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The Scots Army (Scots language: Scots Airmy) was the army of the Kingdom of Scotland between the Restoration in 1660 and Union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 following the 1706 Treaty of Union and the Acts of Union that enacted it. A small standing army was established at the Restoration, which was mainly engaged in opposing Covenanters rebellions and guerrilla warfare pursued by the in the East. There were also attempts to found a larger militia.
By the Glorious Revolution in 1688–89 the standing army was over 3,500 men. Several new regiments were raised to defend the new regime and, although some were soon disbanded several took part in William II's continental wars. By the time of the Act of Union in 1707, the army had seven units of infantry, two of horse and one troop of Horse Guards. Early units wore grey, but adopted red like the English army after 1684. New Scottish and particularly Highland regiments would be raised from the 1740s, some of which had a long history within the army.
After the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89 ten regiments were raised for the defense of the regime. Some were soon disbanded,C. C. P. Lawson, A History of the Uniforms of the British Army Volume 1 (P. Davies, 1967), p. 59. but others served against Jacobite rebels, in Ireland and increasingly in William II's continental wars, beginning with the Nine Years' War in Flanders (1689–97).
Anthony Leask (2025). 184415405X, Pen and Sword Books Limited. 184415405X Their role was of such importance that the Scots Parliament forced Queen Anne to give royal assent to the controversial 1704 Act of Security by threatening to withdraw all Scottish forces back out of the Confederate armies.J. Panton, Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy (Scarecrow Press, 2011), , p. 485. By the time of the Act of Union in 1707, the Kingdom of Scotland had a standing army of seven units of infantry, two of horse and one troop of Horse Guards, besides varying levels of fortress artillery in the garrison castles of Edinburgh, Dumbarton Castle, and Stirling.D. Grove, and C. Abraham, Fortress Scotland and the Jacobites (Batsford/Historic Scotland, 1995), , p. 38. The new British Army created by the Act of Union incorporated the existing Scottish regiments and some units would have a long regimental history, while new Scottish regiments, particularly of Highlanders, would be raised from the 1740s.A. Mackillop, "Highland Regiments 1750–1830" in M. Lynch, ed., The Oxford Companion to Scottish History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), , pp. 25–6.
Uniforms
Early units were probably dressed in homespun woollen cloth of Hodden, which had been used during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the 1640s. Dragoons continued to wear grey, but from 1684 red cloth was imported from England to make uniforms that matched those of the English Army. The dragoons also eventually adopted red.J. Tincey, The British Army: 1660–1704 (Botley: Osprey Publishing, 1994), , p. 15. Militia units may have been uniformed in blue. Units were differentiated by contrasting colours visible on the collars and cuffs on a regimental basis.C. C. P. Lawson, A History of the Uniforms of the British Army Volume 1 (P. Davies, 1967), pp. 57–8.
Regimental histories
The following is a list of regiments commissioned between 1660 and 1707.C. C. P. Lawson, A History of the Uniforms of the British Army Volume 1 (P. Davies, 1967), pp. 57–65.
Lt-General William Drummond's Horse 1660 ? 1st Troop of Life Guards 1660 4th Troop of Horse Guards 1709 1746 2nd Troop of Life Guards 1661 1663 3rd Troop of Life Guards 1663–64 1676 Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons 1694 Royal North British Dragoons 1707, 2nd Dragoons 1717, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) 1877 Amalgamated 1971 Royal Scots 1633 His Majesty's Royal Regiment of Foot 1684, 1st (Royal) Regiment of Foot 1751 Marquis of Argyll's Royal Regiment 1642 Life Guard of Foot 1650, His Majesty's Foot Guards 1661, 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards 1714 Lt-General Thomas Dalyell's Foot 1666 1667 Sir William Lockhart's Foot 1672 1674 Sir George Munro's Foot 1674 1676 Earl of Mar's Foot 1677 Royal Scots Fusiliers 1695 Amalgamated 1959 Lord Douglas's Foot 1678 1679 John Wauchope's Foot 1688 1717 Lord Bargany's Foot 1689 1689 Lord Blantyre's Foot 1689 1689 Earl of Glencairn's Foot 1689 1689 Earl of Mar's Foot 1689 1689 Lord Strathnaver's 1st Foot 1689 1690 Grant's Foot 1689 1690 Laird of Grant's Foot 1689 1691 Viscount Kenmure's Foot 1689 1691 Earl of Argyll's Foot 1689 John Lord Lorne 1694 1698 John Hill's Foot 1689 1698 Richard Cunningham's Foot 1689 1698 Sir James Moncrief's Foot 1689 George Hamilton 1694 1714 Earl of Angus's Foot 1689 Cameronians, 26th Foot 1751 Amalgamated 1881 Lord Leven's Foot 1689 Semphill's Foot c. 1745, 25th Foot 1751, King's Own Borderers 1805 Amalgamated 2006 John Hill's Foot 1690 1698 William Douglas's 1st Foot 1694 ? William Douglas's 2nd Foot 1694 1697 Lord John Murray's Foot 1694 Earl of Tullibardine 1697 Lord Lindsay (later Lord Crawford)'s Foot 1694 1697 Robert Mackay's 1st Foot ? ? Robert Mackay's 2nd Foot ? 1697 Lord Strathnaver's 2nd Foot 1698 John Lord Lorne 1702, John Marquis of Tullibardine 1717 Lord Strathnaver's 3rd Foot 1702 1713 Earl of Mar's Foot 1702 Alexander Grant 1706 1713 Lt-Col George MacCartney's Foot 1704 1713
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