Bruce Robert natural son to James Bruce and Jean Spence at the
b.Oct.2 Shoar of Gamery was born on October 2nd. and baptised
c.Oct.4 October 4th. Witnesses were William Straiton and Robert
1746 Vanrige, soldiers in Colonel Lewis Dejean’s Regement.of Foot, now at Banff.

Colonel Lewis Dejean’s Regiment, 37th. Foot had been based at Banff
since the battle of Culloden 6 months earlier. At this time regiments took
the name of their Commanding Officer. Contemporary narratives of the
Battle of Culloden refer to the above regiment as Monro’s 37th.
Regiment of Foot, but this officer, Colonel Sir Robert Monro, had been
killed at the Battle of Falkirk 3 months before Culloden. 

The regiment was based at Banff to keep an eye on the coast to prevent
The escape of “Bonnie Prince Charlie”. Platoons of soldiers had been
based in all the villages for this purpose.The soldiers and locals must
have been on friendly enough terms for them to appear as witnesses at a
birth.