The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment) - Right of the Line at Culloden

["Iain" <iain.laird@btinternet.com>]

At the time of the Battle of Culloden  The Royal Scots were known as 
"St Clair's",  after their Colonel, as was standard at the time.
The Royal Regiment is the1st Regiment of Foot, the senior regiment of
infantry in the British Army, and as such, their traditional place in battle is
at the Right of the Line (the "Line" being the Infantry of the Line). This
was their position on 16th April 1746.
After the Government Army moved into line of battle, the Jacobite Army was seen to
extend its left flank and Pulteney's Regiment were brought up from the reserve
and placed to the right of St Clair's with the customary Cavalry screen.
This is described in a letter written in 1762 by an officer from The Buffs
who was at the Battle and which you can read at
www.hillsdale.edu/dept/History/Documents/War/18e/1746-Culloden-Teesdale.htm

The full Order of Battle of  Government forces (incorrectly described as the
English Army) can be read from
www.electricscotland.com/history/culloden/c14.html

The opposing forces final positions on engaging may be seen in a map at 
www.caledonia-net.co.uk/Photos/cullodenmap.htm

I had the honour to serve as a platoon commander with The Royal Scots 
and submitted the earlier information, from our records, and the records of our
St Clair Colonel, Major General Sir James St Clair of Dysart and Rosslyn 
came from Captain Sutherland at our RHQ.

Incidentally, Pulteney's (13th Foot) later became the Somerset Light
Infantry, now part of the Light Infantry.
Their Colonel was The Honorable Harry Pulteney, presumably son of
William Pulteney 1st Earl of Bath. Frances Pulteney of the same family
married William Johnstone, an Edinburgh Lawyer, who adopted the surname, and,
as Sir William Johnstone Pulteney - once a Governor of the British Fisheries
Society, gave their name to Pulteneytown, Wick, from which our favoured
malt, Old Pulteney takes its name.

Clans that fought at Culloden included Camerons, Chrisholms, Drummonds, 
Farquharsons, Fergusons, Frasers, Gordons, Grants, Innes, Macgregors, 
Macbeans, Macdonalds, Macdonnells, Macgillivrays, Macinnes, Macintyres, 
Macpherson, Macintoshes, Mackinnons, Maclachlans, Maclarens, Macleods (Raasay), 
Murrays, Oglilvies, Robertsons, Stewarts (Appin).  Attached to other units were Macolls, 
Carmichaels, Livingstones, Macleans, Machoules, Macmartins, Macneills, Macollonies,
Macphee, and Campbell (Glen Lyon).
www.borderart.com/culloden.htm

An irony was that The Royal Scots during the closing stages of the battle engaged their 
French sister regiment, the Royal Ecossais, who as a regular unit, loaned by France, 
were not subjected to the brutality meeted out to the Scots and English Jacobites.
 
A reflection of the wide ranging composition of the Jacobite Army is found in a list of prisoners
held at Inverness on 19th April 1746.
www.alan.wills.btinternet.co.uk/prisoners.htm

Yours aye

Iain Laird

www.iain-laird.co.uk


cc:
Captain Sutherland, Assistant Regimental Secretary,
The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment)


----- Original Message -----
From: "labehotierre" <labehotierre@wanadoo.fr>
To: <sinclair@matrix.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2001 9:49 AM
Subject: Re: The time line studies 500 Sinclairs?


Only six Clans rose for the third attempt at restoration of the Stuart dynasty. 
St Clair Royal Scots stood fourth from the right, almost the centre, 
of the government Army at Culloden. ...