Elgin's Regiment of Fencible Infantry or Elgin's Fencible Highlanders was raised in November 1794. [1]
Major Thomas, Earl of Elgin, from the 12th Foot was Colonel of this fencible regiment with the permanent army rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. John Hepburn Belches was appointed to be a Lieutenant-Colonel in the regiment and Patrick Tyler to be a Major. [2]
The regiment, was embodied in the Lowlands on 28 November 1794. [1] It contained about 300 men from the Highlands. [3] The regiment was posted to Ireland and was decommissioned on 15 October 1802. [1]
Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine,, often known as Lord Elgin, was a Scottish nobleman, diplomat, and collector, known primarily for the controversial procurement of marble sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures on the Acropolis of Athens.
Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Cameron of Erracht was a Scottish soldier who, at his own expense in 1793, raised the 79th Regiment of Foot.
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In the military history of Great Britain, the plan of raising a fencible corps in the Scottish Highlands was first proposed and carried into effect by British politician William Pitt the Elder, in the year 1759. During the three preceding years, both the fleets and armies of Great Britain had suffered reverses, and it was thought that a "home guard" was necessary as a bulwark against invasion.
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