Duncan McGregor

author

Duncan McGregor

1787–1881

A career soldier of the British Army, he spent decades in Highland regiments and rose from a young officer at the start of the nineteenth century to become General Sir Duncan McGregor. Surviving records show him closely tied to the 72nd, 78th, and 93rd Highlanders, with service that stretched across the Napoleonic era and well beyond it.

1 Audiobook

The Loss of the Kent, East Indiaman, in the Bay of Biscay Narrated in a Letter to a Friend

The Loss of the Kent, East Indiaman, in the Bay of Biscay Narrated in a Letter to a Friend

by Duncan McGregor

About the author

Born in 1787, Duncan McGregor built a long military career in the British Army rather than a literary one. A study in the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research identifies him as the later General Sir Duncan McGregor and traces his early service from the 72nd Highlanders, a brief transfer to the 55th Foot, and then the 78th Highlanders, where he rose through the ranks before taking command in the 93rd Regiment.

That same research notes that he joined the 72nd in 1800, became a lieutenant in 1801, a captain in 1804, a major in 1813, and lieutenant-colonel of the 93rd in 1825. The article also describes a family report connected to a court-martial in Antigua in 1827 that was almost certainly written by McGregor, giving a rare glimpse of his own voice and his close relationships with fellow Highland officers.

He died in 1881. A painted portrait of Sir Duncan Macgregor is held by the Regimental Museum of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and catalogued by Art UK, which helps preserve his place in the history of the Highland regiments.