The 77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomerie's Highlanders) was a Highland Scots Regiment raised in 1757. The 77th Regiment was one of the first three Highland Regiments to fight in North America. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

, the regiment lost 110 soldiers and 259 were wounded.

History

The regiment was raised at

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

by Major Archibald Montgomerie as the 1st Highland Battalion and ranked as the 62nd Regiment of Foot in 1757. Formed under a plan to increase the loyalty of the Highlanders to the Crown by sending 2,000 Highlanders to fight in North America, the battalion ultimately included thirteen companies with 105 enlisted men each for a total of 1,460 men with 65 sergeants and 30 pipers and drummers. The battalion was drawn from the Montgomery, Stuart,

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal e ...

, MacDonald, Cameron,

Maclean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John). The clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Eathai ...

, and MacPherson clans. Montgomerie recruited the first ten companies in 1756 and an additional three in 1757. The first ten companies departed

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

on 30 June 1757 to reinforce the garrison of Charleston, arriving there on 3 September. At Charleston, 200 soldiers who were from the

Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( sco, Lallans or ; gd, a' Ghalldachd, , place of the foreigners, ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowl ...

were transferred to the

Royal Americans The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

. The three new companies, meanwhile, were sent to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and arrived there on 22 April 1758, moving to Carlisle in May. The rest of the battalion was transported to Philadelphia and debarked there on 8 June. The battalion was renamed the 77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomery's Highlanders) in June 1758. The regiment took part in the

Battle of Fort Duquesne The Battle of Fort Duquesne was British assault on the eponymous French fort (later the site of Pittsburgh) that was repulsed with heavy losses on 14 September 1758, during the French and Indian War. The attack on Fort Duquesne was part of a l ...

on 14 September, 1758, suffering 231 men killed and the capture of their commanding officer, Major James Grant. About 150 survivors later rejoined the main British force under Colonel Henry Bouquet and participated in the capture of

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...

on 24 November, 1758. In 1760, six companies participated in a campaign against the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

under the command of the regiment's colonel. It sailed for the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

in June 1761 and took part in the Invasion of Martinique in January 1762 and the

siege of Havana The siege of Havana was a successful British siege against Spanish-ruled Havana that lasted from March to August 1762, as part of the Seven Years' War. After Spain abandoned its former policy of neutrality by signing the family compact with Fr ...

in June 1762. It went on to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in October 1762 and saw action at the

Battle of Bushy Run The Battle of Bushy Run was fought on August 5–6, 1763, in western Pennsylvania, between a British column under the command of Colonel Henry Bouquet and a combined force of Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo, and Huron warriors. This action occurred du ...

in August 1763 after which it was disbanded later in the year.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

Lace and colours of the 77th Foot
{{Regiments of Foot Infantry regiments of the British Army Highland regiments Military units and formations established in 1757 1763 disestablishments in Great Britain 1757 establishments in Scotland 1763 disestablishments in Scotland