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The Scots Army ( Scots: ''Scots Airmy'') was the
army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
of the Kingdom of Scotland between the
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration *Restoration ecology * ...
in 1660 and the Acts of Union of 1707. A small standing army was established at the Restoration, which was mainly engaged in opposing
Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covena ...
rebellions and guerrilla warfare pursued by the
Cameronian Cameronian was a name given to a radical faction of Scottish Covenanters who followed the teachings of Richard Cameron, and who were composed principally of those who signed the Sanquhar Declaration in 1680. They were also known as Society M ...
s in the East. There were also attempts to found a larger
militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
. By the Glorious Revolution in 1688–89 the standing army was over 3,500 men. Several new regiments were raised to defend the new regime and, although some were soon disbanded several took part in William II's continental wars. By the time of the Act of Union in 1707, the army had seven units of infantry, two of horse and one troop of Horse Guards. Early units wore grey, but adopted red like the English army after 1684. New Scottish and particularly
Highland regiments A Scottish regiment is any regiment (or similar military unit) 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. These regiments were created after the Acts ...
would be raised from the 1740s, some of which had a long history within the army.


History

At the
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration *Restoration ecology * ...
in 1660 the Privy Council of Scotland established a force of several infantry regiments and a few troops of horse to act as a standing army. These included a troop of
Life Guards Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transf ...
, a second troop of which was raised in 1661, Lieutenant-general William Drummond's Regiment of Horse, five independent troops of horse, a regiment of Foot Guards, later known as the Scots Guards and Le Regiment de Douglas, formed and serving in France since 1633, which returned and eventually became the
Royal Regiment of Foot The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...
.C. C. P. Lawson, ''A History of the Uniforms of the British Army Volume 1'' (P. Davies, 1967), p. 57. There were also attempts to found a national
militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
of 20,000 foot and 2,000 horse on the English model. The standing army was mainly employed in the suppression of
Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covena ...
rebellions and the guerrilla war undertaken by the
Cameronian Cameronian was a name given to a radical faction of Scottish Covenanters who followed the teachings of Richard Cameron, and who were composed principally of those who signed the Sanquhar Declaration in 1680. They were also known as Society M ...
s in the East.E. M. Furgol, "Warfare, weapons and fortifications: 3 1600–1700" in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), , pp. 637–8. In addition a "Foote Company of Highland Men" was raised and three troops of Scots Dragoons in 1678. Another three were added to make The Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons in 1681, by which point they were already mounted on grey horses that would give them their name of the Royal Scots Greys. On the eve of the Glorious Revolution the standing army in Scotland was about 3,000 men in various regiments and another 268 veterans in the major garrison towns, at an annual cost of about £80,000.J. Young, "Army: 1600–1750" in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), , pp. 24–5. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89 ten regiments were raised for the defense of the regime. Some were soon disbanded,C. C. P. Lawson, ''A History of the Uniforms of the British Army Volume 1'' (P. Davies, 1967), p. 59. but others served against Jacobite rebels, in Ireland and increasingly in William II's continental wars, beginning with the Nine Years' War in Flanders (1689–97). Their role was of such importance that the Scots Parliament forced Queen Anne to give royal assent to the controversial 1704 Act of Security by threatening to withdraw all Scottish forces back out of the Confederate armies. By the time of the Act of Union in 1707, the Kingdom of Scotland had a standing army of seven units of infantry, two of horse and one troop of Horse Guards, besides varying levels of fortress artillery in the garrison castles of Edinburgh,
Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 1 ...
, and Stirling.D. Grove, and C. Abraham, ''Fortress Scotland and the Jacobites'' (Batsford/Historic Scotland, 1995), , p. 38. The new
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
created by the Act of Union incorporated the existing Scottish regiments and some units would have a long regimental history, while new Scottish regiments, particularly of Highlanders, would be raised from the 1740s.A. Mackillop, "Highland Regiments 1750–1830" in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), , pp. 25–6.


Uniforms

Early units were probably dressed in homespun woollen cloth of
hodden grey Hodden or wadmel is a coarse kind of cloth made of undyed wool, formerly much worn by the peasantry of Scotland. It was usually made on small hand-looms by the peasants. Hodden grey was made by mixing black and white fleeces together in the pro ...
, which had been used during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the 1640s. Dragoons continued to wear grey, but from 1684 red cloth was imported from England to make uniforms that matched those of the
English Army The ...
. The dragoons also eventually adopted red. Militia units may have been uniformed in blue. Units were differentiated by contrasting colours visible on the collars and cuffs on a regimental basis.C. C. P. Lawson, ''A History of the Uniforms of the British Army Volume 1'' (P. Davies, 1967), pp. 57–8.


Regimental histories

The following is a list of regiments commissioned between 1660 and 1707.C. C. P. Lawson, ''A History of the Uniforms of the British Army Volume 1'' (P. Davies, 1967), pp. 57–65.


See also

* Military history of Scotland * Warfare in early modern Scotland


References


Further reading

* {{Early Modern Scotland Military of Scotland Armies by country Disbanded armies 1707 disestablishments in Scotland Military units and formations disestablished in 1707 Military units and formations established in 1660 1660 establishments in Scotland Kingdom of Scotland