74th Regiment of (Highland) Foot facts for kids

The 74th Regiment of (Highland) Foot was a special group of soldiers in the British Army. They were also known as the 74th Regiment of Foot (Argylshire Highlanders). This regiment was formed in 1777 to fight in the American Revolutionary War. They were a type of soldier called "line infantry," which means they fought in organized lines on the battlefield. The regiment served for about seven years, until 1784.

History of the 74th Regiment

Forming the Regiment (1777-1778)

In December 1777, a man named John Campbell of Barbreck received special permission from King George III. This permission allowed him to create a new group of soldiers in the Argyll area of Scotland. John Campbell had experience, as he had served in another Highland regiment before.

Most of the officers for the new regiment got their official jobs in 1777. However, the first time all the soldiers gathered together was in April 1778. They were officially checked in Glasgow in May 1778. Soon after, in August 1778, they sailed across the ocean to Halifax, Nova Scotia, which is in Canada.

Fighting in America (1779-1783)

Special Companies Join the Fight

The regiment had two special groups of soldiers called "flank companies." These were the grenadier and light infantry companies. These skilled soldiers joined the main British army in New York in the spring of 1779. They were often used for important tasks.

Building and Defending Fort George

The rest of the regiment went to a place called Bagaduce in Massachusetts. Today, this place is known as Castine, Maine. Their job was to help create a new colony called New Ireland.

The soldiers, along with another regiment, started building a fort. They named it Fort George. They held this fort through July and August against attacks. An American force from Massachusetts tried to capture it. This force was led by Commodore Dudley Saltonstall and General Solomon Lovell.

On August 13, a group of British ships arrived from New York. They were led by Commodore Sir George Collier. When the Americans saw these new ships, they stopped their attack and left.

Service and Capture of Flank Companies

The main part of the regiment stayed at Fort George until January 1784. Then, they left the fort and returned to Halifax. There, they finally met up with their special flank companies again.

These flank companies had been very busy. They served with General Sir Henry Clinton in South Carolina in 1779 and 1780. The Light Company also fought in Virginia in 1781. Sadly, they ended up as part of Lord Cornwallis' army. This army surrendered at Yorktown in October 1781. The soldiers from the Light Company were prisoners until the war ended in 1783. After that, they returned to New York.

Returning Home and Disbanding (1784)

Once the whole regiment was together again in Halifax, they sailed back to Great Britain in 1784. They landed in Portsmouth and then marched to Stirling in Scotland. The 74th Regiment was officially disbanded, or broken up, on May 24, 1784.

After the War

A set of bagpipes that are believed to have been played when the regiment first gathered in 1778 are still around today. They are kept in the National Museums of Scotland.

After the war ended, many of the soldiers from the 74th Regiment decided to settle down. A lot of them made their new homes in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, which is in Canada.