77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomerie's Highlanders)

For other units with the same regimental number, see 77th Regiment of Foot (disambiguation).

77th Regiment of Foot
Active	1757–1763
Country	Kingdom of Great Britain
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Size	two battalions
Nickname(s)	Montgomerie's Highlanders
Colors	Green facings and white lace.
Engagements	Seven Years' War Pontiac's War
Commanders
Notable commanders	Archibald Montgomerie

The 77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomerie's Highlanders) was a Highland Scots Regiment raised in 1757. The 77th Regiment was one of the first three Highland Regiments to fight in North America. ^[1] During the Seven Years' War, the regiment lost 110 soldiers and 259 were wounded. ^[2]

History

The regiment was raised at Stirling by Major Archibald Montgomerie as the 1st Highland Battalion and ranked as the 62nd Regiment of Foot in 1757. ^[3] Formed under a plan to increase the loyalty of the Highlanders to the Crown by sending 2,000 Highlanders to fight in North America, the battalion ultimately included thirteen companies with 105 enlisted men each for a total of 1,460 men with 65 sergeants and 30 pipers and drummers. ^[4] The battalion was drawn from the Montgomery, Stuart, Fraser, MacDonald, Cameron, Maclean, and MacPherson clans. Montgomerie recruited the first ten companies in 1756 and an additional three in 1757. The first ten companies departed Cork on 30 June 1757 to reinforce the garrison of Charleston, arriving there on 3 September. At Charleston, 200 soldiers who were from the Scottish Lowlands were transferred to the Royal Americans. The three new companies, meanwhile, were sent to Philadelphia and arrived there on 22 April 1758, moving to Carlisle in May. The rest of the battalion was transported to Philadelphia and debarked there on 8 June. ^[5] The battalion was renamed the 77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomery's Highlanders) in June 1758. ^[3]

The regiment took part in the Forbes Expedition across Pennsylvania in 1758. A detachment of 317 officer and men the regiment participated in the Battle of Fort Duquesne on 14 September 1758, 131 of whom were killed or captured, including Major James Grant. 186 survivors rejoined the main regiment under Colonel Henry Bouquet and participated in the capture of Fort Duquesne on 24 November, 1758. ^[6]

In 1760, six companies participated in a campaign against the Cherokee under the command of the regiment's colonel, Archibald Montgomery. ^[7] Ten Cherokee towns were destroyed in three days. However, Montgomery's force was defeated on June 27, 1760 at the Battle of Echoee. While Montgomery took the bulk of the army back to Charleston, 120 of the 77th were left at Fort Prince George until April, 1761. ^[8]

The 120 men in South Carolina sailed for the West Indies in June 1761 where it joined the remainder of the regiment sent from New York. They took part in the Invasion of Martinique in January 1762 and the siege of Havana in June 1762. ^[3]

The Regiment was disbanded later in the year. ^[3]

References

Citations

1. The Highland regiments that landed in America and took part in the French and Indian War were the 42nd Regiment of Foot or Royal Highland Regiment ("The Black Watch"), the 77th Regiment of Foot and the 78th Regiment of Foot.
2. "First Highland Regiments in America". Electricscotland.com. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
3. "77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomery's Highlanders)". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 1 January 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
4. Keltie 1887, p. 469.
5. Cubbison 2010, pp. 18–20.
6. A List of the Killed & wounded & missing Officer & Soldiers, & those returned from the Action (near Fort DuQuesne) J. Shippen 1758 Letterbook p
7. Amherst to Montgomery, Feb 24, 1760. Mays, Edith. (1999). Amherst Papers, 1756-1763: The Southern Sector. Heritage Books. Westminster, MD. P79-80.
8. Cole, Richard C. (1 January 1997). "Montgomerie's Cherokee Campaign, 1760: Two Contemporary Views". The North Carolina Historical Review. 74 (1): 19–36. JSTOR   23521364.

Bibliography

• Cubbison, Douglas R. (2010). The British Defeat of the French in Pennsylvania, 1758: A Military History of the Forbes Campaign Against Fort Duquesne. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN   978-0-7864-4739-8. OCLC   475664242.
• Keltie, John S., ed. (1887). History of the Scottish Highlands: Highland Clans and Highland Regiments. Vol. 3. London: Thomas C. Jack. OCLC   31986634.

External links

• Lace and colours of the 77th Foot