Seaforth Officers on May 13, 1978 for the Bicentennial of the Founding of the Seaforth Highlanders in 1778. The Raising of the 78th (later 72nd) or Earl of Seaforth's Regiment: January-May 1778 On 29 December 1777 Kenneth Earl of Seaforth received his commission as Lieutenant Colonel Commandant, and on 8th January 1778 the Letter of Service was signed which authorized him to raise his Highland regiment. There followed four months of hectic recruiting to find the 47 officers and 1082 men required to fill the establishment. The earlier Highland regiments had already tapped the manpower of the Highlands, but Lord Seaforth took every advantage of the traditional loyalty of his clan, and managed to recruit the majority of his men from Ross-shire and Lewis. He made up the number with about 300 men from the Lowlands, England and Ireland. In May 1778 he concentrated his men at Elgin for the mandatory inspection by a General Officer. On 15 May 1778 the regiment was passed by Major General Robert Skene as fit for service. It was designated the 78th Regiment of (Highland) Foot. At the time of the bicentenary of the Regiment on 15 May 1978, 200 years after the Earl of Seaforth's Highland Regiment was raised, the 1st Queen's Own Highlanders were on operational duty in Northern Ireland. The Bicentenary celebrations were delayed until after their return to Edinburgh when, on 14 October 1978, the Regiment was granted the Freedom of the Moray District. The 1st Queen's Own Highlanders, with detachments of the 51st Highland Volunteers, the Camerons of Ottawa, the Camerons of Canada, and the Seaforth of Canada, paraded at Elgin where the original 78th had been inspected and passed fit for service in 1778.