Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research 99/397

Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research 99 (2021), 125-133

THE 105TH REGIMENT OF FOOT THE QUEENÊS OWN ROYAL REGIMENT OF HIGHLANDERS 1761-1763

A NDREW C ORMACK

During the eighteenth century the Army was frequently greatly expanded at the commencement of war and as quickly reduced when the conflict ended. Many regiments therefore existed for relatively short periods, enjoyed their brief moment in the limelght or, quite often, saw no interesting service at all and were merely used as sources of casualty-replacements to be drafted to regiments in theatres of active operations. They then passed from view as peace returned. During the Seven Years War eight of these regiments were raised in the Highlands of Scotland, a source of rugged and resourceful manpower, which, however, was viewed with suspicion or pragmatic callousness by a section of the political nation. 1 In 1748 the Duke of Bedford, Secretary for the Southern Department, had recommended Highlanders as suitable settlers for Nova Scotia. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland concurred with the proposal writing to Bedford that ‘... it is much to be wished that these people may be disposed of in such a manner as to be of service to the government, instead of a detriment to it’. 2 It should be noted, however, that the people referred to were actually the loyal Highlanders of Lord Loudoun’s 64th Foot because Cumberland in a later letter to Bedford of 12th November 1748 wrote that ‘the scheme you former [sic] mention to me for engaging a Number of Men of Lord Loudouns Regt to go over to Nuova Scotia ... will be laid aside’ . 3 Though the inexperience of Loudoun’s Regiment and the fact that it was never able to assemble in one body had led to its performance in Scotland during the 1745 Rebellion being less valuable than had been hoped, it had nevertheless been shipped to Flanders in May 1747 and had distinguished itself in severe fighting at the siege of Bergen-op-Zoom. 4 Despite this, His Royal Highness and government ministers clearly considered red-coated Highlanders to be as potentially dangerous as the rebels had been. This attitude can be seen to have persisted, because James Wolfe, who had served in Scotland during the 1745 Rebellion, opined in 1751 in relation to 1 These regiments were the 77th (1756), 78th (1757), 87th (1757-8), 88th (1760), 89th (1759), 100th (1761), 101st (1760) and 105th (1761) Highland Regiments of Foot. 2 A. Massie & J. Oates, The Duke of Cumberland’s Campaigns in Britain and the Low Countries 1745- 1748: A Selection of His Letter s (Stroud: The History Press for the Army Records Society, 2018), p. 343 (hereafter referred to as Massie & Oates, Cumberland’s Letters ). See also E.M. Lloyd, ‘The raising of the Highland regiments, 1757’, English Historical Review , Vol. 17, No. 67, July 1902, pp. 466-469. 3 Massie & Oates, Cumberland’s Letters , p. 346. 4 The service of Loudoun’s Highlanders is most cogently given in I.H. Mackay Scobie, ‘The Highland Independent Companies of 1745-47’ Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research , Vol. 20, Spring 1941, pp. 5-37; A. McK. Annand, ‘John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun, 1705-1782’ JSAHR , Vol. 44, Spring 1966, pp. 22-24 and C. Duffy, The ‘45 – Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Untold Story of the Jacobite Rising (London: Cassell, 2003).

125