When
studying the history of the Highland Regiments of the British Army the obvious
logical first step is to read the first published History of the
Regiments. This History, written by David Stewart of Garth, an Officer in
the Royal Highland Regiment had the title of :
"Sketches of the Character, Manners, and Present State of the
Highlanders of Scotland"
The volumes of that book can be found here: https://archive.org/details/sketchescharact04stewgoog
The volumes of that book can be found here: https://archive.org/details/sketchescharact04stewgoog
This
book was commissioned by the Commander of the Royal Highland Regiment in 1817,
on the occasion of the loss of all the Regimental history and papers in a
shipwreck. Stewart did an amazing job, even interviewing the last
surviving members of the 42nd & 78th who had served here in the Americas in
the 1750's that he could find to detail their history.
The problem that has faced many reenactors is upon reading Stewart of Garth, they simply stop looking for any period documents relating to the regiments. But so many period documents do survive. In the next weeks and months (Years) I will be providing transcripts and interpretation of all manner of documents relating to the 42nd, 77th and 78th Highland Regiments that I have had the good fortune to gain access to. In the personal papers of Lord John Murray, the Colonel of the 42nd from 1745 till his death in 1787 are orders for uniforms and equipment, shipping manifests, size and muster rolls for the men. By the Time Stewart of Garth was writing his regimental History, COL Murray had been dead for 3 decades. His overlooking that their might have been records in the Murray papers is understandable.
The problem that has faced many reenactors is upon reading Stewart of Garth, they simply stop looking for any period documents relating to the regiments. But so many period documents do survive. In the next weeks and months (Years) I will be providing transcripts and interpretation of all manner of documents relating to the 42nd, 77th and 78th Highland Regiments that I have had the good fortune to gain access to. In the personal papers of Lord John Murray, the Colonel of the 42nd from 1745 till his death in 1787 are orders for uniforms and equipment, shipping manifests, size and muster rolls for the men. By the Time Stewart of Garth was writing his regimental History, COL Murray had been dead for 3 decades. His overlooking that their might have been records in the Murray papers is understandable.
A
second set of Documents, all relating to Capt John Stewart's service as the
Quartermaster and later Company Commander of a company in the Second Battalion
of the 42nd between 1758-1762 are held in 2 Institutions in Scotland, Blair
Castle and the Black Watch Regimental Museum. When 2/42 was disbanded
Captain Stewart took his Quartermaster book, Orderly Books and all receipts
home with him just in case there was ever a need to audit his account.
Stewart of Garth had no idea these records survived.
The truth
is out there!
