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 The
Story of the Regiments - The Cameronian Regiment
THE CAMERONIAN REGIMENT
As the poet says, “The whirligig of time brings in its revenges.”
Richard Cameron fell in 1680, at the early age of 32. But eight
years afterwards came the “great and glorious Revolution.”
The country, sick of the tyranny and folly of the Stewarts, drove
them into exile. William of Orange came over from the Netherlands
to occupy the British throne. William had a difficult task before
him, especially in Scotland. But he was a man of great sagacity,
and he proved equal to the emergency.
A Convention was appointed to sit in Edinburgh, and (to make a
long story short), it abolished prelacy in Scotland, and fixed Presbyterianism
as the national form of church government. This was not all that
the Covenanters desired, and the extreme men among them were bitterly
dissatisfied. But at any rate it paved the way to something like
peace. Meantime Graham of Claverhouse (the “Bonnie Dundee”
of Scottish song) had hurried to the Highlands and raised the standard
of the exiled Stewarts. And it was at this juncture that a proposal
was made to enlist the Covenanters under the standard of King William.
The Covenanters were divided in opinion about this proposal. Some
of them felt that they could not conscientiously take up arms under
William; others felt that by doing so they might help the cause
of the Covenanters and the Reformed religion. A great meeting was
held in the Parish Church of Douglas. The majority are said to have
been against enlistment; but there was a strong party in favour
of it, and it was out of this party that the Cameronian Regiment
was formed, in 1689, at Douglas Dale, Lanarkshire. Their first Colonel
was the young Earl of Angus, of the great house of Douglas. He was
a lad of 18, and a great part of the regiment was composed of his
father’s (the Marquis of Douglas) tenantry. The actual commander,
however, was the Lieut.- Colonel William Cleland. This Cleland was
a remarkable character. When little more than a boy, he had led
the Covenanters to victory at Drumclog. He also fought at Bothwell
Brig, and the sword that he wielded there has been preserved. He
was a scholar, a good linguist, and mathematician. He was also a
poet, gifted both with spiritual fervour and with a vein of humour.
When he took command of the Cameronians he was under 30 years of
age.
Naturally enough, the Cameronian Regiment was peculiar in its
Constitution. The men were Puritans in faith and life. They insisted
that the most rigorous discipline should be maintained among them,
and that their officers should be men “whom in conscience they
could submit to.” The original idea was that the regiment should
be organised in some degree on the model of a Presbyterian congregation;
that each Company should provide an elder; and that each man should
carry a Bible. A famous field-preacher was appointed Regimental
Chaplain.
The new regiment had very soon to show its mettle. “Bonnie
Dundee” had managed to raise an Army for the Stewarts from
among the Highland clans. The Royalist forces, under General Mackay,
marched north to give him battle. Dundee caught them in the Pass
of Killiecrankie, and with one wild charge swept them into utter
rout, he himself falling in the moment of victory. The news of Killiecrankie
at once spread alarm through the Lowlands, and the Cameronians were
ordered north to occupy Dunkeld. This was a dangerous move, for
Dunkeld was an open town, in the midst of a disaffected population,
and far away from any base from which supplies or support might
be drawn. Indeed, it was the opinion of many that the new regiment
was doomed to destruction.
The Cameronians were about 1200 strong. Within a few days they
were assailed by a heterogeneous Highland army of about 5000. They
fought with prodigious valour, taking cover with great skill, stripping
lead from the roof of a house and Casting bullets on the spot. Cleland
and his leading officers soon fell. But by and by the fury of the
attack began to slacken, and at last the Highlanders broke and drew
off from the field. They are said to have declared that they could
fight with men but not with devils. Anyhow, Dunkeld gave a fine
proof of the “dour” fighting qualities of the Lowland
Scot. The defence of Dunkeld made a glorious beginning to the annals
of the Cameronian Regiment. Not only was it a magnificent feat of
arms, but, as Lord Macaulay says, “It finished the war.”
The fear of a Stewart rising in the Highlands disappeared; and for
the time being, peace descended upon the long distracted Lowlands
of Scotland.
It may be worth our while to quote a description of the Cameronians
which seemed to belong to the early days:
“The Cameronians are strictly religious, and ever act
upon that principle, making the war a part of their religion and
converting state policy into points of conscience. They fight
as they pray, and pray as they fight, making every battle a new
exercise of their faith: and believe that, in such a case, they
are, as it were, under the banner of Christ. If they fall in battle
they die in the their calling, as martyrs to the good cause, and
believe that in thus shedding their blood they finish the work
of their salvation. From such maxims and articles of faith, the
Cameronians may be slain, never conquered. Great numbers of them
have lost their lives, but few or none of them ever yielded.”
Since their historic defence of Dunkeld, the Cameronians have had
their full share of war. Shortly after, they fought in the Low Countries,
and displayed a stern valour. Their young Colonel, the Earl of Angus,
fell at the head of the Regiment at Steinkirk in 1692. They also
took part in the campaigns under the Duke of Marlborough, and won
special renown at Blenheim. In 1727 the regiment was engaged in
one of the successful defences of Gibraltar, which had then been
a British possession for some twenty years, and which the utmost
efforts of France and Spain failed to wrest from our grasp.
In the American War of Independence, the Cameronians were called
upon to face much hardship and privation, and bore it with a spirit
and steadiness that, notwithstanding the issue of the conflict,
added much to their already great reputation. In 1809 the Cameronians
were with Sir John Moore in his mastery retreat to Corunna, under
the command of Sir William Maxwell of Monreith. In 1840 the regiment
took part in the campaign in China, and distinguished itself on
many occasions, particularly at the capture of Amoy, where it was
the first to mount the walls. In 1868 the war with King Theodore
of Abyssinia again called the Cameronians into the field, and they
greatly helped to the complete success of the expedition.
Almost every regiment has its own customs and traditions, which
are jealously preserved. And rightly, for every one of them has
a significance and recalls something memorable. For example, it
is the custom of the Cameronians to go on Church Parade armed. This
is a memento of the days when the persecuted Covenanters gathered
for worship among the moors and mosses, and set watchers on the
ridges and knolls to give warning of the approach of the enemy.
Source: '300 Years of Service' published by the Regimental Trustees
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