Among them were the 77th Highland Regiment Of Foot commanded by Archibald Montgomery. The 77th became the backbone of General John Forbes campaign against Fort Duquesne in 1758. Throughout the long summer of '58 the Highlanders hacked their way west across the rugged Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania. In September of that year, men of the 77th Regiment under Major James Grant were sent to scout around Fort Duquesne. The men quickly found themselves in a deadly cross fire just a short distance from the fort. An estimated 800 French and Indians threw themselves at the Highlanders. After hours of intense fighting Major Grant found himself completely surrounded. With the dignity of a Highland gentleman, Grant surrendered. Over 300 of the original 750 men were killed, wounded or missing. What remained of the 77th marched at the head of the column a few months later when Forbes took control of the point and Fort Duquesne. As the new owners of the point prepared to defend their prize, the soldiers of the 77th buried their dead still lying among the trees where they had fallen during Grant's defeat. Within weeks the Highlanders were on their way east again to Philadelphia. From there they went on to fight the French in the West Indies and the Cherokee in the hills of the Carolinas. Many of the men of the 77th would loose their lives fighting for the King of England. After years of hard fighting, the French & Indian War ended. In the spring of 1763 the 77th was marked to be disbanded. Before the order to break up the regiment could be executed, Pontiac's War swept the frontier and the 77th was ordered to march west again. Only a hand full of the 77th were left when Bouquet met the warriors of the Ohio Valley at the decisive Battle of Bushy Run. Those that survived the bloody two day engagement limped to Fort Pitt to relieve it's besieged occupants. It was there at the point the Montgomery's 77th Highland Regiment Of Foot were ordered to disband. It was fate that brought them back to the very place they had fought so many years before. Here we see two men of the 77th as they pay their final respects to "One of their Own" on the rugged rock strewn slope now known as Grant's Hill. They quietly place a thistle upon the grave of a friend or possibly even a father, brother or cousin. After five long hard years of fighting in the most terrible conditions, the men of the 77th Highlanders were finished. Few ever returned home to Scotland.

Geo Irvin

One of Their Own
Edition: Signed and Numbered, Edition Size 950Artist Proof, Edition Size 125 (+$20)