Is the 78th Regiment tartan mystery finally solved?

[Jeffrey]

Ladies and gents,

Nearly three years ago, I set out to put to rest the mystery of which tartan Colonel Fraser's men of the then-Second Highland Battalion wore when raised in 1757, for service in North America. As you all know, the Scottish battalion was quickly renumbered the 63rd Regiment, and finally the 78th Regiment. Some historians lean towards the traditional government sett, while others are in favor of the red Fraser sett. I truly believe I have now answered that question, found in two separate letters from Lord George Beauclerk, Commander in Chief of Scotland, to Lord Barrington, Secretary-at-War, in London.

To set the stage, Colonel Fraser and Colonel Montgomery (First Highland Battalion) were under orders to begin marching to Glasgow in March 1757, where they would receive their final clothing and purchase necessaries before marching south to Portpatrick, en route to Cork, Ireland, for departure to North America. Glasgow would be the first "meeting place," if you will, of both battalions, so that they could make final preparations for their upcoming march.

As copies of the digitals I received are copywritten, I will not post. However, the following snippets are extracts from each of the two letters.

In this first letter, Lord Beauclerk's contact with the clothing contractors strongly implies the making of clothes were a government undertaking, supervised by Beauclerk himself. Therefore, in my opinion, although each colonel paid for their clothing, and later received reimbursements in the form of "off-reckonings," because it was the government that ordered the clothing from the suppliers - it was most likely the government tartan.

22 March 1757: Beauclerk writes to Barrington in London: "I wish the Cloaths and Arms from London, and the Plaid &c. making in this Country may be ready in time, which last I apprehend will be rather late [to Glasgow], tho' the Contractors promise all possible diligence." [Beauclerk to Barrington, Edinburgh, 22 March 1757. Letter book of Lord George Beauclerk as Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, being copies of letters concerning military and administrative affairs in Scotland of Beuaclerk, the Viscount Barrington, the Earl of Holdernesse, the Earl of Ligonier, and others. National Library Scotland, p.47-48].

Early to mid-April 1757, both battalions arrive to Glasgow and are waiting final inspection by Lieutenant Colonels Webb and Worge before they march off.

19 April 1757: Beauclerk again writes to Barrington: "By a Letter I this day received from Lieut Colonel Webb, there are about 90 of the best Men of each of the Highland Battalion who cannot arrive at Glasgow before the 23d Inst. occasioned as is said, by their having been in the Western Isles where they could not receive orders so as to be able to join sooner. This will retard the march of the First Battalion till the 25th following; especially as the same Letter bears that there are also wanting 400 Plaids which daily expected from Stirling." [Beauclerk to Barrington, Edinburgh, 19 April 1757. TNA, W.O. 1/613, p.83-85].

Of this impending delivery of 400 plaids from Stirling (enough to complete about four companies - probably two companies for each battalion), at least 90 of these plaids are for Colonel Fraser's men who have yet to arrive from the Western Isles. And with Beauclerk at the helm of this clothing project, I believe both battalions were awaiting the final shipment(s) of government tartan.

I've already emailed our resident tartan advisor and awaiting his thoughts.

Regards,
Jeffrey

[figheadair]

[COLOR="#000000"]I've already emailed our resident tartan advisor and awaiting his thoughts.

I will pick the email this coming week but in summary, it accords with my own research which concluded that the 78th work the Government tartan rather than a red one.

[OC Richard]

Fascinating research!

Isn't Red Fraser pretty much the Government Tartan with colour-changes?

Did that tartan exist in 1757?

Was there any tartan called "Fraser" at that time?

[Jeffrey]

Fascinating research!

Isn't Red Fraser pretty much the Government Tartan with colour-changes?

Did that tartan exist in 1757?

Was there any tartan called "Fraser" at that time?

Great questions, Richard, and I will let the experts answer those.

There were three Highland Battalions sent to North America in 1757: the 42nd Regiment, 77th Regiment, and 78th Regiment. And while it is known the men of the 42nd and 77th wore the government tartan, questions arose about which plaid Colonel Fraser's 78th Regiment wore, because no official documentation has ever been uncovered stating either way. I do not know when those questions first started (again, the experts can probably answer), but I am aware of the plaid being questioned in J.R. Harper's book,The Fraser Highlanders, written in 1979.

In 2017, when I started my website dedicated to the 78th Regiment, I began receiving email questions from inquisitive researchers about which plaid was worn. Hence, in 2020, is when I knuckled down and started scouring the archives in London and Edinburgh for answers. The research finally led to the two letter snippets I received last week and provided in my post.

And with the research on this topic previously completed by Mr. Macdonald, I firmly believe all three Highland regiments wore the same government plaid.

Regards,
Jeffrey

[figheadair]

Fascinating research!

Isn't Red Fraser pretty much the Government Tartan with colour-changes?

Did that tartan exist in 1757?

Was there any tartan called "Fraser" at that time?

Pretty much, all but one of the fine stripes which is omitted.

No, it did not exist in 1757, it's a Wilsons' design. And no, there was no Fraser tartan, as opposed to a tartan worn by 'a Fraser' in 1757,

[figheadair]

Great questions, Richard, and I will let the experts answer those.

There were three Highland Battalions sent to North America in 1757: the 42nd Regiment, 77th Regiment, and 78th Regiment. And while it is known the men of the 42nd and 77th wore the government tartan, questions arose about which plaid Colonel Fraser's 78th Regiment wore, because no official documentation has ever been uncovered stating either way. I do not know when those questions first started (again, the experts can probably answer), but I am aware of the plaid being questioned in J.R. Harper's book,The Fraser Highlanders, written in 1979.

In 2017, when I started my website dedicated to the 78th Regiment, I began receiving email questions from inquisitive researchers about which plaid was worn. Hence, in 2020, is when I knuckled down and started scouring the archives in London and Edinburgh for answers. The research finally led to the two letter snippets I received last week and provided in my post.

And with the research on this topic previously completed by Mr. Macdonald, I firmly believe all three Highland regiments wore the same government plaid.

Regards,
Jeffrey

Agreed. I have absolutely no doubt that they all wore the Government tartan.