History of the Regiment
Upon the disbandment of the two regiments in 1799, the new 93rd Regiment was recruited from the recently disbanded Sutherland Fencibles by their old colonel William Wemyss, at this time a Major General in the British Army, on behalf of his 16 year old cousin Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland. Wemyss had the remaining volunteers from all over Sutherland lined up by Parish and selected those he thought most suitable and issued each of these a pinch of snuff, a dram of whisky and their bounty money. When the regiment first mustered, in Strathnaver in August 1800, not a single man selected by Wemyss failed to report. There is a cairn at Skail, in Strathnaver, marking the spot where this muster took place.
One of the soldiers who had served with the Fencibles and then with the 93rd was Serjeant Samuel Macdonald. Sergeant Macdonald was reputed to be a veritable giant, standing six feet ten inches and a chest measuring 48 inches. A one time actor, being cast in a Drury Lane production of Cymon and Imphigenia as Hercules, Macdonald served in the 3rd Sutherland Fencibles as a sergeant of the Colonel's company. With the raising of the 93rd, he volunteered for the new regiment, being accepted by Wemyss. Countess Sutherland, upon seeing Sergeant Macdonald, donated a special allowance of 2 shillings 6 pence a day. She is reported to have said that anyone as large as Sergeant Macdonald "must require more sustenance than his military pay can afford."
|  | The 93rd Sutherland Highlanders became famous for their actions during the Crimean War. The regiment was sent to the Crimea in 1854, after war broke out against Russia, as part of Colin Campbell's Highland Brigade. They took part in the storming of the height above the Alma River followed by a move to Sevastopol. On 25 October they were stationed outside the British-controlled port of Balaklava as part of its very thin defences. The Russian Army sent a massive force to attack Balaklava, the Russian force was 25,000 strong; but only their massed cavalry pushed right forward down the road to Balaklava. Part of this threat was parried by the immortal charge of General Scarlett's Heavy Cavalry Brigade.
On the 28 December 1814, the British advanced up the left bank of the Mississippi River towards New Orleans. The 93rd Highlanders come under fire 750 yards from Andrew Jackson's parapet, by the parapet and a schooner on the river. They laid for 5 hours in the rain, sleet & bombardment the British then pulled back. 1 January 1815: British attempt a reconnaissance in force. Torrential rain bogs down artillery & troops. US left flank actually routed and in flight but unperceived by British until too late to take advantage. 8 January: Final British assault. Mistakes and bad luck add up. American position on right bank of river actually overrun & captured. Left bank; American advance redoubt taken by detachment of light infantry companies including that of the 93rd. British right flank falters. 93rd aborts support to captured redoubt and crosses field to help faltering right flank assault. Halts 100 yards from parapet. Lt. Col. Dale killed. No orders to advance or withdraw. 93rd stands fast & is mown down. General Edward Pakenham killed. Orders finally received & after futile attempt to advance, 93rd marches off field. British losses: 2,000. 93rd contributes 300 to 550 killed, wounded & prisoner. 18–30 January: British withdraw downriver to ships, embark. 11 February: British capture Ft. Bowyer outside Mobile, Alabama. 93rd & others landed on Dauphin Island outside Mobile Bay. 13 February: Sloop-of-War brings news of preliminaries of peace at Ghent. Women & children of 93rd allowed ashore.
July 1881, the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders were united with the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Princess Louise's (Sutherland and Argyll Highlanders) later renamed Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) . The traditions and character of the 93rd remained so strong that members of the 2nd Battalion would continue to refer to themselves as the 93rd right up until that battalions move in to suspended animation in 1947. For ten years a clumsy arrangement of the 1st and 2nd Battalions receding and taking front place with each other continued until the Colonel charged the 1st Battalion (old 91st) with absorbing and embodying the traditions of the 93rd. |
