42nd Royal Highland Regiment

[Mattredbeard]

Here is a pic of an event at Cantigny. We are a group of living historians out of the Midwest who portray the 42nd RHR. As a Grenadier company.

[Luke MacGillie]

Hey Matt, We probably know each other, perhaps by only sight. But your photo didnt come thru.



Greetings from a fellow midwesterner, and one day I will be out with your 42nd, I just have my hands full in F&I, 78th here in Indiana and the 42nd unit I belong to out in Pittsburgh

[Orvis]

Hey, Mattedbeard, is your RevWar 42nd Grenadier Company affiliated with the NWTA? I used to come out to the Midwest to reenact with the 42nd Grens founded by Dave Hamilton. My own RevWar 42nd group (Major's Company) was out of the Central Atlantic area (PA, MD, DC, VA).

Luke, I like your uniform, but I assume you are a musketman temporarily doing musical duties. Are you planning on having a buff musician's coat made, properly laced?

[Luke MacGillie]

Hey, Mattedbeard, is your RevWar 42nd Grenadier Company affiliated with the NWTA? I used to come out to the Midwest to reenact with the 42nd Grens founded by Dave Hamilton. My own RevWar 42nd group (Major's Company) was out of the Central Atlantic area (PA, MD, DC, VA).

Luke, I like your uniform, but I assume you are a musketman temporarily doing musical duties. Are you planning on having a buff musician's coat made, properly laced?

Already made the coat, waiting on a possible record of what the lace actually was for the 78th!!!!



But I actually dont worry too much about revered colors or a lack of lace, as there is evidence of it not having been done.

[Orvis]

Luke - thanks for providing the photo and graphics. I'll be interested to see what your drummer's coat looks like after you get more information on the regimental lace that the 78th used after 1759. Or are you going to have an "early war" coat and a "late war" coat. Just like drill, a lot of units make a decision to go "early war" or "late war" and stick with it no matter what battles they are reenacting.

Just a question for you: In the Osprey book "Highlanders in the French-Indian War" (Warrior 126 - which you've probably read and may own), the author (whom you may have met) states that the drummer's fur caps of the various regiments were of white fur in the form of 1768 grenadier caps (oval circlet on the back with the regimental number, rather than a falling bag), and that the various regiments' fur grenadier/pioneer caps had the front flap in facing color (vice red) - so that for the 78th would be light buff/white with red embroidery, etc. The author cites as his source Lord John Murray's correspondence in something called the "Bagshaw Muniments," which I have not seen. Given your extensive research, perhaps you have seen this source. What is your opinion of this information.

Additionally, 42nd drummers are showin philabegs of what is now called "42nd coarse kilts" tartan. Outside of Morier's portrait of a 42nd grenadier (dated to about 1750, I think), I don't know if the Regiment can be documented to be wearing that tartan at this date. Likewise, in the 1819 Key Pattern Book, William Wilson & Sons was weaving a tartan called the 42nd Musicians' tartan. Figheadair and I discussed this tartan (I ordered some to be made into a modern box-pleat kilt) and we had no information of it possibly being used earlier than the Napoleonic period, and maybe as early as the 1780s. Do you have any info (or opinions) on this matter?

[figheadair]

Additionally, 42nd drummers are showin philabegs of what is now called "42nd coarse kilts" tartan. Outside of Morier's portrait of a 42nd grenadier (dated to about 1750, I think), I don't know if the Regiment can be documented to be wearing that tartan at this date. Likewise, in the 1819 Key Pattern Book, William Wilson & Sons was weaving a tartan called the 42nd Musicians' tartan. Figheadair and I discussed this tartan (I ordered some to be made into a modern box-pleat kilt) and we had no information of it possibly being used earlier than the Napoleonic period, and maybe as early as the 1780s. Do you have any info (or opinions) on this matter?

Gerry, the Morier portrait is, IMO, quite poorly executed so far as the tartan is concerned and the evidence for the tartan having a red stripe far from convincing. The earliest proof I have of the 'Coarse Kilt with Red' tartan is the c1782 portrait of the Duke of Atholl in a feileadh beag. It's logical to assume that the kilt/tartan he wears was not made for the portrait and so potentially a few years older.



So far as the Music Tartan is concerned, and despite what Stewart of Garth and James Logan claimed about its use from the early days of the regiment, I can find no evidence of it before c1780, about the same date as the Coarse Kilt setting. That does not preclude either being older of course.