Simon Fraser of Lovat General the Hon . Simon Fraser of Lovat , 19th MacShimidh ( 19 October 1726 – 8 February 1782 ) was a Scottish general in the British Army who raised a number of fighting forces , and served in the war against the French in Quebec , as well as the American rebellion . Simon was the 19th Chief of the Clan Fraser . Master of Lovat . Simon was born in 1726 , and his Clan was a prosperous one . His father , Simon " the Fox " Fraser , Lord Lovat , had recently been pardoned for his role in supporting the Jacobites during The Fifteen . He grew up learning , and became fluent in , Gaelic , French , and English , and probably Latin as well . At the Battle of Culloden , Simon , along with Charles Fraser of Inverallochy , commanded several hundred Frasers , who were front and centre in the Jacobite lines . General Hawley reportedly found Charles lying on the field , and ordered a young James Wolfe to shoot him . Wolfe refusing , Hawley found another common soldier to do his dirty work . Simon , on the other hand , escaped the field complete with life and limb , and went on to serve in the British Army . Military service . 78th Fraser Highlanders . Raising . Wolfe , mentioned above , was the first to suggest that " two or three independent Highland companies " should prove extremely useful to the British Army . Simon , whose estates , money , and hereditary titles had all been attainted from his father following the Forty - Five , raised 800 men within a few short weeks , and Gentleman friends of his in the district had soon raised another 700 , in 1757 . Simon was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel Commander of the 2nd Highland Battalion of Foot on 5 January 1757 . The Regiment came to about two Battalions , and while they were in New York , it was decided they should be renumbered as the 77th Montgomerie Highlanders and the 78th Fraser Highlanders . Among the officers commissioned into the of the 78th , 15 were Frasers , five of whom had the name of Simon ( three Johns and three Alexanders as well ) . There were 13 MacDonalds ( or MacDonnells ) , six Camerons , and six Campbells . Since the Dress Act of 1746 , Scots were not allowed to wear the dress of their forefathers , " " the Highland Dress " , " including Kilts , Trews , and other Tartan clothing . However , the act did not apply to those involved in His Majesty ' s armed forces . The act had been in effect for a full 10 years by the time the 78th was raised , and Simon fought quite hard , on several occasions , to ensure that his men would be dressed in full Highland military garb . Ireland . On 1 April Simon was ordered to move his Regiment to Cork , in southern Ireland . They were to assemble in Inverness by 20 April and march to Glasgow , through Fort Augustus , where they would be billetted for one night , and on to Glasgow for final training . On 10 May they were to leave Glasgow for Port Patrick via Ayr , the onto transports to Donaghadee via Larne . From there , they were to proceed down Ireland ' s east coast to Cork , where they would embark 14 May , though no destination was given in these first orders . Canada . The regiment fought at the capture of Louisbourg in 1758 , at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 , were present at the capture of Montreal in 1760 and at the capture of St . John ' s , Newfoundland in 1761 . In 1763 at the end of the war , they were disbanded in what is now Canada . Many soldiers remained in the area of Quebec . 71st Fraser Highlanders . In 1775 Fraser ' s Highlanders were raised again in Inverness , Stirling and Glasgow as the 71st ( Highland ) Regiment of Foot ( Fraser ' s Highlanders ) , two battalions were raised . In 1776 both battalions of the 71st Highlanders sailed to New York and took part in the American War of Independence . The 2nd Battalion was captured in Boston in 1776 and reformed in Scotland in 1778 before returning to America . Both battalions fought throughout the war , though the 2nd Battalion was captured a second time at Yorktown in 1781 . The 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1783 and the 1st Battalion disbanded in 1786 . Later life . By the time Simon was through with the military , he had risen to the rank of general , bought back much of his father ' s estate , earned a small fortune , and earned a reputation as a soldier . Upon his death in 1782 , Archibald Campbell Fraser of Lovat , his half - brother , succeeded him as the 20th MacShimidh , or Chief of Clan Fraser .