The regiment (79th Foot) was raised by Cameron of Erracht in 1793 in
Inverness-shire almost entirely from among his own kinsmen, and down to
the present day the Clan Cameron is still very strong in the regiment.
For many years the 79th Highlanders was the only single battalion
regiment in the army, the 2nd Battalion being raised during the South
African War. A remarkable fact in connection with the regiment was
that although they had over 700 officers and men down with typhus
on returning from Corunna in 1809, they did not lose a single man,
and six months later embarked for the ill-fated Walcheren expedition
1,002 strong. They served in the trenches throughout the whole of that
campaign without losing a man.
[Illustration]
(_Depot_, Belfast.)
(_Record Office_, Dublin.)