If in 1810 the father was still a serving soldier then he must have moved onto another regiment altogether. The 1st and 2nd Bt of the 4th (Breadalbane) Fencible Regiments were raised simultaneously in 1793 and were specifically for home service, some of the original attestation forms actually say 'only to serve in Scotland except in the case of an invasion'. Interesting wording although it presumably meant in the case of a French invasion of England, but then again.
Having realised the limitations of the 'home service' bit the Government altered the criteria for later regiments to include Ireland and the 3rd Bt of the Breadalbanes were raised in 1795 specifically for service in Ireland and were sent there on formation. At the end of 1798 the 1st and 2nd Bt were stood down, but a large part of the 2nd Bt volunteered to go over and join the 3rd Bt in Ireland where they continued to serve until the 3rd Bt was in turn stood down in 1802, by which time the main threat of invasion by Napoleon was over and the government had realised that militia regiments were cheaper than fencibles, who cost as much as the line or marching regiments, but were not deployable to the continent where the soldiers were most needed.
Hi Keith
I can't thank you enough for your help and thanks for the Ref. Numbers, enabling me to get some info. on the fencible regiments at the Public Record Office at Kew. I had in actual fact expected more detailed information on the website at Kew, but I can see that I shall have to make a visit to the Public Record Office to get what I am looking for. As I don't live in Britain so that will have to wait.
When scrutinising his son's birth cerificate (1810) it states father's occupation as "Soldier in the Regiment of Foot". Are you able to tell me if this is the 2nd or 3rd Bt.
Kind regards
Elaine Torbensen
The muster and payrolls for all three battalions of the Breadalbane Fencibles are in the Public Record Office at Kew in London. Unfortunately there is a quirk in the online catalogue which does not seem to acknowledge the existence of any of the fencible regiments if searched from the main search page. It is therefore a case of entering WO13 and then putting in the actual number of an item in the search box that comes up there. In the case of the Breadalbanes the run is from WO13/3810 to WO13/3815. If you are looking for any other fencible or militia regiments it is best to go to one you know is there and then browse backward or forwards from that point, they are alphabetical in order.
Returning to the Breadalbanes, the regimental returns, as far as they exist are spread over several collections in the National Archives of Scotland. These are where you would find any original attestation forms that remain. Most of the material is in the Breadalbane papers under GD112 including the full run of company returns for the 2nd Bt and the less useful numerical return for the 3rd which was in Ireland. For some odd reason as it was the Earls own 'battalion' the records of the 1st Bt which are difficent, apart from the initual muster rolls and some attestations. But a part of the missing records from 1797 to 1798 can be found among the Airlie papers at GD16, probably due to one of that family serving as adjutant for while in the regiment. There is a further small amount in the John MacGregor papers at GD50, but these do not include any names of the men.
I have worked my way through all these records looking for their pipers so my records mainly follow the Grenadier Company, but I note that from October 1797 until May 1798 that company of the 2nd Bt was based at St Andrews so there may have been one of the other companies at Earlsferry, although it does not ring any bells.
My 5 x Great Grandfather, Angus Kerr, was a Private of the Breadalbane Fencibles quartered in Earlsferry, Fife, Scotland when he was married to Anne Monro on January 30th 1798. He was still there on June 7th, 1810, according to his son's Birth Certificate.
I have tried searching numerous websites, eg. Public Records Offices in London and Edinburgh, but I can't find anything about the Fencibles in Earlsferry and as I don't know which regiment he was in, I have hit a brick wall with my research.
Can anyone advise me where I may find his military record or the like?
Thanks in advance!
| BACK | RETURN TO SCOTTISHMILITARYRESEARCH.ORG.UK |
