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Scottish Soldiers in Colonial America, circa 1745-1770 Fraser's Highlanders 78th of Foot Without estate, money or influence, this man, in a few short weeks, raised a body of 800 men, all recruited by himself. The gentlemen of the country and the officers of this regiment raised an additional 700 men making in all 1,460 enlisted men, 65 sergeants, and 30 pipers and drummers. This was by all accounts a superior body of fighting men. The uniform was the full Highland dress, with musket and broad sword, to which many of the soldiers added , at their own expense, a dirk and a purse of badger or otter skin. The bonnet was raised or cocked on one side, with a slight bend inclining down to the right ear over which were suspended two or more black feathers. Eagle’s or hawk’s feathers were usually worn by the gentlemen in the Highlands. The regiment was quickly marched to Greenock, where it embarked, in company with Montgomerie’s Highlanders, and landed at Halifax in June 1757. In this station it remained until it formed a junction with the expedition against Louisbourg. The regiment was quartered alternately in Canada and Nova Scotia till the conclusion of the war. A number of the officers and men settled in North America after the war, by their own request, and received a grant of land. The remainder were sent home and discharged in Scotland. When the regiment landed in North America, it was proposed to change the uniform, as the Highland garb was said to be unfit for the cold severe winters and hot summers of that country. The officers and soldiers vehemently protested against any change and Colonel Fraser explained to the Commander in Chief the strong attachment for their cherished national dress. His plea was successful and the men were allowed to retain their Highland dress. In the words of a veteran who embarked and returned with the regiment: “Thanks to our generous chief, we were allowed to wear the garb of our fathers; and in the course of six winters, showed the doctors that they did not understand our constitutions; for in the coldest of winters our men were more healthy than those regiments who wore breeches and warm clothing.” But there are some other accounts that indicate he may have been optimistic in retrospect. Other manuscripts mention that the men were freezing and that there were efforts being made to secure breeches and drawers for all of them. A completely accurate description of the Fraser’s grab has eluded the most dedicated of researchers. A large coterie of “researchers” during the late 19th and early 20th centuries wrote volumes about the Scottish military which tended to be more romance than fact. The greatest difficulty in reconstructing a uniform for the 78th in particular, lies in the fact that no full contemporary description or illustration of the uniform has been discovered from the actual time of its existence. That the regiment wore Highland garb is without doubt. Simon Fraser himself infers this in his letters to Lord Loudoun. Also, Sgt. James Thompson states, “we are allowed the garb of our fathers.” Further, the British military itself makes a definitive statement in A List of His Majesty’s Land Forces in North America 1761 describes the Fraser uniform as “red faced white, belted Plaid and Hose.” The precise form taken by this “Highland garb” is a deeper and more pressing question. War office correspondence indicates that the Fraser’s was raised as the 63rd Regiment or 2nd Highland battalion. From this, we can infer that the dress would have been basically the same as the existing 42nd Highland Regiment. Most researchers indicate a resolve that any glaring change from the dress of the 42nd would almost certainly have been noted. There is adequate reference to support that the regiment used both the belted plaid or great kilt and the the philabeg or small kilt. For example, Capt. John Nairne describes the use of both in his regimental orders for the 78th dated May 11, 1762: “His plaid never to be worn but kilted, the philabeg or little kilt to be always worn in summer or harvest except upon duty or when the detachment are under arms...” Plaids were issued every two years and in all likelihood the small kilts were made up from the old plaids as is referenced in the Charleton papers regarding the 42nd “...the men are by no means to dispose of their old plaids, but be made up into a small kilt and two pairs of hose.” A decades old argument over the use by the Fraser's of the Government Sett, the tartan worn by the 42nd Regiment and known to us today as the Black Watch plaid, versus the wearing of a red-based Fraser’s sett is no nearer resolution today than when it was begun. No conclusive evidence has been found to support either contention. The best two observations that can be made are thus: Firstly, it is generally accepted by researchers that there were no clan tartans per se at this point in time., those coming for the most part much later in the Victorian romanticization and resurrection of all things Scottish. Therefore, the sett worn by the Fraser's, if other than the government, would have been a regional or district sett; or perhaps a specific sett which was attractive to Simon Fraser. Another more probable selection would have been a tartan which was plentiful enough at the time to meet the demands of dressing so many men at once. Secondly, a tartan passed from Captain William Mackay of Beauly (a Fraser family historian) to Col. R. Harper is said to be a reproduction of a piece of tartan passed down from a Captain William Mackay of Upper Glassburn who purportedly received it from a descendant of Thomas Fraser of Struy. Though this Thomas Fraser is listed as a captain in the regiment, he never served with the regiment. A number of Fraser’s reenactment units have chosen to wear this red-based tartan, including that one founded by Col. Harper, but its authenticity is by no means proved. Still, the sett is a good example of an old, red-based tartan . There are similar disagreements concerning the type and quality of cloth worn by the Frasers. A good selection of tartan was made of good worsted wool and even of silk; but the tartan of the military was woven of a harsh uncarded wool referred to as hard cloth. There accounts to support that it was so abrasive as to rub raw the legs of the men when they were on the march. If the Fraser's wore another sett than the government, it would likely have been one made in quantity for export...this is still another unresolved and perhaps unresolveable issue. There is general agreement regarding the material of the hose worn by the Frasers. All military hose at the time were made up of woven cloth, cut on the bias and sewn up into stockings or “bag hose.” The cloth for the Highland hose was of a heavy wool woven in a loose twill in alternating rows of red and white. When this cloth was cut and sewn up on the bias, the result was the red and white diamond pattern which is familiar to this day.
77th Regiment of Foot were issued to Major the Honorable Archibald Montgomery, son of the Earl of Eglintoun, to recruit a regiment in the north. From his connections and personal character, Major Montgomery was peculiarly well qualified for the command of a Highland regiment. Having one sister, Lady Margaret, married to Sir Alexander Macdonald of Sleate, in the Northern, and another, Lady Christian, married to the Laird of Abercairney, on the borders of the Southern Highlands; he mixed much with the people, and being a high-spirited young man ,with a considerable dash of romantic enthusiasm in his composition, and with manners cheerful and affable, he made himself highly acceptable to the Highlanders; and by the support which he met with, and the judicious selection of officers of influence in the North, he soon completed an excellent body of men, who were formed into a regiment of 13 companies, of 105 rank and file each, making in all, with 65 sergeants, and 30 pipers and drummers, 1460 effective men. This corps was numbered the 77th regiment. Colonel Montgomerie's commission was dated the 4th of January 1757, and those of all the other officers each a day later than his senior in rank. This corps was embodied at Sterling, and embarked at Greenock for Halifax, without being allowed for acquiring the use of arms in an uniform manner. On the commencement of operations in 1758, the 77th was attached to the corps under Brigadier-General Forbes, in the expedition against Fort du Quesne. Montgomerie's Highlanders were often employed in small detached expeditions, traversing, to a very great extent, the most difficult countries. In these marches they had numberless skirmishes with the Indians, and with the irregular troops of the enemy. At the close of the war, all the officers and men who chose to settle in America were permitted to do so, each received a grant of land in proportion to his rank. A number of these officers and men, as well as those of the 78th regiment, joined the King's standard in 1775, and formed a corps along with the Highland Emigrants in the 84th regiment. 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot
1756-1767. It won particular distinction for it's desperate though unsuccessful attacks at Fort Ticonderoga in 1758. When it arrived in North America, the regiment wore Highland Dress---short red jackets trimmed with regimental lace( white with two red lines ),with cuffs and collars of buff, red waistcoats, blue bonnets, belted plaids of "Government Tartan"; with red-and-white checked hose. Grenadiers wore bearskin caps with a red flap edged with white and bearing the initials "GR" in white below a white crown. Officers wore gold lace, sergeants, silver. Belts were made of black leather. The sporran was of plain tan leather with long tassels. On July 3rd,1758, King George II conferred the title "Royal" on the regiment. This honor was not given as often thought, for the distinction at Ticonderoga. That battle was fought five days later. After receiving the Royal designation, the Regiments facings were changed to blue. By 1761, the officers were wearing white waistcoats for ceremonial occasions. As the great kilt proved unsuited to the forests of North America, it was used primarily for dress reviews and guard mount. The Feilidh beag or "little kilt" was worn for general service. The Grenadier Company had a distinctive red stripe on it's belted plaid, as well as the Feilidh beag. Officers wore linen breeches and boots for duty and the kilt for full dress. The "little kilt" was the normal service dress for enlisted men. During hot weather, coats might be worn without the waistcoat for drill and guard duty. Waistcoats and the "little kilts" were worn in the field. Checkered shirts were preferred for field service since they did not show dirt. A strip of black bearskin...not to exceed 5ins.....was worn on the bonnet. The enlisted men were issued muskets, bayonets and broadswords. Those that could afford them, carried dirks. The sergeants carried halberds for parade, but often replaced them with muskets for campaigning. The light infantry company was issued "tomahawks", powder horns and shot bags. Officers had fusels.
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