BLACK WATCH TARTAN

Evening Star, Issue 18137, 29 November 1922, Page 5

BLACK WATCH TARTAN

ORIGIN OP THE PATTERN. INTERESTING HISTORY. Captain L H. Mackay Scobie, of the Beaforth Highlanders, writes in the ‘ Journal of the Society of Army Historical Research ’ on the Government or Black Watch tartan. Independent companies in the Highlands (he says), which were simply rural military police (such as we still employ on the Indian frontier), were in existence as early as 1624, and continued till 1717, when the three companies then on the establishment were disbanded by order of ■King George I. These early companies were termed locally " The Watoh ” or “ The Highland Watch,” the word watch being the old term for police. They were not, apparently, in most cases at least, uniformly equipped and clothed, but bad each their own peculiarities in dress and each their own distinctive tartan, although probably the majority wore the red coat or jacket..

In 1725. ns a result of General Wade’s report on the general state of the Highlands, made in the previous year, authority was given by George I on May 12, 1t25, for six new independent companies to be formed. They wore only to be composed of “ such Highlanders as are well affected to His Majesty’s Government, 1 ' to “bo established under proper regulations and commanded by officers speaking the language of the country, oubject to martial law, and under th© inspection and ciders of the Governors of Fort William and Inverness and the officer commanding His Majesty’s forces is those parts.” They were to be employed “la disarming the people, preventing depredations, bringing criminals to justice, and to hinder rebels and attainted: persons from inhabiting that part of the Kingdom." 'Those six companies, of which three were commanded by Campbells and the .remaining three by a Grant, a Fraser, and a Mun.ro respectively, wore clothed and equipped uniformly, .and were altogether on a more proper military basis than the previous companies had KhanOn being raised, they adopted the same tartan, it being quite clear from contemporary records that tills was done, and was in pursuance of General Wade’s order that a uniform tartan should be worn.

The tartan., being of a sombre color—black, blue, and green—as compared with so many which had a red background or bright stripes, caused tho companies to be known as “ Am Freiceadan Dubh,” or, in English, “Tho Black Watch," -which' name stuck to them after they were regimented in 1759, and still remains as the most popular title of that regiment to the present day. Having time been adopted for the six: independent companies on their being raised in 1725, and the sett consequently worn by those Highlanders who wore their native dress when in Government service, this tartan became known as (he official or Government pattern, but sometimes, when speaking colloquially, it was called the tartan of the Black Watch, referring to tho six independent companies.

The exa.ct origin of tins pattern of this tartan is obscure. That it was, in all likelihood, a Campbell one, or, at least, evolved from a Campbell sett, appears to be almost certain, for many reasons. Among these may be mentioned the fact that—

(1) In groundwork it is very similar to all the various known Campbell patterns, while it is not so in regard to the Munro, Grant, or Fraser setts, all red 1 tartans, these three clans being represented in the independent companies when raised and the first two in the Black Watch when regimented. (2) The strong tradition in the Campbell country that it was a Campbell plain’ sett.

(5) That three out of the six commanding officers of tho independent companies when raised in 1725 were Campbells. , (4) That on being regimented in 1739, as only four out of the ten commanders of companies were Campbells, it might be supposed the others would have raised the question of a tartan to he worn; bat this was not so, since it was the recognised “Government" tartan. Also tho now colonel, the Earl of Crawford, being related to the Campbells, qnd having lived in Campbell country with his Argyll relatives, his Campbell sympathies were strong, anti he would not have brooked any change in a tartan which was either originally Campbell or evolved from a Campbell sett.