Regimental History

of

1st of Foot, the Royal Regiment

(Today known as The Royal Scots)

The Royal Scots, the 1st Regiment of Foot and holders of the coveted position at the right of the line, are the oldest surviving regiment in the British army and the senior regiment of infantry.  It was formed in 1633 by John Hepburn, who was authorized to recruit in Scotland in order to add a body of men who were survivors from much earlier regiments.  These earlier regiments are so old that their origins are obscure and so the Royal Scots lay claim to an ancestry of considerable antiquity.  It is not for nothing that the regiment is nicknamed ‘Pontius Pilate’s Bodyguard’.  (This nickname comes from a legend that prior to the Resurrection, Christ's tomb was guarded by Caledonian (Scottish) legionaires.)  Today, the regiment recruits in Edinburgh, the Lothians, and Tweedale with the regimental headquarters situated in Edinburgh Castle.  In 1991, it was announced that The Royal Scots were to amalgamate with The King’s Own Scottish Borderers; however, early in 1993, this move was abandoned following a re-assessment of future force requirements.

With their long, continuous and distinguished history, The Royal Scots have a style all of their own.  Over a number of years, they have established a great reputation for piping, and two of their most famous pipe majors are Alex Matheson, who served with the 1st and 3rd Battalions between 1889 and 1913, and G.S. Allen, who served with the 1st Battalion from 1907 to 1919 and with the 2nd Battalion from 1921 to 1930.

Origins of the Regiment

In 1633, John Hepburn of Athelstaneford was commissioned by Charles I and the Scottish Privy Council to raise recruits in Scotland, based on a nucleus of men who had served in various other ancient and historic regiments.  It was agreed between Louis XIII of France and Charles I that this regiment was to enter French service.  This arrangment was not unique: it was common during this period for regiments to be raised in Scotland for service in continental service.  Ancestors of Hepburn’s regiment are believed to include the Scots Archer Guard in France; the Green, or Scots Brigade, which fought heroically for King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden; and Grey’s Regiment in the service of the King of Bohemia, in which regiment Hepburn himself was a captain.

Hepburn was killed in 1636, and was succeeded briefly by his brother George, and then by Lord James Douglas.  The regiment temporarily came home in 1662 and in 1667, but it was not until 1668 that it was finally recalled and was put onto the Irish establishment.

As Dumbarton’s Regiment (Lord George Douglas, Earl of Dumbarton was Colonel from 1653 to 1688), it fought with distinction in the defence of Tangier in North Africa, from 1680 to 1684.  At the Battle of Sedgemoor which ended the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, the regiment established its precedence and fought the battle in the coveted position on the right of the line.

During the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the regiment remained loyal to King James II.  It was only after the departure of Catholic Earl of Dumbarton and the purging of many of the officers and men that the regiment finally gave its allegiance to the Protestant successors, William and Mary of Orange.  For the remainder of the 17th century, the Royal Scots served in Holland during the War of the League of Augsburg and were present at the siege of Mons, Steenkirk (1692), and Landen (1693), and at the siege and capture of Namur (1695).

Under the Duke of Marlborough, the Royal Scots fought against the French in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14), where they gained for themselves an enviable reputation in the actions at Schellenburg, Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenard, Malplaquet and Venloo, among others.  In 1713, they returned to serve on detached duties in Ireland, essentially policing and keeping order.  After a disastrous expedition to Jamaica, where hundreds of men died of disease, the regiment again fought the French during the War of Austrian Succession (1740-48) and were present at the Battle of Fontenoy (1745).  The 2nd Battalion The Royal Scots (at the time known only as the ‘Royals’) fought in Scotland in 1746 against Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s army both at Falkirk and Culloden.

In 1751, numbers were assigned to the colors of regiments, and the Royal Scots were designated as the 1st or the Royal Regiment of Foot. 

Detailed History of the

1st Royal Regiment, 2nd Battalion

During the Seven Years War, 1756-1763

1756: The Regiment was stationed in Ireland.  Its Colonel was Lt. General James St. Clair but under the command of Lt. Col. Forster.  With the outbreak of the French and Indian (and Seven Year') War, the regiment began to raise additional men to bring the regiment up to full strength.

1757: On 29 January, the Royals, along with the 17th, 27th, 28th, 43rd, 46th, 55th, and 58th Regiments, received orders to ship overseas to North America.  The regiment marched to Cork, Ireland to wait for transport ships, and set sail on 8 May.  In early July, the regiment arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they came under the command of John Campbell, the Earl of Loudoun, and began preparations for the attack on Fortress Louisburg on Cape Breton Island. When the Royal Navy was not able to secure local sea superiority, the attack on Louisburg was cancelled and put off until the next year.  Lord Loudoun was recalled home.

1758: In May, the troops, now under the command of Major-General Jeffery Amherst, again sailed for Cape Breton.  On 8 June, after six days of being confined onboard due to bad weather and French shore defenses, the British launched a general landing assault at Comorandiere (now known as Kennington Cove) in three divisions.  The battalion companies of the regiment, under the command of Lt. Col. Forster formed part of the right (or White) division under command of Brigadier-General Edward Whitmore.  Also included as part of this command were the 17th, 47th, 48th, 58th, and 2/60th regiments.  This division was to proceed to White Point to make a diversion.  The left (or Red) division was under the command of Brigadier-General Wolfe and consisted of all the Grenadiers (including the 1st Royals, the Light Infantry, the 78th Highlanders and one company of rangers.  The Blue division was lead by Brigadier-General Lawrence and was made up of the 15th, 22nd, 35th, 40th, 45th, 3/60th regiments.      

Leading the Red division to land at Anse-aux-Sables, Wolfe was in one of the lead boats and faced terrific French artillery and musket fire from the shore.  He directed the boats to look for a less-defended place to land.  Boats with British Light Infantry, under the command of Major Scott, managed to find a less exposed rocky beach and landed.  Wolfe immediately rushed as many boats as possible to the spot and landed himself with the grenadiers and Highlanders.  The beach was secured and the defending French were driven off with the bayonet.  White and Blue Divisions rushed to land and a successful landing was attained with the total loss of killed, drowned and wounded only slightly exceeding one hundred.  The British built a fortified camp and brought ashore siege guns and supplies, then quickly surrounded the town of Louisburg and began the siege.  The work of digging the trenches and the approaches exposed the troops to great dangers and hardships; however, the town was forced to surrender on 25 July.  On 27 July, the grenadier companies of the 1st Royals, Amherst’s 15th, and Hopson’s 40th formally took possession of the town.  Thus Cape Breton and Prince Edward’s Island became British dominions.

In the same year, Major-General Abercrombie advanced against Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain with overwhelming numbers but criminally blundered his attack, taking horrific casualties, and retreated.  Abercrombie was then replaced by Amherst, who left Louisburg and sailed for Boston on 30 August.  He brought with him the Royals, the 17th, 47th, 48th, and 78th Regiments, and took over command of all British troops in North America.

1759: A resolution to attack French possessions in North America at four different points at one time was agreed upon; and the 1st Royals was selected to form part of the force, commanded by now Lt.-General Amherst, to make a second attempt of Fort Ticonderoga (Fort Carillon as it was called then).  In June, the force, under Amherst, set up camp on the Hudson River, and the 1st Royals were brigaded with the 27th and 55th Regiments to form Forster’s Brigade.  On 21 July, Amherst’s army arrived at Lake George and set about building a fort and collecting or building boats to convey the troops up the lake.  In July, the army moved up the lake and effected a landing.  As they advanced overland, the army’s vanguard encountered French regulars and Indians near the sawmills, two miles from Fort Carillon, and routed them.  The French commander then quitted his lines and placed a small garrison in the fort and moved the bulk of his troops to Fort Saint Fredric at Crown Point.  Amherst then lay siege to Fort Carillon.  On 25 July, the small French garrison blew up the fort and retreated to Crown Point, which was blown up and also abandoned.  Amherst, with the Royals and other troops, followed to Crown Point and began to build a new fort.  From this fort, Amherst launched Roger’s Rangers on their famous Saint Francis Raid.

13 September, after weeks of maneuvering in and around the St. Lawrence River and the City of Quebec, an independent British army under the command of Major-General James Wolfe, fought the successful Battle of the Plains of Abraham.  With this victory, which cost Wolfe his life, Quebec, the enemy capital in North America, was captured.

In October the 1st Royals left Crown Point and proceeded to New Jersey, where they took up winter quarters in newly constructed barracks.  Four companies, under the command of Lt. Col. Forster, barracked in New Brunswick; four, under Major Fredrick Hamilton, barracked in Elizabethtown; and two, under Robert Mirrie, the senior captain, barracked in Trenton. 

1760: Cherokee Indians began attacking the settlers on the frontiers of the southern provinces.  In April, a small force numbering 400 1st Royals, Montgomery’s Highlanders, and 200 provincials, under the command of Major Fredrick Hamilton, was ordered to proceed to South Carolina to punish the tribes.  This force assembled at New York and took ship there, sailing to Charleston.  On arrival at Charleston, the force marched into the backcountry to Fort Ninety-Six, on the borders of the Cherokee Territory.

Hamilton’s force marched into the Carolina frontier, intending to destroy the Cherokee villages and burn all their fields of crops and supplies.  The 1st Royals were involved in several skirmishes.  Twice, Hamilton’s force made major forays into enemy territory, but with no resolution to the conflict.

The two flank companies and the remaining four battalion companies marched from New Jersey to New York, sailed up the Hudson River and on to Crown Point.  From there they advanced up Lake Champlain with the intent to meet up with General Amherst, who was attacking and destroying the French-Canadian settlements along the St. Lawrence River.  When all the British armies converged on Montreal, the French Governor of Canada, Pierre de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil, was forced to surrender.

1761-1762: The four companies in the Carolinas, under Major Hamilton’s command, again advanced into Cherokee territory.  Fifteen towns and villages were torched and laid to ruin, with all their surrounding crops destroyed.  The results of these operations finally convinced the Cherokee of their inability to resist the King’s forces, and they sued for peace, which was granted.

In the meantime, the four battalion companies stationed in Montreal were ordered to march across the Province of New York to New York City, where they were to take ship and sail to the West Indies.  In April, these companies left New York to take part in the capture of the island of Dominica.  They also took part in the capture of the French island of Martinique.  The four-battalion companies that were engaged against the Cherokee’s were embarked in Charlestown, and sailed to the West Indies to take part of the capture of Havana.  The battalion distinguished itself in the storming of Fort Moro, the fort being a key position of the extensive earthworks that protected the city of Havana.  The capture of Fort Moro facilitated the attack on the city, and the Governor surrendered the city.

The Grenadiers and light Company of the 1st Royals had remained in Montreal.  They were dispatched with others under the command of Lt. Col. Amherst (younger brother of Jeffery) to counter the French expedition that had sailed from France to capture St. John’s, Newfoundland.  The flank companies, with the other troops successfully routed the French forces and won back the French possessions.

1763: With peace being declared, the Regiment was ordered home.    

Ongoing History of the Royal Regiment

In 1799, the 2nd Battalion took part in a raid on Ostend and also gained the battle honor ‘Egmont-Op-Zee’.  The same battalion served under Sir Ralph Abercromby at Aboukir Bay, at Alexandria and at Cairo against the French in 1801.  In 1807, the 2nd Battalion was sent to India.  In 1812, the 1st Battalion embarked for Canada, where they fought the Americans in several battles, including the action near Niagara Falls in 1814.  The 3rd Battalion was present during the arduous withdrawk to Corunna in the Peninsular War (1809-14) and at Bussaco, Fuentes de Onoro and at Salamanca, among others.

In 1812, the title ‘Royal Scots’ was officially conferred upon the regiment.  A 4th battalion sailed with and expedition to Sweden in 1813.  This battalion in 1814 conducted the extraordinary feat of arms of marching from Lubeck in Germany to Holland, where it took part of the siege at Bergen-Op-Zoom.

The following year, the 3rd Battalion the Royal Scots participated in the historic battle of Quatre-Bras and they were also engaged at Waterloo, where they recaptured from the French one of the key positions on the battlefield, the farmhouse of La Haye Sainte.  

Following the Napoleonic Wars, the 1st Battalion the Royal Scots served in the West Indies.  The 2nd Battalion took part in the Second Mahratta War in India, followed by action in the Burmese War in 1825.  In 1854, the 1st Battalion joined the Allied army in the Crimean War (1853-56) and fought at the Alma, at Sevastopol, and the great Battle of Inkerman (1854).  In 1860, the 2nd Battalion, which was already in Hong Kong, moved north to China, and during the arduous and difficult campaign it played a key role in the capture of the Taku Forts.

In 1882, the regiment with its two battalions was renamed the Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment).  In common with other Lowland regiments, tartan trews of Government, or Black Watch, tartan were adopted.  The 1st Battalion was then sent to South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899-1902).

With the outbreak of the First World War, the 2nd Battalion was sent to France in August 1914.  The Royal Scots took part in major battles from Mons (1914) to Ypres, Loos, the Somme, Arras, and Passchendale (1917) to Gallipoli and Palestine. 

With the end of the war on the Western Front in 1918, the 2/10th Battalion the Royal Scots took part in the extraordinary invasion of northern Russia in support of the anti-Bolshevik forces (1918-1919) in which Archangel was occupied and Murmansk seized.  The regiment engaged in a series of actions against the Bolsheviks across the flat and frozen tundra.  Most of the soldier’s involved simply remember marches along apparently never-ending railway lines interrupted by brief and bloody skirmishes.  Eventually, the expedition was withdrawn.

Inter-war service included Macedonia, Burma, India, Aden, Ireland and china.  In 1939, the 1st Battalion was sent to France to occupy the Maginot line.  An exhausting withdrawal included bitter fighting in the village of Le Paradis where the Royal Scots broke up a determined enemy attack and the Germans began shooting the wounded and machine-gunning parties of prisoners.  Few of the battalion finally managed to reach Dunkirk to be evacuated.  The 2nd Battalion were in Hong Kong, and after a determined and difficult resistance, only about 100 men survived to surrender to the Japanese.

The reconstituted 1st Battalion took a notable part in the battle of Kokima (1944), the relief of Kohima, Aradura Spur and at Mandalay (1945) while the 2nd Battalion was in action in Italy.  After landing in Holland in 1944, the romantically styled ‘Dandy 9th’-the 7/9th (Highland) Battalion, a Territorial Army battalion (equivalent to the US National Guard) of The Royal Scots-fought to clear the Scheldt and the 8thBattalion took part in the Normandy landings and the liberation of France, Belgium and Holland.

In 1949, the 1st and 2nd Battalions were amalgamated and subsequently saw active service in Korea, Egypt, Cyprus, Aden and Northern Ireland.

In 1991, the Royal Scots formed part of the Allied army in the Gulf War and it was during the advance on Kuwait City that Captain Norman Soutar, commanding A Company of the 1st Battalion The Royal Scots was awarded the Military Cross.