Four Soldiers Named William Ross

An idyllic 18th-century countryside in Quebec, Canada, as the first light of dawn breaks over the horizon. The sun, a warm orb of burnt gold, rises above the distant Laurentian Mountains, casting a soft glow across the rolling hills and valleys that stretch as far as the eye can see. A serene river, reflecting the fiery hues of the early morning sky, snakes through the landscape, flanked by a tapestry of autumnal foliage. (Jeffrey Campbell, Quebec Countryside, 2024. Artist's rendition created with Perchance AI Image Generator)

Four Soldiers Named William Ross

Of the original 1600 soldiers that served with Colonel Fraser during the Seven Years' War in North America, we have identified birth locales for about 250 of the nearly 900 men that officially discharged from the Regiment in the fall of 1763. William Ross was a common name found among the troops, and four men from the Regiment found on the surviving muster rolls at the conclusion of the war shared that same name. Albeit there is a limited amount of surviving paperwork available for the soldiers, the birthplace of Corporal William Ross has been positively identified. Further known details and the post-war disposition of each of these soldiers bearing the same name are as follows.

Corporal William Ross
Discharged from Captain John Nairn's Company on 23 August 1763, he was part of a larger group of 170 soldiers that discharged from the regiment at the conclusion of the war and remained in Canada. He had follow-on service and bore arms in the late rebellion and was wounded in 1779 in Nova Scotia on an expedition with Lord Harvey. He had a wife by the name of Mary, and six sons, to wit: Alexander, William, John, Donald, Hector, and Lauchlan. He and his family settled in the Parish of Rimouskie, he was a merchant by trade, and was originally from the city of Tane [sic, Tain], in the shire of Ross, North Britain (Scotland). [LAC, Lower Canada Land Papers, RG1 L3, vol. 157].

Note: An article published in 2005 by Alain Ross suggests the following regarding the ancestry of Corporal Ross: William Ross was born in Scotland at Tain, in the township of Geanies, located in Ross County, six miles from Eastern Fern, on the strait of Dornoch in the northeast corner of Scotland. William was the son of Alexander Ross and Helen Bayne (Baine) from Tulloch. [Je Me Souviens, A Publication of the American-French Genealogical Society, Volume 28, Number 1, Spring 2005].

Private William Ross
Discharged from the 78th Regiment in August of 1763, he re-entered service that same month with the 2d Bn, 60th Regiment of Foot, where he continued to provide guard over Quebec for a number of years.  He is located on the following muster roll with the 60th Regiment.

Captain Samuel Holland's Company

Reporting at Fort William Augustus, 25 July 1765 

His disposition beyond 1765 remains unknown. [TNA, W.O. 12/6935].

Private William Ross
Discharged from the 78th Regiment in August of 1763, he reentered service that same month with the 15th Regiment of Foot, where he continued to provide guard over Quebec for a number of years.  He is located on the following muster rolls with the 15th Regiment.

Captain James Cuthbert's Company:

Reporting at Quebec, 24 October 1763

Reporting at Quebec, 24 August 1764

Captain Andrew Cathcart's Company:

Reporting at La Prairie, 8 August 1765

Reporting at St. John's, 9 October 1766

Reporting at Quebec, 18 July 1767

As the 15th Regiment returned to England in August 1768, his disposition beyond 1767 remains unknown. [LAC, W.O. 12, vol. 3228; film C-9202].

Private William Ross
Returned home to Scotland at the conclusion of the war in the fall of 1763, and his further disposition is currently unknown.

It's worth mentioning, as with all Colonel Fraser's soldiers, considering less than 900 men of the original regiment remained at the conclusion of the war, we must be observant of the other approximately 700 men who share the same names. There is a distinct possibility other William Ross' were once present at some point during the conflict.

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2020.