Driv'n by Fortune: The Scots' March to Modernity in America, 1745-1812

by Sam Allison

Overview

A provocative account of the 78th Fraser’s Highlanders and its crucial place in history.

The remarkable story of the men of the 78th Fraser’s Highlanders moves from the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland, through the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution, to the War of 1812.

Simon Fraser, chief of the Clan Fraser of Lovat, raised the 78th Highlanders, a regiment that played a major role in defeating the French on the Plains of Abraham. Driv’n by Fortune tackles the myths embedded in nationalistic history and in fictional accounts of these Highland soldier-settlers who brought the Scottish Enlightenment to North America.

The impact of the 78th Fraser’s Highlanders, which extended far beyond Scotland and the Canada of their times, is finally being told.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459722033
Publisher:	Dundurn Press
Publication date:	12/01/2015
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Sam Allison was born in Scotland and immigrated to Canada in 1968. He taught history at the high school level and at McGill University’s Faculty of Education. Sam served on numerous committees for Quebec’s Ministry of Education, and has written educational books, articles, and websites. He was the 2016 recipient of the Gordon Atkinson Memorial Prize in Highland Military History. He lives in Brossard, Quebec.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
List of Maps
List of Tables
Introduction
 
One: Mercenary Migration Through Europe
Two: Explaining the Scots Highland and Mercenary Traditions
Three: The Eighteenth Century British Military Machine In America
Four: Raising the 78th Fraser’s Highlanders
Five: The Fighting Frasers
Six: Veterans Home From America
Seven: Choosing America
Eight: Redcoats, Revolution, and Re-Migration
Nine: Modernizing America: The Highland Scots Heritage In The New World
Ten: The Scots March to Modernity
Eleven: Past Fiction: Sir Walter’s Scott-Land
Twelve: The March of the Highland Men Through the History Books
 
Conclusion
Appendix A: Brief Biographies of Selected 78th Fraser Highlander Soldiers
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

This impressive book, which took Allison over ten years to complete, contains an incredible amount of information … it is a masterpiece.

Nuacht (Irish Canadian History Magazine)