72nd Regiment of Foot
Encyclopedia
The 72nd Highlanders was a British Army
Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line
raised in the late 18th Century in Scotland for service against the French. In 1881 the regiment was linked with the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment to form the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Seaforth Highlanders
.
" was restored to Kenneth Mackenzie
after his family had forfeited it because of their involvement in the Jacobite Rebellion
of 1715. As a gesture of gratitude, the Earl offered to raise a regiment on his estate for general use by the Crown. The offer was accepted and a corps of 1,130 men was raised. Of these, 900 were Highlanders and the remainder coming from the Lowlands and was located at Elgin, its first base, in May 1778.
In August 1778 the Regiment marched to Leith
for embarkation to the East Indies
– but a dispute regarding their terms of service lead the men to march back to Edinburgh
and they took up a position of protest in the vicinity of Arthurs Seat
, remaining for several days. During this protest, the men were amply supplied with food and ammunition by the populace of the capital, who had taken side with them in their grievances. After three days of negotiations, compromises were reached and the men again marched from the capital to their quarters at Leith, this time led by the Earl of Seaforth, but the idea of sending them to India now having been abandoned. Because of the large numbers of men from the clan Macrae being part of the force, this mutiny became known as "The affair of the Macraes." Ref: MacLauchlan p.525 At this time, the Regiment was designated as the 78th Regiment of Foot.
During the Regiment’s early history they were deployed as follows:
The men has enlisted for a three year period of service and at the end of this term (1784), most returned to England, save for 425 who elected to remain in India. They were joined by men from other regiments who had also elected to remain on the sub–continent instead of taking their discharge home. This bolstered the regiments number to 700 men. Due to the end of the war with the French, the number of Crown regiments had been reduced and the Seaforth’s designation was changed from the 78th Foot to the 72nd Foot on 12 September 1786
In 1789 the war against Tippoo Sahib re–started and the 72nd were to see service in the actions of Dindigul (1790), Palghatcherri (1790), Bangalore (1791), Seringaptam (1791 and 1792), Savendroog (1791) and the 1794 victory over Tippoo which marked the end of the Second Mysore War
. The Regiment eventually embarked from Madras back to England on 10 February 1798, being awarded the title "Hindoostan" on its colours.
, Morayshire
Sep. 1778 ‘Mutiny of MacRaes’ at Edinburgh en route to Channel Islands Garrison
1778-1781 Channel Islands Garrison
Apr. 1779 Repulse French attack on Jersey
Jan. 1781 Help repulse French attack on Jersey
Mar. 1781 To Portsmouth, for sailing to India as part of East India Company Army
1782-1798 India
Mar. 1782 Arrive Carnatic, India. Lose highland dress for tropical service. 250 lost at sea during voyage, including the Earl of Seaforth
1782-1783 Fight at Arnee, Port of Cuddaldore, Fort of Palaghauchterry. Naval Battle
1786 78th Highlanders renumbered as 72nd (Highland) Regiment of Foot when the total number of Infantry Regiments was reduced to 77. As a unit on overseas service the 78th Highlanders were spared disbandment and moved up the order of precedence.
1786 To Mysore, India
1789-1792 Campaign against Tippoo Sultan. Bangalore
, Savendroog, Outra Durgam, Seringapatam
1793 Siege and capture of French Pondicherry
1795 Capture of Ceylon from the Dutch
1798 Drafts of men sent to other regiments. Cadre return to Scotland for recruiting.
1798 To Perth. Re-issued highland dress.
1800 To Ireland, as ‘police’ troops.
1805 Capture of Cape of Good Hope from Dutch. Fight alongside 71st and 93rd Highlanders. Lt Col, Grant commanding.
1806 Cape Town Garrison at Wineburg
1809 Re-designated 72nd Regiment of Foot to help with recruiting. No longer authorised to wear Highland dress
1810 At capture of Mauritius from French. Remain as garrison troops.
1814 Return to Cape Town
1815 To Calcutta, India
1816 Return to Cape Town. Remain in South Africa as part of Cape Province Garrison
1822 Return to England
1823 To Channel Islands. Companies split between Guernsey and Jersey.
19.12.1823 - Renamed the 72nd Regiment of Foot, or The Duke of Albany's
Own Highlanders. Uniform of Royal Stewart trews and highland bonnet introduced.
Sep. 1824 Return to Scotland for first time in 24 years. Approved the use of the Duke of Albany's cipher as regimental badge
1825 To Ireland. Stationed in Belfast, Londonderry and Dublin
1827 To London
1828 Return to Cape Colony
1834 Xhosa War
1835 To Graham’s Town, South Africa
1838 To Cape Town
1840 To Portsmouth
1841 Royal duties in Windsor
1842 Riot duty in Manchester, Preston, Blackburn and Bolton
Aug. 1842 Five cotton workers killed by 72nd in Preston during protests at wage cuts
1843 To Ireland. Stationed in Dublin, Templemore and Fermoy
1844 To Gibraltar Garrison
1848 To West Indies. Stationed in Barbados, Trinidad, St. Lucia, Demerara, Grenada and Tobago.
1851 To Halifax, Nova Scotia
1854 To Limerick
1855 To Malta
1855 Crimean War
1856 To Aldershot then the Channel Islands
1857 To India via Shorncliffe, Kent.
1858 Arrive Bombay. Indian Mutiny
1859 To Mhow
1865 To Poona
1866 To Edinburgh
1867 To England
1868 To Ireland. Stationed in Dublin, Limerick, Buttevant, Cork
1871 To India, Stationed in Umbella, Peshawar, Nowshera, Cherat, Sialkot
Apr. 1873 Linked Regiments Depot System links the 72nd with the 91st Highlanders at 58th Brigade Depot, Stirling
.
1878-1880 2nd Afghan War
1880 To Mean Meer, Lucknow, India
1881 Amalgamated with 78th Highlanders
as 1st Battalion Seaforth Highlanders
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line
Scottish regiment
A Scottish regiment is any regiment that at some time in its history has or had a name that referred to Scotland or some part, thereof, and adopted items of Scottish dress...
raised in the late 18th Century in Scotland for service against the French. In 1881 the regiment was linked with the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment to form the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Seaforth Highlanders
Seaforth Highlanders
The Seaforth Highlanders was a historic regiment of the British Army associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The Seaforth Highlanders have varied in size from two battalions to seventeen battalions during the Great War...
.
Origin and early history
In 1771 the family title of "Earl of SeaforthEarl of Seaforth
Earl of Seaforth was a title in the Peerage of Scotland and Peerage of Great Britain. It was held by the family of Mackenzie from 1623 to 1716, and again from 1771 to 1781....
" was restored to Kenneth Mackenzie
Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth
Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth FRS was a British peer and politician and Chief of the Highland Clan Mackenzie.-Origins:...
after his family had forfeited it because of their involvement in the Jacobite Rebellion
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
of 1715. As a gesture of gratitude, the Earl offered to raise a regiment on his estate for general use by the Crown. The offer was accepted and a corps of 1,130 men was raised. Of these, 900 were Highlanders and the remainder coming from the Lowlands and was located at Elgin, its first base, in May 1778.
In August 1778 the Regiment marched to Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
for embarkation to the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
– but a dispute regarding their terms of service lead the men to march back to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and they took up a position of protest in the vicinity of Arthurs Seat
Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh
Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design". It is situated in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle...
, remaining for several days. During this protest, the men were amply supplied with food and ammunition by the populace of the capital, who had taken side with them in their grievances. After three days of negotiations, compromises were reached and the men again marched from the capital to their quarters at Leith, this time led by the Earl of Seaforth, but the idea of sending them to India now having been abandoned. Because of the large numbers of men from the clan Macrae being part of the force, this mutiny became known as "The affair of the Macraes." Ref: MacLauchlan p.525 At this time, the Regiment was designated as the 78th Regiment of Foot.
During the Regiment’s early history they were deployed as follows:
- 1781–1798: East Indies. Embarked on 12 June from Portsmouth with a unit strength of 973 rank and file. Because of change of diet, rough seas and scurvy 274 had died on the voyage and on arrival at Madras on 2 April 1782, only 369 were fit to carry arms. They joined the army of Sir Eyre CooteEyre Coote (East India Company officer)Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, KB was an Irish soldier. He is best known for his many years of service with the British Army in India. His victory at the Battle of Wandiwash is considered a decisive turning point in the struggle for control in India between British and France...
at Chingleput at the beginning of May but because of their general health, they were considered unfit for service. Those able to wield arms were drafted into the 73rd (Macleod’s Highlanders) Regiment71st (Highland) Regiment of FootThe 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, which in 1881 became the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry .- First formation :...
. By October they had recovered their strength and "the colours were once again unfurled" to allow the Regiment to take part in the wars against Tippoo Sahib. At this time, the Earl of Seaforth died and was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Humberston Mackenzie, who in turn was killed on 7 April 1783 on board the sloop HMS Ranger in action against a Mahratta fleet on his return from Bombay to Madras. He was succeeded by Major–General James MurrayJames Murray (of Strowan)Lieutenant General James Murray , was a Scottish soldier and politician.-Background and education:A member of Clan Murray, he was the second son of Lord George Murray, fifth son of John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl. His mother was Amelia, daughter and heiress of James Murray, a surgeon, of Strowan...
.
The men has enlisted for a three year period of service and at the end of this term (1784), most returned to England, save for 425 who elected to remain in India. They were joined by men from other regiments who had also elected to remain on the sub–continent instead of taking their discharge home. This bolstered the regiments number to 700 men. Due to the end of the war with the French, the number of Crown regiments had been reduced and the Seaforth’s designation was changed from the 78th Foot to the 72nd Foot on 12 September 1786
In 1789 the war against Tippoo Sahib re–started and the 72nd were to see service in the actions of Dindigul (1790), Palghatcherri (1790), Bangalore (1791), Seringaptam (1791 and 1792), Savendroog (1791) and the 1794 victory over Tippoo which marked the end of the Second Mysore War
Second Anglo-Mysore War
The Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict in Mughal India between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British East India Company. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the Franco-British conflict raging on account of the American Revolutionary War helped spark Anglo-Mysorean...
. The Regiment eventually embarked from Madras back to England on 10 February 1798, being awarded the title "Hindoostan" on its colours.
Timeline
15 May 1778 - 78th Highland Regiment of Foot was passed fit for Service at ElginElgin, Moray
Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
, Morayshire
Sep. 1778 ‘Mutiny of MacRaes’ at Edinburgh en route to Channel Islands Garrison
Apr. 1779 Repulse French attack on Jersey
Jan. 1781 Help repulse French attack on Jersey
Battle of Jersey
The Battle of Jersey was an attempt by France to invade Jersey and remove the threat the island posed to American shipping in the American War of Independence. Jersey was used as a base for privateering by the British, and France, engaged in the war as an ally of the United States, sent an...
Mar. 1781 To Portsmouth, for sailing to India as part of East India Company Army
1782-1798 India
Mar. 1782 Arrive Carnatic, India. Lose highland dress for tropical service. 250 lost at sea during voyage, including the Earl of Seaforth
1782-1783 Fight at Arnee, Port of Cuddaldore, Fort of Palaghauchterry. Naval Battle
1786 78th Highlanders renumbered as 72nd (Highland) Regiment of Foot when the total number of Infantry Regiments was reduced to 77. As a unit on overseas service the 78th Highlanders were spared disbandment and moved up the order of precedence.
1786 To Mysore, India
1789-1792 Campaign against Tippoo Sultan. Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, Savendroog, Outra Durgam, Seringapatam
1793 Siege and capture of French Pondicherry
1795 Capture of Ceylon from the Dutch
1798 Drafts of men sent to other regiments. Cadre return to Scotland for recruiting.
1798 To Perth. Re-issued highland dress.
1800 To Ireland, as ‘police’ troops.
1805 Capture of Cape of Good Hope from Dutch. Fight alongside 71st and 93rd Highlanders. Lt Col, Grant commanding.
1806 Cape Town Garrison at Wineburg
1809 Re-designated 72nd Regiment of Foot to help with recruiting. No longer authorised to wear Highland dress
1810 At capture of Mauritius from French. Remain as garrison troops.
1814 Return to Cape Town
1815 To Calcutta, India
1816 Return to Cape Town. Remain in South Africa as part of Cape Province Garrison
1822 Return to England
1823 To Channel Islands. Companies split between Guernsey and Jersey.
19.12.1823 - Renamed the 72nd Regiment of Foot, or The Duke of Albany's
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...
Own Highlanders. Uniform of Royal Stewart trews and highland bonnet introduced.
Sep. 1824 Return to Scotland for first time in 24 years. Approved the use of the Duke of Albany's cipher as regimental badge
1827 To London
1828 Return to Cape Colony
1834 Xhosa War
Xhosa wars
The Xhosa Wars, also known as the Cape Frontier Wars, were a series of nine wars between the Xhosa people and European settlers, from 1779 to 1879 in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa....
1835 To Graham’s Town, South Africa
1838 To Cape Town
1840 To Portsmouth
1841 Royal duties in Windsor
1842 Riot duty in Manchester, Preston, Blackburn and Bolton
Aug. 1842 Five cotton workers killed by 72nd in Preston during protests at wage cuts
1843 To Ireland. Stationed in Dublin, Templemore and Fermoy
1844 To Gibraltar Garrison
1848 To West Indies. Stationed in Barbados, Trinidad, St. Lucia, Demerara, Grenada and Tobago.
1851 To Halifax, Nova Scotia
1854 To Limerick
1855 To Malta
1855 Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
1856 To Aldershot then the Channel Islands
1857 To India via Shorncliffe, Kent.
1858 Arrive Bombay. Indian Mutiny
1859 To Mhow
1865 To Poona
1866 To Edinburgh
1867 To England
1868 To Ireland. Stationed in Dublin, Limerick, Buttevant, Cork
1871 To India, Stationed in Umbella, Peshawar, Nowshera, Cherat, Sialkot
Apr. 1873 Linked Regiments Depot System links the 72nd with the 91st Highlanders at 58th Brigade Depot, Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
.
1878-1880 2nd Afghan War
1880 To Mean Meer, Lucknow, India
1881 Amalgamated with 78th Highlanders
78th Regiment of Foot
The 78th Regiment of Foot was a Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line raised in late 18th Century Scotland for service against the French during the Napoleonic Wars.- History :The original 78th Foot was raised by the Earl of Seaforth in 1778...
as 1st Battalion Seaforth Highlanders
Seaforth Highlanders
The Seaforth Highlanders was a historic regiment of the British Army associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The Seaforth Highlanders have varied in size from two battalions to seventeen battalions during the Great War...