Part 1: Highland Regiments in America During the Seven Years War

PLAIDS

The belted plaid was by no means as large as it is sometimes represented. Six yards by two yards is commonly quoted but Stewart of Garth, who joined the 42nd in 1787 reckoned it to measure only four yards by two, which is entirely adequate for the purpose and is perhaps all that an economical commanding officer might have been disposed to purchase, According to the inspection reports plaids were renewed every two years. (8)

By this period it was probably becoming common to have belt loops sewn on in order to facilitate donning it without resorting to lying flat on the ground. Officers' plaid# indeed were by the 1760s appearing with the pleats already sewn in place. A loop was also worked into one corner for pinning the free end up on the button behind the left shoulder of the cost. Unlike the philabeg (kilt) there was no flat apron of material at the front and instead it appears to have been loosely pleated all the way round and not just at the rear.

The question of tartans is by no meant straightforward and the evidence is best dealt with regiment by regiment.

On their first being raised the 42nd had worn the well-known Government sett or as it is now called Black Watch Tartan. This basically is a blue sett crossed by broad green stripes thickly edged with black and the further it recedes from view the blacker it appears to be. In 1745 however this sett was replaced by what was known as The Colonel's Tartan, introduced by Lord John Murray when he took command of the regiment in that year. This was the Government sett with a narrow red over-stripe. According to Stewart of Garth this sett was reserved for the philabeg (9) a statement which is flatly contradicted by the fact that both Morites grenadier of 1751 and a rather cruder figure in the 1768 Grenadier Book both display this overstripe on their plaids. It does not however appear in Edward Daye's watercolours of an officer and sergeant of the 42nd in or shortly after 1790. The answer would seem to be that the red overstripe was used for both plaid and philabeg while Lord John Murray commanded the regiment but after his death in 1787 (if not before) its use was indeed restricted to the philabeg.

The tartan worn by the 77th is much less easy to determine. A portrait of Hugh Montgomerie himself is all too frequently described as depicting him in the uniform of this corps, but while there are admittedly a number of highlanders in the background vigorously setting about some indians, the style of the uniform belongs to some twenty years later. Moreover Montgomeric's coat has green and not the red facings of the 77th. The uniform which he wears is in fact that of the 76th, (10)

In the absence of any evidence to the contrary it is more than likely that the Government sett was in fact worn by the 77th, but the wearing of it by Montgomeric in 1777 is by no means proof positive that this was the case.

This is underlined by the evidence relating to the 78th, Fraser's Highlanders. Having like the 77th been disbanded at the end of the Seven Years War it was raised again as the 71st Fraser's Highlanders in 1775. At that time Fraser gave the uniform as "white facings, button& numbered 71, white lace with a red worm, blue bonnets, the tartan being the Government set" (11) but the earlier regiment wore something quite different.

An officer and soldier of the 78th appear in Benjamin West's "Death of Wolfe". The soldier, in the background, has a bull coloured kilt or plaid with rather crudely applied dark brown stripes, while the officer has a red plaid with broad buff and green stripes and a thinner orange or yellow overstripe. West painted them in 1770 however and this is reflected in the style of uniform& portrayed. It cannot therefore be regarded as reliable evidence as to the tartan worn although there is obviously a clear intention to depict something other than the Government sett. Just what was worn instead is clearly depicted in the portrait of a highland officer by Delacour now known as "The Pinch of Snuff". That the subject should remain unidentified is understandable, that his regiment is also said to be unidentifiable is not, for the white facings and bearskin tuft in his bonnet unequivicably mark him as an officer of the 78th Fraser's Highlanders.

His plaid, loosely pleated in front as well as at the rear is certainly not the Government sett which Simon Fraser was to order in 1775. Instead it is basically a reddish brown colour laid over with a fairly dense network of narrow black and very dark green overstripes.

PHILABEGS (kilts)

The kilt, differing from the modern garment in having box pleats rather than knife ones at the rear was mainly worn in undress. The 42nd's order books also mention its use as a working dress and for boat work after 1760 in place of the drawers previously worn for such duties (12). It was probably also preferred for campaigning in the woods. A surgeon writing home from the Ticonderoga campaign noted that; "The Highlanders have put on breeches and Lord Hows Filabegs". (13) Unless he was mistaken about Lord Howe's involvement (which seems unlikely) it is possible that it was he who in fact introduced the kilt as distinct from the belted plaid into the British Army as being more convenient for the woods. The 42nd's order books mention that tartan was obtained from merchants - in America - for making up into philabegs (14) but it later became the custom to make them up from old plaids.(15)

DRAWERS

The breeches seen by the surgeon were more properly drawers made from canvas, frequently the old standby of tent material. Seemingly fairly loose and tied below the knee they were worn by battalion company men and grenadiers for boat work, fatigues and working parties until about 1760 (in the 42nd at least) and it is also highly likely that they were worn by those highlanders serving in the Light Infantry Companies and with the Rangers since they were themselves so clad.

MITASSES

Mitasses or Indian leggings were worn in conjunction with the drawers, sometimes with the belted plaid and certainly after 1760 - it not before - with the kilt. Blue woollen material was most commonly used, not only by the 42nd but by other units as well. Fairly generously cut they were fastened close to the leg (leaving a largish gap of material on the outside of each leg), were thigh-length and tied by a strip to the bell They were further scoured by a leather strop or a suitably decorated Indian garter Wow the knee and finally tucked into the tops of shoes or mocassins. (16)

Intended to protect the legs against the usual selection of thorns and briars which one has to fight through in an American forest to truly appreciate, mitasses were very popular.

STOCKINGS

These were not at this time knitted but out from woollen cloth, supplied for the purpose, by the soldiers themselves in order to achieve a good fit. For some reason they were invariably white with a broad red check. Morier's grenadier of the 42nd on the other hand appears to be wearing instead a scarlet and white checquered pattern which is otherwise quite unprecedented. To judge from his treatment of the tartans worn by the Jacobites in his earlier "Incident in the Rebellion" Morier was quite capable of painting tartan when he had to and indeed out of the more prominent figures has stockings of precisely the type one would have expected to have seen worn by the grenadier. It is possible that the simple checquered pattern may have been worn to an economy measure but as new stockings were made up every year Morier's painting cannot be taken as evidence that such a pattern was actually worn by the 42nd in America.

No such conundrums happily attend the 78th, Fraser's Highlanders. The officer partaking of a pinch of snuff has stockings of the usual type. The stockings were tied with scarlet tape just below the knee, much as modern kilt stockings are, notwithstanding some of the cruder representations which exaggerate the style by most improbably depicting them as being tied below the swell of the calf in such a position as to be impossible to keep up. Both Morier's and Deiscour's paintings illustrate the true state of affairs.

Short socks, presumably to he worn with the mitasses were made by the 42nd from old stockings and old flannel waistcoats whilst rather longer ones were knitted for the 78th by nuns in the Ursuline Convent at Quebec over the winter of 1759-60. These were presumably thigh-length *ad although they have provoked some amused comment from modern writers the effect must have been not unlike the combination of trews and belted plaid described and illustrated by Edward Burt in the 1720s as being worn in a highland winter. (17)

SHIRTS

The ordinary issue shirt, of which the soldier received two, was a simple pull over garment made from fairly coarse Holland. This was worn in conjunction with a white linen stock buckled at the rear under the soldier's queue - on parade at any rate. One of Morier's other grenadiers although otherwise properly accoutred has no stock and his shirt is open at the neck Go it such things were tolerated in peacetime they must have been very much commoner on active service. In addition a third, checked shirt - generally white with thin dark blue or black stripes - was carried, being worn in the field and on working parties since it did not show the dirk. Originally issued for wear at sea on board the transports they seem to have been quite popular (18).

FOOTWEAR

Both Morier's and Delacour's paintings show that at this time highlanders were wearing black leather, buckled shoes of conventional style rather than the very low tongued "Highland Shoes" issued in the 19th century. According to Cuthbertson ammunition shoes were very badly made and he recommended that they should be re-sewn as soon as they were received from the contractors. (19) As an alternative moccasins will have been worn in the woods by the men of the Light Infantry companies and those attached to the Rangers.

HAVERSACKS, CANTEENS and KNAPSACKS

Since they were issued as part of the camp equippage for carrying rations Cuthbertson argued that there was no need for "exactness" in making up haversacks. Made of strong coarse grey linen it was a flat bag about one foot square, secured with three buttons (20) and slung from a canvas strap. Cuthbertson also recommended that it should be marked with the soldier's name, company and regiment although there was no set method of doing so.

The canteen was made of unpainted tin (the shape not unlike that of the 1908 pattern) and slung on a cord. Morier's grenadier of the 42nd is not unfortunately depicted in marching order but other grenadiers who are so encumbered wear the haversack on the right hip and the canteen on the left.

The knapsack underwent a significant transformation in the Americas. Those shown by Morier in 1751 still took the form of a duffle-bag. A hairy cow-hide sausage bag slung on a single leather strap. At some point during the war in America however what is now known as the envelope knapsack was adopted. This was a canvas pack comprising two pockets folded against each other with a blanket secured between. Unlike the earlier knapsack however, and the French de la Parterie pack upon which it was probably based, it was not slung on a single strap but rather worn square on the back indian fashion with two shoulder straps. The canvas was painted to waterproof it; light grey, yellow buff and ton all being noted, and on the outside a badge or other device was painted identifying the unit. At its simplest this could be a disk or ring of the regiment's facing colour with its number in the centre and possibly a unit title underneath or around the ring. The straps at this time appear to have been natural leather although Cuthbertson was shortly afterwards advocating their whitening and highland regiments would presumably then have had black ones.

CARRIAGE of WEAPONS and AMMUNITION

Unlike other units highlanders did not use the large cartouche box slung on a very broad strap of buff leather but instead had a fairly compact one worn just to the right of the buckle of a black leather waistbelt. This cartouche box containing thirty-six rounds of ammunition cost 3s 6d in 1759 (21) and bore the letters G.R. - not intertwined - and a crown painted neatly in gold on the outside. Balancing it on the other side of the belt buckle was a vertical black leather frog for the bayonet. On parade officers and sergeants could wear a dirk in place of the bayonet but in the field they would appear, to judge from a 1762 portrait of a Captain Campbell of the 42nd, to have been armed in the same fashion as their men. The earlier practice of carrying both bayonet and dirk together seems to have been abandoned.

Many soldiers also carried powder horns. Some form of scrimshaw work was deriigeur and a fine example in the Scottish United Services Museum formerly owned by a soldier of the 42nd named James Cameron is slung by an Iroquois or Huron women's burden strap of moose-heir embroidery and trade beads, rather suggesting that he had got his feet under the table somewhere. Otherwise a cord seems to have been preferred to a leather strop for carrying it.

Broadswords and pistols although officially part of the highland soldier's equipment were not much used. When it was carried the broadsword was suspended from a black leather belt two and a half inches broad (22), like the cartouche box it cost 3s 6d in 1759 (23). Ile pistol was suspended from a narrow black leather strap slung over the right shoulder and looped under the left armpit, the effect being not unlike carrying the pistol in a shoulder holster.

Tomahawks, the use of which were officially encouraged, may have been carried in the sword-belt in place of the broadsword but were more likely thrust into the waistbeft and the sword belt left in store.

COLD STEEL

Both the 42nd and 77th were specifically excepted from the 1759 order that only grenadiers should carry swords in the field, their commanding officers being given leave to do as they pleased (24). They may therefore have continued to carry them for a time but there seems little doubt that they were soon discarded. The Seven Years War effectively marked the end of the broadsword in highland regiments. By 1768 they were reported to be in store and in 1775 Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Stirling justified this on the grounds that they had on several occasions been laid aside during the late American war (25). The process may well have begun even earlier for in his "New Highland Military Discipline" of 1757 (Major) George Grant discusses bayonet fighting but says nothing concerning swords.

The Government issue broad sword had a 30" blade, pierced steel guard and a very distinctive large conical pommel.

The socket bayonet had a 17" blade, triangular in section with the two outer faces fluted. It is possible however that the 42nd may still have been using the older and slightly heavier unfluted version.

PISTOLS

When Montgomerit's and Fraser's Highlanders were raised in 1757 1,080 "Side pistol & straps" were allowed to each regiment. These were of course the all-steel "Scottish Pistols" - actually made for the most part by Isaac Bissell of Birmingham. Like broadswords it is unlikely that they were actually used in the field and even Morier's grenadier of 1751, in what might otherwise be considered parade dress (saving the powdering of his hair), has no pistol.

MUSKETS

In 1751 the 42nd were equipped with Long Land Muskets with steel ramrods and a 46" barrel, (26) but shortly after their arrival in America they were out down to 42" in accordance with General Abercrombie's order of 9th June 1758. This work was evidently carried out in some haste for "sundry blacksmiths" were employed for the purpose at 1s 9d per musket. (27)

Such shortening, to judge from examples in the collection at Colonial Williamsburg, ought also to have involved a repositioning of the ramrod pipes. The front one of the three should have been moved rearwards four inches, the second pipe removed and the third moved to a position halfway between the front pipe and the (ailpipe. (An arrangement not unlike the India Pattern musket although the latter's front pipe was much larger)(28)

The Williamsburg muskets however have been altered by an armourer rather then a blacksmith and the conversion of the 42nd's muskets may have been a trifle cruder.

In 1759 the 42nd also received some carbines without bayonets for righting in the woods, some of which may have been rifled.(29)

The 77th and 78th Highlanders on the other hand were equipped with a rather different firelock. A 1757 warrant allowed each battalion 1,040 muskets with wooden rammers(30). These were presumably the Carbines with Bayonets for Artillery and Highlanders introduced in 1757, but as the warrant does not specify that the muskets were of carbine bore it is possible that they may even have been Short Muskets of the New Pattern for Marines or Militia. In either case the barrel will have been 42" long and the wooden ramrod held in place with three pipes. Workmanship on both models appears distinctly inferior and the militia pattern lacked both escutcheon place and tailpipe.

7YW Regiments in America: 78th Fraser's Highlanders 1757 and 42nd Royal Highlanders 1762

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barthorp, Michael British Infantry Ustiforms since 1660 (1982)
Blackmore, Howard British Military Fircarms 1650-11150 (1961)
Dunbar, J. Telfer History of Highland Dress (1962)
Grant, George The New Highland Military Discipline (1757)
Katcher, Philip Armies of The American Wars 1733-1815
Lawson, C-C-P. A History of the Uniforms of the British Army
May, Robin The British Army in North America 1755-1783 (1974)
Mollo, John Umiforms of the Seven Years War 1736-1763 (1977)
Prebble, John Malloy, Highland Regiments in Revolt (1975)
Stewart, David, of Garth Sketches of the Highlanders of Scotland (1822)
Windrow and Embleton Military Dress of North America 1665-1970 (1973)
Wood, Stephen The Scottish Soldier (1982)

Periodicals
F A I War (French & Indian War Associstors for Re-enactments)
Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research

Part 1: Highland Regiments in America During the Seven Years War