As North America was still forming, Highland men were specifically recruited to assist with keeping the new settlements safe.
The first such recruitment in 1734 was a group of Highlanders from Inverness and surrounding areas who were recruited by General James Edward Oglethorpe to protect the settlement of Savannah, Georgia. They traveled on the Prince of Wales and the passenger list has been transcribed by the Immigrant Ship's Transcription Guild. The list is available at:
From 1775-1784, 2000 Scots highlanders were recruited to the 84th Regiment of Foot which defended the lands in the 13 colonies and then fought on the side of the British government in the American Revolutionary War. These men had military experience in the Seven Years War. The 84th Regiment of Foot was divided into two companies. The muster and pay lists for both companies can be found here:
After the Revolutionary War, the 84th Regiment of Foot disbanded and the men settled in Nova Scotia as United Empire Loyalists. They were given land grants of between 100 acres (for privates) and 500 acres (for Officers). To search the indexes for these early land grants, consult: http://novascotia.ca/archives/virtual/?Search=THlan&List=all
