OR
THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS.
1678
The Royal North British Regiment of Fusiliers derives its origin from the commotions in Scotland, during the reign of King Charles II., who attempted to establish Episcopacy in that country; but was opposed by the Presbyterians, who wished to adhere to their religious institutions, and prosecutions being used in Scotland by the Government, to enforce obedience, collisions occurred between the inhabitants and the military, which were sometimes attended with loss of life. Several Highland clans were called out, in 1678, and quartered upon the Presbyterians, and in the autumn of the same year a regiment of foot was added to the military establishment of Scotland, of which Charles, Earl of Mar, was appointed Colonel, by commission dated the 23rd of September, 1678: this corps, having been retained in the service, now bears the title of the TWENTY-FIRST Regiment of Foot, or the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS.
Regiments of infantry, at this period, were generally armed with pikes and muskets; but the practice was introduced of arming every man, of a few select corps, with a fusil, or a light musket, and these regiments were called FUSILIERS. The Earl of Mar's regiment was one of the first corps which obtained this distinction.
1679
1680
In the following year, Archbishop Sharp, who had become particularly obnoxious to the non-conformists, was murdered. This event was followed by severities against the Presbyterians, and a meeting for public worship, at Loudon-hill, having been attacked by a body of horse and dragoons, under Captain Robert Graham, of Claverhouse, afterwards Viscount Dundee, the countrymen, being numerous, and provided with arms, gained some advantage over the military. The persons, who had thus committed themselves, resolved to keep together in arms, and to seek by their valour, that redress to which they considered themselves entitled. They were soon augmented in numbers, and taking post behind the river Clyde, they barricaded Bothwell Bridge. The Earl of Mar's regiment was called upon to take the field against the insurgents, and it formed part of the army, commanded by James, Duke of Monmouth, which attacked the rebels on the 22nd of June, and gained a decisive victory. The rebels made a feeble resistance on this occasion; twelve hundred foot laid down their arms without striking a blow, and the other divisions of their army fled in dismay; about four hundred were killed by the King's troops in the pursuit, and the rebellion was suppressed. Several parties, however, kept together in arms for some time, and gave the military much trouble in that and the following year.