Colonial Kilts

[Deil the Yin]

The majority of kilts would be found in military units, either Highland regiments of the British Army serving in North America during the various colonial wars and the Revolution, as well as in Loyalist militia regiments.

Another example of a militia unit was the Independent Highland Company of Foot, raised in the colony of Georgia:

http://www.hsgng.org/pages/gaprov.htm

Regards,

Todd

My Anit-Virus detected Malwear or some such virus when I tried to link to this site...? Just thought I should pass it along...

[macwilkin]

My Anit-Virus detected Malwear or some such virus when I tried to link to this site...? Just thought I should pass it along...

Can't help you there...

T.

[Riverkilt]

Also check out the Sons of the Mountains books about Scots in kilts in British military units in colonial times.

Ron

[macwilkin]

Stephen Brumwell's Redcoats: the British soldier and War in the Americas, 1755-1763 devotes an entire chapter to the Highland regiments and their colonial service ("The Highland Battalions in the Americas") that is worth perusing.

Colin Calloway's White People, Indians and Highlanders is also worth noting. Calloway examines the common ground between Highland immigrants to North America and the First Nations they encountered.

Duane G. Meyer, who used to teach at my alma mater, wrote a very interesting account of the North Carolina Scottish community entitled The Highland Scots of North Carolina 1732-1776.

Regards,

Todd

[Southern Breeze]

Thanks everyone. I suspected they were pretty rare.

Ron, Cajun Scot- thanks for the info. I'll track those books down.

[Spc. Scott]

I found this kind of interesting and might be of some help as well.

http://magweb.n1uro.com/sample/stpp/tp9901un.htm

[string]

Rare, almost exclusively military, and not too practical in most situations on the frontier.

[macwilkin]

Rare, almost exclusively military, and not too practical in most situations on the frontier.

See Stuart Reid's 18th Century Highlanders by Osprey for a depiction of a "field expedient" modificiation to the uniform by a Black Watch other ranks. In the depiction, the soldier in question is wearing Indian woolen leggings under the kilt.

T.

[Southern Breeze]

See Stuart Reid's 18th Century Highlanders by Osprey for a depiction of a "field expedient" modificiation to the uniform by a Black Watch other ranks. In the depiction, the soldier in question is wearing Indian woolen leggings under the kilt.

T.

I have a copy of that book and highly recommend it. There's also several pics of paintings here on the forum.

Thanks for the link on the Ga Companies.

[NorCalPiper]

Ogelthorpe left the colony of Georgia under the steward ship of John Mohr Macintosh. The first armed militia for the state was kilted (Macintosh was imprisoned with many of his clansmen after the 1715. This militia actually engaged the spanish and beat them back to Florida. The mural that overlooks this march near Savannah shows a bunch of men wearing full plaids. Most of the Scots married into the local Creek nation and the ancestor of John Mohr Macintosh and his Creek queen bride later became leader of the Creek nation. As a youth Dode Macintosh would come to Stone Mtn. highland games in his Scottish day dress with his plains indian style feather bonnet. But yes, there were kilts in colonial America. 1 or 2 summers in the coastal Georgia heat probably killed the kilt for good though......