Home History The Reasons the 79th Mutinied

The Reasons the 79th Mutinied

Written by William Beard

Monday, 30 April 2007

The Reason the 79th Mutinied in 1861 ©2000 William A. Beard III The Seventy-Ninth Thistle; Seventy-Ninth New York Highlanders National Newsletter Vol. III No. 2 Winter 2000 (p. 38) It is a popular misconception to blame the mutiny on kilts, or weapons, or a combination of any of these fantasies. The real causes and facts can be found in the following books: the regimental history by William Todd, the book by Captain William T. Lusk, and Lieutenant Colonel S. M. Elliott’s book, as well as the Scottish American Journal. These are to name just a few of the original sources with information about the mutiny. The reasons are simple and they are: (1.) The 79th had been promised a return trip to New York for recruiting purposes by Simon Cameron and Lt. Col. Elliott. This they were denied. Several rumors and lies had been spread through the 79th camp, which got their hopes up. The reality was a crushing disappointment to the men of the 79th. (2.) Their new colonel, Isaac Stevens, was assigned to them. Not only was he an outsider, but the 79th, like all militia units of the time, voted for their commanding officers, Stevens had been assigned to them. Stevens began implementing the orders to move with the rest of the army and this put more of the troops against him. (3.) Many of the men were very drunk which caused them to lose their inhibitions and judgement. All accounts tell about how easily available alcohol was in the 79th New York camp at the time of the mutiny. (4.) One of the most important reasons why the 79th mutinied was a lack of discipline. The 79th lost most of its officers at First Bull Run including their commanding officer. Two officers were killed, seven were wounded, and eight were captured or missing. This lack of command structure was enough for the 79th to act as a mob, not a group of trained, obedient soldiers. The two companies with officers (I and K) did not mutiny. It was from these two companies that the flags were taken. Incidentally, Captain Lusk was in command of one of the companies that did not mutiny. All of the reasons listed above combined to create an atmosphere for a mutiny. Nobody in their right mind would risk imprisonment or death over not being allowed to wear a kilt, especially when just a few of the men ever had them. Entertaining the idea is just forcing the 79th into this “Scottish Fantasy” that folks have cooked up. The whole idea is silly and preposterous.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 10 October 2007 )

 

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