attack  on  the  outworks  of 
Sebastopol,  preceded  by  a  heavy  artillery  fire.  The  French  advanced 
against  the  Mamelon,  and  a  column  composed  of  detachments  from  the 
Light  and  2nd  divisions  moved  against  the  battery  in  the  Quarries.  Both 
movements  succeeded,  the  Light  and  2nd  divisions  being  supported  at 
night  by  the  62nd.  Lieut. -Colonel  Robert  Campbell  of  the  goth  was  in 
command  of  the  storming  party  at  the  commencement  of  the  action,  and 
after  the  Quarries  were  taken  he  assumed  command  of  the  whole  force, 
and  remained  in  the  battery,  although  twice  wounded,  until  relieved  at 
7  A.M.  on  the  morning  of  the  8th.1  Captain  Garnet  Wolseley,  whose  duty 
it  was  as  assistant  engineer  to  accompany  the  assaulting  column,  was 
wounded  in  the  thigh  during  the  night,  and  was  found  on  the  ground  next 
morning  outside  the  Quarries,  where  he  had  fallen.  On  6th  September, 
while  a  party  of  the  regiment  under  Captain  Wade  was  out  working  in 
front  of  the  Redan,  Private  Alexander  of  the  goth  helped  to  carry 
into  the  trenches  Captain  Buckley  of  the  Coldstream,  who  had  been 
dangerously  wounded  when  in  command  of  the  covering  party.  Private 

1  He  was  made  C.  B.  in  recognition  of  his  gallant  conduct  on  this  occasion. 


288        THE  DOTH  PERTHSHIRE  LIGHT  INFANTRY 

Alexander  was  recommended  for  the  V.C.,  to  which  he  was  subsequently 
gazetted. 

The  general  assault  upon  Sebastopol  was  ordered  for  the  morning  of 
Saturday  the  8th  of  September,  the  French  to  assault  the  Malakoff  and 
the  British  the  Redan.  On  that  morning  there  were  no  sick  in  the  goth— 
that  is,  not  one  of  the  men  would  attend  at  the  hospital  for  fear  he  might 
be  ordered  to  remain  in  camp.  One  young  ensign  on  the  sick  list  for  some 
days  with  dysentery  went  to  the  surgeon  and  reported  himself  quite  well  ; 
and  thus  on  the  day  of  the  taking  of  Sebastopol  the  goth  Perthshire  Volun- 
teers sent  in  a  blank  sick  report.  Shortly  after  mid-day  our  men  rushed 
out  of  the  fifth  parallel  and  made  for  the  salient  of  the  Redan.  As  they 
crossed  the  open  ground  the  guns  from  the  barrack  battery  and  some 
on  the  right  of  the  Redan  swept  away  a  considerable  number.  The  sur- 
vivors pressed  on,  and  passing  through  the  abattis  and  across  the  ditch 
entered  the  woik,  the  Russians  at  once  opening  a  heavy  fire  from  the 
traverses  and  breastworks  to  which  they  had  retreated.  The  fire  cruelly 
diminished  our  force,  and  the  men,  jammed  into  the  angle  of  the  salient 
and  mixed  up  together,  began  to  return  the  fire  without  advancing.  At 
this  period  Colonel  Windham,  senior  officer  inside  the  Redan,  seeing  that 
without  reinforcements  no  forward  movement  could  be  made,  sent  three 
officers  at  intervals  to  demand  the  aid  required.  Finding,  however,  that 
no  fresh  troops  came  forward  he  determined  to  go  himself  to  Sir  W. 
Codrington.  Captain  Crealock  of  the  goth  happened  to  be  near,  busily 
engaged  in  getting  his  men  into  order  before  leading  them  against  the 
breastworks,  and  Colonel  Windham  explained  to  him  his  reasons  for  leaving, 
saying  :  "I  must  go  to  the  General  for  supports  ;  now  mind,  let  it  be 
known  in  case  I  am  killed,  why  I  went  away."  The  Russians  were  now 
in  great  force  and  rushed  with  the  bayonet  on  our  men,  who  met  them 
firmly  ;  the  odds,  however,  were  so  great,  and  they  had  suffered  so  terribly 
by  the  cross  fire,  that  they  were  driven  over  the  parapet  and  into  the  ditch 
at  the  moment  Colonel  Windham  was  returning  to  their  assistance  with 
the  Royals.1  A  furious  struggle  ensued,  but  the  Russians,  outnumbering 
their  opponents  and  being  continually  reinforced,  stood  their  ground,  and 
by  1.48  P.M.  the  struggle  for  the  Redan  was  over. 

'On  2nd  October  following  Colonel  Windham  was  promoted  major-general  "for  his 
distinguished  conduct  "  and  was  given  command  of  the  4th  division. 


ANDREW  ROSS  289 

In  this,  as  it  proved  to  be,  the  final  struggle  in  the  Crimea,  the  goih 
had  three  officers  killed,  Captain  H.  Preston,  Lieut.  A.  D.  Swift  and  Ensign 
H.  F.  Wilmer.  Lieut.  Swift  had  penetrated  further  than  any  of  those 
who  got  into  the  place,  and  his  body  was  discovered  far  in  advance  near 
the  re-entering  angle  ;  Captain  H.  M.  Vaughan  was  wounded  very  soon 
after  entering  the  Redan.  When  he  fell  a  Russian  soldier  was  on  the 
point  of  bayoneting  him  when  he  made  the  Masonic  sign,  which,  being 
understood  by  his  assailant,  saved  him  for  the  time.  After  the  British 
attack  was  repulsed  the  Russian  officers  gave  orders  that  he  should  be 
carefully  taken  to  the  rear,  and  while  in  their  presence  he  was  well  treated  ; 
but  his  after  sufferings  were  great.  When  three  days  after  the  struggle 
our  exploring  parties  pushed  into  the  Redan,  which  was  then  in  ruins,  he 
was  found  on  the  staircase  of  a  great  hospital  with  some  other  British 
wounded,  delirious  through  pain  and  neglect.  He  died  on  the  nth.  In 
addition  the  goth  had  six  officers  severely  and  six  slightly  wounded,  one 
sergeant  and  three  privates  killed,  four  sergeants  and  33  privates  missing, 
and  13  sergeants  and  119  privates  wounded.  The  commander  of  the  forces 
in  the  Crimea  placed  on  record  his  regrets  that  ' '  from  the  formidable  nature 
of  the  defences "  the  attack  on  the  Redan  "  did  not  meet  with  that 
immediate  success  which  it  so  well  merited." 

The  officers  of  the  goth  mentioned  in  despatches  as  having  distinguished 
themselves  in  the  attack  on  the  8th  were  Captain  Grove  commanding  the 
battalion,  Captains  Smith,  Vaughan,  Tinling,  Close,  Crealock,  Wade,  Magenis 
and  Preston  ;  Lieuts.  Graham  and  Somerville,  Sergeant-Maj  or  Cummin, 
and  Sergeants  Saunderson,  Monaghan  and  Smallie.  In  April,  1856,  peace 
was  proclaimed,  and  the  soldiers  of  the  allied  and  Russian  armies  fraternised, 
visiting  each  other's  camps  and  meeting  at  the  races  and  other  entertain- 
ments set  on  foot.  In  June  the  goth  left  the  Crimea,  mustering  27  officers 
and  757  non-commissioned  officers  and  men,  and  landed  at  Portsmouth 
in  the  end  of  July,  having  lost  in  an  absence  of  eighteen  months  6  officers 
and  274  non-commissioned  officers  and  men. 

The  regiment  remained  at  Aldershot  until  February,  1857,  when  orders 
were  received  to  embark  for  India  at  once.  By  a  second  order  the  date 
was  deferred  to  June.  At  the  end  of  March  came  a  third  order  to  embark 
for  China,  which  was  done  early  in  April,  with  the  headquarters  under 
Colonel  R.  P.  Campbell,  C.B.,  seven  companies  embarking  in  the  Himalaya 


29o         THE  90TH  PERTHSHIRE  LIGHT  INFANTRY 

and  three  under  Major  Barnston  in  the  Transit.  In  the  Straits  of  Sunda 
the  Himalaya  was  intercepted  with  orders  for  the  goth  to  proceed  to  Calcutta 
to  aid  in  the  suppression  of  the  mutiny  in  India.  Arriving  at  the  city 
about  2ist  July  the  goth  reached  Berhampore  on  ist  August,  where  they 
were  employed  in  disarming  some  native  troops.  On  5th  August  Major- 
General  Sir  James  Outram  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Dinapore 
and  Cawnpore  divisions  of  the  army.  In  the  meantime  Brigadier-General 
Havelock,  with  a  handful  of  men,  had  been  attempting  the  relief  of  the 
garrison  of  Lucknow.  Though  victorious  in  every  engagement,  he  was 
unable  to  make  headway  for  want  of  troops,  and  by  i6th  August  had 
returned  to  Cawnpore  to  await  reinforcements.  On  the  I5th  Outram, 
with  the  goth  and  the  other  troops  under  his  command,  joined  Havelock 
at  Cawnpore,  and  on  the  i6th  issued  the  following  remarkable  divisional 
order : 

"  The  important  duty  of  relieving  the  garrison  of  Lucknow,  had  been  first 
entrusted  to  Brigadier  General  Havelock,  C.B.,  and  Major  General  Outram  feels 
that  it  is  due  to  that  distinguished  officer,  and  to  the  strenuous  and  noble  exer- 
tions which  he  has  already  made  to  effect  that  object,  that  to  him  should  accrue 
the  honour  of  the  achievement. 

"  Major  General  Outram  is  confident  that  this  great  end,  for  which  Brigadier 
General  Havelock  and  his  brave  troops  have  so  long  and  so  gloriously  fought, 
will  now,  under  the  blessing  of  Providence  be  accomplished. 

'•  The  Major  General  therefore  in  gratitude  for  and  admiration  of  the  brilliant 
deeds  of  arms  achieved  by  Brigadier  General  Havelock  and  his  gallant  troops, 
will  cheerfully  waive  his  rank  in  favour  of  that  officer  on  this  occasion,  and  will 
accompany  the  force  to  Lucknow  in  his  civil  capacity  as  Chief  Commissioner 
of  Oude,  tendering  his  military  services  to  Brigadier  General  Havelock  as  a 
volunteer.  On  the  relief  of  Lucknow  the  Major  General  will  resume  his  position 
at  the  head  of  the  forces." 

The  force  so  placed  under  Havelock's  command  was  composed  of  two 
brigades  of  infantry,  the  ist  under  Brigadier-General  J.  G.  S.  Neill,  con- 
sisting of  the  5th  and  84th  Foot  with  a  detachment  of  the  64th  attached, 
and  the  ist  Madras  Fusiliers  (now  ist  Battalion  the  Royal  Dublin  Fusiliers), 
the  2nd  under  Brigadier  Hamilton  consisting  of  the  78th,  the  goth 
and  the  Ferozepore  Regiments.  In  addition  there  were  Captain  Maude's, 
Captain  Olpherts'  and  Brevet-Major  Eyre's  batteries  of  artillery  under 
Major  Cooper,  a  body  of  volunteer  cavalry  and  the  I2th  Irregular  Cavalry 
under  Captain  Barrow,  and  an  Engineer  section  under  Captain  Crommelin. 

For  two  days  the  troops  were  employed  in  throwing  bridges  across  the 


ANDREW  ROSS  291 

Ganges  at  Cawnpore,  and  early  on  igth  September  the  army  crossed  the 
river  and  entered  Oude.  There  was  incessant  fighting  all  the  way  to  the 
beleaguered  garrison  at  Lucknow.  On  the  23rd  the  enemy  were  found 
strongly  posted  at  the  Alum  Bagh,  a  large  enclosed  garden  about  two  miles 
from  Lucknow.  The  mutineers  had  six  guns,  which  were  well  served  for 
a  short  time,  the  first  shell  mortally  wounding  Major  Perrin  and  Lieuts. 
Graham  and  Preston  of  the  goth.  After  these  guns  had  been  silenced  by 
Olphcrts'  battery,  the  78th  and  goth  moved  forward  in  line.  The  enemy 
made  but  a  short  stand,  and  was  driven  back,  and  the  Alum  Bagh  was 
occupied.  There  the  troops  halted  on  the  24th.  On  that  day,  while  the 
baggage  of  the  column  under  a  guard  of  the  goth  was  making  its  way 
to  the  front,  it  was  approached  by  some  native  cavalry  who  called  out  in 
English  "  It's  all  right,  we  are  friends."  Lieut.  Nunn  of  the  goth  com- 
manding the  baggage  guard,  being  aware  that  some  of  the  native  cavalry 
were  still  loyal,  allowed  them  to  draw  nearer ;  they  suddenly  charged  and, 
after  cutting  down  some  of  the  escort,  galloped  off.  Among  those  killed 
were  Lieut.  Nunn  and  Private  Alexander,  who  had  been  gazetted  to  the 
V.C.  but  had  not  yet  received  it. 

On  the  25th  the  outlying  picquets  were  called  in  to  garrison  the  Alum 
Bagh,  in  which  all  the  sick  and  wounded  were  placed.  The  rest  of  Havelock's 
force  proceeded  to  the  desperate  task  of  relieving  the  Residency.  The 
brigades  moved  off  separately  ;  the  ist  suffered  severely  under  a  heavy 
musketry  fire  from  some  houses  and  gardens  lining  the  road  from  which 
the  enemy  had  to  be  driven.  When  the  column  was  reunited  at  the  Char 
Bagh  on  the  canal,  the  bridge,  which  was  swept  by  a  battery  of  four  guns, 
was  stormed  and  taken  by  the  ist  Madras  Fusiliers.  Crossing  the  bridge 
the  goth  was  ordered  by  General  Havelock  to  capture  two  guns  posted  at 
the  end  of  a  narrow  lane  on  the  right  of  the  column.  Two  companies  under 
Captains  Wade  and  Magenis  left  the  road  and  entered  the  defile,  which  was 
commanded  by  the  guns  and  musketry  of  the  enemy  who  filled  the  houses 
on  either  side.  Led  by  Colonel  Campbell  (whose  life  was  saved  by  his 
prayer-book,  in  which  a  bullet  lodged),  and  accompanied  by  Colonel  Purnell 
and  Lieut,  and  Adjutant  Rennie,  the  goth  dashed  forward,  and  after  a 
desperate  struggle  secured  the  guns,  up  to  which  Ensigns  Gordon  and 
Chater  carried  the  colours.  As  soon  as  the  guns  were  captured  Captain 
Olpherts  (afterwards  Lieut. -General  Olpherts,  V.C.,  C.B.),  who  had  accom- 


292        THE  90TH  PERTHSHIRE  LIGHT  INFANTRY 

panied  the  advance,  removed  them,  after  scratching  on  them  with  his 
sword  the  number  of  the  90 th  Regiment.  After  this  the  goth  was  separated 
into  two  parties,  exclusive  of  the  rearguard  under  Captain  Clerk  Rattray 
and  Lieut.  H.  H.  Goodrick,  which  repulsed  numerous  attacks  made  on  it 
by  cavalry  and  infantry.  The  main  body  of  the  force  pushed  its  way  along 
a  road  lying  between  the  canal  and  the  city  until  it  debouched  upon  the 
Dilkoosha  Road,  thence  it  followed  the  road  to  the  Secundra  Bagh,  and 
turning  along  it  entered  a  walled  passage  in  front  of  the  Mootee  Munzil 
Palace.  From  the  canal  bridge  their  progress  was  comparatively  un- 
molested until  they  approached  this  position,  when  they  became  exposed  to 
a  fire  of  grape  from  four  guns  posted  at  the  gate  of  the  Kaiser  Bagh,  and 
of  musketry  from  the  Khoosheyd  Munzil  or  32nd  mess-house,  which  was 
strongly  occupied  by  the  enemy.  Word  came  to  them  here  that  the  78th 
were  hard  pressed  ;  the  column  halted  for  a  short  time  and  then  moved 
on  in  the  direction  of  the  Chuther  Munzil  and  Furhut  Buksh  Palaces,  leav- 
ing the  90th  with  two  of  the  heavy  guns  at  the  Mootee  Munzil  to  assist 
the  78th,  which  had  come  up  with  the  main  body  by  the  road  leading  to 
the  Kaiser  Bagh.  The  two  generals  having  determined  to  force  their  way 
to  the  Residency  through  the  streets,  moved  on,  and  after  a  desperate 
struggle,  succeeded  in  reaching  the  Bailey  guard  gate  of  the  Residency. 

The  party  of  the  goth  under  Colonel  Campbell,  numbering  about  100 
men,  did  not  reach  the  entrenchment  that  night.  With  them  were  the 
doolies  conveying  the  wounded  and  the  heavy  guns.  As  soon  as  the  enemy 
knew  of  their  position,  he  occupied  the  surrounding  buildings  and  kept 
up  a  heavy  fire  upon  them  the  whole  of  the  26th.  While  in  this  position, 
Colour- Sergeant  Brittle  of  Captain  Phipp's  company  of  the  goth  sheltered 
himself  behind  a  pillar  of  the  gateway  and,  though  exposed  to  a  heavy 
fire,  stood  picking  off  the  enemy's  gunners,  until  he  was  killed  by  a  grape- 
shot  which  struck  him  in  the  chest.  Reinforcements  were  sent  out  under 
Colonel  Napier  guided  by  Lieut.  Moorsom  of  the  52nd,  and  at  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  the  27th  the  detachment  reached  the  Residency  with 
but  little  loss. 

It  soon  became  apparent  that  the  "  relief  "  of  Lucknow  was  rather  in 
name  than  in  substance.  The  mutineers  again  swarmed  round  the  city, 
and  the  relieving  force,  united  to  the  force  it  had  relieved,  was  too  weak 
to  fight  its  way  back  to  Cawnpore  and  guard  at  the  same  time  the  sick 


ANDREW  ROSS  293 

and  wounded  and  women  and  children.  As  there  were  sufficient  provisions 
to  maintain  the  entire  force  until  final  help  came,  the  generals  decided  to 
remain.  An  enlarged  area  round  the  Residency  making  the  position  secure 
was  occupied.  Another  party  was  stationed  at  the  Alum  Bagh,  about  four 
miles  from  the  Residency,  and  all  communication  between  the  two  posts 
was  cut  off  by  the  enemy. 

Returning  now  to  the  three  companies  under  charge  of  Major  Barnston. 
The  Transit,  leaving  Simon's  Bay  a  few  days  after  the  Himalaya,  encountered 
a  cyclone  and  was  wrecked  off  the  Dutch  island  of  Banca.  On  reaching 
Calcutta  the  detachment  was  refitted,  having  lost  everything  in  the  wreck. 
They  reached  Futtehpore  on  3rd  October,  and  on  the  i8th  had  their  first 
engagement  with  the  enemy  at  a  village  called  Sheo  Rappore.  On  the 
2ist  Major  Barnston,  with  a  force  of  500  men,  including  the  three  com- 
panies of  his  own  regiment,  296  strong,  started  with  a  convoy  of  provisions 
for  the  Alum  Bagh,  which  they  safely  reached,  and  there  they  remained 
until  the  arrival  of  Sir  Colin  Campbell  on  the  i2th  November,  when  it  formed 
part  of  his  4th  brigade  under  Sir  Adrian  Hope,  which  was  composed  of 
the  53rd,  93rd  and  Major  Barnston's  composite  battalion. 

On  the  I3th  Sir  Colin  semaphored  the  garrison  in  the  Residency  his 
intention  of  moving  next  day  on  the  Dilkoosha.  The  besieged  force  pre- 
pared to  meet  him  halfway,  and  on  the  i6th  the  Hirun  Khana,  the  engine- 
house  and  the  king's  stables,  which  lay  on  Sir  Charles  route,  were  attacked, 
the  assault  on  the  engine-house  being  entrusted  to  a  detachment  of  the 
goth,  which  soon  drove  out  the  enemy.  In  his  despatch  to  Sir  James 
Outram  of  that  date  Havelock  observes  :  "I  must  commend  all  the  officers 
in  charge  of  detachments,  but  most  prominently  Lieut.-Colonel  Purnell, 
goth  Light  Infantry,  whose  conduct  throughout  the  affair  evinced  the  most 
distinguished  gallantry,  united  to  imperturbable  coolness  and  the  soundest 
judgment."  The  detachment  of  the  jSth  under  Captain  Lockhart  was 
equally  successful  in  its  attack  on  the  king's  stables,  which  were  then  handed 
over  to  the  charge  of  the  detachment  of  the  goth  under  Colonel  Purnell. 

About  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  I4th  Sir  Colin's  column  moved 
forward  and  the  Martiniere  was  occupied  by  a  detachment  of  the  goth. 
Here  the  troops  were  held  up  for  a  day  waiting  a  supply  of  ammunition. 
The  advance  was  resumed  on  the  i6th.  The  93rd  forced  the  Secundra 
Bagh,  whence  Sir  Colin  led  Major  Barnston's  command  against  the  Shah 


294         THE  90TH  PERTHSHIRE  LIGHT  INFANTRY 

Nujeef,  where  Major  Barnston  was  severely  wounded.  On  the  iyth  Captain 
Peel  brought  up  his  guns  and  opened  a  fire  on  the  mess-house,  which 
was  stormed  and  carried  by  Captain  Garnet  Wolseley,  the  force  being  the 
detachment  of  his  regiment  now  led  by  Captain  Guise  and  a  company 
of  Sikhs.  The  Motee  Mahul  Palace  remained  the  only  obstacle  between 
the  besieged  and  the  relieving  force.  Captain  Wolseley  and  his  party 
attacked,  driving  the  defenders  from  room  to  room,  and  then  passed  on 
to  the  Residency,  meeting  on  their  way  the  headquarters  of  the  goth, 
which  they  had  last  seen  at  the  Cape. 

Sir  Colin  Campbell  now  determined  to  withdraw  from  the  city  which 
had  been  won  after  so  much  hard  fighting,  and  retire  on  Cawnpore.  On 
the  igth  the  women  and  children  and  sick  and  wounded,  numbering  in  all 
2000,  left  the  Residency,  escorted  by  600  men  under  Captain  Tinling  of 
the  goth.  The  garrison  was  withdrawn  on  the  night  of  the  22nd,  the  picquets 
of  the  90th  remaining  at  their  posts  until  General  Hope's  brigade  had  left 
the  Motee  Mahul,  when  they  retired,  forming  the  rearguard  of  the  column. 
The  commander-in-chief  retired  on  Lucknow,  leaving  a  force  at  Alum 
Bagh  under  General  Outram  of  1047  Indian  and  3375  European  troops, 
in  which  the  goth  still  mustered  591  men.  This  force  was  repeatedly  but 
unsuccessfully  attacked  by  the  enemy,  and  by  28th  February,  1858,  the 
advance  of  the  commander-in-chief  brought  him  once  more  to  the  vicinity 
of  the  Alum  Bagh.  On  the  4th  of  March  the  goth,  having  been  drawn 
from  the  garrison  there,  again  found  themselves  under  the  command  of 
General  Adrian  Hope,  brigaded  with  the  42nd,  g3rd  and  4th  Punjab  Rifles, 
and  once  more  moved  forward  to  the  conquest  of  the  rebel  city.  The  old 
song  is  literally  accurate  : 

"  In  Havelock's  fights  and  marches,  the  Ninetieth  were  there, 
In  all  the  gallant  Ninetieth  did,  your  Robert  did  his  share ; 
Twice  he  went  into  Lucknow,  untouched  by  steel  or  ball, 
And  you  may  bless  your  God,  old  dame,  Who  brought  him  safe  through  all." 

When  the  struggle  was  at  an  end  Sir  James  Outram  wrote  to  Colonel 
Purnell  as  follows  : 

"  Lucknow  29  March  1858. 
My  dear  Colonel, 

In  my  various  dispatches  I  have  endeavoured  to  express  my  sense 
of  the  obligations  which  under  I  lie  to  yourself  and  the  glorious  goth,  but  I  was 
in  hopes  of  doing  so  in  still  stronger  terms  in  my  farewell  order  to  the  first  division. 


ANDREW  ROSS  295 

.  .  .  Wherever  I  may  be,  I  shall  ever  retain  the  dear,  brave  old  goth  in  affec- 
tionate and  admiring  remembrance,  and  think  with  pleasure  of  the  happy,  and 
not  uneventful,  days  I  have  spent  with  them  on  the  march,  in  battle  and  in 
quarters — and  thinking  of  them  there  must  be  ever  present  to  my  mind  their 
noble  commander.  God  bless  you  my  dear  Purnell ;  that  you  and  yours,  and 
in  yours  I  include  every  officer  and  man  in  the  regiment,  may  be  ever  prosperous 
and  happy  in  all  your  undertakings,  is  the  sincere  and  earnest  prayer  of  your 
and  their  affectionate  friend, 

J.    OUTRAM. 

Colonel  Purnell, 

Commanding  goth  Regiment." 

The  capture  of  Lucknow  broke  the  backbone  of  the  mutiny,  but  there 
was  still  some  work  to  be  done.  The  goth  formed  part  of  the  garrison 
of  the  city  under  Sir  Hope  Grant.  They  quitted  Lucknow  on  23rd  April, 
and  on  i?th  May  inflicted  a  severe  defeat  on  the  enemy  at  Sirsee.  They 
continued  to  be  employed  on  harassing  duty,  clearing  the  country  of  bands 
of  depredators.  On  Christmas  day  they  arrived  at  Jehangirabad,  where 
they  remained  until  23rd  February,  1860.  Between  the  arrival  of  the 
regiment  in  India  in  July,  1857,  and  February,  1859,  the  number  who  died 
of  wounds  or  sickness,  or  who  had  been  killed  in  action,  amounted  to  14 
officers  and  312  non-commissioned  officers  and  men.  The  regiment  left 
India  on  3oth  September,  1869,  and  arrived  in  Leith  Roads  on  7th  November. 
On  the  gth  it  disembarked  at  Granton  and  marched  to  Edinburgh  Castle, 
where  it  remained  until  6th  June,  1871,  when  the  headquarters  of  the 
regiment,  consisting  of  four  companies,  moved  to  Gallowgate  Barracks, 
Glasgow  ;  three  companies  under  command  of  a  field  officer  were  detailed 
to  Stirling  Castle,  two  companies  to  Ayr  and  one  to  Dundee.  On  27th 
June,  1872,  the  Crimean  colours  of  the  regiment  were  deposited  by  the 
officers  in  the  East  Parish  Church,  Perth,  to  the  memory  of  their 
comrades  in  the  goth  who  fell  in  the  Crimea.  In  July  the  regiment  left 
for  England. 

In  accordance  with  General  Order  32  of  1873  the  goth  was  linked  with 
the  73rd  (Perthshire)  regiment.  On  the  5th  of  April  permission  was  granted 
to  the  regiment  to  wear  the  arms  of  the  city  of  Perth  on  its  appointments. 
In  September  of  this  year  an  expedition  was  undertaken  against  the  king 
of  Ashanti.  The  command  was  given  to  Colonel  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley, 
late  goth.  On  his  staff  were  Colonel  Wood,  V.C.,  and  Lieut.  Eyre,  both 
of  the  goth.  On  arrival  at  Cape  Coast  Lieut. -Colonel  Wood  raised  a  regi- 


296        THE  90TH  PERTHSHIRE  LIGHT  INFANTRY 

ment  of  Friendlies.  The  deciding  battle  of  the  campaign  was  fought  at 
Amoaful  on  3ist  January,  1874. 

In  January,  1878,  the  regiment  embarked  for  Natal,  the  death  of  Sandili, 
the  principal  leader,  having  brought  the  war  to  a  close.  In  consequence  of 
the  attitude  of  Cetewayo,  king  of  the  Zulus,  his  territory  was  invaded  in 
January,  1879.  The  troops  under  command  of  Lord  Chelmsford  were  in  four 
columns.  The  fourth,  under  Colonel  Evelyn  Wood,  V.C.,1  was  at  Utrecht, 
and  comprised  the  I3th  and  goth,  4  guns  of  the  nth  battery,  7th  brigade 
R.A.,  the  Frontier  Light  Horse  and  some  thousand  native  allies.  Colonel 
Wood  crossed  the  Blood  River  and  entered  Zululand  on  6th  January.  On 
the  i8th  he  made  an  excursion  against  the  enemy  encamped  on  the  Zlobani 
mountain.  Soon  after,  the  news  of  the  disaster  at  Isandhlwana  reached 
him,  and  he  retired  on  Umvolosi  River  to  cover  Utrecht.  Towards  the 
end  of  March,  on  receiving  reinforcements  from  Great  Britain,  Lord  Chelms- 
ford pressed  forward  to  relieve  Colonel  Pearson's  column  blockaded  at  Fort 
Ekowe.  To  create  a  diversion  in  favour  of  his  own  movements  Lord  Chelms- 
ford requested  Colonel  Wood  to  attack  the  enemy  who  still  held  in  force 
the  upper  parts  of  the  Zlobani  mountain.  The  Inhlobana  mountain  was 
successfully  attacked,  and  its  summit  cleared  on  28th  March  by  Lieut. - 
Colonel  Redvers  Buller,  C.B.  On  the  following  day  an  attack  was  made 
on  Colonel  Wood's  camp  at  Kambula  by  the  Ulundi  army,  estimated  at 
2000,  which  was  beaten  off  with  loss.  The  goth  distinguished  itself  for 
coolness  and  soldierlike  conduct  on  that  day.  In  district  orders  it  was 
noted  that  Colour-Sergeant  M'Allen  of  the  goth  was  wounded  and,  having 
had  his  wound  dressed,  returned  to  his  company  and  performed  his  duty 
until  he  was  killed.  The  impis  engaged  in  the  battle  were  so  severely 
handled  that  they  were  withdrawn  to  Ulundi.  Near  that  place  on  the  4th 
July  another  and  the  last  battle  of  the  campaign  was  fought.  On  the 
capture  of  King  Cetewayo  a  few  weeks  subsequently  the  other  Zulu  chiefs 
submitted,  and  the  war  came  to  an  end.  On  loth  November  the  regiment 
landed  in  India. 

In  1881  the  goth  Perthshire  Volunteers  were  deprived  of  the  title  which 
they  had  carried  to  such  distinction  during  eighty-seven  years,  and  the 
regiment  became  the  2nd  Battalion  the  Cameronians,  Scottish  Rifles. 

1  Field-marshal  and  G.C.B.,  1891. 


VII 
SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

BY  ANDREW  ROSS,  Ross  Herald 

THE  preceding  pages  give  in  outline  the  history  of  the  regiments  which 
have  survived  the  vicissitudes  of  politics  and  centuries,  by  whose 
valour  the  military  fame  of  Scotland  has  been  largely  established.  But 
before  a  just  estimate  of  the  prowess  of  the  Lowlander  can  be  formed,  it 
is  necessary  to  recall  the  services,  solid  and  brilliant,  of  those  gallant  corps 
who  in  former  days  did  service  to  the  State.  That  they  appear  no  longer 
on  the  lists  of  the  British  army  is  an  additional  reason  why  their  memory 
ought  not  to  be  overlooked  or  forgotten  by  a  grateful  nation.  Disbanded  ! 
The  first  ideas  suggested  by  the  words  are  those  of  defeat,  of  a  cause  held 
worth  fighting  for,  and  ending  after  all  in  failure  and  overthrow.  Yet 
almost  invariably  in  our  military  annals  disbandment  followed  success,  not 
failure.  Whether  the  war  be  internecine  or  international  it  is  the  natural 
result  of  victory.  Sometimes  armies  disappear,  more  frequently  only 
the  unit  or  regiment.  Our  history  affords  many  examples  of  corps  main- 
tained only  long  enough  to  tide  over  the  national  emergency  which  called 
them  into  being,  and  then  disappearing,  to  the  relief  of  the  national 
exchequer.  The  record  will  also  show  disbandments  prompted  by  less 
worthy  motives. 

SECTION  I 
FROM  THE  RESTORATION  IN  1660  TO  THE  REVOLUTION  IN  1689 

i.  CAVALRY 

The  Life  Guards  mustered  on  the  Links  of  Leith  2nd  April,  1661,  under  The  Scottish 
James  Earl  of  Newburgh  as  captain,  with  a  lieutenant,  under-lieutenant, 
cornet,    quartermaster,    four   brigadiers,    surgeon,    clerk,   three    trumpets 


298  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

and  a  kettledrum  and  120  private  gentlemen.  They  were  recruited  chiefly 
from  officers  who  had  served  in  the  royalist  armies  during  the  civil  wars. 
The  troop  was  established  in  the  first  place  "  for  the  honour  of  his  Majesties 
service  and  the  grandeur  of  the  hie  court  of  Parliament,"  the  security  of 
public  order  and  the  enforcing  of  obedience  to  authority  being  secondary 
considerations  in  the  deep  peace  which  prevailed  in  Scotland  after  the 
Restoration.  Its  duties  were  confined  chiefly  to  occasions  of  State  display, 
varied  by  occasional  sorties  to  distant  provinces  to  enforce  the  collection 
of  the  public  revenue.  Later  it  was  called  to  act  in  the  maintenance 
of  authority  in  those  scenes  of  unrest  in  the  south-western  shires  of  the 
kingdom,  which  followed  upon  the  attempt  to  compel  the  people  to  attend 
the  churches  of  the  clergy  placed  by  the  bishops.  It  took  part  in  the  battle 
of  Rullion  Green  28th  November,  1666,  where  the  Covenanters  were  over- 
thrown. "  The  slaughter  was  not  very  great,"  says  Wodrow  the  historian. 
"  It  was  almost  dark  night  before  the  defeat,  and  the  horsemen  who  pursued 
were  most  part  gentlemen  and  pitied  their  own  innocent  and  gallant  country- 
men." John  Marquess  of  Atholl  became  captain  in  1671,  James  Marquess 
of  Montrose  in  1678,  and  George  Lord  Livingstone  in  1684.  Like  the 
other  regular  troops  the  Life  Guards  consented  at  the  Revolution  to  serve 
under  the  government  of  William  and  Mary,  shedding  its  officers  in  the 
process,  the  command  being  given  on  3ist  December,  1688,  to  James 
Earl  of  Drumlanrig,  afterwards  first  Duke  of  Queensberry. 

While  William  was  prosecuting  the  Irish  campaign  of  1690,  the  troop 
did  duty  in  London  in  attendance  on  the  Queen.  She  died  in  1694,  but 
the  troop  remained  in  London  until  the  peace  of  1697,  when  it  returned 
to  Scotland.  Archibald,  first  Duke  of  Argyll,  became  captain  in  1696, 
followed  by  his  son,  Duke  John,  in  1703.  On  the  accession  of  Queen  Anne 
The  Horse  in  1702  a  troop  of  Horse  Grenadier  Guards  was  raised  in  Edinburgh  under 
ers'  the  command  of  William  Lord  Forbes,  coming  on  the  establishment  from 
ist  June.  After  the  union  of  1707  both  troops  were  withdrawn  from 
Scotland,  the  Life  Guards  becoming  the  fourth  troop  of  Life  Guards,  and 
the  other  the  second  troop  of  Horse  Grenadier  Guards  on  the  new  British 
establishment.  About  this  time  the  private  gentlemen  purchased  their 
appointments,  the  usual  price  being  one  hundred  guineas,  and  they  owned 
their  own  horses.  In  1715  John  Earl  of  Dundonald  became  captain  of 
the  fourth  troop  of  Life  Guards,  in  1719  George  Lord  Forrester,  in  1727 


ANDREW  ROSS  299 

Richard  Viscount  Shannon,  in  1740  Francis  Earl  of  Effingham,  and  in  1743 
John  Earl  of  Crawford.  In  that  year  a  brigade  of  Life  Guards  under 
the  command  of  the  Earl  of  Crawford,  made  up  of  the  third  and  fourth 
troops  of  Life  Guards,  the  second  troop  of  Horse  Grenadier  Guards  and  the 
Royal  regiment  of  Horse  Guards,  accompanied  the  British  army  to  Flanders, 
and  behaved  with  distinction  at  Dettingen  i6th  June,  1743.  Two  days 
after  the  battle  a  gentleman  serving  in  the  fourth  troop  wrote  home  to 
his  friends  an  account  of  the  engagement. 

"  Our  brigade  was  in  the  centre  of  the  front,  the  hottest  place  of  all,  and 
accordingly  we  suffered  more  than  any  one  squadron  in  the  field.  We  were 
exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  cannon  about  five  hours,  and  must  inevitably 
have  been  all  cut  off  if  the  ground  had  not  favoured  us.  The  French  imagining 
their  cannon  did  great  execution,  were  near  three  hours  in  the  field  before  the 
first  charge  was  given,  which  indeed  was  a  glorious  one.  Our  colonel  is  wounded, 
our  brigade-major's  leg  is  shot  off,  and  my  captain  is  terribly  wounded  by  a  fire- 
ball. Several  of  our  men  are  killed  and  a  great  many  more  wounded ;  we  have 
also  lost  a  good  number  of  horses.  My  Lord  Crawford  led  us  on  and  behaved 
like  a  true  son  of  Mars  ;  for,  when  we  were  charged  both  in  front  and  in  flank, 
he  rode  from  right  to  left,  crying  '  Never  fear,  my  boys,  this  is  fine  diversion."' 

At  Fontenoy,  30th  April,  1745,  after  repeated  charges  in  the  field,  the 
brigade  of  Life  Guards  covered  the  withdrawal  of  the  army  so  steadily 
that  Lord  Crawford  pulled  off  his  hat  to  his  men  and  thanked  them,  saying 
"  they  had  acquired  as  much  honour  in  covering  so  great  a  retreat  as  if 
they  had  gained  the  battle."  The  acknowledgment  of  these  services  was 
the  disbandment  of  the  Scots  troop  in  1746.!  The  Horse  Grenadier  Guards 
remained  on  the  establishment  until  1788,  when  both  troops  were  disbanded 
on  the  reorganisation  of  the  Household  Cavalry.  So  ended  the  distinctively 
Scottish  connection  with  the  British  Household  Cavalry.  Is  there  any 
reason  why  at  the  present  day  the  Household  Cavalry  should  not  be  organised 
according  to  nationality  as  the  Foot  Guards  are  ? 

as  any  ingratitude  or  indifference  shown 


1  I  am   unable   to   take   the  view  that  there 
by  the   Government  towards   regiments  which 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.     It  was  no 
practice  which,  while  it  imposed  liability  to  mi 
of  military  age,  made  no  provision  for  keeping  th 
Cromwell,  indeed,  established  a  standing- 


disbanded  after  active  service  in  the 
more  than  a  survival  of  the  constitutional 
iry  service  on  all  subjects  of  the  Crown 
a  on  the  establishment  after  the  close  of 
ay  of  80,000  men  ;   but  on  the  Restor 


tion  Charles  II.  was  not  allowed  a  permanent  force  exceeding  a  household  brigade  of  5000 
horse  and  foot  Under  William  and  Mary  it  was  decreed  under  the  Declaration  of  Rights 
that  "  the  raising  and  keeping  of  a  standing  army  in  time  of  peace,  without  consent  of  Parlia- 
ment, is  contrary  to  law."  It  was  therefore  inevitable  that  troops  raised  for  active  service 
should  be  disbanded  on  the  conclusion  of  peace  ;  nor  did  the  disbandment  of  a  corps  excite, 
under  these  conditions,  the  same  sense  of  injury  and  resentment  as  would  be  roused  by  the 
suppression  of  a  regiment  or  regiments  in  the  existing  British  army.- — ED. 


300 


SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 


The  Scottish  Two  troops  of  Horse  Guards  were  raised  for  attendance  on  the  Lord 
High  Commissioner.  The  first,  the  Earl  of  Middleton's  troop,  entered  on 
pay  on  ist  May,  1661 ;  disbanded  at  Stirling  8th  October,  1663.  The 
second,  the  Earl  of  Rothes's  troop,  raised  in  November,  1664,  disbanded 
ist  March,  1676.  Both  were  filled  by  old  royalist  officers. 

When  war  with  France,  Holland  and  Denmark  broke  out  in  1666  six 
troops  of  horse  were  raised.  They  served  in  the  Rullion  Green  campaign 
in  that  year.  Other  six  troops  were  raised  in  1667,  and  the  whole  placed 

Drummond's  under  the  command  of  Lieut  .-General  William  Drummond  of  Cromlix, 
then  major-general  commanding  the  forces  in  Scotland.  All  were  disbanded 
in  September,  1667. 

Douglas's,  Three  troops  of  horse  raised  in  1674  by  the  Marquess  of  Douglas,  the 

ROSS'S  Troops.  Earl  of  Errol  and  Lord  Ross  were  disbanded  in  1676. 

The  King's  Three  independent  troops  of  horse  were  raised  in  1678,  the  senior  captain 

ofWHorseeg'ment  being  John  Grahame  of  Claverhouse.  In  1683  a  fourth  troop  was  added 
and  the  four  were  formed  into  "The  Regiment  of  Horse,"  under  Claverhouse 
as  colonel.  In  1684  a  fifth  troop,  and  in  1685,  the  year  in  which  Claverhouse 
and  Marlborough  met  at  Holyrood,  a  sixth  troop  were  added.  On  2ist 
December,  1685,  it  received  the  title  of  "  The  King's  Own  Regiment  of  Horse." 
Of  the  six  captains  four  were  earls,  Home,  Airlie,  Balcarres,  Drumlanrig,  the 
fifth  was  Lord  William  Douglas,  Drumlanrig's  immediate  younger  brother. 
Over  these  commanders  the  laird  of  Claverhouse  did  not  exercise  control, 
and  most  of  his  operations  against  the  Covenanters  were  undertaken  with 
the  aid  of  his  own  troop  and  one  or  two  companies  of  the  Royal  Dragoons. 
The  regiment  crossed  the  Borders  in  November,  1688,  to  join  the  army 
of  King  James  in  England.  On  the  I2th  of  that  month  its  commander 
was  created  Viscount  Dundee.  After  the  flight  of  the  king,  the  viscount's 
troop  returned  with  him  to  Scotland.  The  others  remained  and  found 
a  new  colonel  in  the  Earl  of  Selkirk.  In  January,  1689,  it  was  decided  to 
send  the  regiment  to  Ireland  ;  but  soon  after  a  large  number  of  the  men 
repudiated  their  new  colonel,  and  took  shipping  to  Scotland  with  their 
horses.  The  payments  on  account  of  the  regiment  on  the  English  establish- 
ment appear  down  to  3Oth  April,  1689. 


ANDREW  ROSS  301 


ii.  INFANTRY 

On  igth  July,  1666,  General  Thomas  Dalyell  of  Binns,  then  lieut. -general  Daiyeirs 
commanding  the  forces  in  Scotland,  raised  a  regiment  of  foot  of  1000  men    eg 
in  ten  companies.     It  was  present  at  Rullion  Green  28th  November,  1666. 
In  the  following  year  it  formed  part  of  the  army  stationed  on  the  Lothian 
and  Fife  coasts  to  guard  against  a  Dutch  landing.     Disbanded  September, 
1667. 

In  March,  1672,  a  regiment  of  1200  men  was  raised  in  Scotland  by  Sir  Lockharfs 
William  Lockhart,  a  third  son  of  Lockhart  of  Lee,  for  service  on  board  Regiment- 
the  English  fleet.     It  was  heavily  recruited  from  Scotland  the  following 
year.     Disbanded  1674. 

In  1674  a  regiment  was  raised  by  Sir  George  Monro,  cadet  of  Obsdale,  Monro's 
then  major-general  of  the  forces  in  Scotland.     Disbanded  January,  1676. 

In  1678  Lord  James  Douglas  raised  a  regiment  of  1000  men  in  ten  Douglas's 
companies,  which  went  to  England  in  the  same  year.  It  returned  to  Scot-  egimetl 
land  and  was  disbanded  in  January,  1679. 

The  last  infantry  raised  in  Scotland  before  the  Revolution  was  Colonel 
John  Wauchope's  regiment  of  1300  men  in  thirteen  companies.  The  colonel  wauchope's 
was  a  cadet  of  Niddrie,  and  the  regiment  is  said  to  have  been  embodied  eg 
at  Musselburgh.  On  5th  October,  1688,  it  began  its  march  from  Preston 
in  Haddingtonshire  by  Peebles,  Moffat  and  Lockerbie  to  Carlisle,  which 
it  reached  on  loth  October,  and  London  on  nth  November.  It  formed 
part  of  King  James's  army  which  moved  westward  to  oppose  the  Prince  of 
Orange.  Although  from  the  first  on  English  pay,  it  was  partly  armed 
from  the  magazine  in  Edinburgh  Castle.  On  I2th  December,  1689,  it  is 
noted  as  under  the  command  of  Sir  David  Colyear,  and  received  200  recruits 
from  Scotland.  In  April,  1689,  it  sailed  from  the  Downs,  and  on  2gth  June 
joined  the  army  in  Holland,  where  it  was  actively  employed  until  August, 
1690,  when  it  was  recalled  to  serve  in  Ireland.  In  1694  it  embarked  again 
for  Holland,  where  it  remained  until  the  conclusion  of  the  war.  It  returned 
to  Scotland  in  January,  1698.  Its  colonel  was  created  Earl  of  Portmore 
on  ist  June,  1699.  The  regiment  remained  on  Scots  pay  until  I2th  March, 
1701,  when  it  was  ordered  to  embark  for  Holland— 600  men  in  twelve 
companies.  On  4th  June,  1703,  John  Lord  Dalrymple  became  colonel. 


302  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

succeeded  on  7th  January,  1706,  by  Colonel  William  Borthwick  of  Johnstone- 
burn,  who  was  killed  at  Ramillies  23rd  July,  1706,  the  command  then  passed 
to  Colonel  John  Hepburn,  who  was  killed  at  Malplaquet  nth  September, 
1709,  and  was  succeeded  by  Colonel  James  Douglas  of  Morton,  who  was 
still  in  command  when  the  regiment  was  disbanded  at  the  Hague  on  6th 
June,  1717. 

SECTION  II 
FROM  THE  REVOLUTION  IN  1689  TO  THE  UNION  OF  1707 

i.  CAVALRY 

The  Revolution  brought  about  a  military  upheaval.  On  I4th  March, 
1689,  the  Estates  of  Scotland  in  convention  at  Edinburgh  decided  to  offer  the 
crown  to  William  of  Orange  and  his  wife  the  Princess  Mary,  daughter  of 
King  James  VII.  In  his  campaign  against  Dundee,  Major-General  Hugh 
Mackay  had  the  assistance  of  four  regiments  of  English  cavalry  and  two  of 
English  infantry  ;  but  this  was  counterbalanced  by  the  absence  on  English 
service  of  the  troop  of  Life  Guards,  the  Scots  Greys,  the  two  battalions 
of  the  Foot  Guards,  the  two  battalions  of  the  Royal  Scots,  and  the  Royal 
Scots  Fusiliers.  It  became  necessary  to  raise  a  new  army  to  overcome 
the  opposition  of  the  adherents  of  King  James.  Of  the  cavalry  regiments 
The  Cardross  raised  the  first  in  date  was  Cardross's  Dragoons.  Henry,  second  Lord 
Cardross,  had  been  imprisoned  in  Edinburgh  Castle  on  account  of  his 
Covenanting  proclivities  for  the  four  years  1675-79.  On  his  release  he  went 
abroad  and  accompanied  William  of  Orange  to  England  in  1688.  On  3rd 
April  following  he  was  commissioned  by  the  Convention  of  Estates  to  raise 
a  regiment  of  dragoons  in  six  troops  of  fifty  men  in  each.  He  was  ordered 
to  join  Major-General  Hugh  Mackay  in  the  campaign  against  Viscount 
Dundee,  but  Killiecrankie  was  fought  27th  July,  1689,  before  he  was  able 
to  do  so.  He  was  then  directed  to  support  the  Cameronian  regiment  at 
Dunkeld,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.-Colonel  William  Cleland,  and  arrived 
there  the  night  before  the  attack  by  the  main  body  of  the  Highland  army 
under  General  Cannon.  The  same  night  he  received  orders  to  retrace  his 
steps,  and  unwillingly  obeyed,  leaving  Cleland  and  his  men  to  what  seemed 
certain  destruction.  The  fight  put  up  by  the  Cameronians  at  Dunkeld, 
and  its  influence  on  the  fate  of  the  campaign  in  Scotland  is  referred  to  else- 


ANDREW  ROSS  303 

where.  In  November,  1689,  Cardross's  six  troops  were  stationed  at  Fetter- 
cairn,  Stonehyve,  Old  Meldrum,  Banff,  Nairn  and  Inverness.  In  December, 
1690,  when  the  opposition  to  the  Revolution  in  Scotland  had  collapsed, 
Sir  Thomas  Livingston,  then  commander-in-chief  in  Scotland,  was  directed 
"to  cause  the  redgiment  of  dragoons  under  the  command  of  the  Lord 
Cardross  be  marched  troop  be  troop  from  the  north  where  they  now  ly, 
to  the  toune  of  Stirling,  and  there  to  disband  them  upon  each  troop's 
arryval,  and  to  cause  every  troop  at  disbanding  delyver  in  to  the  keeper 
of  his  Majesties  magazin  at  Stirling,  the  armes  upon  his  receipt  to  be  by 
him  layed  up  in  his  Majesties  stores."  A  proceeding  so  wary  was  necessary, 
as  at  the  date  of  the  order  the  Treasury  owed  the  regiment  nine  months' 
pay.  There  is  nothing  on  record  to  show  that  the  men  ever  received  any 
of  their  arrears.  The  colonel's  guidon  of  the  Cardross  Dragoons  is  pre- 
served in  the  museum  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  in  Edinburgh. 

In  May,  1689,  ten  troops  of  horse,  each  of  fifty  men,  and  two  troops  of  Cunningham'; 
dragoons  each  of  one  hundred-and-fifty  men  besides  officers,  appear  on 
the  Scots  establishment.  The  men  were  Whigs  chiefly  from  the  south 
and  west,  and  the  officers  were  nobles  and  country  gentlemen  devoted  to  the 
new  cause.  The  earliest  muster  roll  preserved  is  Lord  Yester's,  dated  at 
Musselburgh,  24th  May,  1689.  The  troops  were  stationed  at  Stirling,  Kilsyth, 
Dundee,  Elgin,  Aberdeen  and  other  centres  where  King  James's  interest 
was  powerful,  and  were  engaged  in  frequent  skirmishes  with  the  High- 
landers. Annandale's  and  Belhaven's  troops  were  at  Killiecrankie.  The 
twelve  remained  separate  units  until  December,  1690.  At  that  time  the 
condition  of  King  William's  army  in  Scotland  was  scandalous.  No  pretence 
of  pay  was  made,  and  it  was  only  with  difficulty  and  at  irregular  intervals 
that  subsistence  money  was  forthcoming.  The  ten  troops  of  horse  were 
offered  the  alternative  of  disbanding  or  being  turned  into  dragoons.  Some- 
thing like  mutiny  arose,  but  in  the  end  two  regiments  of  dragoons,  each  in  six 
troops  of  fifty  men,  appear  on  the  establishment  from  ist  January,  1691. 
The  command  of  one  regiment,  embracing  the  troops  of  Lord  Rollo,  Lord 
Ross,  the  laird  of  Blair,  the  Master  of  Forbes,  the  Earl  of  Annandale  and 
Lord  Belhaven,  was  given  to  Colonel  Richard  Cunningham,  who  at  that  date 
had  a  foot  regiment  that  had  recently  been  formed. 

Cunningham's  Dragoons  served  in  Ireland  in  1691,  and  distinguished 
themselves  at  the  battle  of  Aughrim.     When  peace  was  restored  to  that 


304  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

kingdom  the  regiment  returned  to  Scotland,  and  on  3ist  March,  1694, 
was  ordered  to  Flanders.  It  joined  the  army  on  4th  June  in  that  year — 
four  squadrons,  each  of  one  hundred  men.  It  behaved  with  courage  through- 
out the  remainder  of  King  William's  dismal  campaigns,  and  on  ist  June, 
1696,  its  commander  was  made  a  brigadier  of  cavalry  in  recognition  of 
the  prowess  of  his  corps.  On  ist  October  following  he  resigned  the  colonelcy 
to  William  Lord  Jedburgh.  The  regiment  remained  in  Flanders  until 
the  peace  of  Ryswick,  when  it  was  landed  in  England  and  ordered  in  January, 
1698,  to  Scotland.  It  remained  on  the  Scottish  establishment,  being  known 

Lothian's  from  1703  onwards  as  Lothian's  Dragoons.  On  28th  April,  1707,  Patrick 
'  Lord  Polwarth  became  colonel,  followed  on  loth  October,  1709,  by  William 
Ker,  brother  to  John,  first  Duke  of  Roxburgh,  who  held  the  command 
for  thirty-two  years.  In  1711  the  regiment  proceeded  from  Scotland 
to  the  Netherlands  and  formed  part  of  the  army  which  marched  under  the 
Duke  of  Ormonde  to  the  borders  of  France.  Hostilities  were  closed  by  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht.  In  1713  it  embarked  for  Ireland.  The  Tory  ministry 
in  power  at  the  end  of  Queen  Anne's  reign,  with  an  eye  to  the  succession 
of  James  VIII.  as  sovereign  of  these  realms,  resolved  to  break  as  many 
as  possible  of  the  old  fighting  Whig  regiments,  and  Ker's  was  one  of  those 
marked  down.  It  was  actually  disbanded  in  the  spring  of  1714,  many 
of  the  men  enlisting  in  the  Royal  Dragoons,  now  the  ist  Dragoons,  which 
regiment  returning  dismounted  to  its  native  shores  also  annexed  the  horses 
of  Ker's.  A  still  greater  number  of  the  men  enlisted  in  the  Scots  Greys. 
One  of  the  first  steps  taken  by  George  I.  on  his  arrival  in  England  a  few 
months  afterwards  was  to  order  the  re-establishment  of  Ker's  in  six  troops 
with  its  original  precedence  in  the  army.  The  Scots  Greys  furnished  three 
troops,  men,  arms  and  horses,  the  Royal  Dragoons  furnished  two,  the 
sixth  was  recruited.  The  regiment  still  remains  on  the  British  establishment. 
It  is  now  the  7th  (Queen's  Own)  Hussars. 

Ker's  Colonel  Ker  with  his  regiment  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Sheriffmuir 

fought  between  the  Duke  of  Argyll  and  the  Earl  of  Mar,  I3th  November, 
1715.  The  right  wing  of  each  army  overthrew  its  opponents.  Colonel 
Ker,  stationed  on  the  duke's  left,  charged  at  the  head  of  his  regiment, 
and  after  two  horses  had  been  killed  under  him,  was  compelled  to  share 
in  the  retreat  of  that  part  of  the  Hanoverian  army.  Until  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  the  colonel  and  lieut.-colonel  were  men  of  family 


ANDREW  ROSS  305 

in  Scotland,  and  from  that  kingdom  the  regiment  was  recruited  ;  but  after 
the  civil  war  of  1745-46  the  phantom  of  Jacobitism  was  too  much  for  the 
nerves  of  the  English  Secretary  at  War,  and  commissions  were  granted 
to  Englishmen  as  vacancies  occurred,  until  the  distinctively  Scots  connec- 
tion of  the  regiment  was  destroyed. 

The  command  of  the  other  regiment,  formed  out  of  the  ten  troops  of  Newbattie' 
horse  and  two  troops  of  dragoons,  was  given  at  first  to  the  Earl  of  Eglinton, 
and  afterwards  to  William  Lord  Newbattle.  It  remained  on  home  service 
throughout.  From  January,  1691,  to  5th  August,  1692,  it  was  known  as 
Newbattie's  Dragoons.  From  the  latter  date  it  was  known  as  Lord  Jed- 
burgh's  Dragoons,  being  the  new  title  of  its  colonel,  until  1st  October,  1696, 
when  Lord  Jedburgh  transferred  his  commission  and  title  to  the  regiment 
of  dragoons,  late  Brigadier  Cunningham's.  On  3oth  March,  1697,  the 
Master  of  Forbes  succeeded  to  the  colonelcy.  The  regiment  was  then  in 
quarters  north  of  Inverness.  By  an  order  from  Loo,  dated  6th  October 
in  that  year,  it  was  disbanded  in  December  following. 

On  2gth  March,  1694,  John  Lord  Carmichael  was  ordered  to  raise 


regiment  of  dragoons  in  six  troops  of  fifty  men  each.  They  were  mustered 
and  placed  on  the  establishment  in  May  of  that  year,  "  312  fyrelocks,  the 
like  number  of  patrontashes  and  12  halberds,"  being  issued  for  the  use 
of  the  regiment.  It  remained  in  Scotland  to  secure  the  peace  of  the  king- 
dom, and  in  November,  1697,  its  colonel  was  temporarily  commander-in-chief  . 
It  was  disbanded  in  January,  1698,  on  the  arrival  of  the  Scots  Greys  and 
Jedburgh's  Dragoons  from  Flanders. 

Hyndford's  Dragoons  in  six  troops  of  twenty-six  men  each  were  raised  Hyndford's 
by  commission  dated  5th  May,  1702,  its  colonel  being  John,  first  Earl  of 
Hyndford,  the  same  individual  who  as  Lord  Carmichael  raised  the  preceding 
regiment.  Earl  John's  son,  James  Lord  Carmichael,  succeeded  his  father 
as  colonel  2nd  March,  1706,  from  which  date  the  corps  was  known  as 
Carmichael's  Dragoons.  Becoming  second  Earl  of  Hyndford  2Oth  Sep- 
tember, 1710,  it  again  became  Hyndford's  Dragoons.  Disbanded  in  Ireland 
in  1713. 

n.  INFANTRY 

In  1689  the  Estates  of  Scotland  having  declared  for  William  and  Mary 
ten  regiments  of  foot  were  raised.     Two  still  remain  on  the  British  establish- 


3o6  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

ment,  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers,  late  25th,  and  the  Scottish  Rifles 
(Cameronians),  late  26th.  The  other  eight,  each  consisting  of  600  men 
in  ten  companies,  were  the  Earl  of  Argyll's,  Lord  Bargeny's,  Lord  Blantyre's, 
the  Earl  of  Glencairn's  the  Laird  of  Grant's,  Viscount  Kenmure's,  the  Earl 
of  Mar's  and  Lord  Strathnaver's.  On  nth  December,  1689,  Bargeny's, 
Blantyre's  and  Mar's  were  disbanded,  and  a  new  regiment  formed  for  Colonel 
Richard  Cunningham,  who  received  his  commission  a  week  afterwards. 
Each  of  the  six  regiments  so  left  were  made  up  to  thirteen  companies  of 
sixty  men  in  each,  including  the  grenadier  company.  Three  were  to  remain 
in  Scotland,  the  others  to  serve  in  Ireland  ;  but  the  order  for  Irish  service 
was  quickly  withdrawn,  if  indeed  it  was  ever  issued. 

The  Argyll  The  senior  corps  was  the  Argyll  regiment,  fully  mustered  on  20th  May, 
1689.  Some  wild  history  has  been  written  about  this  corps.  The  regular 
troops  raised  in  Scotland  from  the  period  of  the  Restoration  to  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  excepting  the  independent  companies  raised  to 
secure  the  peace  of  the  Highlands,  the  first  of  which  were  formed  by  John 
Earl  of  Atholl  in  1662,  and  are  now  represented  by  the  Black  Watch, 
were  clad  in  Lowland  military  dress  and  bore  the  corresponding  arms  and 
equipment.  From  the  revolution  onwards  it  was  the  policy  of  the  Argyll 
family,  the  heads  of  which  for  upwards  of  a  century  were  born  soldiers, 
and  held  in  unbroken  succession  general  rank  in  the  British  army,  to  see 
to  it  that  the  fighting  strength  of  their  province  was  not  unduly  depleted 
in  proportion  to  the  other  parts  of  the  kingdom.  The  Argyll  regiment  is 
a  case  in  point.  The  muster  rolls  for  23rd  January,  1690,  are  extant,  giv- 
ing the  name,  calling,  and  parish  of  every  man  in  the  regiment.  While 
Argyllshire  produced  the  largest  number  of  recruits,  Aberdeen,  Angus,  Ayr, 
Banff,  Bute,  Clydesdale,  Dumbarton,  Fife,  Galloway,  Inverness  and  Skye, 
Ireland,  the  Lothians,  the  Mearns,  Nithsdale,  Perth,  Ross,  Stirling  and 
Wigtownshire,  had  representatives  in  its  ranks,  which  did  not  include 
seventy  Campbells  all  told.  On  i6th  April,  1690,  it  received  the  three 
additional  companies  above  referred  to.  It  was  chiefly  stationed  in  the 
west.  One  of  the  companies  garrisoned  Dunstaffnage,  and  four  were  for 
some  time  in  garrison  at  Inverlochy.  A  company  of  this  regiment  was 
concerned  in  the  massacre  of  Glencoe,  I3th  February,  1692.  The  responsi- 
bility for  that  deed  is  settled  by  the  discovery  in  the  Scottish  commission 
register  of  the  warrant  by  King  William  and  his  Secretary  of  State  con- 


ANDREW  ROSS  307 

taining  these  words :  "  If  M'Kean  of  Glencoe  and  that  tribe  can  be  well 
separated  from  the  rest,  it  will  be  a  proper  vindication  of  the  public  justice 
to  extirpate  that  set  of  thieves."  After  the  deed  was  done  the  government 
had  the  effrontery  to  stand  by  while  the  Scottish  parliament  raised  the 
hue  and  cry  against  the  field  officers  of  the  regiment,  Lieut. -Colonel  Home 
and  Major  Duncanson.  It  was  immediately  withdrawn  from  Scotland 
to  England,  its  last  precept  for  Scots  pay  being  issued  in  February,  1692. 

On  3rd  September  of  that  year  the  Argyll  regiment  joined  King  William's 
army  in  the  Netherlands.  Not  one  of  our  historians  has  thought  it  worth 
his  while  to  narrate  the  share  taken  by  the  Scots  army  in  the  seven  years' 
struggle  terminated  by  the  treaty  of  Ryswick  in  1697.  In  1691  there  were 
serving  in  that  country  seven  English  battalions  of  foot,  including  Huguenot 
regiments  in  English  pay,  and  eight  Scots,  including,  of  course,  the  Scots 
Brigade  in  Holland,  which  at  that  time  was  wholly  recruited  from  Scot- 
land. In  1692  there  were  fourteen  English  and  eleven  Scots  battalions. 
In  1693  fourteen  English  and  thirteen  Scots.  In  1694  twenty-three  English 
and  fifteen  Scots.  In  1695  twenty-five  English  and  fifteen  Scots.  In 
1696  twenty  English  and  fifteen  Scots.  In  1697  twenty-five  English  and 
fifteen  Scots.  The  Argyll  regiment  was  first  sent  to  join  the  garrison  of 
Dixmude.  It  formed  part  of  a  detachment  under  the  Duke  of  Wirtemberg 
in  the  attack  on  the  French  lines  at  D'Otignies  between  the  Lys  and  the 
Scheldt  on  8th  July,  1693.  The  Argyllswere  in  the  centre,  and  the  grenadiers 
of  the  regiment  led  the  van  in  the  attack.  The  first  lieutenant  and  fifteen 
men  of  the  company  were  killed  and  the  second  lieutenant  and  many  others 
wounded.  On  7th  April,  1694,  Lord  Lome  succeeded  his  father,  Earl  Archi- 
bald, in  the  colonelcy.  In  the  assault  on  Namur,  8th  July,  1695,  Lieut. - 
Colonel  Home  of  Lome's  regiment  was  present  as  a  volunteer,  his  own 
regiment  being  then  in  Dixmude.  He  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  attack, 
and  Major  Duncanson  succeeded  to  the  command,  Major  Patrick  Hume 
becoming  lieut.-colonel.  A  week  after  Namur  the  French  invested  Dixmude. 
On  the  I7th  the  Dutch  officer  in  command  of  the  garrison  called  a  council  of 
war,  and  proposed  to  capitulate.  Everyone  consented  except  Major  Duncan- 
son,  the  youngest  member,  who  refused,  urging  there  was  no  breach  made 
in  the  place,  that  as  yet  they  had  suffered  no  loss,  that  the  enemy  were 
not  yet  masters  of  the  counterscarp,  and  that  it  would  not  be  consistent 
with  their  honour  to  yield  so  soon.  Proving  refractory  he  was  placed  under 


3o8  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

arrest.  According  to  the  capitulation,  which  was  signed  on  the  i8th,  "  the 
regiments  drew  out  in  battalion  and  marched  clear  of  their  arms  which 
they  left  with  their  colours,  except  my  Lord  Lome's  Regiment,  which  tore 
off  the  colours  from  the  staff  rather  than  suffer  them  to  be  a  trophy  to 
the  enemy.  A  great  many  soldiers  had  broke  their  arms  to  pieces."  A 
few  weeks  afterwards  Colonel  Duncanson  had  the  consolation  of  seeing 
the  general  officer  in  command  of  the  English  troops  cashiered  and  the 
Dutch  governor  executed.  In  January,  1698,  the  regiment  sailed  from 
Flanders  to  Scotland,  and  was  disbanded  on  arrival,  each  centinel  receiving 
eight  days'  pay. 

Glencairn's  Glencairn's  regiment,  mustered  on  4th  May,  1689,  was  sent  to  garrison 
Inveraray  and  keep  the  surrounding  country  in  peace,  and  was  removed 
from  the  establishment  in  1691. 

Grant's  Grant's  regiment  remained  a  unit  until  November,  1690,  when  nine 

companies,  along  with  a  few  companies  from  Glencairn's  and  one  or  two 
drafted  from  other  regiments,  were  transferred  to  the  regiment  raised  to 
garrison  Inverlochy  (the  modern  Fort  William),  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  John  Hill.  Hill's  mustered  1200  men  and  continued  in  garrison 
at  Inverlochy  until  1698,  when  it  was  disbanded  on  the  arrival  of  Mait- 
land's,  now  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers,  to  do  duty  there. 

Kenmure's  The  first  exploit  of  the  Kenmure  regiment,  mustered  loth  May,  1689, 
was  to  seize  Sir  Robert  Grierson  of  Lag,  who  in  his  capacity  as  commis- 
sioner of  supply  for  the  Militia  of  Dumfries  had  been  conspicuous  by  his 
activity  against  the  Covenanters,  and  to  carry  him  prisoner  to  the  castle 
of  Edinburgh.  It  afterwards  marched  to  Stirling  and  was  in  the  left  centre 
of  Mackay's  army  at  Killiecrankie.  The  regiment  was  broken,  and  nearly 
all  the  officers  were  killed  or  wounded.  A  month  afterwards,  at  Stirling, 
it  mustered  three  hundred  unarmed  men,  who  were  supplied  with  two 
hundred  muskets  and  one  hundred  pikes  from  the  armoury  in  the  castle 
there.  The  regiment  was  ordered  to  Glasgow  to  recruit,  and  to  enable  them 
to  do  so  the  surviving  officers  were  permitted  to  draw  pay  as  for  a  full 
regiment.  It  was  taken  off  the  establishment  as  from  1st  January,  1691. 

Strathnaver's       Strathnaver's   regiment,    partly   raised    in    Sutherland,    included   four 

NO.  i.  '  companies  from  the  south  of  Scotland.  It  drew  full  pay  from  loth  May, 
1689,  and  was  disbanded  28th  November,  1690,  when  it  mustered  thirteen 
companies. 


ANDREW  ROSS  309 

Colonel  Richard  Cunningham's  regiment,  formed  out  of  Bargeny's,  Cunningham's 
Blantyre's  and  Mar's,  was  embodied  in  the  summer  of  1690.  When  Colonel  eg 
Cunningham  was  appointed  to  the  dragoons  his  regiment  of  foot  was  given 
to  Colonel  John  Buchan,  cadet  of  Auchmacoy,  on  I2th  January,  1691.  On 
4th  March,  1693,  an  additional  company  was  added.  It  remained  in  Scot- 
land until  April,  1694,  when  it  returned  its  arms  to  the  magazine  and  em- 
barked for  Flanders  on  the  28th  of  that  month.  There  it  was  re-equipped 
and  joined  the  main  army  on  6th  June,  1694.  It  was  in  the  camp  before 
Namur  in  June  of  the  year  following,  and  after  the  surrender  of  the  town 
took  part  in  the  unsuccessful  attack  on  the  castle  igth  August,  1695,  when 
it  had  four  officers  killed  and  eight  wounded,  and  65  non-commissioned 
officers  and  men  killed  and  140  wounded.  In  January,  1698,  it  left  Flanders 
for  Scotland,  and  was  disbanded  on  arrival,  each  centinel  receiving  eirfit 
days'  pay. 

On  ist  February,  1693,  two  regiments  were  raised,  intended  for  service  Moncrieffs 
in  Ireland  ;  but  their  presence  in  that  kingdom  was  found  unnecessary 
and  they  remained  in  Scotland.  The  first  was  commanded  by  Sir  James 
Moncrieff,  Bart.  On  3ist  January,  1694,  Sir  James  was  succeeded  by  Colonel 
George  Hamilton  of  Redhouse,  East  Lothian.  On  28th  April  following, 
the  regiment,  after  giving  up  its  arms,  embarked  for  Flanders  and  joined 
the  camp  there  in  June,  1694.  It  was  in  garrison  at  Deinse  in  June,  1695, 
and  on  4th  July  joined  the  camp  before  Namur  and  served  at  the  siege 
of  the  town.  It  returned  to  Scotland  in  1698,  coming  on  the  establishment 
on  2ist  October,  up  to  which  time  it  had  drawn  Dutch  pay.  On  I2th 
March,  1701,  it  embarked  for  Holland  600  strong,  in  twelve  companies, 
and  having  served  with  distinction  throughout  the  wars  of  Queen  Anne, 
it  was  disbanded  in  Holland  in  1714.  Colonel  Hamilton  served  as  major- 
general  in  the  Earl  of  Mar's  army  in  the  civil  war  of  1715.  Before  the 
close  of  the  war  he  was  dispatched  on  a  mission  to  France. 

The  other  regiment  raised  by  the  order  of  ist  February,  1693,  was  Lord  strathnaver's 
Strathnaver's.     It  remained  on  the  Scots  establishment  until  28th  April,  Nog™em' 

1694,  when  it  returned  its  arms  to  the  king's  magazine  in  Edinburgh  Castle, 
embarked  for  Flanders  and  joined  the  army  there  in  June,  1694.     In  June, 

1695,  it  was  in  garrison  at  Deinse.     It  joined  the  army  before  Namur  4th 
July,  1695,  served  at  the  siege  of  that  town  and  returned  to  Scotland  in 
April,  1699.     It  went  to  Holland  600  rank  and  file  on  I2th  March,  1701. 


310  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

In  1702  John  Lord  Lome  became  colonel,  succeeding  in  1703  as  second 
Duke  of  Argyll.  In  February,  1707,  John  Marquess  of  Tullibardine  became 
colonel,  and  on  nth  July,  1708,  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  he  began  the 
battle  of  Oudenarde.  At  Malplaquet  on  3ist  August,  1709,  his  regiment 
formed  part  of  the  division  under  the  Prince  of  Orange,  through  whose 
blunder  it  was  cut  to  pieces  and  its  colonel  slain.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Colonel  John  Campbell,  who  died  before  28th  March,  1710,  when  Sir  James 
Wood  was  appointed.  Disbanded  in  Holland  in  1717. 

Douglas's  In  1694  six  regiments  were  raised,  each  of  ten  companies  and  750  rank 
nts'  and  file,  armed  wholly  with  "  fyrelocks."  Two  were  commanded  by  Sir 
William  Douglas,  whose  commission  is  dated  3ist  January,  1694.  On 
1st  April  following  one  of  these  two  was  sent  to  Flanders,  the  other  remained 
at  home,  one  of  the  companies  for  some  time  garrisoning  the  Bass.  It 
remained  on  home  service  throughout  the  Flanders  wars,  and  was  disbanded 
at  Stirling  on  Friday,  loth  December,  1697,  on  the  return  of  the  Foot  Guards 
to  Scotland. 

Mackay's  Colonel  Robert  Mackay  received  command  of  two  regiments,  each  of 
nts'  750  men,  his  commission  bearing  the  same  date  as  Sir  William  Douglas's. 
The  first  of  these  left  for  Flanders  along  with  Douglas's.  It  served  at  the 
siege  of  Namur  in  August,  1695,  and  was  in  the  unsuccessful  attack  on  the 
castle  on  the  igth,  where  it  had  two  officers  killed  and  fifteen  wounded, 
and  73  non-commissioned  officers  and  men  killed  and  166  wounded.  The 
second  regiment  was  up  to  its  full  strength  by  August,  1694,  and  remained 
in  Scotland.  Colonel  Robert  Mackay  went  to  Flanders  in  1695  to  assume 
command  of  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers,  late  2ist,  with  a  large  draft  from 
his  own  regiment.  On  I3th  December,  1695,  he  was  succeeded  in  command 
of  the  home  regiment  by  Colonel  George  M'Gill.  On  3Oth  November, 
1697,  M'Gill's  was  ordered  to  be  disbanded  as  soon  as  the  Foot  Guards 
and  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers  should  arrive  in  Scotland.  Accordingly, 
it  marched  from  its  quarters  in  the  Canongate  of  Edinburgh  to  the  Links 
of  Leith  and  was  disbanded  there  on  Thursday,  gth  December,  except 
the  company  forming  the  garrison  of  Dunnottar,  which  continued  in  pay 
for  several  months  later. 

Lindsay's  On  z8th  February,  1694,  John  Lord  Lindsay  (afterwards  nineteenth 
Earl  of  Crawford)  received  a  commission  to  levy  a  regiment  of  750  men, 
receiving  £1125  Sterling  in  levy  money.  It  mustered  on  20th  April,  1694. 


ANDREW  ROSS  3" 

Its  services  were  confined  to  Scotland  and  it  was  disbanded  in  December, 
1697,  by  an  order  from  Loo  dated  6th  October  previously. 

John  Lord  Murray's  commission  is  also  dated  28th  February,  1694.  Tuiiibar 
His  regiment  of  thirteen  companies,  700  all  ranks,  was  placed  on  the  estab- 
lishment 4th  May.  An  account  of  this  corps  is  given  by  the  Marchioness  of 
Tullibardine  in  her  work  A  Military  History  of  Perthshire,  1660-1902,  issued 
in  1908.  The  regiment  was  at  first  employed  in  watching  the  east  coast 
in  view  of  a  possible  descent  from  France,  the  stations  being  Montrose, 
Pittenweem,  Dysart,  the  Anstruthers  and  Kirkcaldy,  with  a  garrison  in 
the  Orkneys.  On  I4th  January,  1696,  its  colonel  became  Secretary  of 
State  for  Scotland,  and  in  July  of  that  year  was  created  Earl  of  Tullibardine, 
when  his  regiment  became  known  by  the  new  title.  In  that  year  the  earl 
was  appointed  Lord  High  Commissioner  to  Parliament,  and  while  his  regi- 
ment was  stationed  at  Edinburgh  it  was  on  guard  at  Holyrood,  one  company 
doing  duty  in  Edinburgh  Castle.  By  order  from  Loo  of  6th  October,  1697, 
it  was  disbanded  in  December  following. 

On  I2th  March,  1702,  the  Earl  of  Mar's  regiment  was  raised,  nine  com-  Mar's 
panics  of  27  men  each.     Alexander  Grant,  eldest  son  of  the  laird  of  Grant,    e° 
succeeded  to  the  colonelcy  on  4th  March,  1706.     It  remained  on  the  Scots 
establishment  until  the  union  of  1707.     In  November,  1708,  it  embarked 
at  Newcastle  for  Flanders  and  served  in  Marlborough's  wars,  in  which 
its  colonel  earned  the  rank  of  brigadier.     In  March,  1709,  the  officers  of  the 
regiment  petitioned  the  War  Office  to  be  furnished  with  Scottish  recruits. 
It  was  disbanded  in   1713.      In  the  civil  war   of  1715  Brigadier  Grant 
raised  a  regiment  of  ten  companies,  to  which  the  care  of  Edinburgh  city 
was  entrusted.     It  was  disbanded  in  1718. 

In  1702  the  Master  of  Strathnaver  raised  a  regiment   of  foot  of  the  strathna 
same  strength  as  Mar's.     In  1703  it  was  stationed  in  Glasgow  and  was  aug-  Nof  ™e 
mented  in  1708  to  twelve  companies.     In  November  of  that  year  it  was 
marched  to  Newcastle,  where  it  embarked  for  Flanders  and  served  through- 
out the  war.     Colonel  John  Pocock  was  appointed  to  the  command  on 
i5th  June,  1710.     Disbanded  1713. 

On  2gth  January,  1704,  Lieut.-Colonel  George  Maccartney  of  the  Scots  Maccan 
Guards  received  a  commission  to  raise  a  regiment  of  ten  companies  on  English    eg 
pay.     He  embarked  for  Spain  in  1707  with  his  regiment,  which,  with  four 
Huguenot  regiments,  formed  the  centre  of  the  line  at  the  battle  of  Almanza, 


3i2  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

and  by  a  brilliant  charge  drove  the  French  off  the  field  up  to  the  walls  of 
Almanza.  Owing  to  the  failure  of  the  Portuguese  cavalry  in  support,  they 
were  in  turn  driven  back  by  superior  numbers  and  the  lieut.-colonel  com- 
manding killed.  With  the  remainder  of  the  centre  it  retreated  a  distance 
of  eight  miles  and  next  day  was  obliged  to  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war. 
In  May,  1708,  the  regiment  was  reorganised  in  England  and  recruited  there 
to  thirteen  companies  of  608  men,  including  officers.  In  September  of 
that  year  it  embarked  at  Portsmouth  for  Ostend  to  join  the  army  in  Flanders. 
Disbanded  1713. 

Ker's  In  1706  Lord  Mark  Ker,  younger  brother  of  Lord  Jedburgh  and  lieut.- 

colonel  of  Maccartney's  regiment,  raised  a  regiment  of  foot,  the  commissions 
all  dated  27th  March  in  that  year.  The  men  were  drafted  from  the  regiments 
then  afoot  in  Scotland,  and  it  was  complete  by  June.  It  was  engaged 
in  the  battle  of  Almanza  25th  April,  1707,  where  the  colonel  was  wounded, 
the  lieut.-colonel  killed,  and  the  corps  so  disintegrated  that  it  was  re-formed 
in  England  in  May,  1708.  It  was  made  up  to  a  total  of  620  men,  including 
officers,  by  recruits  partly  from  England  and  partly  from  Scotland,  collected 
by  the  officers  of  the  Scots  Guards  and  Maitland's  regiment,  afterwards  the 
25th.  It  was  stationed  at  Tynemouth  and  Berwick- on-Tweed,  and  in  May, 
1709,  embarked  at  Holy  Island  for  service  in  Flanders.  Disbanded  1713. 

Did  these  successive  waves  of  warriors  pass  and  leave  no  remembrance 
beyond  the  share  they  took  in  establishing  the  liberties  of  Christendom  ? 
They  left  a  noble  memorial,  and  it  came  to  pass  in  this  way. 

Among  the  wise  reforms  introduced  by  King  James  VII.  and  II.  into 
the  public  service  before  he  lost  his  wits  as  a  ruler  was  the  establishment 
of  an  invalid,  or,  as  we  should  now  call  it,  a  pension  fund  in  the  army.  The 
king's  warrant  of  2Oth  March,  1686,  runs :  "  Whereas  we  judge  it  reasonable 
and  fitt  for  our  service  that  a  provision  be  made  for  the  future  subsistence 
and  releiffe  of  such  souldiers  and  some  officers,  as  have  served  long  in  our 
service,  and  in  our  standing  forces  in  that  our  Ancient  Kingdome,  and 
others  who  by  reason  of  many  and  great  wounds  that  they  have  received 
or  may  hereafter  receive  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty  in  our  service,  are 
or  may  be  quite  disabled  from  serving  us  longer."  The  warrant  proceeds  to 
order  the  establishment  of  a  fund  to  be  raised  by  a  stoppage  of  one  per 
cent,  on  all  military  pay  issuing  from  the  king's  Treasury,  including  the 


ANDREW  ROSS  313 

pay  of  the  clerks  in  the  Scottish  War  Office.  The  control  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  Lord  Treasurer  of  the  kingdom  and  his  depute,  the  generals  command- 
ing the  forces  and  the  colonels  and  lieut.-colonels  of  the  regiments  of  the 
standing  army.  In  practice  the  fund  was  administered  by  the  colonels 
and  lieut.-colonels,  under  whose  auspices  it  flourished.  The  last  meeting 
of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Invalids  prior  to  the  Revolution  took  place 
at  Holyrood  House  on  20th  June,  1688.  There  were  present  Major- 
General  John  Grahame  of  Claverhouse,  colonel  of  the  Royal  Regiment 
of  Horse  ;  Lieut. -Colonel  George  Murray  of  the  Life  Guards,  cadet  of  Eli- 
bank  ;  Lieut.-Colonel  James  Murray  of  the  Foot  Guards,  cadet  of  Philip- 
haugh  ;  Lieut.-Colonel  David  Hay  of  the  Life  Guards,  cadet  of  Tweeddale  ; 
Lieut.-Colonel  George  Rattray  of  the  Royal  Regiment  of  Dragoons,  cadet 
of  Craighall.  A  number  of  applicants  were  then  and  there  admitted  to 
the  fund,  which  in  1707  amounted  to  £6190  i8s.  8d.  sterling.  Payments 
continued  to  be  made  for  many  years  after  the  Union.  Year  by  year  the 
claims  were  fewer,  and  at  last  the  Invalid  money  came  to  be  regarded  as 
the  lawful  prey  of  the  Exchequer  officials,  who  drew  considerable  sums 
therefrom.  This  continued  until  the  year  1755.  Then  there  happened 
along  a  Scotsman  with  a  head  on  his  shoulders,  one  George  Drummond, 
who  in  his  day  was  six  times  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh.  He  obtained 
a  Privy  Seal  warrant  27th  April,  1755,  granting  "  to  the  Managers  of  the 
Royal  Infirmary  of  Edinburgh  for  the  use  of  the  said  Royal  Infirmary 
for  ever  the  whole  Invalide  fund  or  stock,"  then  amounting  to  £8000,  and 
the  money  was  applied  accordingly.  At  that  date  the  Royal  Infirmary 
was  a  struggling  institution,  its  stock  amounting  to  something  like  £7000 
sterling.  The  golden  shower  fell,  and  the  Infirmary  leaped  from  penury 
to  affluence.  It  extended  its  benefits  and  filled  its  wards,  which  became 
the  training  ground  in  clinic  of  the  greatest  medical  school  in  the  three 
kingdoms.  The  managers  of  the  day,  in  gratitude  to  Drummond,  whose 
happy  inspiration  had  smoothed  their  path,  placed  his  bust  in  their  entrance 
hall,  where  it  remains  to  this  day  ;  and  so  the  civilian  is  remembered  and 
the  soldier  forgotten.  The  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Royal  Infirmary 
would  perform  a  graceful  act  were  they  to  place  in  their  hall  a  list  of  those 
regiments  which,  by  deductions  from  their  pay  between  the  years  1686 
and  1707,  built  up  the  fund  which  is  now  administered  on  behalf  of  the 
general  public. 


314  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

The  s«>ts  The  Scots  Brigade  in  Holland  sprang  into  existence  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  when  the  Spanish  infantry  of  Spinola  and  Parma  swept  the  battle- 
fields of  Europe.  Few  armies  could  withstand  the  charge  of  the  pikemen 
whose  war-cry  was  Santiago  Espana  !  and  in  the  unequal  struggle  the  States- 
General  of  the  Low  Countries  appealed  to  Scotland  for  help.  The  affairs 
of  the  kingdom  were  then  controlled  by  Douglas  Earl  of  Morton, 
whose  attitude  to  the  Catholic  powers  on  the  Continent  induced  him  to 
lend  a  willing  ear  to  the  request,  and  some  years  before  1577  a  body  of 
Scots  soldiers  passed  over  to  Holland.  In  1577  the  States-General  asked 
for  further  assistance,  expressing  at  the  same  time  their  grateful  acknowledg- 
ments of  the  services  already  rendered.  Between  i6th  October  and  4th 
December  of  that  year  the  Privy  Council  authorised  the  raising  of  2600 
men  in  thirteen  companies  for  the  service.  The  captains  undertook  to 
maintain  the  recruits  until  their  departure  for  Holland,  and  on  arrival 
there,  not  to  serve  a  Catholic  against  a  Protestant  power.  Accordingly, 
David  Prestoun  of  that  ilk  became  cautioner  for  Captain  Edward  Prestoun, 
Thomas  Seyton  of  Northrig  and  Mr.  John  Prestoun  bailie  of  Edinburgh 
for  Captain  John  Ramsay,  John  Wemyss  of  Pittencrief  for  Captain  David 
Murray,  Michael  Balfour  of  Monquhany  for  Captain  Hary  Balfour,  Robert 
Bruce  of  Clackmannan  for  Captain  Robert  Maisterton,  Alexander  Achesoun 
of  Gosfurde  and  Archibald  Stewart  bailie  of  Edinburgh  for  Captain  Patrick 
Achesoun,  David  Lindsay  of  Edzell  for  Captain  David  Spalding,  Laurence 
Lord  Oliphant  for  Captain  James  Oliphant,  Thomas  Myreton  of  Cammo  for 
Captain  Andrew  Traill,  James  Hamilton  of  Samuelston,  Thomas  Cockburn 
of  Reidhall  and  Patrick  Sydserff  younger  of  that  ilk  for  Captain  Thomas 
Newtoun,  and  Patrick  Lord  Lindsay  of  the  Byres  for  Captain  Patrick 
Ogilvy,  that  they  should  each  in  raising  his  company  of  200  men  observe 
the  conditions  laid  down  by  the  Privy  Council.  The  colours  were  the  St. 
Andrew's  cross  and  the  drums  beat  the  Scots  march. 

The  earliest  engagement  of  importance  with  the  Spanish  infantry  took 
place  at  Gemblours  in  1578,  when  the  brigade  shared  in  the  defeat  of  the 
day,  obtaining  its  revenge  in  the  same  year  at  Reminant  near  Mechlin, 
when  Don  John  of  Austria  was  overthrown.  The  martial  qualities  of  the 
Scots  induced  William  Prince  of  Orange  to  send  an  agent  to  Scotland 
in  1581  to  compliment  King  James  on  their  valour.  Permits  to  recruit 
for  the  brigade  issued  by  the  kings  of  Scotland  from  that  time  onwards 


ANDREW  ROSS  315 

appear  in  the  records  with  regularity.  It  formed  part  of  the  garrison  of 
Ostend  in  the  three  years'  siege  of  that  town,  1601-1604,  an(l  when  the  States- 
General  sent  orders  to  the  governor  to  capitulate,  it  formed  part  of  the 
rearguard  when  the  town  was  evacuated.  In  1603  a  regiment  was  raised 
by  Sir  Walter  Scott  of  Buccleuch,  and  in  1609  the  first-fruits  of  the  struggle  uuccieuch's 
appeared  in  a  twelve  years'  truce  between  the  King  of  Spain  and  the  States-  No8™6"'' 
General.  The  first  article  of  that  truce  bore  that  his  Catholic  Majesty 
treated  "  with  the  saids  Lords  States  General  of  the  United  Provinces  in 
quality  of  and  as  holding  them  to  be  free  countries,  provinces  and  states 
over  which  he  pretended  nothing."  On  the  renewal  of  the  war  the  Spanish 
army  under  Spinola  gained  several  victories,  and  the  Scots  under  Colonel 
Henderson  were  shut  up  in  Bergen-op-Zoom.  After  a  struggle  of  three 
months  Spinola  was  obliged  to  raise  the  siege  with  the  loss  of  12,000  men. 
In  1629  a  second  Buccleuch  regiment  was  raised.  In  that  year  the  three  Buccieuch' 
regiments  then  forming  the  brigade  were  commanded  respectively  by  Walter  Nof  ™e"  ' 
Lord  Scott  of  Buccleuch,  Sir  David  Balfour,  colonel  of  the  Buccleuch 
regiment  of  1603,  and  Sir  William  Brog.  About  that  time  the  question 
of  precedence  was  raised  between  the  Scots  and  the  English  regiments  then 
serving  in  Holland,  when  it  was  settled  that  priority  should  be  decided  by 
the  date  of  embodiment.  By  the  peace  of  Westphalia,  signed  at  Miinster 
in  1648,  the  Thirty  Years'  war  was  concluded,  article  second  of  the  treaty 
bearing  "  Holland  shall  be  a  free  state  independent  alike  of  Spain  and 
the  Empire."  Thus,  largely  by  the  efforts  of  Scots  soldiers  the  Dutch  nation 
found  a  place  upon  the  map  of  Europe.  The  States  disbanded  the  greater 
part  of  their  forces  at  the  peace,  but  the  Scots  regiments  were  retained 
intact. 

In  1688,  on  the  eve  of  the  Revolution,  King  James  VII.  recalled  the 
brigade  from  Holland.  Many  of  the  officers,  of  whom  Henry  Morton  of 
Milnwood  was  a  type,  and  of  the  rank  and  file  had  been  recruited  from 
those  whom  the  ecclesiastical  disturbances  of  the  time  had  driven  from 
Scotland.  They  had  no  desire  to  take  service  under  James,  and  only  sixty 
out  of  two  hundred  and  ninety  officers  answered  the  call.  The  others, 
with  their  men,  formed  a  valuable  portion  of  the  force  with  which  the 
Prince  of  Orange  invaded  England  in  that  year.  Three  regiments  of 
the  brigade,  after  being  deprived  of  their  best  men  to  strengthen  the 
Dutch  battalions,  returned  to  England,  marched  to  Scotland  to  recruit, 


316  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

and  under  the  command  of  Major-General  Hugh  Mackay  were  present 
at  Killiecrankie.  In  1692  the  brigade,  then  consisting  of  six  regiments,  was 
in  Flanders,  where  in  that  year  James  Earl  of  Dalkeith,  a  youth  of  eighteen 
and  heir  of  Buccleuch,  was  serving  as  a  volunteer.  It  sustained  heavy 
losses  at  Steinkirk,  1692,  and  at  Landen,  1693,  but  was  recruited  from  Scot- 
land and  actively  employed  throughout  the  war,  which  was  brought  to 
an  end  by  the  peace  of  Ryswick  in  1697.  In  the  war  of  the  Spanish  succes- 
sion it  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Ramillies,  Oudenarde  and  Malplaquet. 
In  the  war  with  France  and  Spain,  1739-48,  the  brigade  was  again  in  the 
field.  A  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Laffeldt  (2nd  July,  1747)  the  French 
invested  Bergen-op-Zoom,  and  after  a  siege  of  two  months  gained  admis- 
sion to  the  town  by  an  act  of  oversight  or  treachery.  The  governor  beat 
a  hurried  retreat  with  the  troops,  excepting  the  Scots  brigade  and  a 
Dutch  battalion.  The  three  Scots  regiments  then  maintained  a  desperate 
contest  with  the  enemy  for  several  hours  ;  until  the  officers,  convinced 
that  their  efforts  against  an  army  would  end  only  in  destruction,  fell 
back  through  the  Steeneberg  gate  under  a  fire  from  the  works  com- 
manding the  bridge,  and  reached  the  camp  of  the  Allies,  not  only  with 
their  own  colours,  but  those  of  all  the  German  and  Dutch  regiments  which 
had  fled  with  the  governor.  "  Gentlemen,"  said  General  Lowendall  to 
Lieut.  Allan  MacLean,  cadet  of  Torloisk,  and  a  brother  officer  who  were 
taken  prisoners,  "  had  all  conducted  themselves  as  you  and  your  brave 
corps  have  done,  I  should  not  now  be  master  of  Bergen-op-Zoom." 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Seven  Years'  war  in  1756  the  brigade, 
to  its  disappointment,  was  not  recalled  ;  but  in  1776  the  British  ambassador 
at  the  Hague  signified  King  George's  desire  that  it  should  return.  A  con- 
fused series  of  negotiations  ensued  until  1782.  On  December  8th  of  that 
year  the  Prince  of  Orange  addressed  a  letter  to  the  colonels  directing  them 
to  assume  blue  instead  of  red  uniforms,  the  officers  to  provide  themselves 
with  orange  sashes  and  new  gorgets  and  spontoons,  and  the  sergeants  with 
new  halberds,  the  arms  of  Great  Britain  being  engraved  on  those  they 
carried,  "  and,  lastly,  to  provide  new  colours  according  to  the  model,  painted 
with  the  arms  of  the  province  on  whose  establishment  the  regiment  is  paid  ; 
as  on  the  1st  January  next  the  said  regiment  must  begin  to  be  commanded 
in  the  Dutch  and  no  more  in  the  English  language  ;  from  which  day  likewise 
henceforth  the  said  Regiment  is  to  beat  the  Dutch  and  not  the  Scots  march." 


ANDREW  ROSS  317 

The  Scots  officers  declined  to  accept  those  conditions.  They  left  the  Dutch 
service  in  a  body  and  came  to  this  country  and  represented  their  case  to 
government.  Their  remonstrance  was  disregarded  until  the  wars  of  the 
French  Revolution  rendered  their  offers  of  service  acceptable  to  the  ministry, 
when  the  94th  Foot,  or  Scots  brigade,  was  raised  by  their  efforts  and  placed 
on  the  establishment  in  1794.  The  honours  won  by  the  regiment  from 
that  date  were  "  Seringapatam,"  "  Ciudad  Rodrigo,"  "  Badajoz,"  "  Sala- 
manca," "  Vittoria,"  "  Nivelle,"  "  Orthes,"  "  Toulouse,"  "  Peninsula." 
It  was  disbanded  in  1818  and  re-embodied  at  Glasgow  in  1823  under  its 
former  officers.  The  battalion  served  in  Ceylon  1838-42,  India  1858-68, 
South  African  War  1879.  When  the  system  of  linked  battalions  was  intro- 
duced into  the  British  army  its  nationality  was  altered  by  a  stroke  of  the 
pen  from  Scots  to  Irish,  and  it  is  now  the  2nd  Battalion  of  the  Connaught 
Rangers. 

FROM  THE  UNION  IN  1707  TO  THE  PRESENT  DAY 
The  military  power  of  Scotland  had  always  been  a  source  of  uneasiness 
to  the  southern  kingdom,  and  a  principal  object  of  the  English  statesmen 
who  urged  on  the  proposals  for  union  between  the  two  nations  was  to 
obtain  control  of  it.  The  crisis  became  acute  when  the  Act  of  Security 
passed  the  Scots  parliament  in  1704,  providing  that,  on  the  demise  of  the 
Crown,  Scotland  would  proceed  to  nominate  a  sovereign  who  should  not 
be  the  successor  to  the  crown  of  England,  unless  both  countries  were  to 
possess  equal  rights  in  the  benefits  of  trade  and  navigation  and  intercourse 
with  the  colonies  ;  providing  further  for  the  calling  out  and  arming  the 
fencible  men  of  the  kingdom,  between  sixteen  and  sixty  and  drilling  once 
a  month.1  With  such  a  force,  and  by  recalling  her  trained  battalions  abroad, 
Scotland  in  the  event  of  differences  arising  might  hope  to  be  in  a  position 
to  meet  on  something  like  equal  terms  with  the  Southron.2  The  position 
compelled  the  leaders  in  both  countries  to  consider  the  alternative  of  war 
or  union.  They  chose  the  latter. 

Neither  in  the  articles  of  union  which  preceded  it  nor  in  the  treaty  of 
union  itself  is  there  a  word  bearing  on  the  military  forces  of  Scotland.3 

1  Acts  of  Parliament,  Record  Edition,  vol.  xi.  p.  136.     jth  August,  1704. 

2  The  Scots  Magazine  1 756,  p.  426. 

3  The  Articles  of  Union  will  be  found  in  Acts  of  Par/,  xi.  Appendix,  p.  201.     The  Treaty 
of  Union  is  in  the  same  volume.     Text  p.  406. 


318  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

The  policy  decided  on  after  that  event  took  place,  and  followed  with  deter- 
mination for  three-quarters  of  a  century,  was  to  obliterate  national  dis- 
tinctions. The  first  step  was  to  transfer  all  contracts  for  the  supply  of 
clothing,  arms  and  accoutrements  for  the  troops  from  Scottish  to  English 
tradesmen.1  That  feat  accomplished,  the  system  of  recruiting  the  regiments 
claimed  attention. 

The  first  step  taken  was  to  assimilate  the  law  of  Scotland  relating  to 
recruiting  to  that  of  England.  The  ist  of  May,  1707,  saw  the  completion 
of  the  union  between  the  kingdoms.  On  23rd  February,  1708,  the  British 
parliament  passed  "  An  Act  for  the  better  recruiting  of  her  Majesty's  land 
forces  and  the  Marines  for  the  service  of  the  year  1708  "  in  terms  similar 
to  the  acts  passed  by  the  English  parliament  in  previous  years,  except  that 
for  "  kingdom  of  England,  dominion  of  Wales  and  town  of  Berwick-upon- 
Tweed  "  were  substituted  the  words  "  Great  Britain."  z  It  empowered 
any  three  justices  of  the  peace  of  counties  and  riding  liberties  and  the  mayors 
of  towns  within  the  realm  to  impress  "  such  able  bodied  men  as  do  not 
follow  or  exercise  any  lawful  calling  or  employment,  or  have  not  some  other 
lawful  or  sufficient  support  and  maintenance,  to  serve  her  Majesty  as  soldiers." 
By  the  following  year  it  dawned  on  London  that  Great  Britain  included 
Scotland  and  the  Recruiting  Act  of  27th  February,  I7O9,3  empowered  any 
three  commissioners  of  supply  in  counties  or  magistrates  in  burghs  to  put 
the  Act  in  execution.  Warrants  for  the  search  and  seizure  of  persons 
supposed  to  come  under  the  description  of  the  Act  might  be  issued  by  the 
commissioners,  indeed  for  that  matter  the  Act  gave  the  village  constable, 
and  later  on  the  recruiting  officers  themselves,  power  to  detain  at  their 
own  hand  such  persons  on  suspicion.  However  secured,  they  were  forth- 

1  W.O.  4.  6.  fol.  109.  January,  1708.     Clothing  for  the  army  in  the  hands  of  English  con- 

Ibid.  fol.  no,  24th  January,  1708.  Letter  H.  St.  John,  Secretary  at  War,  to  the  colonels 
of  the  ist,  aist  and  a6th  and  Argyll  regiments,  that  their  clothing  will  be  ready  by  March, 
and  asking  for  an  account  of  the  number  of  recruits. 

Ibid.  fol.  124,  zoth  February,  1708.  The  additions  to  Stair's  Dragoons  (Scots  Greys) 
to  be  armed  and  accoutred  by  the  Board  of  Ordnance. 

W.O.  4.  7.  fol.  315,  nth  September,  1708.  Robert  Walpole,  Secretary  at  War  to  the 
general  officers  of  H.M.  Forces  in  North  Britain,  or,  for  want  of  a  due  number,  to  the  colonels 
of  the  regiments  there  (directed  under  cover  to  the  Earl  of  Leven,  commander-in-chief)  desiring 
them  to  send  sealed  patterns  of  their  clothing  and  accoutrements  to  London. 

1  6  Ann.  cap,  45.  23rd  February,  1708.  Printed  at  length  in  Statutes  of  the  Realm, 
viii.  752. 

1  7  Ann.  cap.  2,  27th  February,  1709.     Statutes  of  the  Realm,  ix.  40. 


ANDREW  ROSS  319 

with  taken  before  a  meeting  of  commissioners,  whose  duty  it  was  to  ascertain 
whether  they  were  such  as  were  intended  by  the  Act  "  to  be  intertained 
as  soldiers  in  her  Majesty's  service."  If  so,  they  were  forthwith  delivered 
to  the  recruiting  officer  in  attendance,  who  read  to  them  in  presence  of  the 
commissioners  the  fourteenth  and  twenty-third  articles  of  war  against 
mutiny  and  desertion,  the  penalty  for  infringement  in  either  case  being 
death.  From  the  moment  of  hearing  the  articles  of  war  read  "  every  per- 
son so  raised  shall  be  deemed  a  listed  soldier  to  all  intents  and  purposes, 
and  shall  be  subject  to  the  discipline  of  war."  1  By  the  Act  of  1710  seamen 
impressed  for  land  service  were  to  be  discharged,2  and  by  the  Act  of  1711 
Sheriff's  concurrents  were  included  in  the  class  of  men  who  might  be  im- 
pressed.3 Under  these  recruiting  Acts  volunteers  received  a  bounty,  and 
were  liable  only  to  serve  for  three  years.  For  the  impressed  man  there 
was  no  such  limitation.  His  service  was  for  life,  and  anywhere,  at  home 
or  abroad,  and  in  the  selection  of  the  corps  in  which  he  was  to  serve 
— English,  Irish  or  Scottish — horse,  foot  or  dragoons — he  had  no  voice. 

The  method  of  recruiting  was  settled  by  a  board  of  general  officers.1 
All  the  regiments  in  Scotland  at  the  date  of  the  union,  namely,  the  two 
troops  of  Life  Guards,  Polwart's  and  Carmichael's  Dragoons,  the  two 
battalions  of  the  Foot  Guards,  the  Edinburgh  regiment  (then  styled  Mait- 
land's),  Grant's  and  Strathnaver's  regiments,5  were  directed  to  recruit 
in  Scotland  in  1708  in  consequence  of  the  losses  sustained  by  the  British 
army  in  Spain  in  1707. 6  For  the  Scots  battalions  on  active  service  in 
Flanders,  the  two  battalions  of  the  Royals,  the  aist,  the  26th,  Argyll's 
regiment,  and  for  the  regiments  of  Maccartney  and  Lord  Mark  Kerr,  which 
had  been  broken  at  Almanza,  another  plan  was  adopted.  To  each  of  the 

1  6  Ann.  cap.  45.  sec.  2.     Statutes  of  the  Realm,  viii.  752.     The  section  prescribing  the 
procedure  before  the  commissioners  is  repeated  in  the  subsequent  statutes. 

On  27th  February,  1708,  Adam  Cardonnel,  Secretary  at  War,  writes  to  the  Queen's  printers 
asking  for  200  copies  of  the  Act  for  distribution  among  the  recruiting  officers.  W.O.  4.  7. 
fol.  4.  Also  W.O.  4.  8.  fol.  4,  2nd  October,  1708,  where  a  similar  request  is  made. 

2  9  Ann.  cap.  4.  sec.  4.     Statutes  of  the  Realm,  ix.  363. 

3  10  Ann.  cap.  12.  sec.  35.     Statutes  of  the  Realm,  ix.  560. 

4  Journals  of  the  House  of  Commons,  vol.  16.  p.  44,  nth  December,  1708.     W.O.  4.  7.  fol. 
53,  30th  March,  1708,  R.  Walpole,  Secretary  at  War,  to  the  Earl  of  Orkney. 

5  Scottish   Treasury   Sederunts,   4th  December,   1705-20^  April,   1708,   in   H.M.   General 
Register  House,  Edinburgh. 

6  W.O.  4.  6.  fol.  1 8,  27th  September,  1707,  Henry  St.  John  to  Sir  David  Nairne,  secretary 
to  the  commander-in-chief  in  Scotland. 


320  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

first  four  were  assigned  the  counties  of  Essex,  Suffolk,  Norfolk  and  Cam- 
bridge as  recruiting  grounds;1  to  Maccartney's,  Northumberland,2  and 
to  Lord  Mark  Kerr's,  Westmorland  and  Durham.2  In  addition,  each  of 
the  Scots  regiments  received  from  English  counties  a  proportion  of  the 
men  impressed  for  service  under  the  recruiting  Acts.  In  this  way  The 
Royals  were  supplied  from  Hampshire,  Middlesex,  Hertford  and  Oxford- 
shire ;  3  the  21  st  from  Middlesex,  Hertford,  Yorkshire  and  Norfolk  ; 4  the 
26th  would  have  no  impressed  men  ;  the  Argylls  were  supplied  from  Middle- 
sex, Somerset  and  London  ; 4  Maccartney's  from  Middlesex  and  North- 
umberland 4  with  the  sweepings  of  York  gaol ; 5  Lord  Mark  Kerr's,  Oxford, 
Yorkshire,  Worcestershire,  Westmorland  and  Durham,4  and  when  these 
sources  failed  his  lordship  was  permitted  to  draw  on  Scotland.8  Any 
superfluity  of  recruits  yielded  by  a  district  were  "  turned  over,"  as  the 
phrase  went,  to  regiments  incomplete,7  the  policy  evidently  being  to  eradi- 
cate not  only  national  but  county  and  local  tradition. 

The  plan  of  allotting  counties  to  regiments  proved  unsatisfactory.  It 
was  very  soon  abandoned,  and  recruiting  officers  were  left  at  liberty  to 
raise  men  for  the  service  in  those  counties  where  they  had  interest.8  Some 
recruits  to  the  Scots  regiments  doubtless  trickled  through  from  the 
abundance  of  pressed  men  in  Scotland.  But  it  is  to  be  observed  that 
from  the  Union  of  1707  to  the  end  of  the  reign  of  George  II.  in  1760,  the 
four  Lowland  line  regiments  were  hardly  ever  permitted  to  visit  their  native 
country.  Only  one  of  the  two  battalions  of  The  Royals  during  that  time 
was  at  home,  and  that  only  for  two  years  from  January,  1746.  The 
others  had  a  similar  experience,  Scotland  being  garrisoned  by  English  corps 

1  Journals  of  the  House  of  Commons,  vol.  16,  p.  44,  nth  December,  1708.  Account  of  what 
counties  were  allotted  to  the  respective  regiments  in  Great  Britain  for  raising  recruits  pursuant 
to  the  last  Act  of  Parliament,  as  settled  by  the  General  Officers  on  the  ist  of  March,  1708. 

"Scottish  Treasury  Sederunts,  4th  December,  1705-20*11  April,  1708,  in  H.M.  General 
Register  House,  Edinburgh. 

3  Ibid.  vol.  16,  p.  43,  nth  December,  1708. 

«  Ibid. 

5  W.O.  4.  7.  fol.  263,  7th  August,  1708.  R.  Walpole  to  Lieut.  White  of  Brigadier  Mac- 
cartney's regiment. 

•  W.O.  4.  8.  fol.  1 08,  nth  February,  1709,  R.  Walpole  to  the  Earl  of  Leven.  Ibid.  fol.  in, 
R.  Walpole  to  Lord  Mark  Kerr. 

'  W.O.  4.  7.  fol.  15,  loth  March,  1708,  R.  Walpole  to  Major-General  Mordaunt. 

8  W.O.  4.  7.  fol.  181,  22nd  June,  1708,  James  Taylor  [apparently  at  this  time  a  chief 
clerk  in  the  war  office]  to  Captain  Myddelton  of  Colonel  Stanwix's  regiment,  and  to  Captain 
Murray  of  Lord  Monjoy's  regiment. 


ANDREW  ROSS  321 

who  recruited  there.  In  1709  the  officers  of  The  Royals  asked  for  per- 
mission to  recruit  in  Scotland  :  x  within  a  week  of  the  request  being 
received  100  recruits  were  sent  to  the  regiment  from  Hertfordshire.2 

Down  to  the  end  of  Queen  Anne's  reign  no  regiments  of  horse  or  foot 
were  raised  in  Scotland.  To  replace  the  two  Scots  regiments  broken  at 
Almanza,  the  senior  lieutenant  and  ensign  of  each  regiment  serving  in 
the  Low  Countries  were  called  on  as  a  nucleus  for  reorganization.  In  this 
way  the  two  battalions  of  the  ist,  and  the  2ist  and  26th  Regiments  were 
called  on.3  Before  1712  one  regiment  of  horse,  eight  regiments  of  dragoons 
and  seven  regiments  of  foot  were  raised  in  England  and  Ireland.  All 
were  swept  away  in  the  general  disbandment  of  1713  at  the  peace  of 
Utrecht.  The  same  year  saw  the  disbandment  of  six  Scots  regiments, 
namely,  Hyndford's  and  Ker's  Dragoons  (the  latter  being  immediately 
re-embodied,  and  are  now  the  7th  Hussars),  Grant's,  Strathnaver's, 
Maccartney's  and  Ker's  battalions  of  infantry. 

In  the  reign  of  George  I.,  1714-27,  material  additions  were  made  to  the 
British  army.  In  1715  twelve  regiments  of  dragoons  and  five  regiments 
of  foot  were  raised  in  England  and  Ireland,  and  one  regiment  of  foot  in 
Scotland,  six  of  the  dragoon  regiments  and  the  six  foot  being  disbanded 
in  1718.  At  the  end  of  that  reign  the  standing  army  of  Great  Britain 
consisted  of  four  troops  of  Horse  Guards,  two  troops  of  Horse  Grenadier 
Guards,  the  Royal  Regiment  of  Horse  Guards  of  nine  troops,  seven  regiments 
of  heavy  cavalry,  fourteen  regiments  of  dragoons,  the  three  regiments  of 
Foot  Guards,  forty-one  regiments  of  foot,  the  4ist  being  Invalids,  twenty- 
five  Independent  Companies  mustering  1300  men,  distributed  in  the  forts 
in  England,  and  six  Independent  Companies  in  the  Highlands.  The  troops 
of  Scottish  origin  in  this  list  who  had  survived  the  successive  disbandments 
of  1698  and  1713  were  the  fourth  troop  of  Horse  Guards,  the  second  troop 
of  Horse  Grenadier  Guards,  the  2nd  and  7th  Dragoons,  the  Scots  Guards, 
the  ist,  2ist,  25th  and  26th  Regiments,  and  the  six  Independent  Com- 
panies, three  of  114  and  three  of  71  men — 555  in  all.  In  addition,  there 
were  permanent  garrisons  of  100  men  each  in  Edinburgh  and  Stirling  Castles, 
50  in  Dumbarton  and  15  in  Blackness.4  The  garrisons  of  Inverlochy  and 

1W.O.  4.  8.  iol.  170,  I  gth  March,  1709.  *  Ibid.  fol.  ist  April,  1709. 

3  W.O.  4.  6.  fol.  80,  25th  December,  1707,  Henry  St.  John  to  the  Earl  of  Orkney  and 
the  other  Scots  colonels. 

4  Manuscript  Army  List,  1728. 


322  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

Inverness  were  furnished  by  the  regiments  cantoned  in  Scotland  for  the 
time. 

In  the  reign  of  George  II.,  1727-60,  the  British  army  was  the  subject 
of  repeated  augmentation  and  reduction,  the  policy  of  1707  being  kept 
steadily  in  view.  In  1737  Oglethorpe's  regiment,  destined  for  service 
in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  was  created  by  the  process  of  "turning 
over  "  to  it  all  the  effective  privates  of  the  Edinburgh  regiment,  the  25th 
Foot,  then  stationed  at  Gibraltar,  the  officers  and  non-commissioned  officers 
being  sent  to  Ireland  to  raise  their  regiment  afresh.1  On  25th  October, 
1739,  the  Independent  Companies  of  the  Black  Watch,  originally  formed 
by  John  Earl  of  Atholl  in  1662,  were  formed  into  a  regiment  and  became 
43rd  in  order  of  precedence.  On  the  disbandment  of  Oglethorpe's  in  1749 
the  Black  Watch  became  the  42nd.2  In  1739  ten  regiments  of  marines 
were  formed,  and  received  the  precedence  of  44th  to  53rd  inclusive.3 
In  1741  seven  regiments  were  raised,  the  precedence  being  from  54th  to 
6oth  inclusive.4  In  1748  the  ten  regiments  of  marines  were  reduced,  and 
the  regiments  54th  to  5gth  took  precedence  as  43rd  to  48th  inclusive,  the 
6oth  being  disbanded  in  that  year.5  A  regiment  raised  as  Trelawney's  in 
1743  ranked  in  1751  as  the  4gth  regiment.5  In  1754  Shirley's  American 
Provincials  and  Pepperill's  Cape  Breton  regiment  were  numbered  the  5oth 
and  5ist.5  In  the  winter  of  1755-56  eleven  regiments  were  raised,  numbered 
52nd  to  62nd  inclusive.  On  the  disbandment  of  Shirley's  and  Pepperill's 
in  1757  they  became  the  50th  to  the  6oth  inclusive.6  In  1756  the  3rd, 
4th,  8th,  nth,  i2th,  igth,  20th,  23rd,  24th,  3ist,  32r;a,'  33rd,  34th,  36th 
and  37th  regiments  of  the  line  raised  second  battalions.  Two  years  later 
these  battalions  were  constituted  distinct  regiments  and  numbered  6ist 
to  75th.7  The  tale  may  be  completed  to  the  end  of  the  Seven  Years'  war 
in  1763.  There  were  then  one  hundred  and  nineteen  regiments  of  foot 

1  Captain  Higgins's  Records  of  the  King's  Own  Borderers  or  Old  Edinburgh  Regiment,  1873, 
P-  34- 

»  Major-General  David  Stewart  of  Garth's  Sketches  of  the  Highland  Clans  and  Regiments, 
1st  ed.  vol.  i.  pp.  229,  274.  Cannon's  Historical  Record  of  the  $ist  Foot,  2nd  pagination. 
History  of  the  Marine  Corps,  p.  50  and  note. 

*  Ibid.  p.  51.  'Ibid.  p.  52- 

6  Ibid.  p.  52.     Cannon's  Historical  Record  of  the  46th,  p.  10. 

•  Historical  Record  of  the  315*  Foot,  second  pagination,  p.  53.     Cannon's  Historical  Record 
of  the  53rd,  p.  I. 

7  Historical  Record  of  the  3is<  Foot,  second  pagination,  p.  53.     Cannon's  Historical  Record 
of  the  (>?th  Foot. 


ANDREW  ROSS  323 

in  addition  to  one  or  two  unnumbered  corps  and  the  Invalids.1  At  the 
peace  of  Fontainebleau,  loth  February,  1763,  which  ended  the  Seven  Years' 
war,  the  7ist  and  all  regiments  beyond  that  number  were  disbanded. 

It  is  not  possible  to  ascertain  the  proportion  of  Scotsmen  in  the  regiments 
of  Marines  formed  in  1739.  Of  the  seven  regiments  raised  in  1741,  one, 
the  58th,  known  later  as  the  47th  Lancashire,  and  now  the  ist  battalion 
of  the  Royal  North  Lancashire  regiment,  was  raised  in  Scotland  by  Colonel 
Mordaunt.2  The  57th  regiment,  later  known  as  the  55th  Westmorland, 
and  now  the  2nd  battalion  the  Border  Regiment,  was  raised  at  Stirling 
in  January,  1756,  by  Colonel  George  Perry.3 

From  the  fifteen  old  line  regiments  ordered  in  that  year  to  raise  second 
battalions,  the  Scots,  it  will  be  observed,  are  excluded,  although  The  Royals 
was  at  that  time  the  only  one  which  had  a  second  battalion,  and  the  26th 
happened  to  be  then  in  Scotland.4  When,  two  years  later,  these  second 
battalions  were  disjoined  and  appeared  in  the  Army  List  as  separate  corps 
they  were  all  reckoned  as  English  regiments.  The  hardship  in  the  case 
was  that,  while  the  new  battalions  were  being  formed  and  completed, 
1756-58,  an  unusual  number  of  depleted  English  regiments  were  sent  to 
Scotland  to  recruit.  Three  of  them  were  the  igth,  3ist  and  32nd,  the  last- 
named  corps,  which  was  in  Scotland  for  seven  years,  being  employed  in  the 
construction  of  the  High  Road  from  Portpatrick  to  Carlisle.5  The  second 
battalions  of  these  regiments  were  raised  in  Scotland. 

The  2nd  battalion  of  the  igth  became  the  66th  Foot.  Its  historian, 
Colonel  Percy  Groves,  writes  :  "Of  the  early  history  of  the  66th  but  little 
is  known,  owing  to  the  loss  or  destruction  of  the  regimental  records  at  the 
evacuation  of  Port-au-Prince  in  1797."  6  The  compiler  of  Short  Histories 
of  the  Territorial  Regiments  of  the  British  Army,  says  it  was  raised  in  1730, 
an  impossible  date.7  The  time  and  place  of  raising  is  fixed  by  the  corre- 

1  The  numbers  in  the  text  are  those  noted  in  W.O.  2.  33.  Mr.  Fortescue,  ii.  581,  says  the 
numbered  corps  in  1763  totalled  124. 

-  Short  Histories  of  the  Territorial  Regiments  of  the  British  Army,  edited  by  R.  de  M.  Rudolf, 
I.S.O.  of  the  War  Office.  H.M.  Stationery  Office. 

3  Sergeant  Noakes's  Historical  Account  of  the  34^  and  55^  Regiments. 

1  The  26th  returned  to  Scotland  in  1754  and  left  in  May,  1757.  Carter's  Record  of  the  z6th 
Foot,  p.  83. 

s  W.O.  i.  615. 

6  The  66th  Berkshire  Regiment,  Reading,  1887,  p.  2. 

'  Op.  cit.  No.  47.     The  error  is  repeated  in  the  revised  version. 


324  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

spondence  between  Lieut.-General  Lord  George  Beauclerk,  commanding- 
in-chief  in  Scotland,  and  Viscount  Barrington,  Secretary  at  War,  which 
fixes  Scotland  as  the  kingdom  where  it  was  raised.1  It  is  now  the  2nd 
battalion  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  of  Wales's  (Royal  Berkshire  Regiment). 

The  2nd  battalion  of  the  3ist  Foot,  late  7oth,  now  2nd  battalion  of 
the  East  Surrey  regiment,  remained  so  thoroughly  Scottish  for  a  long 
time  after  it  was  raised  that  it  was  known  as  "  The  Glasgow  Greys,"  its 
facings  being  light  grey.  It  was  appropriated  in  1782  to  the  county  of 
Surrey  under  the  new  territorial  scheme  of  that  year.  It  was  recaptured 
by  Glasgow  in  1812,  and  given  the  title  of  "  The  Glasgow  Lowland  Regiment." 
It  was  finally  restored  to  Surrey  in  1825, 2  and  is  now  the  2nd  battalion  of 
the  East  Surrey  Regiment. 

The  2nd  battalion  of  the  32nd  became  the  7ist.  It  included  a  large 
number  of  Highlanders,  who,  having  been  convicted  under  the  Disarming 
Acts  of  the  crime  of  wearing  the  kilt,  were  condemned  to  wear  breeks  in 
his  Majesty's  7ist.3  The  regiment  was  still  in  Scotland  at  the  expiry  of 
the  five  years,  during  which  the  men  were  bound  to  serve  in  terms  of  the 
statute.  When  they  applied  for  their  discharge  it  was  refused.  On  the 
evening  of  the  same  day  the  men  piled  their  arms,  clothing  and  accoutre- 
ments at  their  colonel's  door  and  took  to  the  hills.  A  pretty  storm  arose, 
but  the  colonel  being  clearly  in  error  as  to  his  powers,  no  action  followed.4 

At  the  time  the  old  battalions  of  the  igth,  3ist  and  32nd  were  being 
recruited  and  the  new  battalions  completed,  Edinburgh  Castle  was  unable 
to  provide  accommodation  for  the  impressed  men  who  came  pouring  in. 
Three  hundred  and  thirty  were  sent  to  complete  Bockland's  battalion,  the 

1  W.O.  I.  613.  [This  volume  is  made  up  of  original  letters  and  papers  and  has  no  pagina- 
tion.] Letter  2gth  January,  1757,  from  Lord  George  Beauclerk,  commander-in-chief  in  Scot- 
land, to  Viscount  Barrington,  Secretary  at  War,  with  a  return  (not  preserved  in  the  volume) 
of  the  impressed  men  and  volunteers  who  are  coming  in,  and  stating  that  he  was  obliged  to 
send  oft  130  men  last  Monday  to  Morpeth,  as  there  was  no  room  for  them  in  Edinburgh  Castle, 
being  the  men  furnished  by  the  counties  for  the  2nd  battalions  of  the  igth,  3ist  and  32nd 
regiments.  The  Secretary  in  reply  says  that  the  Duke  [Cumberland]  is  pleased  with  his 
success,  and  should  the  men  continue  to  come  in  in  such  numbers  as  to  over-complete  the 
new  battalions  in  Scotland,  the  supernumeraries  are  to  be  handed  over  to  help  Bockland's 
at  York.  On  I2th  April,  1757,  Lord  George  Beauclerk  writes  to  Viscount  Barrington  that 
he  has  turned  over  the  supernumeraries  now  with  the  32nd,  to  the  igth  and  3ist  regiments. 

1  Cannon's  Historical  Record  of  the  joth  Foot.  Trimen's  Regiments  of  the  British  Army, 
70th  Foot. 

1  Recruiting  Act  of  1756-57,  30  Geo.  II.  cap.  8.  Printed  at  length  in  British  Acts  of 
Parliament,  black  letter.  By  this  Act  impressed  men  were  entitled  to  their  discharge  at  the 
end  of  five  years  if  they  asked  it. 

«  W.O.  i.  615.     Edinburgh,  I4th  January,  1762. 


ANDREW  ROSS  325 

nth  Foot,  a  Devonshire  regiment  then  stationed  at  York.1  In  March, 
1757,  no  vacancies  for  the  men  from  Caithness  and  Sutherland  and  the 
Isles  of  Orkney  and  Skye  could  be  found  in  the  line  regiments  then  serv- 
ing in  Scotland.  Bockland's  being  full  by  that  time,  these  men  were  sent 
to  Gibraltar  and  enrolled  in  Lord  Robert  Bertie's  regiment,  the  7th  Royal 
Fusiliers,  a  city  of  London  regiment.2  At  the  same  time  the  supernum- 
eraries of  Montgomery's  and  Fraser's  Highlanders  were  sent  to  reinforce 
Colonel  Ross's  regiment,  the  38th  Staffordshire,  in  Antigua.3  Desertion 
was  uncommon  in  Scotland.  On  20th  August,  1760,  Lieut. -General  Beau- 
clerk,  in  pleading  for  the  life  of  a  man  who  had  been  found  guilty  of  that 
offence  and  condemned  to  death  by  court-martial,  writes  :  "As  there  are 
but  few  deserters  from  the  troops  in  these  parts,  there  is  the  less  reason 
for  an  execution  by  way  of  example  in  terror  em."  The  case  was  laid  before 
George  II.,  who  insisted  on  the  sentence  being  carried  out.4 

Evidence  of  the  extent  to  which  the  army  was  recruited  in  Scotland 
in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  contained  in  a  report  from  Lieut. - 
General  Edward  Pole  made  in  September,  1759,  on  the  provisions  laid  in 
by  the  government  contractor  at  Fort  George,  who  wrote  :  "  That  sort 
of  provision  (bacon)  is  the  least  proper  of  any  for  that  place.  The  com- 
mon people  of  this  country  (of  which  the  regiments  at  present  in  Scotland 
are  chiefly  composed)  having  an  antipathy  to  hog's  flesh,  insomuch  that 
many  of  them  will  not  taste  it  on  any  account."  5  On  2oth  October,  1759, 
Lieut.-General  Lord  George  Beauclerk  sends  to  Viscount  Barrington,  Secre- 
tary at  War,  a  return  of  the  men  raised  in  North  Britain  to  recruit  his 
Majesty's  forces  in  Germany.  The  return  is  not  available.6  The  Scots 
Magazine  for  the  month  states  the  numbers  at  20,000. 7 

1  W.O.  I.  613,  29  January,  1757,  Lord  George  Beauclerk  to  Vis.  Barrington. 

February,      ,,     Viscount  Barrington  to  Lord  George  Beauclerk. 
12        ,,  ,,     Beauclerk  to  Barrington. 

5  March,  „     Beauclerk  to  Barrington.     That  he  has  sent  another  150 

men  to  Bockland's,  and  expects  to  send  50  more. 

1  W.O.  I.  613,  Lord  George  Beauclerk  to  Viscount  Barrington,  and  reply,  March-April, 

1757- 


3  W.O. 

•W.O. 

2oth  Augus 

5  W.O. 

•W.O. 


613,  6th  May,  1657. 

614,    Lieut.-General    Beauclerk   to    Viscount   Barrington.     Dated    Edinburgh, 
1760. 

614.  Edinburgh,  25th  September,  1759.     This  volume  has  no  pagination. 
614.     Edinburgh,  2oth  October,  1759. 


Scots  Magazine,  October,  1759,  p.  559. 


326  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how,  under  such  a  system,  while  the  Lowland 
regiments  of  the  line  remain  to-day  at  the  number  they  were  in  1707,  the 
English  regiments  came  in  process  of  time  to  double,  treble  and  quadruple 
their  numbers.  How  inequitably  Scotland  was  treated  throughout  is  illus- 
trated by  the  fate  of  the  Edinburgh  regiment,  otherwise  the  I7th  Light 
Dragoons,  raised  by  Lord  Aberdour.  It  commenced  to  recruit  in  October, 
1755,1  was  embodied  3ist  January,  1760,  was  recruited  in  Scotland,  armed, 
clothed  and  equipped  from  London,  and  horsed  from  Northumberland.2 
It  was  reviewed  by  Lord  George  Beauclerk  at  Dalkeith  on  loth  March  that 
year,  two  captains,  two  lieutenants,  two  cornets,  two  quartermasters,  four 
sergeants,  four  corporals,  four  drums  and  one  hundred  men.  The  men 
were  reported  as  exceptionally  fit,  and  the  horses  low  in  flesh  owing  to  the 
long  march  from  England.3  The  city  of  Edinburgh,  the  burgh  of  An- 
struther,  the  provost  and  magistrates  of  Dundee  and  the  free  and  accepted 
lodge  of  St.  David's,  Dundee,  all  offered  bounties  to  those  Scotsmen  who 
would  join  the  new  regiment,4  with  the  result  that  it  was  complete  by  3oth 
January,  I76o.5  On  the  day  of  the  review  the  regiment  was  in  excess 
of  its  establishment,  and  a  number  of  men  were  "  turned  over  "  without 
compunction  to  the  cavalry  regiments  then  in  Scotland  waiting  to  complete.6 
The  regiment  was  trained  on  the  North  Inch  of  Perth.7  In  March,  1762,  it 
furnished  a  draft  of  fifty  men  for  Germany.8  It  was  disbanded  at  Perth  on 
i8th  February,  I763,9  although  two  junior  regiments,  the  i8th  and  igth 
Light  Dragoons,  were  retained  on  the  establishment.10 

To  return  to  the  foot  regiments  of  the  period.  The  85th,  Colonel  the 
Hon.  John  Craufurd's  regiment  of  Royal  Volunteers,  was  chiefly  recruited 
in  Scotland,  although  not  one  in  ten  of  the  officers  were  Scotsmen.11  In 
October,  1759,  the  city  of  Edinburgh  offered  a  bounty  of  £2  2s.  to 
volunteers  who  joined  the  corps.12  It  served  in  Germany  and  was  dis- 
banded in  I763.13 

I  Scots  Magazine,  October,  1759,  p.  559.  2  W.O.  I.  614,  3ist  January,  1760. 
3  Ibid.  1 5th  March,  1760. 

*  Caledonian  Mercury,  2nd  and  7th  January,  1760. 

«  Ibid,  soth  January,  1760.  •  W.O.  i.  614,  i$th  March,  1760. 

•>  Caledonian  Mercury.  4th  June,  1760.  •  W.O.  2.  33.  fol.  29. 

•  Caledonian  Mercury,  23rd  February,  1763.  10Hinde's  Light  Dragoons,  pp.  143-46. 

II  Army  List,  1760.  "  Caledonian  Mercury,  3rd  October,  1759. 
"  W.O.  2.  32.  fol.  206. 


ANDREW  ROSS  327 

The  io8th  regiment  (Lieut.-Colonel  Patrick  M'Douall's),  of  ten  companies, 
was  ordered  to  be  raised  on  ijth  October,  1761.  Its  nucleus  was  nine 
men  and  a  drum  on  loan  from  the  3ist  Foot.1  Recruiting  for  the  corps  in 
the  Highlands  was  forbidden,  proceeding  nevertheless  so  rapidly  in  other 
parts  that  on  25th  December,  1761,  it  was  placed  on  the  establishment.2  It 
served  in  Ireland,  but  before  leaving  its  native  country  returned  to  the 
3ist  the  borrowed  drum  and  nine  men.3  In  March,  1762,  it  furnished  a 
draft  of  100  men  for  the  East  Indies  and  150  for  Germany,  and  in  March, 
1762,  further  drafts  for  India  and  Germany.  Disbanded  1763.* 

In  1761  the  logth  regiment,  Major  John  Nairne's  corps  of  seven  com- 
panies, was  ordered  to  be  raised.  It  is  stated  in  A  Military  History  of 
Perthshire,  1904,  p.  67,  that  the  corps  was  chiefly  raised  in  Hertfordshire 
and  Middlesex.  That  it  was  partly  at  least  recruited  in  Scotland  is  to 
be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  recruiting  for  the  corps  in  the  Highlands 
was  forbidden.5  Similar  restrictions  were  placed  on  the  io6th,  I07th,  noth, 
mth  and  H3th  regiments,6  but  they  were  at  liberty  to  draw  what  men 
they  could  from  the  Lowlands. 

The  case  of  the  H3th  regiment,  Major  James   Hamilton's,  is  a  little  n3th  Foot, 
puzzling.     Shortly  after  its  formation  in  October,  1761,  it  received  the  Highlanders, 
title  of  "  The  Royal  Highlanders,"  but  in  November  following  recruiting 
in  the  Highlands  for  the  corps  was  forbidden.     It  sent  repeated  drafts 
to  Germany  and  it  served  at  Belleisle.     Disbanded  April,  1763. 7 

On  26th  October,  1761,  the  usth  regiment,  Major  John  Walkingshaw  mth  Foot, 
Craufurd's  corps   of  six,   afterwards  increased  to  seven  companies,   was  Scotch 
authorised  to  be  raised,  with  its  headquarters  at  Paisley.8     Its  nucleus  Lov 
was  six  men  and  a  drum  furnished  by  the  7ist.9    In  November  it  received 
the  title  of  "  The  Royal  Scotch  Lowlanders."     It  was  called  upon  in  the 
following  year  to  furnish  a  draft  of  ijp  men  to  Belleisle  and  100  men  to 
Portugal.     In  1762  it  furnished  a  draft  to  the  3ist,  then  in  Scotland.10    It 

1  W.O.  2.  33.  fol.  148.  »  Ibid. 

3  W.O.  2.  33.  fol.  148.  *  Ibid. 

5  W.O.  2.  33.  fol.  152.  «  Ibid.  fols.  149,  150,  152,  153,  157. 


7  W.O. 

1 3th  ;    bt 
Scottish 


W.O. 

»w.o. 


33.  fol.  157.  There  are  very  few  Scottish  names  in  the  list  of  officers  of  the 
every  one  of  the  officers  of  the  H4th  Foot  or  Royal  Highland  Volunteers  bore 
the  Army  List  of  1763.  The  regiment  was  commanded  by  Major  Allan 


M'Lean  ;   t  ere  were  5  captains,  a  captain-lieutenant,  12  lieutenants  and  5  ensigns 


615.  •  W.O.  2.  33.  fol.  156. 

.  615,  23rd  April.  1762. 


328  SCOTTISH  REGIMENTS  DISBANDED 

was  reduced  to  70  men  per  company  in  October,  1762,  and  disbanded  at 
Paisley  in  March,  I763.1 

The  next  material  increase  in  the  numbers  of  the  British  army  took 
place  in  the  reign  of  George  III.  The  occasion  was  the  outbreak  of  the 
American  war  of  independence.  The  invectives  of  Pitt  against  the  em- 
ployment of  foreign  troops  in  the  British  service  were  just.  There  were 
the  Hanoverian,  Brunswick  and  Anhalt-Zerbst  corps,  the  foot  and  artillery 
regiments  of  Waldeck,  and  the  horse,  foot  and  artillery  of  Hesse,  Hanau, 
and  Anspach.2  The  policy  of  the  war  minister  to  hire  foreign  troops  rather 
than  raise  the  king's  own  subjects  was  nowhere  so  bitterly  resented  as  in 
Scotland.  Yet  the  English  members  of  parliament  flouted  the  idea  of 
raising  even  a  militia  there,  except  as  a  feeder  to  the  English  regiments 
of  the  line.3  The  progress  of  the  war  compelled  them  to  alter  their  views ' 
to  some  extent.  The  great  cities  of  the  three  kingdoms  were  each  invited 
to  raise  a  corps.  Four  took  advantage  of  the  offer,  and  two  of  the  four  were 
Edinburgh  and  Glasgow.  On  5th  January,  1778,  authority  was  given 
soth  Foot,  to  raise  the  8oth  Royal  Edinburgh  Volunteers  of  1000  men,4  which  came 
Edinburgh  on  the  establishment  from  the  I7th  of  that  month.5  The  lieut.-colonel 
commanding  was  Sir  William  Erskine  of  Torrie,  and  the  major  Henry 
Dundas  of  Fingask.  Many  regiments  at  that  time  refused  to  admit  Irish 
to  their  ranks.  In  1745  the  Coldstream  Guards  refused  to  admit  Scots.8 
The  pet  aversion  of  the  8oth  were  Englishmen,  none  of  whom  were  permitted 
to  enrol.7  In  1779  the  regiment  embarked  for  New  York.8  It  served  in 
the  war  with  the  revolted  colonies,9  and  was  disbanded  in  1783 .10 
Fo^t83Ro  ai  The  Glas£°w  regiment  was  the  Sard  or  Loyal  Glasgow  Volunteers.  Like 
Glasgow  the  8oth,  it  declined  Englishmen,11  the  officers  protesting  against  being 
compelled  to  admit  English  recruits  in  their  ranks.11  It  was  placed  on  the 
new  establishment  in  1778."  It  served  in  America  and  the  Channel  Islands 
and  was  disbanded  J-783.12 

1  w.o.  2.  33.  foi.  156.  » w.o.  2.  34.  foi.  193-94. 

»  Edinburgh  Evening  Courant,  isth  June,  1782. 

4  Records  of  the  Town  Council  of  Edinburgh,  vol.  96,  p.  91. 

•  W.O.  2.  34.  foi.  239.  •  Mackinnon's  Coldstream  Guards,  ii.  341. 

7  W.O.  2.  34.  foi.  239.  «  W.O. 

»  Fortescue,  iii.  286.  10  Grant's  Old  and  New  Edinburgh,  i.  63,  note. 

"  W.O.  2  34.  foi.  241 .  »  W.O.  2.  35.  foL  231. 


ANDREW  ROSS  329 

Between  the  two  city  regiments  comes  the  Sand,  or  Duke  of  Hamilton's  J^,82^ 
regiment,  raised  in  1778  chiefly  in  the  county  of  Lanark.  It  served  in  North  Hamilton's. 
America  from  1779  *  and  was  disbanded  in  1784. 

Another  marked  increase  in  the  number  of  British  regiments  took  place 
at  the  time  of  the  French  Revolution.  It  is  not  possible  to  give  even  the 
briefest  reference  to  them.  The  light  cavalry  regiments  ran  up  to  at  least 
32  and  the  foot  to  135, 2  besides  a  large  number  of  corps  known  by  their 
commander's  names,  and  of  independent  troops  and  companies.  Many  of 
them  had  only  a  few  months  of  existence.  The  former  policy  regarding 
the  Lowland  line  regiments  was  modified,  in  that  they  were  occasionally 
permitted,  especially  towards  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
to  visit  Scotland  and  recruit,  with  the  result  that  they  resumed  their  national 
character.  This  was  the  case  with  the  old  Edinburgh  regiment,  which 
had  been  assigned  to  the  county  of  Sussex  in  1782,  and  was  called  the 
Sussex  regiment  down  to  1805,  when  it  obtained  the  title  of  the  King's  Own 
Borderers.3  The  case  of  the  94th  regiment,  representing  the  old  Scots  brigade, 
has  been  already  noticed.  In  1824  the  ggth  Lanarkshire  was  raised  and 
carried  its  county  title  up  to  i874-4  It  is  now  the  2nd  battalion  of  the 
Wiltshire  regiment. 

Justice  remains  to  be  done  to  the  recruiting  capacity  of  the  Lowlands 
of  Scotland.  It  is  too  late  in  the  day  to  suggest  the  establishment  of  new 
units.  Each  of  the  four  great  Lowland  regiments  ought  to  be  allowed  to 
form  additional  regular  battalions,  the  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers  being 
withdrawn  in  the  course  of  the  process,  from  the  half-way  house,  where  they 
at  present  halt,  to  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  where  the  regiment  sprang  into 
existence  on  the  i8th  of  March,  i68g.5 

1  Fortescue,  iii.  288. 

2  List  of  War  Office  Records  in  the  Public  Record  Office,  Chancery  Lane,  vol.  i.  p.  47. 

3  Higgins.  •  Trimen,  p.  144. 

5  It  is  to  be  feared  that  profound  dissatisfaction  would  be  caused  throughout  the  Scottish 
Borders  by  such  a  policy.  After  the  land  from  Roxburghshire  on  the  east  to  Galloway  on  the 
west  has  been  drained  of  the  flower  of  its  manhood  to  fill  the  ranks  of  the  old  and  new  battalions 
of  the  K.O.S.B.,  we  should  justly  resent  the  severing  of  a  bond  which  the  great  war  has  surely 


VIII 
REGIMENTAL   MUSIC 

READERS  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Alexander  W.  Inglis,  who  has  applied  much  research  to 
old  Scots  music,  for  the  recovery  of  many  of  the  following  regimental  marches.  His 
initials  are  subscribed  to  the  notes  relating  to  them. — ED. 

2ND   DRAGOONS   (ROYAL  SCOTS   GREYS). 
THE  GREY  HORSE  MARCH. 

This  march  is  contained  in  a  MS.  music  book  of  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century  now  in  my  possession.  It  belonged  formerly  to  Charles  Kirkpatrick  Sharpe  of 
Hoddam.  A.  W.  I. 


pug 


JriJ/JJrlJJJJB 


THE   ROYAL   SCOTS   (LOTHIAN   REGIMENT). 

(i)    The  oldest  known  version  of  "  Dumbarton's  Drums."     From  the  Skene  MS.. 
No.  49  (about  1630). 

"I   SERVE  A   WORTHIE  LADIE." 


332  REGIMENTAL  MUSIC 

(2)  DUMBARTON'S   DRUMS. 

The  Quickstep  of  the  Royal  Scots. 

March  time,  strongly  accentuated. 


of     my  dear  John  -  ny,       O,      How       hap  -  py   am   I        when  my 


sol  -  dier  is   by,  While  he      kiss  -    es  and  bless  -  es     his 


U      I      I 


I 


Tis 


sol  -  dier    a  -   lone        can    de  -    light      me, 


For  his 


£ 


grace  -   ful   looks  do  in 


O;    While  guard-ed  in  his  arms,        ill 


=^=± 


3=£ 


fear  no  war's  a-  larms,Nei-ther    dan  -  ger  nor  death  shall  e'er  fright  me,     O. 

My  love  is  a  handsome  laddie,  O, 
Genteel,  but  ne'er  foppish  nor  gaudy,  O. 

Though  commissions  are  dear, 

Yet  I'll  buy  him  one  this  year, 
For  he  shall  serve  no  longer  a  cadie,  O. 
A  soldier  has  honour  and  bravery,  O  ; 
Unacquainted  with  rogues  and  their  knavery,  O, 

He  minds  no  other  thing 

But  the  ladies  or  the  King  ; 
For  every  other  care  is  but  slavery,  O. 

Then  I'll  be  the  captain's  lady,  O, 
Farewell  all  my  friends  and  my  daddy,  O  ; 

I'll  wait  no  more  at  home, 

But  I'll  follow  with  the  drum, 
And  whene'er  that  beats  I'll  be  ready,  O. 
Dumbarton's  drums  sound  bonny,  O, 
They  are  sprightly  like  my  dear  Johnny,  O  : 

How  happy  shall  I  be 

When  on  my  soldier's  knee, 
And  he  kisses  and  blesses  his  Annie,  O  ! 

(From  "  The  Teatable  Miscellany"  a  collection  of  Old  Scots  Songs  made  by  Allan  Ramsay  in  77?, 


REGIMENTAL  MUSIC 

(3)  THE   MARCH   SET  FOR   THE  PIANO. 


333 


THE    ROYAL   SCOTS   FUSILIERS. 

(i)  THE  SHERIFF'S   MARCH. 

An  old  quickstep  of  the  zist  Fusiliers,  being  the  tune  known  as  "The  rock  and 
the  wee  pickle  tow."  It  was  called  "  The  Sheriffs  March  "  after  Sir  Andrew  Agnew  of 
Lochnaw,  who  served  twenty-eight  years  in  the  regiment  (1718-1746),  and  commanded 
it  for  six  years. 

Lively. 


334 


REGIMENTAL  MUSIC 


deed  -in      was    thin,  And 


poor      tith.ye     ken,m&deme 


dent     to       spin,      'Twas 


w 


The  mornin's  was  cauld  and  the  keen  frost  and  snaw 

Were  blawin',  I  mind  the  beginnin'  o't, 
When  ye  gae'd  to  wark,  be  it  frost  or  be  it  thaw, 

My  task  was  na  less  at  the  spinnin'  o't. 
But  now  we've  a  pantry,  baith  mickle  and  fu" 
O'  ilka  thing  gude  for  to  gang  to  the  mou', 
A  barrel  o'  ale,  wi'  some  maut  for  to  brew, 

To  make  us  forget  the  beginnin  o't. 

And  when  winter  comes  back  wi'  the  snell  hail  and  rain 

Nae  mair  I  sit  doun  to  the  spinnin'  o't, 
Nor  you  gang  to  toil  in  the  cauld  fields  again, 

As  little  think  o'  the  beginnin'  o't. 


REGIMENTAL  MUSIC  335 

O'  sheep  wi'  hae  scores,  and  o'  kye  twenty-five, 
Far  less  wi'  hae  seen  wad  made  us  fu'  blyth, 
But  thrift  and  industry  mak  puir  folk  to  thrive, 
A  clear  proof  o'  that  is  the  spinnin'  o't. 

Although  at  our  marriage  our  stock  was  but  sma', 

And  heartless  and  hard  the  beginnin'  o't, 
When  ye  was  engaged  the  owsen  to  ca', 

And  first  my  young  skill  tried  the  spinnin'  o't  ; 
But  noo  we  can  dress  in  oor  plaidies  sa  sma' 
Fu'  neat  and  fu'  clean  gang  to  kirk  or  to  ha', 
And  look  aye  sae  blythe  as  the  best  o'  them  a', 

Sic  luck  has  been  at  the  beginnin'  o't. 

(2)  "THE  SCOTS   FUSILIERS." 

I  found  this  tune  in  the  British  Museum  [Add.  MSS.  29371  f.  63—  (271)],  where  it 
is  simply  named  the  "Scots  Fusiliers."  It  apparently  belongs  to  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  is  suitable  either  for  a  slow  or  a  quick  march,  as  it  sounds  quite  well  played 
either  fast  or  slow.  A.  W.  I. 


f=F=ff 


. 
*'  * 


(3)    Quickstep  of  the  2ist  Regiment  of  Foot:  date  about  the  latter  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     I  have  no  knowledge  of  its  history  or  composer.  A.  W.  I. 


m 


•» — j 


(4)  MARCH   OF  THE   ZIST   REGIMENT   OF   FOOT. 

This  is  a  slow  march  in  its  first  movement,  and  in  the  second  movement  (marked 
allegretto)  is  a  quickstep  formed  from  an  old  tune  named  in  the  eighteenth  century 
This  is  no  my  ain  house,  but  is  now  entitled  This  is  no  my  ain  lassie,  in  consequence  of 


336 


REGIMENTAL  MUSIC 


Burns  having  written  a  song  with  that  refrain.  It  was  the  regimental  march  of  the  old 
Ayrshire  Militia,  the  title  of  which  was  altered  in  1860  to  "The  Royal  Ayrshire 
Regiment  of  Militia  Rifles,"  and  in  1866  to  "The  Prince  Regent's  Royal  Regiment 
of  Ayr  and  Wigtown  Militia."  In  1881,  however,  when  the  regiment  was  reorganised 
as  the  4th  Battalion  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers,  it  had  to  adopt  the  British  Grenadiers, 
which  is  assigned  as  the  quickstep  of  all  Fusilier  regiments.  It  is  interesting  to  find 
This  is  no  my  ain  lassie  as  the  second  movement  in  an  old  march  of  the  Scots  Fusiliers 
published  by  Stewart  &  Co.,  Edinburgh,  between  the  years  1788  and  1792. 

I  find  that  the  opening  bars  of  the  second  strain  of  the  allegretto  movement  differ 
from  the  usual  versions  of  the  air  of  This  is  no  my  ain  house.  They  have  been 
borrowed  from  a  variation  of  the  melody  introduced  by  James  Oswald  in  Book  xi.  of 
his  Caledonian  Pocket  Companion,  published  about  1759. 

The  third  movement  is  a  tune  which  I  do  not  know,  and  it  does  not  seem  to  be  of 
much  interest.  A.  W.  I. 


REGIMENTAL  MUSIC 


337 


Allegretto. 


3=^ 


Allegretto. 


338 


REGIMENTAL  MUSIC 


THE  KING'S   OWN  SCOTTISH   BORDERERS. 

(i)   Lord  George  H.  Lennox  held  the  colonelcy  of  the  25th  (Edinburgh)  Regi- 
ment of  Foot  from  December,  1762,  till  his  death  in  1805.  A.  W.  I. 

LORD  GEORGE  LENNOX'S  MARCH. 


ir  r 


(2)   A  quickstep  of  the  25th  Regiment  of  Foot,  belonging  to  the  last  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     I  do  not  know  who  composed  it.  A.  W.  I. 


(3)   A  quickstep  of  the  same  period  as  No.  i.     Composer  unknown.      A.  W.  I. 


REGIMENTAL  MUSIC 


339 


(4)   A  slow  march  of  the  2  5th  Regiment  of  about  the  same  date  as  Nos.  2  and  3. 
Composer  unknown.  A.  W.  I. 


The  quickstep  of  the  old  Scottish  Borderers  Militia,  now  the  3rd  Battalion  of  the 
K.O.S.B.,  used  to  be  that  spirited  air  "  Blue  bonnets  over  the  Border."— ED. 


THE   CAMERONIANS   (SCOTTISH   RIFLES). 

I  have  found  only  one  march,  slow  or  quick,  belonging  to  the  26th  Regiment  of 
Foot.  It  dates  from  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.  I  do  not  know 
whether  the  Cameronian  Regiment  ever  played  as  a  regimental  march  the  seventeenth- 
century  Cameronian  March,  sometimes  called  Rant  or  Reel.  For  some  time  past  their 
regimental  march  has  been  that  English  burlesque  of  a  Scots  tune,  Within  a  mile  of 
Edinburgh  town,  but  it  is  not  known  why  this  was  adopted.  A.  W.  I. 

MARCH   OF  THE  26™   REGIMENT   OF   FOOT. 


JH. 


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