Am Freiceadan Dubh

Am Freiceadan Dubh or the Black Watch was first raised in 1725 following the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 with the aim of preventing the clans from fighting and to assist in enforcing the law against the carrying of weapons. Their name comes from the dark tartan which they wore and their brief to watch over the Highlands. It wasn't until 1739 that King George II authorised the recruitment of additional troops to form a Regiment of the Line under the command of their Colonel, the Earl of Crawford. Their first muster took place in 1740 near Aberfeldy.

The monument, on the Mound in Edinbugh, is dedicated to those who fell during the Boer Wars of 1899 - 1902 and depicts a Highlander in full dress uniform. On the front of the pedestal is the dedication and battle scene with the names of the men who died in action or from wounds and those who died from desease adorning either side.

The 2nd Battalion arrived in South Africa just a month after the Boers declared war towards the end of 1899 as part of the Highland Brigade attached to the column that was to relieve Kimberley.

Their first action was to be a dawn attack on Boer positions at Magersfontein but a combination of poor reconnaissance, the weather and obstacles delayed the night advance and left the men of the 2nd Battalion who were in the lead, dangerously exposed to accurate fire from entrenched positions. The Battalion lost over 300 men killed or wounded that day trying to capture the Boer positions.

Two months later, at Koodoosberg and then Paardeberg the men of the 2nd Battalion saw action again that not only lead to the clearance of the route to Kimberley, but also saw the capture of the Orange Free State Capital, Bloemfontein.

It would be a futher two years before the war ended and as guerrilla warfare took hold, the 1st Battalion joined the 2nd in 1901 to bolster the troop levels required to counter this form of warfare.