Colonel Simon Fraser's Recruits

Alexander Fraser [1860-1936], a native of Inverness-shire, who was the first Archivist of Ontario [1903-35], was an acknowledged authority on Scottish history in general and Fraser history in particular. In 1934 he advised a descendant of Malcolm Fraser of Mount Murray that the Rev. Dr. Archibald MacDonald - then quite an old man - had written a short history of the Lords of Lovat. In The Old Lords of Lovat and Beaufort [1934], Dr. MacDonald included the muster roll of 71 recruits raised in 1757 for Colonel Simon Fraser, by James Fraser of Belladrum, as well as extracts of correspondence between Belladrum and Bailie James Fraser, merchant, Inverness, which shed some light on Belladrum's involvement with the Fraser Highlanders. The following except and subsequent soldiers' muster roll originally appeared as part of that publication.

“...In connection with the enlistment of men for the Fraser Highlanders, the following roll of 71 recruits was raised in 1757 by James Fraser of Belladrum, and preserved among the Belladrum papers. The men were drawn chiefly from the district of Inverness, and their interest lies to some extent in the fact that none of them seem to measure more than 5 feet 9-1/2 inches in height.” 

1757, --- Roll of Men Enlisted for the Honble Coll Fraser's Regimt by Jas. Fraser.

Jan 15:

Name: Alex Cameron, Butcher, Invs

Size: 5: 6-1/2

Age: 21
Dn: 1st

Jan 17:

Jno MacKenzie, Do

Size: 5: 3-1/2

Age: 21
Dn: 3d

Jas MacKenzie, Do

Size: 5: 4-1/2

Age: 32
Dn: 3d

Hugh Fraser, Do

Size: 5: 4-1/2

Age: 27
Dn: 3d

Jan 18:

Jno Fraser, Weaver, Do

Size: 5: 4-1/2

Age: 21
Dn: 3d

Jno Grant, Duthel

Size: 5: 9

Age: 31
Dn: 1st

Jan 19:

Willm Fraser, Hyrer, Invs

Size: 5: 5-1/2

Age: 33
Dn: 1st

Jan 20: 

Thos Campbell, Breakachie

Size: 5: 5-1/2

Age: 28
Dn: 3d

Jan 21: 

Jno McDonald, Weaver, Invs

Size: 5: 3-1/2

Age: 19
Dn: 3d

Jno McDonald, Pyper, Kinchyle

Size: 5: 3

Age: 21
Dn: 2d

Walter Simson, Kings, Milns

Size: 5: 5-1/4

Age: 19

Jan 24: 

Wm Mack Queen, Daviot

Size: 5: 4-1/2

Age: 18
Dn: 3d

Jno MacKenzie, from Urray

Size: 5: 3

Age 18
Dn: 3d

Jan 25: 

Wm Williamson, Castlehill

Size: 5: 5-1/2

Age: 18

Collin McDonald, Invs

Size: 5: 6-1/2

Age: 30
Dn: 3d

Jno Shaw, Weaver, Kings, Milns

Size: 5: 3-1/2

Age: 19

Jan 26:

Alexr Vauss, Kings, Milns

Size: 5: 4-1/2

Age: 27
Dn: 2d

John Fraser, Robbie, Invs

Size: 5: 2-1/2

Age, 18

Jan 27: 

Thomas Fraser, Baker, Do

Size: 5: 2-1/2

Age: 15

Alexr Fraser, Do, Do

Size: 5: 1

Age: 16

Dun McTavish, Aberaider

Size: 5: 3-1/2

Age: 23
Dn: 3d

Rod McKenzie, Aberaider

Size: 5: 3-3/4

Age: 18

Angus McArthur, Troternish

Size: 5: 6-1/4

Age: 36
Dn: 3d

Jno Robertson, Bewlie

Size: 5: 4-1/2

Age: 20
Dn: 3d

Jan 28:

Don Fraser, McWilliam, Moniack

Size: 5: 4-1/2

Age: 20
Dn: 3d

Alexr Cameron, Culchuniack

Size: 5: 3-3/4

Age: 19
Dn: 1st

Alexr Vauss, Invs

Size: 5: 6-1/2

Age: 29
Dn: 2d

Geo McKenzie, Weaver, Invs

Size: 5: 9

Age: 20
Dn: 1st

Jan 29:

Jno McLeod, Invs

Size: 5: 3-1/2

Age: 18
Dn: 3d

Jan 31:

Alexr Baillie, Invs

Size: 5: 4-1/4

Age: 26
Dn: 3d

Simon Fraser, Culduthell

Size: 5: 4-1/2

Age: 30
Dn: 3d

Jno Fraser, Muirtown

Size: 5: 6-1/2

Age: 18
Dn: 1st

Alexr MackLeod, Joyner

Size: 5: 8

Age: 28
Dn: 1st

Feb 1: 

Don Cameron. Glenstrafarer

Size: 5: 7

Age: 25
Dn: 1st

Feb 2:

Don Fraser, Croy

Size: 5: 7-1/2

Age: 21
Dn: 1st

Doug McDonald, Invs

Size: 5: 3

Age: 19
Dn: 3d

No. 37

Feb 2:

Archibald Mack Queen, Moy

Size: 5: 7

Age: 38
Dn: 3d

Jany 28:

John Gordon, Duthel

Size: 5: 3

Age: 21

Feb 5:

Alex Munro, Duthel

Size: 5: 3-3/4

Age: 17
Dn: 3d

Feb 7:

Alexr Mackay, Kingussie
Size: 5: 5-1/4
Age: 31
Dn: 4d

Dun McKenzie, Petty
Size: 5: 3-1/4
Age: 18

Jno Fraser, Dunain
Size: 5: 3
Age: 18

Dun Munro, Culkaiback
Size: 5: 5
Age: 18

Feb 9:
Willm Fraser, Cantra
Size: 5: 5-3/4
Age: 20
Dn: 1st

Feb 10:
Andw Mack Lean, Davochgarnoch
Size: 5: 4-1/2
Age: 19

Feb 11:
Alexr Grigor, Croy
Size: 5: 3
Age: 17

Neil Mackleod, Invs
Size: 5: 4
Age: 34

Feb 12:
Jno McDonald senr, Weaver, Invs
Size: 5: 3-1/2
Age: 29
Dn: 3d

Feb 14:
Alex Mackenzie, Weaver, Invs
Size: 5: 3
Age: 34

Feb 15:
Alex Munro, Weaver, Invs
Size: 5: 9
Age: 22
Dn: 2d

Feb 18:
Murdoch Mackenzie, Do
Size: 5: 6-1/2
Age: 39
Dn: 4d

Feb 3:
James Mackdonald, Do
Size: 5: 1-1/2
Age:

Alex Fraser, Joyner
Size: 5: 1-1/2
Age:
Dn: 2d

Feb 15:
Jno Mack, Crae
Size: 5: 2
Age: 18

Feb 16:
Donald Munro
Size: 5: 2-1/2
Age: 20

Mar 1:
Alexr Fraser, serjeant
Size: 5: 6
Age: 23

Mar 3:
Donald McPherson,
Size: 5: 5
Age: 38

James Glass
Size: 5: 2
Age: 18

Donald McIntosh
Size: 5: 2
Age 17

Mar 9:
Donald Cameron, K's, Milne
Size: 5: 3
Age: 19
Dn: 4th

Feb 24:
Farquhar McGilvray, Moy
Size: 5: 4
Age: 28

Mar 2:
James Gregory
Size: 5: 9
Age: 40
Dn: 3d

Mar 11:
John Fraser, Wright, Culloden
Size: 5: 7-1/2
Age: 40
Dn: 2d

James Forsyth, Croy
Size: 5: 4
Age: 29

Mar 14:
John McDonald, Tobacconist
Size: 5: 6-1/2
Age: 19
Dn: 2d

Kenneth Mackenzie, Petty
Size: 5: 5
Age: 19
Dn: 2d

John Fraser, Culloden, 17 years old
Size: 5: 4-3/4
Age: 37

Mar 19:
Jno Shaw, Edenkilie
Size: 5: 8-3/4
Age: 25
Dn: 3d

Angus McDonell, serj, 26 Janry
Size: 5: 9-1/2
Age: 24
Dn: 4th

No. 70

Mar 29:
Neil Mack Lean, Troternish, Culloden
Size: 5: 4-1/2
Age: 19

Ap 2:
Thomas Fraser, Kinmylies
Size: 5: 6-1/4
Age: 27

Abbreviations:
Dn: Division
Do: Ditto

James Fraser of Belladrum was appointed lieutenant in Col. Fraser's regiment on 4 January 1757 and carried with the colonel on the official Army Lists through 1760, where he is listed as "resigns" from the regiment. He reappears as captain in the 87th Regiment of Foot [or Highland Volunteers, Germany] in 1761, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Murray Keith.

Some historians have asserted these 71 recruits never made it to North America with the main body of Fraser's men and were sent to fight with Belladrum in Germany in 1759. Those claims, however, cannot be substantiated. Serjeants Alexander Fraser [March 1] and Angus McDonell [March 19] both appear with the 78th Regiment on the list of 170 Soldiers Discharged in North America; the former in Colonel Fraser's Company, the latter in Captain Alexander McLeod's Company. Additional sources also describe the original recruits of the 87th Foot as a nucleus of drafts from Lord Murray's supernumeraries of the 42nd Foot, the Black Watch. 

Because such a limited amount of paperwork relating to the original recruitment of soldiers for Fraser's 78th Highlanders has survived, this document could prove quite valuable in identifying men from the regiment thought to have ancestral roots in northern Scotland.

A check of the records of the Fraser of Belladrum papers at the National Library of Scotland indicates the absence of this original muster roll from the collection; nor can it be confirmed as being held in private hands.

Sources:

Bulloch, John Malcolm. Territorial Soldiering in the North-East of Scotland during 1759-1814 [Aberdeen, 1914].

Marie Fraser, "The Old 78th Regiment of Foot." Clan Fraser Society of Canada, 2001.

Kronoskaf. Origin and History of the 87th Foot. http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=87th_Foot.

MacDonald, Archibald, Reverend. The Old Lords of Lovat and Beaufort [Northern Counties Newspaper and Publishing, 1934].

War Office Records. List of General and Field Officers as they Rank in the Army, 1757-1761 [National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, U.K.]

"Inventory of Family papers of Fraser of Belladrum." NAS, GB233/Acc.11244.

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