SCOTLAND and the BRITISH ARMY C.1700-C.1750

SCOTLAND AND THE BRITISH ARMY c.1700-c.1750 By VICTORIA HENSHAW A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham September 2011 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT The historiography of Scotland and the British army in the eighteenth century largely concerns the suppression of the Jacobite risings – especially that of 1745-6 – and the growing assimilation of Highland soldiers into its ranks during and after the Seven Years War. However, this excludes the other roles and purposes of the British army, the contribution of Lowlanders to the British army and the military involvement of Scots of all origin in the British army prior to the dramatic increase in Scottish recruitment in the 1750s. This thesis redresses this imbalance towards Jacobite suppression by examining the place of Scotland and the role of Highland and Lowland Scots in the British army during the first half of the eighteenth century, at a time of change fuelled by the Union of 1707 and the Jacobite rebellions of the period. It does this by examining a number of connected themes and individuals. The thesis begins with an analysis of the transition of Scottish soldiers from mercenaries in foreign service to soldiers of the British army. It then appraises the career patterns of prominent Scottish soldiers and evaluates their impact upon – and significance for – the British army as a whole. Issues of identity, motivation and nationality are also explored. This is followed by an investigation of the wider policing duties of the British army in Scotland, of the legal constraints under which it operated, and the recruitment patterns that were arguably peculiar to the Scots. Scotland’s traditional military organisations and its distinct forms of military service are examined, as is how these related to the direction, functions and administration of the British army in this period. Finally, an analysis is also made of Scotland’s fortifications, barracks and military roads, their development and their significance in terms of the defence of Scotland and of the wider United Kingdom of Great Britain. The thesis concludes by arguing that, in addition to Colley’s suggestion of a common threat from France in the creation of ‘Britishness’, Jacobitism also provided unity for Scots within the British state, manifested in military service. Therefore, Scotland and the Scots were already firmly embedded in the military organisation and infrastructure of the United Kingdom well before William Pitt the Elder made his famous boast in 1762 of having harnessed the volatile military resources of the Highlands. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to many people for their advice, positive criticism and encouragement at all stages of my PhD: my fellow postgrads at the University of Birmingham, especially those of the Postgrad Forum and Adam Lyons for the camaraderie of being the only other ‘early modern’; the members of the University of Birmingham’s War Studies seminar series; Hugh Boscawen, the late Professor Richard Holmes and the other members of the Cumberland Society; and the lecturers and postgrads met at conferences, especially Ian Macpherson McCulloch, Professor Stephen Conway, Dr Tony Pollard and Dr Daniel Szechi. My thanks to the Society of Army Historical Research for sponsorship of expenses and attendance of the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies conference in June 2010. Thanks also to Lydia and Jill for their complicated computer help which I would have been lost without. My thanks are also due to the staff of the many libraries and archives who have provided assistance and advice during my research stage: the British Library; The National Archives; the Prince Consort’s Library at Aldershot; the Bodleian; Cambridge University Library; Fife Council Archives, Markinch, a branch of the National Archives of Scotland; the John Ryland’s Library in Manchester; the National Army Museum; the Parliamentary Archive and the main library of the University of Birmingham. Special thanks go to the staff of the National Archives of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland and the National Museums of Scotland for their additional assistance. J A Cochrane (Peter) DSC MC has my thanks for suggesting the National Museums of Scotland and in turn my thanks to the McLean family for introducing me to Peter Cochrane and providing me with a second home in Edinburgh. Similarly, I’m grateful to my sister Ginnie, the Sacchelli family and my friends Claire and Roz, for providing spare beds and sofas during my many research trips to London. They all made the week long stints of silent reading in various libraries and archives a much more bearable experience. DEDICATION To my parents, for allowing me to take the gamble of studying history just because I loved it, for funding my unexpectedly long education and, most importantly, for providing the help and encouragement without which doing a PhD would have been impossible. To my sister, friends and housemates, past and present, for the necessary reminders that there is more to life than The Thesis but still providing help and encouragement when I needed to ‘vent’ about it. To Ruth Harrison, for proof-reading my thesis even though she shouldn’t have and for doing it with such interest and enthusiasm that it revived my own in the last crucial months of writing up. To my supervisor, Dr Mike Snape, for providing not only the invaluable advice he was paid to give me, but for all the personal advice he was not. CONTENTS Introduction - Literature review 1 - Research questions 12 - Chapter summaries 14 - Methodology 19 - Sources 20 - Terminology 24 Chapter One: Scotland’s Professional Soldiers - Introduction 26 - The changing nature of armies 29 - Scots in service abroad 36 - Scots in British service 59 - Conclusion 82 Chapter Two: The Scottish Soldier’s Experience - Introduction 85 - Joining the colours 86 - Drill, discipline and punishment 104 - Duties of a soldier 122 - Billeting and barracks 133 - Conclusion 142 Chapter Three: The Scottish Soldier and the British State - Introduction 146 - Stalwarts 148 - Pragmatists 172 - Trimmers 183 - Conclusion 202 Chapter Four: Scotland’s Auxiliary Forces - Introduction 205 - The development of the militia 206 - The extent to which the Union altered militias 213 - The purpose of the militia 216 - Raising a militia regiment 219 - Unravelling the militia-fencible tangle 228 - Other auxiliary forces 235 - The significance of militia use in Scotland 241 - Conclusion 254 Chapter Five: Scotland’s Military Installations - Introduction 258 - Key fortifications, pre- and post-Union 259 - The location, purpose and strength of fortifications 270 - Road building 286 - The successes and failures of Scotland’s fortifications 294 - Fortifications as a measure of governmental interest 302 - The Ordnance Office 311 - Conclusion 316 Conclusion 320 Glossary 335 Bibliography 337 Appendices - No.1: Map of ‘North Britain’ depicting the ‘Highland line’, including major towns and fortifications discussed in this thesis. - No.2: Map of ‘North Britain’ including battlefields. - No.3: Monument inscription for 10th Lord Lovat. - No.4: Transcription of the 1708 Scottish Militia Bill entitled ‘An Act for the settling the Militia of that Part of Great Britain called Scotland’. BL Hardwick Papers Add.MS.35891 f.242-6. - No.5: Table of the construction and name changes of fortifications. - No.6: Photograph of the gravestone of Nely Br[ay]on, in Craigs Cemetery, Fort William. Photographed in November 2008. ABBREVIATIONS Source abbreviations BL – British Library FCA – Fife Council Archives NAM – National Army Museum NAS – National Archives of Scotland NLS – National Library of Scotland NWMS – National War Museum of Scotland ODNB – Oxford Dictionary of National Biography PA – Parliamentary Archives TNA – The National Archives Abbreviations in the text ADC – Aide-de-camp CO – Commanding Officer COIN – Counterinsurgency GOC – General Officer Commanding JP – Justice of the Peace MP – Member of Parliament NCO – Non-Commissioned Officer ODNB – Oxford Dictionary of National Biography SNP – Scottish National Party INTRODUCTION Literature review Any study of the British army in Scotland during the first half of the eighteenth century will feature the Jacobite threat. While the many wars of the century were all continentally and inter-continentally based, the only domestic threat faced by Britain originated from the Jacobites. As a consequence of attempts to reinstate the Stuart dynasty, Britain experienced a series of plots, invasions and rebellions, often with foreign backing, many of which were focused on Scotland. It was in countering these events that the British army experienced its principal military action on home soil. However, most of the literature concerning the rebellions is focused on the Jacobite’s side of the conflicts.1 Many are notable for their thoroughness. Beyond the broad-brush approach,2 Reid, Petrie and McLynn provide valuable detail on the military aspects of the movement3 and Duffy’s The ’45 (2003) provides an operational viewpoint.4 Szechi stands out for his political and diplomatic contextualisation of the Jacobite movement and Zimmerman takes a refreshingly longer view point past the ’45.5 Pittock has provided a range of studies that bring compelling conclusions for the longevity of the Stuart myth 1 For example, B. Lenman, The Jacobite clans of the Great Glen 1650-1784 (Aberdeen, 1995) and S. Reid, Highland Clansman 1689-1746 (Oxford, 1997).

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