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The document of 1780 states that Sergeant Alexander Munro of the 76th Regiment of Foot (MacDonnell's Highlanders) had been in the "regiments for 16 or 18 years", thus having joined up in 1762 or 1764. However, the 76th Regiment had only been formed in December 1777 and as such I have often wondered which regiments he had been in before that time. Most of the Highland regiments from this era were raised upon the outbreak of wars and disbanded when the wars ended, such as the Seven Years War (1756 - 1763) and the American War of Independence (1775 - 1783). In fact it appears that the only Highland regiment to be maintained throughout the period between these two wars was the Royal Highland Regiment that was numbered as the 42nd Regiment of Foot, otherwise known as the Black Watch. The muster rolls for this regiment are in the National Archives London and seem to confirm that there was an Alexander Munro who was promoted to the rank of Corporal and then to Sergeant in exactly the right time period. Previously on this page I listed all of the Alexander Munros who appear in the muster rolls for the 42nd Regiment of Foot, followed by a refined list for the Alexander Munro who was promoted to Corporal and then to Sergeant. However, I have removed the full list as it is too much detail for the casual reader. The refined list of company entries for the Alexr Munro who was promoted from Private to Corporal and then to Sergeant is as follows:
Muster roll for Major and Captain William Murray's company of the 1st Battalion Royal Highland Regiment (42nd Foot, Black Watch), dated 22 April 1775 showing Sergeant Alexr Munro. National Archives reference: WO 12/5478.
Muster roll for Major and Captain William Murray's company of the 1st Battalion Royal Highland Regiment (42nd Foot, Black Watch), dated 10 March 1776 showing Sergeant Alexr Munroe. National Archives reference: WO 12/5478.
It is in an account by a Lieutenant John Stewart of the 76th Foot who said in 1780 that he had served in the "regiments" with Sergeant Alexander Munro of the 76th Foot "about sixteen or eighteen years". It is confirmed that there was an officer in the 42nd Foot named John Stewart between 1765 and 1775, as shown linked here, and the chances are he is the same John Stewart who was later an officer in the 76th Foot which wasn't formed until December 1777. The Sergeant Alexander Munro of the 42nd Foot was in the regiment as a private soldier in 1760 which means that he would have served twenty years by 1780 but only about fifteen or sixteen years alongside Stewart if he is the same Sergeant Alexander Munro who was later in the 76th Foot. Lieutenant John Stewart also wasn't entirely sure on how long he had served with him.
As the Sergeant Alexander Munro seems to have been in the 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch Royal Highlanders) since at least the early 1760s it seems more than likely that he would have fought in the many battles that regiment was involved in such as the famous Battle of Bushy Run against the native American Indians.
The two main 19th century published histories of the 42nd Foot, Royal Highland Regiment, Black Watch that I have found online are:
Muster roll dated 12 May 1763 for Captian John Graham's company of the 1st Battalion, 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch), showing private Alexr Munro "Transferred 2 May 1762".
Item WO 12/5479 in the National Archives, Kew, London is a continuation of the muster rolls for the 1st Battalion of the 42nd Foot, Royal Highlanders (Black Watch) from 1777 to 1786 (The 2nd Battalion was merged with the 1st in Dec 1782). In this series there is only one muster roll for a company that is commanded by Major and Captain William Murray which is the same company that the Sergeant Alexander Munro(e) is last found on 10 March 1776 as given in the table above. William Murray was thereafter replaced as the company commander by John McIntosh. In the one muster roll in this series which Major and Captain William Murray is commander of and that is dated 28 March 1778 there are no Alexander Munros, and there are also no Alexander Munros in the same company when it was afterwards being commanded by John McIntosh. This therefore supports my theory that the Sergeant Alexander Munro of the 42nd Foot was the same Sergeant Alexander Munro of the 76th Foot having moved regiments when the latter was formed in late December 1777. There were other Alexander Munros in other companies in this series of muster rolls: a Lieutenant who appears on only one muster roll for Colonel John Murray's company dated 28 March 1778 and several private soldiers who appear variously throughout, but there is nothing to suggest that any of these are the same Alexander Munro who was Sergeant.
Age of Sergeant Alexander Munro
Age of Sergeant Alexander Munro
The below image is from the 1774 Inspection Return for the 42nd Foot and shows the age ranges of the ranking soldiers of each company of the regiment (National Archives, Kew, Richmond, London, ref: WO27/32). In 1774 it is confirmed from the Muster Rolls that Sergeant Alexander Munro was in William Murray's company and this Inspection Return shows that there were no soldiers in his company who had reached the age of 40 in 1774. It can therefore be assumed that there were no soldiers older than 39 and born no earlier than 1735 in Murray's company. Sergeant Alexander Munro is first found as a private in 1760 and the youngest age men could join the army was 16. So he would therefore have probably been born somewhere between 1735 and 1744. However, before 1760 there are only two surviving muster rolls for the 42nd Regiment for two separate companies in 1759. The muster rolls for the other companies and from earlier having not survived to be archived. Therefore I cannot say for certain that the Alexander Munro who is found as private in 1760 and later as Sergeant was not in the regiment before 1760. It is recorded that in 1756, 600 new recruits who were all Highlanders joined the 42nd. As explained on page Possible parish and estate records (part 1) which shows my research into where Sergeant Alexander Munro may have come from, he could have been born in 1739 and therefore if he was one of the new recruits in 1756 he would have then been aged 17 which was one year above the minimum joining age of 16 for new recruits.
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