Officer, 79th Regiment of Cameron Highlanders, 1814

Description

The regiment was raised as the 79th Regiment of Foot (Cameronian Volunteers) on 17 August 1793 at Fort William from among the members of the Clan Cameron by Sir Alan Cameron of Erracht. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany’s) to form the Queen’s Own Highlanders in 1961. In 1994, it was amalgamated with the Queen’s Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) then, in 2006, it became The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS). The tartan here is one of those which has no connection with the Government pattern. It is the Cameron of Erracht sett, the regiment having been raised by Sir Alan Cameron of Erracht in 1793 as the 79th Foot, acquiring the title Cameron Highlanders in the following year. During most of its history until the South African War, the regiment had only one battalion and was one of the few line battalions not affected by the amalgamations of 1881. A proposal was made then to form them into a battalion of the Scots Guards, but the regiment managed to retain its identity. In 1873 they became the ‘Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders‘ and in 1921 incorporated Queen Victoria’s cypher, within the Garter, in their regimental colours. They are the only regiment connected by name with Queen Victoria. This print shows some development of the Highlanders’ uniform. The coat is now like that worn by other infantry regiments, except that in Highland regiments all officers wore two epaulettes: in other infantry regiments field officers wore two and junior officers only one. The sporran is becoming more ornate, although it has yet to reach the size attained later.