User:Andrew Gray/90th

The 90th Perthshire Light Infantry was a Scottish light infantry regiment of the British Army, active from 1794 to 1881. It was originally raised for service in the French Revolutionary Wars by Thomas Graham, and served throughout the 19th century before being amalgamated into the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in 1881. It took the title of Perthshire Volunteers in 1802, and was formally ranked as light infantry in 1815.

After its raising, the 90th served in various expeditions before being sent to Egypt in 1800. During the Napoleonic Wars it was posted to the West Indies, seeing action at the capture of Martinique and Guadeloupe, and garrisoned Quebec during the War of 1812. It later spent periods on garrison duty in the Mediterranean and in Ceylon, and fought in the Seventh Xhosa War of 1846-47.

In the 1850s, the 90th served throughout the Crimean War, and then fought in the Indian Mutiny, where members of the regiment won six Victoria Crosses. Later in the century it served in South Africa, fighting in the Ninth Xhosa War and the Anglo-Zulu War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot in 1881, as part of the Childers Reforms, and became the 2nd Battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). The 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1948, and the Cameronians themselves ceased to exist in 1968, having chosen to be disbanded rather than amalgamated.

Colonial service
After returning from France, the regiment was garrisoned in the south of England for four years, with a brief posting in the north to Macclesfield and Stockport. In 1820, it recieved orders for foreign service, and transferred to Malta; after a year in garrison there, it moved to the Ionian islands, based on Cephalonia and Zante. The British forces in the islands were deeply unpopular after the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, as the governor was attempting to prevent the islanders supporting the risings on the mainland, and the 90th was intended to strengthen the existing garrison. They remained there until 1830. Detachments were deployed to disarm the inhabitants of Zante in early 1822, but tensions were reduced by the relaxing of British policy on Greece under the new Foreign Secretary, George Canning, and the remainder of their stay was generally relaxed. However, the regiment did suffer heavily from fever, then a major problem for British troops in the Mediterranean, but this was combated by the construction of a new set of barracks on Zante under the command of the British Resident, Sir Charles Napier.

During its stay on the islands, the regiment had two major changes of command. In 1821, it received a new lieutenant-colonel, Sir Frederick Stovin; Stovin was a long-serving and well-regarded soldier, but had caused scandal with his previous command, in the 92nd Gordon Highlanders, where he had attempted to force the regiment to wear trousers rather than the kilt. This was a deeply unpopular move, and Stovin was quickly transferred to the 90th, a Lowland - and safely trousered - regiment. In 1823, Lord Lynedoch was appointed to the colonelcy of the 58th Regiment, after a tenure of some twenty-eight years, and Major-General Ralph Darling appointed to succeed him.

The regiment sailed for home service in 1830, spending a year in garrison in Edinburgh and then a second in Glasgow, before being shipped to Ireland. Here they were quartered around the country during a period of unrest as a result of the repeal movement, before being ordered overseas in 1835, to join the garrison in Ceylon. The voyage was somewhat eventful; whilst the advance party arrived as planned, the main body of the regiment was delayed two months due to problems with Sir Charles Malcolm, the East Indiaman scheduled to transport them.

Regimental traditions and honours
The regiment was awarded the right to bear the honours of Mandora, Martinique and Guadeloupe on its colours in 1817, and a new stand of colours were presented in May of that year. The original set, presented in 1795, were given to the colonel; in 1885, they passed into the keeping of St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh. This second set were themselves replaced in 1833, and after spending some years in Kilmainham Hospital, Dublin, were also deposited in St. Giles'.