Sir James Halket’s Regiment of Horse

Covenanter regiment of horse serving in Scotland against Montrose, raised again in the Third Civil War

• November: Raised for service in Scotland
• November: Serving with Ramsey
• Quartered around Aberdeen

• March: Move to Brechin, joining Baillie
• April: Stormed at Dundee
• April: Skirmish at Careston Ford
• April: Return to Aberdeen and mutiny due to lack of pay
• May: Battle of Auldearn (det)
• July: Battle of Alford
• Reduced into Earl of Balcarres’ Regiment of Horse

• February: Halket commissioned Colonel of 2 cavalry and one infantry regiment but they fail to materialise
• February: Lt Col Robert Halket ordered from Moray to Ross to support the Inverness garrison
• Spring: Horse raised in Linlithgow, Fife, Peebles and Dumbarton
• May: Skirmish at Balvenie (Lt Colonel Robert Halket's troop) against Mackenzie of Pluscardine's forces
• June: Robert Halket's troop ordered to quarter in Moray, Nairn and Inverness, but changed to Fife, Angus or the Mearns
• July: Robert Halket's troop to rendezvous with Ker and Strachan at Coupar Angus
• October: Robert Halket's troop at Duffus, renews the Covenant
• Colonel Halket's troop at Dunfermline, Rm Cranston at Forres

• January: One John Dalgleish dismissed for drunknes & swearing
• April: Skirmish at Carbisdale (Robert Halket's troop), return to Moray
• June: Ordered to Fife and Peebles
• Robert Halket's troop detached to form the basis of Colonel Robert Halket’s Regiment of Horse
• July: Skirmish at Musselburgh
• 3rd September: Battle of Dunbar - 2 troops
• Quartered in Fife to protect Burntisland

• February: Sir James Halket resigns his commission
• June: Part of regiment at Kirkcaldy
• July: Battle of Inverkeithing??

A history of the unit is shown in Edward M. Furgol’s A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639-1651 Edinburgh, 1990. ISBN 0 85976 194 0

The regiment was accused of cowardice at Alford, so was broken up and reduced into Balcarres' horse. In February 1648 Halket's men were investigated for misbehaviour in Elgin, probably Halket was serving in another unit at the time. It is uncertain whether they were at Inverkeithing, perhaps under a different commander as Halket had resigned in the February.

A list of the regiment's officers is shown in Stuart Reid's Scots Armies of the 17th Century 2: Scots Colours Partizan Press 1988 ISBN 094652550 1

Variously Hacket, Hackett, etc, he was governor of Inchgarvie from July 1650

Went on to form his own regiment of horse

• February 1649: 2 regiments of 240 horse each and 500 foot planned but not raised
• Spring 1649: Colonel's troop numbers 43 men
• July 1649: 4 troops: Col Sir James Halket of 60, Lt Col Robert Halket of 60, Rm Cranston of Glen 44, Rm Cranston the younger 34 men (total 198 men)
• August 1649: New levies ordered, unlikely to have arrived
• July 1650: New levies ordered; Elgin 54, Nairn 14, Inverness 69, Galloway 55, Dumbarton 30, Peebles 49, Selkirk 2
• September 1650: (After Dunbar) 96 levies authorised from Fife