92nd ( Gordon Highlanders ) Regiment of Foot The 92nd Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment . It was granted Royal Warrant on 10 February 1794 , and first paraded on 24 June 1794 , originally being numbered the 100th Regiment of Foot . It was amalgamated with the 75th Regiment of Foot to form the Gordon Highlanders during the Childers Reforms in 1881 . History . 1794 – 1801 . The first five years of the regiment ' s service were spent on garrison duties at Gibraltar , Corsica and Elba , and they fought in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 . In the summer of 1799 , the regiment returned from Ireland to prepare for the Anglo - Russian invasion of Holland , which aimed to overthrow the Batavian Republic , a client republic of the French Directory in the War of the Second Coalition . At around that time , the regiment was renumbered from the 100th to the 92nd Regiment of Foot . Landing on the Dutch coast on 27 August , and on the same day were present at , but did not participate in the Battle of Callantsoog . However , they distinguished themselves on 2 October at the Battle of Alkmaar , known to the British as " Egmont op Zee " . In May 1800 , they sailed to Minorca , and then on to Egypt where they landed at Abukir . Here they again fought with distinction at the Battle of Mandora on 13 March 1801 . It was a preliminary action before the Battle of Alexandria eight days later on 21 March . That morning , the 92nd had been ordered to return to Abukir , having now only 150 effective men , because of illness and casualties sustained on the 13th . However , on hearing the sound of firing , the Highlanders saw the commander - in - chief , Sir Ralph Abercrombie , passing on his horse and called out to be allowed to return to the line of battle , to which he gave his assent . 1801 – 1819 . After returning home , a second battalion was raised , which served as a reinforcement pool for the first . The regiment took part in the Battle of Køge at Copenhagen in 1807 , went to Portugal and fought at the Battle of Corunna and then joined the disastrous Walcheren Campaign , after which only 300 of 1 , 000 men were fit for service . In September 1810 , the regiment returned to Portugal where they joined the Duke of Wellington ' s army for the remainder of the Peninsular War . The 92nd had reached Toulon when peace was declared in 1814 and they sailed for Ireland . On 1 May 1815 , the regiment again embarked for the continent , to take part in the Hundred Days campaign . The 92nd had a leading role in the Battle of Quatre Bras on 16 June , where it was one of the regiments defending the disputed crossroads and later halted a French attack with a bayonet charge . Two days later . the regiment were in action again at the Battle of Waterloo , although by now reduced to only about 250 men . At an early stage , Napoleon ' s troops attacked the left of the Allied line , and the 92nd were ordered to charge the leading French column . Upon the approach of the Highlanders , the head of the French column broke in disorder and could only be caught by the horses of the Scots Greys , who passed through the 92nd to get at them . According to some accounts , some of the Highlanders clung to the stirrup s of the passing Greys so that they could reach the French , although this is often dismissed as mere legend . However , the testimony of Corporal Dickson of " F " Troop of the Scots Greys , says ; " They were all Gordons , and as we passed through them they shouted ' Go at them the Greys ! Scotland for ever ! ' My blood thrilled at this and I clutched my sabre tighter . Many of them grasped our stirrups and in the fiercest excitement , dashed with us into the fight . " The 92nd ' s casualties at Waterloo were 20 killed and 99 wounded of all ranks . After the battle , the regiment marched to Paris , finally arriving in Edinburgh on 7 September 1816 , where they were cheered by a large crowd . 1816 – 1868 . In 1819 , the regiment was posted to Jamaica , where 348 officers and men died during two outbreaks of yellow fever , before returning in 1827 . There followed postings to Scotland , Ireland , Barbados , the Ionian Islands and Gibraltar , where the regiment remained during most of the Crimean War . The 92nd eventually landed in the Crimea shortly before the end of the Siege of Sevastopol and saw no serious action . In January 1858 , the 92nd embarked for India , because of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 or " Indian Mutiny " , where they engaged in several skirmishes with remaining rebel forces . In September 1861 , the regiment learned that it was allowed to include the name " Gordon Highlanders " in its official title , although it had unofficially been known by this name since its inception . In January 1863 , the Gordons embarked for Britain , and after a spell in Gosport , finally returned to Edinburgh in July for the first time in 17 years . After a spell in Ireland , they returned to India in 1868 . 1868 – 1881 . In December 1878 , the Gordons were ordered to Afghanistan where they were engaged in various security operations following the outbreak of the Second Anglo - Afghan War . In October 1879 , they took part in the Battle of Charasiab , where the Gordons captured three hills , thereby turning the enemy ' s flank . Major White received the Victoria Cross for his part in the action . A further VC was won by Lieutenant Dick - Cunyngham in the Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment on 13 December . At the end of August 1880 , the regiment formed part of the force which marched under General Roberts from Kabul to Kandahar , and in the Battle of Kandahar on 1 September , formed part of the 1st Brigade , which led the advance in sweeping the enemy out of the closely wooded enclosures along the western slopes of the hill on which the village of Gundi Mullah Sahibdad stood , and finally in attacking and carrying the village itself . 1881 – 1883 . Instead of returning to the United Kingdom in 1881 , the Gordons were diverted to Natal because the First Boer War had broken out . The regiment participated in the disastrous Battle of Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881 ; after capturing the hilltop in order to dominate the Boer line , the force of 350 British soldiers of the 58th and 92nd Regiments including a number of Royal Navy gunners , found themselves exposed to heavy and accurate fire early on the following day . This was followed by an assault by 2 , 000 Boers ; despite a desperate last stand , the survivors were swept from the summit . The regiment ' s losses were 85 killed , 131 wounded , 57 captured and 22 missing . While in camp at Bennet ' s Drift near Newcastle , Natal , the 92nd were informed that as part of the General Order of 1 May , they would be joined with the 75th ( Stirlingshire ) Regiment of Foot and become the 2nd Battalion , The Gordon Highlanders . The Regimental Colours of the 92nd were finally laid - up in St Giles ' Cathedral , Edinburgh , on 14 November 1883 by the Duke of Cambridge , where they remain to the present day .