The Black Watch at Ticonderoga and Major Duncan Campbell of Inverawe

In Short

This historical monograph reconstruction documents the deployment, combat performance, and administrative legacy of the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment—the Black Watch—in North America from 1756 to 1767. Centering on the bloody, disastrous 1758 assault on Fort Ticonderoga, the narrative integrates official dispatches, personal letters, regimental muster rolls, and family lineages. It traces how a storied Scottish regiment suffered staggering casualties at Montcalm's entrenchments, paid a devastating human price, and continued serving across the American frontier until returning home.

The Story

The narrative opens with the logistical realities of quartering and transporting British regular forces sent to North America during the Seven Years' War. Arriving from Scotland after long, tempestuous Atlantic voyages, the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment spends its initial years in the Province of New York. Troops endure harsh winters stationed along the Hudson and Mohawk valleys, guarding posts at Albany, Schenectady, and the German Flats. Official correspondence between military leaders like the Earl of Loudon and William Pitt highlights the friction of housing soldiers in private colonial residences due to the lack of public taverns in frontier towns.

As military operations escalate in 1758, the regiment expands with additional companies to a strength of 1,300 men. General Abercromby launches an expedition to capture Fort Ticonderoga (Fort Carillon) on Lake Champlain. On July 8, 1758, the army orders a direct frontal assault against heavily fortified French breastworks built by Montcalm's forces. The Black Watch soldiers charge continuously into devastating point-blank fire. The outcome is catastrophic: the regiment suffers over 500 casualties killed or wounded, including thirty-six officers. Among those fatally wounded is Major Duncan Campbell of Inverawe, who dies days later at Fort Edward after an arm amputation.

Despite the bloody defeat and subsequent retreat to Lake George, the surviving contingent remains active in the theater. Portions of the regiment participate in Bradstreet's expedition against Fort Frontenac, while the main body joins Major General Amherst's successful 1759 campaign to take Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Stationed in winter garrisons across the Hudson Valley, the Black Watch later assists in the 1760 campaign capturing Montreal, effectively ending French rule in Canada.

The text follows the regiment beyond the northern borderlands. In 1761, the 42nd embarks for the Caribbean, enduring heavy losses to combat and disease at the sieges of Martinique and Havana. Reconstructed back in New York in 1762, the regiment quickly redirects to Pennsylvania. Under Colonel Henry Bouquet, they march in 1763 to relieve the Indian siege at Fort Pitt, fighting a severe engagement at Bushy Run. After a final expedition into the Ohio territory to subdue native resistance in 1764, the depleted 42nd embarks at Philadelphia in 1767 to return to Ireland, leaving behind many veterans who elect to take land grants and settle permanently in the American colonies.

How It Unfolds

Mobilization and quartering The British Army transports Highland regiments across the Atlantic, where military governors encounter difficult logistical hurdles. General Loudon negotiates housing rules across New York frontier communities like Albany and Schenectady to shelter over a thousand soldiers through severe winters.

The bloody assault Abercromby's army advances down Lake George to attack the French entrenchments at Fort Ticonderoga in July 1758. The Black Watch leads repeated charges against barricades under relentless fire, sustaining over 500 casualties and leaving major officers mortally wounded.

Consolidation and northern victory Surviving officers and enlisted men reorganize while serving in key outposts along the Hudson River and Lake Champlain. Under General Amherst, the regiment builds Fort Amherst at Crown Point and secures the northern frontier, ultimately participating in the 1760 capture of Montreal.

Frontier campaigns and departure Following tropical deployments in Martinique and Havana, the 42nd returns to North America to fight in Pontiac's War. After marching into the Ohio Valley under Colonel Bouquet to relieve Fort Pitt and secure peace, the surviving veteran contingent embarks for home in 1767.

The People

• Major Duncan Campbell of Inverawe: A senior officer in the 42nd who seeks to fulfill his duty while managing complex family land and financial affairs in Scotland. He suffers severe arm wounds in the assault on Ticonderoga's breastworks, undergoes an amputation, and dies nine days later at Fort Edward.
• General James Abercromby: Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America who requests additional field officers to manage expanded Highland battalions. He directs the ill-fated direct assault on Fort Ticonderoga and oversees the retreat to Lake George.
• Captain Allan Campbell: A dedicated company commander in the Black Watch who survives the heat of action at Ticonderoga unhurt despite losing all his lieutenants. His letters home preserve the primary eyewitness record of regimental casualties, officer survival, and forest skirmishes.
• Colonel John Reid: An officer who advances from Captain to Major, serving through campaigns at Ticonderoga, Martinique, Havana, and the Ohio country. He accumulates vast land holdings in New York and Vermont, which are subsequently lost during post-war territorial and revolutionary disputes.

In Its Own Voice

"I find, that the manner of quartering in England, as in time of peace, on Publick Houses only, will in no shape answer the intent in this country, for there are few Publick Houses and most of them sell nothing but spirits..."

The Earl of Loudon explains to William Pitt the practical difficulties of housing British troops in American colonial towns.

"Our Regt, lost more than any other Corps at the attack of the Lines. We have had killed and wounded since the beginning of the Campaign 520 (officers included) of which about 300 were left dead on the field..."

Captain Allan Campbell describes the heavy casualties sustained by the 42nd Highlanders during the assault on Fort Ticonderoga.

"Here Lyes the body of Duncan Campbell of Inversaw, Esqr Major to The old Highland Regt. Aged 55 Years. Who died The 17th July, 1758, of wounds he received in the attack of the retrenchments of Ticonderoga..."

The original gravestone inscription marks the death of Major Campbell following the battle.

What It's Really About

Underneath its military timelines and primary documentation, the book explores the human cost of empire and the heavy toll exacted on specialized military units. It contrasts high-level strategic commands with the brutal physical realities of 18th-century warfare—where infection, scurvy, bad quarters, and primitive surgery kill as many men as enemy fire. The text also highlights the deep family bonds within Highland regiments, where clan connections, officer patronage, and shared heritage sustained officers and men through extreme hardship. Ultimately, it documents how a Scottish regiment forged its global reputation in the North American wilderness.

Why Read It Today

This text will appeal directly to military historians, genealogists, and readers fascinated by the French and Indian War or Scottish regimental history. Reading it feels like sifting through an archivist's working cabinet: clear narrative summaries give way to raw transcripts, formal petitions, ship rosters, order books, and private correspondence.

The prose does not attempt a romanticized dramatization. Instead, it offers unvarnished factual authenticity. Readers must navigate historical quirks, including unedited mid-18th-century spelling, dense military rosters, and detailed genealogical tables. What remains with you is the sheer scale of sacrifice—immortalized in casualty counts, gravestone markers, and the forgotten administrative orders that kept an army moving across a rugged frontier.