Hugh Fraser, 76th Regiment, takes a blow to the gut

John Sinclair and Hugh Fraser were soldiers in the 76th Regiment of Foot. One afternoon, on the deck of a transport ship near the bow, Sinclair's wife Sophia approached Sinclair and grabbed his collar; they apparently had some sort of joke between them that she was playing upon, but something went wrong.

The 76th was a new-raised regiment, recruited in Scotland in late 1777 and 1778, one of several such regiments created for the duration of the American war and disbanded after hostilities ended. Being new-raised didn't mean that all of the soldiers were new to military service; an unknown portion of the men had reinlisted after having served in the army previously. But the regiment's recruiting instructions directed that recruits be between the ages of 18 and 30, so in absence of other information we assume that most of them were.

The regiment sailed for American in 1779. It was on board one of the transports, the Kingston, that Sophia Sinclair grabbed Hugh Fraser's collar. For reasons we'll never know, Fraser didn't take it lightly, he turned on Sophia, putting her hands around her throat, and shouted “You will not do that, I am not afraid of you!” She struggled with him, apparently trying to free herself, but his arms were longer than hers. Her husband John sprang to her aid, punching Fraser once on the left side of the head and once in the stomach. Fraser collapsed immediately, without a sound, and almost without movement. A crowd gathered; someone swore that Fraser was dead, and Sinclair, still agitated by the apparent assault on his wife, responded, “If he could he would give him more.”

Hugh Fraser was, in fact, dead; after receiving the two blows he went immediately silent and barely moved again. The regimental surgeon was called for, but had to come from another transport. By the time he got there to examine Fraser, the lower part of his stomach had become discolored. It was nighfall, so the surgeon waited until the next morning to examine Fraser's body, by which time "the Putrefaction had so suddenly taken place, that he was prevented seeking further into it."

A few months later, after the regiment had arrived in New York and gotten settled in, John and Sophia Sinclair were put on trial for murder. They were tried together; it was not unusual for military courts to try several offenders of a single crime in one case, hearing each witness testimony only once and then pronouncing a verdict against each defendant. Although no one had see in detail the beginning of the scuffle, several had seen John Sinclair strike Fraser, including one man who had been "looking over a Corporal’s Shoulder who was reading" when the noise on deck caught his attention. Everyone agreed that Fraser had been in good health, that there'd been no previous sign of animosity between him and Sophia Sinclair, and that they'd "seen people engage in a fiercer manner without such a fatal accident happening."

John Sinclair pleaded in his defence that he'd had no intention of taking Fraser's life; Sophia indicated that all she'd done was grab Fraser's collar. Two officers testified to their good character, including one for whom John Sinclair had been a servant for a year before the crime occured; "he should not have parted with him, but for this late unhappy affair," and his wife "always behaved herself exceedingly well."

John and Sophia Sinclair were acquitted of murder. It is, unfortunately, impossible to trace their subsequent lives because there are gaps in the 76th Regiment's muster rolls, there were two men named John Sinclair in the regiment in in 1778, and only one remained in 1782, but there's no way to know which one was which. There was only one Hugh Fraser on the rolls in 1778, and of course he's no longer there in 1782; although he never even got to America and met an ignominious end, at least we know what became of him.

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John Wallace, 76th Regiment of Foot

When it became clear that the war in America would not end quickly, the British government authorized several new regiments to be raised. Among the newly established regiments was the 76th Regiment of Foot, which recruited primarily from Scotland. During the rapid recruiting of this corps in late 1777 and early 1778, a 26 year old baker from the town of Kelso nestled in the southeast of Scotland at the confluence of the Teviot and Tweed rivers. Although from a lowland region, he had apparently resettled farther north in the highland county of Sutherland where he had a little property, a house and a garden. He was literate at least to the extent that he was able to write his own name. Why a man in such a situation would join the army is not known; he may have been enthusiastic about serving Great Britain, influenced by a local officer who knew him and encouraged him, or simply compelled to go along with others in his area.

By the summer of 1781, the 76th was on service in America, part of the army under General Cornwallis operating in Virginia along the banks of the James River. On 6 July they began the complex operation of moving the army across the river. Wallace was part of a detachment of about 20 men from the 76th and 80th Regiments posted in the rear of the army, charged with protecting the army during the delicate river crossing.

In the afternoon the picket was attacked by a substantial force from an American army commanded by the Marquis de Lafayette. The British hoped to convince the Americans that most of Cornwallis's army had already crossed the river and that the rear guard was vulnerable. This meant that the little piquet guard of Scottish soldiers was not reinforced. They fought desperately for about two hours, expending 50 rounds. The subaltern officer commanding the detachment was wounded; an officer who replaced him was wounded, and then a third. When they finally withdrew, John Wallace was one of only a few who escaped unscathed. The engagement escalated into the battle of Green Spring; the Americans were driven from the field, and Cornwallis's army moved on to establish a fateful encampment at Yorktown.

Soon after the army arrived at Yorktown in August 1781, violent thunderstorms roiled through the area. A few soldiers were killed. James Wallace, after surviving the gallant stand at Green Spring, was wounded by nature's wrath. A lightning strike caused him to lose an eye. So it was that he returned from America as a wounded soldier, albeit not wounded in battle.

When he arrived at this home in the Highlands of Sutherland, he learned that friends had, in his absence, "disposed of his little property, a house & garden." He went to a town to work at his trade as a baker, but his other eye soon began to dim, perhaps from the strain caused by the loss of the first. Unable to see well enough to earn a living at the age of only 33, he turned to the government for relief. He applied for an out pension, and was able to support his case with an affidavit signed by a general officer who was familiar with his brave service at Green Spring. His application was granted, providing this young old soldier a modest income for the rest of his life.

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