The Cameronians were the only regiment of rifles in the Scottish infantry and were formed during the political and religious turmoil of the 17th century. They were involved in conflicts throughout the world during World War I.
Origins
- The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) formed when the 26th Regiment of Foot (The Cameronians) Regiment joined forces with the 90th Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Volunteers) in 1881.
- The 1st Battalion was unofficially known as 'the Cameronians', while the 2nd Battalion was known as 'the Scottish Rifles'. Together they served in the Second Boer War.
- Their roots can be traced back to the 1680s, when they were called the Cameronian Guard. It took its name from the Cameronians, followers of Richard Cameron, a minister and leader in the Covenanter movement. He declared war on King Charles II after the king tried to remove Presbyterian ministers from the Church of Scotland for refusing to accept the rule of the bishops.
- Officially recognised in 1689 as the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot following the Glorious Revolution under King William III.
- Served at the Battle of Dunkeld during the First Jacobite Rising and in campaigns led by the Duke of Marlborough.
- The regiment won special recognition at the Battle of Blenheim during the War of the Spanish Succession and saw action in the American War of Independence, the Napoleonic Wars, and at the Battle of Corunna during the Peninsular War. It also served in India and China during the First Opium War and took part in the Expedition to Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
- The 90th Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Volunteers) was formed in 1794 and served during the French Revolutionary War, the Napoleonic Wars and in South Africa during the Cape Frontier War and Second Boer War.
