BLACK WATCH, the appellation given to certain armed companies employed to watch the highlands of Scotland. The term Mack arose from the dress of this species of militia, which was composed of tartans of dark colors. Sonic highlanders hind been armed by government as early as 1725, when gen.-Wado was appoittlad commander-in-chief in but it was not till about 1729 or 1730 that the companies assumed a regular orm. The companies were six in number—three comprising. 100 men each, commanded by a captain; and three of 70 men each, commanded by capt.lieuts. Stationed in different parts of the highlands, and acting independently of each other, they were styled the independent companies of the black watch. The body was raised chiefly from the whig or loyal chins—Campbells, Grants, Munros, etc.—and many men of good station in society joined it, not only for the sake of good par, hut for the valued privi lege of bearing arms. The duties of the 13. W. were to enioree the disarming act, to overawe the disaffected, to prevent political meetings of a seditious kind, and to cheek depredations among the clans, or on the lowland frontier. After being of considerable
use for these local purposes, the whole of the companies were formed into the 42d regi ment, under the command of the earl of Crawford. in 1739—their removal giving facility, no doubt, for the outbreak of the rebellion in 1745. Retaining its original high land character, the 42d regiment became one of the most distinguished corps in the British army; the whole of its history, for which we would refer to the work of col. Stew art on highland regiments, being a series of brilliant achievements. Embodied under the earl of Crawford, the regiment would have adopted the tartan of that nobleman, if he had possessed such a cognizance; the earl, however, a lowlander, it was necessary to adopt an arbitrary pattern of tartan, which has ever since been known as the 42d or 13. 'W. tartan. Sce TARTAN.
a disease in cattle. Sce DARN.