109th (Aberdeenshire) Regiment of Foot
Encyclopedia
The 109th Regiment of Foot was an infantry
regiment of the British Army
from 1794 to 1795.
Colonel Alexander Hay of Rannes, a former officer of the 104th Regiment of Foot
, persuaded the King William IV
to grant him permission to raise his own regiment in Aberdeenshire
, Scotland
. He used an ingenious method of recruiting men by paying each volunteer a bounty of Five Pounds then further authorising a raffle amongst every twenty recruits whereby the winner would receive 100 pounds and permission to buy his discharge for twenty pounds, thus providing the winner with an eighty pound profit plus the original 5 pound bounty. By 4 September 1794 the 109th Regiment comprised twenty-three officers plus seven hundred and eighteen enlisted NCOs and men. Posterity does not record how many men took advantage of the twenty pound discharge fee.
The Regiment, having formed marched to Dundee
at the end of September thence via Burntisland
, Fife
to Southampton
, England
in late October. Upon arriving in Southampton the 109th embarked for the Bailiwick of Jersey for eight months and in 1795 joined General Abercrombie's force bound for the West Indies. Before the move could be completed Colonel Hay received notification that his regiment was to be disbanded and amalgamated with the 53rd Regiment of Foot
. As was traditional at that time (and still is with similar circumstance of the British Army) there was much complaint and politicking, however whatever the circumstance of the infighting amongst Aberdeenshire gentry, Allardyce
of Dunottar (Aberdeenshire) in the House of Commons of Great Britain
declared that Aberdeenshire had no complaint with the amalgamation and this seemed to win the day over the support for the 109th by General Macleod. On 12 September 1795 eighteen officers together with the muster of the 109th transferred to the 53rd Regiment ending the 109th Aberdeenshire Regiment of Foot.
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
from 1794 to 1795.
Colonel Alexander Hay of Rannes, a former officer of the 104th Regiment of Foot
104th Regiment of Foot
Five regiments of the British Army have been numbered the 104th Regiment of Foot:*104th Regiment of Foot , raised in 1761*104th Regiment of Foot, raised in 1782*104th Regiment of Foot , raised in 1794...
, persuaded the King William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
to grant him permission to raise his own regiment in Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He used an ingenious method of recruiting men by paying each volunteer a bounty of Five Pounds then further authorising a raffle amongst every twenty recruits whereby the winner would receive 100 pounds and permission to buy his discharge for twenty pounds, thus providing the winner with an eighty pound profit plus the original 5 pound bounty. By 4 September 1794 the 109th Regiment comprised twenty-three officers plus seven hundred and eighteen enlisted NCOs and men. Posterity does not record how many men took advantage of the twenty pound discharge fee.
The Regiment, having formed marched to Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
at the end of September thence via Burntisland
Burntisland
Burntisland is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland on the Firth of Forth. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 5,940....
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
to Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in late October. Upon arriving in Southampton the 109th embarked for the Bailiwick of Jersey for eight months and in 1795 joined General Abercrombie's force bound for the West Indies. Before the move could be completed Colonel Hay received notification that his regiment was to be disbanded and amalgamated with the 53rd Regiment of Foot
53rd Regiment of Foot
The 53rd Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment founded in 1755. In 1881, as part of the Childers Reforms, it became The King's Shropshire Light Infantry Regiment. Its traditions are currently held by the 3rd battalion of The Light Infantry....
. As was traditional at that time (and still is with similar circumstance of the British Army) there was much complaint and politicking, however whatever the circumstance of the infighting amongst Aberdeenshire gentry, Allardyce
William Lamond Allardyce
Sir William Lamond Allardyce KCMG was a career British civil servant in the Colonial Office who served as governor of Fiji , the Falkland Islands , Bahamas , Tasmania , and Newfoundland .Allardyce was born near Bombay, India, the son of Georgina Dickson Abbott and Colonel James Allardyce...
of Dunottar (Aberdeenshire) in the House of Commons of Great Britain
House of Commons of Great Britain
The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant...
declared that Aberdeenshire had no complaint with the amalgamation and this seemed to win the day over the support for the 109th by General Macleod. On 12 September 1795 eighteen officers together with the muster of the 109th transferred to the 53rd Regiment ending the 109th Aberdeenshire Regiment of Foot.