Beneath a brooding sky split by lightning, Highland soldiers in scarlet jackets and dark green plaids march away along a winding road through the lush Irish countryside. A lone farmer guides his oxen past a stone cottage, while sheep graze quietly nearby, undisturbed by the coming storm. The rich landscape rolls outward beneath a veil of tension, caught between the routine of rural life and the gravity of war. The Highlanders, steady and silent, seem both noble and somber—part of the land, yet leaving it behind. This poignant scene captures duty, distance, and the unspoken cost of marching toward uncertainty. (Jeffrey Campbell, Storm March: Highlanders on the Road from Donaghadee, 2025)
Major Clephane’s Company Expenses Through Ireland, 1757
About 3 May 1757, newspaper editorials announced the departure of Colonel Fraser's battalion from Glasgow en route southwest to Portpatrick, an approximate 95-mile trek over relatively undeveloped terrain. Marching an average distance of about 25 miles each day, a short 3-day journey would not be out of the question for the colonel's men, having just completed their 180-mile trek through Scotland. Albeit illness would eventually affect some of the soldiers (in a letter to his friend Baillie James Fraser, Colonel Fraser reported 17 men left sick at Cork, Ireland), 10 men were reported left behind at Belfast, Ireland, later to join the regiment after securing passage under escort. Val Jones, father to Ensign Edward Jones of General Kennedy's Regiment, in a letter to Major Clephane dated at Belfast, 8 June 1757, writes: "...This will be delivered you by Corporal Fraser, who takes the opportunity of going to Dublin with 10 private men in a vessel that will be clear to sail hence tomorrow." [NAS, GD125/22/16/3/1-2].
Following an uneventful northern channel crossing from Portpatrick, Scotland, west to Donaghadee, Ireland, Major Clephane's company, as documented in the following pay records, would march to Belfast, then on to Cork via the cities of Drogheda, Dublin, Kilcullen and Clonmel, finally departing for North America on 30 June 1757.
Company Expenses
Pay acct. of Major Clephans Companie from Monday the 16th May to Monday the twentie third Dto
1. Paid 84 privat at Belfast one week at 3/5d each… £14:12:0
2. Paid 2 Serjeants at 6/10d each one week subsistance cash… £0:13.8
3. Paid 4 Corporals at 4/6½d each one week subsistance… £0:18:2
4. Paid 2 Drums at 3/5d each one weeks subsistance… £0:6:10
Pay all the above Companie from Monday the 23rd May to Monday 30th Dto
5. Paid 77 Private at Belfast one weeks subsistance at 3/ each… £11:11:0
6. Paid 2 Serjeants at Dto one weeks subsistance at 6/3 each… £0:12:0
7. Paid 3 Corporals at Dto one weeks Dto at 4/ each… £0:12:0
8. Paid 2 Drums at Dto one weeks Dto at 3/ each… £0:6:0
Pay all the above Companie from Monday the 30th May to Monday June the 6th
9. Paid 77 private at Droheda one weeks subsistance at 3/ each… £11:11:0
10. Paid 3 Serjeants at Dto one weeks Dto at 6/ each… £0:18:0
11. Paid 2 Corporals at Dto one weeks Dto at 4/ each… £0:8:0
12. Paid 2 Drums at Dto one weeks Dto at 3/ each… £0:6:0
June 13th - - -
13. Paid 77 Privat at Killculen bridge at 3/ each one weeks subsistance… £11:11:0
14. Paid 4 Serjts at Dto 6/ each one weeks Dto… £1:4:0
15. Paid 2 Corporals & 2 Drums one weeks subsistance… £0:14:0
Pay all of the above Companie from Monday 13th to Dto June the 20th
16. Paid 77 privat at Clonmell one weeks subsistance… £11:11:0
17. Paid 4 Serjts 2 Corporals & 2 Drums one weeks Dto… £1:18:0
18. Paid Cadet Mak Kinzie at Doublin 9 shillings…£0:9:0
19. Advanced two men in Glasgow 4 weeks pay which brought them to Killkennie bridge… £1:4:0
20. Advanced the three men that went on Command to Stirling two weeks pay each… £0:18:0
21. Advanced Serjt Alexr Rose at Dallie… £3:17:0
22. Paid Rodrick McKenzie one Weeks pay… £0:3:0
23. Paid Thomas Robertson… £0:1:0
24. Paid Alexr Dunbar… £0:0:6
25. Total Laid out by Lieut. Campbell On acct of Major Clephans Companie… £76:5:2
26. Advanced Serjt Rose at Belfast… £5:5:0
27. Advanced the Supernumeraries at Belfast… £1:6:0
28. Advanced for Shoes to Dto… £1:4:0
[Total] £83:15:0
Notes:
1. 84 private soldiers were paid at Belfast; however, one week later, that number was reduced by seven soldiers.
3. Four corporals were paid at Belfast; however, one week later, that number was reduced by one corporal.
4. Payroll indicates drummers were paid at the rate of private soldiers.
10. Gained one serjeant this week over previous numbers.
11. Down two corporals since week one.
14. Gained one serjeant this week over previous numbers.
18. It was reported by The Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper dated 11 August 1757, that 360 men in Colonel Montgomery's First Division marched to Royal Square Barracks, Dublin, 16 May 1757, where they were reviewed by the Earl of Rothes, who expressed "intire [sic] satisfaction at the military and handsome appearance they made." Formerly the "Royal Barracks," the facility is today named "Collins Barracks."
21. Possibly Dailly, South Ayrshire, Scotland, located between Glasgow and Portpatrick.
25. Lieutenant Archibald Campbell, originally commissioned to Capt. John MacDonnell's Company.
27. Approximately 15 supernumeraries. Colonel Fraser reported 150 "supers" across 10 companies in October 1757. [NAS, GD125/22/18/18].
28. In 1757, one pair of serjeant's shoes were authorized replacement every six months at a cost of £0.3.4, or money (in lieu of). [Calcraft, John. Regulation of Cloathing for a Highland Regt. of Foot, c.1757. James Grant of Ballindalloch papers, 1740-1819, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.].
Works Cited:
Clephane, James. "Pay accounts of Clephane's Company from Monday 16 May to twentie third Dto." [1757]. NAS, GD125/22/9/35/1.
© Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2022.
This article last updated 5 March 2022.
