| 1st battalion | Reserve battalion | Total | |
| Scotch. | 540 | 470 | 1,010 |
| English. | 21 | 38 | 59 |
| Irish. | 34 | 26 | 60 |
| Total. | 595 | 534 | 1,129 |
| Presbyterians. | 517 | 467 | 984 |
| Church of England. | 37 | 34 | 71 |
| Church of Rome. | 41 | 33 | 74 |
The English and Irish were all, with the exception of boys from the Military Colleges, the remains of the volunteers who joined the reserve battalion in 1842. On the 24th of November, all the effectives of the reserve battalion, consisting of 1 major, 3 captains, 6 subalterns, 1 assistant surgeon, 20 sergeants, 6 buglers, and 391 rank and file, embarked at Portsmouth on board the line-of-battle ship “Royal Albert,” for the Crimea, and landed at Balaclava on the 20th of December, where it was kept, sending frequent working parties to the front. The reserve battalion thus had six weeks’ home service after being twelve years abroad.
1855.
The first battalion embarked at Corfu for the Crimea on board the transport “Medway” on the 26th January, 1855, and landed at Balaclava on the 7th of February. On the 13th the first and reserve battalions were amalgamated into one battalion of eight companies, about 900 strong, of all ranks. It remained at Balaclava till the 3rd of May, when it embarked on board the “Furious” and “Gladiator” steam frigates, forming part of the first expedition to Kertch, which, however, was recalled without accomplishing its object. The regiment was disembarked on the 8th of May, and marched to the front, joining the third brigade of the fourth division, and serving in the trenches. It was re-embarked on board the frigates “Sidon” and “Valorous” on the 22nd of May, and proceeded to Kertch with the expeditionary force of the Allied army. The whole landed at Kamish Burnu (about five miles from Kertch), under cover of the gunboats, bivouacked that night, and proceeded the next day, marching through Kertch to Yenikale, where it encamped. The regiment re-embarked at Yenikale on the 10th of June, on board the steam frigates “Sidon” and “Valorous,” to return to Sebastopol, but was again disembarked on the 12th, the head-quarters and right wing remaining at Yenikale, and the left wing proceeding to Cape St. Paul, to protect those points in conjunction with a French and Turkish force.
In the beginning of August a draft of 120 men, under Captain Rich, disembarked at Balaclava, and marched to the front. It was attached to the Highland division, being occasionally employed in the trenches. At the end of September it embarked for Yenikale, and joined the head-quarters on the 2nd of October. On the 24th of September three companies, under Major Hunter, crossed the Straits of Yenikale, in conjunction with a French force, to Taman, where a large quantity of hutting material and fuel was obtained. The expedition returned to Kertch on the 3rd of October.
1856.
The strength and composition of the regiment on the 1st of January was as follows, exclusive of a depôt at Malta, which was about 100 strong:—
| Scotch. | English. | Irish. | Total. | |
| Head-quarters | 823 | 36 | 44 | 903 |
| Depôt at Perth | 264 | 37 | 50 | 351 |
| Total | 1,087 | 73 | 94 | 1,254 |
of which, Presbyterians 1,061, Church of England 77, Church of Rome 116.
The head-quarters and six companies, under Colonel Ready, remained in Yenikale, having two companies on detachment, under Major Campbell, at Kertch, till the 30th of May, when the head-quarters moved into Kertch, which was handed over to the Russian authorities on the 22nd of June. On the same day the head-quarters and six companies embarked on board the steam ship “Pacific,” and two under Major Campbell, in the steam ship “Edina,” and disembarked at Malta on the 29th of June.