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UNDER the
new system of localisation of regiments, it was notified in a Horse Guards
General Order that the 71st Highland Light Infantry and the 78th
Highlanders would form the line portion of the 55th infantry sub-district,
and be associated for the purposes of enlistment and service, the counties
included in the sub-district being Orkney and Shetland, Sutherland,
Caithness, Ross and Cromarty, Inverness, Kairn and Elgin, and the station
assigned to the brigade depot Fort George. In accordance with this scheme,
Major Feilden, with a small detachment, proceeded to Fort George on the
9th of April to form part of the depot, and the main body of the regiment,
under the command of Colonel Mackenzie, C. B., embarked at Belfast on the
3d of May en route for the same place. The streets along the line
of march were densely crowded, and the inhabitants showed their good
feeling towards the 78th by cheering repeatedly as the men marched from
the barracks to the quay, and went on board H.M.S. "Himalaya."
After sailing round the west and north coasts of Scotland, the transport
anchored in Cromarty Bay on the evening of the 7th, and, after
disembarking headquarters and six companies opposite Fort George next day,
proceeded with the two remaining companies to Aberdeen. This detachment
furnished a guard of honour to Her Majesty the Queen at Ballater on the
15th of May, and also on the 14th of August. On the 19th of May, and again
on the 8th of July, the regiment was inspected by Major-General Sir John
Douglas, K.C.B., whose reports as to what he saw were considered by the
Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief as. "most satisfactory." The
establishment at the time was 27 officers, 64 non-commissioned officers,
drummers, and pipers, and 520 rank and file—a total strength of 611.
The 78th remained at Fort
George for only one year, embarking on the 11th of May 1874, under command
of Colonel Mackenzie, on H.M.S. "Jumna," for conveyance to
Portsmouth. After disembarking on the 15th, the regiment proceeded by rail
to Fainborough, and thence by road to Aldershot, where it had not been
stationed before for twelve years. On the 19th of the same month, the
troops in camp were inspected by His Imperial Highness the Emperor of
Russia, in the Long Valley, the 78th being brigaded on the occasion with
the 42nd, 79th, and 93rd Highlanders, under the command of Major-General
W. Parke, C.B. It is worthy of note that these four kilted regiments had
not been together since the siege and final capture of Lucknow in 1858;
and by a curious coincidence, the commanding officers, Colonels Macleod,
Mackenzie, M’Bean, and Miller, had all then served with the regiments
they now led.
On the 21st of May, and
again on the 6th of August, the Ross-shire Buffs were inspected by
Major-General Parke, C.B., who expressed himself particularly well pleased
with the fine appearance and discipline of the regiment. During the
summers of 1874 and 1875 the 78th took part in the usual drills and maneuvers,
but, with the exception of the arrival of drafts from the depot at Fort
George, and the despatch of men to join the linked battalion at Malta, the
only event of any importance in 1874 was the issue of the Martini-Henry
rifle, which came into use in December.
In 1875 the annual
inspection took place on the 24th of June, the inspecting officer,
Major-General Primrose, expressing himself perfectly satisfied with the
appearance and discipline of the men; and on the 27th of July the regiment
proceeded from Aldershot to Dover, where the E, G, and H companies were
stationed in the Main Shaft Barracks, headquarters and the other companies
going to the South Front Barracks. In 1876 the annual inspection was made
on the 10th of July by Major-General Parke, C.B., who again expressed
himself highly satisfied with the interior economy of the regiment and its
state of perfect discipline under arms. On the 9th of October the 78th
proceeded by rail from Dover to Queenborough, where it embarked on H.M.S.
"Assistance" for conveyance to Granton, which was reached on the
12th, quarters being taken up at Edinburgh Castle the same day.
With reference to the
departure of the regiment from Dover, the following letters were
received:-
"HORSE GUARDS,
W.O.,
"20th October
1876.
"Sir,—By desire of
His Royal Highness, the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, I have the
honour to enclose, for transmission to the Officer Commanding 78th
Highlanders, copy of a letter which by His Royal Highness s command has
been addressed to the General Officer Commanding the troops at Dover in
reference to his report of his inspection of that Regiment on their
leaving the South Eastern District.
‘‘I have, &c.,
"(Signed) G. R.
GREAVES, A.A.G. for AG.
"The General Officer
"Commanding the
Troops,
"Edinburgh."
"HORSE GUARDS,
W.O.,
"20th October
1876.
‘‘Sir—By desire of
the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, I have the honour to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter of the 9th instant, and to convey to you the
expression of His Royal Highness’s great satisfaction at the most
favourable and creditable report you have made of the general good conduct
of the 78th Highlanders while serving in the district under your command,
and also the admirable manner in which they marched out for embarkation
for their new quarters."
The duties at Edinburgh
were of the usual routine nature, and but few note-worthy events occurred
during the stay at the Castle. On the 25th of October a draft of 75 rank
and file was despatched to Malta to join the 71st Highland Light Infantry;
and on the 25th of July 1877, another, consisting of 245 men, left for the
same destination, the strength of the home battalion being kept up partly
by the arrival of recruits from the brigade depot, and partly by the
reception later on, in September and October, of 80 volunteers from other
corps. On the 25th of July the regiment had also to lament the death of
Lieutenant and Adjutant A. D. Fordyce, whose loss was deeply regretted by
all ranks. The annual inspection took place on the 31st of July, when
Major-General Stuart, C.B., the general-officer commanding the North
British District, expressed himself highly satisfied with the appearance
of the regiment under arms, and intimation was subsequently received from
the Adjutant-General at the Horse Guards, that the Field-Marshal
Commanding-in-Chief considered the confidential report "satisfactory,
excepting as regards the crime of Desertion and the excessive number of
Courts-Martial, which are not creditable to the regiment; but His Royal
Highness trusts that its removal from the temptations of a large town like
Edinburgh will have the effect of lessening the amount of crime shown in
the report." This removal was effected by change of quarters to the
Curragh Camp, Kildare, for which the regiment set out on the 4th of March
1878, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Warren, and with a total
strength of 17 officers and 476 non-commissioned officers and men. The
journey from Edinburgh to Greenock was made by rail, and from the latter
place to Kingstown in H.M.S. "Orontes." The passage was very
rough, and though the "Orontes" reached Kingstown on the morning
of the 6th, she was then unable to proceed inside the breakwater, and the
78th did not disembark till the 9th, when it landed by wings, and reached
the Curragh the same afternoon. On the 27th of March, Colonel Mackenzie,
C.B., who had held command of the Ross-shire Buffs since 1867, retired
from the service with a pension and the rank of Major-General. His
farewell regimental address issued on that day was as follows:-
"The time having now
arrived when I must bid farewell to the 78th (my own County Regiment), in
which I have served for upwards of eight-and-thirty years—nearly eleven
of these as Commanding Officer — I do so with feelings of profound
regret, as throughout that long period I found the regiment an agreeable
and very happy home.
"During the time I was
in, command of it, although the position involved weighty responsibility,
I found the burden greatly lightened by the cordial support of the
officers, the cheerful assistance rendered by the non-commissioned
officers, and the ready obedience and general good conduct of the men,
which, I am proud to say, has met with the approbation of every
general-officer that inspected the regiment during the time I had the
honour of commanding it.
‘‘I shall ever follow
with lively interest the future movements of the Ross-shire Buffs, who, I
am certain, will continue to maintain the distinguished reputation which
they have so honourably won.
‘‘If the regiment shall
at any time be called on to engage in active service, I feel sure it will
uphold the fame it has acquired by its gallantry in enemy field on which
it has been engaged from Assays to Lucknow.
"Officers,
non-commissioned officers, and men of the 78th Highlanders,—in parting
from you I now say ‘Good-bye’ to each and all of you, trusting that
the cordiality and friendship which always existed between us will still
continue notwithstanding our separation."
In consequence of the
threatening state of affairs on the Continent at the close of the
Russo-Turkish war, and the possibility of an outbreak of hostilities
between Great Britain and Russia, the strength of the battalion was
increased by the reception, in March, of 218 volunteers from other
regiments, and by the addition in April of 72 volunteers from other corps,
and of 385 men frorn the First Class Army and Militia Reserve, the former
being, on this occasion, mobilised for the first time, with the highly
satisfactory result that the men promptly responded to the call made upon
them. Owing, however, to the pacific settlement of European affairs
arrived at by the Berlin Congress, the Reserves were dismissed to their
homes within a very short time, those attached to the 78th being sent off
to their several pension districts on the 26th of July. The annual
inspection of the regiment by Major-General W. H. Seymour, C.B.,
commanding the Curragh brigade, took place on the 6th of September, and
the inspecting officer was able to report "most favourably in all
respects."
On the 2d of January 1879,
the 78th moved from the Curragh to the Royal Barracks, Dublin, where,
however, it was destined to remain for only a very short time, orders
being received within six days that the regiment was to be held in
readiness to embark for India early in March, a date immediately
afterwards altered to the middle of February. Preparations for departure
were at once begun. One hundred and forty-four men were sent to the
brigade depot, while 207 volunteers were received from other corps. The
arms and equipment were inspected by a board of officers, who, in a
communication addressed to the commanding officer, intimated that they
thought it right "to place upon record the exceptionally good
condition of the equipment, and also the good system pursued in the
regiment," and added, "The Quartermaster, Mr Campbell, has shown
himself well up in his work and knowledge of his duties, and greatly
facilitated the work of the board. The Armourer-Sergeant also has proved
himself a careful and zealous man in his special duties." On the 11th
of February the regiment was inspected by Major-General J. R. Glyn, who
expressed himself in every way satisfied, and in connection with his
confidential report subsequently forwarded to the War Office, the
Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief was "pleased to express his
gratification at its satisfactory nature and the commendable condition of
the regiment." On the 14th of February the 78th proceeded by rail to
Cork, and on the following morning embarked at Queenstown on H.M.S. "Malabar,"
the total strength being 27 officers and 815 non-commissioned officers and
privates—a number increased at Gibraltar by the addition of 80 men from
the 71st Highland Light Infantry.
The voyage was stormy and
somewhat unpleasant till Malta was passed, but very agreeable thereafter
until its termination, on the 19th of March, at Bombay, whence the
regiment proceeded on the following day by rail to Poonah, from which
detachments were afterwards at different times sent to various stations in
the surrounding districts. Except for these movements, and the part taken
by the 78th along with the other troops in garrison in extinguishing a
great fire which broke out on the 14th of May in the native town, nothing
of importance occurred till the 31st of March 1880, when the annual
inspection was made by Brigadier-General G. T. Brice, commanding the
Poonah Division, who said, at the close of his examination, that it gave
him great pleasure to inform the regiment that he would be able to make a
most favourable report on the state of the 78th Highlanders. The remarks
of the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief on the confidential report were
that "excepting the low figure of merit obtained, and the large
number of men not exercised in musketry, His Royal Highness has been
pleased to commend the most satisfactory and creditable state of this
corps."
The disastrous results of
the conflict at Maiwand in Afghanistan having become known at Poonah on
the 29th of July 1880, orders were received on the 3d of August to hold
the 78th Highlanders in immediate readiness for active service, and on the
9th headquarters and the E, F, and H companies started for Bombay, there
to embark for Kurrachee, the other companies being ordered to meet them at
the port of embarkation. After a rough passage of three days on board the
steam transport "Huzara" and the Indian troopship "Dalhousie,"
the whole regiment disembarked at Kurrachee on the 13th, and took up
quarters at the Kapier Barracks awaiting further orders. These having been
received on the 22d, headquarters and the D and E companies started for
Quetta on the 24th, F and G companies on the 25th, and B and H companies
on the 26th; but the A and C companies, which should have followed on the
27th, were detained for four days by the rumour which afterwards became
known as "the Kurrachee scare," and which was to the eflect,
that a large body of Pathans had collected among the hills with the
intention of making an attack in force on Kurrachee and Hyderabad. All
precautions were taken accordingly, a detachment of 100 men under
Lieutenant Craigie-Halkett being sent to Hyderabad, and the remainder of
the force available under Captain D. Stewart and Lieutenant Lund detained
at Kurrachee until the 1st of September, when, as the alarm had been
ascertained to be groundless, the advance was resumed.
Under ordinary
circumstances the railway journey from Kurrachee to Sibi does not occupy
more than 40 hours, but owing to the great heat which prevails in Upper
Scinde and the Indus valley in the end of August and the beginning of
September, it was considered dangerous to keep the men continuously
entrained for so long a time, and each detachment was, therefore, halted
for 24 hours, after the first night’s journey, at the small station of
Larkana, where tents had been pitched—a precaution very necessary
considering that the thermometer, even during the night, sometimes
registered 118°. From Sibi the marches had to be doubled, as General
Phayre had already pushed on towards Kandahar, leaving no European
infantry at Quetta; and the great toil thus involved was still further
increased by the condition of the baggage animals.
The transport supplied to
the regiment was bullock carts and a fixed proportion of ponies, and the
original intention had been that, in addition to the baggage carried in
every cart, two men should be told off to each, one to walk while the
other rode, so that the baggage guard might have some rest on the long
marches. So great, however, had been the amount of labour imposed on the
poor animals, as regiment after regiment had, during the previous month,
been hurried through the Bolan Pass in steady succession, that they were
now thoroughly worn out and hardly able to draw the baggage alone, and the
men had, in consequence, more than enough to do in assisting the cattle to
drag the carts through the deep sand, and over the numerous fords and
rough roads, without thinking of riding themselves. On the second march,
for instance, from Pir Chowkey to North Kirta, a distance of 20 miles, the
Bolan River had to be crossed 17 times, but after Dozan, 33 miles farther
on and 31 miles from Quetta, the fatigue was less, as the height above
sea-level (4000 feet) rendered the temperature much lower. The first
detachment reached Quetta on the 3d of September, and the second and third
on the 4th and 6th respectively, but the A and C companies did not arrive
till the 20th, having been still further detained at North Kirta by the
heavy flooding of the Bolan River. The delay was, however, of the less
importance, as news had arrived on the 3d of the glorious victory of Sir
Frederick Roberts at Kandahar over the forces of Ayub Khan.
During the stay at Quetta,
which lasted till the 3d of November, the weather was very hot during the
day, but (the station being 5600 feet above sea-level) very cold at night,
and, in consequence, the 78th, which was quartered in excessively cold and
draughty disused Native Infantry Barracks without doors or windows,
suffered severely from pneumonia and dysentery, no fewer than 105 men
being invalided to India. On the 3d of November, the right half-battalion,
under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Warren, marched for Kandahar, the
left half-battalion remaining at Quetta until relieved by the 61st
Regiment in December. The nights were cold and frosty, and the weather
otherwise fine; and the only very fatiguing march during the whole
distance of 142 miles, was that between Killa Abdoola and Chaman, where
the Khojac Pass (7200 feet above sea-level), at the northern entrance of
the Pishin Valley, had to be passed. On arriving at Kandahar on the 15th
of November, quarters were assigned to the regiment in one of the old
barrack squares erected in 1841, but as the buildings had been very much
injured during the recent siege by the forces of Mohammed Ayub Khan,
neither roofs, doors, nor windows remained, and the men were at first
accommodated in tents pitched inside the square, and were besides excused
from all parades until the rooms were made habitable for the coming cold
weather.
On the 11th of December,
Major-General R. Hume, C.B., then commanding in Southern Afghanistan,
inspected the regiment, and expressed himself much pleased with its
appearance; while on the 19th, Brigadier-General Brown, who commanded the
second Brigade. (to which the 78th was attached), having been invalided,
Lieutenant-Colonel Warren succeeded to the brigade command, which he
retained till the 22d of March the following year. On the 25th and 26th of
February 1881, the regiment was inspected by Brigadier General Walker,
commanding the 3d Infantry Brigade, who, after a most minute examination,
stated that he would have great pleasure in reporting most favourably on
its state of efficiency for the information of H.R.H. the Field-Marshal
Commanding-in-Chief; and the latter, in his remarks on the confidential
report, was subsequently pleased to say:- "The highly satisfactory
state of this regiment is most creditable to Lieutenant-Colonel Warren,
and to all ranks, and has been commended by His Royal Highness." Such
was the severity of the weather and the trying nature of the climate
generally, that, during the trooping season of 1880-81, 230 men were
invalided, and out of a total of 757 of all ranks on the roll, only 597
were at regimental headquarters, the rest being invalids at the depot at
Poonah.
The orders issued for the
evacuation of Kandahar could not at first be carried out through the
wetness of the weather and the swollen condition of the streams, but on
the 20th of April, the second Brigade began its return journey, one
day’s halt being made at Killa Abdoola, and another at Gulistan Karez,
so that Quetta was not reached till the 4th of May. From this point, all
the way down the Bolan Pass, the marches were much easier than on the
upward journey, and as the railway had meanwhile been brought up to Pir
Chowkey, the tedious sands intervening between that place and Sibi were
avoided. At Pir Chowkey the regiment was broken up by orders from Simla,
headquarters with B, C, D, and G companies proceeding to Sitapur, and the
rest of the battalion to Benares, both in Bengal. The first detachment
reached its destination on the 26th of May, and the other on the 22d, and
it is gratifying to note that, though the journey of the regiment had
lasted from the 19th of April, and had led through parts of the country
dangerous to the health of Europeans, especially at such a late period of
the year, when the men were often subjected to most intense heat, and were
continually exposed to the sun, not a single casualty occurred among
either officers or rank and file. As a reward for the services of the
Ross-shire Buffs in Afghanistan, the gracious permission of Her Majesty
the Queen was, on the 7th of June, accorded to the regiment to add to the
distinctions already on the colours or appointments, the words
"Afghanistan, 1879-80."
In consequence of the
reorganisation of the army, based on the territorial system, which came
into operation on the 1st of July 1881, the 78th Highlanders were
dissociated from the 71st, and became linked with the 72nd Regiment as the
2d Battalion of the Sea-forth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, Duke of
Albany’s), the Highland Rifle Militia forming the 3d Battalion. On the
same date Lieutenant-Colonel Warren was promoted to a Colonelcy, Captains
and Brevet-Majors Smith and Murray and Captain Graham to Majorities, and
Second Lieutenants Christopher, Brown, Lund, MacIntyre, and Mackenzie, to
full Lieutenancies, the rank of second lieutenant having been abolished.
The change of designation was at first received with some disfavour, and
an effort was made to have the name altered from Seaforth to Seaforth’s
Highlanders, but this was refused on the ground that the latter was not a
territorial title.
The depot was moved from
Poonah and joined headquarters in the end of July, and on the 20th of
February 1882 the whole regiment was once more re-united at Lucknow.
There, on the 6th of May, Lieutenant-General Cureton, C.B., commanding the
Oude Division, presented the bronze stars granted for the march from Kabul
to Kandahar to 60 men who had served in the 72nd Regiment, and who had
volunteered to the 2d Battalion Seaforth Highlanders on the departure of
the 1st Battalion to Aden. Two volunteers from the 92nd Gordon Highlanders
were also similarly decorated on the occasion. The regiment was drawn up
so as to form three sides of a square, and for the first time the officers
and men appeared in khaki. The men to be decorated were in two rows
immediately fronting General Cureton as he took up his position near the
centre of the square, and the crosses having been handed to him by one of
the staff, the General distributed them, one by one, as each of the
gallant fellows advanced to the front to receive his well-merited guerdon.
Previous to the presentation, General Cureton addressed the regiment as
follows:-
"Second Battalion
Seaforth Highlanders,—Your Colonel has asked me to distribute, in
presence of you all, the crosses gained by 60 men now present, who served
in Afghanistan in your 1st Battalion, late 72nd Highlanders—but most of
whom have since volunteered to this Battalion—for service under General
Roberts on the march from Kabul to Kandahar. I am much obliged to Colonel
Warren for the honour he has done me in asking me to distribute these
crosses. It is always a source of the greatest pleasure to me to be the
means of conveying decorations granted by the Queen to those of her
soldiers upon whom they have been bestowed.
"It is unnecessary for
me to dilate on the good service done by the 72nd Highlanders in
Afghanistan. The long and trying march of his column, and the gallant
fight near Kandahar, have not only been ably told by General Roberts
himself, but they have been described and praised, not only by the press
of our own country, but by the press of every nation in Europe. The
Germans allude to it as the best conducted action fought by the British
since Waterloo. However this may be, it was a grand march ending in a most
successful action. The 72nd lost in this fight their gallant Colonel and
many a good soldier, and received unqualified praise for their conduct in
this episode of the war, as they had done for their conduct in the whole
campaign. They were second to none.
"Wherever the two
distinguished battalions, now called the Seaforth Highlanders, have been
called upon to serve, they have proved themselves as gallant in the field
as they have invariably been steady and well disciplined in quarters. This
is not the first time I have served with the 78th. About twenty four years
ago I was in camp with them under Lord Clyde, not very far from this ; and
about this season we were constantly engaged with the mutineers, and the
heat was excessive ; but, under all trials, the 78th were then, as they
have always been, renowned for their gallant and soldier like
qualities."
Addressing the men about to
be decorated, the General said:-
"I congratulate you
all most sincerely on receiving these crosses granted by Her Majesty, and
I envy you for having been through the late campaign with General Sir F.
Roberts."
After the distribution,
Colonel Warren, commanding the regiment, thanked General Cureton in the
following terms:-
"General Cureton, —
On behalf of both battalions of the Seaforth Highlanders, in the name of
all ranks, I thank you for your great kindness in being present on parade
this morning and presenting these decorations. I can assure you their
value, and the pleasure of receiving them, is much enhanced by their
coming from the hands of an officer who not only commands the Oude
Division, but has also himself seen such varied and splendid service in
many parts of India. The volunteers whom you have now decorated, by their
steadiness on parade and admirable behaviour in quarters, are nobly
maintaining the honour and credit of the magnificent regiment that reared
them, and I have the greatest pleasure in now publicly testifying to you,
sir, the high character they bear with us, and the satisfaction we old
hands experience in seeing them in our ranks."
At the conclusion of the
gallant Colonel’s short but appropriate speech, the parade was broken up
and the regiment dismissed to quarters. The medals for the Afghan Campaign
were distributed in July both to the volunteers from the 1st Battalion and
to the whole of the 2d Battalion who had served in Southern Afghanistan.
On the 5th of July 1882
orders were received for two companies of the battalion to proceed to Aden
to reinforce the 1st Battalion which was under orders for active service
in Egypt, and on the 15th of July, after inspection by the
Lieutenant-General commanding, who expressed himself highly pleased with
the appearance of the men, this detachment, consisting of B and F
companies, with a total strength of 224 officers and men, under the
command of Major Andrew Murray, left Lucknow for Bombay, where, on the
22d, they embarked on the steam-transport "Bancoora." Aden was
reached on the 1st of August, and there the 1st Battalion came on board on
the following day, and by its movements those of the detachment were
thence-forward regulated. The subsequent events having been already
narrated in connection with the 72nd Regiment, nothing here remains to be
added to the accounts of the affair at Shalouf, or of the marches to Tel-Mahuta
and Kassassin, and but little to the incidents following Tel-el-Kebir.
After passing Arabi’s camp on the north side of the Canal, the battalion
halted at Tel-el-Kebir lock for about a quarter of an hour, until orders
were received to push on to Zagazig, and after marching till 5 P.M. in the
execution of this movement, it was met, when within about five miles of
its destination, by one of the trains captured by Sir Herbert Macpherson,
which had been sent out to bring the whole regiment into town. About 100
men of the detachment of the 2nd Seaforth Highlanders, for whom there was
no room, had to be left behind, as well as the Field Hospital; and it may
here be noted, that though a distance of 30 miles had been already covered
since leaving Kassassin (not to speak of the fighting), only four or five
men of the detachment had fallen out, and none of them required to be
carried.
After taking part in the
great march past before H.H. the Khedive, the detachment received orders
to return to India; and on the 9th of October Major-General Sir Herbert
Macpherson, V.C., K.C.B., commanding the Indian Contingent, made his
farewell inspection, and, in a few remarks at the close, spoke in very
high terms of the conduct of all, and of the pleasure and pride he had had
in commanding them. On the same afternoon the men of the 2d Battalion were
conveyed by rail to Suez, and thence on board the steam-transport
"India" to Bombay, which was reached on the 25th. Here the
detachment was detained for an entertainment and banquet given on the 28th
by the inhabitants to the troops, European and native, who had returned
from Egypt, and accordingly did not rejoin the main body (to the movements
of which we now return) at Lucknow till the 4th of November. Only one man
was wounded during the time spent in Egypt but Captain Justice, who was
invalided through disease brought on by exposure, unfortunately died at
sea on the 30th of December while on the voyage to England.
On the 27th and 28th of
February 1883 the battalion was inspected by Lieutenant. General Cureton,
C.B., commanding the Oude Division, who stated that he would have great
pleasure in reporting favourably oni its state of efficiency for the
information of H.R.H. the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief; and on the
27th of the following month Colonel Warren, having completed his term of
five years in command, was placed on half-pay, and was succeeded by
Lieutenant-Colonel G. Forbes. The only other noteworthy events in 1883
were the addition, by gradous permission of Her Majesty, of "Tel-el-Kebir"
to the distinctions already borne on the colours and appointments; the
completion of a memorial in the Residency Garden at Lucknow to the
officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the regiment who died
during the suppression of the Indian Mutiny; and the deposition in St
Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, of one of the old stands of colours. The
monument is in the form of a lofty Celtic cross placed on a stepped base.
The arms and shaft bear the usual ornaments, along with the deer’s head
(the Cabar Féidh) and elephant, the badges of the regiment, while on a
panel at the base is carved the following inscription:-
"Sacred to the Memory
of the Officers, Non-commissioned Officers, and Private Soldiers of the
78th Highland Regiment who fell in the suppression of the Mutiny of the
Native Army in India in the years 1857 and 1858. This Monument is erected
as a tribute of respect by their surviving brother officers and comrades,
and by many officers who formerly belonged to the Regiment. A.D.
1883."
The stand of colours was
placed in St Giles along with those of many of the other Scottish
regiments on the 14th of November, the ceremony of presentation to the
Cathedral authorities—who were represented by the Rev. Dr Cameron Lees,
minister of the church, and by Lord-Provost Harrison, Lord-President
Inglis, Mr Robert Chambers, and Mr R. Herdman, R.S.A., for the Cathedral
Board—being performed by H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, Field-Marshal
Commanding-in-Chief. The representatives of the 78th who bore the relics
were Major Hilton and Lieutenant Fraser, the escort consisting of Colour-Sergeants
Bain and Marshall from the depot at Fort George; and the stand obtained
was that retired in 1854, and now gifted for this purpose by Major
Hamilton of the 1st Scottish Rifles, into whose possession it had come by
inheritance from his relative General Walter Hamilton, C.B., who was
Lieutenant-Colonel of the 78th from 1849 till 1859, when he was appointed
Inspecting Field Officer. The regimental colour bears the Gaelic motto of
the battalion, "Cuidich ‘n Righ," which curiously enough does
not appear in the Emblazoned Register of Colours, executed under official
sanction and authority in 1820, and preserved in the office of the
Inspector of Regimental Colours, notwithstanding that it is embroidered on
standards of older date that have been preserved, and that on the 1st of
April 1825 His Majesty George IV. was "pleased to approve of the 78th
Regiment of Foot retaining" the words on its colours. This
stand finds a fitting resting-place in its present position, as, though
the flags saw but little active service, and were in none of the great
historic regimental achievements, they are those that were at Sukhur in
Scinde in 1843, when an outbreak of malignant fever almost annihilated the
regiment, and claimed the many victims to whose memory a monument was, at
the time, placed on the walls of St Giles by the sorrowing survivors (see
p. 701). Some have thought that the historical stand carried by the "Saviours
of India" through the Indian Mutiny, would have been better suited
for the purpose, but that is too well cared for, and too highly valued, at
Dingwall, where it was deposited in the Town Hall on its retirement in
1868, to be lightly disturbed; and besides, as Colonel Mackenzie wrote,
when, on behalf of the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates
of the Ross-shire Buffs, he offered these colours to the Town Council of
the county town of the regimental district :—"The regiment can
never forget the very hearty welcome they received from the people of
Ross-shire and Cromartyshire on returning from India in 1859, nor the
generosity and kindness lavished upon them at that time, of which the
magnificent pieces of plate presented to the officers’ and
non-commissioned officers’ messes are lasting records. They feel that
nowhere can the old colours of the regiment be more worthily placed than
in that country where the corps were first embodied, and that their
presence there may induce many a fine fellow to join the ranks of the
Ross-shire Buffs."
On the 28th of February
1884, the battalion was again inspected by Lieutenant-General Cureton, C.B.,
who stated that the appearance on parade was smart and soldier-like, that
the result of the inspection was satisfactory, and that he should report
most favourably to the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief. On the 21st of
October the regiment had to regret the loss of the services of
Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes, who was on that date invalided to England,
where he died in Netley Hospital on the 26th of December. The temporary
command devolved on Lieutenant. Colonel Murray.
On the 4th of February
1885, the annual inspection was made by Major-General Dillon, C.B., C.S.I.,
who expressed a high opinion of the appearance of the regiment on parade,
and of its state of efficiency, and who subsequently addressed the
following letter to the Lieutenant-Colonel commanding, on the occasion of
the departure of the battalion from Lucknow for new quarters at Bareilly:-
"Lucknow,
"March 8th,
1885.
"My DEAR COLONEL
MURRAY,—No soldier of the Second Battalion Seaforth Highlanders can have
visited the Residency without feeling just pride that he inherits the
traditions of the 78th of Assaye and Lucknow, and, should he take the
field, that he would strive individually to maintain that high reputation.
The good discipline, steadiness under arms, and the excellent shooting of
the Battalion, mark the spirit pervading it in every grade, and which will
carry it honourably through any ordeal that the exigencies of our extended
Empire may demand from a British regiment.
"May I request that
you will express to your Battalion my full appreciation of its merits, and
my regret that it passes from the Division which I command.
Believe me
‘‘Yours very sincerely,
(Signed) "M. A.
DILLON, M. -General."
The move from Lucknow to
Bareilly was made by rail on the 9th of March, but hardly had camp been
pitched when orders were received that the regiment was to proceed at once
to Rawal Pindi to form part of the escort of H.E. the Viceroy at the
reception of the Ameer of Afghanistan; and thither, accordingly, it was
conveyed by troop-train on the 11th, halts being made on the journey at
Meerut, Umballah, and Mean Meer. While at Rawal Pindi, the battalion took
part in all the maneuvres of the force, including the march past, in
presence of the Ameer.
The return to Bareilly took
place between the 17th and 21st of April, and there ordinary routine
station duties were performed till the 30th of November, when, under
command of Lieutenant-Colonel Murray (Colonel Guinness, who succeeded to
the command on the death of Colonel Forbes, having exchanged to the 1st
Battalion), the regiment started for Delhi to form part of the southern
force at the great camp of exercise to be held at that place. The strength
of the battalion was 17 officers and 459 non-commissioned officers and
men, but as this was increased on arrival at Moradabad by 4 officers and
101 noncommissioned officers and men stationed there, the grand total was
21 officers and 560 non-commissioned officers and men. The battalion
arrived at Delhi on the 14th of December, and, after marching next day to
Suttanpur, where the 2d Division of the Southern Field Force under command
of Sir Charles Macgregor was encamped, was told off to form part of the
1st Brigade under command of Colonel M. C. Farrington, South Yorkshire
Regiment—the other regiments of the brigade being the 2nd Battalion
Highland Light Infantry, the 5th Bengal Infantry, and the 27th Punjaub
Infantry. The exercises, which lasted till the 31st of December, consisted
of brigade, divisional, and interdivisional maneuvres, guarding of
convoys, etc., the whole operations being under the immediate
superintendence of Sir Charles Gough, V.C., commanding the Southern Field
Force. After the 2d of January 1886, all operations were understood to be
conducted as if in an enemy’s country. The force advanced by daily
marches on Kurnaul, and met the Northern Army at Paniput. The cavalry and
horse artillery of the latter body, which occupied the village, were
driven out, and next day the infantry of the northern force having
arrived, there was a general engagement, the southern force being repulsed
and compelled to retire on Delhi. There they were supposed to receive
reinforcements, and a fresh attack of the Northern Army was not only
repulsed, but the latter was defeated. This concluded the practical part
of the maneuvres, and the operations terminated in a march past, the
effect of which was sadly marred by an incessant downpour of rain. On the
dissolution of the division the following Order was published by
Major-General Sir Charles Macgregor:-
‘‘As Sir Charles
Macgregor has to return to his command, he must say Good-Bye to the 1st
Division. A glance was sufficient to show him what a fine body of men the
1st Division was composed of, and a month has shown Sir C. Macgregor that
their appearance has not belied them. Sir Charles Macgregor has
endeavoured, during his brief command of this fine Division, not to worry
any one unnecessarily, and he is grateful to find that no one has worried
him. He certainly will report very favourably of every regiment in the
Division, and he proposes to ask the Commander-in-Chief, in consideration
of their fine soldierly bearing and good conduct in the Camp, to give them
as early a chance as possible of seeing service. Of this Sir Charles
Macgregor is certain, that if he ever had the luck to command a division
on service, he would wish nothing better than the officers and men of the
1st Division to back him up."
The regiment marched out of
Delhi on the 26th of January 1886, reaching Moradabad on the 30th, and
Bareilly on the 7th of February. The annual inspection was made on the
15th and 16th of February by Brigadier-General T. E, Gordon, C.B., C.S.J.,
commanding the Rohileund district, from whom the following letter was
afterwards received by Lieutenant-Colonel Murray on the 28th of June:-
"I hadn’t an
opportunity of seeing you before I left Bareilly to tell you how
thoroughly satisfactory in every particular was my inspection of your
Battalion, and that I had great pleasure in recording this in my report. I
went into full detail, and showed that an excellent spirit, fostered and
stimulated by the Commanding Officer, pervaded all ranks, and that the
Battalion was in most reliable and admirable hands."
On the 17th of October
Field-Marshal Sir Patrick Grant, the Colonel of the regiment, was gazetted
to the colonelcy of the Royal Horse Guards (the Blues), and a letter was
written to him by the president of the Mess Committee tendering him on
behalf of the 2d Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders their hearty
congratulations on the honour that had been conferred on him, though
expressing at the same time their regret at the severance of the mutual
connection. The following is an extract from his reply:-
"From my heart I thank
you for the terms in which you have expressed yourselves in the note of
the 31st January, addressed to me, at your desire, by the President of the
Mess Committee. I can never cease to cherish with pride and gratification
my long connection of more than twenty years’ duration with so
highly-distinguished a regiment as the 78th Highlanders."
Sir Patrick Grant was the
last Colonel of the 78th as a separate regiment, his successor being Sir
E. S. Smyth, K.C.M.G., who had been in command of the linked battalion
(the old 72nd Regiment) since 1881, and who was now appointed to command
the two battalions of the territorial regiment.
Since the 72nd and 78th
were linked and associated with a distinct territorial district, both
battalions have striven to make this connection real as well as nominal,
and in September 1886, a detachment of nine Gaelic-speaking
non-commissioned officers and men of the 1st Battalion (the old 72nd),
with pipers, was sent from Edinburgh, not as a recruiting party (the
members having no power to enlist any one), but at the private expense of
the officers, on a six weeks’ furlough tour through the "Seaforth
Country" and the different parts of the mainland of Ross and
Inverness included within the regimental district, and thereafter to Skye
and Lewis, for the purpose of trying to remove the many prejudices against
military life that have sprung up in the Highlands since the first raising
of the Highland Regiments, and to let the men of the Isles know that there
is still a welcome and a home for them in the ranks of the old corps in
which so many of their ancestors have in bygone days shown the good
qualities and gallantry that laid the foundation of the renown that has
made the names of all the Highland Regiments household words throughout
the length and breadth of the land. A detachment of 50 men of all ranks
with pipers, under command of Lieutenant Barlow, is also at present (May
1887) on a similar visit to Stornoway, where it is to be stationed for two
months. This time the visit is distinctly for recruiting purposes. About
40 of this party are young Lewismen who have enlisted within the last few
years, and in connection with this it may be noted, that since the
rearrangement of the recruiting districts, a considerable impetus has been
given to enlistment all over the north and north-west of Scotland, so that
in Lewis and other districts from which for many years not a single
recruit was drawn, many have recently come to join the colours, and if
this movement be only carefully and sufficiently fostered and encouraged,
as is being done by both battalions of the Seaforth Highlanders, there is
hope that the Highland regiments may soon again be truly Highland and
national in composition as well as in name.
The full dress of the
Seaforth Highlanders, which may, with the necessary differences in
tartans, badges, and minor details, be taken as representative of that of
all the kilted regiments, is as follows:-
Officers.—Kilt and belted
plaid of Mackenzie tartan ; scarlet Highland doublet, trimmed with gold
lace according to rank, buff facings (patrol jacket and trews for fatigue
dress) ; bonnet of black ostrich plumes, with white vulture hackle ;
Menzies tartan hose, red garter knots, and white spatterdashes (shoes and
gold buckles, and Mackenzie tartan hose and green garter knots for ball
dress) sporran of white goat’s hair, with eight gold tassels (two long
black tassels undress) ; buff leather shoulder-belt, with gilt breast
plate ; red morocco dirk belt, embroidered with gold thistles; dirk and
skean-dhu, mounted in cairngorm and silver gilt; the claymore, with steel
scabbard round silver-gilt shoulder brooch, surmounted by a crown. The
field officers wear trews, shoulder plaid, and waist belt. The Cabar
Féidh on all appointments, with the Elephant, superscribed "Assaye".
Mess Dress
—Scarlet shell jacket, with buff rolling collar and facings, and
gold shoulder-knots; Mackenzie tartan vest, with cairngorm buttons.
Serge cents. —Same
as privates, with the exception of finer cloth and tartan. First-Class
staff sergeants wear the buff waist belt and claymore, and shoulder plaid
with brooch.
Privates. —Kilt
and fly of Mackenzie tartan; scarlet Highland doublet, buff facings (buff
jacket and trews for fatigue dress) ; bonnet of black ostrich plumes, with
white hackle sporran of white goat a hair, with two long black tassels ;
Menzies tartan hose, red garter knots, and white spatterdashes ; the Cabar
Féidh and the Elephant on the appointments.
Band. —Same
as privates, with the exception of red hackles, sporrans of white goat’s
hair, buff waist-belts and dirks, and shoulder plaids and brooch.
Pipers. —Same
as privates, with the exception of green doublets, green hackles,
Mackenzie tartan hose, green garter knots, grey sporrans, black shoulder
and dirk belts, claymore, dirk, and skean-dhu, and shoulder plaids with
round brooch.
Colonel Mackenzie, C.B.,
Major Forbes, and the company officers of the 78th presented their pipers,
on the 21st of May 1875, with a beautiful set of pipe banners of the value
of £100. The mottoes, devices, and honours of the corps are emblazoned on
them, and they are considered the most costly flags that have ever been
presented to the pipers of any regiment.
Here ends our account of
the Ross-shire Buffs
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