View source for 71st Regiment of Foot, Fraser's Highlanders

{{for|other units with the same regimental number|71st Regiment of Foot (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=71st Regiment of Foot, Fraser's Highlanders
|image=
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|dates= 1775–1786
|country={{flag|Kingdom of Great Britain}}
|branch={{army|United Kingdom}}
|type= [[Infantry]]
|role=
|size=One [[battalion]] (two battalions 1775–1783)
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|identification_symbol_2=
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|nickname=
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|battles=[[American Revolutionary War]]
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The '''71st Regiment of Foot''' was a [[British Army]] [[regiment]] of [[infantry]] raised in 1775, during the [[American Revolutionary War]] and unofficially known as '''Fraser's Highlanders'''. It was disbanded in 1786.
==History==
[[File:ArchibaldCampbell.jpg|thumb|left|Lieutenant-Colonel [[Archibald Campbell (British Army officer, born 1739)|Archibald Campbell]] who led the regiment to success at the [[Capture of Savannah]] in December 1778, by [[George Romney (painter)|George Romney]]]]
===Formation===
[[File:Fraser1776officer.png|thumb|An officer of the 71st Regiment, 1776]]
[[File:Black Watch (Old Campbell) tartan, tileable.png|thumb|The Black Watch tartan worn by the regiment]]
[[File:71st regiment button StormWreck.jpg|thumb|A pewter button from the uniform of a non-officer member of Fraser's Highlanders, recovered by archaeologists from the 1782 Storm Wreck]]
The regiment was raised at [[Inverness]], [[Stirling]], and [[Glasgow]] by Lieutenant-General [[Simon Fraser of Lovat]] as the '''71st Regiment of Foot''' in 1775.<ref name=regiments/> It was intended for service in the [[American Revolutionary War]] and was well-received in Glasgow:<ref>Keltie, p. 482</ref>
{{quote|Their conduct was so laudable and exemplary as to gain the affections of the inhabitants, between whom and the soldiers the greatest cordiality prevailed.}}
The regiment embarked for [[North America]] in April 1776.<ref name=troiani43>Troiani, p. 43</ref> During the journey some of the troops of the Cameron clan mutinied when they heard they would not be commanded by Captain Cameron of Lochiel but settled down when they heard that their commander was Captain Cameron of Fassifern.<ref name=keltie483>Keltie, p. 483</ref> The ship arrived in [[New York City]] in July 1776 and the regiment was attacked by American troops on arrival at [[Boston Harbor]].<ref name=keltie483/>
===Operations===
The 71st Regiment of Foot joined General [[William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe|William Howe]] at [[Staten Island]] and was ordered into combat almost immediately.<ref name=keltie483/> The grenadiers were commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Stewart and the other companies were placed under the command of Brigadier [[Sir William Erskine, 1st Baronet|Sir William Erskine]].<ref name=keltie483/> The regiment first saw action at the [[Battle of Long Island]] in August 1776; the British forces were successful and only three soldiers from the regiment were killed and only 11 wounded.<ref name=keltie483/>
The next operation for the 71st Regiment was at the [[Battle of Fort Washington]] in November 1776 followed by the [[Fort Lee Historic Park#Battle of Fort Lee|Battle of Fort Lee]] later that month.<ref name=locations>{{cite web|url=http://regiments.org/wars/18thcent/75awi.htm |title=71st Regiment of Foot, Fraser's Highlanders |publisher=regiments.org |access-date=3 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104052424/http://regiments.org/wars/18thcent/75awi.htm |archive-date= 4 January 2007 }}</ref> The regiment went on to take part in the [[Philadelphia Campaign]] and saw action at the [[Battle of Brandywine]] in September 1777.<ref name=locations/> A detachment of 71st Regiment under Captain Colin MacKenzie supported General [[John Burgoyne]]'s operations along the [[Hudson River]] including the capture of Forts [[Fort Clinton|Clinton]] and [[Fort Montgomery (Hudson River)|Montgomery]] in October 1777.<ref name=keltie484>Keltie, p. 484</ref>
The regiment also took part in actions in the [[Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War|Southern theatre]] and fought under Lieutenant-Colonel [[Archibald Campbell (British Army officer, born 1739)|Archibald Campbell]] at the [[Capture of Savannah]] in December 1778. At Savannah, Campbell ordered Sir James Baird to take a group of infantry and flank the Americans, while he arrayed his troops just out of view: the Americans were unaware they had been flanked, were routed and abandoned the city.<ref name=keltie484/> The regiment, now under the command of Lieutenant Colonel [[John Maitland (British Army officer)|John Maitland]], went on take part in the [[Battle of Brier Creek]] in March 1779; at Brier Creek the 1st Battalion of the regiment attacked the Americans at the front while the 2nd Battalion attacked them from the rear: again the Americans were routed.<ref name=keltie484/>
After that the regiment took part in the [[Siege of Savannah]] in September 1779: during this action the regiment successfully defended the city.<ref name=keltie486>Keltie, p. 486</ref> The regiment was also present at the [[Siege of Charleston]] in March 1780, the [[Battle of Camden]] in August 1780 and the [[Battle of Cowpens]] in January 1781.<ref name=locations/> It next fought at the [[Battle of Guilford Court House]] in March 1781 where one officer of the 71st Regiment claimed that "one half of the Highlanders dropped on that spot."<ref>{{Cite web|title=The American Revolution - (The Battle of Guilford Courthouse) |url=http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/battledetail.aspx?battle=27 |website=www.theamericanrevolution.org |access-date=2015-11-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115115901/http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/battledetail.aspx?battle=27 |archive-date=15 November 2015 }}</ref> The regiment's last action was at the [[Siege of Yorktown]] in September 1781.<ref name=locations/>
===Reorganisation===
On 30 April 1782, the [[War Office]] notified [[Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester|Sir Guy Carleton]], [[Commander-in-Chief, North America|Commander in Chief of British forces in North America]], that due to the death of Lieutenant General Fraser, the two battalions of the 71st were to be formed into two distinct units, the 71st Regiment under the command of Colonel Thomas Stirling of the [[42nd Regiment of Foot|42nd Regiment]], and the Second 71st Regiment under the command of the [[Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres|Earl of Balcarres]] who was appointed a Lieutenant Colonel Commandant.<ref>Letter from War Office to Sir Guy Carleton, 30 April 1782, PRO 30/55/39, document 4519, page 1, National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom</ref> The latter unit was to be augmented by recruits to be raised in the [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands of Scotland]]. All private men currently serving in both battalions in America, whether prisoners of war or not, were to be appointed to the new 71st Regiment, as were additional companies at [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]], while additional companies in Britain were to be attached to the Second 71st. The newly organized 71st, consisting of 12 companies, was to continue in service in America, while the commissioned and non-commissioned officers of the Second 71st were to set sail for Britain at the first opportunity.<ref>Letter from War Office to Sir Guy Carleton, 30 April 1782, PRO 30/55/39, document 4519, pages 1–2, National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom</ref>
The two new 71st companies remained in [[South Carolina]] until the final evacuation of [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] on 18 December 1782. The officers of the Second 71st set sail for England in the 203-ton ship ''Moor'', while the remaining men of the 71st Regiment, numbering only 189, were to sail on the 319-ton ship ''Sally'' bound for [[Jamaica]].<ref>List of Transports for the Evacuation of Charleston, 19 November 1782, CO 5/108, folios 37–42, National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom</ref> Some of the ships leaving Charleston were bound for [[St. Augustine, Florida]], and it appears likely that at least one member of the 71st was shipwrecked at that port, as archaeologists from the [[St. Augustine Light#Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP)|Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program]] have discovered a pewter button from a 71st Regiment uniform on a shipwreck site that appears to date to the 1782 evacuation of Charleston.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/LAMP/Research/storm-wreck |title=Excavation of the Storm Wreck, Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program|publisher=St Augustine Lighthouse|access-date=4 February 2017}}</ref> The regiment was disbanded in Scotland in 1786.<ref name=regiments/>
==Uniform==
[[File:John Stewart, Old Burying Ground, Halifax, Nova Scotia.jpg|thumb|[[John Stuart (Nova Scotia politician)|Lt. John Stuart]], 71st Regiment, d. 1835 [[Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia)]]]]
The regiment's beating orders called for a uniform very similar to the [[42nd Regiment of Foot]]. It included a diced bonnet, short red coat with white facings (collar, lapels, and cuffs) and white lace with a red worm, a Government Sett kilt, and diced hose. The kilt and hose were typically only worn while in garrison. In the field, the regiment wore the standard British Army gaitered trousers. In the summer, they were made of linen. In the winter, they commonly wore brown wool trousers, though in the winter of 1779/1780, they wore [[tartan]] trousers made from their old kilts. While issued swords and sword belts, the swords were left in storage and the sword belt was used to carry the bayonets. Accoutrements included an 18 round cartridge box worn around the stomach, as well as a pouch worn over the shoulder.<ref name=troiani43/><ref>[https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/395658-redirection The genealogical record of the Boggs family, the descendants of Ezekiel Boggs, p. 16]</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The United Service Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e3MXHzXo-YAC&pg=PA143|volume=Part 2|year=1835|publisher=H. Colburn|page=143}}</ref>
==Colonels==
Colonels of the regiment were:<ref name=regiments>{{cite web|url=http://regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/078fraser.htm |title=Fraser's Highlanders [71st & 78th Regiment of Foot] |publisher=regiments.org |access-date=4 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101124301/http://regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/078fraser.htm |archive-date= 1 January 2007 }}</ref>
===71st Regiment of (Highland) Foot (Fraser's Highlanders) (1775–1786)===
*1775–1782: Lt-Gen. Hon. [[Simon Fraser of Lovat]]
*1782–1783: Gen. [[Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres]]
==See also==
*[[78th Fraser Highlanders]], an earlier regiment also raised by Simon Fraser of Lovat but for the French and Indian War
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
==Sources==
*{{cite book|last=Keltie|first=John|title=A history of the Scottish Highlands, Highland clans and Highland regiments, with an account of the Gaelic language, literature and music by Thomas Maclauchlan, and an essay on Highland scenery|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofscottis04kelt#page/482/mode/2up/search/so+laudable|publisher=William Mackenzie|year=1875}}
*{{cite book|last=Troiani|first=Don|title=Troiani's Soldiers in America, 1754–1865|publisher=Stackpole|year=1998|isbn=978-0811705196|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780811705196}}
{{Regiments of Foot}}
[[Category:Infantry regiments of the British Army|71]]
[[Category:Highland regiments|71]]
[[Category:Clan Fraser|Regiment of Foot, 71st]]