The 76th Regiment of Foot (MacDonald's Highlanders), sometimes referred to as 'MacDonnell's Highlanders' after its colonel, John MacDonnell of Lochgarry, was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Light Infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

regiment raised in the west of Scotland and western isles of Scotland in 1777.

History

The regiment, which was raised in the west of Scotland and western isles of Scotland on 25 December 1777, by the Clan MacDonald, consisted of seven companies of

Highlander Highlander may refer to: Regional cultures * Gorals (lit. ''Highlanders''), a culture in southern Poland and northern Slovakia * Hill people, who live in hills and mountains * Merina people, an ethnic group from the central plateau of Madagascar ...

s: two of Lowlanders and an Irish company. It was presented with its colours at

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in March 1778 and moved into

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

at Fort George. In March 1779 it moved to Perth where, following a dispute over their pay and bounty payment, soldiers from the regiment took part in the

Burntisland Burntisland ( , sco, also Bruntisland) is a former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 6,269. It was previously known as Wester Kingho ...

mutiny of March 1779, whilst under the command of Major John Sinclair, 11th Earl of Caithness (Lord Berridale), after which it was transferred to Jersey in the Channel Islands and embarked for

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in August 1779. Sinclair, the Earl of Caithness was himself badly wounded during the

Siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British ...

, which took place from March to May 1780, where American and French forces were defeated. The regiment campaigned from March 1781, under the command of Major Francis Needham, 1st Earl of Kilmorey (who was also the regimental Colonel of the 86th Foot) in the American Revolutionary War and fought at the Battle of Black Swamp in June 1781,Döhla, pp. 153–154 and the Battle of Green Spring in July 1781 where they defeated the French

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemasonry, freemason and military officer who fought in the Ameri ...

. The regiment was captured in the Siege of Yorktown three months later in October. It was split up and the troops were interned at various locations throughout Virginia. Following the end of the war, in 1783, it returned to Scotland and was commanded by Sir Robert Stuart. The regiment was finally disbanded at

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

in March 1784.

Colonels

Colonels of the regiment were as follows: *1777–1784: Col John MacDonnell of Lochgarry ''* disbanded 1784''

References

Sources

* * * {{Regiments of Foot Infantry regiments of the British Army Scottish regiments 1777 establishments in Scotland Military units and formations established in 1777 Military units and formations disestablished in 1784 1784 disestablishments in Scotland History of the Scottish Highlands History of the Outer Hebrides