| 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot | |
|---|---|
 Cap badge of the 42nd Regiment of Foot | |
| Active | 1739–1881 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Great Britain (1739–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1881) |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Garrison/HQ | Queen's Barracks, Perth |
| Nickname(s) | Black Watch Forty-Twa Black Jocks |
| Motto(s) | (Scotland's) Nemo me impune lacessit |
| Engagements | |
| Battle honours | |
The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment in the British Army also known as the Black Watch. Originally titled Crawford's Highlanders or the Highland Regiment (mustered 1739) and numbered 43rd in the line, in 1748, on the disbanding of Oglethorpe's Regiment of Foot, they were renumbered 42nd, and in 1751 formally titled the 42nd (Highland) Regiment of Foot. The 42nd Regiment was one of the first three Highland Regiments to fight in North America.[1][2] The unit was honoured with the name Royal Highland Regiment in 1758.[3] Its informal name Black Watch became official in 1861.[4] In 1881, the regiment was amalgamated with 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot under the Childers Reforms into The Royal Highland Regiment (The Black Watch), being officially redesignated The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) in 1931. In 2006, the Black Watch became part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
- ^ The Highland regiments that landed in America and took part in the French and Indian War were the 42nd or Royal Highland Regiment ("The Black Watch"), the 77th Regiment of Foot and the 78th Regiment of Foot.
- ^ Pollard 2009, p. 63.
- ^ Groves, John Percy (1893). History of the 42nd Royal Highlanders – "The Black Watch" now the first battalion "The Black Watch" (Royal Highlanders) 1729–1893. Edinburgh: W. & A.K. Johnston. p. 8.
- ^ Groves (1893), p. 15.