The 71st Regiment of Foot was a

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, raised as the 73rd (Highland) Regiment of Foot in 1777. Under the

Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation w ...

it amalgamated with the

74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot The 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1787. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot to form the Highland Light Infantry in 1881. History Formation ...

to become the 1st Battalion,

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First World War, First and World War II, Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 t ...

in 1881.

History

Formation

The regiment was raised at

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

by Major-General

John Mackenzie, Lord MacLeod John Mackenzie, Lord MacLeod (17272 April 1789) was a Scottish Jacobite politician and soldier of fortune. Life Born at Castle Leod near Strathpeffer, Scotland, he was the eldest son of George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie and Isabel Gor ...

as the 73rd (Highland) Regiment of Foot (McLeod's Highlanders) from Highland clans in December 1777.Cannon, p. 2 A second battalion was formed in September 1778.Cannon, p. 3 The 1st battalion embarked for

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in January 1779Cannon, p. 5 and, having landed some troops at

Gorée (; "Gorée Island"; ) is one of the 19 (i.e. districts) of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is an island located at sea from the main harbour of Dakar (), famous as a destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trade. Its populatio ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

on the way, reached

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

in January 1780.Cannon, p. 7 The flank companies were captured at Conjeveram in September 1780 during the

Second Anglo-Mysore War The Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company from 1780 to 1784. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the conflict between Britain against the French and Dutch in t ...

.Cannon, p. 9 The battalion went on to take part in the

Battle of Porto Novo The Battle of Porto Novo was fought on 1 July 1781 between forces of the Kingdom of Mysore and British East India Company in the place called Porto Novo (now known as Parangipettai) on the Indian subcontinent, during the Second Anglo-Mysore War ...

in July 1781,Cannon, p. 14 the

Battle of Pollilur The Battle of Pollilur (a.k.a. Pullalur), also known as the Battle of Polilore or Battle of Perambakam, took place on 10 September 1780 at Pollilur near Conjeevaram, the city of Kanchipuram in present-day Tamil Nadu state, India, as part of t ...

in August 1781Cannon, p. 15 and the

Battle of Sholinghur The Battle of Sholinghur was fought on 27 September 1781 at Sholinghur, West of Chennai (Madras), between forces of the Kingdom of Mysore led by Hyder Ali and East India Company forces led by General Eyre Coote. Haider Ali's forces were surpri ...

in September 1781.Cannon, p. 17 After that the battalion took part in the

siege of Cuddalore The siege of Cuddalore was a siege attempt by British troops against a combined French and Mysorean garrison at the fortress of Cuddalore in the Second Anglo-Mysore War. The siege ended when news arrived of a preliminary peace treaty betwee ...

in June 1783.Cannon, p. 30 Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Mackenzie, embarked for the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and served as

marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in January 1780 before being landed at

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

later that month and then taking part in the

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Enlightenment in Spain, Spain and Kingdom of France, France to capture Gibraltar from the Kingdom of Great Britain, British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the largest ba ...

; the battalion was disbanded in 1783. The regiment was redesignated as the 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot (MacLeod's Highlanders) in 1786 and saw action at the siege of Seringapatam in February 1792 during the

Third Anglo-Mysore War The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company, the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore, the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy, and the Nizam of Hyderabad ...

.Cannon, p. 49

Napoleonic Wars

Remaining in India, the regiment fought at the siege of Pondicherry in August 1793Cannon, p. 52 during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

before transferring to

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in August 1795 and returning to Scotland in August 1798.Cannon, p. 54 A second battalion was again raised in October 1804 but remained in Scotland throughout the War. The 1st battalion embarked for the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

in August 1805 and took part in the

Battle of Blaauwberg The Battle of Blaauwberg (also known as the Battle of Cape Town) was a successful British amphibious operation during the War of the Third Coalition which lasted from 8–18 January 1806 and resulted in the capture of the Dutch Cape Colony. Af ...

in January 1806.Cannon, p. 58 The battalion then sailed for

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and took part in the disastrous expedition against

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

under Sir Home Popham. The battalion was taken prisoner and the

Regimental Colours In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some 5,000 year ...

were captured.Cannon, p. 63 New colours were presented to the regiment by Lieutenant-General Sir John Floyd in April 1808. The 1st battalion was reformed and embarked for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in June 1808 for service in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

.Cannon, p. 67 Renamed the 71st (Glasgow Highland) Regiment of Foot later that month, it saw action at the

Battle of Roliça At the Battle of Roliça (17 August 1808), the first battle fought by the British army during the Peninsular War, an Anglo-Portuguese army under Sir Arthur Wellesley defeated an outnumbered Imperial French division under General of Divisio ...

in August 1808,Cannon, p. 68 the

Battle of Vimeiro In the Battle of Vimeiro (sometimes shown as "Vimiera" or "Vimeira" in contemporary British texts) on 21 August 1808, the British under General Arthur Wellesley (who later became the Duke of Wellington) defeated the French under Major-Gene ...

later that monthCannon, p. 69 and

Battle of Corunna The Battle of Corunna (or ''A Coruña'', ''La Corunna'', ''La Coruña'' or ''La Corogne''), in Spain known as Battle of Elviña, took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a Briti ...

in January 1809Cannon, p. 73 before being evacuated from the Peninsula.Cannon, p. 74 In March 1809 it became a light infantry regiment, and the regiment next took part in the disastrous

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign () was an unsuccessful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with First French Empire, France ...

in autumn 1809Cannon, p. 78 before returning home and being renamed the 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) in spring 1810. The regiment returned to the peninsula in September 1810Cannon, p. 81 and saw action at the

Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro At the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the Anglo-Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida. A bloody stalemate ...

in May 1811,Cannon, p. 84 the

Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos The Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos took place on 28 October 1811 during the Peninsular War. An allied force under General Rowland Hill trapped and defeated a French force under General Jean-Baptiste Girard, forcing the latter's dismissal by ...

in October 1811Cannon, p. 87 and the

Battle of Almaraz The Battle of Almaraz was fought during the Peninsular War on 18–19 May 1812, in which the Anglo-Portuguese Army under Lord Hill destroyed a French pontoon bridge across the River Tagus, in Almaraz, Spain. The bridge was protected by tw ...

in May 1812Cannon, p. 90 as well as the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813), a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British, Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese and Spanish Empire, Spanish army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Marquess of Wellington bro ...

in June 1813.Cannon, p. 94 It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at the

Battle of the Pyrenees The Battle of the Pyrenees was a large-scale offensive (the author David Chandler recognises the 'battle' as an offensive) launched on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult from the Pyrénées region on Emperor Napoleon's order, ...

in July 1813,Cannon, p. 97 the

Battle of Nivelle The Battle of Nivelle (10 November 1813) took place in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops (20, ...

in November 1813Cannon, p. 102 and the

Battle of the Nive The Battles of the Nive (9–13 December 1813) were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish Army ...

in December 1813 as well as the

Battle of Orthez The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered F ...

in February 1814Cannon, p. 104 and the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. The battalion returned home in July 1814 and then embarked for

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

in April 1815: it saw action as part of the 3rd Brigade at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

in June 1815.Cannon, p. 108

The Victorian era

The regiment embarked for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in May 1824 and then moved on to

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

in October 1831Cannon, p. 118 before returning to England in September 1834.Cannon, p. 119 It returned to Canada in April 1838 and then moved to

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

in December 1844Cannon, p. 121 before returning home in January 1847. The regiment embarked for

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

in 1853 and then landed in the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

for service in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

: it saw action at the siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854. The regiment went on to India to help suppress the

Indian Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

in 1857 and remained there for the

Ambela Campaign The Ambela campaign (also called Umbeyla, Umbeylah, and Ambeyla) of 1863 was one of many expeditions in the border area between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier of British India against the 'fanatics' at Malka, a colony of ...

in 1863. The regiment returned home in 1865 and then embarked for Gibraltar in 1868 before returning home again in 1880. As part of the

Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attentio ...

of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 71st was linked with the

78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish regiment, Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the Seaforth Highl ...

, and assigned to district no. 55 at Cameron Barracks in

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

. On 1 July 1881 the

came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the

to form the 1st and 2nd Battalions,

Battle honours

Battle honours awarded to the regiment were: * Hindoostan * Cape of Good Hope 1806 * Peninsular War: Rolica, Vimiera, Corunna, Fuentes d'Onor,

Almaraz Almaraz is a town in Cáceres Province, Extremadura, Spain. As of 2005, its population is 1,295. It is on the European route E90. It is the home of the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant. A large solar power plant is being built in the town. The bridge ...

, Vittoria,

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

Nive The Nive (; ; ) is a French river that flows through the French Basque Country. It is a left tributary of the river Adour. It is long. The river's source in the Pyrenees in Lower Navarre. The river Nive was made famous by the ''Le petit Nicol ...

, Orthes, Peninsula *Napoleonic Wars:

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

* Crimean War:

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

* Central India

Colonels

Colonels of the regiment were:

73rd (Highland) Regiment of Foot (MacLeod's Highlanders)

*1777–1789: Maj-Gen.

71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot (MacLeod's Highlanders) – 1786

*1789–1803: Gen. Hon. William Gordon of Fyvie *1803–1809: Gen. Rt. Hon. Sir

John Cradock, 1st Baron Howden General John Francis Cradock, 1st Baron Howden (11 August 1759 – 26 July 1839), was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. Life He was son of John Cradock, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin. In 1775 he was admi ...

71st (Glasgow Highland Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot – 1809

*1809–1824: Gen.

Francis Dundas General Francis Dundas ( – 15 January 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the acting governor of the Cape Colony from 1798 to 1799 and again from 1801 to 1803. He was the second son of Robert Dundas ...

71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) – 1810

*1824–1829: Gen. Sir

Gordon Drummond General Sir Gordon Drummond, GCB (27 September 1772 – 10 October 1854) was a Canadian-born British Army officer and the first official to command the military and the civil government of Canada. As Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Drum ...

, GCB *1829–1838: Gen. Sir

Colin Halkett General Sir Colin Halkett (7 September 1774 – 24 September 1856) was a British Army officer who became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey. Family Halkett came from a military family. His father was Major General Frederick Godar Halkett and his ...

, KCB, KCH *1838–1841: Lt-Gen. Sir

Samuel Ford Whittingham Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Ford Whittingham, (29 January 1772 – 19 January 1841), whose Christian names were contracted by himself and his friends into "Samford", was a British and Spanish army officer during the Napoleonic Wars. Following ...

, KCB, KCH *1841–1848: Lt-Gen. Sir Thomas Reynell, 6th Baronet, KCB *1848–1849: Lt-Gen. Sir

Thomas Arbuthnot Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, KCB (11 September 1776 – 26 January 1849"''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''") was a British Army commander. Military career He was born in Rockfleet Castle, County Mayo, Ireland, the sixth s ...

, KCB *1849–1857: Gen. Sir James Macdonell, GCB, KCH *1857–1863: Gen. Sir Thomas Erskine Napier, KCB *1863–1870: Gen. Hon. Charles Grey *1870–1874: Lt-Gen. Robert Law, KCB *1874–1880: Gen. Hon. Sir

George Cadogan General Sir George Cadogan (2 December 1814 – 27 January 1880) was a general in the British Army. Life The fifth son of George Cadogan, 3rd Earl Cadogan and Honoria Louisa Blake (and thus the younger brother of the 4th earl). He joined th ...

, KCB *1880–1881: Gen.

John Hamilton Elphinstone Dalrymple General John Hamilton Elphinstone Dalrymple, (5 January 1819 – 28 June 1888) was a senior British Army officer. He was born the son of Sir Robert Dalrymple-Horn-Elphinstone of Horn and Westhall, 1st Baronet. He joined the Scots Fusilier ...

, CB (to

) *''1881: Regiment amalgamated the

to form the

References

Sources

External links

Clan Fraser Society of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot Infantry regiments of the British Army Highland regiments Highland Light Infantry Regiment of Foot, 71st Military units and formations established in 1758 Military units and formations disestablished in 1881