The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-18
THE FAMOUS BLACK WATCH
story of an Historic Highland Regi-
ment in English Wars.

adventures. The BLACK Watch" dates it's
| beginning from $780, when six Highland
| companies were raised to keep the peace
| in the region north of the Highland line
| Tribesmen from the Wing clans were set
| to watch their Jacobite kinsmen. Black
was an epithet given to them because their
| tartanS-each company had, of course, it's
| own-showed a somber contrast to the red
| soldiers" of the regular army, for the regu-
| lars at that time were clad in scarlet from
| top to toe In 1740 the companies were
| formed into a regiment, which was num-
| bered the Forty third the rival tartans be-
| ing amalgamated in a novel pattern. In
| March, 1743, the Forty-third was sent to
| England, and few weeks later embarked
| for the Netherlands. The removal from
| Scotland was far from welcome, and the
| order for foreign service provoked an ac-
| tual mutiny. Two hundred men deserted
| in body and marched northward. They
| were overtaken at Oundle and surrounded
| by a force to which they, after some par
| ley, surrendered. A court-martial SEN
| fenced the whole number to DEATH but only
| three ringleaders suffered this penalty.
| The rank and file were punished by being
| sent in detachments to various foreign sta
| lions. The main body Of the regiment,
which was still nine hundred strong, just
missed Dettingen and came in for Fonte-
noy. The BLACK Watch" greatly distn-
guished itself. Highland Furies'' was the
complimentary description which a French
eyewitness gave of their demeanor. Their
colonel, Sir Robert Munro, went every
where with them, though he was so corpu-
lent that he had been hauled out of the
trenches by his legs and arms. The total
loss of the regiment was 1873. During the
AS the Forty-thrd were in England, being
told off to watch the south coast, where a
French descent was daily expected. They
were thus happily exempted from the pain
full duty of sharing in the Culloden cam
paign. Some shrewd observers at the time
doubted whether the rising would have
taken place If this organized force of loyal
clansmen had been allowed to remain in
the disaffected regions
The regiments next service in the
expedition against Fort Ticonderoga Q757)
The assault, which was made on most i'm
perfect information of the strength of the
Notifications, was a disastrous failure.
The 'Black Watch which could hardly
be cant d from the attack, lost CAT men, of
whom Nearly a falf (S1D were killed. The
proportion of killed to the total strength
was not less than one in three. At Water
loo, which was not an affair of rosewater,
| it was one in seventeen. The regiment was
not present at Quebec, but it took part in
and comparatively inexpensive operations,
which resulted in adding Canada to the en-
pire. Its second battalion had been serv-
ing meanwhile in the West Indies. To that
region the whole regiment was again trans
ferred in 1761, selected, as was stated in
the dispatch from home, for their sobr-
ETY. and abstemious habits, great activity
and capability for bearing the extremes
of heat and cold" The campaign resulted
in the conquest of the Windward islands
and Of the Havannah From the West In
dies the BLACK Watch" was sent back to
New York, and had three years of cam
paigning against the Indian tribes At
last, after eleven ye3rs what was left of
the regiment-it had lost $40 officers and
men in killed and wounded-was sent home
The survivors were not without the solace
of prize money, won in the conquest Of Ha-
vannah. Each private had the magnificent
sum of "a Is Sled, while Lord Albemarle,
who commanded. received &122, 967.
The regiment remained at home for eight
| years, of which two only were spent in
Scotland Cleft in 1743 and not revisited till
1775) In 1a76 it was ordered to America,
| where hostilites were in active progress.
1t is interesting to be told that out Of the
thousand and twelve rank and file who en-
parked all but seven were Scots and all
but eighty-three Highlanders. One of the
transports was captured on its voyage by
an American privateer, but the soldiers
overpowered the prize crew and navigated
the ship into the James river. Unluckily,
jamestown was then in possession of the
colonial forces. The regiment had its share
of whatever glory was won in the war of
independence. After the conclusion of
peace it remained in North America re-
turning to England in 1889, and six months
later to Scotland, where it had the dis
tasteful duty of quelllng the disturbances
caused in the Highlands by the wholesale
eVctions. (Ar. Forbes is a little out when
he talks of the biting words which the
patriot Gagacus addressed to Agrippa,
'Solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant "
Galgacus is represented having adj
dressed them not to Agrippa or Agricola,
| hut TO fTih hf1f xyea
doubt whether he does not owe at least
the epigrammatic form of the sentiment to
the hiStorian.)
The next campaign was in Flanders, and
with this is connected the famous episode
of the red feather" Late on Jan. the
English ptcketS near the Waal were com
PEELED to retreat. A cavalry regiment was
ordered to cover the movement and protect
the guns, but broke and fed. Sir David
Dundas called out, "Forty-second, for
Gods sake and for the honor of your coun-
try retake those guns" They did retake
them. and they wear the red feather to this
day. having vindicated some seventy years
ago their special right, other High
land regiments, to this distinction.
After other less celebrated services came
the famous victory of Alexandria, which
Mr.. Forbes describes with more than usual
fullness and after Alexandria, with an in
terval of four years at home and three
years at Gibraltar, Corunna, where the
brigade. which was made up of the Forty
second. the Fourth and the Fiftieth, bore
the brunt of the attack. The last look that
Sir John Moore cast on the struggle of that
day was turned to the BLACK Watch
His countenance expressed satisfaction"
wrote his aid-de-camp, Henry Hardinge,
afterward Lord Hardnge, when l told
him that the regiment was advancing" A
few Highland soldiers helped the officers
of his staff to bury him a few hours later
on one of the bastions of the citadel
In the peninsular war the most active
service of the regiment was rendered at
the sanguinary battles fought at or within
the French frontier. At Quatre Bras it
suffered severely. losing 29S officers and
men in killed and wounded. It pres
ent at Waterloo. but was not holly en-
gagged 1t ought to be noted that the five
officers returned as wounded at Waterloo
had all been on the same list at Quatre
Bras.
After thrty-nne years of peace in the
battle of the Alma, when the BLACK
land regiments. the Seventy-ninth anc the
Ninety-third, under the command of Sir
Colin Campbell Men, said Sir Colin
you going into action. Remember
this: whoever is wounded. no matter what
his rank must lie where he falls until the
diers must go carrying off wounded COM
rades If any man does such thing his
name shall be stuck up in his parish
church" Sir Colin was eminently prac-
teal, but he knew also the value of senti-
ment. for he won the hearts Of his men
by getting leave to wear the Highland bon
net. When, soon after the victory, he rode
into the square, wearing the bonnet in
which the heckles of the three regiments
had been combined. he was greeted with
English and French armies were startled
into wonderment as to what was going on.
The BLACK Watch" has other names
among them Cawnpore and Tel-el-kebir-
on the roll OF its achievements.