History of the Scottish Regiments in the British Army

“Come fill up my cup, come fill up my can, Come saddle my horses, and call out my men; Unhook the west port and let us gae free; For it’s up wi’ the bonnets o’ bonnie Dundee.”

Our last chapter closed the dark record which unhappily clouds the early history of the Royal Scots Dragoons, and it is with pleasure we turn from the record of these unnatural...

“O Fame, stern prompter of most glorious deeds, What numerous votaries attend thy call! For thee the poet sings, the hero bleeds, And warlike kings bid empires rise or fall.”

“Star of the brave! whose beam hath shed Such glory o’er the quick and dead; Thou radiant and adored deceit! Which millions rushed in arms to greet; Wild meteor of immortal birt...

Whilst the Grenadiers and Coldstreams were unwilling witnesses to the _profligacy_ and _lewdness_ of the Court, the Scots Foot Guards, since their establishment in 1661, were mo...

“Heroes!—for instant sacrifice prepared; Yet filled with ardour and on triumph bent ’Mid direst shocks of mortal accident— To you who fell, and you whom slaughter spared To guar...

As we approach the history of this venerable regiment we cannot help feeling all those sentiments of reverence and respect which are the becoming tribute to an honoured old age—...

The regiment, now commanded by Lord George Douglas, afterwards the Earl of Dumbarton, returned to France in 1662, where it was largely recruited by the incorporation of General...

“For pleas of right let statesmen vex their head, Battle’s my business, and my guerdon bread; And with the sworded Switzer I can say, ‘The best of causes is the best of pay.’”

“His signal deeds and prowess high Demand no pompous eulogy,— Ye saw his deeds! Why should their praise in verse be sung? The name, that dwells on every tongue, No minstrel needs.”

Success is too commonly esteemed, by a short-sighted public, to be the criterion of excellence. It remains, however, to each of us, an exercise of faith and duty to confute this...

“Ye sons of the strong, when that dawning shall break, Need the harp of the aged remind you to wake? That dawn never beam’d on your forefathers’ eye, But it roused each high chi...

“Many a banner spread, flutters above your head, Many a crest that is famous in story; Mount and make ready, then, sons of the mountain glen, Fight for your king and the old Sco...

In 1755 the encroachments of France awakened a new war, in which our Borderers were employed in several generally successful expeditions against the fortified towns and arsenals...

“The Martyr’s Hill’s forsaken, In simmer’s dusk sae calm, There’s nae gath’ring now, lassie, To sing the e’ening psalm; But the martyr’s grave will rise, lassie, Aboon the warri...

“Farewell! ye dear partners of peril, farewell! Tho’ buried ye lie in one wide bloody grave, Your deeds shall ennoble the place where ye fell, And your names be enroll’d with th...

Not to exceed the limits we prescribed in setting out, we are reluctantly compelled, in fulfilling our promise, to group into a single brief chapter a variety of records inciden...

“Then our sodgers were drest in their kilts and short hose, Wi’ their bonnets and belts which their dress did compose, And a bag of oatmeal on their backs to make brose. O! the...

“Courage! Nothing e’er withstood Freemen fighting for their good; Armed with all their fathers’ fame, They will win and wear a name That shall go to endless glory, Like the gods...

“He, in the firmament of honour, stands Like a star, fixed, not moved with any thunder Of popular applause, or sudden lightning Of self-opinion; he hath saved his country, And t...

To the cursory reader of Scottish history it appears somewhat strange that a chief such as the Duke of Argyll, who, of first importance amongst our Scottish nobility, possessed...

When we regard the battle-fields of earth, and think of the mighty dead who slumber there, apart from feelings of sentimental or real respect for the sacred dust, imagination an...

“How sleep the brave, who sink to rest, By all their country’s wishes blest! When spring, with dewy fingers cold, Returns to deck their hallow’d mould, He there shall dress a sw...

“In the garb of old Gaul, with the fire of old Rome, From the heath-cover’d mountains of Scotia we come, Where the Romans endeavour’d our country to gain, But our ancestors foug...

“Awake on your hills, on your islands awake, Brave sons of the mountain, the frith, and the lake! ’Tis the bugle—but not for the chase is the call; ’Tis the pibroch’s shrill sum...

“For gold the merchant ploughs the main, The farmer ploughs the manor; But glory is the sodger’s prize, The sodger’s wealth is honour. The brave poor sodger ne’er despise, Nor c...

The honourable bearing of the Royal Highlanders throughout the war had been so conspicuous as to win for them the hearty esteem of their countrymen. Hence their return was welco...

“When wild war’s deadly blast was blawn, And gentle peace returning, And eyes again with pleasure beam’d That had been blear’d wi’ mourning, I left the lines and tented field, W...

“To leave thee behind me my heart is sair pain’d, But by ease that’s inglorious no fame can be gain’d; And beauty and love’s the reward of the brave, And I maun deserve it befor...

“Right onward did Clan-Alpine come. Above the tide, each broadsword bright Was brandishing like beam of light, Each targe was dark below; And with the ocean’s mighty swing, When...

“We would not die in that man’s company, That fears his fellowship to die with us. . . . . . . . . . \ Then shall our names, Familiar in their mouths as household words, Be in t...

“Then glory, my Jeanie, maun plead my excuse; Since honour commands me, how can I refuse? Without it, I ne’er can have merit for thee, And losing thy favour I’d better not be. I...

“This homage to the chief who drew his sword At the command of duty; kept it bright Through perilous days; and soon as Victory smiled Laid it, unsullied, in the lap of Peace.”

As soon as the Seventy-fourth had returned, the business of recruiting occupied the earnest attention of its officers. Removed to Scotland for this purpose, it failed to complet...

Already had the noble lords of Seaforth stood forth foremost in the breach where British liberty, involved in our glorious constitution, was assailed by aggressive and vindictiv...

“’Twas a soldier who spoke—but his voice now is gone, And lowly the hero is lying; No sound meets the ear, save the crocodile’s moan, Or the breeze through the palm-tree sighing...

But hark! what means yon dismal wail— The shriek that’s borne upon the gale? It comes from India’s sultry plain— It calls for vengeance from the slain, Nor calls in vain to Scot...

“There’s many a man of the Cameron clan That has follow’d his chief to the field; He has sworn to support him, or die by his side, For a Cameron never can yield.

“Though my perishing ranks should be strew’d in their gore, Like ocean-weeds heaped on a surf-beaten shore, Lochiel, untainted by flight or by chains, While the kindling of life...

The foe weel kenn’d the tartan front, Which never shunn’d the battle’s brunt— The chieftain of our Highland men, That led them on to vict’ry then, As aye he cried, “For Scotland.”

“And, oh! loved warriors of the minstrel’s land! Yonder your bonnets nod, your tartans wave! The rugged form may mark the mountain band, And harsher features, and a mien more gr...

General Stuart writes of this most respectable corps:—“None of the Highland corps is superior to the Ninety-third Regiment. I do not make comparisons in point of bravery, for, i...