93rd Regiment of Foot | |
---|---|
Active | 1799–1881 |
Country |
Kingdom of Great Britain (1799–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1881) |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | One battalion (two battalions 1813–1816) |
Garrison/HQ | Castlehill Barracks, Aberdeen |
March | The Thin Red Line Highland Laddie The Campbell March |
Engagements |
Napoleonic Wars War of 1812 Crimean War Indian Rebellion |
The 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Line Infantry Regiment of the British Army, raised in 1799. Under the Childers Reforms, it amalgamated with the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
The regiment was raised from the Sutherland Fencibles by Major-General William Wemyss on behalf of the Countess of Sutherland as the 93rd (Highland) Regiment of Foot on 16 April 1799. The first muster of the regiment took place at Skail in Strathnaver in August 1800. One of the soldiers who attended the muster was Sergeant Samuel Macdonald, a soldier who stood six feet ten inches tall and had a chest measuring 48 inches. The Countess of Sutherland, on seeing Sergeant Macdonald, donated a special allowance of 2 shillings 6 pence a day, and stated that anyone as large as Macdonald "must require more sustenance than his military pay can afford."
The regiment was sent dispatched from Fort George to Guernsey in September 1800. It returned to Scotland in September 1802 from where it was deployed to Dublin in February 1803 to assist in quelling an insurrection. It was ordered to embark for Jamaica in July 1805 but, after fortnight aboard ship, the orders were canceled and the regiment sailed for the Cape of Good Hope. It arrived at Table Bay in January 1806 and joined the Highland Brigade which landed at Lospard Bay with orders to capture Cape Colony from the Dutch forces there. The regiment took part in the Battle of Blaauwberg which led to the surrender of the Dutch forces a few days later. It remained in the colony until April 1814 when it embarked for home.