The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. 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 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, the Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw service ...

in 1881.

History

Early history

The regiment was raised by Francis Humberston MacKenzie, Chief of the Clan Mackenzie and later Lord Seaforth, as the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot (or The

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

Buffs) on 8 March 1793. First assembled at Fort George in July 1793, the regiment moved to the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

in August 1793, and embarked for

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

in September 1794 for service in 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 ...

. It saw action at the defence of

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

in November 1794. In a

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attack there the regiment lost one officer and seven men; a further four officers and 60 men were wounded. The regiment moved to England in April 1795 and then sailed to France for the

Battle of Quiberon Bay The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as the ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' by the French) was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off ...

in June 1795 and the landing at

Île d'Yeu Ile or ILE may refer to: Ile * Ile, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino ...

, off the

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

coast, in September 1795, after which it was stationed in England. In 1794 the 78th raised a second battalion which, in July 1795, sailed for South Africa. Here it took part in the successful attack by a British fleet under Sir George Elphinstone on the

Dutch Cape Colony The Cape of Good Hope () was a Dutch United East India Company (VOC) supplystation in Southern Africa, centered on the Cape of Good Hope, from where it derived its name. The original supply station and the successive states that the area was ...

, then held by the forces of the

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...

: the attack led to the capitulation by the Dutch Navy at Saldanha Bay and the capture of the colony by British forces in September 1796. In March 1796 the 1st battalion sailed from England to South Africa where, in June that year it amalgamated with the 2nd battalion. In November the newly merged regiment left South Africa 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 ...

. here it saw action at the

Battle of Assaye The Battle of Assaye was a battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company. It occurred on 23 September 1803 near Assaye in western India. An outnumbered Indian and British force ...

in September 1803, during the

Second Anglo-Maratha War Second Anglo-Maratha War (from 1803 –1805) was a large conflict within the Maratha Confederacy, Maratha Empire involving the British East India Company. It resulted in major loss of territory for the Marathas, including regions around Delhi a ...

. During the battle the regiment were tasked with retaking the Maratha gun line. For their part in this decisive victory, the 78th was presented with a special third

colour Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...

by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, with the elephant symbol borne on the colour worn as a regimental badge. Later, when stationed in Ceylon, the 78th acquired a baby elephant as a regimental mascot. It returned to Scotland with the regiment, and was finally presented to Edinburgh Zoo.

Napoleonic Wars

The regiment remained in India until it joined the Invasion of Java and the capture of Fort Cornelis in August 1811. In June 1812, the regiment took part in the siege and ensuing sack of

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

. 100 men of the regiment took part in a 1812 punitive expedition against the Sultanate of Sambas, but the expedition was forced to return upon encountering shore batteries, with the complement insufficient to take the defenses by storm. A second expedition, involving the 14th Regiment and

Sepoy ''Sepoy'' () is a term related to ''sipahi'', denoting professional Indian infantrymen, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire and the Maratha. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its Euro ...

troops, would be launched in 1813 with success. Also in 1813, part of the regiment would be engaged in the suppression of a peasant rebellion in East Java, which had seen two officers of the regiment killed. Leaving Java in September 1816, the vessel the battalion was travelling on, , was wrecked off Preparis, Burma, on 5 November on the way to Bengal. There were relatively few deaths and the rescued most of the survivors, who it carried to

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

; cruisers from the British East India Company rescued the remainder. ''Prince Blucher'' carried a part of the battalion on to England, arriving at Portsmouth in June 1817. A second battalion was again raised in May 1804. In late 1805 this embarked for

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 ...

, before sailing to Italy and participating in the Battle of Maida in July 1806. It also took part in the Alexandria Expedition in spring 1807. Three companies of the regiment were captured at Al Hamed near

Rosetta Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Rosetta Stone was discovered there in 1799. Founded around the 9th century on the site of the ancient town of Bolbitine, R ...

: among the prisoners was Thomas Keith who converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and entered Ottoman service. Returning home in January 1808, a draft from the battalion were present at the disastrous Dutch

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 1809, which suffered substantial losses due to

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. Although under strength, the battalion embarked for

in January 1814, and routed a larger French force during a skirmish at

Merksem Merksem (; former spelling: ''Merxem'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It has 44,808 inhabitants as of 2021. History The history of Merksem goes back to Gallo-Roman times. During that perio ...

, near

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. Remaining in Belgium on garrison duty, the battalion was in reserve at Nieuwpoort during the

Waterloo campaign The Waterloo campaign, also known as the Belgian campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two War of the Seventh Coalition, Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied arm ...

, returning home in February 1816. By 1817 both the 1st and 2nd battalions were stationed in Scotland, where they were amalgamated the same year. The regiment was then posted to Ireland until 1826.

The Victorian era

78HighlandersMonumentonCastle-HillEdinburgh

The regiment embarked for a tour in

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 April 1826 and did not return home until February 1838. In 1831 Major Jonathan Forbes, while returning on horseback from a trip to Pollonnuruwa, encountered the "bush covered summit of

Sigiriya Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (''Lion Rock'' , , pronounced SEE-gi-ri-yə) is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is a site of historical and archaeologic ...

". After home service that included responding to industrial riots in Lancashire in 1840, the 78th travelled to India in April 1842, to replace forces lost during the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War () was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad Khan ( Bara ...

. While at

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, largely due to

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

, the regiment lost two officers, 496 soldiers and 171 women and children between September 1844 and March 1845. To make up for the losses, replacements were recruited from across the United Kingdom, reducing the proportion of Scots in the regiment from 91% to under half. After service in India and

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

, the 78th moved to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

in January 1857, and took part in the Battle of Khushab in February 1857 during the brief

Anglo-Persian War The Anglo-Persian War, also known as the Anglo-Iranian War (), was a war fought between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and Qajar Iran, Iran, which was ruled by the Qajar dynasty. The war had the British oppose a ...

The regiment returned to India in May 1857 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 ...

. It took part in the recapture of Cawnpore in July 1857 and then took part in the reinforcement of Lucknow, strongly defending the residency until it was relieved in November 1857. The regiment won eight

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

es during the campaign and was hailed as the 'saviour of British India' and feted for its conduct at Lucknow. This included being commemorated by poets such as

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

and

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

. The regiment returned home in September 1859. The regiment embarked for Gibraltar in 1865, and then in May 1869 sailed on the troopship HMS Crocodile to Halifax in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, arriving on 14 May 1869. Each summer, men from the regiment camped at

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

to practise musketry at the military range. On their departure in 1871, a farewell ball was hosted by the Grandmaster of the Masonic Lodge of Nova Scotia, Alexander Keith. The regiment, together with 17 young local women who had married soldiers, embarked for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in the troopship HMS Orontes in November 1871. In 1871 the regiment moved to Ireland, where it helped to keep order during sectarian rioting, before a number of postings in Scotland and England. In March 1879 the 78th arrived in India, moving to Afghanistan to undertake garrison duty at

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

over the winter of 1880–81 at the end of the

Second Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai ...

. 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, single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district. The 78th was linked with the

71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot The 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, raised as the 73rd (Highland) Regiment of Foot in 1777. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, Highl ...

, and assigned to district no. 55, with its depot at Fort George, near

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 ended its link with the 71st, and amalgamated with the 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the

, with the 78th becoming the second battalion.

Legacy

The regiment's legacy is retained through

n institutions such as Citadel Hill, which features a living history program with animators portraying the 78th Highland Regiment and controls the 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipe Band, a grade one

pipe band A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, ...

formed in 1983.

Battle honours

Battle honours won by the regiment were: *Second Anglo-Maratha War: Assaye *Napoleonic Wars: Maida,

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

*Anglo–Persian War: Persia, Koosh-Ab *

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

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

*Second Anglo-Afghan War: Afghanistan. 1879–80

Victoria Cross recipients

All Victoria Crosses received by the regiment were for service during the

: *Lieutenant Andrew Cathcart Bogle (29 July 1857) *Lieutenant Joseph Petrus Hendrik Crowe (12 August 1857) *Private James Hollowell (26 September 1857) *Surgeon Joseph Jee (25 September 1857) *Lieutenant Herbert Taylor Macpherson (25 September 1857) *Assistant surgeon Valentine Munbee McMaster (25 September 1857) *Colour Sergeant Stewart McPherson (26 September 1857) *Private Henry Ward (25 September 1857)

Colonels of the Regiment

Colonels of the Regiment were: 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot (or The Ross-shire Buffs) *1793–1796: Lt-Gen. Francis Humberston Mackenzie, Lord Seaforth *1796–1809: Lt-Gen. Alexander Mackenzie Fraser *1809–1812: Gen. Sir

James Henry Craig General Sir James Henry Craig KB (1748 – 12 January 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor general of British North America from 1807 to 1811. Early life and military service Craig came from a ...

, KB *1812–1822: Lt-Gen. Sir Samuel Auchmuty, GCB *1822–1834: Lt-Gen. Sir Edward Barnes, GCB *1834–1837: Lt-Gen. Sir Lionel Smith, Bt., GCB, GCH *1837–1851: Gen. Paul Anderson, CB, KC *1851–1853: Lt-Gen. Sir

Neil Douglas Lieutenant-General Sir Neil Douglas (1779 – 1 September 1853) was a British Army officer who fought at the 1815 Battle of Waterloo and later became Commander-in-Chief, Scotland. Life He was born in Glasgow the fifth son of John Douglas ...

, KCB, KCH *1853–1860: Lt-Gen. Sir William Chalmers, CB, KCH *1860–1863: Gen. Roderick Macneil *1863–1881: F.M. Sir Patrick Grant, GCB, GCMG

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

Queen's Own Highlanders Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:78th (Highlanders) Regiment Of Foot Military units and formations of Nova Scotia Infantry regiments of the British Army Highland regiments Military units and formations established in 1793 Scottish regiments Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 Seaforth Highlanders 1793 establishments in Great Britain 1881 disestablishments in the United Kingdom