The 75th (Highland) Regiment of Foot was raised in the county of Stirling in 1787, and embodied at Stirling in June 1788. Their Colonel was Robert Abercromby of Tullibody, hence the Regiment's familiar title of 'Abercrombie's Highlanders.' The Regiment was soon dispatched to India, where they fought in the Mysore campaign of 1799 and at Seringapatam, both in 1792 and 1799. The Regiment, much depleted, returned home in 1806, in 1809 their title was changed to the 75th Regiment of Foot, and again in 1862, to the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment. In 1881, they were linked with the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the 1st Battallion of The Gordon Highlanders.
The 75th were raised in 1787 by Robert Abecromby, their first colonel, and were known as Abercromby's Highlanders. They first saw action in India, fighting at Seringapatam and Mysore. During the Napoleonic Wars the 75th were stationed in the Mediterranean. Later, during the colonial period they served in South Africa during the Kaffir War of 1832, and in India during the Sepoy Rebellion. In 1862 they became the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment.
In 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms the 75th amalgamated with the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st battalion, the Gordon Highlanders.
The Army List for 1799 shows Sir Robert Abercromby still Colonel of the Regiment, and Nicholas Brutton as one of the Lieutenants. In Ker Porter's great Panorama of the Storming of Seringapatam, 'Lieut Bruton 75th wounded' is shown lying beside the tiger cannon in the centre foreground. Other causualties in the 75th Regiment, for the period 4th April - 4th May 1799, are listed in the General Return, dated at Seringapatam, 5th May 1799. 16 men were killed, including Lieut Matber on 4th April; 64 were wounded, including Capt. John Gordon on 21st April and Lieuts. Turner, Broughton and Skelton, all on 4th April. In the final assault on Seringapatam, the 75th fought with the Bombay army in the Centre Brigade, under Colonel Dunlop, and their Regimental badge, a tiger within a wreath of thistles, is a lasting reminder of these Indian campaigns. It was also the inspiration for the title of the National Galleries of Scotland's bicentennial exhibition 'The Tiger and the Thistle : Tipu Sultan and the Scots in India,' in 1999.
