The 87th Regiment of Foot (Keith's Highlanders) was a Scottish

infantry regiment Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, formed in 1759 and disbanded in 1763.

History

The regiment was raised at

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

as Keith's Highlanders by

Robert Murray Keith Robert Murray Keith (died 1774) was a British diplomat. He was descended from a younger son of the 2nd Earl Marischal. Keith was minister in Vienna in 1748 and from 1753 Minister-plenipotentiary. In 1757, he transferred to St. Petersburg (arriv ...

who regimented three companies detached from the

42nd Regiment of Foot The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment in the British Army also known as the Black Watch. Originally titled Crawford's Highlanders or the Highland Regiment and numbered 43rd in the line, in 1748, on the disban ...

in August 1759. It was numbered as the 87th Regiment of Foot in 1760. The regiment was immediately dispatched to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where it fought at the

Battle of Warburg The Battle of Warburg was a battle fought on 31 July 1760 during the Seven Years' War. The battle was a victory for the Hanoverians and the British against a slightly larger French army. The victory meant the Anglo-German allies had successful ...

in July 1760 and the

Battle of Villinghausen The Battle of Villinghausen (or Vellinghausen, also known as the Battle of Kirchdenkern) was a battle in the Seven Years' War fought on the 15th and 16 July 1761 in the western area of present-day Germany, between a large French army and an An ...

later that month. It returned home later in the year but was deployed to

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

in November 1762. It returned to Scotland in December 1762 and was disbanded at Perth in July 1763.

References

External links

87th Highlanders
Military units and formations disestablished in 1763 1759 establishments in Scotland History of Perth and Kinross Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1759 Scottish regiments {{UK-mil-unit-stub