[253] See Smibert’s Clans.
PART THIRD.
HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.
[INTRODUCTION.]
Military character of the Highlands.
Hitherto the account of the military exploits of the Highlanders has been limited to their own clan feuds and to the exertions which, for a century, they made in behalf of the unfortunate Stuarts. We are now to notice their operations on a more extended field of action, by giving a condensed sketch of their services in the cause of the country; services which have acquired for them a reputation as deserved as it has been unsurpassed. From moral as well as from physical causes, the Highlanders were well fitted to attain this pre-eminence.
“In forming his military character, the Highlander was not more favoured by nature than by the social system under which he lived. Nursed in poverty, he acquired a hardihood which enabled him to sustain severe privations. As the simplicity of his life gave vigour to his body, so it fortified his mind. Possessing a frame and constitution thus hardened, he was taught to consider courage as the most honourable virtue, cowardice the most disgraceful failing; to venerate and obey his chief, and to devote himself for his native country and clan; and thus prepared to be a soldier, he was ready to follow wherever honour and duty called him. With such principles, and regarding any disgrace he might bring on his clan and district as the most cruel misfortune, the Highland private soldier had a peculiar motive to exertion. The common soldier of many other countries has scarcely any other stimulus to the performance of his duty than the fear of chastisement, or the habit of mechanical obedience to command, produced by the discipline in which he has been trained. With a Highland soldier it is otherwise. When in a national or district corps, he is surrounded by the companions of his youth and the rivals of his early achievements; he feels the impulse of emulation strengthened by the consciousness that every proof which he displays, either of bravery or cowardice, will find its way to his native home. He thus learns to appreciate the value of a good name; and it is thus, that in a Highland regiment, consisting of men from the same country, whose kindred and connexions are mutually known, every individual feels that his conduct is the subject of observation, and that, independently of his duty as a member of a systematic whole, he has to sustain a separate and individual reputation, which will be reflected on his family, and district or glen. Hence he requires no artificial excitements. He acts from motives within himself; his point is fixed, and his aim must terminate either in victory or death. The German soldier considers himself as a part of the military machine, and duly marked out in the orders of the day. He moves onward to his destination with a well-trained pace, and with as phlegmatic indifference to the result as a labourer who works for his daily hire. The courage of the French soldier is supported in the hour of trial by his high notions of the point of honour; but this display of spirit is not always steady. A Highland soldier faces his enemy, whether in front, rear, or flank; and if he has confidence in his commander, it may be predicted with certainty that he will be victorious or die on the ground which he maintains. He goes into the field resolved not to disgrace his name. A striking characteristic of the Highlander is, that all his actions seem to flow from sentiment. His endurance of privation and fatigue,—his resistance of hostile opposition,—his solicitude for the good opinion of his superiors,—all originate in this source, whence also proceeds his obedience, which is always most conspicuous when exhibited under kind treatment. Hence arises the difference observable between the conduct of one regiment of Highlanders and that of another, and frequently even of the same regiment at different times, and under different management. A Highland regiment, to be orderly and well disciplined, ought to be commanded by men who are capable of appreciating their character, directing their passions and prejudices, and acquiring their entire confidence and affection. The officer to whom the command of Highlanders is intrusted must endeavour to acquire their confidence and good opinion. With this view, he must watch over the propriety of his own conduct. He must observe the strictest justice and fidelity in his promises to his men, conciliate them by an attention to their dispositions and prejudices, and, at the same time, by preserving a firm and steady authority, without which he will not be respected.
“Officers who are accustomed to command Highland soldiers find it easy to guide and control them when their full confidence has been obtained; but when distrust prevails severity ensues, with a consequent neglect of duty, and by a continuance of this unhappy misunderstanding, the men become stubborn, disobedient, and in the end mutinous. The spirit of a Highland soldier revolts at any unnecessary severity; though he may be led to the mouth of a cannon if properly directed, will rather die than be unfaithful to his trust. But if, instead of leading, his officers attempt to drive him, he may fail in the discharge of the most common duties.”[254]