The nucleus was provided by English officers and men from the Duke of Perth's Regiment, plus 39 Catholics recruited by John Daniel, of Kirkham, Lancashire.
Provisionally titled the "English Regiment," it was subsequently renamed "Manchester" to "please and content the town".

Lancashire Catholic Francis Towneley was appointed colonel on the recommendation of the Marquis d’Éguilles, who was acquainted with his brother John.
Towneley served with the French army from 1728 to 1736 and was viewed favourably by Irish Jacobite Sir John MacDonald, an opinion not universally shared.
He had a reputation for being hot-tempered and one officer, James Bradshaw, later transferred to Lord Elcho's regiment as a result.

William Vaughan, a Herefordshire Catholic from the same social class as Towneley, was made lieutenant-colonel, with approval of the junior officers delegated to David Morgan.
They included Tom Syddall, a barber whose father was executed after 1715, James Dawson, a former student expelled from Cambridge University, John Berwick, a linen draper with financial issues, plus three sons of Thomas Deacon.

A member of the Nonjuring church, Deacon was also a Jacobite sympathiser, who wrote the final speeches for John Hall and William Paul, executed after the 1715 Rising.
Charles Deacon was appointed secretary, signing up recruits at the Bull's Head; many came from surrounding villages and it was later claimed no more than 28 were from Manchester itself.
Excluding those drafted from existing units, the number of new recruits was estimated as around 200, considerably less than hoped.
One reason was the relatively low status of the captains, normally responsible for recruiting; social standing was needed to attract men, then money to equip and pay them in advance.

O'Sullivan and others attributed the lack of enthusiasm to the absence of French regulars; while this undoubtedly played a part, it also reflected the post-1715 decline in English Jacobite support.
Although some Scots and English observers dismissed the rank and file as "men of desperate fortunes", "common fellows" and "200 vagabonds", they represented a fairly typical cross-section of tradesmen, agricultural workers and those employed in the weaving industry.
The majority were in their late teens and early twenties, with a relatively high proportion of Catholics.

According to a witness, the regimental colours had the words "Liberty" and "Property" on one side, "Church" and "Country" on the other, and may have incorporated the St George's Cross, while recruits were initially given blue and white ribbons as an identifying badge.
They are supposed to have received blue coats and tartan sashes, although this seems unlikely for a unit that existed for little more than a month; the town constable in Derby recorded "about 56 Lankashire persons (wearing) a Sash of Pladd", which may have been a generalised Jacobite identifier.
The nucleus was provided by English officers and men from the Duke of Perth's Regiment, plus 39 Catholics recruited by John Daniel, of Kirkham, Lancashire. Provisionally titled the "English Regiment," it was subsequently renamed "Manchester" to "please and content the town".
Lancashire Catholic Francis Towneley was appointed colonel on the recommendation of the Marquis d’Éguilles, who was acquainted with his brother John. Towneley served with the French army from 1728 to 1736 and was viewed favourably by Irish Jacobite Sir John MacDonald, an opinion not universally shared. He had a reputation for being hot-tempered and one officer, James Bradshaw, later transferred to Lord Elcho's regiment as a result.
William Vaughan, a Herefordshire Catholic from the same social class as Towneley, was made lieutenant-colonel, with approval of the junior officers delegated to David Morgan. They included Tom Syddall, a barber whose father was executed after 1715, James Dawson, a former student expelled from Cambridge University, John Berwick, a linen draper with financial issues, plus three sons of Thomas Deacon.
A member of the Nonjuring church, Deacon was also a Jacobite sympathiser, who wrote the final speeches for John Hall and William Paul, executed after the 1715 Rising. Charles Deacon was appointed secretary, signing up recruits at the Bull's Head; many came from surrounding villages and it was later claimed no more than 28 were from Manchester itself. Excluding those drafted from existing units, the number of new recruits was estimated as around 200, considerably less than hoped. One reason was the relatively low status of the captains, normally responsible for recruiting; social standing was needed to attract men, then money to equip and pay them in advance.
O'Sullivan and others attributed the lack of enthusiasm to the absence of French regulars; while this undoubtedly played a part, it also reflected the post-1715 decline in English Jacobite support. Although some Scots and English observers dismissed the rank and file as "men of desperate fortunes", "common fellows" and "200 vagabonds", they represented a fairly typical cross-section of tradesmen, agricultural workers and those employed in the weaving industry. The majority were in their late teens and early twenties, with a relatively high proportion of Catholics.
According to a witness, the regimental colours had the words "Liberty" and "Property" on one side, "Church" and "Country" on the other, and may have incorporated the St George's Cross, while recruits were initially given blue and white ribbons as an identifying badge. They are supposed to have received blue coats and tartan sashes, although this seems unlikely for a unit that existed for little more than a month; the town constable in Derby recorded "about 56 Lankashire persons (wearing) a Sash of Pladd", which may have been a generalised Jacobite identifier.
Manchester Regiment (Jacobite)