[1][2] Following the restoration of Charles II, the Scottish Parliament passed an Act in 1661 to create a militia of 20,000 infantry and 2000 horse, available for Crown service anywhere in Scotland, England or Ireland.

During Argyll's Rising in 1685 King James II & VII ordered the disarming of many of the Scottish Militia for fear that they would join the rebel duke.

[2][3][4][5] Following the Union in 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the Parliament of Great Britain passed an Act in 1708 to re-arm the Scottish Militia.

However, the Act was denied Royal assent because of fears that the new force would be disloyal (a Jacobite uprising in Scotland was expected in support of the French invasion fleet that was then at sea).

The regiment was reduced to a permanent staff of 40 non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and drummers under the adjutant and the weapons were deposited at Edinburgh Castle.

[5] During the Napoleonic Wars the militia were embodied for over a decade, and became regiments of full-time professional soldiers (though restricted to service in the British Isles), which the regular Army increasingly saw as a prime source of recruits.

They moved around frequently, serving in coast defences, manning garrisons, guarding prisoners of war, and carrying out internal security duty.

[22] During the summer of 1805, when Napoleon was massing his 'Army of England' at Boulogne for a projected invasion, the BHL&P Militia with 523 men in 7 companies under Lt-Col Sir George Warrender, 4th Baronet, was housed in Musselburgh Barracks.

In January 1813 it was at Kilmarnock, then on 20 April it was ordered to Newcastle upon Tyne, where it remained for the rest of the war, with detachments at Tynemouth and Carlisle.

[22] The war ended with the abdication of Napoleon in April 1814 and the BHL&P Militia was disembodied at Coldstream on 20 August, leaving only the permanent staff.

[24] The Earl of Home died in 1841 and was succeeded in command by William Hay, a half-pay captain in the 15th Foot who had fought in the Peninsular War.

[17] In August 1858 the unit was redesignated the Haddington, Berwick, Linlithgow and Peebles Artillery Militia reflecting a change in recruitment.

Major Logan-Home was promoted to Lt-Col Commandant on 11 February 1860 and Col Hay became the Hon Col.[25] In 1874 the establishment strength of the corps was increased to 540 gunners in six batteries.

[4][17][28][25] The recruiting area for the unit was widened beyond its original four counties, and in April 1894 it was redesignated the South-East of Scotland Artillery to reflect this.

There were moves to reform the Auxiliary Forces (Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteers) to take their place in the six Army Corps proposed by St John Brodrick as Secretary of State for War.

[37][38] Under the sweeping Haldane Reforms of 1908, the Militia was replaced by the Special Reserve, a semi-professional force whose role was to provide reinforcement drafts for Regular units serving overseas in wartime.

About 1856 the corps wore a distinctive plume holder on the busbies: this consisted of a white metal flaming 'bomb', on the ball of which were the Royal Arms over a cannon with the intertwined letters 'BHLP'.

Another ballot for precedence took place in 1803 at the beginning of the Napoleonic War, covering the whole of Great Britain, and this list remained in force until 1833.