72nd Regiment , Duke of Albany ' s Own Highlanders The 72nd Highlanders ( Formerly 78th Highlanders ) was a British Army Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line raised in the late 18th Century in Scotland for service against the French . In 1881 the regiment was linked with the 78th ( Highlanders ) Regiment to form the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Seaforth Highlanders . Origin and early history . In 1771 the family title of " Earl of Seaforth " was restored to Kenneth Mackenzie after his family had forfeited it because of their involvement in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 . As a gesture of gratitude , the Earl offered to raise a regiment on his estate for general use by the Crown . The offer was accepted and a corps of 1 , 130 men was raised . Of these , 900 were Highlanders and the remainder coming from the Lowlands and was located at Elgin , its first base , in May 1778 . In August 1778 the Regiment marched to Leith for embarkation to the East Indies – but a dispute regarding their terms of service lead the men to march back to Edinburgh and they took up a position of protest in the vicinity of Arthurs Seat , remaining for several days . During this protest , the men were amply supplied with food and ammunition by the populace of the capital , who had taken side with them in their grievances . After three days of negotiations , compromises were reached and the men again marched from the capital to their quarters at Leith , this time led by the Earl of Seaforth , but the idea of sending them to India now having been abandoned . At this time , the Regiment was designated as the 78th Regiment of Foot . During the Regiment ’ s early history they were deployed as follows : The men has enlisted for a three - year period of service and at the end of this term ( 1784 ) , most returned to England , save for 425 who elected to remain in India . They were joined by men from other regiments who had also elected to remain on the sub – continent instead of taking their discharge home . This bolstered the regiments number to 700 men . Due to the end of the war with the French , the number of Crown regiments had been reduced and the Seaforth ’ s designation was changed from the 78th Foot to the 72nd Foot on 12 September 1786 In 1789 the war against Tippoo Sahib re – started and the 72nd were to see service in the actions of Dindigul ( 1790 ) , Palghatcherri ( 1790 ) , Bangalore ( 1791 ) , Seringaptam ( 1791 and 1792 ) , Savendroog ( 1791 ) and the 1794 victory over Tippoo which marked the end of the Second Mysore War . The Regiment eventually embarked from Madras back to England on 10 February 1798 , being awarded the title " Hindoostan " on its colours . The regiment fired at protestors during the Preston Strike of 1842 , killing five or so . Timeline . 15 May 1778 - 78th Highland Regiment of Foot was passed fit for Service at Elgin , Morayshire Sep . 1778 ‘ Mutiny of MacRaes ’ at Edinburgh en route to Channel Islands Garrison 1778 - 1781 Channel Islands Garrison Apr . 1779 Repulse French attack on Jersey Jan . 1781 Help repulse French attack on Jersey Mar . 1781 To Portsmouth , for sailing to India as part of East India Company Army 1782 - 1798 India Mar . 1782 Arrive Carnatic , India . Lose highland dress for tropical service . 250 lost at sea during voyage , including the Earl of Seaforth 1782 - 1783 Fight at Arnee , Port of Cuddaldore , Fort of Palaghauchterry . Naval Battle 1786 78th Highlanders renumbered as 72nd ( Highland ) Regiment of Foot when the total number of Infantry Regiments was reduced to 77 . As a unit on overseas service the 78th Highlanders were spared disbandment and moved up the order of precedence . 1786 To Mysore , India 1789 - 1792 Campaign against Tippoo Sultan . Bangalore , Savendroog , Outra Durgam , Seringapatam 1793 Siege and capture of French Pondichéry 1795 Capture of Ceylon from the Dutch 1798 Drafts of men sent to other regiments . Cadre return to Scotland for recruiting . 1798 To Perth . Re - issued highland dress . 1800 To Ireland , as ‘ police ’ troops . 1805 Capture of Cape of Good Hope from Dutch . Fight alongside 71st and 93rd Highlanders . Lt Col , Grant commanding . 1806 Cape Town Garrison at Wineburg 1809 Re - designated 72nd Regiment of Foot to help with recruiting . No longer authorised to wear Highland dress 1810 At capture of Mauritius from French . Remain as garrison troops . 1814 Return to Cape Town 1815 To Calcutta , India 1816 Return to Cape Town . Remain in South Africa as part of Cape Province Garrison 1822 Return to England 1823 To Channel Islands . Companies split between Guernsey and Jersey . 19 . 12 . 1823 - Renamed the 72nd Regiment of Foot , or The Duke of Albany ' s Own Highlanders . Uniform of Royal Stewart trews and highland bonnet introduced . Sep . 1824 Return to Scotland for first time in 24 years . Approved the use of the Duke of Albany ' s cipher as regimental badge 1825 To Ireland . Stationed in Belfast , Londonderry and Dublin 1827 To London 1828 Return to Cape Colony 1834 Xhosa War 1835 To Graham ’ s Town , South Africa 1838 To Cape Town 1840 To Portsmouth ( Oct : guards , cheer HMS Britannia on its departure from Portsmouth Harbour ) 1841 Royal duties in Windsor 1842 Riot duty in Manchester , Preston , Blackburn and Bolton Aug . 1842 Five cotton workers killed by 72nd in Preston during protests at wage cuts ( see Preston Strike of 1842 ) . 1843 To Ireland . Stationed in Dublin , Templemore and Fermoy 1844 To Gibraltar Garrison 1848 To West Indies . Stationed in Barbados , Trinidad , St . Lucia , Demerara , Grenada and Tobago . 1851 To Halifax , Nova Scotia 1854 To Limerick 1855 To Malta 1855 Crimean War 1856 To Aldershot then the Channel Islands 1857 To India via Shorncliffe , Kent . 1858 Arrive Bombay . Indian Mutiny 1859 To Mhow 1865 To Poona 1866 To Edinburgh 1867 To England 1868 To Ireland . Stationed in Dublin , Limerick , Buttevant , Cork 1871 To India , Stationed in Umbella , Peshawar , Nowshera , Cherat , Sialkot Apr . 1873 Linked Regiments Depot System links the 72nd with the 91st Highlanders at 58th Brigade Depot , Stirling . 1878 - 1880 2nd Afghan War 1880 To Mean Meer , Lucknow , India 1881 Amalgamated with 78th Highlanders as 1st Battalion Seaforth Highlanders