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Ferguson , Patrick
Ferrier, Susan Edmonstone
Fletcher, Andrew
Forbes, Duncan
Fusiliers, Royal Highland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Heroes & Famous Scots (F)

 

Ferguson , Patrick (1744-1780)
This man could have changed the history of the world if the slow to react English Government of his day had taken aboard his marvellous product. Ferguson invented a rifle which could fire six shots per minute, the six shot concept was unthinkable at that time. The Ferguson rifle itself was a practical breechloader which could outperform any other of its kind. It had a grooved breechlock which prevented powder jam. The government dithered so much about whether to buy the rifle or not that the war with the Colonial Americans was almost over before anything could be done.

Ferguson was a true Scottish soldier having been born at Pitfours in Aberdeenshire. He was a career soldier from the tender Age of fourteen, and had been wounded at the Battle of Brandywine in the year 1777.

If the short sighted, bull-necked people at the government had moved quicker who knows what life would have been like today? As the picture shows it was also a fine looking weapon.
 
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Ferrier, Susan Edmonstone (1782-1854)

Susan Edmonstone Ferrier was an Edinburgh born female writer, who as was the custom at the time of her publishing, did so anonymously. She wrote books about the pretentious life style of the period in Edinburgh's Scottish Society. Her books included ‘ Marriage ' in the year 1818, ‘Inheritance' in 1824, and ‘Destiny', which was also known as ‘ The Chief's daughter'. Susan was so good at creating characters for her many various publications that even the great Sir Walter Scott commented on her brilliance by giving her the accolade of his ‘Sister Shadow ' Susan was a great Scot, and a credit to the Scottish literary world.

 
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Fletcher, Andrew (1653-1716)

Andrew Fletcher was a true Scottish patriot and in fact this is what he was called ‘The Patriot' He had been born in the town of Saltoun in East Lothian, and been educated by many fine tutors. Andrew stood as a member of the Scottish parliament for Haddingtonshire at the age of twenty five, and was elected in 1681. In the year 1683 he was charged and tried for Sedition, he was cleared but decided to move to England and join up with some dissenters down there who were against Charles the second.

Fletcher joined Monmouth in Holland , for a few years and then sailed back to England with his force in the year 1685. However things didn't go quite to plan and Fletcher found himself once more on the run when just before the rebellion could begin, he lost his temper with the Mayor of Taunton and had to flee once more to Holland , and this time joined William of Orange, who was waiting in the wings to treacherously usurp the crown of Britain . Fletcher returned to Scotland in 1688. His alliance with William faded, however, when Fletcher decided that William would be just another king who put England ahead of Scotland . Fletcher was right in his assumptions as William of orange plunged Scotland to the very brink of bankruptcy with his devious means, for personal gain. Fletcher fought all his life to keep the two countries separate as they should be. Unfortunately for Scotland the union went ahead in 1707 because England bought the Scottish gentry with gold. Fletcher left politics in despair and spent the rest of his life in agriculture.

Andrew Fletcher
 
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Forbes, Duncan (1685-1747)

Duncan Forbes could be looked upon as a hero or a villain. He stood against the Jacobite cause and due to his efforts in keeping Inverness from the Jacobite army for eight months previous to the battle; he helped lay the foundations for their defeat at Culloden and the subsequent slaughter of the innocents in Scotland . He alone supported George II and his Hanoverian troops; he stood back and watched as Butcher Cumberland slaughtered innocent Scots after the battle. He saw wounded men being murdered without mercy and families raped, murdered and burnt. Their crime was that they were loyal to the true Monarchy of Scotland, that being the Stuarts.

Duncan Forbes
Even people who had not supported the Jacobite struggle for truth and justice, were ruthlessly murdered just because they were Scots. It is not known whether he supported Cumberland's idea to sterilise the woman of Scotland and so commit genocide. People assume the name Butcher Cumberland was because of his barbarous ways with the Scots but it was actually the English Whig party who called him this because of his sterilisation scheme. Forbes was part and parcel of these deeds, so a true Scot? You can make up your own mind on this matter.
 
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Fusiliers, Royal Highland (1678-2006)
The regiment was first formed as, the 21 st . Foot in the year 1678, and was commanded by the fifth Earl of Mar. The reason for the Regiment was the unstable nature of the Scottish people at that moment in time. Soon after their Regiment became known as Fusiliers thanks to their use of the new musket that had been issued by the British Army, it was called a ‘Fusil' soon the were being officially named ‘The Scots Fusiliers' The ‘Royal' past of the name was to come in 1712.

Another Regiment which was to have close ties was the 73 rd Highlanders; this Regiment was raised by Lord MacLeod in response to the Americans deciding that they wanted to be independent of their English Yoke, that was in the year of 1777.

They went on to become the 71 st Regiment and then to be known as the 74 th They started recruiting in the Glasgow area and soon became known as ‘Glasgow's Own' in the early 20 th century they were to take the name of the famous H.L.I. ‘The Highland Light Infantry.' This Regiment wore the Mackenzie tartan.

Another major shake up for the regiment was on the 20 th of January 1921 when the formed the regiment now known as The Royal Highland Fusiliers .

Raising the Colours
 

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