Brave British soldiers and the Victoria Cross / a general account of the regiments and men of the British Army, and stories of the brave deeds which won the prize "for valour"

by Unknown

It may be safely affirmed that the Highland regiments never displayed a spirit of insubordination, except on those occasions when the government of the day attempted to treat them with injustice by transferring them to Lowland regiments, or ordering them to embark for foreign service when they had enlisted to serve for a limited period at home. The 77th regiment, or Athole Highlanders, was raised in 1778 by the young Duke of Athole. The Murrays have always been a warlike race, and their young chief, the present Duke of Athole, the possessor of princely estates, is serving in Canada with the 2nd battalion of the Scots Fusilier Guards. The Athole Highlanders embarked for Ireland in June, 1778, and did garrison duty there till the war was over. The part they had to play was somewhat difficult; the Irish were disaffected, and hated the troops sent to control them; but the conduct of the Highlanders was so exemplary as to secure for them the respect of their enemies. Mr. Eden, afterwards Lord Auckland, Secretary for Ireland, bears honourable testimony to this fact. After alluding to the gentlemanly bearing of the officers, and the excellent conduct of the men, he says—“Once, upon the sudden alarm of invasion, I sent an order for the immediate march of this regiment to Cork, when they showed their alacrity by marching at an hour’s notice, and completed their march with a despatch beyond any instance in modern times, and this, too, without leaving a single soldier behind.”

There are few regiments at the present day that could undertake the same march at an hour’s notice, and complete it without leaving a single man behind; such a fact says much for the discipline, strength, and pluck of the Athole Highlanders. The government showed their appreciation of these services by attempting to break faith with them. The Highlanders had enlisted for three years. Their period of service had now expired, and they naturally expected to be disbanded. Instead of this, they were sent to Portsmouth to embark for foreign service. At first they offered no resistance; when they caught the first view of the fleet at Spithead as they crossed Portsdown Hill, they pulled off their bonnets and gave three cheers at the prospect of a brush with Hyder Ali. If the government had been wise enough to tempt them to re-enlist by the offer of a fresh bounty, a gallant regiment might have been preserved to the British army; but, unfortunately, they had no sooner reached Portsmouth than emissaries from London began to poison their minds by pointing out to them the injustice of the authorities in sending them abroad when they ought to have been disbanded. It was even insinuated that they had been sold to the East India Company at so much a head, and that their officers had shared in the purchase-money. These representations had the desired effect. The Highlanders, suspicious of their officers, and brooding over their wrongs, refused to embark. For several days they remained in a state of mutiny, during which they attempted to gain possession of the main guard and garrison parade, when one of the invalids who opposed them was accidentally killed. No sooner was it known that the poor man had left a widow than the Highlanders expressed the deepest regret, and raised a considerable sum for her relief.

The greatest anxiety was caused at Portsmouth by the presence of a thousand men free from all restraint; but the lives and property of the citizens were respected, and no complaints were ever made against the Highlanders. Though they had reason to suspect their officers of treachery, they almost invariably continued to treat them with deference and respect. On hearing, however, that two or three regiments were approaching to force them on board, they flew to arms and marched out to offer them battle. On finding that it was a false report, they quietly returned to their quarters. The Duke of Athole, his uncle, Major-General Murray, and Lord George Lennox, hurried down to Portsmouth in the hope that their presence and influence would induce the men to embark; but the minds of the latter were too much embittered by a sense of injustice to be swayed by the counsels of their hereditary chiefs. The discipline of the regiment was as strict as if they had been still under the command of their officers. Their arms and ammunition were placed in one of the magazines, and a strong guard placed over them while the rest of the regiment slept or partook of their meals. Twice a day they appeared at the grand parade, along with the adjutant and other officers. They were as careful of their dress and personal appearance as before. The government were at a loss what to do with the dreaded Highlanders. One day it was proposed to turn the great guns on the ramparts against them; but, fortunately, this proposal was overruled; the bloodshed would have been great, the result doubtful. At other times it was suggested to send some regiments stationed in the neighbourhood against them. On hearing this the Highlanders flew to arms, drew up the drawbridges, placed sentinels on them, and prepared to offer an obstinate resistance.

At length the question of the mutiny was brought under the consideration of Parliament, and the just claims of the Highlanders were admitted. The regiment was disbanded, and the men spread through the Highlands the report of the injustice with which they had been treated, and thus prevented many of their countrymen from entering the army. When treating of this affair, General Stewart observed that “If government had offered a small bounty when the Athole Highlanders were required to embark, there can be little doubt they would have obeyed their orders, and embarked as cheerfully as they marched into Portsmouth.” This untoward event will remind our readers of what occurred in India when the attempt was recently made to transfer the European troops from the service of the East India Company to that of the imperial government. Through the niggardly policy then adopted, thousands of men inured to service in that trying climate were roused into a state of mutiny, and compelled the authorities to grant them their discharge. In this case, as in that of the Athole Highlanders, a small bounty would have settled the difficulty and satisfied every claim.

There are old people still alive in Scotland who remember the sensation created in the days of their boyhood among all classes by “the affair of the wild Macraes.” The Macraes never rose to the dignity of a clan; they were a small sept that lived under the protection of the Mackenzies of Seaforth. The Earl of Seaforth had forfeited his title and estates in consequence of the part he took in the rebellion of 1715, when many of the Northern gentry rose in favour of the Pretender. Kenneth Mackenzie, the grandson of this earl, bought the family property from the crown, and was created Viscount Portrose in the Irish peerage. In 1771 the family title was restored to him, and the Earl of Seaforth, anxious to prove his gratitude to the government of the day for the favours he had received, offered in 1778 to raise a regiment among his own clan for general service. The Highlanders had already acquired a distinguished name on many a battle-field, and his offer was at once accepted. All the gentlemen of the clan Mackenzie came to the aid of their chief, and a corps of 1130 men was soon raised: 500 Highlanders belonged to Seaforth’s estates; 400 to the Mackenzies of Scatwell, Kilcoy, Applecross, and Redcastle; about 200 were Lowland Scotch; 43 were English and Irish. It is interesting to mark the constitutional elements of this and other Highland regiments. The fact is undeniable that the Highlands of Scotland were far more populous a century ago than they are now. The poorer inhabitants have been driven to Canada and other colonies; their small farms have been changed into deer-parks or sheep-walks; the landlords have increased their rentals, but the country has lost an important class and reaped no adequate advantage in return. The regiment thus embodied was known as the 78th, or Seaforth Highlanders. It is not to be confounded, however, with the present 78th, or Ross-shire Buffs; it is now represented by the 72nd, or Duke of Albany’s Own Highlanders. Almost all the officers were Mackenzies, and the sons and brothers of the different lairds vied with one another in selecting the best men that could be found on their estates. The results of this care on their part were apparent when the regiment was inspected at Elgin in May, 1778: of those 1130 men not one was rejected—an astounding fact when we consider that nearly one-fourth of our recruits are now pronounced unfit for service in consequence of some physical defect. In the month of August they embarked for Leith, where “the affair of the wild Macraes” occurred.

CHAPTER VII.
OUR HIGHLAND REGIMENTS—continued.