Argyll and Bute Militia

The universal obligation to military service in the Shire levy was long established in Scotland: all men aged from 16 to 60 were obliged to serve for a maximum of 40 days in any one year if required, and their arms and equipment were inspected at regular Wapenshaws. In time of war, they would be called out by proclamation and by riders galloping through towns and villages bearing the 'Fiery Cross'. Following the restoration of Charles II, the Scottish Parliament passed an Act in 1661, ratified in 1663, creating a militia of 20,000 infantry and 2,000 horse, available for Crown service anywhere in Scotland, England or Ireland. During Argyll's Rising in 1685, King James II & VII ordered the disarming of many of the Scottish Militia for fear that they would join the rebel duke. However, the Scottish Militia were called out in 1689 during the Glorious Revolution that overthrew James. Following the Union in 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the Parliament of Great Britain passed an Act in 1708 to re-arm the Scottish Militia. However, the Act was denied Royal assent because of fears that the new force would be disloyal (a Jacobite uprising in Scotland was expected to support the French invasion fleet that was then at sea). In the aftermath of the Jacobite Rising of 1715, a Disarming Act was passed in Scotland and although the government-supporting Major-General John Campbell of Mamore (later 4th Duke of Argyll) raised the irregular Campbell of Argyll Militia against the Jacobite Rising of 1745 (the regiment serving at the Battle of Falkirk Muir, the Skirmish of Keith, and the Battle of Culloden) there was a reluctance to leave weapons in the hands of those who might rebel. The English Militia were conscripted by ballot, and this system was revived in 1757 during the Seven Years' War. However, there were residual fears of Jacobitism in Scotland, so rather than extend the Militia Acts to Scotland, full-time home defence regiments of 'Fencibles' were raised for the duration of the war. These soldiers were recruited in the normal way under officers commissioned by the king, unlike militiamen who were raised by ballot and commanded by local officers appointed by the Lord-lieutenant. The Duke of Argyll was commissioned to raise the Argyle Fencibles (1759). This regiment was disbanded in 1763, but fresh regiments were raised in Scotland during the American War of Independence (including the Argyle or Western Fencibles (1778)) and the early stages of the French Revolutionary War (including the Argyle Fencibles (1793), eventually of three battalions). ==Argyll & Bute Militia==

French Revolutionary War Fear of Jacobitism had been replaced by fear of Jacobinism by the 1790s, and the Militia Act 1797 finally extended the county militia system to Scotland. Many of the personnel came from the 117th Foot or 'Argyllshire Fencibles', which had been raised by the Hon Frederick St John on 22 August 1794 but was disbanded in 1796. During and after the Irish Rebellion of 1798, a number of British militia units volunteered for service in Ireland, and the Argyllshires served there until early 1800. Napoleonic Wars However, the Peace of Amiens was short-lived and the militia was re-embodied in 1803. By 1805, the regiment was still commanded by Col John Campbell with Sir John Campbell of Ardnamurchan as his Lieutenant-Colonel. During the summer of 1805, when Napoleon was massing his 'Army of England' at Boulogne for a projected invasion, the Argyll & Bute Militia with 524 men in 7 companies under Lt-Col Sir John Campbell was part of the garrison of Edinburgh Castle. Local Militia While the Regular Militia were the mainstay of national defence during the Napoleonic Wars, they were supplemented from 1808 by the Local Militia, which were part-time and only to be used within their own districts. These were raised to counter the declining numbers of Volunteers, and if their ranks could not be filled voluntarily the militia ballot was employed. They were to be trained once a year. The counties of Argyll and Bute raised the following regiments: • Inverary Regiment: 732 men commanded by the George Campbell, 6th Duke of Argyll • Light Infantry Regiment: 738 men under Alexander Maclean, 13th Laird of Ardgour, previously Lt-Col of the Argyll Additional Battalion of Volunteers In 1840, the colonel was still Lord John Campbell, now 7th Duke of Argyll He died in 1847 and by 1850 the senior officer in the disembodied Argyll & Bute Militia was Major C. George Campbell. • 'Whenever a state of war exists between Her Majesty and any foreign power'. • 'In all cases of invasion or upon imminent danger thereof'. • 'In all cases of rebellion or insurrection'. After 1852, no new colonels were appointed to militia regiments; instead, the lieutenant-colonel became commandant and the post of Honorary Colonel was created. When the Argyll & Bute Militia was reformed in 1854, the Lord Lieutenant of Argyllshire, John Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane was appointed (honorary) Colonel and Colonel John Campbell, formerly of the 38th Foot, became Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant. The regiment was redesignated as the Argyll & Bute Rifles in 1859 with a consequent change in uniform (see below). ==Argyll & Bute Artillery Militia==

The 1852 Act introduced Militia Artillery units in addition to the traditional infantry regiments. Their role was to man coastal defences and fortifications, relieving the Royal Artillery (RA) for active service. In November 1861 the Argyll and Bute Rifles was converted into the Argyll and Bute Artillery Militia (Rifles) (though the 'Rifles' subtitle was soon dropped). It had its HQ at Oban, moving back to Campbeltown in 1863. Following the Cardwell Reforms, a mobilisation scheme began to appear in the Army List from December 1875. This assigned places in an order of battle of the 'Garrison Army' to Militia Artillery units: the Argyll & Bute Artillery's war station was in the Tilbury Division of the Thames and Medway Defences. On 1 July 1889, the garrison artillery was reorganised again into three large territorial divisions (Eastern, Southern and Western). The assignment of units to them seemed geographically arbitrary, with all the Scottish militia units being grouped in the Southern Division, for example, but this related to where the need for coastal artillery was greatest, rather than where the units recruited. The Argyll unit became the Argyll and Bute Artillery (Southern Division). In 1899, the garrison artillery units formally became the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). Colonel J. Younger, who had served with the Royal Horse Artillery in the 2nd Anglo-Afghan War, was appointed Lt-Col Commandant on 2 December 1893. ==West of Scotland Artillery==

By 1895, it had become difficult to obtain recruits in the sparsely populated counties of Argyll and Bute, so the recruiting area was expanded to include Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire. On 7 November 1895, royal approval was given for the unit's title to be changed to The West of Scotland Artillery. Its HQ moved from Campbeltown to Maryhill Barracks, Glasgow, in 1897. The unit was embodied for home defence from 8 May to 3 October 1900, during the Second Boer War. ==Disbandment==

After the Boer War, the future of the Militia was called into question. There were moves to reform all the Auxiliary Forces (Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteers) to take their place in the six Army corps proposed by St John Brodrick as Secretary of State for War. For this, some batteries of Militia Artillery were to be converted to field artillery. However, little of Brodrick's scheme was carried out. Under the more sweeping Haldane Reforms of 1908, the Militia was replaced by the Special Reserve, a semi-professional force whose role was to provide reinforcement drafts for Regular units serving overseas in wartime. Although the West of Scotland RGA (M) transferred to the Special Reserve Royal Field Artillery on 12 July 1908 (taking the title West of Scotland Royal Field Reserve Artillery), it was disbanded in March 1909. Instead, the men of the RFA Special Reserve would form Brigade Ammunition Columns for the Regular RFA brigades on the outbreak of war. ==Commanders==

Colonels The following served as Colonel of the Regiment: • John Campbell of Shawfield and Islay, from formation in 1798 • Smollett M. Eddington, former CO, appointed 22 October 1884 • J. Younger, former CO, appointed 3 June 1905 ==Heritage & ceremonial==

Uniform & insignia From at least 1814, the regiment's uniform was a red coat with yellow facings. when the Scottish ('North British') Militia were raised in 1798, they had their own separate order, with the Argyll ranked as the '1st North British'. Another ballot for precedence took place in 1803, at the beginning of the Napoleonic War, covering the whole of Great Britain, and this list remained in force until 1833. The Argyll & Bute Militia was now ranked 43rd. In 1833, the King drew the lots for individual militia regiments across the whole of the United Kingdom. Regiments raised before the peace of 1783 took the first 69 places, followed by those raised for the French Revolutionary War: the Argyll & Bute Militia ranked 117th. When the Artillery Militia was formed in 1853–55, the corps were listed in alphabetical order; later, units were added at the end of the list. Thus, the Argyll & Bute was ranked 30th when it was converted in 1861. ==See also==