J

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF AS MANY OF THE OFFICERS OF 1758 AS COULD BE TRACED.

James Abercrombie.

James Abercrombie was promoted to a captaincy in the 42nd or 1st Battalion of the Royal Highlanders on the 16th of February, 1756. On the 5th of May, 1759, he was appointedaide de campto Maj. Gen. Amherst, with whom he made the campaigns of that and the following year. On the 25th of July, 1760, he was appointed Major of the 78th or Fraser’s Highlanders and in September following was employed by Gen. Amherst in communicating to the Marquis de Vaudreuil the conditions preparatory to the surrender of Montreal and in obtaining the signature of that governor to them. (Knox’s Journal). The 78th having been disbanded in 1763, Major Abercrombie retired on half pay. On the 27th of March, 1770, he again entered active service as Lt. Colonel of the 22nd Regiment then serving in America under the commandof Lt. Col. Gage and was killed in the memorable Battle of Bunker Hill on the 17th of June, 1775.

New York Colonial Manuscripts by Broadhead, Weed, Parsons Co., Albany, 1856, page 160.

Hugh Arnot.

Hugh Arnot was taken from the half pay list and appointed a Lieutenant in the 42nd Highlanders, 9th April, 1756, at the augmentation of that Regiment on its coming to America, and was promoted to a Company on the 27th December, 1757. He served in the unfortunate affair of Ticonderoga in 1758, and in 1759 accompanied Amherst as above. On the 16th August, 1760, he exchanged into the 46th Foot, in which Regiment he continued to serve until 1769, when his name was dropped from the Army List.

Wilson’s Orderly Book, p. 143.

Patrick Balneaves.

Patrick Balneaves, of Edradour, entered the 42nd, as Ensign, 28th January, 1756, and was promoted to be Lieutenant 1st April, 1758; he was wounded at Ticonderoga, 1758; and again at Martinico in 1762; became Captain-Lieutenant 23rd August, 1763, and left the army in 1770.

Stewart. Army Lists. N. Y. Colonial Manuscripts, p. 729, Vol. 10.

AT TICONDEROGATablet on Boulder near French Lines at Fort TiconderogaTablet in Black Watch Memorial at Ticonderoga

Allan Campbell.

Allan Campbell, son of Barcaldine, entered the Army as Ensign of the 43d (now the 42nd) Highlanders, Dec. 25, 1744, and served that year against the Pretender. Was made prisoner of war at Preston Pans, 21st Sept. 1745 and sent on parole to Perth. Was appointed lieutenant Dec. 1, 1746. He obtained a Company 13th of May, 1755, and the next year came to America, where he shared the difficulties and honors of the Regiment. In June, 1759, he was appointed Major for the campaign under Amherst, and was actively employed at the Head of the Grenadiers and Rangers, clearing the way for the army up the Lakes. He became major in the army 15th August, 1762, and went on half-pay on the reduction of the regiment in 1763, having obtained a grant of 5,000 acres of land at Crown Point. He served 19 years in the regiment. In 1770, he was appointed Major of the 36th or Herefordshire Foot, thenserving in Jamaica; became Lieutenant-Colonel in the army in May (1772), and of his regiment in January, 1778; Colonel in the Army, 17th Nov. 1780; Major-General in 1787; and died 1795. His Regiment did not serve in America during the Revolutionary War.

An extract from his will dated 2nd March 1787, reads:

“And whereas I am under a grant from the Crown intitled to a considerable tract of land and heredits situate, lying and being in the Province of New York in the County of Albany in America, between Ticonderoga and Crown Point.* * *I do hereby give, devise and bequeath unto my two sisters, Isabella Campbell, (wife of John C. of Archalader, in the Shire of Perth, in North Britain, aforesaid Esquire), and Jane Campbell of Edinchip, in the Shire of Perth, aforesaid, widow of Colin Campbell of Edinchip, aforesaid, Esq. deceased, their heirs, executors, Administrates, and Assigns, all my said track of land and heredits, in America,” etc.

Browne, IV, 150.Knox Journal, I, 373, 377, 387; II, 401.Army List. Commissionary Wilson’s Orderly Book. 1759. p. 18. Stewart of Garth Appendix.

Browne, IV, 150.

Knox Journal, I, 373, 377, 387; II, 401.

Army List. Commissionary Wilson’s Orderly Book. 1759. p. 18. Stewart of Garth Appendix.

Archibald Campbell.

Archibald Campbell. Born 1720. Eldest son of Duncan Campbell of Glendaruel and Lockhead. His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Archibald Campbell of Inverary. He was appointed Ensign 42d Regt. 23d Jan. 1756, Lieut. 28th July 1757, Captain 4th Dec. 1759. Died 3d June 1762.

Donald Campbell.

Donald Campbell, son of Donald Campbell Bailie of McKairn, Taynuilt Argyll, was appointed Ensign in the 42d Regt. of Foot, 5th May 1756. He was with one of the additional companies in the “Anandall” which sprang two leaks, lost her mizen mast, was attacked three times by Privateers (which they beat off with small arms), and was driven into the West Indies, so that she did not arrive in New York, in time for the company to join the attack on Ticonderoga. He was appointed Lieut. 24th July 1758 and retired 13th June 1761, having served with the Royal Highlanders from 1758 to 1761.

Highlanders in America by MacLean, page 176, N. Y. Colonial Documents, page 629.

Duncan Campbell (Killochronan,Island of Mull).

Extract from the Memorial of Captain Duncan Campbell, American Loyalist Claims.

“Humbly Sheweth, that he was a native of Great Britain and he was appointed Ensign in the 42nd Highlanders 26 January 1756, in which Corps he served the war before last in America and the West Indies. And in August 1763 the Regiment was ordered on an expedition to the relief of Fort Pitt, then invested by the savages.On the march he was severely wounded at the battle of Bushy Run, and for a long time rendered unfit for service. (In this skirmishing warfare the troops suffered much from the want of water and the extreme heat of the weather) which occasioned his retiring on half pay in 1764.He soon thereafter settled at Fredricksburg, Dutchess Co. in the Prov. of New York (in 1769) and purchased a valuable track of land from Colonel Beverly Robinson and others on good terms. In 1775 he was Colonel of Militia and Magistrate for the said county.That at the commencement of the troubles he took an early and decided part in favor of His Majesty’s government, which rendered him so obnoxious to the popular party where he dwelt that he was obliged to fly to New York, to save his life, from the family and abandon his property in June 1775. That soon after his arrival there he engaged as an officer in the 2nd Battalion Highland Emigrant’s in which he continued doing duty until the cessation of hostilities, and consequent reduction of the Regiment in Nova Scotia, in which Province he now dwells. (2January 1784).That early in June 1775 he got on board the Asia ship of war (64 gun frigate) then stationed in New York and soon after was joined by some recruits he had engaged to follow him. In July thereafter he went to Boston where Gen. Gage then Commander-in-Chief, gave him command of an armed transport in which he returned to New York where he enlisted and received on board about 60 more recruits. That in September he returned again to Boston where he left all his recruits except 26 which were left on board as Marines, on the 8 October he was sent back on the same service. But on the 16 of the same month was unfortunately shipwrecked on the coast of New Jersey.On this service he lost all his money and baggage to the amount of £100. This loss His Excellency Sir William Howe, then Commander-in-Chief, would not think of reimbursing at the time.In consequence of the shipwreck he and his party had the misfortune to be made prisoners and was carried to Philadelphia where he was fourteen months in a small apartment ofthe dismal gaolwhere he contracted a sickness which was likely to prove fatal to him.How soon he was taken his family were turned out of doors and deprived of everything they had except some wearing apparell. The distressed situation of the family so driven from their home may be easier felt than described. It brought on for a beginning the untimely death of an amiable wife, and deprived his five infant children of a mother’s care whereby they for some time became objects of compassion which he was unable to rescue them from. Until he was exchanged and joined his Regiment (in January 1777) he thereafter continued to serve during the war.N. B. The Memorialist was appointed Second Oldest Captain in the 2nd Batt. 84th Regiment the 14 June 1775 and was reduced in October 1783 without a step of preferment in the Regt. or in the Line.Captain 4th Breadalbane Regt. of Fencibles 2nd Batt. 1 March 1793; Major 17 Feb. 1794; Lieut. Col. 9 Dec. 1795; Regiment disbanded 18 April 1799. He died at Edinburgh in Dec. 1799.”

On the march he was severely wounded at the battle of Bushy Run, and for a long time rendered unfit for service. (In this skirmishing warfare the troops suffered much from the want of water and the extreme heat of the weather) which occasioned his retiring on half pay in 1764.

He soon thereafter settled at Fredricksburg, Dutchess Co. in the Prov. of New York (in 1769) and purchased a valuable track of land from Colonel Beverly Robinson and others on good terms. In 1775 he was Colonel of Militia and Magistrate for the said county.

That at the commencement of the troubles he took an early and decided part in favor of His Majesty’s government, which rendered him so obnoxious to the popular party where he dwelt that he was obliged to fly to New York, to save his life, from the family and abandon his property in June 1775. That soon after his arrival there he engaged as an officer in the 2nd Battalion Highland Emigrant’s in which he continued doing duty until the cessation of hostilities, and consequent reduction of the Regiment in Nova Scotia, in which Province he now dwells. (2January 1784).

That early in June 1775 he got on board the Asia ship of war (64 gun frigate) then stationed in New York and soon after was joined by some recruits he had engaged to follow him. In July thereafter he went to Boston where Gen. Gage then Commander-in-Chief, gave him command of an armed transport in which he returned to New York where he enlisted and received on board about 60 more recruits. That in September he returned again to Boston where he left all his recruits except 26 which were left on board as Marines, on the 8 October he was sent back on the same service. But on the 16 of the same month was unfortunately shipwrecked on the coast of New Jersey.

On this service he lost all his money and baggage to the amount of £100. This loss His Excellency Sir William Howe, then Commander-in-Chief, would not think of reimbursing at the time.In consequence of the shipwreck he and his party had the misfortune to be made prisoners and was carried to Philadelphia where he was fourteen months in a small apartment ofthe dismal gaolwhere he contracted a sickness which was likely to prove fatal to him.

How soon he was taken his family were turned out of doors and deprived of everything they had except some wearing apparell. The distressed situation of the family so driven from their home may be easier felt than described. It brought on for a beginning the untimely death of an amiable wife, and deprived his five infant children of a mother’s care whereby they for some time became objects of compassion which he was unable to rescue them from. Until he was exchanged and joined his Regiment (in January 1777) he thereafter continued to serve during the war.

N. B. The Memorialist was appointed Second Oldest Captain in the 2nd Batt. 84th Regiment the 14 June 1775 and was reduced in October 1783 without a step of preferment in the Regt. or in the Line.

Captain 4th Breadalbane Regt. of Fencibles 2nd Batt. 1 March 1793; Major 17 Feb. 1794; Lieut. Col. 9 Dec. 1795; Regiment disbanded 18 April 1799. He died at Edinburgh in Dec. 1799.”

Major Sir Duncan Campbell of Barcaldine, Bart. C. V. O.Stewart, I, 279; II, Appendix No. 11.

Major Sir Duncan Campbell of Barcaldine, Bart. C. V. O.

Stewart, I, 279; II, Appendix No. 11.

AT FORT TICONDEROGAOfficers Quarters or West BarracksThe Block House, summer residence of Howland PellA reproduction of the Germain redoubtTwo views from same point showing before and after restorationThe Pavilion, summer residence of S. H. Pell. Built in 1826 by William F. Pell, Esq

John Campbell of Duneavis.

John Campbell, of Duneaves, Perthshire, was originally a private in the Black Watch. In 1743, he was presented, with Gregor McGregor, to George II, as a specimen of the Highland soldier and performed at St. James the broadsword exercise and that of the Lochaber axe, before his Majesty and a number of General officers. Each got a gratuity of a guinea, which they gave to the porter at the gate of the palace as they passed out. Mr. Campbell obtained an Ensigncy in 1745 for his bravery at the battle of Fontenoy; was promoted to be Captain-Lieutenant, 16th February, 1756, and landed in New York the following June. He was among the few resolute men who forced their way into the work at Ticonderoga, on the 8th of July, where he was killed.

John Campbell of Glendaruel.

John Campbell of Glendaruel, born in 1721, was appointed Ensign of the 42nd Regt. of Foot 25th Sept., 1745; Lieutenant 16thMay, 1748; Captain Lieut. 2nd July 1759; and Captain 20th July 1760; Captain 27th or Inniskilling Regiment of Foot 25th March 1762; Major Supt. of Indian Affairs in the Province of Quebec 2nd July, 1773; Lieut. Col. of Indian Affairs 29th August 1777; and Colonel 16th Nov. 1790.

He married Marianna St. Lucan (date not given) and died Montreal, 23rd June 1795.

“In the course of a long and meritorious service with his Regiment, the 42nd Highlanders, in all its campaigns from the Rebellion in 1745 to the attack on Ticonderoga, where he was wounded on the 8th July, 1758, and the conquest of Canada, Martinique, and Havanna. He subsequently served in the expedition commanded by General Burgoyne, at the head of a number of Indians, and was distinguished for his spirited conduct as an officer, adorned by that elegance and politeness which mark the accomplished gentleman and his virtues in private life endeared him to his family and companions.

His remains were attended to the grave in a manner suitable to his rank. Not only by a very numerous assembly of citizens of all ranks, but by a large body of Indian warriors, whose very decent behavior evinced the sincerity with which they partook of the universal regret occasioned by the loss of so very respectable a member of society.”

Major Sir Duncan Campbell of Barcaldine, Bart. C. V. O.

John Campbell of Strachur.

John Campbell of Strachur, in the Highlands of Scotland, entered the Army in June, 1745, as Lieutenant of Loudon’s Highlanders; served through the Scotch Rebellion; made the Campaign in Flanders, 1747, and was promoted to a company on the 1st October of that year. At the peace of 1748, he went on Half-Pay and so remained until the 9th April, 1756, when he was appointed to the 42nd Highlanders previous to the embarcation of that Regiment for America. He was wounded in the attack on Ticonderoga in 1758, and was appointed by General Amherst Major of the 17th Foot on the 11th July, 1759; was promoted to be Lieutenant-Colonelin the Army, 1st February, 1762 and commanded his Regiment in the expedition that year against Martinico and Havana. On the 1st May, 1773, he became Lieutenant-Colonel of the 57th or West Middlesex Foot, returned to America in 1776 with his Regiment at the breaking out of the Revolution; was appointed Maj. General 19th February, 1779, Colonel of his Regiment 2d November, 1780, and commanded the British Forces in West Florida, where after a gallant though ineffectual defence he was obliged to surrender Pensacola to the Spaniards 10th May, 1781. He became Lieutenant-General 28th September, 1787; General in the Army, 26th January, 1797, and died in the fore part of 1806.

Brown, IV., 155, 159.Stewart’s Sketches of the Highlanders, I, 295, 306, 359, 370; II, 5, app. iii; Knox Journal, I, 373; II, 401; Beatson’s Naval and Mil. Mem. V, 50, 226-233; VI, 274-280; Army Lists. Wilson’s Orderly Book, page 94.

Brown, IV., 155, 159.

Stewart’s Sketches of the Highlanders, I, 295, 306, 359, 370; II, 5, app. iii; Knox Journal, I, 373; II, 401; Beatson’s Naval and Mil. Mem. V, 50, 226-233; VI, 274-280; Army Lists. Wilson’s Orderly Book, page 94.

Moses Campbell.

A native of Scotland, joined the 42nd Regt. and was promoted Sergeant.

Served with this Regiment throughout the war of French and Indians in America of 1756-63, discharged at the reduction, and settled with his family on a portion of Maj. Allan Campbell’s (same Regt.) grant of land, situated on the south (bank) side of Lake Champlain, between Crown Point (about 5 miles above the point) and Ticonderoga.

Also served (possibly in the Royal Highland Emigrants, bounty 50s rendezvous Lake Champlain, 1775) in the War of Independence of 1775, (for which his property was confiscated, including boats.)

He died in active (British) service on the 18th Feb. 1781.

His widow, Elizabeth, and seven children claimed 366 pounds for losses, allowed 80 pounds.

N. B. On behalf of her son, Alexander, (aged 21 years), 50 pounds, who complained that one of the rebels was now living in his house, Feb. 1783.

Gordon Graham.

Gordon Graham of Drainie in the Highlands of Scotland, was appointed ensign in the 43rd Highlanders in Oct. 25, 1739, and wasmade lieutenant June 24, 1743. He served in Flanders and shared in the defeat at Fontenoy in 1745, after which the Regiment returned home. In 1747 he made another campaign in Flanders. On August 7, 1747, he was appointed captain. In 1749 the number of the regiment was changed to the 42d and Mr. Graham obtained a company in it 3d June, 1752, came to America in 1756, was at the surrender of Fort William Henry under Colonel Munro in 1757, and was wounded at Ticonderoga in 1758. The Major of the Regiment having been killed on that occasion Captain Graham succeeded to the vacancy, July 17th, 1758, and made the campaign of 1759 and 1760 under Amherst. He next served in the West Indies in the expedition against Martinique and July 9, 1762, became Lieutenant Colonel of the Regiment, which returned to New York, and in the year 1763, proceeded to the relief of Fort Pitt, defeating the Indians on the way in the Battle of Bushy Run. In December, 1770, he retired after 31 years of service in the Regiment. As his name does not appear in the army list of 1771 it is presumed that he died at this time.

Brown’s Highland Clans IV, 139, 159. Beatson’s Naval and Mil. Mem. II, 530. Wilson’s Orderly Book, p. 14.

John Graham.

John Graham was the brother of Thomas; entered the 42nd regiment as Ensign and was promoted to a Lieutenancy 25th January, 1776; was wounded at Ticonderoga 1758; became Captain in February, 1762, and was again wounded at Bushy Run in 1763; shortly after which his company having been disbanded, he went on half pay. He rejoined the regiment 25th December, 1765, and is dropped in 1772, having attained the rank of field officer.

Stewart I, 359, Army Lists. N. Y. Col. Manuscripts, p. 729, Vol. 10.

Grave of Jane McCrea, Union Cemetery, between Hudson Falls and Fort Edward Major Duncan Campbell is now buried in this lot.

Thomas Graham.

Thomas Graham, or Graeme, of Duchay, entered the 43rd, or Black Watch, as Ensign June 30, 1741; was promoted to a Lieutenancy August 6, 1746, and obtained a company February 15, 1756, shortly before the regiment, then the 42nd, came to America. He served in the several Campaigns on the northern lakes; waswounded at Ticonderoga in 1758; was again wounded at the battle of Bushy Run, near Pittsburg, in 1763; served in the subsequent campaigns against the Indians, and embarked for Ireland in 1767. He succeeded Major Reid 31st March, 1770, and became Lieutenant-Colonel 12th December following. He retired from the army December, 1771, after 30 years of service.

Army Lists. Stewart. N. Y. Colonial Manuscripts, p. 729, Vol. 10.

Francis Grant.

Francis Grant, son of the Laird of Grant, and brother of Sir Ludovick Grant, of Grant, Scotland, was received from half-pay in Loudon’s Regiment and was made ensign in the Black Watch Oct. 25, 1739. Nov. 5, 1739, he was made lieutenant; June 18, 1743, captain; and Oct. 3, 1745, he became major. A vacancy occurring in the lieutenant-colonelcy, in December, 1755, the men of the Regiment subscribed a sum of money among themselves to purchase the step for him, but it was not required; he had already obtained his promotion. He accompanied the Regiment to America in 1756 and was present at the bloody battle of Ticonderoga, July 8, 1758, where he was wounded. In the following year he accompanied Amherst on his expedition, and in 1760 was in command of the van of the Army from Oswego to Montreal. In 1761 he commanded the Army sent to the south to chastise the Cherokees. He served as Brigadier-General in the expedition against Martinico in 1762, and on the 19th of February of that year became colonel in the army. On July 9, 1762, after twenty-three years of service in the Black Watch Regiment, he was removed and appointed to the command of the 90th Light Infantry. In August, 1762, he commanded the 4th Brigade at the siege of Havana and went on half pay at the peace of 1763. In November, 1768, he became colonel of the 63rd; Major-General in 1770; and Lieutenant-General in 1777. He died at the beginning of 1782 (Army Lists).

Lieut.-Gen. Grant’s daughter was married to the Hon. and Rt. Rev. George Murray, fourth son of the Duke of Athol, and Bishop of St. David’s.

Brown’s Highland Clans, IV, 155.Knox’s Journal, II, 404, 410, 465.Beatson N. and M., Mem. III, 363, 359.Debrett’s Peerage. Wilson’s Orderly Book, p. 3.

Brown’s Highland Clans, IV, 155.

Knox’s Journal, II, 404, 410, 465.

Beatson N. and M., Mem. III, 363, 359.

Debrett’s Peerage. Wilson’s Orderly Book, p. 3.

James Grant.

James Grant, appointed Ensign, Nov. 20, 1746; Lieutenant, Jan. 22, 1756; Captain, Dec. 26, 1760; removed Aug. 13, 1762, after 16 years of service in the Regiment and was made Fort-Major Limerick. Died in 1778. He was wounded at Ticonderoga.

Stewart of Garth, Appendix.

William Grant.

William Grant, appointed Ensign, Oct. 1, 1745; Lieutenant, May 22, 1746; Captain, July 23, 1758; Major, Dec. 5, 1777; retired August, 1778, after 33 years of service with rank of Brevet Lieut.-Colonel. He was wounded at the battle of Ticonderoga.

Stewart of Garth, Appendix.

James Gray.

James Gray was taken from the Half-pay list and appointed Lieutenant in the 42nd Royal Highlanders 30th January, 1756. His name is omitted in the Army List of 1765.

Stewart’s Highlanders. Wilson’s Orderly Book, page 83.

Robert Gray.

Robert Gray, appointed Ensign, June 6, 1745; Lieutenant, June 9, 1747; Captain, July 22, 1758. He was wounded at Ticonderoga. Aug. 2, 1759, after 14 years of service in the Regiment, he was promoted to the 55th Regiment. He died in 1771 with rank of Lieut.-Colonel.

Stewart of Garth, Appendix.

Alexander McIntosh.

Alexander McIntosh was taken from half pay in 1756 and appointed Lieutenant in the 42nd. He was wounded at Ticonderoga, 1758, and again at Martinico in 1762, and was promoted to a company 24th July of the same year. He went on half pay in 1763 and was not again called on active service until 25th December,1770, when he was appointed to the 10th regiment then serving in America. Captain McIntosh was killed at the storming of Fort Washington, 16th November, 1776.

Army Lists. Beatson’s Naval and Military Memoirs. N. Y. Colonial Manuscripts, p. 729, Vol. 10.

Norman McLeod.

Norman McLeod entered the army as ensign of the 42d January 1756, and was promoted to Lieutenancy in the 69th in June 1761. At the peace of 1763 he elected to remain in this country and received 3,000 acres of land and retired on half pay. Sometime later he was appointed Commissioner at Niagara under Sir William Johnson. At the breaking out of the War of the Revolution he offered his services to Governor Martin of North Carolina. Later he was captured and was a prisoner for about five years.

Wm. M. McBean, Secy. St. Andrew’s Society of the State of New York.

John MacNeil.

John MacNeil was appointed ensign, Aug. 6, 1742, Lieutenant Oct. 10, 1745; Captain, Dec. 16, 1752; Major, July 9, 1762. He died at the siege of Havana in 1762 after 20 years of service in the Regiment.

Stewart of Garth, Appendix.

David Milne.

David Mill, or Milne, received a commission as Lieutenant in this Corps 19th July, 1757; was wounded at Ticonderoga in 1758, and again at Martinique in 1762; retired from the army at the peace of 1763.

N. Y. Colonial Manuscripts, p. 729, Vol. 10.

James Murray.

James Murray, second son of Lord George Murray, by his marriage with Amelia Murray, heiress of Strowan and Glencarse, and grandson of the first Duke of Atholl, was born at Tullibardineon the 19th of March, 1734, and it is interesting to know that Lord John Murray, who was destined in after years to be his colonel, was called upon to be his godfather. A commission as Lieutenant in the Saxon Grenadier Guards was obtained for him in 1749, and he joined his regiment in 1751. He served against the forces of Frederick the Great until the Saxon Army capitulated at Pirna on the Elbe in October, 1756. He was released on parole and returned to Scotland in 1757 and on the nomination of his uncle, James Duke of Atholl, was given a captain’s commission in the Black Watch and was placed in command of one of the three additional companies then being raised for service in America. He reached New York in April, 1758, and commanded Captain Reid’s company in the unsuccessful attack on Ticonderoga—his own company having been left in garrison at Fort Edward. He was wounded but was soon able to return to duty and took part in the successful expedition of 1759 to Lake Champlain. Toward the close of that year he was given command—by Lord John Murray’s desire—of the Grenadier Company of the newly-raised 2nd Battalion, and with this battalion he served in the advance on Montreal in 1760 and in the capture of Martinique in 1762. He was wounded here and invalided home and was on sick leave for more than six years. He rejoined the Black Watch in 1768 and in 1769 was appointed Captain-lieutenant in the 3rd Foot Guards, obtaining his promotion as Captain and Lieutenant-colonel the following year. In 1772 he was elected member of Parliament for Perthshire, a position which he held for twenty-two years. He was appointed Governor of Upnor Castle in 1775 and Fort William in 1780, but these were merely nominal posts and did not interfere with his other duties. In 1776 he bought Strowan (originally the property of his mother), from his nephew, the fourth Duke of Atholl.

On the outbreak of the War of Independence, Col. Murray offered to raise a regiment of Highlanders for service in America, but this offer was refused, and in March, 1777, he was sent out to join the brigade of Guards under General Howe in New Jersey. He was with Lord Cornwallis at Quibbletown and presumably took part in the actions at Brandywine and Germantown in 1777. He spent the following winter in quarters at Philadelphia, and left America in the summer of 1778 and joined the Atholl Highlandersin Ireland in September of that year, of which regiment he was given the command. This regiment remained in Ireland during the war, at the conclusion of which it was disbanded. James Murray was appointed Lieutenant-colonel-commandant of the 78th Highlanders in 1783, but as he was already a general officer he never did any duty with this regiment. After 1783 General Murray resided a good deal at Strowan; in 1786 he was promoted full Colonel of the 78th (by that time the 72nd), and in 1793 he was made Lieutenant-general. In March, 1794, he felt himself obliged to resign his seat in Parliament owing to ill health and a few days later—on the 19th of March—he died in London and was buried in St. Margaret’s, Westminster.

Of Lord George Murray’s three sons, General James seems to have been the one who most resembled his father. He had inherited the Jacobite General’s sympathetic knowledge of Highland character, something of his pride, and the same affectionate disposition. And that he had at least a share of his father’s determination, and presence of mind is shown by two anecdotes which have been handed down with regard to him. One of these refers to his earlier days, and is to the effect that, having been attacked by a highwayman one night that he was driving over a heath near London, he leant out of the window of the chaise, “groped in the dark for the ears of his assailant’s horse,” and with the brief but expressive exclamation. “Thereut’s-” fired a shot which ended the highwayman’s career. The other relates that during the Gordon Riots of 1780 Colonel James Murray was seated next Lord George Gordon in the House of Commons at the very moment at which the mob threatened to break into the House. Colonel Murray with a soldier’s instinct drew his sword, pointed it at Lord George, and notwithstanding that he was his cousin, declared his intention ofrunning him through the body if a single one of the rioters should enter. His promptness saved the situation, but he had committed a breach of the privileges of the House and was ordered to apologize on bended knee to the Speaker. Colonel Murray made the required amende, but on rising from his knee took out his handkerchief and dusted it, remarking, “Damned Dirty House this; sooner it’s cleaned out the better.”

Army Lists: Brown’s Highl. Clans, IV, 159, 300, 304, 306. Wilson’s Orderly Book, p. 67. Military History of Perthshire, p. 411-413.Stewart of Garth gives the following in regard to General Murray’s wound, received at the capture of Martinique; (page 126, Vol. 10.)“The musket ball entered his left side, under the lower rib, passed up through the left lobe of the lung, (as ascertained after his death) crossed his chest, and mounting up to his right shoulder, lodged under the scapula. His case being considered desperate, the only object of the surgeon was to make his situation as easy as possible for, the few hours they supposed he had to live; but, to the great surprise of all, he was on his legs in a few weeks, and, before he reached England, was quite recovered, or at least his health and appetite were restored. He was never afterwards, however, able to lie down; and during the thirty-two years of his subsequent life, he slept in an upright posture, supported in his bed by pillows.”

Army Lists: Brown’s Highl. Clans, IV, 159, 300, 304, 306. Wilson’s Orderly Book, p. 67. Military History of Perthshire, p. 411-413.

Stewart of Garth gives the following in regard to General Murray’s wound, received at the capture of Martinique; (page 126, Vol. 10.)

“The musket ball entered his left side, under the lower rib, passed up through the left lobe of the lung, (as ascertained after his death) crossed his chest, and mounting up to his right shoulder, lodged under the scapula. His case being considered desperate, the only object of the surgeon was to make his situation as easy as possible for, the few hours they supposed he had to live; but, to the great surprise of all, he was on his legs in a few weeks, and, before he reached England, was quite recovered, or at least his health and appetite were restored. He was never afterwards, however, able to lie down; and during the thirty-two years of his subsequent life, he slept in an upright posture, supported in his bed by pillows.”

Lord John Murray.

Lord John Murray, born on the 14th of April, 1711, was the eldest son of John, first Duke of Atholl, by his second wife, the Hon. Mary Ross, and half-brother to John, Marquess of Tullibardine, and Lord George Murray. He became an ensign in the 3rd Foot Guards (now the Scots Guards) in 1727, and a captain in the same regiment in 1738. Immediately after the mutiny of the regiment in 1743 he applied for the colonelcy in the 42nd or Black Watch, but he did not obtain the appointment he so greatly desired until two years later. In July, 1743, he was appointed first aide-de-camp to George II and was in attendance on the King in Germany at the close of the Dettingen campaign, but returned to England without having taken part in any engagements. In April 1745, when at last gazetted colonel of the Black Watch, he proceeded to join his regiment in Flanders, but arrived too late for Fontenoy. He distinguished himself, however, during the subsequent retreat of the British army to Brussels, by his defence of a pass which the French attacked by night. For this service he was publicly thanked by the Duke of Cumberland. In 1745 he returned home with his regiment but in 1747 he was in the Netherlands taking part in the attempted relief of Hulst. After the surrender of the town by the Dutch Governor, Lord John commanded the rear-guard in the retreat to Welsharden, and shortly afterwards, having been ordered to take part in the defence of Bergen-op-Zoom, he was placed in command of the British troops in the lines there. At the close of operations he received a message of approbation from the King.

From “A Military History of Perthshire”Lord John Murray, Colonel the Black Watch, 1745 to 1787

From “A Military History of Perthshire”

In 1755 he was promoted major-general, and in 1758 lieutenant-general, but although he offered his services more than once, he was not employed abroad during the Seven Years’ War. He took the keenest interest, however, in all the exploits of his regimentand worked hard to raise a second battalion in 1758. Stewart of Garth tells us that when the men who had been disabled at Ticonderoga appeared before the Board of Chelsea to claim their pensions, Lord John went with them and explained their case in such a manner to the commissioners that they were all successful. He gave them money, got them a free passage to Perth, and offered a house and garden to all who chose to settle on his estate. General Stewart also describes how, when the 42nd at last returned from America in 1767, Lord John, who had been for weeks at Cork awaiting its arrival, marched into that town at its head.

Lord John was a great deal with the regiment while it was quartered in Ireland, and, according to Stewart of Garth, was “ever attentive to the interest of the officers and vigilant that their promotion should not be interrupted by ministerial or other influence.” He was also “unremitting in his exertions to procure the appointment of good officers, and of officers who understood perfectly the peculiar dispositions and character of the men.” For this reason he strenuously endeavored to exclude all but the members of Scots—and more especially Highland—families. He was equally particular that only Gaelic-speaking men and Protestants should be recruited for the ranks.

In spite of his military duties Lord John resided a good deal in the country—and not only at the home of his boyhood—for early in life he bought Pitnacree in Strathtay, and in later years he had also a house in Perth. He represented Perthshire in Parliament from 1734 to 1761. In 1758 he married Miss Dalton of Bannercross—a Derbyshire heiress, by whom he had one daughter. In 1770 he became a full general. His last military achievement was the raising in 1779 and 1780 (at his own expense) of another second battalion to the 42nd. This battalion so distinguished itself in India that in 1786 it was placed permanently on the establishment under the title of the 73rd Regiment. The veteran to whose patriotism it owed its existence died on the 26th day of May, 1787, at the age of seventy-six, the senior officer in the Army.

Lord John made the most of such chances as occurred of distinguishing himself in the field, but those opportunities were small for he never served in any war but the Austrian Succession.It is therefore as the Colonel of the Black Watch that his name has survived—as a man who understood the Highland soldiers well enough to wish to command them at a time when to many that might have seemed a task of great difficulty—and who, having at last obtained the post he desired, completely identified himself with the interests of his men, and for upwards of half a century was the “friend and supporter of every deserving officer and soldier in the regiment.”

Military History of Perthshire, page 382-384.

John Reid.

John Reid was the eldest son of Alexander Robertson of Straloch, but the head of the family had always been known as “Baron Reid” and the General and his younger brother, Alexander (who was an officer in the 42nd), adopted the more distinctive surname early in life. He was born at Inverchroskie in Strathardle, on the 13th of February, 1721, and received his early education at Perth. Being destined for the law, he was afterwards sent to Edinburgh University. Nature, however, had intended him for a soldier, and in June, 1745, having recruited the necessary quota of men, he obtained a commission as lieutenant in Loudon’s Highlanders. He was taken prisoner at Prestonpans the following September, but when released the following spring he rejoined his regiment and was able to render important service to the Government. From 1747 to 1748 he served in Flanders with Loudon’s Highlanders and took part in the defence of Bergen-op-Zoom, but on the reduction of his regiment at the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle he was placed on half-pay. In 1751 he bought a captain-lieutenant’s commission in the Black Watch and in 1752 a commission as captain in the same regiment. Four years later on the outbreak of the war with France, he sailed with his regiment to America. He was not present at the first attack on Ticonderoga as he had been left behind sick at Albany, and his company was commanded in that desperate engagement by Captain James Murray. In 1759, Reid, by that time a major, took part in the second advance to Lake Champlain, which resulted in the surrender of Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point; and on him devolved the command of the 42nd during the greater part of the campaign of 1760 whichended with the capture of Montreal and the expulsion of the French from Canada.

Reid remained in America with the 42nd until Dec., 1761, when he accompanied it to the West Indies. He served in the capture of Martinique and at the storming of Morne Tortenson, on Jan. 24, 1762, was in command of the 1st Battalion of his regiment. His battalion suffered heavy loss and he was wounded in two places, but recovered in time to take part in the expedition against Havana of that same year. After the surrender of Cuba he returned to America. In 1764 Reid acted as second-in-command of Colonel Bouquet’s arduous but successful expedition against the Indians on the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers. In the following year we hear of him fitting out an expedition which was to be sent to the Illinois country under the command of Captain Thomas Stirling of the 42nd.

About 1760, Reid married an American lady of Scots descent, Susanna Alexander, daughter of James Alexander, surveyor-general of New York and New Jersey. She owned property on Otter Creek in what is now the State of Vermont, which was added to and improved by her husband with the result that at the end of ten years Reid owned “about thirty-five thousand acres of very valuable land” near Crown Point and had “obtained from the Governor and Council of New York a warrant of survey for fifteen thousand more,” which he intended to “erect” into a manor.

In 1767 the Royal Highland Regiment left America for Ireland and Reid presumably accompanied it. In 1770 Reid retired on half-pay, intending no doubt to settle down to the enjoyment and improvement of his American estates. However, in 1772 his tenants were expelled by the people of Bennington “on the pretence of having claim to that country under the Government of New Hampshire, notwithstanding that the King in Council had, ten years before, decreed Connecticut River to be the Eastern Boundary of New York.” In 1775 war broke out with the American colonists, and though his case finally came before the Commissioners for American Claims, the only compensation awarded him was a trifling allowance for mills he had erected and for fees he had paid for surveys. In May, 1778 his father’s estate, Straloch, passed underthe hammer as he was unable to pay the mortgages and his son could give him no help.

Notwithstanding that he was a comparatively poor man, in 1779-1780 Reid raised at his own expense a regiment of foot, of which he was appointed colonel. This was called the 95th and was disbanded in 1783. In 1781 Reid was promoted major-general, and in 1793 a lieutenant-general. He was appointed colonel of the 88th Regiment (Connaught Rangers) in November, 1794, and became a general in 1798. In 1803, when an invasion was hourly expected, Reid, in response to an order that all general officers not employed on the staff should transmit their addresses to the Adjutant-General, wrote that though in the eighty-second years of his age “and very deaf and infirm,” he was still ready to use his feeble arm in defence of his country. He died in the Haymarket on the 6th of February, 1807, and was buried in St. Margaret’s, Westminster.

The General would probably have had but little property to dispose of at his death, had he not in 1796 succeeded to a valuable estate of some four or five thousand acres in Nova Scotia, which was left to him by his cousin, Gen. John Small, “as a mark of ... respect ... and attachment to the preservation of his name and representation for succeeding ages.” Reid’s daughter had made a marriage of which he disapproved, she had no children, and his only brother had died in 1762 during the siege of Havana. It was probably these circumstances that induced him to realize the property in Nova Scotia and at the time of his death he was worth some £52,000. This entire fortune, went after the death of his daughter, to the University of Edinburgh to found a musical professorship. He also left directions that a concert should be given annually on or about his birthday to commence with several pieces of his own composition, among the first of which is that of the “Garb of Old Gaul,” a composition written by Sir Charles Erskine, but set to music by Reid while major of the 42nd, and which hasever sincebeen a regimental march.

Reid also composed several military marches and was esteemed the best gentleman player on the German flute in England. It maysafely be predicted that as long as the University exists this old Perthshire soldier of the 18th century will be remembered as one of its benefactors.

N. Y. Documentary History IV.Military History of Perthshire pp. 387-395.

N. Y. Documentary History IV.

Military History of Perthshire pp. 387-395.

From “A Military History of Perthshire”Officers in the Black Watch 1758-9MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN SMALL(From a Medallion in the possession ofMrs. Small of Dirnanean)GENERAL SIR THOMAS STIRLINGOF ARDOCH AND STROWAN, BART.(From a Miniature in the possession ofCaptain Graham Stirling of Strowan)GENERAL JOHN REID(From a Portrait in the Music Class-room ofEdinburgh University)

From “A Military History of Perthshire”

MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN SMALL

(From a Medallion in the possession ofMrs. Small of Dirnanean)

GENERAL SIR THOMAS STIRLINGOF ARDOCH AND STROWAN, BART.

(From a Miniature in the possession ofCaptain Graham Stirling of Strowan)

GENERAL JOHN REID

(From a Portrait in the Music Class-room ofEdinburgh University)

John Small.

John Small was the third son of Patrick Small, who married Magdalen Robertson, sister of Alexander Robertson, the father of General John Reid. Reid and Small were thus not only neighbors and brother-officers, but first cousins, and were evidently on terms of close friendship. Born in Strathardle, Atholl, Scotland, in 1730, Small, like many of his countrymen of that date, began his military career with the Scots Brigade in Holland, being appointed a 2nd lieutenant in the Earl of Drumlanrig’s Regiment when it was raised for service of the States-General in 1747. How long he remained abroad is unknown but it is probable that he returned to England when the regiment was reduced in 1752. He did not, however, obtain a commission in the British army until four years later, when he was appointed lieutenant in the 42nd, just prior to its departure for America. So far as is known, Small took part in all the campaigns in which his regiment was engaged from 1756 to 1763. He fought at Ticonderoga in 1758, served with General Amherst’s successful expedition to Lake Champlain in the following year, and took part in the operations which completed the conquest of Canada in 1760. After the surrender of Montreal he was sent in charge of French prisoners to New York, and we learn from a brother officer that General Amherst had great confidence in him, and frequently employed him “on particular services.” Two years later he served in the capture of Martinique and Havana and obtained his promotion as captain.

At the peace of 1763 Small was placed on half-pay, but, according to General Stewart, he was almost immediately put on the full-pay list of the North British Fusiliers (21st) and when in 1767 the Black Watch left for Europe, most of the men of that regiment who had volunteered to stay in America joined the Fusiliers in order to serve under Small, who was “deservedly popular” with them. Small, however, cannot have served long with the 21st, for in the same year in which the Black Watch left America he was appointed “major of brigade” to the forces in North America.It was probably during the interval between the Seven Years’ War and the war with the Americans that he began to acquire the property in Nova Scotia, part of which he afterwards bequeathed to his cousin, John Reid. We have some indication that during this period he interested himself in local politics and formed the friendship of at least one American which was of value to him later.

Small served throughout the War of Independence though but rare glimpses are obtained of him. He was present as a brigade-major at the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1777, and in the course of that day his life was saved by the American General Putnam, who, seeing Small standing alone at a time when all around him had fallen, struck up the barrels of his men’s muskets to save his life. Shortly after this, Small raised the 2nd battalion of the Royal Highland Regiment and was appointed major-commandant. In 1778 the regiment was numbered the 84th and in 1780 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel-commandant of his battalion. He is said to have joined Sir Henry Clinton at New York in 1779, but it is more probable that he was stationed for the most part in Nova Scotia. In March, 1783, Small and his battalion were at Fort Edward, New York, and in the following autumn the battalion was disbanded at Windsor, Nova Scotia, where many of the men settled and formed the present town of Douglas.

Small, once more on half-pay, returned home and in 1790 was promoted colonel and three years later was appointed lieutenant governor of Guernsey. In October, 1794, he became major-general and on the 17th of March, 1796, he died in Guernsey and was buried in the church of St. Peter Port.

General Stewart of Garth wrote of General John Small that “No chief of former days ever more fairly secured the attachment of his clan, and no chief, certainly, ever deserved it better. With an enthusiastic and almost romantic love for his country and countrymen, it seemed as if the principal object of his life had been to serve them, and promote prosperity. Equally brave in leading them in the field, and kind, just, and conciliating in quarters, they would have indeed been ungrateful if they regarded him otherwisethan as they did. There was not an instance of desertion in his battalion.”

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