page_title: 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot
section_title: Formation
hierarchical_section_title: 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot / History / Formation
caption_attribution_description: English: At the 1803 Battle of Assaye, Maratha gunners who played dead swing their guns around to target the British infantry who have passed them.
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: The regiment was raised in Glasgow by Major-General Sir Archibald Campbell for service in India as the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot in October 1787. In accordance with the Declaratory Act 1788 the cost of raising the regiment was recharged to East India Company on the basis that the act required that expenses "should be defrayed out of the revenues" arising there. The regiment embarked for India in February 1789 and took part in the Siege of Bangalore in February 1791 and the Siege of Seringapatam in February 1792 during the Third Anglo-Mysore War.
  The regiment also saw action at the Battle of Mallavelly in March 1799 and went on to form part of the storming party at the Siege of Seringapatam in April 1799 during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. It subsequently saw action at skirmishes in spring 1803 during the First Anglo-Maratha War and went on to fight at the Battle of Assaye in April 1803 during the Second Anglo-Maratha War: at Assaye the regiment suffered terrible losses under a hail of cannon fire. From a strength of about 500, the 74th lost ten officers killed and seven wounded, and 124 other ranks killed and 270 wounded. The regiment went to fight at the Battle of Argaon in November 1803 and the Capture of Gawilghur in December 1803. It returned to England in February 1806 and then lost its Highland status due to recruiting difficulties, becoming the 74th Regiment of Foot in April 1809.
caption: Maratha gunners re-man their cannons at the Battle of Assaye in April 1803 (illustration by Alfred Pearse)
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