In 1800 the 79th was part of a force that took part in a failed assault on the Spanish coast at Ferrol.
In March 1801 the 79th Foot landed at Aboukir Bay, Egypt as part of an expeditionary force to prevent French control of the land route to India. After victories at Mandora and Alexandria, the British forces forced the surrender of the French forces at Cairo. Along with other regiments that took part in the Egyptian campaign the 79th Foot were henceforth permitted to bear a sphinx superscribed EGYPT on its colours and badges.
The 79th spent the next few years in Minorca and the United Kingdom without coming under fire. A second battalion was formed in 1804, as a draft-finding unit. The 1st Battalion took part in an engagement at Copenhagen, Denmark in 1807, before returning to England.
In 1808 the 79th Foot moved to Portugal, moving to Spain in the following year and participating in several major battles of the Peninsular War:
Corunna in 1809,
Busaco and the defence of Cadiz in 1810,
Fuentes d'Onor in 1811,
The Battle of Salamanca, the occupation of Madrid and the siege of Burgos in 1812,
the Battles of the Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive in 1813
The Battle of Toulouse in 1814
Following the abdication of Napoleon in 1814, the regiment moved to Cork, Ireland. However, with the return of Napoleon from exile, the 79th Foot travelled to Belgium in May, 1815. The regiment took part in the final battles of the Napoleonic Wars at Quatre Bras and Waterloo in June.
The next forty years were quiet for the regiment. The 79th Foot remained in France as part of the army of occupation until 1818. The 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1815. Over the next few decades the 79th provided garrisons in the UK, Canada and Gibraltar.
The regiment returned to the UK in 1871. On April 17, 1873 Queen Victoria presented the regiment with new colours at Parkhurst, Isle of Wight, and directed they should in future be known as the "Queen's Own". Consequently they became the 79th Regiment, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. The regiment's dark green facings, worn since 1793, were replaced with royal blue. The regiment moved to Gibraltar in 1879.
In 1882 the 1st Battalion moved from Gibraltar to Egypt, where they took part in the invasion and occupation of the country and the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir. They remained in Egypt until 1884, when it took part in an expedition to Sudan. The Battalion returned to the UK in 1887.
In 1897 a 2nd Battalion was formed, remaining at home stations while the 1st Battalion returned to Egypt and the Sudan. From 1900-1902 the 1st Battalion fought in the Second Boer War before returning to the UK. Noted Australian soldier Harry "Breaker" Morant was executed for murder by a firing squad of Cameron Highlanders in Pretoria gaol (South Africa) on 27 February 1902. The 2nd Battalion then served overseas garrisons in Malta, Crete, China and India.
In 1908 the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 reorganised the reserve battalions of the regiment. The Militia Battalion was transferred to the Special Reserve while the Volunteer Battalion became the 4th Battalion in the new Territorial Force.
During the First World War, The Cameron Highlanders was expanded to thirteen battalions, of which nine were in battle. The 1st, 2nd, 4th (TF), 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th and 11th Battalions all fought on the Western Front. Ten representative battle honours were chosen to be displayed on the king's colour:
Marne 1914, '18
Aisne, 1914
Ypres 1914, '15, '17, '18
Neuve Chapelle
Loos
Somme, 1916, '18
Delville Wood
Arras, 1917, '18
Sambre
Macedonia, 1915, '18
