93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot

For other units with the same regimental number, see 93rd Regiment of Foot (disambiguation).
93rd Regiment of Foot
Active 1799–1881
Country Great Britain
Branch British Army
Type Infantry
March The Thin Red Line
Highland Laddie
The Campbell March

The 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Line Infantry Regiment of the British Army . In 1881 during the Childers Reforms it was united with the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) .

Contents

History

The 93rd Regiment

The 93rd Regiment was raised three times before it became the Sutherland Highlanders.

Sutherland Fencibles

The 1st Sutherland Fencibles were raised in Scotland from the area of Sutherland and Caithness in 1759 and disbanded in 1763 by Lord Reay.

1779: 2nd Sutherland Fencibles raised by Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland (done in practice by Lt. Col. William Wemyss of Wemyss).

1793: 3rd Sutherland Fencibles raised by Wemyss. Served in 1798 Irish Rebellion. Disbanded April 1799 at Ft. George.

Upon the disbandment of the two regiments in 1799, the new 93rd Regiment was recruited from the recently disbanded Sutherland Fencibles by their old colonel William Wemyss, at this time a Major General in the British Army, on behalf of his 16 year old cousin Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland. Wemyss had the remaining volunteers from all over Sutherland lined up by Parish and selected those he thought most suitable and issued each of these a pinch of snuff, a dram of whisky and their bounty money. When the regiment first mustered, in Strathnaver in August 1800, not a single man selected by Wemyss failed to report. There is a cairn at Skail, in Strathnaver, marking the spot where this muster took place.

One of the soldiers who had served with the Fencibles and then with the 93rd was Sergeant Samuel Macdonald. Sergeant Macdonald was reputed to be a veritable giant, standing six feet ten inches and a chest measuring 48 inches. A one time actor, being cast in a Drury Lane production of Cymon and Imphigenia as Hercules, Macdonald served in the 3rd Sutherland Fencibles as a sergeant of the Colonel's company. With the raising of the 93rd, he volunteered for the new regiment, being accepted by Wemyss. Countess Sutherland, upon seeing Sergeant Macdonald, donated a special allowance of 2 shillings 6 pence a day. She is reported to have said that anyone as large as Sergeant Macdonald "must require more sustenance than his military pay can afford."[1]

Early years

September 1800: Dispatched from Ft. George, via Aberdeen, to Guernsey. October 1800: Formally gazetted into the Army. February 1803: Dublin. Assist in quelling insurrection. Become very popular with the Irish people. "Kind & steady, yet decided conduct." July 1805: After fortnight aboard ship, orders to Jamaica canceled. August 1805: Sail for Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. 4 January 1806: Arrive at Table Bay. Form Highland Brigade with 71st & 72nd regiments. Other Brigade consists of 24th, 38th & 83rd. Objective: Recapture Cape Colony from the Dutch. 6 January 1806: Highland Brigade lands in Lospard Bay. 7 January 1806: Battle of Blauwberg Hills. Highlanders advance, fire one volley & charge. 3000 Dutch withdraw leaving 400 killed & wounded. 18 January 1806: Cape Colony surrenders. 93rd moves into garrison at Cape Castle. 1806–1814: At Cape. (1813): 2nd Battalion raised. Exists for 16 months. Garrisoned in Newfoundland. April 1814: Embark for Britain. 15 August 1814: Arrive at Plymouth, England. 17 September 1814: Embark for the American campaign. General Officer Commanding, Plymouth, orders 93rd to wear trews and hummel bonnets for the campaign. 8 December 1814: Anchor off Ship Island in the Gulf of Mexico. 23 December 1814: 93rd lands near New Orleans. Arrive in time to help turn flank of American surprise night attack.

Battle of New Orleans

On the 28 December 1814, the British advanced up the left bank of the Mississippi River towards New Orleans. The 93rd Highlanders come under fire 750 yards from Andrew Jackson's parapet, by the parapet and a schooner on the river. They laid for 5 hours in the rain, sleet & bombardment the British then pulled back. 1 January 1815: British attempt a reconnaissance in force. Torrential rain bogs down artillery & troops. US left flank actually routed and in flight but unperceived by British until too late to take advantage. 8 January: Final British assault. Mistakes and bad luck add up. American position on right bank of river actually overrun & captured. Left bank; American advance redoubt taken by detachment of light infantry companies including that of the 93rd. British right flank falters. 93rd aborts support to captured redoubt and crosses field to help faltering right flank assault. Halts 100 yards from parapet. Lt. Col. Dale killed. No orders to advance or withdraw. 93rd stands fast & is mown down. General Edward Pakenham killed. Orders finally received & after futile attempt to advance, 93rd marches off field. British losses: 2,000. 93rd contributes 300 to 550 killed, wounded & prisoner. 18–30 January: British withdraw downriver to ships, embark. 11 February: British capture Ft. Bowyer outside Mobile, Alabama. 93rd & others landed on Dauphin Island outside Mobile Bay. 13 February: Sloop-of-War brings news of preliminaries of peace at Ghent. Women & children of 93rd allowed ashore.

Subsequent years

28 May 1815: Disembark at Cork, Ireland. Helped back to strength with men from disbanded 2nd Battalion. Various garrisons in Ireland. 3–8 November 1823: Embark at Cove of Cork for the West Indies. (In 8 years in Ireland, not one desertion.) December 1823–1834: Land at Barbados and over next years garrison various islands. 3 April 1834: Embark for England. Deaths in West Indies considerably below other regiments. 8 May 1834: Sent to Canterbury. 7 October 1834: New Colours presented to 93rd by the Duke of Wellington. Through 1835 various garrisons in Britain. 27–29 October 1835: Embark at Liverpool for Dublin, various Garrisons in Ireland. 6 & 23 January 1838: Sail in 2 divisions from Cork. 29 January & 5 March 1838: Arrive Halifax, Nova Scotia. Various garrisons in Canada. No.4 company through entire rebellion attached to 71st H.L.I. 16 November 1838: 93rd present at capture of The Windmill, held by brigands & rebels. 1 August 1848: Embark for Britain. 30 August 1848: Arrive Leith, Scotland. Disembark, proceed to Stirling Castle. Summer 1849: Guard of Honour for Queen Victoria. 5 April 1850: To Edinburgh. Subsequently various garrisons in Scotland and England. 27 February: Embark at Plymouth for Crimean Campaign.

Crimea

The 93rd Sutherland Highlanders became famous for their actions during the Crimean War. The regiment was sent to the Crimea in 1854, after war broke out against Russia, as part of Colin Campbell's Highland Brigade. They took part in the storming of the height above the Alma River followed by a move to Sevastopol. On 25 October they were stationed outside the British-controlled port of Balaklava as part of its very thin defences. The Russian Army sent a massive force to attack Balaklava, the Russian force was 25,000 strong; but only their massed cavalry pushed right forward down the road to Balaklava. Part of this threat was parried by the immortal charge of General Scarlett's Heavy Cavalry Brigade.

“ The rest, a formidable mass, swept on to charge the 93rd drawn up in line, two deep. "There is no retreat from here, men," Campbell told them as he rode down the line, "you must die where you stand." And the reply of John Scott, the right-hand man, was taken up by them all: "Ay, Sir Colin. An needs be, we'll do that." They fired two volleys and the cavalry charge split in half, galloping to right and left and finally into full retreat. Some of the younger soldiers started excitedly forward for a bayonet charge, but Sir Colin called out, "93rd, 93rd, damn all that eagerness!"From the Argylls History ”

It was in this action that the regiment earned its nickname of The Thin Red Line, coined by The Times journalist W.H.Russell.

“ The Times correspondent, W. H. Russell, who standing on the hills above could clearly see that nothing stood between the Russian cavalry and the defenceless British base but the "thin red streak tipped with a line of steel" of the 93rd. Condensed almost immediately into "The Thin Red Line", the phrase has survived to this day as the chosen symbol of everything for which The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders believe themselves to stand.

Asked why he had been so unorthodox as to receive a cavalry charge in line instead of in a square. Sir Colin Campbell said; "I knew the 93rd, and I did not think it worth the trouble of forming a square."From the Argylls History

 ”

1857

Amalgamation

July 1881, the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders were united with the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Princess Louise's (Sutherland and Argyll Highlanders) later renamed Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) . The traditions and character of the 93rd remained so strong that members of the 2nd Battalion would continue to refer to themselves as the 93rd right up until that battalions move in to suspended animation in 1947. For ten years a clumsy arrangement of the 1st and 2nd Battalions receding and taking front place with each other continued until the Colonel charged the 1st Battalion (old 91st) with absorbing and embodying the traditions of the 93rd.

Regimental Traditions

Like most British regiments, the 93rd Highlanders developed its own traditions and character, some of which survived amalgamations. The 93rd Highlanders were reputed to be the most religious regiment in the British Army, outdoing even the Cameronians who were originally formed from religious zealots. The regiment formed its own parish, with ministers and elders chosen from the ranks by the ranks. Two sergeants, two corporals, and two privates would be elected to serve as elders. The regiment was also said to be the only regiment with its own regular communion plate.[3]

There was also a long tradition of familial service within the regiment. The regiment recruited heavily from Sutherland and Caithness. Prior to amalgamation, there were no more than a dozen family names in the ranks as opposed to the 91st Highlanders who had 323 Irishmen and 501 Englishmen in its ranks.[4]

Early in the regiment's history, it was common to see the regiment parade with a pet deer. The first deer was the pet for Sergeant Samuel Macdonald.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b William McElwee, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, (New York: Osprey Publishing, Ltd., 2002)p. 6.
  2. ^ Regimental History of the 4th Battalion 13th Frontier Force Rifles (Wilde's), anonymous author, Central Library of RMA Sandhurst, pp.20–23
  3. ^ Byron Farwell, Mr. Kipling's Army: All The Queen's Men (New York: W.W. Norton, 1981) p. 33.
  4. ^ Farwell, p. 26.

External links