Fencibles

[snowsell]

Can anyone please tell me if, in the 18th century, the South Fencibles was also the Sutherland Fencibles.
An ancestor was described as a soldier in the South Fencibles on a birth cert for his son and I need to confirm whether this ancestor was from Sutherland.

Many thanks,

Jill

[AskAnExpert]

Jill,

According to “The History of the 3rd Batt. King’s Own Scottish Borderers” published 1907: http://www.archive.org/stream/historyof3rdbatt00weir#page/162/mode/2up

“The Fencible Regiment, which may be looked on as having been the predecessor both of the Dumfries and the Edinburgh Militia Regiments, was "The South Fencibles,” raised from the counties of Edinburgh, Berwick, Haddington, Linlithgow, Peebles, Selkirk, Roxburgh, and Dumfries, and commanded by Henry, Duke of Buccleuch. It was embodied at Dalkeith on the 10th April, 1778, and was disbanded on the 6th April, 1783.”

Askan.

[snowsell]

Thank you very much for that, it sorts out quite a bit.

Jill

[hdw]

I was interested to read the explanation about the South Fencibles, as I had innocently imagined they were the same as the Southern Fencibles, also known as the Hopetoun Fencibles or 7th Regiment of Fencibles (too many names!). This lot were raised by the 3rd Earl of Hopetoun at Hopetoun House near Linlithgow, West Lothian, and they were disbanded there in 1799.

Two years ago some of us were having a rare old discussion about the Hopetoun Fencibles on this forum -

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=q9d1ung813vglnp5cp22c5k684&topic=394673.0

Harry

[snowsell]

I've just read a whole book on the Fencibles (I really should get out more!!) and it's all quite complicated. My Gt etc Grandfather John Mcalpine was "a soldier in the Berwickshire Militia" when he married in Haddington in 1809 and his future daughter in law's father Alexander Murray was a soldier in the South Fencibles when he had a child in St Cuthbert's Midlothian in 1782. The South Fencibles apparently disbanded in 1783, which makes sense as the next 3 children were all born in Barony Lanark.

Jill

[hdw]

There's a book about the Scottish fencible regiments by John Prebble called "Mutiny", if I remember aright. They mutinied after hearing rumours that they might be sent abroad, which was against the terms of their engagements. Whichever lot were quartered in Burntisland, Fife, climbed up the Binn, I think it's called, which towers over the town, and wouldn't come down.

Harry

[LizzieW]

My 4 x g.grandfather arrived in England in 1795 with the Fife Cavalry which, apparently, was a Fencible Unit.  His unit was disbanded in 1800.

Lizzie

[snowsell]

Thanks Harry and Lizzie - my Gt etc Grandfather's first child was born in England apparently, the rest in Scotland, so his militia must have marched off somewhere south in that time. He and his wife Margaret Donaldson were collecting a militia allowance in Linlithgow in 1811-1813. I am desperately trying to find John's parents to go a step back further, but nothing in the militia records so far.

From what Harry says and what I have read it was just as bad with the rioting then as it is now - nothing changes!

Jill

[hdw]

I'm fortunate in that I live in Edinburgh, a city with good reference libraries, and when I was researching the Fencibles I spent a lot of time leafing through copies of the Edinburgh Evening Courant - forerunner of the Scotsman - as it faithfully recorded the movements of British army regiments and naval ships during the Napoleonic wars. Any French spy based over here only needed to go to his local coffee-house and read the day's papers!

Harry