Bonnie Prince Charlie
After more than two and a half centuries, Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart remains the source of bitter arguments between Jacobites, who considered him the rightful King of Scots, and Covenanters who label him a Romish degenerate. He was both, but not at the same time. That he was raised in Italy and never set eyes on Scotland until he was in his twenties, was irrelevant to the feudal right of succession. Before he was ten years old he was fluent in English, French and Italian, and it has been said that his favorite language was Polish. He was a competent horseman and marksman; he played tennis and golf; and his favorite liquor was “Drambhuidhe” (Pleasing Dram), the MacDonalds’ greatest contribution to civilization.
When war broke out between Britain and France in 1743, the Jacobites,
who had always depended on the power of France for support, saw a chance to
achieve their fondest hopes. James VIII, the “Old Pretender,” as he was
called, was fifty-seven years old. So, in 1744, when Louis XV of France decided
to invade England from the port of Dunkirk with an army of 10,000 men commanded
by Marshal Saxe, the champion set up by the French to promote the interests of
the House of Stuart was the Stuart king’s son, Charles Edward.
The Jacobite Court of The House of Stuart found exile quite comfortable in the palaces of Europe. Still, famine, unrest and discontent pervaded Scotland and Ireland, and the Catholic Irish and Scottish Highlanders were the strongest supporters of the Jacobite leaders. Often, Highland chiefs sent their sons to France for their education and for their careers, as did Glengarry. His eldest son “Alasdair Ruaidh” (Red-haired Alexander), born in 1725, was educated at King James’ expense at The Scots College in Paris. Similarly, several of The MacDonnells of Antrim and their cousins, The MacDonnells of Moye, were educated at The Irish College of Louvain in Flanders. Réne, of this branch, became friends with James Earl Oglethorpe, founder of the American Colony of Georgia, who assisted Réne to obtain an inheritance in Ireland. In 1743, Glengarry was given command of a company in the “Ecossais Royale” (Royal Scots - the Irish Brigade of the French Army). The clansmen were still loyal to their chiefs, loved fighting and had received the least benefit of Protestant rule. Highland culture continued much as it had in previous centuries; regardless of clan feuds, rieving, poverty, hunger, scurvy, lack of education, fifty percent unemployment and dependence on the chief, whose wealth was measured in the number of men who would rally to his standard, tradition still influenced the lives of the people. Stories were handed down from one generation to the next on winter evenings when they gathered at each others’ homes. In spite of the failures of Jacobite risings in 1689, 1708, 1715 and 1719, the young still grew up inspired by the warlike deeds of their ancestors and with ideals in which courage and strength were prominent. They were truly a warrior race, and “The ‘45” was to have a profound impact on Clanranald.
La cour d’honneur du château de Versailles (The Court of Honor of the Palace of Versailles)
Clanranald, The Forty-Five And The Clearances
“Bonnie Prince Charlie” was twenty three years old, and France claimed he was the true heir to the throne of Great Britain. The young chevalier, who had been summoned to France from his father’s court in Rome to take part in the enterprise, was charged to raise Scotland in rebellion.
Lord John Drummond, accompanied by Alasdair Ruaidh of Glengarry, sailed for Scotland early in November of 1744 with three regiments, Ogilvie’s, Albany’s and “Ecossais Royale.” There were also 50 men from each of the six Irish regiments then in French service. But again, weather fought on the side of the English, a storm drove the French fleet back on the French coast, and France refused to contribute any more to the cause of the Stuarts. Two of Drummond’s transports were captured by an English frigate, H.M.S. Sheerness. Among the prisoners taken to the Tower of London was “Lieutenant Alexander McDonell of Lord George Drummond’s Regiment.” He was not released until 1747.
After Louis withdrew the French army from the equation, the Stuarts were faced with reasonable skepticism from their supporters in Scotland. At a meeting in a tavern in Edinburgh in December, 1744, attended by leading Jacobites including John Murray of Broughton, the Duke of Perth, the Earl of Traquair, Lord Elcho, Cameron of Lochiel and Alasdair Ruaidh of Glengarry, demands were agreed to as to the guarantees required by the chiefs in exchange for their support in the rising. They wanted 6,000 French regulars, arms for 10,000 more and 30,000 louis d’or. But due to the indolence (or perhaps the duplicity) of Traquair, who was entrusted with its delivery, and who claimed he could find no one suitable to deliver it, the letter never reached Prince Charles. Instead, when MacLeod of MacLeod returned it to Murray, it was given to Alasdair Ruaidh of Glengarry, who took it to France. When Glengarry arrived in Paris, Prince Charles had already left and Sir Thomas Sheridan, Charles’ de facto Lord Chamberlain, disclaimed any knowledge of his whereabouts.
Close Action
Charles was in Nantes, having gone there in disguise. In spite of the withdrawal of French support, the Stuart prince was resolved not to turn back, and was determined to sail for Scotland, even if he were only accompanied by a “single footman.” The defeat of the British at Fontenoy on May 11, 1745 gave him his opportunity. Charles turned to an Irish merchant in Nantes, Anthony Walsh, whose grandfather had transported James VII back to France after “The Boyne.” His light frigate, the “Du Teillay” (Doutelle) was ready to sail and merely had to receive their luggage. Another Irish merchant in Brest, named O'Brien, furnished the “Elizabeth,” a much larger French 2nd rate of 64 guns, chartered from the government. Her holds were filled with cannon, muskets and gunpowder furnished by Lord Clare, an Irish banker in Paris. With these two ships, financed with borrowed money, Charles dropped down the River Loire from Nantes, on June 22, to Belle Íle in the Bay of Biscay, to await an opportunity to slip through the English blockade. But, leaving Belle Íle on July 16, the Elizabeth encountered H.M.S. Lion, a large English frigate of 54 guns and, after a fight in which both vessels were disabled, Elizabeth returned to France, together with almost all of Charles’ troops and arms.
Nevertheless, Charles Stuart pressed on in “Doutelle,” landing in Eriskay, a small island lying between South Uist and Barra, on 23 July 1745, where he met with MacDonald of Boisdale. He was the brother of the Clanranald chief, but was too old to take part in such youthful adventures and, besides, it was one thing to rally the Clan to a large force of French men-at-arms, but quite another to ask the Clan to follow a dozen. It is said that Boisdale, sizing up the situation, told Charles to go home. Charles’ reply was that he was home. Tradition asserts he left Eriskay a token of his visit, the pink flower seeds which are said to have fallen from his pocket. The pink, bell-shaped “Prince’s Flowers” still bloom there.
(Isle of The Narrows, Loch of the Cave, Sound of Our Pregnant Bitch, Our Shallow Sea Loch)
Undeterred, Charles went on to land at “Loch nam Uamh” (Loch of the Cave) in the Sound of Arisaigh in Muideart, which O'Sullivan said was “the coarsest and most arid place of that kingdom,” with a tiny group of followers, afterward known as “The Seven Men of Moidart.” John O'Sullivan, born in Co. Kerry in 1700 and educated in France, had served with distinction under Marquis de Maillebois in the Italian campaigns and was dragged from retirement to accompany his prince. Except for Charles, all were middle aged and only two were Scots. Aeneas MacDonald was a banker and only a lukewarm Jacobite. The fifty-six year old Duke of Atholl, a veteran of “The ‘15,” was so crippled by rheumatism that he was described as “a tottering old man.” Francis Strickland, a nephew of James VII’s admiral, was the only Englishman, and a Catholic at that. The rest were Irish; John-Richard MacDonnell of Moye, Colonel of “Ecossais Royale,” was the only other professional soldier among them. Sir Thomas Sheridan and George Kelly rounded out the seven.
After some indecision and several consultations with his cousin, John-Richard, among the first of the clan chieftains who rallied to the chevalier’s standard raised at “Gleann Fhionan” (Glen of Saint Finnan - Glenfinnan) at the head of Loch Shiel on 19 August 1745 was nineteen year old Aeneas or Angus MacDonell of Lochgarry, second son of John, 12th of Glengarry, who was an alcoholic and unfit for command. Angus was called upon to lead the Glengarrys because his older brother, Alasdair Ruaidh was in the Tower of London. Angus was described by Lord George as “a modest, brave and advisable lad.” Second in command was his cousin, Donald MacDonell of Lochgarry. Donald was a man of exceptional ability and, from 1733 to 1744, was factor of the Glengarry estates. Two other notable officers of the Clan were two other Glengarry cousins, Donald Ogh of Scotus, known as Donald of the Glen, and “Colla Bán Ogh” (Fair Young Coll) of Barrisdale, known on account of his fair hair and handsome appearance. Colla, 6’4” tall and very strong, was said to have been educated in Rome and was described as “a gentleman of polished behaviour, fine address, and fine person.” Glengarry and his kinsmen, Alexander MacDonald of Glenaladale and `Neas MacDonald of Dalily, led six hundred men from all three branches of Clanranald; together with the young chief, Lochiel, and his Camerons.
But, ominously, after Walsh had landed twelve small field-cannon and ammunition for them, there were no pack-animals to carry them, so they were left on the shore of Loch Arisaigh to be found later by the Sasunnaich. Unfortunately, the Highlanders had little experience with field artillery and placed almost mystical faith in their Highland charge, ignorance which they would come to regret on Culloden Moor. Meanwhile, bickering arose between the Irish officers and the Highland chiefs over the implementation of discipline, a conflict which only worsened as time passed, distracting them all from more important concerns. But, at the beginning, the example of the Jacobite MacDonald chiefs was followed by others, so that within a month, The Pretender’s army numbered 3,000 men.
Prestonpans Battle Cairn
At Prestonpans, on September 20, when Lord
George Murray, accompanied by O'Sullivan and John-Richard MacDonnell, surveyed
the Sasunnach lines and planned their dispositions, MacDonnell’s journal claims
that Murray announced his intention to give the right wing to his Atholl men
and to the MacDonalds on alternating days. In a dispute which would reoccur at
Culloden, MacDonnell and O'Sullivan vehemently protested, asserting the ancient
right of Clan Donald conveyed by Robert I, The Bruce, at Bannockburn in 1314.
The outcome of the argument is also disputed, since the journals of
John-Richard assert that Lord George was adamant, while according to other
sources, ancient tradition prevailed and the four regiments of Clan Donald;
Glengarry, Clanranald, Keppoch and Glencoe; formed the right wing of Prince
Charles’ line. The Camerons and Stewarts of Appin were on the left, while the
Duke of Perth’s men, together with the men of Atholl and the MacGregors, made
up the center. The question then remains, was the MacDonnell account reliable,
or was it intended to unfairly discredit Murray? Whichever was the case, the
antipathy between the two soldiers is well established, as was the Highland
victory. At first light the next day, Cope’s army, which had taken up a strong
position with a bog to their front, a ditch on their left and the sea on their
right, was completely routed in no more than ten minutes.
After another Highland victory at Falkirk on January 17, losing only forty men, when Cumberland arrived in Edinburgh, a few days later, the council of Jacobite officers decided to retreat to the Highlands, much against the will of Prince Charles.”Have I lived to see this?” he exclaimed as he struck his head against the wall. An incident which probably affected their decision had occurred on January 20 when Colonel Angus MacDonell of Glengarry was accidentally shot and killed by one of Clanranald’s men. After an aborted siege of Stirling, they split into two columns, with Charles leading some over the mountains and Lord George leading the rest by the coastal route, marching to Inverness, where they reassembled in February. Hindsight allows a critical analysis which concludes that the Forty-Five was not lost on the battlefield, but rather in the decisions of the chieftains following Falkirk. That may be a simplistic inference that is unwarranted. The whole enterprise, after all, flowed from Charles’ original judgment that the British people would support their rightful king.
Now the more experienced and confident Duke of Cumberland was in pursuit, reaching Nairn on April 14 with some 9,000 men, almost double the Highland force and far better equipped. He had been called back from Austria by his father, the king, after losing the battle of Fontenoy to Marshal de Saxe, and sent directly to Scotland to deal with the Highland insurrection. Charles’ army was short of provisions, with no funds to replace them since a privateer bringing £12,000 from France was captured en route; and the dissension among his officers had become quite bitter. The continental ideas of John O'Sullivan and his French and Irish staff officers were considered foolish by the Scots. An attempt to surprise Cumberland’s camp at Nairn failed when Murray determined they were too late to surprise the Sasunnaich, and the returning force was exhausted. The same day, April 16, Cumberland advanced on Inverness with fresh troops and a train of artillery. Charles came out to meet him, able to muster only 5,000 men, almost half of them MacDonalds, including those exhausted troops who had just returned from Nairn. They met at Culloden Moor, five miles east of Inverness.
Statue of Prince Charles, Derby
Charles, whose purpose could
not be less than to regain the English throne, was determined to invade England
but, after a month there, had very few English recruits and, after hearing that
the Duke of Cumberland, brother of the king, was coming with a considerable
force to intercept them, most of his Scottish officers refused to advance
further, not because of fear of Cumberland, but because of the lack of support
from England. The French had, belatedly, promised to invade England, however
that promise depended on the Jacobites reaching London, so they were giving up
their only chance of success. The English had not risen and the game was lost.
Clanranald, the Duke of Atholl, the Duke of Perth, the Irish officers and
Charles’ troops themselves, were enthusiastic to continue and, when the retreat
began, had to be told they were going out to meet the enemy. The date was December
6, afterward known as “Black Friday,” and took the heart out of The
Pretender, who now followed in the rear of the army on horseback.
At the battles of Preston and Falkirk, the MacDonalds had formed the right of the battle line, which was their due according to ancient Highland tradition; a right won on the field of Bannockburn. But at Culloden, Charles finally succumbed to Lord George Murray’s persistent nagging, giving the honor to his clan, the Stuarts, a feudal “droit de seigneur” that had disastrous results.
When Clanranald, Keppoch and Lochgarry asked the Prince to reconsider, he entreated them not to dispute his decision, since he had already given his promise to Murray. The three MacDonald regiments of Clanranald, Keppoch and Glengarry, which included clansmen of Sleate and Glencoe, were positioned on the left of the battle line, and they were monumentally unhappy about it; enough so that perhaps it was a reason that the battle was lost. It was not a trivial matter in the minds of the Gael. Their right to the place of honor in the line of battle was as sacred to them as Charles’ royal prerogative to rule was to him. If their monarch would usurp their ancient privilege, then what were they fighting for?
Not only had Charles violated Highland tradition in disposing the troops, but apparently in an effort to be diplomatically even-handed, he took the advice of his Irish and French staff and the exposed position selected for the battle was exactly wrong for a Highland army, although it was a classic continental formation. At Fontenoy, fifty French officers and 760 men, all in close formation, had been killed by a single English volley. Lacking long range artillery, the Highlanders needed to avoid prolonged incoming cannon fire until they could close with the enemy. Artillery fire required no courage to execute and for the recipients, no amount of courage could resist it. Counter-battery fire was required and the Highlanders’ cannon had been left at Glenfinnan. Their weapon, demonstrated at Falkirk and in a thousand other battles, was the fierce Highland charge. Dundee would have known, as many others did that day. Keppoch knew, but Charles listened to his continental friends. Their misunderstanding is history. The clans had stood in the rain and sleet on the wind-swept moor since 7 a.m. on that fateful Wednesday. Cumberland’s army was eventually spotted at 11 o’clock, pitching tents about two miles off. But when the Duke’s scouts reported that the Highlanders were formed up on open ground, completely exposed to artillery, he and his staff could not believe their luck, and they immediately advanced.
Lord George Murray angrily left the Chevalier to his foreign advisers and joined his Atholl men. He had been ordered to occupy the enclosure on his right, but the Campbells supporting Cumberland were there first and Murray didn’t have enough men to retake such a large place, or to hold it if he could take it.
The English army smartly marched up to within seven hundred yards of the clan regiments, who still stood waiting in the driving sleet. For almost an hour, Cumberland’s troops were allowed to set their formations, place their cannon, load and fire from long range. Meanwhile, on the Highlanders’ right, the English were allowed to occupy and prepare the stone walled enclosure from which the Campbell militia ultimately executed a devastating enfilading fire of grape shot on the advancing right wing of the Highlanders when they were finally allowed to charge.
Well of Death
On
the right, the Camerons and Stewarts of Appin reached the English first line
with dirk and broadsword, but could go no further. They were caught in a low
spot, later called the well of death, and slaughtered. The Atholl men on the
far right were no help. They had been mowed down by the enfilading fire of the
Campbells from behind their stone walls.
When Keppoch ordered the advance of his regiment, he, his adjutant and his staff stepped out at the normal pace. But the MacDonalds hesitated so that Keppoch is said to have called, “Mo Dhia, an do threig cineal mo chinnidh mi?” (My God, have the clan of my name deserted me?) Lord James Drummond, Duke of Perth and commander of the left wing, shouted, “If you fight with your usual bravery you will make the left wing a right wing!” When they finally charged, the MacDonalds lacked their usual enthusiasm, still feeling that they had been dishonored by being removed from their rightful place in the line. Their position was also furthest from the enemy lines and the ground to their front was the boggiest that any of the Highlanders had to cross.
Donald mac Colla, Keppoch’s brother and second in command, realizing that, if the battle was to be won, Clan Chattan’s breakthrough in the center must be supported, speeded up his company. But Keppoch, a strict disciplinarian, sent his runner, Sergeant Angus Ferguson, to order Donald to hold his company in line.
Cumberland knew the Highlanders’ tactics, and his men were three deep, kneeling, stooping and standing, with loaded muskets. The volley they delivered was overwhelming and MacDonell of Keppoch had his right elbow smashed by grape shot. Donald Roy MacDonald, a captain in Clanranald’s regiment, paused to help, as did Captain James Killiechonate. But Keppoch took another musket ball in the back which came out “below the right pap.” Keppoch’s natural son, Angus Bán Inch, carried his body from the battlefield, while Captain Killiechonate raced back to Glen Spean to tell the chief’s lady of her loss.
The battle ended soon after Keppoch fell. His brother Donald died twenty feet in front of Pulteney’s regiment, as did his nephew, John MacKenzie of Torridon and a number of his men. Apparently, Donald had taken command and these men had rallied to him, because the Keppoch regimental colors were so covered with bodies that they were not discovered until well after the battle was over.
The Chevalier Johnstone, who advanced with his friend “Domhnall nan Gleann,” grandson of Ranald, 10th of Glengarry and himself 3rd of Scotus, later wrote, “The left wing, where I was with Scothouse, was not twenty paces from the enemy, who gave their first fire at the moment the flight began to become general, which spread from the right to the left of our army with the rapidity of lightning. . . My unfortunate friend Scothouse was killed by my side, but I was not deeply affected at the moment of his fall as I have been ever since. It would almost seem as if the Power that presides over the lives of men in battles marks out the most deserving for destruction and spares those who are more unworthy.” When the Jacobite line gave way, Scotus was carried off the field by two of his men but, observing Kingston’s English cavalry coming close, he asked the clansmen to leave him and save themselves, as his wound was mortal. According to custom, Donald gave them his watch, purse and a silver snuff box presented to him that very day by the Prince, to take home to his wife. Finally, he asked them to turn his face toward the enemy. As the men were retreating, they looked back and saw Kingston’s dragoons dispatch him. Glengarry’s brother, William, was also killed.
The fifty gentlemen troopers of Lord Elcho’s squadron, together with Balmerno’s sixty horse, maintained discipline and provided a rear guard, covering the retirement of Prince Charles. Together with the Irish troops of Ecossais Royale, they formed a square to protect the retreating Highlanders. Charles’ continental troops then retired to Inverness, where they surrendered to the English. Contrary to the savage cruelty shown to the Highlanders, the continental troops received every courtesy.
Angus MacDonell of Lochgarry was wounded and left for dead on the battlefield, but rose and limped home, his leg permanently crippled by a musket ball. The heavy English fire and the marshy ground caused the Highland center to divert to the right, leaving a gap between the center and the MacDonalds on the left. Sources differ as to the accomplishments of the MacDonalds at Culloden, but it would seem that due to their delay in reaching the enemy, the Highlanders’ center and right wing had already broken before some of the MacDonalds reached the English line, causing them to halt their advance. These descendants of the Lords of The Isles may never have struck a sword blow in the battle that ended the rule of the clans in the land of the Gael. Weak from hunger and exhausted from the previous night’s raid, they were badly outnumbered at the outset and further decimated by the English cannon fire. Continental tactics requiring a measured advance in the face of concentrated fire didn’t help.
Nevertheless, Lord George Murray had reassembled a significant part of their army at Ruthven and sent Charles a message by his aide-de-camp, requesting instructions. Charles’ petty and mean spirited reply insulted Murray and destroyed his loyalty to the prince. Charles, perhaps convinced by his continental advisors that Murray had betrayed him, wrote demanding the return of the remaining money with which Lord George had been entrusted, implying it had been used for his own comfort, rather than for the army although, in fairness, Charles may simply have been short of funds. “God damn it,” Murray shouted, “if I had ten guineas in the world I would share it with them.” He then wrote to Charles, citing all the blunders of the prince, of O'Sullivan and of others, setting up the debate which continues, even today, as to who was to blame for the defeat.
But, in fact, the very principle upon which the rising was predicated was the reason for its defeat. Even though the foreign Hanoverians were undoubtedly corrupt, inefficient and unpopular, “the divine right of kings” was a concept whose time had come and gone. The House of Stuart had become more alien than the limited monarchy of William. Not one important national leader of Great Britain had joined Prince Charles, while the clans’ loyalty was to their chief, not to the crown. The Age Of Enlightenment was actually the victor at Culloden Moor.
William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, son of King George II, was given the victory at Culloden on his birthday. As another gift, the composer Handel wrote “See the Conquering Hero Comes” in his honor and Billy had a flower named for him by the English, the “Sweet William;” but was himself named “The Butcher” by the Highlanders, a sobriquet well earned. Those who surrendered after Culloden were promised they would save their cattle and their homes, but Cumberland had put out a forged order suggesting that the Highlanders’ policy was to take no prisoners and spare no life. During the three months following Culloden that he was in Scotland, “Butcher Billy” used this to justify his own savage orders. Wounded rebels were slaughtered and, when the Jacobites’ army was dealt with, the duke went through the Highlands murdering or exiling to the colonies anyone who looked like a rebel sympathizer, regardless of sex or age.
Charles, accompanied by O'Sullivan and O'Neill, fled to Invergarry, which they found deserted and “without meat, drink, fire and candle, except some firesticks!” Their guide, Glen Burke, found a fishing net and caught two salmon for breakfast. They then went to Glenboisdale, in South Uist, where they remained for eight days and were joined by young Clanranald and others. And so, it was on Clanranald land that Prince Charles raised his standard and, after Clanranald supported him throughout all his campaign, it was in Clanranald territory that the prince took refuge before embarking for France. Other perspectives on this momentous event in Clan Donald history will be presented as we sketch each branch. But, surely, no MacDonalds were more impacted by Culloden and The ‘45, than were Clanranald.
On April 29, two French warships, the armed merchant vessel “Bellona” and the frigate “Mars,” arrived at Arisaigh. They landed stores, including a large quantity of brandy, arms and several large casks of gold “louis d’or.” After some serious sampling on the beach, Colla Bán and the men of Knoidart are said to have carried off 240 casks of brandy and a cask of 800 louis d’or. The last significant naval battle of the war took place soon afterward when the French men-of-war were engaged by H.M.S. Terror and H.M.S. Greyhound, two small vessels that were seriously outgunned by the French. Forcing the English to flee, the French claimed victory and sailed for home.
The Highlanders tried to persuade the prince to continue the fight, but to no avail. Charles determined the cause was lost. One by one then, the various chieftains sought to surrender and save what they could. Glengarry went to Inverness and asked Duncan Forbes, the Lord President, to intercede with Cumberland on his behalf, but Forbes equivocated, suggesting that Glengarry return home and show his good faith by convincing his clansmen to surrender. Glengarry’s efforts were compromised when they heard that, on May 4, 1746, sixty-eight of the men of Glenmoriston and sixteen of Urquhart had surrendered to Ludovick Grant, only to be promptly marched to Inverness, from where they were transported to the American colonies, few of them ever to see their native land again. In “The Act of Indemnity” passed in June, 1747, Clanranald was one of those who were specially excepted from pardon. The Pretender wandered the Highlands for five months, relentlessly pursued by government troops, as he attempted to find his way to France, but even the £30,000 bounty on his head did not tempt the clansmen to betray the young chevalier. Many who thereby made themselves outlaws, protected and hid him.
Portrait by Richard Wilson
Flora MacDonald
Flora
MacDonald, whose ancestors included MacDonalds of Clanranald, Dun Naibhig and
Sleate, was one of the most famous of these. While visiting some friends, she
allowed the chevalier to join her party, disguised as Betty Burke, an Irish
spinning maid. Flora obtained permission from the English for her group to sail
to Skye, where they and the pretender parted. But the English soon learned of
her role in the escape, and she was arrested and imprisoned, first at
Dunstaffnage, where it is not known whether she was held in the chambers of the
four storied Gatehouse, or in the dismal, unlit basement prison below it, whose
only amenity was a latrine. The MacDonald heroine was then taken to the Tower
of London where she was held until she was pardoned in 1747 in a general
amnesty. She was married three years later to Allan MacDonald of Kingsburgh,
and they took some 10,000 of their kinsmen to the Carolinas soon thereafter.
It was a time of terrible atrocities. Lieutenant Colonel Cornwallis, marching through Glenmoriston with his corps, saw two men fertilizing their land with manure and shouted for them to come over to him. Speaking only Gaelic, the men didn’t understand the order and continued their work; whereupon they were immediately ordered to be shot. Similarly, Major James Lockhart of Cholmondeley’s Regiment was in the braes of Glenmoriston some six weeks after Culloden. He saw Hugh Fraser and his son James, together with John MacDonell, harrowing a field. Lockhart shot the three down without a word of warning.
Another Fraser was shot by Lockhart while wading through a stream and holding in his hand a “Protection” from the Whig minister of Kilmorack. While still in the braes of Glenmoriston, some of Lockhart’s men ravished Isabel MacDonell, wife of Alexander MacDonell of Aonach while her husband, hiding in the heather on a nearby hillside, watched helplessly. A neighbor, Flora MacDonell, wife of John MacDonell and not the more famous Flora MacDonald of Skye, was also raped by the same party at the same time. The two women and their husbands resolved not to copulate for nine months, lest the victims be with child. Fortunately, neither of them was pregnant, nor did they contract any disease as a result of their ordeal.
The chevalier finally escaped to France on a French ship from Borrodale on September 19, 1746, where he was given a royal reception by King Louis. Lochgarry and Lochiel, who along with Cluny had made the escape possible, were given such positions of honor in the French service as Charles could procure for them. A colonelcy in the French Army and a pension of 3,000 livres were Lochgarry’s rewards. His wife and children eventually joined him in France. Gentle Lochiel, also loyal to the end, was the beneficiary of similar accolades, being made a colonel in Albany’s regiment. Charles, relishing royal treatment again, settled in Paris to the life of a social lion. But when France made peace with Britain, The Pretender became a nuisance, refusing to leave Paris, where he had an aristocratic mistress and various other lady admirers. He was finally kidnapped and removed physically from the capital. For a time he vanished from public view and was forced to wander around Europe, traveling aimlessly in secret, but always attempting to revive the Jacobite cause. He tried to organize a gunpowder plot in London, but the British government uncovered it and executed the prince’s agent.
Charles Stuart took Clementina Walkinshaw as his mistress in 1752 and she bore him a daughter, his only child. Clementina soon found him unbearable and his drunken and debauched behavior alienated potential supporters. After he settled in Italy in 1766, he married Louise, daughter of the Princesse de Stolberg, and gave up drinking, although not for long. The major Roman Catholic powers repudiated his title to the British throne. Charles died in Rome January 31, 1788, following a series of strokes. His brother Henry, now a cardinal, conducted the funeral. The only remaining substantiated direct descendants of James VIII were Charles’ brother Henry, a celibate pensioner of George III; and Charles’ daughter Charlotte. But Charlotte died a year after her father Charles and, with Henry’s death, the last possible Stuart pretender to the British throne passed away. “Bonnie Prince Charlie” lives on only in Scottish legend. Even though various claimants to Stuart descent have arisen over the years, the land of the Gael had finally had enough of the Stuarts as their leaders.
Lovat and Bishop Hugh MacDonell of Glengarry were cornered in the bishop’s schoolhouse and residence on Eilean Bán, an island in Loch Morar. The decrepit Lovat did manage to escape as far as the lochside, but was discovered lying on two feather mattresses, stuffed into the hollow of an ancient tree. Unfortunately, his swollen, useless legs were left sticking out. As the Campbells carried him off, their pipers mocked him with “Lord Lovat’s March.” It seemed to amuse the old fox greatly and, as the last person to be beheaded at Tower Hill in London, he supplied money and asked that all the bagpipers from John O'Groats to Edinburgh turn out to pipe his body home. His sense of humor was further stimulated when the scaffolding of his execution block collapsed. “The more mischief, the better the sport!” he quipped. But the English didn’t send his body home and, in stormy weather, the outraged ghost has reportedly been seen on Tower Hill with his head beneath his arm. Bishop Hugh MacDonell of Glengarry was luckier. He escaped to France and returned secretly in 1749 to reestablish his school.
Ironically, John, 12th of Glengarry and 2nd Lord MacDonell, whose decadence prohibited him from taking any part in “The Forty-Five,” was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle until October, 1749 when, along with Alexander MacDonald of Glencoe, he was finally released. He lived peacefully at home until his death, in Edinburgh, September 1, 1754. He was buried in the Chapel Royale at Holyrood beside his famous ancestor of “The ‘15,” Lord MacDonell and Aros. After he returned to France, the Prince did all he could for his imprisoned followers. On November 4, 1746 he wrote to King Louis’ minister, d’Argenson, asking his help for Sir Hector MacLean, Glengarry and his secretary, Murray of Broughton. Even so, Alasdair, 13th of Glengarry, remained in The Tower of London for 22 months, until he was finally released in July, 1747, as was John-Richard MacDonnell of Moye.
English records show 3,470 Scottish prisoners taken during “The Forty-Five.” Hundreds were transported to Carlisle for trial, including Donald MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart, John-Richard MacDonnell of Moye and Donald MacDonell Tirnadris. Eighty-nine of the rank and file were hanged. Balmerino, Kilmarnock and the “old fox” Lovat were among them. The English, in their curious approach to justice, determined that one in twenty of the 260 rebel prisoners at Carlisle in August, 1746 were to be labeled “dangerous men” to be “tried” and summarily executed. The other nineteen were to be labeled “common men” and given the privilege of being transported in His Majesty’s fever ridden ships to His Gracious Majesty’s fever ridden colonies, providing of course that they sign a confession to high treason and plea for the king’s mercy. The unfortunate “dangerous men” were chosen by lot.
On Saturday morning, October 18, 1746, the first nine rebels, Major Donald MacDonell Tirnadris of Keppoch’s Regiment; Colonel Donald MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart, ADC to Prince Charles, in whose house the rising had begun; Lt. Hugh Cameron of Loch Arkaig, Lochiel’s Regiment, wounded at Falkirk; Francis Buchanan of Arnprior; the Rev. Thomas Coppock BA, Anglican Chaplain of the Manchester Regiment; Major James Brand of Baggot’s Hussars; Mr Edward Roper; Captain John Henderson and John MacNaughton of Kilmarnock’s Horse; were taken from Carlisle Castle for the sentence to be executed which had been pronounced over three weeks before:
You and every of you, prisoners at the bar, return to the prison whence you came, and from thence you must be drawn to the place of execution; when you come there you must be hanged by the neck - but not till you be dead; for you must be cut down alive; then your bowels must be taken out, and burnt before your faces, then your heads must be severed from your bodies, and these must be at the King’s disposal. And God have mercy on your souls!
In Scotland, statutes abolished the chieftains’ authority to require military service from clansmen, required oaths of allegiance from the clergy, forbade the playing of bagpipes, forbade the wearing of kilts and tartans and disarmed the Highlanders. Lord Murray, Earl Marischal, and Lochiel died in exile. Those found with arms were immediately put to death, their houses “plundered and burned, their cattle drove, and their ploughs and other tackle destroyed.” The homes of some of the principal chiefs were also burned. For instance, on May 29, 1746, a party of Sasunnaich, commanded by Captain Loftus of the Buffs, burned Invergarry and all its buildings to the ground, allowing Lady Glengarry and nine children only two small Highland cattle, one chest of drawers and six blankets for their sustenance. But first, the English carried off all the Glengarry plate, books, charter chest and other documents, clothes, a great herd of cattle, all the horses and everything else they could remove. The loot was taken to Fort Augustus, sold to dealers from the south and the proceeds given by Cumberland to his soldiers and supporters.
Perhaps it was poetic justice that Culloden was the only battle that “Butcher Billy” ever won. Having lost at Fontenoy, after Culloden he returned to the French wars and lost the Battle of Lauffield to Saxe in July, 1747. He was again defeated by the French at the Battle of Hastenbeck in July, 1757, following which he signed the Convention of Klosterzeven, promising to evacuate Hanover. This was the proverbial last straw and he was dismissed by his father, the king, who repudiated the agreement. Jacobites might point to this scion of the House of Hanover as reason enough for rebellion.
If Culloden broke the clans, the Clearances dispersed them. As long as every member of the community had a share in the land, the Highlands were spared the struggle between rich and poor. But after Culloden, the poorer members of the clans, though still claiming to be cousins of their chief, no longer could claim proprietary rights in the land, and the ancient inhabitants were driven away so that the new landlords could turn crofts into pasture or hunting land.
The chiefs of the MacDonalds became completely “anglicized” and regarded themselves as English aristocracy, without any obligations to their kinsmen. The chiefs of Sleate, Glengarry and Clanranald became among the worst of the landlords. Hugh MacDonald of Sleate in Skye, having supported the crown during “The 45,” had been recognized by the Privy Council as Laird of MacDonald since the 17th Century. His descendants were created baronets and then, in 1776, Lords MacDonald in the Irish peerage. In 1739 both he and MacLeod of Dunvegan, the principle Skye chiefs, had actually sold some of their followers as indentured servants in the Carolinas. Although not part of the clearances, this event demonstrates the changed attitudes of the Highland chiefs toward their clansmen that made the subsequent ruthless evictions possible. All the tenants of MacDonald of Sleate were gone from Skye by the time the clearances reached their height.
The tanistry system had resulted in much of the arable land of the Highlands being overpopulated, overworked and worn out. Forests had been stripped, and soil washed away. The lack of agriculture as a viable industry had encouraged the Highlanders to careers as warriors and cattle thieves for generations, occupations to which they were inclined anyway. Outside their own clan, cattle rustling, smuggling and salvage were considered not only honorable occupations, but good sport as well.
The demise of the clans after Culloden had left much of the Highlands under the control of English landlords when the Highland chiefs were “forfeited” for supporting Prince Charles and clan holdings were given by King George to his supporters. Those Scottish lairds who remained were “loyal” to German George, more English than the English and, ignoring the fact that they held the clan lands by their clansmen’s consent, regarded the lands as their own by right. The solution to the problem employed by the new English landlords was to remove this troublesome, unprofitable and rebellious population and return the land to forest and pasturage. Nearly a million acres were converted into “shooting grounds” and, by 1877, 2,060 such shooting grounds in Scotland were leased for £600,000.
Gamekeepers became all-important to Highland lairds. The tremendous profits from shooting and fishing leases may be judged from the fact that, for the year ending Whitsunday 1848, all the house and land rents paid to Abinger, Laird of Inverlochy, including those for the densely populated Black Parks near Fort William, totalled £2,671, yet it was possible for his lordship to take in over £1,000 from shooting and fishing. Donald Gordon Stewart paid £420 for the salmon fishing of the River Lochy; Colonel Ross paid £30 for his shootings; and W. C. Boden paid £70 for the shootings of Craiguanach. By 1856 the Craiguanach leased for £100, and the Earl of Marlborough paid £518 for the fishing of the Spean and Roy.
“Butcher Billy” Cumberland was a quick study on the precedents set in Ireland in the previous century by Elizabeth I and James I. “Sweet William” was even more thorough. Rather than exiling the native population to a poor region of the country, he removed them across three thousand miles of ocean. Billy had written to the English Secretary of State of his “only sure remedy for establishing quiet in this country”:
Bothan Malacleit (Tribute Ridge Cottage), North Uist
The new lairds had an easy task. Due to The Disarming Act, no clansman could own a weapon of war unless he enrolled in a Highland regiment, so that if he did not agree to be shipped off to England’s imperial foreign wars, he was powerless to resist the landlord. England needed cannon fodder as well as meat for its armies. Like their English peers, the new lairds wanted to be rich, and they determined that sheep on the land were more profitable than people, while a laird needed a hundred recruits to secure a captain’s commission and at least twenty for a lieutenant’s. The wool, the meat and the commission were all marketable commodities so, clearing the population and raising regiments became primary industries for ambitious landowners. It was called “The Great Sheep Boom,” and the English, at all levels, convinced themselves that their tyranny was right and just, that they were bringing “enlightenment” to their victims all around the world.
One of Prince Charles’ attendants who, after Culloden, went with him to France, was Neil MacEachan MacDonald of Clanranald in Uist. He served in France as lieutenant in the Scottish regiment of Ogilvie, and was the father of Stephen James Joseph MacDonald, commander of Napoleon’s V Corp, hero of the battle of Wagram in 1809, Marshal of France and Duke of Tarentum, born November 17, 1765, died September 24, 1840. General Sir James MacDonell, brother of the 14th Chief of Glengarry, was one of the heroes of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, fighting for the English. Colonel Donald MacDonald Dalchosnie commanded the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) during that regiment’s famous charge at Waterloo. His wound record conveys an idea of the life these men led. Donald received two bayonet wounds in the breast at Egmont-op-Zee in 1799; severe grapeshot wounds in Egypt in 1801; and both legs shot through at Arroyo de Molinos in 1811. He was luckier at Waterloo. He merely had two horses shot from under him. He was made a Companion of the Bath, but died before his time.
The MacDonalds of Benbecula descend from Ranald, brother of Donald MacAllan, Captain of Clanranald in the latter part of the reign of James VI. MhiccDhomhnuil na Baghasdail (The MacDonalds of The Bay of The Meeting - Boisdale) are cadets of Benbecula, and MacDonald of Staffa are cadets of Boisdale. On the failure of Donald’s line, Benbecula succeeded to the barony of Castle Tioram, and the captainship of Clanranald. From John, another brother of Donald MacAllan, came the MacDonalds of Kinlochmoidart which terminated in an heiress. The MacDonalds of Glenaladale descend from John Oig, uncle of Donald MacAllan. The chieftain of this sept, being obliged to leave Scotland in 1772 due to family misfortunes, sold his Scottish estates to his cousin, also a MacDonald, and emigrated to Prince Edward Island in Canada with about 200 followers. He purchased 40,000 acres there, while the 200 Highlanders have increased to 3,000. Reginald George MacDonald was, in 1810, recognized in Lyon Court as 21st Captain of Clanranald. His junior grandson, Angus Roderick, 23rd Captain, died in 1944 without issue and, in 1956, Lyon Court adjudged his kinsman, (heir of Boisdale and Inchkenneth) Ranald Alexander, to be 24th Captain.
Today, the history of the clan system is viewed by some as a story of exploitation of the poor by ruthless feudal barons, highlighting evictions and transportation of clansmen by their chiefs. But this scenario is comparatively recent and not universally true. Most of the captains of Clanranald exhibited exceptional loyalty, courage and leadership to Clan Donald and to The Lordship of The Isles throughout their history, or at least until after Culloden. The current Captain of Clanranald, Ranald Alexander Macdonald of Clanranald, who is not responsible for the sins of his grandfather and great-grandfather, and with whom this writer has shared more than one dram, is a large, jovial, active man who, in the tradition of his ancestors, is active in Clan affairs. Although he does not control Castle Tioram, Garmòran or the Western Isles, it is apparent that Ranald cares about his clansmen and has their loyalty and friendship. That Lyon Court, the Sleate chiefs, or any other MacDonald, would declare, or even imply, merely because of a scheme by the King of Scots to subordinate the Lord of The Isles to the crown some five hundred years ago, that The Captain Of Clanranald is unqualified to lead Clan Donald as High Chief, is an affront to honor, and indeed, a Glengarry cadet of Clanranald was once adjudged High Chief of Clan Donald as Lord MacDonald and Aros, when it served the purposes of the crown. Ranald lives at Morenish House, Killin, Perthshire.
In the Clanranald lands of Eilean Iar (The Western Isles).
Traigh Udal Beag (Little Strand of The Wanderer), Uibhist A Tuath (North Uist),
I mean the transporting of particular Clans, such as the entire Clan of Camerons, and almost all the tribes of the M’Donalds (excepting those of the Isles) and several lesser Clans, of which an exact list may easily be made.
Damh Féidh Dearg (Red Deer Stag), Ardgour
Benbecula Today
Loch Morar
Flora MacDonald was held captive there until taken to The Tower of London.
Built within the walls in 1725 by the Campbells, on the site of the original great hall,
Dunstaffnage Gatehouse
Where the fallen Highlanders were gathered up by the Sasunnaich and buried like carrion.
Marker on the Mass Grave at Culloden
The
Highlanders lost about 1,200 men, including those wounded bayoneted on the
field by the English after the battle, while Cumberland’s losses were some 300.
Some of the Highlanders were pursued mercilessly by government cavalry as they
fled to Inverness. Many regiments, however, left the field with pipes playing
and several thousand under Lord George, Tullibardine and Perth rallied at
Ruthven, ready to fight again, hoping to bring Cumberland to terms. But after
Charles fled from the field, crossing the River Nairn with his French and Irish
officers, the Highlanders realized it was hopeless and dispersed “with wild
howlings and lamentations,” ending the last great rising of the Highland
clans, which has ever since been known in Scotland as “The Forty-Five.”
Never again would the MacDonalds’ enemies pale at the ancient battle cry, “Dháindeoin
co theiradh e!”
Afterward, in a memorial to Culloden prepared by Lord President of the Assembly, Duncan Forbes, the force of the clans was detailed, although giving credit to Sleate for the 600 men of Clanranald and ignoring entirely the more than 300 MacDonnells of Antrim and Leinster who participated with Ecossais Royale, it showed:
It had not taken long for the British Government to begin to “spin” these events, so as to divide the Gael who survived, and so that they could not be a threat in the future. But, in order to accomplish their purpose, the Sasunnaich had to virtually depopulate the Highlands and Ireland.
MacDonald of Sleate 700
MacDonell of Glengarry 500
MacDonell of Keppoch 300
MacDonald of Glencoe 130
After standing the bombardment for an hour, Charles finally ordered the attack. In spite of losing hundreds of casualties to the concentrated grape shot and musket fire, Clan Chattan, in the center, supported by Ecossais Royale, proved to be well matched, combining continental discipline and Highland passion, they managed to hack through six ranks of redcoats. Some of them even reached Cumberland’s second line which finally destroyed Colonel MacGillivray, Major MacBean and the few brave men of Clan Chattan who got so far.
Flagstaff marks the point of furthest advance of the Highland charge
Blàr Chùil Lodain (Field of The Hollow of The Puddles - Culloden)
Glenfinnan Monument, Loch Shiel, Moidart
“Bonnie Prince Charlie” was tall and handsome, with reddish hair and brown eyes. He had been raised a Catholic and trained for war. Ready for anything, brave and frank, his personality made him a popular leader. Besides, he believed in his destiny and inspired confidence in his followers. When he raised his standard at Glenfinnan on Loch Shiel on August 19, a banner of red silk with a white emblem, the MacDonalds and Camerons gave a great shout as the flag floated in the breeze. These Highlanders gave little thought to the impossibility of the enterprise. Even the majority here were Presbyterian or Anglican, and would not, in the long run, have submitted to Catholicism. But his staff also included O'Neill and O'Sullivan, Catholic sons of those Irish earls who had fled to France. The clans certainly did not feel the hatred which most English, as well as Scots, felt for “Papists” who claimed the “Divine Right” to be absolute monarchs. Rather, they were raising the banner of the rightful “King of Scots,” their chief of chiefs whose very blood they claimed, and whose ancestors had ruled in Scotland for more than a thousand years; and in opposition to William of Orange, a German false pretender foisted on them by an English parliament Their hope was to restore their freedom from domination by an alien culture of English merchants and German aristocrats.
Eilean á Chaolais, Loch nam Uamh, Caol Airsaigh, Muideart
