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78th Regiment of Foot
78th Regiment of Foot
Active	1757–1763
Country	Kingdom of Great Britain
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Nickname(s)	Fraser's Highlanders
Motto(s)	Je suis prest
Colors	White or Buff facings
Engagements	French and Indian War
Commanders
Notable; commanders	Simon Fraser of Lovat

The 78th Regiment, (Highland) Regiment of Foot also known as the 78th Fraser Highlanders was a British infantry regiment of the line that was raised in Scotland in 1757 to fight in the Seven Years' War (also known as the French and Indian War in the US.). The 78th Regiment was one of the first three Highland Regiments to fight in North America.^[1]

History

The regiment was raised in Inverness by Lieutenant-Colonel Simon Fraser of Lovat as the 2nd Highland Battalion and ranked as the 62nd Regiment of Foot in 1757.^[2] It was re-ranked as the 63rd Regiment of Foot later in the year.^[2]

The regiment embarked for Halifax, Nova Scotia in July 1757 to take part in the Seven Years' War. Having been renamed the 78th (Highland) Regiment of Foot, or Fraser's Highlanders in June 1758, it took part in the Siege of Louisbourg later that month, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in September 1759 and the Montreal Campaign in August 1760.^[2] It was at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham that the 78th led the rest of the British forces in a charge against the retreating French. The 78th's portion of the charge is notable as the last known successful Highland Charge in history.^[3] During the war, the regiment suffered 103 soldiers killed and 383 wounded.^[4]

The regiment was disbanded in Quebec in December 1763,^[2] with each man offered a grant of land if he stayed in Canada. Of those who accepted the offer, more than 300 joined the 84th Royal Highland Emigrants when it was raised in 1775.^[5]

Colonels

Colonels of the regiment were:^[2]

1757–1761 Lieutenant-Colonel Simon Fraser of Lovat
1761–1763 Major John Campbell of Ballimore

References

^ The Highland regiments that landed in America and took part in the French and Indian War were the 42nd Regiment of Foot or Royal Highland Regiment ("The Black Watch"), the 77th Regiment of Foot and the 78th Regiment of Foot.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Fraser's Highlanders [71st & 78th Regiment of Foot]". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 7 February 2005. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
^ Fraser, Sarah (12 December 2024). "The Frasers in the New World". Clanfraser.org.
^ "First Highland Regiments in America". Electricscotland.com. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
^ Brander, Michael (1971). The Scottish Highlanders and their Regiments. Seeley, Service & Co, London. pp. 166, 203. ISBN 0-85422-012-7.