The current Battalion traces its lineage back to the reserve Rifle Volunteer units that were originally raised in the Scottish Highlands as part of the Victorian Volunteer Force by Lord Lieutenants in every county. These included Highland units from the north-west of Scotland such as the Argyllshire Rifle Volunteers, the Inverness-shire Rifle Volunteers, the Ross-shire Rifle Volunteers and the Sutherland Rifle Volunteers. However, the lineage also includes elements of the Forfarshire Rifle Volunteers, the Perthshire Rifle Volunteers, the Fifeshire Rifle Volunteers, the Elginshire Rifle Volunteers, the Aberdeenshire Rifle Volunteers, the Banffshire Rifle Volunteers, the Renfrewshire Rifle Volunteers, and the Clackmananshire Rifle Volunteers.