Kilts in American Revolution

[RGM1]

I was rather surprised to see Jamie Frasier wearing a kilt in the Battle of King's mountain in the TV series, Outlander. I would have thought kilts would have disappeared by that time in the colonies. This is partly of interest to me because I am interested in being a member of the Color Guard for the Sons of the American Revolution charter in Philadelphia. I went to the trouble of having one of my ancestors acknowledged by the group. Many members wear the uniform of Washington's Lifeguards or some variation of a militia uniform, however, my antecedents were from the Carolina militias that responded to the threat of Tarleton's threat to the peace of the back country so makes sense to me to wear something that reflects that tradition. I claim kinship to the Murray's whose tartan was defined by Lord George Murray prior to the American Revolution rather than being an invention of the Victorians.
I was wondering if wearing a Murray of Atholl kilt as a reenactor of a Revolutionary War militia member makes sense.

[NHhighlander]

I am also curious. With the Proscription still in full force in The Highlands, it behoves that those who wanted their freedom even in sartorial sense would have crossed over here, and kilt be more visible here at that time than over there. But, as usual, I don't know, and would love to.

[kilted2000]

I’ve heard of Loyalist units kilted like the Royal Highland Immigrants that I think was associated with Flora Macdonald and her husband. Of course theor also where regular army kilted such as the Black Watch. But I’ve never heard of a kilted American regiment. I thought the 79th New York Regiment from the Civil War was the only kilted regiment in the US Army. I could be wrong though. Apparently most Scots in the colonies were Loyalists.

[RGM1]

Settlers.in the South were on both sides of the conflict as demonstrated by the battle of King's Mountain which was militia against militia i.e, not formal regiments and Scot-Irish were on both sides. Militia worn what they had at home and did not have special uniforms. Feelings ran deep and those with Loyalist sympathies were treated harshly after the British were defeated. They were fortunate if they were allowed to escape to Canada.
The Loyalist commander sought help.from the British army but it never came. The battle was over before they were aware of need and they gave up on controlling that Southern states with the one remaining battle of note being Cowpens.

[OC Richard]

I think the idea of Jamie running around in a kilt is pure Hollywood.

Outlander's largely female fan-base wants to see Jamie in a kilt and the producers complied, that's all there is to it.

The Outlander costumes in general, and the Highland outfits in particular, have very little to do with historical reality.

The Outlander British army uniforms are hardly better, though they show improvement when Trisha Biggar took over. Terry Dresbach often put British officers in preposterously ornate costumes including features that didn't appear until the Napoleonic period. Thing is, we have period portraits of some of those officers and their uniforms follow the restrained fashions of the late 18th century.

[RGM1]

I concur. Too much time had gone by Scotland to be a reliable source of tartans. Was wishful thinking on my part

[Canadian Vet]

I was rather surprised to see Jamie Frasier wearing a kilt in the Battle of King's mountain in the TV series, Outlander. I would have thought kilts would have disappeared by that time in the colonies. This is partly of interest to me because I am interested in being a member of the Color Guard for the Sons of the American Revolution charter in Philadelphia. I went to the trouble of having one of my ancestors acknowledged by the group. Many members wear the uniform of Washington's Lifeguards or some variation of a militia uniform, however, my antecedents were from the Carolina militias that responded to the threat of Tarleton's threat to the peace of the back country so makes sense to me to wear something that reflects that tradition. I claim kinship to the Murray's whose tartan was defined by Lord George Murray prior to the American Revolution rather than being an invention of the Victorians.
I was wondering if wearing a Murray of Atholl kilt as a reenactor of a Revolutionary War militia member makes sense.

I wear Murray of Atholl and I am the son of Loyalists.

[Troglodyte]

I was rather surprised to see Jamie Frasier wearing a kilt in the Battle of King's mountain in the TV series, Outlander. I would have thought kilts would have disappeared by that time in the colonies. This is partly of interest to me because I am interested in being a member of the Color Guard for the Sons of the American Revolution charter in Philadelphia. I went to the trouble of having one of my ancestors acknowledged by the group. Many members wear the uniform of Washington's Lifeguards or some variation of a militia uniform, however, my antecedents were from the Carolina militias that responded to the threat of Tarleton's threat to the peace of the back country so makes sense to me to wear something that reflects that tradition. I claim kinship to the Murray's whose tartan was defined by Lord George Murray prior to the American Revolution rather than being an invention of the Victorians.
I was wondering if wearing a Murray of Atholl kilt as a reenactor of a Revolutionary War militia member makes sense.

Stewart of Garth is perhaps your best source of information here.

He was a serving officer in a number of different theatres of war where the various Highland regiments found themselves during the later decades of the 18th century, and his acounts of active service in the colonial rebellion is based on both personal experience and official record.

There was any number of additonal battalions and new regiments raised at home for service in the American colonies, many of them kilted and equipped in the usual way. Some of these only lasted a short period of time, but kilted soldiers in the colonies would have been a common sight.

It should not be forgotten that the Dress Act of 1746 forbade the wearing of Highland dress (tartan being an identifying political symbol of the Jacobite at the time of The '45) only by men and boys in Scotland. Records show that demand for tartan in the colonies rose dramatically following the Act, so we can assume there was a fair number of colonials, both loyal and rebellious, who felt it unreasonable and expressed their feelings financially.

Regular Highlanders serving in North America during the 18th century were allowed a fair degree of leeway when it came to adapting their uniforms for active service in the field - making use of native-style buckskin leggings with the kilt is a good example.

The Outlander series is pure imagination and is riddled with inaccuracies and theatrical fantasy - it is a mistake to regard it as a good source or reference of historial fact, in both political/hitorical terms and sartorial accuracy. But the effect it has had on tartan-and-kilt fashion in recent years is plain to see.

[RGM1]

I wear Murray of Atholl and I am the son of Loyalists.

I was in the Murray contingent that followed the Murray of Atholl regiment down Sixth Avenue during tartan week last year in New York city. Was quite the experience.

[RGM1]

Makes sense Scots in colonies would resent restrictions on tartan but seems a stretch a settler on the frontier would have access to the fabric.