Scottish Soldiers in Colonial America, Part 8

Scottish soldiers could be found in the Americas during the seventeenth century, some in the service of England, others in the service of the Netherlands or other European powers. Scottish mercenary soldiers had fought throughout Europe, notably during the Thirty Years War (1618 to 1648), and, while most remained there, some were recruited to serve overseas, notably by the Dutch.

In the aftermath of the War of the Three Kingdoms, 1638 to 1651, significant numbers of Scottish prisoners of war were transported to the colonies by Oliver Cromwell. Consequently, many of them were recruited into the colonial militias there, notably in New England. Similarly, in Barbados, the militia rolls in 1679/1680 identify many Scots enrolled there, most of whom arrived in chains, having been banished there. In 1698-1699, the Scots attempted to establish a trading settlement at Darien in Panama. To defend the colony, Scottish soldiers who had been fighting in Flanders were recruited; some of them died there, while others took refuge in the English colonies in the Caribbean and along the eastern seaboard of North America.

However, it was not until the mid-eighteenth century that the British government began to raise Highland regiments, such as Fraser's Highlanders, Montgomery's Highlanders, and the Black Watch, which were sent to fight in North America. The Seven Years War, 1756 to 1763, known in America as the French and Indian War, led to significant recruitment in Scotland, particularly in the Highlands, for service in America. The allocation of land to former military personnel in the aftermath of the war was a major incentive to settle by the now-former soldiers. The massive increase in emigration from the Highlands that occurred in the decade after the Seven Years War resulted to some extent from the influence of returning soldiers. Scottish settlers among the residents of the colonies were also recruited into the military, and especially the militia.

David Dobson

2024, paper, 175 pp.

ISBN: 9780806359687

102-8747