Editing King's Royal Rifle Corps (section)

===French and Indian War===
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was raised in the American colonies in 1756 as the '''62nd (Royal American) Regiment''' to defend the colonies against attack by the French and their indigenous allies. After [[Braddock Expedition|Braddock's defeat]] in 1755, royal approval for a new regiment, as well as funds, were granted by parliament just before Christmas 1755 – hence the regiment's traditional birthday of Christmas Day. However, parliamentary delays meant that it was 4 March 1756 before a special act of parliament created four [[battalion]]s of 1,000 men each to include foreigners for service in the Americas.{{sfn|Cusick|2014| p= 44}}

[[File:Johnson saving Dieskau.jpg|thumb|right|[[Benjamin West]]'s depiction of [[Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet|Sir William Johnson]] sparing [[Jean Erdman, Baron Dieskau|Lord Dieskau]]'s life after the [[Battle of Lake George]]. (Reportedly, the uniforms of soldiers in the background right are of the Royal Americans)]]
[[File:60th Royal American Regiment.jpg|thumb|upright|Soldier of the 60th Royal American Regiment in 1758]]
[[File:Thomas McKee.jpg|thumb|upright|Often identified as a portrait of his father Alexander, this is probably Thomas McKee because the uniform is that of an officer of the 60th Regiment of Foot of the 1790s.<ref>Nelson, p. 159</ref>]]

{{anchor|Commissions to Foreign Protestants Act 1756}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Commissions to Foreign Protestants Act 1756
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to enable His Majesty to grant Commissions to a certain Number of Foreign Protestants, who have served Abroad as Officers or Engineers, to act and rank as Officers or Engineers in America only, under certain Restrictions and Qualifications.
| year                  = 1756
| citation              = [[29 Geo. 2]]. c. 5
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 9 March 1756
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 15 July 1867
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law Revision Act 1867]]
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = Repealed
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
A regimental history compiled in 1879 states that, in November 1755, Parliament voted the sum of £81,000 for the purpose of raising a regiment of four battalions, each one thousand strong, for service in [[British North America]]. To provide experienced personnel, Parliament passed the '''Commissions to Foreign Protestants Act 1756''' ([[29 Geo. 2]]. c. 5)<ref name="Acts1766">{{cite book|title=The Statutes at Large from the Magna Charta, to the End of the Eleventh Parliament of Great Britain|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/statutesatlarge57britgoog#page/n376 |chapter=An Act to enable his Majesty to grant commissions to a certain number of foreign Protestants, who have served abroad as officers or engineers, to act and rank as officers or engineers in America only under certain restrictions and regulations|page=376|publisher=J. Bentham|year=1766}}</ref> [[John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun|The Earl of Loudoun]], who as [[commander-in-chief]] of the Forces in North America, was appointed [[colonel-in-chief]] of the regiment. About fifty officers' commissions were given to Germans and Swiss, and none were allowed to rise above the rank of lieutenant-colonel.{{sfn|Wallace|1879| p=1}}

According to a modern history of the regiment, the idea for creating this unique force was proposed by Jacques Prevost, a Swiss soldier and adventurer who was a friend of the [[Prince William, Duke of Cumberland|Duke of Cumberland]] (the Duke was the King's third son and also [[Commander-in-Chief of the Forces]]). Prevost recognised the need for soldiers who understood forest warfare, unlike the regulars who were brought to America in 1755 by General [[Edward Braddock]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Williams|first=Edward G.|title=The Prevosts of the Royal Americans|page=7|publisher=Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine|year=1973|url=https://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/download/3199/58417|volume=56|issue=1|access-date=12 June 2016|archive-date=5 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105070006/https://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/download/3199/58417|url-status=live}}</ref>

The regiment was intended to combine the characteristics of a [[colonial troops|colonial corps]] with those of a [[foreign volunteers|foreign legion]]. Swiss and German forest fighting experts, American colonists and British volunteers from other British regiments were recruited. These men were Protestants, an important consideration for fighting against the predominantly Catholic French. The officers were also recruited from Europe – not from the American colonies – and consisted of English, Scots, Irish, Dutch, Swiss and Germans. It was the first time foreign officers were commissioned as British Army officers. In total, the regiment consisted of 101 officers, 240 non-commissioned officers and 4,160 enlisted men. The battalions were raised on [[Governors Island]], New York. The regiment was renumbered the '''60th (Royal American) Regiment''' in February 1757 when the [[Shirley's Regiment|50th (Shirley's)]] and [[Pepperrell's Regiment|51st (Pepperrell's)]] foot regiments were removed from the British Army roll after their surrender at [[Fort Oswego]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Siege and Capture of Havana in 1762 |first= Robert |last=Brown|publisher= Maryland Historical Magazine|date= March 1909|volume=4 | page= 324| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ubs1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA324}}</ref>

Among the distinguished foreign officers given commissions in the 60th (Royal Americans) was [[Henry Bouquet]], a Swiss citizen, whose forward-looking ideas on tactics, training and man-management (including the unofficial introduction of the rifle and more practical clothing suited to bush-fighting) would come to be accepted as standard in the British Army many years in the future. Bouquet was commanding officer of the 1st battalion, and with his fellow battalion commanders, worked to form units that were better suited to warfare in the forests and lakes of northeast America.<ref name="Chartrand">{{cite web|url=http://www.militaryheritage.com/60thregt.htm|title=History and Uniform of the 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot, 1755–1760|publisher=Military Heritage|access-date=11 June 2016|archive-date=24 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160524104852/http://www.militaryheritage.com/60thregt.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{anchor|American Protestant Soldier Naturalization Act 1762}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = American Protestant Soldier Naturalization Act 1762
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = An Act for naturalizing such Foreign Protestants as have served, or shall serve, for the Time therein mentioned, as Officers, or Soldiers, in His Majesty's Royal American Regiment, or as Engineers in America.
| year                  = 1762
| citation              = [[2 Geo. 3]]. c. 25
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 2 June 1762
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 15 July 1867
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law Revision Act 1867]]
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = Repealed
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
Elements of the new regiment fought at [[Siege of Louisbourg (1758)|Louisbourg]] in June 1758, the [[Cape Sable Campaign]] in September 1758 and [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham|Quebec]] in September 1759, and finally the [[Montreal Campaign]] from July to September 1760 which finally wrested Canada from France. At [[Quebec City|Quebec]] General [[James Wolfe]] is said to have granted the 60th the motto {{lang|la|Celer et Audax}} (Swift and Bold). To reward and maintain their service and loyalty, Parliament passed the '''American Protestant Soldier Naturalization Act 1762''' ([[2 Geo. 3]]. c. 25), which offered British naturalization to those officers, engineers and soldiers who had or would serve for two years, with certain conditions and on the model of the [[Plantation Act 1740]].<ref name="Acts1766" />{{rp|197}}

These earlier engagements were conventional battles on the European model, but fighting during [[Pontiac's War]] in 1763 was of a very different character. The frontier war threatened the British control of North America. The new regiment at first lost several outlying garrisons such as [[Fort Michilimackinac]], later a detachment fought under Bouquet's leadership at the victory of [[Battle of Bushy Run|Bushy Run]] in August 1763.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bushyrunbattlefield.com/history/battle-of-bushy-run/|title=Battle of Bushy Run|publisher=Bushy Run Battlefield|access-date=11 June 2016|archive-date=22 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622034441/http://bushyrunbattlefield.com/history/battle-of-bushy-run/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 60th was uniformed and equipped in a similar manner to other British regiments with red coats and cocked hats or grenadier caps,<ref name="Chartrand"/> but on campaign, swords were replaced with hatchets, and coats and hats cut down for ease of movement in the woods.<ref name="Chartrand"/>