Lieutenant Alexander Gregorson, 78th Regiment

Lieutenant Alexander Gregorson, of Ardtornish [1730-1789] - s/o James Macgregor & Marjorie Campbell [dau. of Alexander Campbell of Airds] - a gentleman volunteer gazetted an ensign on June 10, 1758 after the death of Lieutenant John Cuthbert created a vacancy. 

Colonel Simon Fraser recommended him for the promotion before the regiment sailed for Halifax and Louisbourg in a letter, 23 April 1758, to Lord Loudoun, describing Mr. Gregorson as "very strongly recommended by Colonel Campbell & to whose friends I am so much indebted that I should take his being provided for as a very great favour." And while the real identity of Colonel Campbell is not known, the introduction of Gregorson as a civilian suggests no earlier military service. The recording of his commission in the British Army Lists advocates his assignment with Colonel Fraser as his first post.

Gregorson, a descendant from Clan Macgregor, and whose kinsman, John, also served in Quebec with the 2nd Battalion of the 60th Royal American Regiment, was listed among the officers who sailed for Louisbourg in 1758; fought at Plains of Abraham on September 13, 1759 where he, along with Ensign McKenzie and Lieutenant Alexander Fraser, was described in the journal kept by Malcolm Fraser as "slightly wounded." Additionally, he sustained injuries at the Battle of Sainte-Foy on April 28, 1760, where he was taken a prisoner and almost killed by Indians, but erroneously documented as "dead" in Governor Murray’s Return of Prisoners of War.

List of Officers Sent in Governor Murray’s Return not Included in the List of English Prisoners returned from Canada, June 14, 1760

Fraser’s: Ens. Alexr. Gregorson: Prisoner on Parole at Quebec. Dead.

                Ens. Malcolm Fraser: Prisoner on Parole at Quebec. Dead.

Otway’s: Capt. Ince: Dead

Lascelle’s: Capt. Archbold: Dead

Amherst’s: Ens. Montgomery: Dead

Lawrence’s: Lt. Forbes mentioned in Govr. Murray’s is Dead.

A contemporary newspaper account from the period captured the death of Captain Ince and the four other officers correctly.

The Pennsylvania Gazette, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1760

That Captain Ince, of Otway's, and four other Officers, wounded and taken Prisoners the 28th of April, died of their Wounds at Montreal.

The ensign was promoted to lieutenant on April 29, 1760 in room of Lt. Cosmo Gordon, killed.

Alexander's kinsman, John, having knowledge his regiment were to remain and provide the guard to Quebec after the war, joined the 78th in the summer of 1763 in order to return to Europe.  The Highlanders' sailed home in October and "broke" at Glasgow on December 14, 1763, where both men were exchanged to half-pay.

Gregorson returned to active service on January 23, 1788 as a then-58-year-old lieutenant in the Landguard Fort Invalid Company, and was discharged dead the following year.

The Edinburgh Evening Courant, October 16, 1789
INVALIDS. Lieut. Robert Thomas, from  Capt. James Malcolm's Independent Company at Sheerness, to be Lieutenant in Captain William Pemble's Independent Company at Landguard Fort, vice Alexander Gregorson, deceased.

Note: Since the publishing of this post, new evidence has surfaced suggesting John Gregorson transferred from the 78th Regiment to the 2nd Battalion, 60th Royal Americans prior to September 1761.

Sources:

Fraser, Malcolm. Extract from a Manuscript Journal Relating to the Siege of Quebec [Quebec, 1886].

Marie Fraser, “Officers of the 78th Regiment.” Clan Fraser Society, Canada, 2001.

Macgregor, Amelia Georgiana Murray. History of the Clan Gregor: from public records and private collections. Vol. 2 [William Brown, 1901].

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2017. 

This article last update 18 October 2021.

Soldiers of the 78th Regiment Remaining in North America After 1763

As it is our primary goal to provide our readers with the most accurate information available, the following update is provided to our article originally published 1 December 2017. 

Update: New information has been secured in the form of a contemporary military return dated October 1763, which specifies 584 soldiers of Colonel Fraser's Regiment discharged at Quebec between 24 August and 24 September 1763 [TNA, W.O. 17/1489]. Of those 584, it is previously confirmed that 170 men were authorized passage to Albany, New York, leaving 414 men, of which Governor Murray commented on 16 September 1765, "The Poor Highlanders were drafted almost to a man into the 15th, 27th and my Battalion [2nd Bn., 60th R.A.], they behaved on this, as on every other occasion, with great prosperity both men and officers [LAC, James Murray Papers. M.G. 23, G II1, vol. (2-7), pp.4-6]."

[Original post]

One question more commonly asked of those researching the 78^th Regiment is, how many soldiers remained in North America at the conclusion of the war? And while exact numbers are not known, by studying available published material for the regiment we can arrive at a fairly close approximation.

It can be stated with a certain degree of confidence that about 528 soldiers initially remained; 170 discharged soldiers, plus an additional 358 men who transferred to other military regiments in the area. How many soldiers of the latter group stayed after 1768 remains a mystery.

During the official demobilization at the conclusion of the war, the disposition of each soldier was dependent on one of the following categories:

     - Returned home and discharged in Scotland.

     - Discharged in North America.
     - Joined the 2d Battalion, 60th R.A. Regiment.
     - Joined the 15th Regiment.
     - Joined the 27th Regiment.
     - Recommended to Royal Chelsea Hospital in London.

Let's take look at how we calculated these numbers to get a better understanding of what transpired.

The Numbers
An analysis of the Subsistence Rolls in the summer 1763 indicates the regiment's strength as follows:

- 865 + 22 soldiers

- 28 women
Total: 915

Note: 22 soldiers do not appear on the rolls as having received their subsistence pay in 1763, but must be accounted for in the final totals.

From that, we need to make a few subtractions.

- 283 soldiers listed as returning home in October 1763.

- 76 invalid soldiers separately listed as returning home in October.

Total: 359

So, we have 887 – 359 = 528 [women have been removed from the equation.]

Additionally, 170 soldiers discharged in North America. These men appear on the Subsistence Rolls and need to be separated from the other soldiers.

528 – 170 = 358

Now, we have two separate groups that remained consisting of 170 and 358 men respectively. The group of 358 soldiers continued military service with one or more of two regiments that remained to guard the government through 1768. 

In his 12 September 1763 letter to the Earl of Loudon, Major James Abercrombie affirms a transfer of soldier strength. The majority of the men of the 78th were only subsisted to the 13th of the month, one day later. 

"...The 47^th & 78^th have been drafted to compleat the 15^th, 27^th & 2d Bn. Royal Americans, those three Regts. remain in this govt. & trois rivieres..."

The major's statement is further reinforced by this contemporary newspaper account:

St. James Chronicle or British Evening Post, London, 8 December 1763

Edinburgh, December 3. From Glasgow we have Advice that only the Officers and 200 private Men of Colonel Frazer's Regiment from Quebec had arrived at Greenock, and that 400 of them, before they left that Place, had been draughted into General Amherst's Regiment of Royal Americans.

It's unclear the exact disbursement of soldiers in support of the three remaining regiments, but the 15th Regiment, by 12 September, received 254 draughts, 18 recruits; General Amherst stated, "...the majority of the men from the 78th...." And a thorough review of their muster rolls confirms that about 164 soldiers of the 78th Regiment transferred to the 15th Regiment on 25 August 1763. The remaining soldiers transferred to the Royal Americans as stated in the newspaper, and the 27th Foot.

A letter from General Amherst to Governor Thomas Gage, dated 1 August 1763 at New York, provides an insight to the challenges the general faced in supplying troops to the three remaining regiments [Amherst to Gage, LAC, W.O. 34/7, Microfilm C-12838, vol. 7, images 271-278].

"...The Reduced States in which the several Corps at prest. are, The Difficulty in Recruiting them in this country, and the absolute Necessity there is to have them compleat, obliges me to Draft men from those Regiments that are ordered home, as well as take every man of the Disbanded Corps fit for service and who are not Entitled to their Discharge, to fill up the others..." He further continued, "Should there be any men belonging to the Corps in your Government, that are really Invalids, or are Intitled to their Discharges, and are Willing to accept thereof in this Country which I would much rather they should, as I think they can get their Livelyhood by working in America, Easier than at home, you will be pleased to Discharge them accordingly, but they should have a right to be sent to Europe, Agreably to the King's Intentions."

We also discovered evidence supporting 80 soldiers of the 78th Regiment applying for passage to Albany, in a letter from Governor James Murray to General Amherst dated 15 September 1763. And it only makes sense this group was part of the 170 discharged soldiers. 

"...Major Abercrombie has apply'd to me for a march route & Provisions to Albany for Eighty of the Men of His Regt. who chuse to remain in America rather than go home. I this day allow'd them to march, and I flatter myself you will approve. At Albany every man will go to his respective Destination..." 

Amherst's approval arrived by letter from New York three weeks later on 6 October 1763.

"...I am glad to find that so many Men of the 78th have Chose to come to Albany, where I hope they will be able to fix on Places to settle in, to their liking, Nothing could be more reasonable than your allowing them provisions to that place."

In Conclusion
A conservative estimate is about 60 percent of the demobilized regiment initially remained in North America, at least for a few years after the war. And of the original 528 men thought to have stayed, we have currently identified 234 [plus or minus] applying for Crown land in Quebec, New York, and Vermont from 1765-1802. 

Author and librarian W.S. Wallace wrote, in a 1948 article, "It has been estimated that two or three hundred of the regiment remained in Canada." And while it has been suggested that as many as 400 men may have never returned to Scotland at all, the lack of available paperwork offered as confirmation further concretes this mystery. 

One thing is for certain, though: both family love and public interest solidifies the continued search for official records of these courageous men and women. And as more information becomes available perhaps one day we'll finally have the answers.

Do you have a Highlander ancestor you would like to share? We would love to hear your story! If you could please reach out and contact us with your information, it would be greatly appreciated.

Works Cited:

Treasury Board Papers, "Subsistence Rolls of Fraser's Highlanders (the 78th), 1763." LAC, T.1, vol. 422.

Ibid, "Subsistence Rolls of Fraser's Highlanders (the 78th), 1763." TNA, T.1, vol. 422.

Marie Fraser, "Subsistence Rolls of Fraser's Highlanders (the 78th), 1763." Clan Fraser Society, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2001.

McIntosh, Walter H. 78th or Colonel Simon Fraser's Regiment [Topsfield, Massachusetts, n.d.]

General James Murray, "Letter addressing various campaign issues." War Office Records: Amherst Papers. Letters from the Governor of Quebec to the Commanders-in-Chief, New York, 1760-63. LAC, W.O. 34, vol. 2.

Earl John Chapman, "Soldiers of the 78th in North America." Email letter received 20 Nov. 2017. 

General James Murray, "Embarkation Return of Soldiers of the 78th Regiment [and others.]" October 1763. LAC, War Office Records: Amherst Papers. Miscellaneous Correspondence, Papers and returns, 1759-1763. W.O. 34, vol. 4. 

Royal Chelsea Hospital. Chelsea Pensioners: 78th Regiment of Foot, January-June 1764. TNA, Series W.O. 116/5. 

Wallace, W.S. The Footprints of Fraser's Highlanders on the Sands of Time [Quebec, 1948.]

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2017. 

 

Last updated 8 December 2022.

Court of Inquiry Regarding the Death of Corporal James Macky, 63rd Regiment, Jan. 1758

Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry held by Order of Lieut. Colonel Simon Fraser of his Majesty's 63d or Second Highland Battalion concerning the Manner of the Death of Corporal James Macky of the above regiment.

Members: 

Captain Charles Baillie, President

Lieut. John Cuthbert

Lieut. Charles McDonnell

Lieut. John Fraser

Ensign Simon Fraser

The Evidence of William McKardy then acting as Corporal.

William McKardy declares that about 11 o'clock Tuesday night the 27th Serjt. Alexander Fraser came to the gaurd and inquir'd if they were all present & if they had their Arms, they reply'd they had, upon this Corporal Macky who acted as Serjt. of the gaurd & was lying asleep in Bed, got up, & how soon he saw Serjt. Fraser he damn'd him for disturbing his gaurd, & said he woud confine him, for he knew what for a fellow he was, Serjt. Fraser gave up his sword & sat down, after a few minutes he got up & went to the door, Macky immediately follow'd him, & getting before him gave him a desperate cut with his sword upon the Temple, and seiz'd him by the hair, the men of the gaurd disengaged them & laid hold on Fraser, disengaged his righthand, and getting hold of his durk, struck a Blow at hazard over his shoulder, for he was almost blinded with the Blood that guſh'd from his Wound, Macky received the Blow in the Neck & immediately drop't down.~

William McPherson Granadier & Robert Robertson Soldier in the Colonels Company concur in everything with the preceeding Evidence.

The Prisoner Serjt. Fraser being examin'd says, that being the Night of the 27th in Company with some of his Acquaintances at the Quarters of Alex'r McLeod Soldier, about half a Mile from the gaurd, he was surpris'd to see Corporal Macky, who acted as Serjt. of the gaurd come there about nine of the Clock, & advised him in a friendly manner to return to his gaurd as he might remember what happen'd others, for the like offence, about 11 o'Clock Serjt. Fraser was inform'd, that there was some shot fir'd about the gaurd, & that a party from the gaurd was inpursuit of some offenders, He then recollected that Macky was drunk, & perhaps not at his gaurd, & therefore he thought it his duty to repair there immediately, upon coming to the gaurd, found two firelocks at the door of the gaurd, on the outside, which made him conclude the gaurd was not alert, As to what happen'd from the time of his coming to the gaurd, till the blow was given, he gives the same Account as the preceeding Evidence and says that his Intention in coming to the door was to bring in the firelocks that were left out in the rain.

Sign'd Chas. Baille Captain

Source:

Captain Charles Baille, "Court of inquiry concerning the manner of death of Corporal James Mackay." NAS, GD 45-2-29-2B.

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2017.

Unlucky Accident in Connecticut Involving Soldiers of the 78th Regiment of Foot, Dec. 1757

Dr. Sir

       
I have just heard of an unlucky accident that happened today at Stratford, a Sergt. & Corporal of our grenadier Company having quarrel'd (both I'm afraid drunk) the Corporal was killed, the account I have had is very imperfect but from it the deceased seems to have been the Aggressor, how soon I can have it properly enquired into I take the Opportunity of the bearer who is just setting out to beg you will if you think it necessary mention it to My Lord Loudoun for his directions whether the Man should be try'd by civil or Military Law, Or if you don't think it necessary to trouble My Lord with it, Be so good to let me have your Advice how I am to proceed - If You happen not to be in a writing vein Make Maj. Halket write me a few lines by the first Opportunity to, Stratford ----- Examining the quarters, as far as I have got We seem pretty well off.

                                             
                                                                               I am
                                                                               Dr. Sir Your obedient & most

                                                                               humble Servt. S. Fraser

Fairfield Dec. 28th. 1757

Source:

Colonel Simon Fraser, "Letter of Colonel Simon Fraser to Colonel Forbes, Adjutant General, at His House in the Broadway or at the Fort, New York." NAS, GD 45-2-29-1.

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2017.

Private Donald McKinnon, 78th Regiment of Foot

The personal affidavit of Donald McKinnon, 78th Regiment of Foot, 21 March 1800.

City & District of Quebec

Before me Peter Stuart, Esquire, one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the said District, personally appeared Donald McKinnon, formerly a private Soldier in the late Seventy Eighth or Royal Highland Regiment of Foot, who being Duly Sworn upon the Holy Evangelists deposeth and faith, that he was a private Soldier in Captain Alexander Campbell's Company, in the said 78th Regiment, and was discharged therefrom at the general reduction which took place shortly after the conquest of Canada, when he became an Inhabitant of this Province and hath ever since remained therein ~ That he had the Misfortune to be plundered, many years ago when on the coast of Labradore by some Indians, of his Chest & effects and at that time lost his Discharge or certificate from said Regiment. ~ That he is a Married man and has had Twenty Children, ten of whom are living, and that he has never received any part of His Majesty's Bounty in Lands in virtue of the Royal Proclamation of October 1763 either in this or any other of His Majesty's Colonies or Goverments in America - in his own right or in behalf of his wife Angelique, or children by name Joseph, Louis, Lacerte, Etienne, Charles, Angelique, Magdalene, Marguerite, Rose and Elizabeth - And that he the Deponent is about Seventy eight years of Age and is settled in the Parish of Berthier on the South Shore.

Sworn before me at

Quebec this 21st of March 1800

Peter Stuart, J.P.                                                                        

Donald  X  McKinnon

[his mark]

Note: Donald McKinnon appears with Captain Alexander Campbell during the regiment's reduction in Quebec in the summer of 1763, but his name does not appear as one of 170 soldiers discharged in America.' The names Donald McKinven and Donald McKinvan appear on muster rolls as entering the 15th Foot on 25 August 1763 in the companies of Captain Maxwell and Major Irving respectively.

Source:

"Schedule of certificates and discharges of non-commissioned officers and soldiers reduced in America." LAC, Lower Canada Land Papers, RG1 L3L, vol. 157.

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2017.

Private James Forbes, 78th Regiment of Foot

Born in the Nairn, Scotland in 1723, Private James Forbes enlisted in the army in 1757 and served about seven years with the 78th Foot in various campaigns in North America. At the conclusion of the war in the summer of 1763, his name appears in Captain John Nairn's Company on the Subsistence rolls of Fraser's Highlanders, dated 23 August, as having received 21 days subsistence pay, and also on the official roster of 78th Foot: Soldiers Discharged in America. His official discharged date is listed as 10 September 1763, and there is no indication of continued service.

Private Forbes' name is included in a land petition with 22 former soldiers of the 78th Foot, dated 19 May 1765 at Quebec, for lands "at or near the Bay of Gaspe or Chaleurs."

Discharge Certificate

His Majesty's 78th Regiment of foot whereof Simon Fraser is Colonel, 

These are to certify, That the Bearer hereof, James Forbes, Soldier in Captain John Nairns Comp of the aforesaid Regiment, Born in the Parish of Ardclach in or near the Market-Town of ..... in the County of Nairn, Aged 40 years and by Trade a Labourer Hath served honestly and faithfully in the said Regiment Seven years: But by Reason that the Regiment is to be Reduced is hereby Discharged, and humbly recommended as a proper Object of His Majesty's Royal Bounty of CHELSEA HOSPITAL. He having first received all just Demands of Pay, Clothing, &c. from his entry into the said Regiment, to the Date of this Discharge, as appears by his Receipt on the Back hereof.

Given under my Hand, and the Seal of the Regiment at Quebec in Canada this tenth Day of September 1763.

N.B. When a Soldier is discharged, his Wounds and Disorders must be particularly mentioned, when, where, and how they were contracted, and the Surgeon must sign the Certificates as well as the Field Officer.

The Bearer James Forbes being one of the Reduced Soldiers of the 78th Regiment in which he has served faithfully for the space of seven years is Hereby recommended to any of the Kings Governors of North America authorized to grant lands to the reduced Officers & Soldiers for a share therein according to His Majesty's most gracious intentions signified for the Commander in Chief of his Forces in this country.

[signed]

James Abercrombie
Major 78th Regt.

Sources:

"Schedule of certificates and discharges of non-commissioned officers and soldiers reduced in America." LAC, Lower Canada Land Papers, RG1 L3L, vol. 157. #77081-71.

Treasury Board Papers, "An Account of His Majesty's Royal Bounty of Fourteen Days Subsistence, also the Sword Money paid the following Men of the 78th Regiment Discharged in America." LAC, Series RG4, C2, vol. 1, Microfilm 10462.

Treasury Board Papers, "Subsistence Rolls of Fraser's Highlanders (the 78th), 1763." LAC, T.1, vol. 422.

"Land Petitions of Lower Canada, 1764-1841." Library Archives Canada. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca [Oct. 2015].

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2017.  

Land Petition of Sundry Private Soldiers of the 78th Regiment of Foot

In the closing months of the Seven Years’ War, soldiers from the 78th Regiment of Foot—known as Fraser’s Highlanders—found themselves demobilized in British North America, many with little more than their uniforms and the promise of land. The petition presented here, submitted by a group of private soldiers in 1763, represents a compelling and rarely preserved appeal for compensation. These men, having served through brutal campaigns in Canada, turned to the Crown to request plots of land in return for their loyal service. Their plea sheds light on the broader struggle of discharged enlisted men to secure stability and recognition in the wake of empire.

In 1802, eleven former soldiers of the 78th Regiment of Foot reduced in America petitioned the Quebec Government for wastelands of the Crown pursuant to the proclamation of 1763. Having never previously received approval for land for any number of reasons; lost paperwork and the inability to accurately prove who they were, including former military service, would have certainly delayed or even forgone the original approval process.

Land Petition of Sundry Private Soldiers of the 78th Regiment of Foot

Quebec 9th. February 1802

To His Excellency Sir Robert Shore Milnes, Baronet, Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Lower Canada &c, &c, &c, in Council~

The petition of Sundry Non-Commissioned officers and private Soldiers of British Regiments and Provincial Corps who were reduced in America – in behalf of themselves and their several and respective families whose names and designations are inserted in a General Schedule hereunder annexed~

Humbly Shewith,

That your petitioners faithfully served His Majesty at various periods of their lives and were reduced in America, thereby coming within the description of persons entitled to grants of certain portions of the waste lands of the Crown, under the authority of the Royal Proclamation and Instructions.

That from want of due information and advice as well as labouring under many other local disadvantages diverse of Your Petitioners who bore arms at the conquest of Canada, and have ever since been settled in the province, were thus deprived of the benefits which would have resulted for themselves and families had they at the time received His Majesty’s Bounty, pursuant to the proclamation of 1763, when in the prime and vigor of their lives they were best able to enjoy and improve their lands.

That such of Your Petitioners come under the foregoing description, humbly conceive it would be an act of justice and indemnity, should it please Your Excellency in Council to comprehend them under the same regulations which govern the Grants to His Majesty’s reduced Forces of 1783 and since the American War, by allowing to them severally Two Hundred Acres and to their wives & Children fifty acres each, as extended by Lord Dorchester to the Loyalists and various other persons.

That Your Petitioners have never received their bounty lands in this or any of His Majesty’s Colonies or provinces in America.

That unable to ascertain what tracts are open for application at present –

Your petitioners humbly prey-

That Your Excellency in council will be pleased to assign unto them Two Hundred Acres each, and such as are married Fifty Acres to their wives and Child respectively, in any Township of equal quality to those awarded to Loyalists and meritorious subjects-

And as in duty bound will ever pray-

                                                                                     R Phillips in behalf

                                                                                     of the Petitioners

Name: James Forbes

Rank: Private

Born: Scotland

Time of Service: 7 years

Discharged: 10 Septr. 1763

Residence:

Trade or Occupation: Labourer

Family:

Remarks: 78th Regt.

Name: John McLeod

Rank: Private

Born: Scotland

Time of Service: 7 years

Discharged: 10 Septr. 1763

Residence:

Trade or Occupation: Farmer

Family:

Remarks: 78th Regt.

Name: Robert Robertson

Rank: Private

Born: Scotland

Time of Service: 7 years

Discharged: 10 Septr. 1763

Residence:

Trade or Occupation: Labourer

Family:

Remarks: 78th Regt.

Name: Dond. McKinnon

Rank: Private

Born: Scotland

Time of Service: 

Discharged: 

Residence:

Trade or Occupation: 

Family: Wife & 10 Children

Remarks: 78th Regt., By affidavit

Name: Dond. Kennedy

Rank: Private

Born: Scotland

Time of Service: 12 years

Discharged: 24 Augt. 1769

Residence:

Trade or Occupation: 

Family: A Wife & 4 Children

Remarks: 15th & 78th Regt.

Name: John Frazer

Rank: Private

Born: Scotland

Time of Service: 7 years

Discharged: 11 Septr. 1763

Residence:

Trade or Occupation: 

Family: A Wife & 9 Children

Remarks: 78th Regt.

Name: William Ross

Rank: Corporal

Born: Scotland

Time of Service: 7 years

Discharged: 11 Septr. 1763

Residence: Rimouskie

Trade or Occupation: 

Family: A Wife & 6 Children

Remarks: 78th Regt. Received an order for 1200 acres

Name: Rand. McDonell

Rank: Private

Born: Scotland

Time of Service: 7 years

Discharged: 11 Septr. 1763

Residence: New Carlisle

Trade or Occupation: Farmer

Family: A Wife & 3 Children

Remarks: 78th Regt. Certificate annexed

Name: Duncan Cumming

Rank: Private

Born: Scotland

Time of Service: 8 years

Discharged: 

Residence: Montreal

Trade or Occupation: 

Family: A Wife & 7 Children

Remarks: 60 & 78th Regt. Certificate annexed

Name: John Fraser

Rank: Private

Born: Scotland

Time of Service: 7 years

Discharged: 11 Septr. 1763

Residence: St. Anns

Trade or Occupation: Blacksmith

Family: A Wife & 9 Children

Remarks: 78th Regt. Certificate annexed

Name: John Buchanan

Rank: Private

Born: Scotland

Time of Service: 7 years

Discharged: 20 Septr. 1763

Residence: 

Trade or Occupation: Labourer

Family: 

Remarks: 78th Regt. Certificate annexed

While officers often received generous land grants or pensions, privates like those represented in this petition had to rely on collective action and administrative persistence. The document not only illuminates the bureaucratic hurdles faced by enlisted men but also underscores their determination to stake a claim in the territories they helped secure. Whether or not their request was granted, the petition itself remains a valuable testament to the human dimensions of empire—where loyalty, hardship, and aspiration met in the uncertain frontier of postwar British Canada.

For further reading on land compensation and soldier-settler transitions, see Return of 200 Acres of Land for Evan Cameron.

Updated June 2025 with additional commentary and archival references.

Works Cited:

"Schedule of certificates and discharges of non-commissioned officers and soldiers reduced in America." LAC, Lower Canada Land Papers, RG1 L3L, vol. 157.

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2017. 

The Raising of the Highland Regiments in 1757

In his eloquent survey of the career of the elder Pitt Lord Stanhope says---

     Was it not he who devised that lofty and generous scheme for removing the disaffection of the Highlanders by enlisting them in regiments for the service of the Crown? Those minds which Culloden could not subdue at once yielded to his confidence; by trusting he reclaimed them; by putting arms into their hands he converted mutinous subjects into loyal soldiers.

And he afterwards quotes Pitt's own words, spoken a few months before his death.

     I remember how I employed the very rebels in the service and defence of their country. They were reclaimed by this means; they fought our battles; they cheerfully bled in defence of those liberties which they had attempted to overthrow but a few years before.

Whether the final pacification of the Highlands was mainly due to this policy of trust, or to that harsher policy which, by exiling the chiefs, gradually loosened the tie between them and their clans, is perhaps open to question. At any rate the raising of the Highland regiments was a bold and wise measure, for which Pitt deserves credit. But the credit is not due to him exclusively, nor did the idea originate with him. The needs of America, not of Scotland, gave birth to it.

Eight years before, the duke of Bedford had proposed to send out Highlanders to Nova Scotia as settlers, and the duke of Cumberland had promised to support this scheme, 'as 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.' And in 1751 Wolfe, who was at that time commanding a regiment in Scotland, wrote to a brother officer in Nova Scotia that he should imagine two or three independent companies of Highlanders would be found useful in the desultory frontier warfare which was then going on: 'they are hardly, intrepid, accustomed to a rough country, and no great mischief if they fall.'

Braddock's disaster in 1755, and the French reinforcements sent to Canada in the early part of the following year, made it an urgent matter to send out British reinforcements. But it was not easy to find them. The standing army of Great Britain, normally 19,000, had been raised to 34,000 men; but this was a little more than one-fifth of that of France. England was threatened with invasion, and when Hessians and Hanoverians to the number of 19,000 were brought over to guard it they had to be sent back to Germany because of the popular outcry, of which Pitt took the lead. The Mediterranean garrisons could not spare men to reinforce it, and it was driven to capitulate.

Lord Loudoun, who had been very useful in the Highlands at the time of the rebellion, was sent to America to take the chief command; but only two weak battalions accompanied him. One of these was the Black Watch, the earliest Highland regiment, which had been formed out of independent companies in 1739. So many Highland recruits were set out to join it that in a few months' time it numbered 1,300 men. In spite of the opposition of Pitt and his friends, money was voted for a regiment of four battalions to be raised in America from Swiss and German protestants settled in Pennsylvania and New York. One-third of the commissions were given to officers of those nationalities. This regiment, at first known as the Royal American, is now the King's Royal Rifle Corps, or 60th Rifles.

After various acts of hostility on both sides, war was declared between England and France in May 1756. In the course of that month a plan for carrying on the war was submitted to the duke of Cumberland. It proposed an increase in the establishment of British regiments, and the procuring of some German regiments for service in America, and added, 'Two regiments, a thousand men in a corps, may be raised in the north of Scotland for the said service and on the same terms. No men in this island are better qualified for the American war than the Scots Highlanders.' It further suggested that the Scots regiments in the Dutch service should be recalled, and 2,000 Protestants raised in the north of Ireland.

Pitt was sworn as principal secretary of state on 4 Dec., and the duke soon afterwards sent him by Lord Albemarle the plan described above. As regards the Highlanders, the matter was quickly settled, for in the course of that month the duke wrote the following letter, marked 'Most private,' to Lord Loudoun:---

St. James De 23d 1756.

     My Lord Loudoun,--- I write this private letter to you to assure you of the thorough satisfaction your conduct has given me, and will not fail to support you to the utmost of my power through the many difficulties you find in the executing of your orders, and in opposition to the public service. Nothing can be worse than our situation here at home, without any plan, or even a desire to have one, great numbers talked of to be sent you, but without any consideration of how, and from whence, without considering what they should carry with them. But that you may know what can be done for you, I write in my own Hand, trusting to your Honour, that you will burn this as soon as read.

     The King will spare you five old Battalions from Europe and two thousand new raised Highlanders, which will make 6,000 men, officers included: and I will send a proper train of artillery with them. Prepare your own plan for one army up the St. Lawrence River, and for the other to keep the enemy in check from where your army now is. I will send you my thoughts more fully with a plan of mine for your operations, which you shall be left at liberty, either to adopt, in part, or not at all, as you shall find it proper from your better information. I don't doubt a moment of your burning this letter, so don't answer it, but send your plan and thoughts without taking any notice of this most private letter. I remain very sincerely your most affectionate Friend.

The 2,000 Highlanders here referred to were to form two battalions, to be raised respectively by Archibald Montgomery, afterwards the earl of Eglinton, and Simon Fraser, master of Lovat. Montgomery was a major of Lord Robert Manners's regiment (88th Foot), but Fraser was in a different position and has never held the king's commission. His father, Lord Lovat, had made him join the Jacobite army in 1746 at the head of his clan. He had afterwards received a pardon, and become an advocate (as readers of 'Catriona' may remember). He now applied to be allowed to raise a regiment, and was supported by the duke of Argyle, who told the government that under no other person would the clan of Fraser enlist.

Among the Cumberland Papers at Windsor there is a list of officers from Fraser's regiment, endorsed, 'These papers delivered to me by the Duke of Argyle on 2d Jan. 1757, and approved the next day by the King. [Initialed] W.' Out of a total of thirty-nine officers thirteen are Frasers, and there is a note to that

     Mr Fraser being to raise so great a number of men, it is necessary to recommend many gentleman of the name of Fraser who have not been in the service before, but who from their connections and interest in the country can raise most men.

The two majors in this list are Campbells, but one of them was afterwards appointed to Montgomery's regiment.

The duke of Newcastle, whom Pitt had driven out of office, watched the measures of the new minitsry with the disapproval which was to be expected. On 4 Jan. 1757 he wrote to Lord hardwicke about the reinforcements for America---

     The Duke will not part with more than 4 regiments from hence, the new lord-lieutenant will spare only 1,000 from thence, and the old governor of Scotland cannot muster up above 2,000 of his Highland Friends, which altogether will not amount to much above 6,000 men. Mr. Pitt insists upon 8,000.

Hardewick replied on the 7th---

     I find this measure of raising 2,000 Highlanders alarms many of the best affected, particularly the making councillor Fraser colonel of one of the Battalions. . . . Nothing could more affectually break in upon the plan which has been pursuing for that country, ever since the last Rebillion, and I dare say the scheme is to put an end to it.

Two days later Newcastle wrote again---

     I most entirely disapprove the method of their Highland regiments. The Duke, I hear, disapproves and submits. It is wholly the duke of Argyle.

There seems to be nothing to bear out the statement that the duke of Cumberland disapproved the raising of these regiments. The fact that Henry Fox supported the measure in the house of commons is an indication to the contrary. The situation is pretty clear. Pitt was bent on vigorous action in America, but his hand were to some extent tied by his opposition to the employment of foreign soldiers. Whether or not he welcomed the scheme at that time as a message of peace to Scotland, it was practically indispensable for waging war in America. The king and the duke, as captain-general, were unwilling to denude the country of troops, especially as they cherished a hole that some British regiments would join the army which was to be formed for the defence of Hanover. Highlanders had fought under the duke at Fontenoy, and against him at Culloden, and he knew their value. As already mentioned, the Black Watch had been sent to America before Pitt became a minister. The opinions of Argyle and Loudoun, Campbells both, would be likely to weigh with him, especially when they furnished a means of reconciling his views with those of the imperious minister.

Recruits came in so freely that the establishment of the two regiments increased. They were sent to America in a few months. Montgomery's regiment served under Forbes in the successful expedition against Fort Duquense (where Braddock had met with disaster), while Fraser's took part in the capture of Louisbourg and Quebec, and won the praise of Wolfe. The regiments were brought into the line as the 77th and 78th respectively, but were disbanded at the peace of 1763, the men receiving grants of land in America.

E.M. Lloyd.

Source:

Lloyd, E.M. The Raising of the Highland Regiments. The English Historical Review, Vol. 17, No. 67, pp. 466-69, London, 1902.

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2017.  

Major Clephane's Company Expenses, Kilravock to Glasgow, 1757

A detailed account of Major Clephane's company's expenses on their march from Kilravock to Glasgow, Scotland encompassing approximately 180 miles over a 10-day period, with layovers for entertainment, supplies, and fresh horses. The soldiers would stay in Glasgow for an additional 10 days or so, presumably waiting on the arrival of the remaining companies from the regiment.

Newspaper accounts depict the recruits' uniforms reviewed in Glasgow during this period, and about April 19th proceeding west to Portpatrick en route to Donaghadee, Ireland. From there, they would eventually march south to Cork, Ireland and depart for North America in 10 transport ships under cover of the Enterprize, a 40-gun man-of-war, on June 30, 1757.

In a letter to his brother, dated April 8, 1757 at Kilraick, Major Clephane discussed the first two companies departing together for Glasgow: "...I have at last sent off for Glasgow 124 recruits along with Colonel Fraser’s company (our two companies making the first division of the battalion)." Arthur Rose, Kilraick's uncle, would accompany Clephane's men on the march due to his pressing business around the country.

Expenses from Kilravock to Glasgow

Marcht from Kilraick Thursday 31 March 1757

Dulcey, 31st

1. For Entertenment: £0-10-0

Avemore, April 1st

2. For horse hire: £0-3-6

3. For Entertenment: £0-5-6

4. To McCoulmore for horse hire: £0-6-0

Ruven, April 2d & 3d

5. For Drams to the men: £0-13-6

6. For Entetenment for 2 days: £0-15-6

Dalnacardigk, April 4th

7. For Entetenment: £0-6-6

8. To the Seven Nairn men accounted for: £0-7-0
9. To John Innes 6 mens pay for 2 days accounted for: £0-6-0
10. To John Fraser 8 mens pay for 2 days accounted for: £0-8-0
11. To Donald McIntosh the Cook accounted for: £0-1-6
12. To the seven men sent back to Inverness: £0-7-0
13. To John Robertson accounted for: £0-?-0
14. To Donald Cuthbert accounted for: £0-?-0
15. To McCoulmore for hors hire: £0-5-0
16. To John Watson and Gray: £0-10-6
17. To McCoul: £0-5-0
18. To Donald McDonald & Little Donald McDonald one sh each: £0-2-0

Note: Major Clephane's Company garrisoned April 5th at Aberfeldy. See Note 22 below.

Crief, April 6th
19. To John Watson at Crief April 6th for the men: £3-0-0
20. To McCoulmore for horsehire at Crief: £0-3-6
21. For Drams to the men at Rumelru: £0-10-6
22. For Entertenment at Tay Bridge: £0-6-0
25. To McCoul: £0-3-6

Sterling, April 7th
24. To John Watson more for the mens pay: £2-0-0
25. For Entertenment: £0-4-0
26. To the piper: £0-3-6

Kirkintullock, April the 8th
27. To Entertenment: £0-3-0
29. For Servants and horse: £0-3-0

Glasgow, April the 9th
20. To John Watson more money for the mens pay: £5-5-0

Glasgow, April 11th
30. To McCoule for carreing him home: £?-?-0
31. To old McKenzie accounted for: £0-0-6
32. To McCoule for horse hire at Glasgow: £0-3-6
33. Got back from John Watson of the 5 guineas: £0-18-0
34. Given to John Watson for the mens pay: £5-0-0
35. To James Geddes and his comerad Six pence each the same: £0-1-0

Glasgow, April 13th
36. To John Watson for the mens: £5-0-0
37. Recived Back for John Watson: £1-1-0
38. To Robertson from Holland: £0-3-0
39. To the Piper: £0-2-0

40. Saturday Aprile 16th paid all the men their pay & arrears from the time they left Kilraick till the above date

41. April 6 gave John Watson: £3-2-0

42. To Sandie Rose: £3-3-0

43. More to Sandie Rose: £2-2-0

44. More to Sandie Rose Sunday: £2-2-0

45. Gave more to the mens use: £5-5-0

46. 18 more to Sandie Rose: £1-1-0

Glasgow, April 18th
47. John Watson & Rose Debers
48. To Sandie Rose: £21-0-0

49. from 16th till 18th: £16-15-0

50. from 13th till 16th: £5-0-0

51. from 11th till 13th: £5-0-0

52. from 9th till 11th: £5-5-0

Stirling, April 7th

53. from 7th till 9th: £2-0-0

54. April 6th at Crief: £3-0-0

Glasgow, April 18

55. John Watson Credetor

56. Credetor: £1-1-0

57. Credetor: £0-18-0

Notes: 

16. Serjeant John Watson.
18. Most likely father/son.

21. Unable to locate.

22. Tay Bridge at Aberfeldy (Wade's Bridge), was built by General Wade in 1734 on a second road which ran from Crieff to Dalnacardoch. At the time of completion, this was the only bridge anywhere to cross the Tay River.

26. The piper paid.

39. The piper paid.

53-54. Both appear to be late entries.

While at Glasgow, City Quartermaster John Robb secured accommodations for Colonels Montgomery and Fraser's Highland Battalions in both public and private houses.

Sources:

Major James Clephane, "Account of the company's expenses on the march to embark at Greenock, 31 March - 18 April, 1757." NAS, GD125-22-16-16.

Rose, H., and Lachlan Shaw. A Genealogical Deduction of the Family of Rose of Kilravock: with Illustrative Documents from the Family Papers, and Notes. Edinburgh, 1848.

Renwick, Robert. "Glasgow City Quartermaster John Robb." Extracts from the Records of the Burgh of Glasgow: with Charters and Other Documents. Vol. VI, A.D. 1739-59. Scottish Burgh Records Society, 1911.

"Bridges and Crossings of the River Tay at Dunkeld. "https://essonfamilyhistory.com/bridges-and-crossings-of-the-river-tay-at-dunkeld. [Accessed 23 May 2020].

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2017.

Last updated 23 May 2020

Calendar of New York Colonial Land Papers; Soldiers of the 78th Regiment

Be sure to explore our Quebec Land Petitions as some of these same names will appear in both areas.  We have currently identified upwards of 250 soldiers of the 78th Regiment that remained in North America after 1763.

Working through the assistance of the New York State Archives at Albany, we've secured digital copies of the following land petitions.

1763 Petitions
Sept. 14. Certificate of Major Abercrombie that Roderick Fraser, corporal in Capt. Hugh Cameron’s company of the 78th regiment, served for the space of seven years.

Nov. 29. Certificate of Alexr. McLeod, captain of the 78th regiment, that Donald Fraser is dismissed, and allowed to go about his lawful affairs.

1764 Petitions
Feb. --. Petition of Allan McArthur, Donald Livingston, Donald Irvin, David McLeah and Kenneth McKenzie, late soldiers of the 78th regiment, praying their quota of the lands to be granted pursuant to his majesty’s proclamation.

Oct. 12. Certificate of Genl. Gage, that Ensign Alexr. Fraser, junr., served during the war.

Oct. 14. Memorial of Ensign Alexr. Fraser, late of His Majesty's 78th regiment, praying a grant of land in the county of Albany, east of Husdon's River, north of land lately laid out for Lieut. James Bain and Wm. Gregor.

Nov 6. Return of survey for Allan Cameron, late serjeant in the 78th Regiment, of 200 acres of land in the county of Albany, east of Hudson’s river, (Rupert, Vermont).

Nov. 6. Return of survey for Alexr. Fraser, late serjeant in the 78th regiment, of 200 acres of land in the county of Albany, east side of Hudson’s river, (Rupert, Vermont).

Nov. 6. Return for survey for Alexr. Fraser and John Fraser, late privates in the 78th regiment, of 100 acres of land in the county of Albany, (Rupert, Vermont).

Nov. 6. Return for survey for Wm. Fraser, late serjeant in the 78th regiment, of 200 acres of land in the county of Albany, (Rupert, Vermont).

Nov. 6. Return of survey for Donald Livingston, Allan McArthur, and Jno. McDonald, late privates in the 78th regiment, of 150 acres of land in the county of Albany, east of Hudson’s river, (Rupert, Vermont).

Nov. 6. Return of survey of Jno. Mcintosh, late private in the 78th regiment, of 50 acres of land in the county of Albany, east of Hudson’s river, (Rupert, Vermont).

Nov. 6. Return of survey for George Stuart and John McDonald, late private soldiers in the 78th regiment, of 100 acres of land in the county of Albany, east of Hudson’s river, (Rupert, Vermont).

Nov. 6. Return of survey for Alexr. Fraser, late serjeant in the 78th regiment, of 200 acres of land in the county of Albany, east of Hudson’s river, (Rupert, Vermont).

1765 Petitions
[No date]. Certificate of Major James Abercrombie that Alexr. McKenzie served as soldier in the 78th regiment, and discharged 14th Sept., 1763.

[No date]. Certificate of Major John Small that Alexr. McKenzie served in the 78th regiment during the war, &c., 2d March, 1766.

[No date.] Petition of Angus McDonald, private of the 78th regiment, Miles Carmichal and John Black of said regiment, and John Sutherland, private of the 77th regiment, for a grant of 200 acres of land on the east side of Kinderhook river.

Jan. 19. Certificate of Major James Abercrombie, that Donald Cuthbert served as soldier in the 78th regiment, 10th Sept. 1763.

May 9. Return of survey of Thomas McPherson, late private in the 78th regiment, of 50 acres of land in the county of Albany, east of Hudson’s river, (Rupert, Vermont).

May 9. Return of survey for Donald McIntyre, late corporal in the 78th regiment, of 50 acres of land in the county of Albany, east of Hudson’s river, (Rupert, Vermont).

May 9. Return of survey for Donald McGilvray, John McKinvin, Donald Irvin, Kenneth McKenzie, all privates in the 78th regiment, and John Forbes, George Southerland and Donald McColl, late privates in the 77th, of a tract of 350 acres of land in the county of Albany, east of Hudson’s river, (Rupert, Vermont).

May 9. Return of survey for Donald Urquhart, John Sutherland, John Simpson and John McIntire, late privates in the 78th regiment, of a tract of 200 acres of land in the county of Albany, east of Hudson’s river, (Rupert, Vermont).

May 23. Return of survey for Allan Cameron, late corporal in the 78th Regiment, of 200 acres of land in the county of Albany, east of Hudson’s river, (Rupert, Vermont).

May 30. Return of survey for Alexr. McKaga, late a private in the 60th regiment, of a tract of 50 acres of land in the county of Albany, south of a tract surveyed for Allan Cameron, late corporal in the 78th regiment, (Rupert, Vermont).

June 15. Petition for Hugh Fraser, late Lieut. in the 78th regiment, for a grant of 2,000 acres of land, on the east side of the Hudson’s river.

July 23. Return of survey for Evan Cameron, late corporal in the 78th regiment, of a tract of 200 acres of land on the east side of the Hudson’s river, in the county of Albany.

Oct. 21. Return of survey for Roderick Fraser, late corporal in the 78th regiment, a tract of 200 acres of land in the county of Albany, on the east side of Hudson’s river.

1766 Petitions
June 22. Certificate of Lieut. Alexr. Fraser, that James Ross served as serjeant in the 78th regiment, commanded by Capt. Fraser, and in Capt. McDonell’s company.

July 8. Petition of James Ross, late serjeant in the 78th regiment, praying that the 200 acres of land formerly petitioned for by them be located in the county of Albany, east of Lake Champlain, and north of lands petitioned for by Lieut. Wm. Barron.

Dec. 1. Certificate that Alexr. Fraser served as corporal in the 78th regiment during the war.

Oct. 24. Memorial of Lieut. Alexander Fraser, of the late 78th regiment, for a grant of 2,000 acres of land, in the townships of New Fane and Townsend.

1767 Petitions
Jan. 18. Certificate that Alexander Robertson served as soldier of the 78th regiment.

Feb. 17. Petition of Alexr. Fraser, late corporal in the 78th regiment, for a grant of 200 acres of land to the east of a tract of 1,000 acres granted to Capt. Shirreff on Lake Champlain.

Mar. 23. Petition of Duncan Weir, serjeant in the 78th regiment, Alexr. McDonald, private, and Duncan McArthur, private in said regiment for a grant of lands near Dear Field on the west side of the Connecticut river.

1768 Petitions
Apr. 27. Petition of Kenneth McCullock, late ensign of the 78th regiment, for 2,000 acres of land on the west side of the North river, in the county of Albany.

1771 Petitions
Feb. 2. Petition of Simon McTavish, in behalf of his father John McTavish, lieutenant in the 78th regiment, for a grant of 2,000 acres of land to the east of Schohary kill.

Apr. 16. Petition of Alexr. Gray, late corporal in the 78th regiment, for a grant of 200 acres of land adjoining to Major Campbell’s land on Lake Champlain, and near Crown Point.

Sep. 11. Certificate of Lieut. Alexr. Fraser that John McGillivray served as corporal in the 78th regiment during the war, 7th April 1767.

Source:

New York Secretary's Office. Calendar of New York Colonial Manuscripts, Indorsed Land Papers; in the Office of the Secretary of State of New York, 1643-1803. [New York, 1864].

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2017.

This article was last updated 26 April 2020.

Accoutrements of the 78th Regiment of Foot, May 1758

This author has discovered an accounting ledger among the personal papers of Major James Clephane, Colonel Fraser’s second in command, dated May 1758. The ledger's purpose was for tracking expenses for each soldier in his company, including accoutrements issued and the monthly pay received. Considering the date of the ledger and the items listed, we believe these to be of initial government issue and part of a private soldier's kit he would have carried.

Since the original publishing of this article, new information has been uncovered strongly suggesting the 78th Foot wore the same tartan as Lord Loudoun's 64th Foot. See our FAQ page for full details.

Clothing & Accoutrements

1. 1 - Pair Shoes

2. 1 - Napsack

3. 1 - Haversack

4. 1 - Cocade

5. 1 - Pair Garters & 1 Sett Buckles

6. 1 - Kilt & Small Belt 

7. 2 - Cheq’d Shirt 

8. 1 - Turn Key Screw, Brush & Wire 

9. Proportion of a Cooks Frock 

10. Leather Frock

The major's sister Betty Clephane (wife of the chief of Clan Rose), discussed some of these items in a 1757 letter to her brother John, updating him on the recruiting efforts taking place: "We are already in such order, that we have our men received everyday with a stick on his shoulder and a good sack on his back, and a philibeg about his loup." Her jubilant thoughts expressly conveyed women were in fact involved in the raising of the 78th Regiment.

Notes: 

1. One new pair of shoes issued every six months at a cost of 3s 4p.

3. Multiple men in the Major Clephane's Company are recorded as having received two haversacks; one prior to departing Kilraick, Inverness for North America, the second while en route at Cork, Ireland.
6. Some accounts lists small belt as pistle belt.
7. Issued by Major Clephane.
8. Used in maintaining and repairing the firelocks.
9. Each soldier was charged proportionally.
10. Only one soldier charged for this item; quite possibly the company blacksmith.

Newspaper Editorial 

The Public Advertiser Newspaper
Thursday, February 3, 1757
Glasgow, Jan. 24. On Wednesday an Order was received from London, to provide 2400 pairs of shoes and also Shoulder-Belts for the two Highland Regiments now raising.

Order Book Entry

Saturday, 11 May 1762

"...Every soldier to be provided with a Brush weir, worm stopper, Turn key screw & rag for his arms, a hammer Stale [?] & flint case of proper Leather never to be taken off except when under arms, or on duty, 4 good shirts & stocks, one night cape, an Ivory & horn come for the hair, Black ball & Shoe Brushes, the men for guard allways to be well sheav'd have Clean shirts their hair ty'd behind & Clubb'd. Their arms very clean shoulder belts & Cartridge Boxes well Blacked, & shoulder Belt Buckles Brisk, every soldier whether he is on duty or not to have his face hands & knees well wash'd his hair well com'd cut short on the top of his head & his locks short, his Bonnet proper so as to reach his Brues before, & as high as possible behind with the Cockard fix'd so as the haf of it may stand upright above the Bonnet, his plaid never to be worn but kelted, the fillibeg or little kelt to be allways worn in summer or harvest except when upon duty."

See the article entitled, Clothing for the Highland Regiments, 1757, for a discussion on regimental clothing, including the 42nd, 77th and 78th Regiment of Foot.

Sources:

Major James Clephane, "Military Accounts at Halifax, 1758." NAS, GD125-34-5.

Captain John Nairne, "Order Books, 1762." LAC, R5991-0-3-E, MG23-GIII 23.

Betty Clephane, "Letter to 'Dear Brother', 1757." NAS, GD125-22-2, pp. 5-7.

© Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2018.

 

Soldiers of the 78th Regiment Discharged in America

"Hearts by the Hearth" symbolizes love, unity, and resilience shared in the warmth of home. It evokes emotional connection, tradition, and the quiet strength of family life centered around the hearth—a timeless refuge where generations bond, endure hardships, and find comfort in each other's presence. (Jeffrey Campbell, Hearts by the Hearth, 2025)

Soldiers of the 78th Regiment Discharged in America

Although 158 names appear in Col. J.R. Harper's The Fraser Highlanders [p.123-5,] this list contains 170 soldiers of the 78th Regiment of Foot discharged in Quebec, Canada in 1763. The list does not include commissioned officers. About 360 of Fraser's men joined the 15th Regiment, the 27th Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion 60th Royal American Regiment and participated in the continued securing of Quebec, from 1763-1768.

The following men who delivered in their swords were authorized three shillings sword money, and 14 days pay at the rate of seven shillings when they officially received their discharges. It's important to differentiate that most of these men were discharged from the army and should not be confused with the former soldiers above who continued military service. A more detailed analysis of the total number of soldiers of Fraser's 78th Regiment that remained in North America after 1763 can be located here.

It's worth noting, the Paymaster General's account book recorded final payment on 17 October 1763 to 171 soldiers (36 serjeants; 28 corporals; 12 drummers; 95 private men), one more than is listed below, in the amount of £80.2.0. [TNA, PMG-14-70].

The Colonel's Company

1. Drum Major Alexander Kennedy
2. Serjeant Alexander Fraser
3. Serjeant Donald Fraser
4. Serjeant Donald Gray
5. Corporal Thomas Fraser
6. Corporal Thomas Reid
7. Soldier Hugh Forbes
8. Soldier Alexander Fraser
9. Soldier John Fraser
10. Soldier Thomas Maitland
11. Soldier Robert Robertson
12. Soldier John Simpson

Major James Abercrombie's Company
13. Serjeant Hugh Tulloch
14. Corporal Donald McKenzie
15. Corporal Allan Shaw
16. Drummer John McDonell
17. Soldier John Anderson
18. Soldier Hugh Fraser
19. Soldier William Fraser
20. Soldier George McAdam
21. Soldier Donald McDonald
22. Soldier Evan McLachlin
23. Soldier John McLeod

Major John Campbell's Company
24. Serjeant William Fraser
25. Serjeant George Thompson
26. Corporal Allan Cameron
27. Soldier Angus Cameron
28. Soldier Evan Cameron
29. Soldier Donald Henderson
30. Soldier John Kennedy
31. Soldier Donald McGillvray
32. Soldier Kenneth McKenzie

Captain John McDonell's Company
33. Serjeant Donald Campbell
34. Serjeant Alexander McDonald
35. Serjeant James Thompson
36. Corporal Donald Fraser
37. Corporal William Porterfield
38. Drummer Thomas Fraser
39. Drummer John Hamilton
40. Soldier John Fraser
41. Soldier William Fraser
42. Soldier Allan McArthur
43. Soldier Evan McGillvray
44. Soldier John McPherson

Captain Alexander McLeod's Company
45. Serjeant James Carmichael
46. Serjeant James Gordon
47. Cadit Angus McDonell
48. Serjeant Alexander McNaughton
49. Serjeant James Sinclair
50. Drummer Rory McDonell
51. Soldier Duncan Campbell
52. Soldier Allan McDonell
53. Soldier Allan McDonell

Captain Hugh Cameron's Company
54. Serjeant Gilbert Anderson
55. Serjeant Allan Cameron
56. Serjeant George McKenzie
57. Corporal Evan Cameron
58. Corporal Roderick Fraser
59. Corporal John Lamb
60. Drummer Duncan Mckenzie
61. Soldier John Chisholm
62. Soldier John Fraser
63. Soldier William Fraser
64. Soldier Duncan McDonell
65. Soldier John McDonell
66. Soldier David McLean
67. Soldier Duncan McMillan
68. Soldier George Sutherland

Captain Ranald McDonell's Company
69. Serjeant Alexander Ferguson
70. Serjeant William Fraser
71. Corporal Alexander McDonell
72. Corporal Donald Mcpherson
73. Corporal John Ross
74. Drummer Grigor McGrigor
75. Soldier Evan Black
76. Soldier John Carmichail
77. Soldier Miles Carmichail
78. Soldier Edward Davidson
79. Soldier John Ferguson
80. Soldier Alexander Grant
81. Soldier Peter Grubb
82. Soldier John Gunn
83. Soldier Duncan McGrigor
84. Soldier Donald Sutherland

Captain John Fraser's Company
85. Serjeant Malcolm Fraser
86. Serjeant James McDonell
87. Serjeant Mure Trotter
88. Corporal Benjamin Allen
89. Soldier John Chisholm
90. Soldier James Forsyth
91. Soldier John Fraser
92. Soldier Simon Fraser
93. Soldier Donald McDonald
94. Soldier Farquhar McGillvray

Captain Archibald Campbell's Company
95. Serjeant Simon Fraser
96. Serjeant James Robertson
97. Serjeant John Watson
98. Corporal John Campbell
99. Corporal Hector Ross
100. Soldier James Campbell
101. Soldier Donald Cuthbert
102. Soldier Alexander Johnston
103. Soldier Alexander McArthur
104. Soldier Lachlan McIntosh

Captain Alexander Campbell's Company
105. Serjeant John Fraser
106. Serjeant Edward Mcpherson
107. Serjeant Duncan Wier
108. Corporal Evan Mcpherson
109. Corporal Lewis Stuart
110. Soldier Duncan Cameron
111. Soldier Murd. Cameron
112. Soldier James Fraser
113. Soldier John McKay
114. Soldier John Mcpherson
115. Soldier Thomas Mcpherson
116. Soldier John Smith

Captain John Nairn's Company
117. Serjeant Allan McDonell
118. Corporal Donald McKinnon
119. Corporal William Ross
120. Drummer William Bruce
121. Soldier James Forbes
122. Soldier Donald McIntosh
123. Soldier William More
124. Soldier Alexander Munro
125. Soldier Alexander Ross
126. Soldier Archibald Stuart
127. Soldier William Thompson

Captain Hugh Fraser's Company
128. Serjeant John Clark
129. Serjeant Alexander Fraser
130. Serjeant Alexander McKay
131. Corporal Duncan Forbes
132. Corporal George Geddes
133. Drummer Alexander Fraser
134. Drummer John Stuart
135. Soldier Peter Campbell
136. Soldier John Fraser
137. Soldier John Fraser
138. Soldier Murd. Mcpherson
139. Soldier Peter Stuart
140. Soldier John Sutherland

Captain Hugh Montgomerie's Company
141. Serjeant Alexander Shaw
142. Serjeant William Watson
143. Corporal John Ferguson
144. Corporal Donald Fraser
145. Corporal Hector Munro
146. Drummer John Provan
147. Soldier Alexander Cormak
148. Soldier Thomas Davidson
149. Soldier Alexander Fraser
150. Soldier James Johnston
151. Soldier Roderick McKenzie
152. Soldier Donald McLean
153. Soldier James McQueen
154. Soldier Donald Morrison
155. Soldier Donald Munro
156. Soldier John Ross

Captain Alexander Wood's Company
157. Serjeant Alexander Fraser
158. Serjeant William Gunn
159. Serjeant Ranald McDonell
160. Corporal John Fraser
161. Corporal John McDonell
162. Corporal Donald McIntyre
163. Drummer Donald McKenzie
164. Soldier James Crawford
165. Soldier William Grahame
166. Soldier John Kennedy
167. Soldier John McDonell
168. Soldier Ranald McDonell
169. Soldier John McIntosh
170. Soldier Alexander Mckenzie

Known soldiers who discharged prior to 1763
Major John Campbell's Company
171. Private Donald Wilkinson

Captain Donald McDonell's Company
172. Serjeant James Ross

Notes:
1. Drummer Alexander Kennedy joined the Second Battalion, 60th Royal American Regiment, in August 1763.

118. Following his discharge, McKinnon most likely joined the Second Battalion, 60th Royal American Regiment, in Quebec [see soldier #143].
120. William Bruce reported to the 15th Regiment at Quebec, 25 August 1763. In less than one year, on 15 May 1764, Bruce and three other soldiers from General Amherst's Company deserted the regiment. Two additional soldiers from the same company deserted four days later.
146. Drummer John Provan joined the Second Battalion, 60th Royal American Regiment, in August 1763.
171. Wilkinson submitted a request to marry c. 1760, with Major John Campbell of the 78th Regiment.
172. His discharge is documented in his Albany County, New York, land petition.

Sources:

Treasury Board Papers, "An Account of His Majesty's Royal Bounty of Fourteen Days Subsistence, also the Sword Money paid the following Men of the 78th Regiment Discharged in America." LAC, Series RG4, C2, vol. 1, Microfilm 10462.

War Office Records. Muster Books and Paylists: General, 15th Regiment, 1760-1767. LAC, W.O. 12, vol. 3228, Microfilm C-9202.

War Office Records. 2nd Battalion, 60th Foot, 1764-1783. Commissary General of Musters Office and successors: General Muster Books and Pay Lists. TNA, W.O. 12/6935.

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2017. 

Last updated 17 May 2020.