83rd Regiment of Foot ( Royal Glasgow Volunteers ) The 83rd Regiment of Foot ( also called the Royal Glasgow Volunteers ) was a British infantry regiment that served in the American Revolutionary War . It was created in 1778 and disbanded in 1783 , shortly after the war ended . Formation . In 1778 , during the American Revolutionary War , Mr James Finlay , a Glasgow merchant , founder of James Finlay & Co . , together with Mr Ingram the former Provost and Mr Gray of Carntyne , resolved to raise an infantry regiment in the service of King George III . Finlay ' s motives appear to have been a mixture of patriotism and commercial interests - the War was having a detrimental effect on Glasgow ' s trade with Virginia . Consequently , at noon on Monday , 26 January 1778 , a procession of the city ' s civic dignitaries met at the Town Hall , and marched through the streets of Glasgow in search of recruits . At the head of the procession were the city ' s Halbardiers led by Mr Gray bearing an enormous sword and acting as Sergeant . The Provost , a Mr Donald , followed , with the Town Council , Deacon - Convener , the fourteen Deacons , assorted dignitaries , and the colours of the regiment , and a large following of gentlemen wearing cockades in their hats . Ingram brought up the rear . Two fifers and two drummers provided music with James Finlay in the centre of the party on the bagpipes . Initially there was little success - at the end of the first day Ingram observed that they had a piper and a sergeant , but otherwise he was the regiment . Over the next few days , however , the recruits started to come in and the regiment soon reached full strength of one thousand men , including a large number of Irishmen . The attraction of the Regiment was no doubt helped by the £30 bounty offered to recruits - the equivalent of about two and a half year ' s pay for a private . It was then common practice to draft experienced soldiers into newly raised regiments to give it ' backbone ' , and members of the 42nd ( Black Watch ) Highlanders were duly transferred to the 83rd . However , on discovering that they would no longer be allowed to wear the kilt , they mutinied . Once the regiment was raised , it received the name of ' Royal Glasgow Volunteers ' and was numbered 83rd in the Line . Uniform and equipment . The regiment wore the standard 1768 uniform of close fitting , long tailed red coat , white waistcoat , white breeches and stockings with black gaiters , black shoes with buckles and a black cocked hat . The grenadier company wore tall black bearskin caps , whilst the Light infantry company would have worn some form of light cap and short spatterdashes rather than gaiters . It was common practice for Grenadiers in the field to abandon their bearskin caps in favour of the more practical cocked hat . Because the 83rd was a Royal Regiment it was entitled to have royal blue ' facings ' ( collars , cuffs and lapels ) augmented by white lace on the button holes . Officers wore an identical uniform , except that the coat was made of a superior scarlet cloth and the lace was gold . However this was usually only worn on formal occasions , and for everyday wear it was usual practice to wear a cheaper cloth , unlaced coat . Two types are button are known to have been used . One was a circular , flat gilt metal button 22mm in diameter , with a simple scroll and dot design surrounding the number ' 83 ' . On the back was born the inscription ' S . FIRMIN - STRAND 1771 - 1780 ' . The other type was circular , pewter and 24mm in diameter . The inscriptions on the front and back were identical to the gilt version , except without the scroll and dot decoration . In addition , the soldiers wore white crossbelts to carry the ammunition pouch , bayonet and canteen , with a goatskin backpack . The standard weapon was the Short Land Pattern ' Brown Bess ' flintlock musket . Career . Raised in early 1778 , the regiment spent some time in training before being sent to the Channel Islands , where it established its headquarters at Fort Conway ( now Fort Henry ) in the east of Jersey , in the Parish of Grouville . Half the regiment were based here , the other half in the neighbouring Island of Guernsey , the total strength of the regiment at this date being 781 . On 6 January 1781 Baron Philippe de Rullecourt landed with a force of French infantry in a bid to capture Jersey . Leaving a detachment of troops at the landing point of La Rocque , Jersey , he proceeded to advance on St Helier , where he was eventually defeated at the hands of the 95th Regiment of Foot and 78th Highlanders , together with elements of the Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey , under the command of Major Francis Peirson in an action known as the Battle of Jersey . Meanwhile the Grenadier Company of the 83rd , led by Captain Campbell , stormed La Rocque Battery and recaptured it from the French . Seven grenadiers were killed during this action . Later that year the 83rd was transferred to New York , where it remained as part of the garrison of the city until the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783 . It then returned to Glasgow , where it was disbanded . Known Members . Known members of the regiment are as follows :