There were, under his command, 32 officers, including a chaplain and a surgeon, all Highlanders. Although a Lowlander he was well respected by the Highlanders. On 25 October 1739 John Lindsay, the 20th Earl of Crawford was commissioned to raise four companies to add to six already there and was appointed Colonel. These dark law-enforcers soon came to be called the Black Watch, am Freiceadan Dubh in Gaelic, although that name did not become official until 1861. They deliberately avoided wearing uniform that could be construed as English so dark coloured coats and plaids provided a contrast to the redcoats. They were intended as a means of policing the country and providing the British with a 'watch' over the troublesome Jacobite sympathisers. The carrying of arms was forbidden in Scotland except for these companies so there was an attraction for men of a martial inclination. The clans of Campbell, Grant, Munro and Fraser provided men for four of these companies raised in 1725 two more were raised in 1729. He also organised the raising of independent companies of Highlanders who were loyal to the Hanoverian crown. In 1724 General George Wade began a programme of building roads and forts to exercise control over the country.
In the years after the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion, the Highlands of Scotland were largely no-go areas for anyone but the Highlanders who had no love for the English and their monarch. 42nd Royal Highland Regiment: Black Watch
0 kommentar(er)
