42nd Regiment of Foot
Das 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot, auch bekannt als The Black Watch, war ein schottisches Linieninfanterieregiment der britischen Armee, das von 1739 bis 1881 bestand.
Geschichte
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Das Regiment wurde am 25. Oktober 1739 von Colonel John Lindsay, 20. Earl of Crawford (1702–1749) gegründet, der dazu zehn bestehende Kompanien (Independent Highland Companies) anmusterte, die von den Clans Munro, Fraser of Lovat, Grant und Campbell rekrutiert und zuvor zur Bekämpfung von Bandenkriminalität in den Highlands eingesetzt worden waren. Das Regiment wurde zunächst Crawford’s Highlanders oder The Highland Regiment genannt und 1747 als 43rd Regiment of Foot nummeriert. Nachdem 1748 das 42nd Regiment of Foot (gegründet 1737 unter Colonel James Oglethorpe) aufgelöst worden war, wurde die Nummerierung 1749 zu 42nd Regiment of Foot geändert.
Im Juli 1751 wurde er offizielle Name des Regiments zu 42nd (Highland) Regiment of Foot, im Juli 1758 zu 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot und im Juli 1861 zu 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot, The Black Watch geändert. Die Ursprünge des Namens „Black Watch“ sind unklar. Der Name gilt sowohl für das Regiment als auch für den vom Regiment getragenen dunkelblau-schwarz-grünen Tartan, der aus der Ferne fast schwarz aussah und einen starken Kontrast zu den roten Uniformjacke bildete und sowohl der erste Militärtartan als auch der erste moderne Tartan war. Offenbar entstand der Name schon in im 17. Jahrhundert bei den Independent Highland Companies und es ist insbesondere umstritten, ob das Regiment nach dem Tartan, oder der Tartan nach dem Regiment benannt wurde.
Am 1. Juli 1881 wurde das Regiment im Rahmen der Childers-Reformen mit dem 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot zum Regiment The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) verschmolzen. Dieses wurde 1935 zu Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) umbenannt und wurde 2006 mit anderen Regimentern zum Royal Regiment of Scotland zusammengeschlossen. Das heutige 3. Bataillon des Royal Regiment of Scotland führt die Tradition des 42nd Regiment of Foot weiter.
Regimental Colonels
Colonel of the Regiment waren:
- 1739–1741: Lieutenant-General John Lindsay, 20. Earl of Crawford
- 1741–1745: Brigadier-General Hugh Sempill, 12. Lord Sempill
- 1745–1787:General Lord John Murray
- 1787–1805: General Sir Hector Munro
- 1806–1820: General George Gordon, Marquess of Huntly
- 1820–1823: General John Hope, 4. Earl of Hopetoun
- 1823–1844: General Sir George Murray
- 1844–1850: Lieutenant-General Sir John Macdonald
- 1850–1862: General Sir James Dawes Douglas
- 1862–1863: Field Marshal George Hay, 8. Marquess of Tweeddale
- 1863–1881: General Sir Duncan Alexander Cameron
Battle Honours
Dem Regiment wurden folgende Battle Honours verliehen (englische Originalbezeichnungen):
Siehe auch
Literatur
- Archibald Forbes: The History of the Black Watch. Leonaur, 2010, ISBN 0-85706-169-0.
- Peter Simpson: The Independent Highland Companies 1603–1760. John Donald, Edinburgh 1996, ISBN 0-85976-432-X.
Weblinks
- 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot, The Black Watch bei regiments.org (Stand: Oktober 2007).
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An officer of the 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch), c. 1791–93. The illustration is interesting because it shows the intermediary evolution of both the feather bonnet and the short doublet (jacket) later worn with the kilt. Also of note are the ribbon garters of the hose, which are transitional between the earlier strings and the later more decorative flashes. The figure has been described as "top-heavy" because the artist was more used to painting officers in trousers, and made this subject's torso overly long. The kilt is also probably shown worn a bit too low. A minor interesting feature is the ribbon rosettes shown on both the bottom of the kilt and the bottom of the fly plaid (which is attached further back than was later the usual case. Dating this piece has varied between different sources, but the artist is known to have been working on these uniform portraits in 1791–1793, and the white sword belt in this particular uniform places it no earlier than the 1789–91 range during the transition away from black, anyway; so, between the two facts, I cannot date to earlier than 1791. (One source, I. H. Mackay Scobie, had incorrectly dated this to c. 1780).
Autor/Urheber: SMcCandlish, made with the old Windows program Textile32, Lizenz: CC0
The tartan of the 42nd Regiment of Foot, Earl of Crawford's Highland Regiment, later renamed the Black Watch. Originally called "the 42nd sett", it probably dates to 1749, when the regiment was renumbered from 43rd to 42nd. This sett is also known as "Government", and officially designated "Government 1" by the British military. It was also adopted by Clan Campbell, and is known as "old Campbell" or "ancient Campbell". Other names for it include "Grant hunting" and "Munro hunting". It is the basis of many later and regimental and clan tartans. A lightened version of it was used by Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. This image is exactly full-sett, and can tile horizontally and vertically. Scottish Register of Tartans notes on this pattern: "In 1725, General George Wade, the commander of British forces in North Britain authorised the formation of six Independent Companies of troops to police the Highlanders. The companies were known locally as the 'Black Watch', in 1739 they were consolidated to form the 43rd (later 42nd) Regiment at which time this tartan is thought to have been designed. The Cockburn Collection (1810-15) includes four specimens of the Government tartan labelled; 'Campbell Argyll', 'Grant', 'Munro' and 'Sutherland'." This is a usual, mirroring tartan. SRT-provided thread count (in "/" notation, and rendered with the dark blue adjusted enough to see the black on it): /B44 K4 B4 K4 B4 K32 G32 K4 G32 K32 B32 K4 B4/ (or in boldfacing notation: B44 K4 B4 K4 B4 K32 G32 K4 G32 K32 B32 K4 B4).
Autor/Urheber: Dormskirk, Lizenz: CC BY-SA 3.0
42nd Regiment of Foot Cap Badge from personal collection
Soldier of the 42nd regiment (1742)