26th (The Cameronian) Regiment of Foot

The 26th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was raised as the Cameronian Guard in 1688 by the Lords of the Convention and named after the followers of Richard Cameron. The following year it entered British service under King William III and on 21 August 1689 defeated Jacobite forces at the Battle of Dunkeld, a turning point in the Jacobite rising of that year.cite web |url=http://www.scotwars.com/html/battle_of_dunkeld.htm |title=Battle of Dunkeld 1689 |work=ScotWars |accessdate=2008-04-29] Although the regiment took the name of its first colonel as The Earl of Angus's Regiment, it became popularly known as The Cameronians until 1751, when it was ranked as the 26th Foot. The regiment was known as the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment until 1881, when it merged with the 90th Regiment of Foot to form The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).

Because of its origins in a religious movement, the regiment issued bibles to all of its new soldiers as part of their kit, a tradition that continued after amalgamation. Also, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) were the only regiment in the British Army that carried their weapons into church. This was a tradition that started in the Covenanter days when the Covenanters posted armed pickets at the beginning of worship services to keep a lookout for foes. The tradition continued until the regiment disbanded.

Battle Honours

*Blenheim¹, Ramillies¹, Oudenarde¹, Malplaquet¹, Egypt², Corunna, China³, Abyssinia 1. awarded 1882
2. the Sphinx badge superscribed "Egypt"
3. the Dragon badge superscribed "China"

References