The plan of raising a fencible corps in the Highlands was first proposed and carried into effect by William Pitt the Elder, (afterwards Earl of Chatham) in the year 1759. During the three preceding years, both the fleets and armies of Great Britain had suffered reverses, and it was thought that a "home guard" was necessary as a bulwark against invasion.[1]
In England, county militia regiments were raised for internal defence in the absence of the regular army; but it was not deemed prudent to extend the system to Scotland, the inhabitants of which, it was supposed, could not yet be safely entrusted with arms because of The '15 and The '45 rebellions. Groundless as the reasons for this caution may have been in regard to the Lowlands, militias could have been hazardous in the Highlands at a time when the Stuarts and their adherents were still plotting a restoration to have armed the clans. An exception, however, was made in favour of the people of Argyle and Sutherland; accordingly, letters of service were issued to John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, then the most influential and powerful nobleman in Scotland, and William Sutherland, 18th Earl of Sutherland, to each raise a fencible regiment within their districts. Unlike the militia regiments which were raised by ballot, the fencibles were raised by the ordinary mode of recruiting, and like the regiments of the line, the officers were to be appointed and their commissions signed by the king. The same system was followed at different periods down to the year 1799, the last of the fencible regiments having been raised in that year.[1]
The following is a list of the Highland fencible regiments according to the chronological order of the commissions:[2]