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FARQUHARSON

MACLEODS OF HARRIS.

fleet of .Tames V. arrived at the isle of Lewis
the following year, Roderick Macleod and his
principal kinsmen met the king, and were
made to accompany him in his farther pro-
gress through the Isles. On its reaching
Skye, Alexander Macleod of Dunvegan was
also constrained to embark in the royal fleet.
With the other captive chiefs they were sent
to Edinburgh, and only liberated on giving
hostages for their obedience to the laws.

Alexander the Humpback, chief of the
Harris Macleods, died at an advanced age in
the reign of Queen Mary. He had three sons,
William, Donald, and Tormod, who all suc-
ceeded to the estates and authority of their
family. He had also two daughters, the elder
of whom was thrice married, and every time
to a Macdonald. Her first husband was
James, second son of the fourth laird of Sleat.
Her second was Allan Maclan, captain of the
Clanranald; and her third husband was Mac-
donald of Keppoch. The younger daughter
became the wife of Maclean of Lochbuy.

William Macleod of Harris had a danghter,
Mary, who, on his death in 1554, became
under a particular destination, his sole heiress
in the estates of Harris, Dun vegan, and
Glenelg. His claim to the properties of Sleat,
Trotternish, and Xorth Uist, of which he was
the nominal proprietor, but which were held
by the Clandonald, was inherited by his next
brother and successor, Donald. This state of
things placed the latter in a very anomalous
position, which may be explained in Mr
Gregory's words: — "The Siol Tormod," he
says,4 " was now placed in a position, which,
though quite intelligible on the principles of
feudal law, was totally opposed to the Celtic
customs that still prevailed, to a great extent,
throughout the Highlands and Isles. A
female and a minor was the legal proprietrix of
the ancient possessions of the tribe, which, by
her marriage, might be conveyed to another
and a hostile family; whilst her uncle, the
natural leader of the clan according to ancient
custom, was left without any means to keep
up the dignity of a chief, or to support the
clan against its enemies. His claims on the
estates possessed by the Clandonald were

1 History of Ihc Highlands and teles, p. 204.

II.

worse than nugatory, as they threatened to
involve him in a. feud with that powerful and
warlike tribe, in case he should take any steps
to enforce them. In these circumstances,
Donald Macleod seized, apparently with the
consent of his clan, the estates which legally
belonged to his niece, the heiress; and thus,
in practice, the feudal law was made to yield
to ancient and inveterate custom, Donald did
not enjoy these estates long, being murdered
in Trotternish, by a relation of his own, John
Oig Macleod, who, failing Tormod, the only
remaining brother of Donald, would have
become the heir male of the family. John
Oig next plotted the distruction of Tormod,
who was at the time a student in the univer-
sity of Glasgow; but in this he was foiled by
the interposition of the Earl of Argyll. He
continued, notwithstanding, to retain pos-
session of the estates of the heiress, and of
the command of the clan, till his death in
1559." The heiress of Harris was one of
Queen Mary's maids of honour, and the Earl of
Argyll, having ultimately become her guardian,
she was given by him in marriage to his
kinsman, Duncan Campbell, younger of
Auchinbreck. Through the previous efforts
of the earl, Tormod Macleod, on receiving a
legal title to Harris and the other estates,
renounced in favour of Argyll all his claims
to the lands of the Clandonald, and paid 1000
merks towards the dowry of his niece. He
also gave his bond of service to Argyll for
himself and his clan. Mary Macleod, in
consequence, made a complete surrender to
her uncle of her title to the lands of Harris,
Dunvegan, and Glenelg, and Argyll obtained
for him a crown charter of these estates, dated
4th August, 1579. Tormod adhered firmly
to the interest of Queen Mary, and died in
1584. He was succeeded by his eldest son,
William, under whom the Harris Macleods
assisted the Macleans in their feuds with the
Macdonalds of Isla and Skye, while the Lewis
Macleods supported the latter. On his death
in 1590, his brother, Roderick, the Rory Mor
of tradition, became chief of the Harris
Macleods.

I In December 1597, an act of the Estates

I had been passed, by which it was made

: imperative upon all the chieftains and land-

2 B

194

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

lords in the Highlands and Isles, to produce
their title-deeds before the lords of Exchequer
on the 15th of the following May, under the
pain of forfeiture. The heads of the two
branches of the Macleods disregarded the act,
and a gift of their estates was granted to a
number of Fife gentlemen, for the purposes of
colonisation. They first began with the Lewis,
in which the experiment failed, as narrated in
the General History. Eoderick Macleod, on
his part, exerted himself to get the forfeiture
of his lands of Harris, Dunvegan, and Glenelg,
removed, and ultimately succeeded, having
obtained a remission from the king, dated 4th
May, 1610. He was knighted by King
James VI., by whom he was much esteemed,
and had several friendly letters from his
majesty; also, a particular license, dated 16th
June, 1616, to go to London, to the court, at
any time he pleased. By his wife, a daughter
of Macdonald of Glengarry, he had, with six
daughters, five sons, viz., John, his heir; Sir
Eoderick, progenitor of the Macleods of
Talisker; Sir Norman of the Macleods of
Bernera and Muiravonside; William of the
Macleods of Hamer; and Donald of those of
Grisernish.

The history of the Siol Torquil, or Lewis
Macleods, as it approached its close, was most
disastrous. Eoderick, the chief of this branch
in 1569, got involved in a deadly feud with
the Mackenzies, which ended only with the
destruction of his whole family. He had
married a daughter of John Mackenzie of
Kintail, and a son whom she bore, and who
was named Torquil Connanach, from his re-
sidence among his mother's relations in Stratk-
connan, was disowned by him, on account of
the alleged adultery of his mother with the
breve or Celtic judge of the Lewis. She
eloped with John MacGillechallum of Easay,
a cousin of Eoderick, and was, in consequence,
divorced. He took for his second wife, in
1541, Barbara Stewart, daughter of Andrew
Lord Avondale, and by this lady had a son,
likewise named Torquil, and surnamed Oighre,
or the Heir, to distinguish him from the other
Torquil. About 1566, the former, with 200
attendants, was drowned in a tempest, when
sailing from Lewis to Skye, and Torquil
Connanach immediately took up arms to vindi-

cate what he conceived to be his rights. In
his pretensions he was supported by the
Mackenzies. Eoderick was apprehended and
detained four years a prisoner in the castle of
.Stornoway. The feud between the Macdonalds
•and Mackenzies was put an end to by the
mediation of the Eegent Moray. Before be-
ing released from his captivity, the old chief
was brought before the Eegent and his privy
council, and compelled to resign his estate
into the hands of the crown, taking a new
destination of it to himself in liferent, and
after his death to Torquil Connanach, as his
son and heir apparent. On regaining his
liberty, however, he revoked all that he had
done when a prisoner, on the ground of coer-
cion. This led to new commotions, and in
1576 both Eoderick and Torquil were sum-
moned to Edinburgh, and reconciled in pre-
sence of the privy council, when the latter
was again acknowledged as heir apparent to
the Lewis, and received as such the district of
Cogeach and other lands. The old chief some
time afterwards took for his third wife, a
sister of Lauchlan Maclean of Dowart, and had
by her two sons, named Torquil Dubh and
Tormod. Having again disinherited Torquil
Connanach, that young chief once more took
up arms, and was supported by two illegiti-
mate sons of Eoderick, named Tormod Uigacli
and Murdoch, while three others, Donald,
Eory Oig, and Neill, joined with their father.
He apprehended the old chief, Eoderick
Macleod, and killed a number of his men.
All the charters and title deeds of the Lewis
were carried off by Torquil, and handed ovc r
to the Mackenzies. The charge of the castle
of Stornoway, with the chief, a prisoner in it,
was committed to John Macleod, the son of
Torquil Connanach, but he was attacked by
Eory Oig and killed, when Eoderick Macleod
was released, and possessed the island in peace
during the remainder of his life.

On his death he was succeeded by his son
i Torquil Dubh, who married a sister of Sir
I Eoderick Macleod of Harris. Torquil Dubh,
as we have narrated in the former part of
the work, was by stratagem apprehended by
the breve of Lewis, and carried to the country
of the Mackenzies, into the presence of Lord
Kintail, who ordered Torquil Dubh and his

MACLEODS OF EASAY.

195

companions to be beheaded. This took place
in July 1597.

Torquil Dubh left three young sons, and
their uncle Neill, a bastard brother of their
father, took, in their behalf, the command of
the isle of Lewis. Their cause was also sup-
ported by the Macleods of Harris and the
Macleans. The dissensions in the Lewis, fol-
lowed by the forfeiture of that island, in con-
sequence of the non-production of the title-
deeds, as required by the act of the Estates of
1597, already mentioned, afforded the king an
opportunity of trying to carry into effect his
abortive project of colonisation already referred
to. The colonists were at last compelled to
abandon their enterprise.

The title to the Lewis having been acquired
by Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Kintail, he lost
no time in taking possession of the island,
expelling JSTeill Macleod, with his nephews,
Malcolm, William, and Roderick, sons of Eory
Oig, who, with about thirty others, took refuge
on Berrisay, an insulated rock on the west
coast of Lewis. Here they maintained them-
selves for nearly three years, but were at length
driven from it by the Mackenzies. iSTeill sur-
rendered to Eoderick Macleod of Harris, who,
on being charged, under pain of treason, to
deliver him to the privy council at Edinburgh,
gave him up, with his son Donald. Neill was
brought to trial, convicted, and executed, and
is said to have died " very Christianlie " in
April 1613. Donald, his son, was banished
from Scotland, and died in Holland. Eoderick
and William, two of the sons of Eory Oig,
were seized by the tutor of Kintail, and
executed. Malcolm, the other son, apprehend-
ed at the same time, made his escape, and
continued to harass the Mackenzies for years.
He was prominently engaged in Sir James
Macdonald's rebellion in 1615, and afterwards
went to Flanders, but in 1616 was once more
in the Lewis, where he killed two gentlemen
of the Mackenzies. He subsequently went to
Spain, whence he returned with Sir James
Macdonald in 1620. In 1622 and 1626, com-
missions of lire and sword were granted to
Lord Kintail and his clan against " Malcolm
MacEuari Macleod." Nothing mere is known
of him.

On the extinction of the main line of the

Lewis, the representation of the family de-
volved on the Macleods of Easay, afterwards
referred to. The title of Lord Macleod was
the second title of the Mackenzies, Earls of
Cromarty.

At the battle of Worcester in 1651, the
Macleods fought on the side of Charles II.,
and so great was the slaughter amongst them
that it was agreed by the other clans that they
should not engage in any other conflict until
they had recovered their losses. The Harris
estates were sequestrated by Cromwell, but the
chief of the Macleods was at last, in May
1665, admitted into the protection of the
Commonwealth by General Monk, on his find-
ing security for his peaceable behaviour under
the penalty of £6,000 sterling, and paying a
fine of £2,500. Both his uncles, however,
were expressly excepted.

At the Revolution, Macleod of Macleod,
which became the designation of the laird of
Harris, as chief of the clan, was favourable to
the cause of James II. In 1715 the effective
force of the Macleods was 1,000 men, and in
1745, 900. The chief, by the advice of Presi-
dent Forbes, did not join in the rebellion of the
latter year, and so saved his estates, but many
of his clansmen, burning with zeal for the
cause of Prince Charles, fought in the ranks
of the rebel army.

It has been mentioned that the bad treat-
ment which a daughter of the chief of the
Macleods experienced from her husband, the
captain of the Clanranald, had caused them
to take the first opportunity of inflicting a
signal vengeance on the Macdonalds. The
merciless act of Macleod, by which the entii ;
population of an island was cut off at once, is
described by Mr Skene,5 and is shortly thus.
Towards the close of the 16th century, a small
number of Macleods accidentally landed on
the island of Eigg, and were hospitably re-
ceived by the inhabitants. Offering, however,
some incivilities to the young women of the
island, they were, by the male relatives of the
latter, bound hand and foot, thrown into a
boat, and sent adrift. Being met and rescued
by a party of their own clansmen, they were
brought to Dunvegan, the residence of their

5 Highlanders, vol. ii. p. 17~.

19G

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

chief, to whom they told their story. Instantly
manning his galleys, Macleod hastened to Eigg.
On descrying his approach, the islanders, with
their wives and children, to the number of
200 persons, took refuge in a large cave, situ-
ated in a retired and secret place. Here for
two days they remained undiscovered, but
having unfortunately sent out a scout to see if
the Macleods were gone, their retreat was
detected, but they refused to surrender. A
stream of water fell over the entrance to the
cave, and partly concealed it. This Macleod
caused to be turned from its course, and then
ordered all the wood and other combustibles
which could be found to be piled up around
its mouth, and set fire to, when all within the
cave were suffocated.

The Siol Torrnod continued to possess
Harris, Dunvegan, and Glenelg till near the
close of the 18th century. The former and
the latter estates have now passed into other
hands. A considerable portion of Harris is
the property of the Earl of Dunmore, and
many of its inhabitants have emigrated to
Cape Breton and Canada. The climate of the
island is said to be favourable to longevity.
Martin, in his account of the Western Isles,
says he knew several in Harris of 90 years
of age. One Lady Macleod, who passed the
most of her time here, lived to 103, had then
a comely head of hair and good teeth, and en-
joyed a perfect understanding till the week
she died. Her son, Sir Norman Macleod,
died at 96, and his grandson, Donald Mac-
leod of Bernera, at 91. Glenelg became the
property first of Charles Grant, Lord Glenelg,
and afterwards of Mr Baillie. Erom the
family of Bernera, one of the principal branches
of the Harris Macleods, sprung the Macleods
of Luskinder, of which Sir William Macleod
Bannatyne, a lord of session, was a cadet.

The first of the house of Basay, the late
proprietor of which is the representative of
the Lewis branch of the Macleods, was
Malcolm Garbh Macleod, the second son of
Malcolm, eighth chief of the Lewis. In
the reign of James V. he obtained from his
father in patrimony the island of Basay, which
lies between Skye and the Boss-shire district
of Applecross. In 1569 the whole of the
Basay family, except one infant, were barbar-

ously massacred by one of their own kinsmen,
under the following circumstances. John
MacGhilliechallum Macleod of Basay, called
Ian na Tuaidh, or John with the axe, who
had carried off Janet Mackenzie, the first
wife of his chief, Boderick Macleod of the
Lewis, married her, after her divorce, and
had by her several sons and one daughter.
The latter became the wife of Alexander
Boy Mackenzie, a grandson of Hector or
Eachen Bo}r, the first of the Mackenzies of
Gairloch, a marriage which gave great offence
to his clan, the Siol vie Gillechallum, as the
latter had long been at feud with that par-
ticular branch of the Mackenzies. On Janet
Mackenzie's death, he of the axe married a
sister of a kinsman of his own, Buari Macallan
Macleod, who, from his venomous disposition,
was surnamed Nimhneach. The latter, to
obtain Basay for his nephew, his sister's son,
resolved to cut off both his brother-in-law and
his sons by the first marriage. He accordingly
invited them to a feast in the island of Isay in
Skye, and after it was over he left the apart-
ment. Then, causing them to be sent for one
by one, he had each of them assassinated as
they came out. He was, however, balked in
his object, as Basay became the property of
Malcolm or Ghilliechallum Garbh Macallaster
Macleod, then a child, belonging to the direct
line of the Basay branch, who was with his
foster-father at the time.6 Basay no longer
belongs to the Macleods, they having been
compelled to part with their patrimony some
years ago.

The Macleods of Assynt, one of whom be-
trayed the great Montrose in 1650, were also
a branch of the Macleods of Lewis. That
estate, towards the end of the 17th century,
became the property of the Mackenzies, and
the family is now represented by Macleod of
Geanies. The Macleods of Cadboll are cadets
of those of Assynt.

211.

Gregory's Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p.

THE CLAN CHATTAN.

197

CHAPTEE V.

Clan Chattan- -Chiefship — Mackintoshes— Battle of
North Inch — Macphersons — MacGillivrays — Shaws
— Farquharsons— Maeheans — Macphails — Gows —
MacQueens — Cattanachs.

THE CLAN CHATTAN.7

Of tlie clan Chattan little or nothing authentic
is known previous to the last six hundred years.
Their original home in Scotland, their paren-
tage, even their name, have heen disputed. One
party brings them from Germany, and settles
them in the district of Moray; another brings
them from Ireland, and settles them in Loch-
aber ; and a third makes them the original
inhabitants of Sutherland and Caithness.
With regard to their name there is still greater
variety of opinion: the Catti, a Teutonic tribe;
Catav, " the high side of the Ord of Caith-
ness ;" Gillicattan Mor, their alleged founder,
said to have lived in the reign of Malcolm II.,
1003-1033; cat, a weapon, — all have been
advanced aa the root name. We cannot pre-
tend to decide on such a matter, which, in the
entire absence of any record of the original
clan, will no doubt ever remain one open to
dispute; and therefore we refrain from entering
at length into the reasons for and against
these various derivations. Except the simple
fact that such a clan existed, and occupied
Lochaber for some time (how long cannot be
said) before the 1 4th century, nothing further of
it is known, although two elaborate genealogies
of it are extant — one in the MS. of 1450
discovered by Mr Skene ; the other (which,
whatever its faults, is no doubt much more
worthy of credence) compiled by Sir iEneas
Macpiherson in the 17th century.

Mr Skene, on the authority of the MS. of
1450, makes out that the clan was the most
important of the tribes owning the sway of
the native Earls or Maormors of Moray, and
represents it a3 occupying the whole of Bade-
noch, the greater part of Lochaber, and the
districts of Strathnairn and Strathdearn, hold-

7 For much of this account of the clan Chattan
we are indebted to the kindness of A. Mackintosh
Shaw, Esq. of London, who has revised the whole.
1 lis forthcoming history of the clan, we have reason
to believe, will be. the most valuable clan history yet
published.

ing their lands in chief of the crown. But it
seems tolerably evident that the MS. of 1450
is by no means to be relied upon; Mr Skene
liimself says it is not trustworthy before a.d.
1000, and there is no good ground for suppos-
ing it to be entirely trustworthy 100 or even
200 years later. The two principal septs of
this clan in later times, the Macphersons and
the Mackintoshes, Mr Skene, on the authority
of the MS., deduces from two brothers, Neach-
tan and Neill, sons of Gillicattan Mor, and on
the assumption that this is correct, he proceeds
to pronounce judgment on the rival claims of
Macpherson of Cluny and Mackintosh of
Mackintosh to the headship of clan Chattan.

Mr Skene, from "the investigations which
ho has made into the history of the tribes
of Moray, as well as into the history and
nature of Highland traditions," conceives
it to be established by " historic authority,"
that the Macphersons are the lineal and
feudal representatives of the ancient chiefs of
the clan Chattan, and " that they possess that
right by blood to the chiefship, of which no
charters from the crown, and no usurpation,
however successful and continued, can deprive
them." It is not very easy to understand,
however, by what particular process of reason-
ing Mr Skene has arrived at this conclu-
sion. For supposing it were established " be-
yond all doubt," as he assumes it to be, by
the manuscript of 1450, that the Macpher-
sons and the Mackintoshes are descended
from Neachtan and Neill, the two sons of
Gillichattan-more, the founder of the race,
it does not therefore follow that " the Mack-
intoshes were an usurping branch of the
clan," and that " the Macphersons alone pos-
sessed the right of blood to that hereditary
dignity." This is indeed taking for granted
the very point to be proved, in fact the whole
matter in dispute. Mr Skene affirms that the
descent of the Macphersons from the ancient
chiefs " is not denied," which is in reality
saying nothing to the purpose ; because the
epiestion is, not whether this pretended descent
has or has not been denied, but whether it can
now be established by satisfactory evidence.
To make out a case in favour of the Macpher-
sons, it is necessary to show — first, that the
descendants of Neachtan formed the eldest

198

HTSTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

branch, and consequently were the chiefs of
the clan; secondly, that the Macphersons are
the lineal descendants and the feudal repre-
sentatives of this same Neachtan, whom they
claim as their ancestor; and, lastly, that the
Mackintoshes are really descended from Neill,
the second son of the founder of the race, and
not from Macduff, Earl of Fife, as they them-
selves have always maintained. But we do
not observe that any of these points has been
formally proved by evidence, or that Mr Skene
has deemed it necessary to fortify his assertions
by arguments, and deductions from historical
facts. His statement, indeed, amounts just to
this — That the family of Macheth, the de-
scendants of Head or Heth, the son of Neach-
tan, were "identical with the chiefs of clan
Chattan ;" and that the clan Vurich, or Mac-
phersons, were descended from these chiefs.
But, in the first place, the "identity" which
is here contended for, and upon which the
whole question hinges, is imagined rather than
proved ; it is a conjectural assumption rather
than an inference deduced from a series of
probabilities : and, secondly, the descent of
the clan Vurich from the Macheths rests solely
upon the authority of a Celtic genealogy (the
manuscript of 1450) which, whatever weight
may be given to it when supported by col-
lateral evidence, is not alone sufficient autho-
rity to warrant anything beyond a mere con-
jectural inference. Hence, so far from granting
to Mr Skene that the hereditary title of the
Macphersons of Cluny to the chiefship of clan
Chattan has been clearly established by him,
we humbly conceive that he has left the
question precisely where he found it. The
title of that family may be the preferable one,
but it yet remains to be shown that such is
the case.

Tradition certainly makes the Macphersons
of Cluny the male reprentatives of the chiefs
of the old clan Chattan ; but even if this is
correct, it does not therefore follow that they
have now, or have had for the last six hundred
years, any right to be regarded as chiefs of the
clan. The same authority, fortified by written
evidence of a date only about fifty years
later than Skene's MS., in a MS. history of
the Mackintoshes, states that Angus, 6th
chief of Mackintosh, married the daughter and

only child of Dugall Dall, chief of clan Chat-
tan, in the end of the 13th century, and with
her obtained the lands occupied by the clan,
with the station of leader, and that he was
received as such by the clansmen. Similar
instances of the abrogation of what is called
the Highland law of succession are to be found
in Highland history, and on this ground alone
the title of the Mackintosh chiefs seems to be
a good one. Then again we find them owned
and followed as captains of clan Chattan even
by the Macphersons themselves up to the 17th
century; while in hundreds of charters, bonds
and deeds of every description, given by kings,
Lords of the Isles, neighbouring chiefs, and
the septs of clan Chattan itself, is the title
of captain of clan Chattan acceded to them —
as early as the time of David II. Mr Skene,
indeed, employs their usage of the term Captain
to show that they had no right of blood to the
headship — a right they have never claimed,
although there is perhaps no reason why they
should not claim such a right from Eva. By
an argument deduced from the case of the
Camerons — the weakness of which will at once
be seen on a careful examination of his state-
ments— he presumes that they were the oldest
cadets of the clan, and had usurped the chief-
ship. No doubt the designation captain was
used, as Mr Skene says, when the actual leader
of a clan was a person who had no right by
blood to that position, but it does not by
any means follow that he is right in assuming
that those who are called captains were oldest
cadets. Hector, bastard son of Ferquhard
Mackintosh, while at the head of his clan
during the minority of the actual chief, his
distant cousin, is in several deeds styled
captain of clan Chattan, and he was certainly
not oldest cadet of the house of Mackintosh.

It is not for us to offer any decided opinion
respecting a matter where the pride and pre-
tensions of rival families are concerned. It
may therefore be sufficient to observe that,
whilst the Macphersons rest their claims chiefly
on tradition, the Mackintoshes have produced,
and triumphantly appealed to charters and
documents of every description, in support of
their pretensions; and that it is not very easy to
see how so great a mass of written evidence ran
be overcome by merely calling into court

THE CLAN CHATTAN.

199

Tradition to give testimony adverse to its
credibility. The admitted fact of the Mack-
intosh family styling themselves captains of
the clan does not seem to warrant any inference
which can militate against their pretensions.
On the contrarj', the original assumption of
this title obviously implies that no chief was
in existence at the period when it was assumed ;
and its continuance, unchallenged and undis-
puted, affords strong presumptive proof in
support of the account given by the Mackin-
toshes as to the original constitution of their
title. The idea of usurpation appears to be
altogether preposterous. The right alleged by
the family of Mackintosh was not direct but
collateral ; it was founded on a marriage, and
not derived by descent; and hence, probably,
the origin of the secondary or subordinate
title of captain which that family assumed.
But can any one doubt that if a claim founded
upon a preferable title had been asserted, the
inferior pretension must have given way? Or
is it in any degree probable that the latter
would have been so fully recognised, if there
had existed any lineal descendant of the
ancient chiefs in a condition to prefer a claim
founded upon the inherent and indefeasible
right of blood 1

Further, even allowing that the Macpher-
sons are the lineal male representatives of the
old clan Chattan chiefs, they can have no
possible claim to the headship of the clan
Chattan of later times, which was composed
of others besides the descendants of the
old clan. The Mackintoshes also repudiate
any connection by blood with the old clan
Chattan, except through the heiress of that
clan who married their chief in 1291; and,
indeed, such a thing was never thought of
until Mr Skene started the idea ; consequently
the Macphersons can have no claim over them,
or over the families winch spring from them.
The great body of the clan, the historical clan
Chattan, have always owned and followed the
chief of Mackintosh as their leader and cap-
tain— the term captain being simply employed
to include the whole — and until the close of
the 17th century no attempt was made to de-
prive the Mackintosh chiefs of tliis title.

Among many other titles given to the chief
of the Mackintoshes within the last 700 years,

are, according to Mr Eraser-Mackintosh, those
of Captain of Clan Chattan, Chief of Clan
Chattan, and Principal of Clan Chattan. The
following on this subject is from the pen of
Lachlan Shaw, the historian of Moray, whose
knowledge of the subject entitled him to speak
with authority. It is printed in the account
o£ the Kilravock Family issued by the Spald-
ing Club. "Eve Catach, who married Mac-
intosh, was the heir-female (Clunie's ancestor
being the heir-male), and had Macintosh as-
sumed her surname, he would (say the Mac-
Phersons) have been chief of the Clanchatan,
aecording to the custom of Scotland. But this
is an empty distinction. For, if the right of
chiftanry is, jure sanguinis, inherent m the
heir-female, she conveys it, and cannot but
convey it to her son, whatever surname he
takes; nam jura sanguinis non prwscrihunt.
And if it is not inherent in her, she cannot
convey it to her son, although he assume her
surname. Be this as it will, Macintosh's
predecessors were, for above 300 years, de-
signed Captains of Clanchatan, in royal char-
ters and commissions, in bonds, contracts,
history, heraldrie, &c. ; the occasion of which
title was, that several tribes or clans (every
clan retaining its own surname) united in the
general designation of Clanchatan; and of this
incorporated body, Macintosh was the head
leader or captain. These united tribes were
Macintosh, MacPherson, Davidson, Shaw,
MacBean, MacGilivTay, MacQueen, Smith,
Maclntyre, MacPhail, &c. In those times of
barbarity and violence, small and weak tribes
found it necessary to unite with, or come under
the patronage of more numerous and powerful
clans. And as long as the tribes of Clanchatan
remained united (which was till the family of
Gordon, breaking with the family of Mac-
intosh, disunited them, and broke their coali-
tion), they were able to defend themselves
against any other clan."

In a MS., probably written by the same
author, a copy of which now lies before us, a
lengthened enquiry into the claims of the rival
chiefs is concluded thus : — " In a word, if by the
chief of the clan Chattan is meant the heir of
the family, it cannot be doubted that Cluny is
chief. If the heir whatsoever is meant, then
unquestionably Mackintosh is chief; and who-

200

HTSTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

ever is chief, since the captaincy and command
of the collective body of the clan Chattan was
for above 300 years in the family of Mackin-
tosh, I cannot see bnt, if such a privilege now
remains, it is still in that family." In refer-
ence to this much-disputed point, we take the
liberty of quoting a letter of the Eev. W.
G. Shaw, of Forfar. He has given the
result of his inquiries in several privately
printed brochures, but it is hoped that ere
long he will place at the disposal of all who
take an interest in these subjects the large
stores of information he must have accumu-
lated on many matters connected with the
Highlands. "Writing to the editor of this
book he says, on the subject of the chiefship
of clan Chattan : —

" Skene accords too much to the Macpher-
sons in one way, but not enough in another.

" (Too much) — He says that for 200 years
the Mackintoshes headed the clan Chattan,
but only as captain, not as chief. But during
these 200 years we have bonds, &c, cropping
up now and then in which the Macphersons
are only designated as (M. or N.) Macpherson
of Cluny. Their claim to headship seems to
have been thoroughly in abeyance till the mid-
dle of the 17th century.

"(Too little) — For he says the Macphersons
in theh controversy (1 672) before the Lyon
King, pled only tradition, whereas they pled
the facts.

"De jure the Macphersons were chiefs; de
facto, they never were; and they only claimed
to use the title when clanship began to be a
thing of the past, in so far as fighting was
concerned.

" The Macphersons seem to have been
entitled to the chieftainship by right of birth,
but de facto they never had it. The might of
' the Macintosh ' had made his right, as is
evidenced in half-a-hundred bonds of manrent,
deeds of various kinds, to be found in the
' Thanes of Cawdor,' and the Spalding Club
Miscellany — passim. He is always called
Capitane or Captane of clan Quhattan, the
spelling being scarcely ever twice the same."

Against Mackintosh's powerful claims sup-
ported by deeds, &c, the following statements
are given from the Macpherson MS. in Mr
W. G. Shaw's possession: —

I. In 1370, the head of the Macphersons
disowned the head of the Mackintoshes at In-
vernahavon. Tradition says Macpherson with-
drew from the field without fighting, i. e.,
he mutinied on a point of precedence between
him and Mackintosh.

II. Donald More Macpherson fought along
with Marr at Harlaw, agoing Donald of the
Isles with Mackintosh on his side, the two
chiefs being then on different sides (1411).

III. Donald Oig Macpherson fought on the
side of Huntly at the battle of Corrichie, and
was killed; Mackintosh fought on the other
side (1562).

IV. Andrew Macpherson of Cluny held the
Castle of Euthven, a.d. 1594, against Argyll,
Mackintosh fighting on the side of Argyll.8

This tends to show that when the Macpher-
sons joined with the Mackintoshes, it was (they
alleged) voluntarily, and not on account of
their being bound to follow Mackintosh as
chief.

In a loose way, no doubt, Mackintosh may
sometimes have been called Chief of Clan
Chattan, but Captain is the title generally
given in deeds of all kinds. He was chief of
the Mackintoshes, as Cluny was chief of the
Macphersons — by right of blood; but by agree-
mentamongsttheShaws, Macgillivrays, Clarkes,
(Clerach), Clan Dai, &c, renewed from time
to time, Mackintosh was recognised as Captain
of Clan Chattan.

We cannot forbear adding as a fit moral to
this part of the subject, the conclusion come
to by the writer of the MS. already quoted : —
"After what I have said upon this angry point,
I cannot but be of opinion, that in our day,
when the right of chieftanrie is so little re-
garded, when the power of the chiefs is so
much abridged, when armed convocations of
the lieges are discharged by law, and when a
clan are not obliged to obey their chief unless
he bears a royal commission, — when matters
are so, 'tis my opinion that questions about
chieftainrie and debates about precedency of
that kind, are equally idle and unprofitable,

3 Mr Mackintosh Shaw says that, in 1591, Huntly
obtained a bond of manrent from Andrew Macpherson
and his immediate family, the majority of the Mac-
phersons remaining faithful to Mackintosh. State-
ments IF. and III. are founded only on the Macpher-
son MS.

THE MACKINTOSHES.

301

and that gentlemen should live in strict friend-
ship as they are connected by blood, by affin-
ity, or by the vicinity of their dwellings and
the interest of their families."

The clan Chattan of history, according to
Mr Fraser-Mackintosh of Drummond,9 was
composed of the following clans, who were
either allied to the Mackintoshes and Mac-
phersons by genealogy, or who, for their own
protection or other reasons, had joined the
confederacy : — The Mackintoshes, Macpher-
sons, Macgillivrays, Shaws, Farquharsons,
Macbeans, Macphails, clan Tarril, Gows (said
to be descended from Henry the Smith, of
North Inch fame), Clarks, Macqueens, David-
sons, Cattanachs, elan Ay, Nobles, Gillespies.
" In addition to the above sixteen tribes, the
Macleans of Dochgarroch or clan Tearleach,
the Dallases of Cantray, and others, generally
followed the captain of clan Chattan as his
friends." Of some of these little or nothing
is known except the name ; but others, as the
Mackintoshes, Macphersons, Shaws, Farquhar-
sons, &c, have on the whole a complete and
well-detailed history.

MACKINTOSH.

Badge— According to some, Boxwood, others
Eed Whortleberry.

According to the Mackintosh MS. Histories
(the first of which was compiled about 1500,
Jther two dated in the 16th century, all of
which were embodied in a Latin MS. by Lach-
lan Mackintosh of Kinrara about 1680), the

Antiquarian Notes, p. 358.

II.

progenitor of the family was Shaw or Seach,
a son of Macduff, Earl of Fife, who, for his
assistance in quelling a rebellion among the
inhabitants of Moray, was presented by King
Malcolm IV. with the lands of Petty and
Breachly and the forestry of Strathearn, being
made also constable of the castle at Inverness.
From the high position and power of his father,
he was styled by the Gaelic-speaking population
Mac-an-Toisich, i.e., " son of the principal or
foremost." Tus, tos, or tosich, is "the beginning
or first part of anything," whence "foremost"
or " principal." Mr Skene says the tosich was
the oldest cadet of a clan, and that Mackin-
tosh's ancestor was oldest cadet of clan Chat-
tan. Professor Cosmo Innes says the tosich
was the administrator of the crown lands, the
head man of a little district, who became under
the Saxon title of Thane hereditary tenant ;
and it is worthy of note that these functions
were performed by the successor of the above
mentioned Shaw, who, the family history says,
" was made chamberlain of the king's revenues
in those parts for life." It is scarcely likely,
however, that the name Mackintosh arose
either in this manner or in the manner stated
by Mr Skene, as there would be many tosachs,
and in every clan an oldest cadet. The name
seems to imply some peculiar circumstances,
and these are found in the son of the great
Thane or Earl of Fife.

Little is known of the immediate successors
of Shaw Macduff. They appear to have made
their residence in the castle of Inverness, which
they defended on several occasions against the
marauding bands from the west. Some of
them added considerably to the possessions of
the family, which soon took firm root in the
north. Towards the close of the 13th century,
during the minority of Angus MacFerquhard,
6th chief, the Cornyns seized the castle of
Inverness, and the lands of Geddes and Eait
belonging to the Mackintoshes, and these
were not recovered for more than a century.
It was this chief who in 1291-2 married Eva,
the heiress of clan Chattan, and who acquired
with her the lauds occupied by that clan,
together with the station of leader of her
father's clansmen. He appears to have been
a chief of great activity, and a staunch sup-
porter of Eobert Bruce, with whom he took

202

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

part in the battle of Bannockburn. He is
placed second in the list of chiefs given by
General Stewart of Garth as present in this
battle. In the time of his son William the
sanguinary feud with the Camerons broke out,
which continued up to the middle of the 17th
centuty. The dispute arose concerning the
lands of Glenlui and Locharkaig, which Angus
Mackintosh had acquired with Eva, and which
in his absence had been occupied by the
Camerons. William fought several battles
for the recovery of these lands, to which in
1337 he acquired a charter from the Lord of
the Isles, confirmed in 1357 by David II., but
his efforts were unavailing to dislodge the
Camerons. The feud was continued by his
successor, Lauchlan, 8th chief, each side occa-
sionally making raids into the other's country.
In one of these is said to have occurred the
well-known dispute as to precedency between
two of the septs of clan Chattan, the Mac-
phersons and the Davidsons. According to
tradition, the Camerons had entered Badenoch,
where Mackintosh was then residing, and had
seized a large " spreagh." Mackintosh's force,
which followed them, was composed chiefly of
these two septs, the Macphersons, however,
considerably exceeding the rest. A dispute
arising between the respective leaders of the
Macphersons and Davidsons as to who should
lead the right wing, the chief of Mackintosh,
as superior to both, was appealed to, and de-
cided in favour of Davidson. Offended at
this, the Macphersons, who, if all accounts are
true, had undoubtedly the better right to the
post of honour, withdrew from the field of
battle, thus enabling the Camerons to secure
a victory. When, however, they saw that
their friends were defeated, the Macpher-
sons are said to have returned to the field,
and turned the victory of the Camerons
into a defeat, killing their leader, Charles
MacGillonie. The date of this affair, which
took place at Invernahavon, is variously fixed
at 1370 and 1384, and some writers make
it the cause which led to the famous battle
on the North Inch of Perth twenty-six years
later.

As is well known, great controversies have
raged as to the clans who took part in the
Perth fight, and those writers just referred to

decide the question by making the Macpher-
sons and Davidsons the combatant clans.1
Wyntoun's words are —

" They three score ware clannys twa,
Clahynnhe Qwhewyl and Cfachinyha,
Of thir twa kynnys war thay men,
Thretty again thretty then,
And thare thay had thair chiftanys twa,
Scha Faeqwhahis Sone wes ane of thay,
The tother Christy Johnesone. "

On this the Eev, W. G. Shaw of Eorfar re-
marks,— " One writer (Dr Macpherson) tries to
make out that the clan Yha or Ha was the clan
Shaw. Another makes them to be the clan
Dhai or Davidsons. Another (with Skene)
makes them Macphersons. As to the clan
Quhele, Colonel Eobertson (author of ' Histo-
rical Proofs of the Highlanders,') supposes that
the clan Quhele was the clan Shaw, partly
from the fact that in the Scots Act of Parlia-
ment of 1392 (vol. i. p. 217), whereby several
clans were forfeited for their share in the raid
of Angus [described in vol. i.], there is mention
made of Slurach, or (as it is supposed it ought
to have been written) Sheach2 et omnes clan
Quliele. Then others again suppose that the
clan Quhele was the clan Mackintosh. Others
that it was the clan Cameron, whilst the clan
Yha was the Clan-na-Chait or clan Chattan.

" Prom the fact that, after the clan Battle
on the Inch, the star of the Mackintoshes was
decidedly in the ascendant, there can be little
doubt but that they formed at least a section
of the winning side, whether that side were
the clan Yha or the clan Quhele.

" Wyntoun declines to say on which side
the victory lay. He writes —

' Wha had the waur fare at the last,
I will nocht say. '

It is not very likely that subsequent writers
knew more of the subject than he did, so that
after all, we are left very much to the tradi-
tions of the families themselves for information.
The Camerons, Davidsons, Mackintoshes, and
Macphersons, all say that they took part in

1 For details as to this celebrated combat, see vol.
i. ch. v. The present remarks are supplementary to
the former, and will serve to correct several inac-
curacies.

2 Every one acquainted with the subject, knows
what havoc Lowland scribes hare all along made of
Gaelic names in legal and public documents.

BATTLE OF NOETH INCH.

203

the fray. The Shaws' tradition is, that their
ancestor, being a relative of the Mackintoshes,
took the place of the aged chief of that section
of the clan, on the day of battle. The chroni-
clers vary as to the names of the clans, but
they all agree as to the name of one of the
leaders, viz., that it was Shaw. Tradition and
history are agreed on this one. point.

" One thing emerges clearly from the confu-
sion as to the clans who fought, and as to
which of the modern names of the contending
clans was represented by the clans Yha and
Quhele, — one thing emerges, a Shaw leading
the victorious party, and a race of Shaws
springing from him as their great — if not their
first — founder, a race, who for ages afterwards,
lived in the district and fought under the
banner of the Laird of Mackintosh."3

As to the Davidsons, the tradition which
vouches for the' particulars of the fight at
Invernahavon expressly says that the David-
sons were almost to a man cut off, and it is
scarcely likely that they would, within so
short a time, be able to muster sufficient men
either seriously to disturb the peace of the
country or to provide thirty champions. Mr
Skene solves the question by making the
Mackintoshes and Macphersons the combatant
clans, and the cause of quarrel the right to the
headship of clan Chattan. But the traditions
of both families place them on the winning
side, and there is no trace whatever of any
dispute at this time, or previous to the 16th
century, as to the chiefship. The most pro-
bable solution of this difficulty is, that the
clans who fought at Perth were the clan
Chattan {i.e., Mackintoshes, Macphersons, and
others) and the Camerons. Mr Skene, indeed,
says that the only clans who have a tradition
of their ancestors having been engaged are the
Mackintoshes, Macphersons, and Camerons,
though he endeavours to account for the pre-
sence of the last named clan by making them
assist the Macphersons against the Mackin-
toshes.4 The editor of the Memoirs of Lochiel,
mentioning this tradition of the Camerons, as
well as the opinion of Skene, says, — " It may
be observed, that the side allotted to the

3 The Mackintosh MS. of 1500 states that Lrtuchlan,
the Mackintosh chief, gave Shaw a grant of Eothie-
murchus " for his valour on the Inch that day."

4 Vol. ii. pp. 175-178.

Camerons (viz. the unsuccessful side) affords
the strongest internal evidence of its correct-
ness. Had the Camerons been described as
victors it would have been very different."

The author of the recently discovered MS.
account of the clan Chattan already referred
to, says that by this conflict Cluny's right to
lead the van was established ; and in the
meetings of clan Chattan he sat on Mackin-
tosh's right hand, and when absent that seat
was kept empty for him. Henry Wynde
likewise associated with the clan Chattan,
and his descendants assumed the name of
Smith, and were commonly called Sliochd a
Gow Chroim.

Lauchlan, chief of Mackintosh, in whose
time these events happened, died in 1407, at
a good old age. In consequence of his age
and infirmity, Ms kinsman, Shaw Mackintosh,
had headed the thirty clan Chattan cham-
pions at Perth, and for his success was re-
warded with the possession of the lands of
Eothiemurchus in Badenoch. The next
chief, Perquhard, was compelled by his clans
men to resign his post in consequence of
his mild, inactive disposition, and his uncle
Malcolm (son of William Mac-Angus by a
second marriage) succeeded as 10th chief of
Mackintosh, and 5th captain of clan Chattan.
Malcolm was one of the most warlike and suc-
cessful of the Mackintosh chiefs. During his
long chiefship of nearly fifty years, he made
frequent incursions into the Cameron terri-
tories, and waged a sanguinary war with the
Comyns, in which he recovered the lands taken
from his ancestor. In 1411 he was one of the
principal commanders in the army of Donald,
Lord of the Isles, in the battle of Harlaw,
where he is by some stated incorrectly to
have been killed. In 1429, when Alexander,
Lord of the Isles and Earl of Eoss,. broke
out into rebellion at the head of 10,000
men, on the advance of the king into Loch-
aber, the clan Chattan and the clan Came-
ron deserted the earl's banners, went over
to the royal army, and fought on the royal
side, the rebels being defeated. In 1431.
Malcolm Mackintosh, captain of the clan
Chattan, received a grant of the lands of
Alexander of Loehaber, uncle of the Earl
of Eoss, that chieftain having been forfeited

204

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

THE MACKINTOSH'S LAMENT.*

Arranged for the Bagpipes by Pipe-Major A. M'Lennan, Highland Light Infantry Militia, Inverness.

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are indebted to the kindness of The Mackintosh. In a note which accompanied it that gentleman gives the following
interesting particulars :—

THE MACKINTOSH'S LAMENT.

205

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composed on the death of Lauchlan, the 1 4th Laird ; but we believe that it was composed by the famous family bard
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vent in the refrain,

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They have lifted ; Low, they have laid thee."

These are the only words in existence which I can hear of. '

206

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

for engaging in the rebellion of Donald Bal-
loch. Having afterwards contrived to make
his peace with the Lord of the Isles, he re-
ceived from him, between 1443 and 1447, a
confirmation of his lands in Lochaber. with
a grant of the office of bailiary of that district.
His son, Duncan, styled captain of the clan
Chattan in 1467, was in great favour with
John, Lord of the Isles and Earl of Eoss, whose
sister, Flora, he married, and who bestowed on
him the office of steward of Lochaber, which
had been held by his father. He also received
the lands of Keppoch and others included in
that lordship.

On the forfeiture of his brother-in-law in
1475, James III. granted to the same Duncan
Mackintosh a charter, of date July 4th, 1476,
of the lauds of Moymore, and various others,
in Lochaber. When the king in 1493 pro-
ceeded in person to the West Highlands, Dun-
can Mackintosh, captain of the clan Chattan,
was one of the chiefs, formerly among the vas-
sals of the Lord of the Isles, who went to. meet
him and make their submission to him. These
chiefs received in return royal charters of the
lands they had previously held under the
Lord of the Isles, and Mackintosh obtained
a charter of the lands of Keppoch, Innerorgan,
and others, with the office of bailiary of the
same. In 1495, Farquhar Mackintosh, his
son, and Kenneth Oig Mackenzie of Kintail,
were imprisoned by the king in Edinburgh
castle. Two years thereafter, Farquhar, who
seems about this time to have succeeded his
father as captain of the clan Chattan, and
Mackenzie, made their escape from Edinburgh
castle, but, on their way to the Highlands,
they were seized at Torwood by the laird of
Buchanan. Mackenzie, having offered resist-
ance, was slain, but Mackintosh was taken
alive, and confined at Dunbar, where he re-
mained till after the battle of Elodden.

Farquhar was succeeded by his cousin, Wil-
liam Mackintosh, who had married Isabel
M'Niven, heiress of Dunnachtan : but John
Eoy Mackintosh, the head of another branch of
the family, attempted by force to get himself
recognised as captain of the clan Chattan, and
failing in his design, he assassinated his rival
at Inverness in 1515. Being closely pursued,
however, he was overtaken and slain at Glen-

esk. Lauchlan Mackintosh, the brother of the
murdered chief, was then placed at the head
of the clan. He is described by Bishop
Lesley3 as " a verrie honest and wyse gentle-
man, an barroun of gude rent, quha keipit hes
hole ken, friendes and tennentis in honest and
guid rewll." The strictness with which he
ruled his clan raised him up many enemies
among them, and, like his brother, he was cut
off by the hand of an assassin. " Some wicked
persons," says Lesley, " being impatient of vir-
tuous living, stirred up one of his own princi-
pal kinsmen, called James Malcolmson, who
cruelly and treacherously slew his chief."
This was in the year 1526. To avoid the
vengeance of that portion of the clan by whom
the chief was beloved, Malcolmson and his
followers took refuge in the island in the loch
of Eothiemurchus, but they were pursued to
their hiding place, and slain there.

Lauchlan had married the sister of the Earl
of Moray, and by her had a son, William, who
on his father's death was but a child. The
clan therefore made choice of Hector Mackin-
tosh, a bastard son of Farquhar, the chief
who had been imprisoned in 1495, to act as
captain till the young chief should come of
age. The consequences of this act have already
been narrated in their proper place in the
General History. On attaining the age of man-
hood William duly became head of the clan,
and having been well brought up by the Earls
of Moray and Cassilis, both his near relatives,
was, according to Lesley, " honoured as a per-
fect pattern of virtue by all the leading men of
the Highlands." During the life of his uncle,
the Earl of Moray, his affairs prospered ; but
shortly after that noble's death, he became in-
volved in a feud with the Earl of Huntly. Ho
was charged with the heinous offence of con-
spiring against Huntly, the queen's lieutenant,
and at a court held by Huntly at Aberdeen, on
the 2d August 1550, was tried and convicted
by a jury, and sentenced to lose his life and
lands. Being immediately carried to Strath-
bogie, he was beheaded soon after bjr Huntly's
countess, the earl himself having given a
pledge that his life should be spared. The
story is told, though with grave errors, by Sir

5 History of Scotland, p. 137.

THE MACPHEESONS.

207

Walter Soott, in his Tales of a Grandfather?
By Act of Parliament of 14th December 1557..
the sentence was reversed as illegal, and the son
of Mackintosh was restored to all his father's
lands, to which Huntly added others as assyth-
meut for the blood. But this act of atonement
on Huntly's part was not sufficient to efface the
deep grudge owed him by the clan Chattan on
account of the execution of their chief, and
he was accordingly thwarted by them in many
of. his designs.

In the time of this earl's grandson, the clan
Chattan again came into collision with the
powerful Gordons, and for four years a deadly
feud raged between them. In consequence of
certain of Huntly's proceedings, especially the
murder of the Earl of Moray, a strong faction
was formed against him, Lauchlan, 16th chief
of Mackintosh, taking a prominent part. A
full account of these disturbances in 1624 has
already been given in its place in the General
History.

In this feud Huntly succeeded in detach-
ing the Macphersons belonging to the Cluny
branch from the rest of clan Chattan, but the
majority of that sept, according to the MS.
history of the Mackintoshes, remained true to
the chief of Mackintosh. These allies, how-
ever, were deserted by Huntly when he be-
came reconciled to Mackintosh, and in 1609
Andrew Macpherson of Cluny, with all the
other principal men of clan Chattan, signed a
bond of union, in which they all acknowledged
the chief of Mackintosh as captain and chief
of clan Chattan. The clan Chattan were in
Argyll's army at the battle of Glenlivat in
1595, and with the Macleans formed the right
wing, which made the best resistance to the
Catholic earls, and was the last to quit the field.

Cameron of Lochiel had been forfeited in
1598 for not producing his title deeds, when
Mackintosh claimed the lands of Glenluy and
Locharkaig, of which he had kept forcible
possession. In 1618 Sir Lauchlan, 17th
chief of Mackintosh, prepared to carry into
effect the acts of outlawry against Lochiel,
who, on his part, put himself under the pro-
tection of the Marquis of Huntly, Mackintosh's
mortal foe. In July of the same year Sir

6 Vol. ii. p. 7.

Lauchlan obtained a commission of fire and
sword against the Macdonalds of Keppoch for
laying waste his lands in Lochaber. As he
conceived that he had a right to the services
of all his clan, some of whom were tenants and
dependents of the Marquis of .Huntly, he
ordered the latter to follow him, and compelled
such of them as were refractory to accompany
him into Lochaber. This proceeding gave
great offence to Lord Gordon, Earl of'Enzie,
the marquis's son, who summoned Mack-
intosh before the Privy Council, for having,
as he asserted, exceeded his commission. He
was successful in obtaining the recall of Sir
Lauchlan's commission, and obtaining a new
one in his own favour. The consequences of
this are told in vol. i. ch. x.

During the wars of the Covenant, William,
18th chief, was at the head of the clan, but
owing to feebleness of constitution took no
active part in the troubles of that period. He
was, however, a decided loyalist, and among
the Mackintosh papers are several letters, both
from the unhappy Charles I. and his son
Charles II., acknowledging his good affection
and service. The Mackintoshes, as well as
the Macphersons and Farquharsons, were with
Montrose in considerable numbers, and, in
fact, the great body of clan Chattan took part
in nearly all that noble's battles and expedi-
tions.

Shortly after the accession of Charles II.,
Lauchlan Mackintosh, to enforce his claims
to the disputed lands of Glenluy and Loch-
arkaig against Cameron of Lochiel, raised
his clan, and, assisted by the Macphersons,
marched to Lochaber with 1500 men. He
was met by Lochiel with 1200 men, of
whom 300 were Macgregors. About 300 were
armed with bows. General Stewart says : —
" When preparing to engage, the Earl of Bread-
albane, who was nearly related to both chiefs,
came in sight with 500 men, and sent them
notice that if either of them refused to agree
to the terms which he had to propose, he
would throw his interest into the opposite
scale. After some hesitation his offer of
mediation was accepted, and the feud amicably
and finally settled." This was in 1665, when
the celebrated Sir Ewen Cameron was chief,
and a sat.isfactorv arrangement having been

208

HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

made, tlie Cauierons were at length, left ill un-
disputed possession of the lands of Glenluy and
Locharkaig, which their various branches still
enjoy.

In 1672 Duncan Macplierson of Cluny,
having resolved to throw off all connexion with
Mackintosh, made application to the Lyon
office to have his arms matriculated as laird of
Cluny Macplierson, and " the only and true
representative of the ancient and honourable
family of the clan Chattan.-' This request
was granted ; and, soon afterwards, when the
Privy Council required the Highland chiefs to
give security for the peaceable behaviour of
their resjieetive clans, Macpherson became
bound for his clan under the designation of
the lord of Cluny and chief of the Maepher-
sons ; as he could only hold himself respon-
sible for that portion of the clan Chattan
which bore his own name and were more par-
ticularly under his own control. As soon as
Mackintosh was informed of this circumstance,
he applied to the privy council and the Lyon
office to have his own title declared, and that
which had been granted to Macpherson re-
called and cancelled. An inquiry was accord-
ingly instituted, and both parties were ordered
to produce evidence of their respective asser-
tions, when the council ordered Mackintosh to
give bond for those of his clan, his vassals,
those descended of his family, his men, tenants,
and servants, and all dwelling upon his ground ;
and enjoined Cluny to give bond for those of
his name of Macpherson, descended of his
family, and his men, tenants, and servants,
" without prejudice always to the laird of
Mackintosh." In consequence of this decision,
the armorial bearings granted to Macpherson
were recalled, and they were again matriculated
as those of Macpherson of Cluny.

Between the Mackintoshes and the Macdon-
alds of Keppoch, a feud had long existed, ori-
ginating in the claim of the former to the lands
occupied by the latter, on the Braes of Loch-
aber. The Macdonalds had no other right to
their lands than what was founded on pre-
scriptive possession, whilst the Mackintoshes had
a feudal title to the property, originally granted
by the lords of the Isles, and, on their forfeit-
ure, confirmed by the crown. After various
acts of hostility on both sides, the feud was at

length terminated by " the last considerable
clan battle which was fought in the Highlands."
To dispossess the Macdonalds by force, Mackin-
tosh raised his clan, and, assisted by an inde-
pendent company of soldiers, furnished by the
government, marched towards Keppoch, but,
on his arrival there, he found the place deserted.
He was engaged in constructing a fort in Glen-
roy, to protect his rear, when he received in-
telligence that the Macdonalds, reinforced by
their kinsmen of Glengarry and Glencoe, were
posted in great force at Mulroy. He imme-
diately marched against them, but was defeated
and taken prisoner. At that critical moment,
a large body of Macphersons appeared on the
ground, hastening to the relief of the Mackin-
toshes, and Keppoch, to avoid another battle,
was obliged to release his prisoner. It is
highly to the honour of the Macphersons, that
they came forward on the occasion so readily,
to the assistance of the rival branch of the clan
Chattan, and that so far from taking advantage
of Mackintosh's misfortune, they escorted him
safely to his own territories, and left him
without exacting any conditions, or making
any stipulations whatever as to the chiefship.7
From this time forth, the Mackintoshes and the
Macphersons continued separate and independ-
ent clans, although both were included under
the general denomination of the clan Chattan.

At the Bevolution, the Mackintoshes adhered
to the new government, and as the chief re-
fused to attend the Viscount Dundee, on that
nobleman soliciting a friendly interview with
him, the latter employed his old opponent,
Macdonald of Keppoch, to carry off his cattle.
In the rebellions of 1715 and 1745, the Mack-
intoshes took a prominent part. Lauchlan,
20th chief, was actively engaged in the '15,
and was at Preston on the Jacobite side. The
exploits of Mackintosh of Borlum, in 1715,
have been fully narrated in our account of the
rebellion of that j'ear.

Lauchlan died in 1731, without issue, when
the male line of William, the 18th chief, be-
came extinct. Lauchlan's successor, William
Mackintosh, died in 1741. Angus, the brother
of the latter, the next chief, married Anne,
daughter of Farquharson of Invercauld, a lady

7 Skene's Highlanders, ii. 1S8-9.

THE MACKINTOSHES.

209

who distinguished herself greatly in the rebel-
lion of 1 745. When her husband was appointed
to one of the three new companies in Lord
Loudon's Higlilanders, raised in the begin-
ning of that year, Lady Mackintosh traversed
the country, and, in a very short time, en-
listed 97 of the 100 men required for a cap-
taincy. On the breaking out of the re-
bellion, she was equally energetic in favour
of the Pretender, and, in the absence of
Mackintosh, she raised two battalions of the
clan for the prince, and placed them under the
command of Colonel Macgillivray of Dun-ma-

glass. In 1715 the Mackintoshes musteivd
1,500 men under Old Borlum, but in 1745
scarcely one half of that number joined the
forces of the Pretender. She conducted her
followers in person to the rebel army at In
verness, and soon after her husband was taken
prisoner by the insurgents, when the prince
delivered him over to his lady, saying that
" he could not be in better security, or more
honourably treated."

At the battle of Culloden, the Mackintoshes
were on the right of the Highland army, and
in their eagerness to engage, they were the first

Dalcross Castle. From a photograph in the possession of The Mackintosh.

to attack the enemy's lines, losing their brave
colonel and other officers in the impetuous
charge. On the passing of the act for the
abolition of the heritable jurisdictions in 1747,
the laird of Mackintosh claimed £5,000 as
compensation for his hereditary office of
steward of the lordship of Lochaber.

In 1812, jEneas Mackintosh, the 23d laird of
Mackintosh, was created a baronet of the
United Kingdom. He died 21st January
1820, without heirs male of his body. On
his death, the baronetcy expired, and he was
succeeded in the estate by Angus Mackin-

tosh, whose immediate sires had settled in
Canada. Alexander, his son, became Mackin-
tosh of Mackintosh, and died in 1861, his son,
Alexander ^Eneas, now of Mackintosh, suc-
ceeding him as 27th chief of Mackintosh, and
22d captain of clan Chattan.

The funerals of the chiefs of Mackintosh
were always conducted with great ceremony
and solemnity. When Lauchlau Mackintosh,
the 19th chief, died, in the end of 1703, his
body lay in state from 9th December that
3"ear, till 18th January 1704, in Dalcross Castle
(which was built in 1620, and is a good
2 D

210

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

specimen of an old baronial Scotch mansion,
and has heen the residence of several chiefs),
and 2000 of the clan Chattan attended his
remains to the family vault at Petty. Kep-
poch was present with 220 of the Macdonalds.
Across the coffins of the deceased chiefs are
laid the sword of William, twenty-first of
Mackintosh, and a highly finished claymore,
jiresented hy Charles I., before he came to the
throne, to Sir Lauchlan Mackintosh, gentleman
of the bedchamber.

The principal seat of The Mackintosh is
Moy Hall, near Inverness. The original castle,
now in ruins, stood on an island in Loch Moy.

The eldest branch of the clan Mackintosh
was the family of Kellachy, a small estate in
Inverness-shire, acquired by them in the 17th
century. Of this branch was the celebrated
Sir James Mackintosh. His father, Captain
John Mackintosh, was the tenth in descent
from Allan, third son of Malcolm, tenth chief
of the clan. Mackintosh of Kellachy, as the
eldest cadet of the family, invariably held the
appointment of captain of the watch to the
chief of the clan in all his wars.

MACPHERSON.

Badge. — Boxwood.

The Macphersons, the other principal branch
of the clan Chattan, are in Gaelic called the
clan Vuirich or Muirieh, from an ancestor of
that name, who, in the Gaelic MS. of 1450, is
said to have been the " son of Swen, son of
Heth, son of Nachtan, son of Gillichattan,
from whom came the clan Chattan." The
word Gillichattan is supposed by some to mean

a votary or servant of St Kattan, a Scottish
saint, as Gillichrist (Gilchrist) means a servant
of Christ.

The Macphersons claim unbroken descent
from the ancient chiefs of the clan Chattan,
and tradition is in favour of their being the
lineal representatives of the chiefs of the clan.
However, this point has been sufficiently dis-
cussed in the history of the Mackintoshes,
where we have given much of the history of
the Macphersons.

It was from Muirieh, who is said to have
been chief in 1153, that the Macphersons de-
rive the name of the clan Muirieh or Vuirich.
This Muirieh was parson of Kingussie, in the
lower part of Badenoch, and the surname was
given to his descendants from his office. He
was the great-grandson of Gillichattan Mor,
the founder of the clan, who lived in the reign
of Malcolm Canmore, and having married a
daughter of the thane of Calder, had five sons.
The eldest, Gillichattan, the third of the name,
and chief of the clan in the reign of Alexander
II., was father of Dougal Dall, the chief whose
daughter Eva married Angus Mackintosh of
Mackintosh. On Dougal Dall's death, as he
had no sons, the representation of the family
devolved on his cousin and heir-male, Kenneth,
eldest son of Eoghen or Ewen Baan, second
son of Muirieh. Neill Clirom, so called- from
his stooping shoulders, Muirich's third son,
was a great artificer in iron, and took the name
of Smith from his trade. Farquhar Gilliriach,
or the Swift, the fourth son, is said to have
been the progenitor of the MacGillivrays, who
followed the Mackintosh branch of the clan
Chattan ; and from David Dubh, or the
Swarthy, the youngest of Muirich's sons, were
descended the clan Dhai, or Davidsons o±
Invernahavon.2

One of the early chiefs is said to have re-
ceived a commission to expel the Comyns from
Badenoch, and on their forfeiture he obtained,
for his services, a grant of lands. He was also
allowed to add a hand holding a dagger to

2 This is the genealogy given hy Sir iEneas Mae-
pherson. From another MS. genealogy of the Mac-
phersons, and from the Mackintosh MS. history, we
find that the son of Kenneth, the alleged grandson
of Muirieh, married a daughter of Ferquhard, ninth
of Mackintosh, dr. 1410, so that it is probahle Sir
iEneas has placed Muirieh and his family more than
a century too early.

THE MACPHERSONS.

211

his armorial bearings. A MS. genealogy of
the Macphersons makes Kenneth chief in
1386, when a battle took place at Inverna-
havon between tbe clan Chattan and the
Camerons, details of -which and of the quarrel
between the Macphersons and the Davidsons
will be found in tho general history, and in
the account of the Mackintoshes.

In 1609 the chief of the Macphersons signed
a bond, along with all the other branches of
that extensive tribe, acknowledging Mackin-
tosh as captain and chief of the clan Chattan ;
but in all the contentions and feuds in which
the Mackintoshes were subsequently involved
with the Camerons and other Lochaber clans,
they were obliged to accept of the Macpher-
sons' aid as allies rather than vassals..

Andrew Macpherson of Cluny, who suc-
ceeded as chief in 1647, suffered much on
account of his sincere attachment to the cause
of Charles I. His son, Ewen, was also a
staunch royalist. In 1665, under Andrew,
the then chief, when Mackintosh went on
an expedition against the Camerons, for the
recovery of the lands of Glenluy and Lochar-
kaig, he solicited the assistance of the Mac-
phersons, whep a notarial deed was executed,
wherein Mackintosh, declares that it was of
their mere good will and pleasure that they
did so ; and on his part it is added, " I bind
and oblige myself and friends and followers to
assist and fortify and join, with the said An-
drew, Lauchlan, and John Macpherson, all
their lawful and necessary adoes, being there-
unto required." The same Andrew, Lauchlan,
and John, heads of the three great branches
of the Macphersons, had on the 19 th of the
preceding November given a bond acknowledg-
ing Mackintosh as their chief. In 1672 Dun-
can Macphei-son of Cluny, Andrew's brother,
made application to tlie Lyon office to have
his arms matriculated as laird of Cluny Mac-
pherson, and " the only and true representative
of the ancient and honourable family of the
clan Chattan." This application was success-
ful ; but as soon as Mackintosh heard of it, he
raised a process before the privy council to
have it determined as to which of them had
the right to the proper armorial bearings.
4fter a protracted inquiry, the council issued
an order for the two chiefs to give security for

the peaceable behaviour of their respective
clans, in the terms given in the account of
Mackintosh. The same year Cluny entered
into a contract of friendship with ^Eneas, Lord
Macdonnell, and Aros, " for himself and take-
ing burden upon him for the haill name of
Macpherson, and some others, called Old
Clan-chatten, as cheefe and principall man
thereof."

It is worthy of note that this same Duncan
made an attempt, which was happily frustrated
by his clansmen, to have his son-in-law, a son
of Campbell of Cawdor, declared his suc-
cessor.

On the death, without male issue, of Duncan
Macpherson, in 1721 or 1722, the chiefship
devolved on Lauchlan Macpherson of Nuid,
the next male heir, being lineally descended
from John, youngest brother of Andrew, the
above-named chief. One of the descendants
of this John of Nuid was James Macpherson,
the resuscitator of the Ossianic poetry. Lauch-
lan married Jean, daughter of Sir Ewen Came-
ron of Lochiel. His eldest son, Ewen, was the
chief at the time of the rebellion of 1 745.

James Macpherson, Editor, &c. of the Ossianic Poetry.

In the previous rebellion of 1715, the Mac
phersons, under their then chief Duncan, had

212

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

taken a very active part on the side of the
Pretender. On the arrival of Prince Charles
in 1745, Ewen Macpherson of Cluny, who the
same year had been appointed to a company
in Lord Loudon's Highlanders, and had taken
the oaths to government, threw up his com-
mission, and, with 600 Macphersons, joined
the rebel army after their victory at Preston-
pans. The Macphersons were led to take an
active part in the rebellion chiefly from a de-
sire to revenge the fate of two of their clans-
men, who were shot on account of the extra-
ordinary mutiny of the Black Watch (now the
4 2d regiment) two years before, an account of
which is given in the history of that Regiment.

Ewen Macpherson, the chief, at first hesi-
tated to join the prince ; and his wife, a
daughter of Lord Lovat, although a staunch
Jacobite, earnestly dissuaded him from break-
ing his oath to government, assuring him that
nothing could end well that began with per-
jury. Her friends reproached her for interfer-
ing— and his clan urging him, Cluny unfortu-
nately yielded.

At the battle of Palkirk, the Macphersons
formed a portion of the first line. They were
too late for the battle of Culloden, where their
assistance might have turned the fortune of
the day ; they did not come up till after
the retreat of Charles from that decisive field.
In the subsequent devastations committed by
the English army, Cluny 's house was plundered
and burnt to the ground. Every exertion was
made by the government troops for his appre-
hension, but they never could lay their hands
upon him. He escaped to France in 1755,
and died at Dunkirk the following year.

Ewen's son, Duncan, was born in 1750, in
a kiln for drying corn, in which his mother
had taken refuge after the destruction of their
house. During his minority, his uncle, Major
John Macpherson of the 78th foot, acted as
his guardian. He received back the estate
which had been forfeited, and, entering the
army, became lieutenant-colonel of the 3d foot
guards. He married, 12th June 1798,
Catherine, youngest daughter of Sir Ewen
Cameron of Fassifern, baronet; and on his
death, 1st August 1817, was succeeded by his
eldest son, Ewen Macpherson of Cluny, the
present chief.

In Cluny castle are preserved various relics
of the rebellion of 1745; among the rest, the
Prince's target and laee wrist ruffles, and an
autograph letter from Charles, promising an
ample reward to his devoted friend Cluny.
There is also the black pipe chanter on which
the prosperity of the house of Cluny is said to
be dependent, and which all true members of
the clan Vuirich firmly believe fell from heaven,
in place of the one lost at the conflict on the
North Inch of Perth.

The war-cry of the Macphersons was " Cragi
Dhu," the name of a rock in the neighbourhood
of Cluny Castle. The chief is called in the
Highlands "Mac Mhurich Chlanaidh," but
everywhere else is better known as Cluny
Macpherson.

Among the principal cadets of the Macpherson
family were the Macphersons of Pitmean, In-
vereshie, Strathmassie, Breachaohie, Essie, &c.
The Invereshie branch were chiefs of a large
tribe called the Siol Gillies, the founder of
which was Gillies or Elias Macpherson, the
first of Invereshie, a younger son of Ewen
Baan or Bane (so called from his fair com-
plexion) above mentioned. Sir Eneas Mac-
pherson, tutor of Invereshie, advocate, who
lived in the reigns of Charles II. and James
VII., collected the materials for the history of
the clan Macpherson, the MS. of which is still
preserved in the family. He was appointed
sheriff of Aberdeen in 1684.

George Macpherson of Invereshie married
Grace, daughter of Colonel William Grant of
Ballindalloch, and his elder son, William, dy-
ing, unmarried, in 1812, was succeeded by his
nephew George, who, on the death of his ma-
ternal granduncle, General James Grant of
Ballindalloch, 13th April 1806, inherited that
estate, and in consequence assumed the name
of Grant in addition to his own. He was MP.
for the county of Sutherland for seventeen
years, and was created a baronet 25th July
1838. He thus became Sir George Macpher-
son-Grant of Invereshie, Inverness-shire, and
Ballindalloch, Elginshire. On his death in
November 1846, his son, Sir John, sometime
secretary of legation at Lisbon, succeeded as
second baronet. Sir John died Dee. 2, 1850.
His eldest son, Sir George Macpherson-Grant of
Invereshie and Ballindalloch, born Aug. 12,

MACGILLIVEAY— SHAW.

21.3

1839, became the third baronet of this family.
lie married, July 3, 1861, Frances Elizabeth,
younger daughter of the Eev. Eoger Pockling-
ton, Vicar of Walesby, Nottinghamshire.

We can refer only with the greatest brevity
to some of the minor clans which were in-
cluded under the great confederacy of the clan
Chattan.

MACGILLIVRAY.

The Macgillivrays were one of the oldest
and most important of the septs of clan
Chattan, and from 1626, when their head,
Ferquhard MacAllister, acquired a right to the
lands of Dunmaglass, frequent mention of them
is found in extant documents, registers, etc.
Their ancestor placed himself and his posterity
under the protection of the Mackintoshes in the
time of Ferquhard, fifth chief of Mackintosh,
and the clan have ever distinguished them-
selves by their prowess and bravery. One of
them is mentioned as having been killed in a
battle with the Camerons about the jrear 1330,
but perhaps the best known of the heads of
this clan was Alexander, fourth in descent
from the Ferquhard who acquired Dunmaglass.
This gentleman was selected by Lady Mackin-
tosh to head her husband's clan on the side of
Frince Charlie in the '45. He acquitted him-
self with the greatest credit, but lost his life,
as did all his officers except three, in the
battle of Culloden. In the brave but rash
charge made by his battalion against the
English line, he fell, shot through the heart,
in the centre of Barrel's regiment. His body,
after lying for some weeks in a pit where it
had been thrown with others by the English
soldiers, was taken up by his friends and
buried across the threshold of the kirk of
Petty. His brother William was also a
warrior, and gained the rank of captain in the
old 89th regiment, raised about 1758. One
of the three officers of the Mackintosh battalion
who escaped from Culloden was a kinsman of
these two brothers, — Farquhar of Dalcrombie,
whose grandson, Mel John M'Gillivray of
Dunmaglass, is the present head of the clan.

The M'Gillivrays possessed at various times,
besides Dunmaglass, the lands of Aberchallader,
Letterchallen, Largs, Faillie, Dalcrombie, and
Daviot. It was in connection with the suc-

cession to Faillie that Lord Ardmiilan's well-
known decision was given in 1860 respecting
the legal status of a clan.

In a Gaelic lament for the slain at Culloden
the MacGillivTays are spoken of as

" The warlike race,
The gentle, vigorous, nourishing,
Active, of great fame, beloved,
The race that will not wither, and has descended
Long from every side,
Excellent MacGillivrays of the Doune .'

SHAW.3

The origin of. the Shaws, at one time a most
important clan of the Chattan confederation,
has been already referred to in connection
with the Mackintoshes. The tradition of the
Mackintoshes and Shaws is "unvaried," says
the Eev. W. G. Shaw of Forfar, that at least
from and after 1396, a race of Shaws existed in
Eothiemurchus, whose great progenitor was the
Shaw Mor who commanded the section of the
clan represented by the Mackintoshes on the
Inch. The tradition of the Shaws is, that he was
Shaw, the sou of James, the son or descendant
of Farquhar ; the tradition of the Macintoshes
— that he was Shaw-mac-Gilchrist-?»ac-Ian-
mac- Angus-7?iac-Farquhar, — Farquhar being
the ancestor according to both traditions, from
whom he took the name (according to Wyn-
toun) of Sha Farquharis Son.4 The tradition
of a James Shaw who ' had bloody contests
with the Comyns,' which tradition is fortified
by that of the Comyns, may very likely refer
to the James, who, according to the genealogies
both of the Shaws and Mackintoshes, was the
son of Shaw Mor.

Mr Shaw of Forfar, who is well entitled to
speak with authority on the subject, maintains
" that prior to 1396, the clan now represented

3 The Shaw arms are the same as those of the
Farquharsons following, except that the former have
not the banner of Scotland in bend displayed in the
second and third quarters.

4 The date of part of the Mackintosh MS. is 1490.
It states that Lauchlan the chief gave Shaw a grant of
Eothiemurchus "for his valour on the Inch that day."
It also states that the " Farquhar " above-mentioned
was a man of great parts and remarkable fortitude,
and that he fought with his clan at the battle of Largs
in 1263. More than this, it states that Duncan, his
uncle, was his tutor during his minority, and that
Duncan and his posterity held Rothiemurches till
1396, when Malcolm, the last of his race, fell at the
fight at Perth — after which the lands (as above stated)
were given to Shaw Mor.

214

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

by the Mackintoshes, had been (as was com-
mon amongst the clans) sometimes designated
as the clan Shaw, after the successive chiefs
of that name, especially the first, and some-
times as the clan of the Mac-an-Toisheach,
i.e., of the Thane's son. Thus, from its
first founder, the great clan of the Isles was
originally called the clan Cuin, or race of
Constantino. Afterwards, it was called the
clan Colla, from his son Coll, and latterly
the clan Donald, after one of his descendants
of that name. So the Macleans are often
called clan Gilleon after their founder and
first chief; and the Macphersons, the clan
Muirich, after one of the most distinguished in
their line of chiefs. The Farquharsons are called
clan Fhiunla, after their great ancestor, Finlay
Mor. There is nothing more probable, there-
fore— I should say more certain — than that
the race in after times known as Mackintoshes,
should at first have been as frequently desig-
nated as Na Si'aich, ' The Shaws,' after the
Christian name of their first chief, as Mackin-
toshes after his appellative description or
designation. It is worthy of remark, that the
race of Shaws is never spoken of in Gaelic as
the ' clan Shaw,' but as ' Na Si'aich' — The
Shaws, or as we would say Shawites. We
never hear of Mac-Shaws — sons of Shaw, but
of ' Na Si'aich — The Shaws.' Hence prior to
1396, when a Shaw so distinguished himself as
to found a family, under the wing of his chief,
the undivided race, so to speak, would some-
times be called ' Mackintoshes,' or followers of
the Thane's sons, sometimes the clan Chattan,
the generic name of the race, sometimes ' clan
Dhngaill,' (Quehele) after Dougall-Dall, and
sometimes 'Na Si'aich,' the Shaws or Shawites,
after the numerous chiefs who bore the name
of Shaw in the line of descent. Hence the
claim of both Shaws and Mackintoshes to the
occupancy of Rothiemurchus. After 1 396, the
term Na Si'aich was restricted, as all are
agreed, to the clan developed out of the other,
through the prowess of Shaw M6r."

Shaw "Mor" Mackintosh, who fought at
Perth in 1396, was succeeded by his son James,
who fell at Harlaw in 1411. Both Shaw and
James had held Rothiemurchus only as tenants
of the chief of Mackintosh, but James's son
and successor, Alister "Ciar" (i.e., brown),

obtained from Duncan, 11th of Mackintosh,
in 1463-4, his right of possession and tack.
In the deed by which David Stuart, Bishop of
Moray, superior of the lands, confirms this
disposition of Duncan, and gives Alister the
feu, Alister is called " Allister Kier Mackin-
tosh." This deed is dated 24th September
1464. All the deeds in which Alister is
mentioned call him Mackintosh, not Shaw,
thus showing the descent of the Shaws from
the Mackintoshes, and that they did not
acquire their name of Shaw until after Alister's
time.

Alister's grandson, Alan, in 1539, disponed
his right to Rothiemurchus to Edom Gordon,
reserving only his son's liferent. Alan's
grandson of the same name was outlawed for
the murder of his ste])father, some fifty years
later, and compelled to leave the country.
Numerous Shaws are, however, still to be
found in the neighbourhood of Rothiemurchus,
or who can trace their descent from Alister
Kier.

Besides the Shaws of Rothiemurchus, the
Shaws of Tordarroch in Strathnairn, de-
scended from Adam, younger brother of
Alister Kier, were a considerable family; but,
like their cousins, they no longer occupy their
original patrimony. Tordarroch was held in
wadset of the chiefs of Mackintosh, and was
given up to Sir ^Eneas Mackintosh in the end
of last century by its holder at the time,
Colonel Alexander Shaw, seventh in descent
from Adam.

Angus MacBean vie Robert of Tordarroch
signed the Bond of 1609 already mentioned.
His great-grandsons, Robert and ^Eneas, took
part during their father's life in the rebellion
of 1715 ; both were taken prisoners at Preston,
and were confined in Newgate, the elder
brother dying during his imprisonment. The
younger, jEneas, succeeded his father, and in
consideration of his taking no part in the '45,
was made a magistrate, and received commis-
sions for his three sons, the second of whom,
^Eneas, rose to the rank of major-general in
the army. Margaret, daughter of iEneas of
Tordarroch, was wife of Farquhar Macgillivray
of Dalcrombie, one of the three officers of
the Mackintosh regiment who escaped from
Culloden.

THE FARQUHARSONS.

215

...Eneas was succeeded by liis eldest son,
Colonel Alexander Shaw, lieutenant-governor
of the Isle of Man under the crown. He gave
up the wadset of Tordarroch to Sir iEneas
Mackintosh, and died in 1811.

From the four younger sons of Alister Kier
descended respectively the Shaws of Dull (the
family of the historian of Moray, the Rev.
Lachlan Shaw) ; of Dalnivert, the representa-
tion of it devolved in the last century on a

female, who married Clark ; the

Faequharsons, who in time acquired more
importance than the Shaws; and the Shaws
of Harris, who still retain a tradition of their
ancestor, Iver MacAlister Ciar.

FARQUHARSON.

Badge— Red Whortleberry.

The immediate ancestor of the Farquharsons
of Invercauld, the main branch, was Farquhar
or Fearchard, a son of Alister " Keir " Mackin-
tosh or Shaw of Eothiemurchus, grandson of
Shaw Mor. Farquhar, who lived in the reign
of James III., settled in the Braes of Mar, and
was appointed baillie or hereditary chamberlain
thereof; His sons were called Farquharson,
the first of the name in Scotland. His eldest
son, Donald, married a daughter of Duncan
Stewart, commonly called Duncan Downa
Dona, of the family of Mar, and obtained a
considerable addition to his paternal inheri-
tance, for faithful services rendered to the
crown.

Donald's son and successor, Findla or
Findlay, commonly called from his great size
and strength, Findla Mhor, or great Findla,

lived in the beginning of the sixteenth century.
His descendants were called Maclanla or
Mackinlay. Before his time the Farquharsons
were called in the Gaelic, clan Erachar or
Earachar, the Gaelic for Farquhar, and most of
the branches of the family, especially those
who settled in Athole, were called Mae-
Earachar. Those of the descendants of Findla
Mhor who settled in the Lowlands had their
name of Mackinlay changed into Finlayson."'

Findla Mhor, by his first wife, a daughter
of the Baron Reid of Kincardine Stewart, had
four sons, the descendants of whom settled on
the borders of the counties of Perth and Angus,
south of Braemar, and some of them in the
district of Athole.

His eldest son, William, who died in the
reign of James VI., had four sons. The eldest,
John, had an only son, Robert, who succeeded
him. He died in the reign of Charles II.

Robert's son, Alexander Farquharson of In-
vercauld, married Isabella, daughter of William
Mackintosh of that ilk, captain of the clan
Chattan, and had three sons.

William, the eldest son, dying unmarried,
was succeeded by the second son, John, who
carried on the line, of the family. Alexander,
the third son, got the lands of Monaltrie,
and married Anne, daughter of Francis Far-
quharson, Esq. of Finzean.

The above-mentioned John Farquharson of
Invercauld, the ninth from Farquhar the
founder of the family, was four times married.
His children by his first two wives died young.
By his third wife, Margaret, daughter of Lord
James Murray, son of the first Marquis of
Athole, he had two sons and two daughters.
His elder daughter, Anne, married Eneas
Mackintosh of that ilk, and was the celebrated
Lady Mackintosh, who, in 1745, defeated the
design of the Earl of Loudon to make prisoner
Prince Charles at Moy castle. By his fourth
wife, a daughter of Forbes of Waterton, he
had a son and two daughters, and died in
1750.

His eldest son, James Farquharson of Inver-
cauld, greatly improved his estates, both in
appearance and product. He married Amelia,
the widow of the eighth Lord Sinclair, and

5 Family MS. quoted by Douglas in his Baronage.

216

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

daughter of Lord George Murray, lieutenant-
general of Prince Charles's army, and had a
large family, who all died except the youngest,
a daughter, Catherine. On his death, in 1806,
this lady succeeded to the estates. She mar-
ried, 16th June 1798, Captain James Boss,
R.K (who took the name of Farquharson, and
died in 1810), second son of Sir John Lock-
hart Eoss of Balnagowan, Baronet, and by him
had a son, James Farquharson, a magistrate
and deputy-lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, repre-
sentative of the family.

There are several branches of this clan, of
which we shall mention the Farquharsons of
Whitehouse, who are descended from Donald
Farquharson of Castleton of Braemar and
Monaltrie, living in 1580, eldest son, by his
second wife, of Findla Mhor, above mentioned.

Farquharson of Finzean is the heir male of
the clan, and claims the chieftainship, the
heir of line being Farquharson of Invercauld.
His estate forms nearly the half of the parish
of Birse, Aberdeenshire. The family, of which
he is representative, came originally from Brae-
mar, but they have held property in the parish
for many generations. On the death of Archi-
bald Farquharson, Esq. of Finzean, in 1841,
that estate came into the possession of his
uncle, John Farquharson, Esq., residing in
London, who died in 1849, and was succeeded
by his third cousin, Dr Francis Farquharson.
This gentleman, before succeeding to Finzean,
represented the family of Farquharson of Bal-
four, a small property in the same parish and
county, sold by his grandfather.

The Farquharsons, according to Duncan
Forbes " the only clan family in Aberdeen-
shire," and the estimated strength of which
was 500 men, were among the most faithful
adheernts of the house of Stuart, and through-
out all the struggles in its behalf constantly
acted up to their motto, "Fide et Fortitudine."
The old motto of the clan was, "We force nae
friend, we fear nae foe." They fought under
Montrose, and formed part of the Scottish
army under Charles II. at Worcester in 1651.
They also joined the forces under the Viscount
of Dundee in 1689, and at the outbreak of
the rebellion of 1715 they were. the first to
muster at the summons of the Earl of Mar.

In 1745, the Farquharsons joined Prince

Charles, and formed two battahons, the one
under the command of Farquharson of Monal-
trie, and the other of Farquharson of Balmoral;
but they did not accompany the Prince in his
expedition into England. Farquharson of In-
vercauld was treated by government with con-
siderable leniency for his share in the rebellion,
but his kinsman, Farquharson of Balmoral,
was specially excepted from mercy in the act
of indemnity passed in June 1747.

The Macbeans, Macbanes, or Macbains, de-
rive their name from the fair complexion of
their progenitor, or, according to some, from
their living in a high country, beann being the
Gaelic name for a mountain, hence Ben Nevis,
Ben Lomond, &c. The distinctive badge of
the Macbeans, like that of the Macleods, was
the red whortleberry. Of the Mackintosh clan
they are considered an offshoot, although some
of themselves believe that they are Camerons.
It is true that a division of the MacBeans
fought under Lochiel in 1745, but a number
of them fought under Golice or Gillies MacBane,
of the house of Kinchoil, in the Mackintosh
battalion. This gigantic Highlander, who was
six feet four and a-half inches in height, dis-
played remarkable prowess at the battle of
Culloden.6

"In the time of William, first of the name,
and sixth of Mackintosh, William Mhor, son
to Bean-Mac Domlmuill-Mhor and his four
sons, Paul, Gillies, William-Mhor, and Far-
quhar, after they had slain the Eed Comyn's
steward at Innerlochie, came, according to the
history, to William Mackintosh, to Connage,
where he then resided, and for themselves and
their posterity, took protection of him and
his. No tribe of Clan Chattan, the history
relates, suffered so severely at Harlaw as Clan
Vean." 7

The Macphails are descended from one
"Paid Macphail, goodsir to that Sir Andrew
Macphail, parson of Croy, who wrote the his-
tory of the Mackintoshes. Paul lived in the
time of Duncan, first of the name, and eleventh
of Mackintosh, who died in 1496. The head
of the tribe had his residence at Inverarnie,
on the water of Nairn.""

6 See vol. i. p. 666.

7 Fraser-Mackintosli's Antiquarian Notes, p. 360.

8 Ibid.

THE MACQUEENS— THE CAMERONS.

217

According to Mr Eraser-Mackintosh, there
is a tradition that the Gows are descended
from Henry, the smith who fought at the
North Inch battle, he having accompanied the
remnant of the Mackintoshes, and settled in
Strathnairn. Being bandy-legged, he was
called " Gow Chrom." At any rate, this
branch of clan Chattan has long been known
as " Sliochd an Gow Chrom " Gow is a
" smith," and thus a section of the multitu-
dinous tribe of Smiths may claim connection
with the great clan Chattan.

The head of the Macqueens was Macqueen of
Corrybrough, Inverness-shire.9 The founder of
this tribe is said to have been Roderick Dim
Revan MacSweyn or Macqueen, who, about
the beginning of the 15th century, received a
grant of territory in the county of Inverness.
He belonged to the family of the Lord of the
Isles, and his descendants from him were called
the clan Revan.

The Macqueens fought, under the standard
of-Mackintosh, captain of the clan Chattan, at
the battle of Harlaw in 1411. On 4th April
1609, Donald Macqueen of Corrybrough signed
the bond of manrent, with the chiefs of the
other tribes composing the clan Chattan,
whereby they bound themselves to support
Angus Mackintosh of that ilk as their captain
and leader. At this period, we are told, the
tribe of Macqueen comprehended twelve dis-
tinct families, all landowners in the counties
of Inverness and Nairn.

In 1778, Lord Macdonald of Sleat, who had
been created an Irish peer by that title two
years before, having raised a Highland regi-
ment, conferred a lieutenancy in it on a son of
Donald Macqueen, then of Corrybrough, and
in the letter, dated 26th January of that year,
in which he intimated the appointment, he
says, " It does me great honour to have the
sons of chieftains in the regiment, and as
the Macqueens have been invariably attached
to our family, to whom we believe we owe
our existence, I am proud of the nomina-
tion." Thus were the Macqueens acknow-
ledged to have been of Macdonald origin,
although they ranged themselves among the
tribes of the clan Chattan. The present head

9 The present head does not now hold the property.

of the Macqueens is John Fraser Macqueen,
Q.C.

The Cattanachs, for a long period few in
number, are, according to Mr Eraser- Mackin-
tosh, perhaps better entitled to be held de-
scendants of Gillichattan Mor than most of
the clan.

The force of the clan Chattan was, in 1704,
estimated at 1400; in 1715, 1020; and in
1745, 1700.

CHAPTER VI.

Camerons — Macleans of Dowart, Lochbuy, Coll, Ard-
gour, Torloisk, Kinlochalme, Ardtornish, Drimnin,
Tapul, Scallasdale, Muck, Borrera, Treshinish,
Pennycross — Macnaughton — Mackenricks — Mac-
knights — Macnayers — Macbraynes — Maceols — Siol
O'Cain — Munroes — Macmillans.

CAMERON.

fitTJTNITIK'i

Badois — Oak (or, according to others, Crowberry).

Another clan belonging to the district com-
prehended under the old Maormordom of
Moray, is that of the Camerons or clan Chame-
ron. According to John Major,1 the clan
Cameron and the clan Chattan had a com-
mon origin, and for a certain time followed one
chief ; but for this statement there appears to
be no foundation. Allan, surnamed Mac-
Ochtry, or the son of Uchtred, is mentioned by
tradition as the chief of the Camerons in the
reign of Robert II. ; and, according to the same
authority, the clan Cameron and the clan
Chattan were the two hostile tribes between
whose champions, thirty against thirty, was

1 Gregory's Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 75.
2 E

218

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

fought the celebrated combat at Perth, in
the year 1396, before King Eobert III. with
Ids nobility and court. The Camerons, says
a manuscript history of the clan, have an old tra-
dition amongst them that they were originally
descended from a younger son of the royal
family of Denmark, who assisted at the restora-
tion of Fergus II. in 404 ; and that their pro-
genitor was called Cameron from his crooked
nose, a name which was afterwards adopted
by his descendants. " But it is more pro-
bable," adds the chronicler, " that they are the
aborigines of the ancient Scots or Caledonians
that first planted the county ;" a statement
which proves that the writer of the history
understood neither the meaning of the lan-
guage he employed, nor the subject in regard
to which he pronounced an opinion.

As far back as can distinctly be traced, this
tribe had its seat in Lochaber, and appears to
have been first connected with the house of
Isla in the reign of Eobert Bruce, from whom,
as formerly stated, Angus Og received a grant
of Lochaber. Their more modern possessions
of Lochiel and Locharkaig,2 situated upon the
western side of the Lochy, were originally
granted by the Lord of the Isles to the founder
of the clan Eanald, from whose descendants
they passed to the Camerons. This clan
originally consisted of three septs, — the Came-
rons or MacMartins of Letterfmlay, the Came-
rons or MacGillonies of Strone, and the Came-
rons or MacSorlies of Glennevis; and from the
genealogy of one of these septs, which is to be
found in the manuscript of 1450, it has been
inferred that the Lochiel family belonged to
the second, or Camerons of Strone, and that
being thus the oldest cadets, they assumed the
title of Captain of the clan Cameron.3 Mr
Skene conjectures that, after the victory at
Perth, the MacMartins, or oldest branch, ad-
hered to the successful party, whilst the great
body of the clan, headed by the Lochiel family,
declared themselves independent; and that in
this way the latter were placed in that position
which they have ever since retained. But how-
ever this may be, Donald Dhu, who was pro-

5 A view of Locharkaig will be found at p. 709,
vol. i.

3 As to Mr Skene's theory of the captainship of a
clan, see the account of clan Chattan.

bably the grandson of Allan MacOchtry, headed
the clan at the battle of Harlaw, in 1411, and
afterwards united with the captain of the clan
Chattan in supporting James I. when that king
was employed in reducing to obedience Alex-
ander, Lord of the Isles. Yet these rival clans,
though agreed in this matter, continued to
pursue their private quarrels without inter-
mission ; and the same year in which they
deserted the Lord of the Isles, and joined the
royal banner, viz. 1429, a desperate encounter
took place, in which both suffered severely,
more especially the Camerons. Donald Dhu,
however, was present with the royal forces at
the battle of Inverlochy, in the year 1431,
where victory declared in favour of the Island-
ers, under Donald Bahoch; and immediately
afterwards his lands were ravaged by the victo-
rious chief, in revenge for his desertion of the
Lord of the Isles, and he was himself obliged
to retire to Ireland, whilst the rest of the clan
were glad to take refuge in the inaccessible
fastnesses of the mountains. It is probably
from this Donald Dhu that the Camerons
derived their patronymic appellation of Mac-
Dhonuill Duibh, otherwise MacConnel Duy,
" son of Black Donald."

But theh misfortunes did not terminate here.
The Lord of the Isles, on his return from capti-
vity, resolved to humble a clan which he con-
ceived had so basely deserted him; and with
this view, he bestowed the lands of the Came-
rons on John Garbh Maclean of Coll, who
had remained faithful to him in every vicissi-
tude of fortune. This grant, however, did not
prove effectual. The clan Cameron, being tho
actual occupants of the soil, offered a sturdy
resistance to the intruder ; John Maclean, the
second laird of Coll, who had held the estate
for some time by force, was at length slain by
them in Lochaber; and Allan, the son of Don-
ald Dhu, having acknowledged himself a vassal
of the Lord of Lochalsh, received in return a
promise of support against all who pretended
to dispute his right, and was thus enabled to
acquire the estates of Locharkaig and Lochiel,
from the latter of which his descendants have
taken their territorial denomination. By a
lady of the family of Keppoch, this Allan,
who was surnamed MacCoilduy, had a son,
named Ewen, who was captain of the clan

THE CAMERONS.

219

Cameron in 1493, and afterwards became a
chief of mark and distinction. Allan, how-
ever, was the most renowned of all the chiefs of
the Camerons, excepting, perhaps, his de-
scendant Sir Ewen. He had the character of
being one of the bravest leaders of his time,
and he is stated to have made no less than
thirty-five expeditions into the territories of
his enemies. But his life was too adventurous
to last long. In the thirtj'-second year of his
age he was slain in one of the numerous con-
flicts with the Mackintoshes, and was succeeded
by his son Ewen, who acquired almost the
whole estates which had belonged to the
chief of clan Eanald; and to the lands of
Lochiel, Glenluy, and Locharkaig, added
those of Glennevis, Mamore, and others in
Lochaber. After the forfeiture of the last
Lord of the Isles, he also obtained a feudal
title to all his possessions, as well those
■which he had inherited from his father, as
those which he had WTested from the neigh-
bouring clans ; and from this period the
Camerons were enabled to assume that station
among the Highland tribes which they have
ever since maintained.

The Camerons having, as already stated,
acquired nearly all the lands of the clan
Eanald, Ewen Allanson, who was then at their
head, supported John Moydertach, in his
usurpation of the chiefship, and thus brought
upon himself the resentment of the Earl of
Huntly, who was at that time all-powerful
in the north. Huntly, assisted by Eraser
of Lovat, marched to dispossess the usurper
by force, and when their object was effected
they retired, each taking a different route.
Profiting by this imprudence, the Camerons
and Macdonalds pursued Lovat, against whom
their vengeance was chiefly directed, and
having overtaken him near Kinloeh-lochy,
they attacked and slew him, together with
his son and about three hundred of his clan.
Huntly, on learning the defeat and death
of his ally, immediately returned to Loch-
aber, and with the assistance of "William
Mackintosh, captain of the clan Chattan, seized
Ewen Allanson of Lochiel, captain of the clan
Cameron, and Eanald Macdonald Glas of
Keppoch, whom he carried to the castle of
Buthven in Badenoch. Here they were de-

tained for some time in prison ; but being
soon afterwards removed to Elgin, they were
there tried for high treason, and being found
guilty by a jury of landed gentlemen, were
beheaded, whilst several of their followers,
who had been apprehended along with them,
were hanged. This event, which took place
in the year 1546, appears to have had a salu-
tary effect in disposing the turbulent High-
landers to submission, the decapitation of a
chief being an act of energy for which they
were by no means prepared.

The subsequent history of the clan Chame-
ron, until we come to the time of Sir Ewen,
the hero of the race, is only diversified by the
feuds in which they were engaged with other
clans, particularly the Mackintoshes, and by
those incidents peculiar to the times and the
state of society in the Highlands. Towards
the end of Queen Mary's reign, a violent dis-
pute having broken out amongst the clan them-
selves, the chief, Donald Dhu, patronymically
styled Macdonald Mhic Ewen, was murdered
by some of his own kinsmen ; and, during the
minority of his successor, the Mackintoshes,
taking advantage of the dissensions which
prevailed in the clan, invaded their territories,
and forced the grand-uncles of the young chief,
who ruled in his name, to conclude a treaty
respecting the disputed lands of Glenluy and
Locharkaig. But this arrangement being re-
sented by the clan, proved ineffectual ; no
surrender wras made of the lands in question ;
and the inheritance of the chief was preserved
undiminished by the patriotic devotion of his
clansmen. Early in 1621, Allan Cameron of
Lochiel, and his son John, were outlawed for
not appearing to give security for their future
obedience, and a commission was issued to
Lord Gordon against him and his clan ; but
this commission was not rigorously acted on,
and served rather to protect Lochiel against
the interference of Mackintosh and others,
who were very much disposed to push matters
to extremity against the clan Charneron. The
following year, however, Lochiel was induced
to submit his disputes with the family of Mack-
intosh to the decision of mutual friends ; and
by these arbitrators, the lands of Glenluy and
Locharkaig were adjudged to belong to Mack-
r intosh, who, however, was ordained to pay

220

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

certain sums of money by way of compensation
to Lochiel. But, as usually happens in similar
cases, this decision satisfied neither party.
Lochiel, however, pretended to acquiesce, hut
delayed the completion of the transaction in
such a way that the dispute was not finally
settled until the time of his grandson, the cele-
brated Sir Ewen Cameron. About the year
1664, the latter, having made a satisfactory
arrangement of the long-standing feud with
the Mackintoshes, was at length left in undis-
puted possession of the lands of Glenluy and
Locharkaig ; and, with some trifling excep-
tions, the various branches of the Camerons
still enjoy their ancient inheritances. The
family of Lochiel, like many others, was con-
strained to hold its lands of the Marquis of
Argyll and his successors.

Sir Ewen Cameron, commonly called Ewan
Dhu of Lochiel, was a chief alike distinguished
for his chivahous character, his intrepid loyalty,
his undaunted courage, and the ability as well
as heroism with which he conducted himself
in circumstances of uncommon difficulty and
peril. This remarkable man was born in the
year 1629, and educated at Inverary Castle,
under the guardianship of his kinsman the
Marquis of Argyll, who, having taken charge
of him in his tenth year, endeavoured to
instil into his mind the political principles of
the Covenanters and the Puritans, and to
induce the boy to attach himself to that party.
But the spirit of the youthful chief was not
attempered by nature to receive the impressions
of a morose fanaticism. At the age of eighteen,
he broke loose from Argyll, with the declared
intention of joining the Marquis of Montrose,
a hero more congenial to his own character.
He was too late, however, to be of service to that
brave but unfortunate leader, whose reverses
had commenced before Cameron left Inverary.
But though the royal cause seemed lost he was
not disheartened, and having kept his men in
arms, completely protected his estate from the
incursions of Cromwell's troops. In the year
1652, he joined the Earl of Glencairn, who
had raised the royal standard in the Highlands,
.aid greatly distinguished himself in a series
of encounters with General Lilburne, Colonel
Morgan, and others. In a sharp skirmish
which took place between Glencairn and Lil-

burne, at Braemar, Lochiel, intrusted with the
defence of a pass, maintained it gallantly until
the royal army had retired, when Lilburne,
making a detour, attacked him in flank.
Lochiel kept his ground for some time ; until
at last finding himself unable to repel the
enemy, who now brought up an additional force
against him, he retreated slowly up the hill
showing a front to the assailants, who durst
not continue to follow him, the ground being
steep and covered with snow. This vigorous
stand saved Glencairn's army, which was, at
that time, in a disorganised state ; owing prin-
cipally to the conflicting pretensions of a num-
ber of independent chiefs and gentlemen, who,
in their anxiety to command, forgot the duty
of obedience. Lochiel, however, kept clear of
these cabals, and stationing himself at the out-
posts, harassed the enemy with continual skir-
mishes, in which he was commonly successful.
How his services were appreciated by Glencairn
we learn from a letter of Charles II. to Lochiel,
dated at Chantilly, the 3d of November, 1653,
in which the exiled king says, " We are in-
formed by the Earl of Glencairn with what
courage, success, and affection to us, you have
behaved yourself in this time of trial, when the
honour and liberty of your country are at stake ;
and therefore we cannot but express our hearty
sense of this your courage, and return you our
thanks for the same." The letter concludes
with an assurance that " we are ready, as soon
as we are able, signally to reward your service,
and to repair the losses you shall undergo for
our service."

Acting in the same loyal spirit, Lochiel kep.t
his men constantly on the alert, and ready to
move wherever their service might be required.
In 1654, he joined Glencairn with a strong
body, to oppose Generals Monk and Morgan,
who had marched into the Highlands. Lochiel
being opposed to Morgan, a brave and' enter-
prising officer, was often hard pressed, and
sometimes nearly overpowered ; but his cour-
age and presence of mind, which never forsook
him, enabled the intrepid chief to extricate
himself from all difficulties. Monk tried
several times to negotiate, and made the most
favourable proposals to Lochiel on the part of
Cromwell ; but these were uniformly rejected
with contempt. At length, finding it equally

THE CAMEBONR.

221

impossible to subdue or to treat with him,
Monk established a garrison at Inverlochy,
raising a small fort, as a temporary defence
against the musketry, swords, and arrows of
the Highlanders. Details as to the tactics of
Lochiel, as well as a portrait of the brave
chief, will be found at p. 296 of vol. i.

General Middleton, who had been unsuc-
cessful in a skirmish with General Morgan,
invited Lochiel to come to his assistance.
Upwards of 300 Gamerons were immediately
assembled, and he marched to join Middle-
ton, who had retreated to Braemar. In
this expedition, Lochiel had several encoun-
ters with Morgan ; and, notwithstanding all
the ability and enterprise of the latter, the
judgment and promptitude with which the
chief availed himself of the accidents of the
ground, the activity of his men, and the con-
sequent celerity of their movements, gave him
a decided advantage in this guerre da chicane.
With trifling loss to himself, he slew a con-
siderable number of the enemy, who were often
attacked both in flank and rear when they had
no suspicion that an enemy was within many
miles of them. An instance of this occurred at
Lochgarry in August 1653, when Lochiel, in
passing northwards, was joined by about sixty
or seventy Athole-men, who went to accompany
him through the hills. Anxious to revenge
the defeat which his friends had, a short time
previously, sustained upon the same spot, he
planned and executed a surprise of two regi-
ments of Cromwell's troops, which, on their way
southward, had encamped upon the plain of
Dalnaspidal ; and although it would have
been the height of folly to risk a mere handful
of men, however brave, in close combat with so
superior a force, yet he killed a number of the
enemy, carried off several who had got en-
tangled in the morass of Lochgarry, and
completely effected the object of the enterprise.
But all his exertions proved unavailing.
Middleton, being destitute of money and pro-
visions, was at length obliged to submit, and
the war was thus ended, excepting with Lochiel
himself, who, firm in his allegiance, still held
out, and continued to resist the encroachments
of the garrison quartered in his neighbourhood.
He surprised and cut off a foraging party, which,
under the pretence of hunting, had set out to

make a sweep of his cattle and goats ; and ho
succeeded in making prisoners of a number of
Scotch and English officers, with their attend-
ants, who had been sent to survey the estates
of several loyalists in Argyleshire, with tho
intention of building forts there to keep down
the king's friends. This last affair was planned
with great skill, and, like almost all his enter
prises, proved completely successful. But thf>
termination of his resistance was now approach-
ing. He treated his prisoners with the
greatest kindness, and this brought on an
intimacy, which ultimately led to a proposal of
negotiation. Lochiel was naturally enough
very anxious for an honourable treaty. His
country was impoverished and his people were
nearly ruined; the cause which he had so long
and bravely supported seemed desperate ; and
all prospect of relief or assistance had by this
time completely vanished. Yet the gallant
chief resisted several attempts to induce him
to yield, protesting that, rather than disarm
himself and his clan, abjure his king, and take
the oaths to an usurper, he would live as an
outlaw, without regard to the consequences. To
this it was answered, that, if he only evinced
an inclination to submit, no oath would be re-
quired, and that he should have his own terms.
Accordingly, General Monk, then commander-
in-chief in Scotland, drew up certain conditions
which he sent to Lochiel, and which, with
some slight alterations, the latter accepted and
returned by one of the prisoners lately taken,
whom he released upon parole. And proudly
might he accept the terms offered to him. No
oath was required of Lochiel to Cromwell, but
his word of honour to live in peace. He and
his clan were allowed to keep their arms as
before the war broke out, they behaving peace-
ably. Beparation was to be made to Lochiel
for the wood cut by the garrison of Inverlochy.
A full indemnity was granted for all acts of
depredation, and crimes committed by his men.
Beparation was to be made to his tenants for
all the losses they had sustained from the troops.
All tithes, cess, and public burdens which had
not been paid, were to be remitted. This
was in June 1654.

Lochiel with his brave Camerons lived in
peace till the Bestoration, and during the two
succeeding reigns ho remained in tranquil

222

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

possession of his property. But in 1689, he
joined the standard of King James, which had
been raised by Viscount Dundee. General
Mackay had, by orders of King William, offered
him a title and a considerable sum of money,
apparently on the condition of his remaining
neutral. The offer, however, was rejected with
disdain; and at the battle of Killiecrankie, Sir
Ewen had a conspicuous share in the success
of the day. Before the battle, he spoke to each
of his men, individually, and took their promise
that they would conquer or die. At the com-
mencement of theaction, when General Mackay' s
army raised a kind of shout, Lochiel exclaimed,
" Gentlemen, the day is our own ; I am the
oldest commander in the army, and I have
always observed something ominous or fatal
in such a dull, heavy, feeble noise as that which
the enemy has just made in their shout."
These words spread like wildfire through the
ranks of the Highlanders. Electrified by the
prognostication of the veteran chief, they
rushed like furies on the enemy, and in half an
hour the battle was finished. But Viscount
Dundee had fallen early inthefight, andLochiel,
disgusted with the incapacity of Colonel Can-
non, who succeeded him, retired to Lochaber,
leaving the command of his men to his eldest
son.4 This heroic and chivalrous chief survived
till the year 1719, when he died at the age of.
ninety, leaving a name distinguished for
bravery, honour, consistency, and disinterested
devotion to the cause which he so long and
ably supported.5

The character of Sir Ewen Cameron was
worthily upheld by his grandson, the " gentle
Lochiel," though with less auspicious fortune.

4 Although Sir Ewen, with his clan, had joined
Lord Dundee in the service of the abdicated king,
yet his second son was a captain in the Scots Fusileers,
and served with Mackay on the side of the govern-
ment. As the general was observing the Highland
army drawn up on the face of a hill to the westward
of the great pass, he turned round to young Cameron,
who stood near him, and pointing to his clansmen,
said, "There is your father with his wild savages;
how would you like to be with him?" " It signifies
little," replied Cameron, " what I would like; but I
recommend it to you to be prepared, or perhaps my
father and his wild savages may be nearer to you
before night than you would like." And so indeed it
happened. — Stewart's Sketches, vol. i. p. 66.

6 For the foregoing account of the achievements of
Sir Ewen Cameron we have been chiefly indebted to
General Stewart's valuable work on the Highlanders
and Highland Regiments.

The share which that gallant chief had in the
ill-fated insurrection of 1745-1746 has already
been fully told, and his conduct throughout
was such as to gain him the esteem and admira-
tion of all.6 The estates of Lochiel were of
course included in the numerous forfeitures
which followed the suppression of the insur-
rection ; however, Charles Cameron, son of the
Lochiel of the '45, was allowed to return to
Britain, and lent his influence to the raising of
the Lochiel men for the service of government.
His son, Donald, was restored to his estates
under the general act of amnesty of 1 784. The
eldest son of the latter, also named Donald,
born 25th September 1796, obtained a com-
mission in the Guards in 1814, and fought at
Waterloo. He retired from the army in 1832,
and died 14th December 1858, leaving two
sons and four daughters. His eldest son,
Donald, succeeded as chief of the clan
Cameron.

The family of Cameron of Fassieern, in
Argyleshire, possesses a baronetcy of the United
Kingdom, conferred in 1817 on Ewen Came-
ron of Eassifern, the father of Colonel John
Cameron, of the 92d Highlanders, slain at the
battle of Quatre Bras,7 16th June 1815, while
bravely leading on his men, for that officer's
distinguished military services; at the same
time, two Highlanders were added as sup-
porters to his armorial bearings, and several
heraldic distinctions indicating the particular
services of Colonel Cameron. On the death
of Sir Ewen in 1828, his second son, Sir
Duncan, succeeded to the baronetcy.

Maclean.

The clan Gillean or the Macleans is an-
other clan included by Mr. Skene under the
head of Moray. The origin of the clan has
been very much disputed ; according to Bu-
chanan and other authorities it is of Norman
or Italian origin, descended from the Fitz-
geralds of Ireland. " Speed and other Eng-
lish historians derive the genealogy of the
Fitzgeralds from Seignior Giraldo, a prin-
cipal officer under William the Conqueror."
Their progenitor, however, according to Cel-

6 The portrait of the "gentle Lochiel" will be
found at p. 519, vol. i.

7 For details, see account of the 92d Regiment.

THE MACLEANS.

223

tic tradition, was one Gillean or Gill-e6in,
a name signifying the young man, or the
servant or follower of John, who lived so
early as the beginning of the 5th century.
He was called Gillean-na-Tuaidhe, i.e. Gillean
with the axe, from the dexterous manner in
which he wielded that weapon in battle, and
his descendants bear a battle-axe in their crest.
According to a history of the clan Maclean
published in 1838 by " a Sennachie, " the clan
is traced up to Fergus I. of Scotland, and from
him back to an Aonghus Turmhi Teamhrach,
" an ancient monarch of Ireland." As to
which of these accounts of the origin of the
clan is correct, we shall not pretend to decide.
The clan can have no reason to be ashamed of
either.

MACLEAN.

Badge — Blackberry Heath.

The Macleans have been located in Mull
since the 14th century. According to Mr
Skene, they appear originally to have belonged
to Moray. He says, — " The two oldest genea-
logies of the Macleans, of which one is the
production of the Beatons, who were hereditary
sennachie8 of the family, concur in deriving
the clan Gille-eon from the same race from
whom the clans belonging to the great Moray
tribe are brought by the MS. of 1450. Of
this clan the oldest seat seems to have been
the district of Lorn, as they first appear in
subjection to the lords of Lorn; and their
situation being thus between the Camerons
and Macnachtans, who were undisputed
branches of the Moray tribe, there can be
little doubt that the Macleans belonged to

that tribe also. As their oldest seat was thus
in Argyle, while they are unquestionably a
part of the tribe of Moray, we may infer that
they were one of those clans transplanted from
North Moray by Malcolm IV., and it is not
unlikely that Glen Urquhart was their original
residence, as that district is said to have been
in the possession of the Macleans when the
Eissets came in."

The first of the name on record, Gillean, lived
-in the reign of Alexander III. (1249-1286),
and fought against the Norsemen at the battle
of Largs. In the Ragman's Eoll we find Gillie-
more Macilean described as del Counte de
Ferth, among those who swore fealty to Edward
I. in 1296. As the county of Ferth at that
period included Lorn, it is probable that he
was the son of the above Gillean. In the
reign of Eobert the Bruce mention is made
of three brothers, John, Nigel, and Dofuall,
termed Macgillean or filii Gillean, who appear
to have been sons of Gilliemore, for we find
John afterwards designated Macgilliemore.
The latter fought under Bruce at Bannock-
burn. A dispute having arisen with the
Lord of Lorn, the brothers left him and took
refuge in the Isles. Between them and the
Mackinnons, upon whose lands they appear to
have encroached, a bitter feud took place, which
led to a most daring act on the part of the chief
of the Macleans. When following, with the
chief of the Mackinnons, the galley of the Lord
of the Isles, he attacked the former and slew
him, and immediately after, afraid of his ven-
geance, he seized the Macdonald himself, and
carried him prisoner to Icolmkill, were Maclean
detained him until he agreed to vow friendship
to the Macleans, " upon certain stones where
men were used to make solemn vows in those
superstitious times," and granted them the lands
in Mull which they have ever since possessed.
John Gilliemore, surnamed Dhu from his dark
complexion, appears to have settled in Mull
about the year 1330. He died in the reign of
Robert II., leaving two sons, Lachlan Lu-
banach, ancestor of the Macleans of Dowart,
and Eachann or Hector Reganach, of the Mac-
leans of Lochbuy.

Lachlan, the elder son, married in 1366,
Margaret, daughter of John I., Lord of the Isles,
by his wife, the princess Margaret Stewart,

224

HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

and had a son Hector, which became a favourite
name among the Macleans, as Kenneth was
among the Mackenzies, Evan among the Came-
rons, and Hugh among the Mackays. Both
Lachlan and his son, Hector, received extensive
grants of land from John, the father-in-law of
the former, and his successor, Donald. Alto-
gether, their possession consisted of the isles of
Mull, Tiree, and Coll, with Morvern on the
mainland, Kingerloch and Ardgour ; and the
clan Gillean became one of the most important
and powerful of the vassal tribes of the lords
of the Isles.

Lachlan's son, Hector, called Eachann Ruadh
nan Cath, that is, Eed Hector of the Battles,
commanded as lieutenant-general under his
uncle, Donald, at the battle of Harlaw in 1411,
when he and Sir Alexander Irving of Drum,
seeking out each other by their armorial bear-
ings, encountered hand to hand and slew each
other ; in commemoration of which circum-
stance, we are told, the Dowart and Drum
families were long accustomed to exchange
swords. Eed Hector of the Battles married
a daughter of the Earl of Douglas. His
eldest son was taken prisoner at the battle
of Harlaw, and detained in captivity a long
time by the Earl of Mar. His brother,
John, at the head of the Macleans, was in
the expedition of Donald Balloch, cousin of
the Lord of the Isles, in 1431, when the Isles-
men ravaged Lochaber, and were encountered
at Inverlochy, near Fortwilliam, by the royal
forces under the Earls of Caithness and Mar,
whom they defeated. In the dissensions which
arose between John, the last Lord of the Isles,
and his turbulent son, Angus, who, with the
island chiefs descended from the original family,
complained that his father had made improvi-
dent grants of lands to the Macleans and other
tribes, Hector Maclean, chief of the clan, and
great-grandson of Eed Hector of the Battles,
took part with the former, and commanded
Ms fleet at the battle of Bloody Bay in
1480, where he was taken prisoner. This
Hector was chief of his tribe at the date of the
forfeiture of the lordship of the Isles in 1493,
when the clan Gillean, or ClanLean as it came
to be called, was divided into four independent
branches, viz., the Macleans of Dowart, the
Macleans of Lochbuy, the Macleans of Coll,

and the Macleans of Ardgour. Lachlan Mac-
lean was chief of Dowart in 1502, and he and
ilis kinsman, Maclean of Lochbuy, were among
the leading men of the Western Isles, whom
that energetic monarch, James IV., entered into
correspondence with, for the purpose of break-
ing up the confederacy of the Islanders.
Nevertheless, on the breaking out of the in-
surrection under Donald Dubh, in 1503, they
were both implicated in it. Lachlan Maclean
was forfeited with Cameron of Lochiel, while
Maclean of Lochbuy and several others were
summoned before the parliament, to answer for
their treasonable support given to the rebels.
In 1505 Maclean of Dowart abandoned the
cause of Donald Dubh and submitted to the
government ; his esample was followed by
Maclean of Lochbuy and other chiefs ; and
this had the effect, soon after, of putting an end
to the rebellion.

Lachlan Maclean of Dowart was killed at
Flodden. His successor, of the same name, was
one of the principal supporters of Sir Donald
Macdonald of Lochalsh, when, in November
1513, he brought forward his claims to the
lordship of the Isles. In 1523 a feud of
a most implacable character broke out between
the Macleans and the Campbells, arising out
of an occurrence connected with the " lady's
cock," mentioned in our account of the
Campbells. In 1529, however, the Macleans
joined the Clandonald of Isla against the
Earl of Argyll, and ravaged with fire and
sword the lands of Eoseneath, Craignish, and
others belonging to the Campbells, killing
many of the inhabitants. The Campbells,
on their part, retaliated by laying waste great
portion of the isles of Mull and Tiree and
the lands of Morvern, belonging to the Mac-
leans. In May 1530, Maclean of Dowart and
Alexander of Isla made their personal submis-
sion to the sovereign at Stirling, and, with the
other rebel island chiefs who followed their
example, were pardoned, upon giving security
for their after obedience.

In 1545, Maclean of Dowart acted a very
prominent part in the intrigues with England,
in furtherance of the project of Henry VIII. ,
to force the Scottish nation to consent to a mar-
riage between Prince Edward and the young
Queen Mary. He and Maclean of Lochbuy

THE MACLEANS.

225

were among the barons of the Isles who accom-
panied Donald Dubh to Ireland, and at the
command of the Earl of Lennox, claiming to be
regent of Scotland, swore allegiance to the king
of England

Ihe subsequent clan history consists chiefly
of a record of feuds in which the Dowart Mac-
leans were engaged with the Macleans of Coll,
and the Macdonalds of Kintyre. The dispute
with the former arose from Dowart, who was
generally recognised as the head of the Clan-
Lean, insisting on being followed as chief by
Maclean of Coll, and the latter, who held his
lands direct from the crown, declining to
acknowledge him as such, on the ground that
being a free baron, he owed no service but to
his sovereign as his feudal superior. In con-
sequence of this refusal, Dowart, in the year
1561, caused Coil's lands to be ravaged, and
his tenants to be imprisoned. "With some
difficulty, and after the lapse of several years,
Coll succeeded in bringing his case before the
privy council, who ordered Dowart to make
reparation to him for the injury done to his
property and tenants, and likewise to refrain
from molesting him in future. But on a
renewal of the feud some years after, the Mac-
leans of Coll were expelled from that island by
the young laird of Dowart.

The quarrel between the Macleans and the
Macdonalds of Isla and Kintyre was, at the
outset, merely a dispute as to the right of occu-
pancy of the crown lands called the Ehinns of
Isla, but it soon involved these tribes in a long
and bloody feud, and eventually led to the
destruction nearly of them both. The Mac-
leans, who were in possession, claimed to hold
the lands in dispute as tenants of the crown,
but the privy council decided that Macdonald
of Isla was really the crown tenant. Lachlan
Maclean of Dowart, called Lachlan Mor, was
chief of the Macleans in 1578. Under him the
feud with the Macdonalds assumed a most
sanguinary and relentless character. Full de-
tails of this feud will be found in the former
part of this work.

The mutual ravages committed by the hostile
clans, in which the kindred and vassal tribes
on both sides were involved, and the effects of
which were felt throughout the whole of the
Hebrides, attracted, in 1589, the serious atten-

tion of the king and council, and for the purpose
of putting an end to them, the rival chiefs, with
Macdonald of Sleat, on receiving remission,
under the privy seal, for all the crimes committed
by them, were induced to proceed to Edinburgh.
On their arrival, they were committed prisoners
to the castle, and, after some time, Maclean and
Angus Macdonald were brought to trial, in
spite of the remissions granted to them ; one
of the principal charges against them being
their treasonable hiring of Spanish and English
soldiers to fight in their private quarrels. Both
chiefs submitted themselves to the king's mercy,
and placed their lives and lands at his disposal.
On payment each of a small fine they were
allowed to return to the Isles, Macdonald of
Sleat being released at the same time. Besides
certain conditions being imposed upon them,
they were taken bound to return to their con-
finement in the castle of Edinburgh, whenever
they should be summoned, on twenty days'
warning. Not fulfilling the conditions, they
were, on 14th July 1593, cited to appear before
the privy council, and as they disobeyed the
summons, both Lachlan M6r and Angus Mac-
donald were, in 1594, forfeited by parliament.

At the battle of Glenlivat, in that year,
fought between the Catholic Earls of Huntly,
Angus, and Errol, on the one side, and the
king's forces, under the Earl of Argyll, on the
other, Lachlan M6r, at the head of the Mac-
leans, particularly distinguished himself. Ar-
gyll lost the battle, but, says Mr Gregory,*
" the conduct of Lachlan Maclean of Dowart,
who was one of Argyll's officers, in this action,
would, if imitated by the other leaders, have
converted the defeat into a victory."

In 1596 Lachlan Mor repaired to court,
and on making his submission to the king, the
act of forfeiture was removed. He also received
from the crown a lease of the Khinns of Isla,
so long in dispute between him and Macdonald
of Duny veg. "While thus at the head of favour,
however, his unjust and oppressive conduct to
the family of the Macleans of Coll, whose castle
and island he had seized some years before, on
the death of Hector Maclean, proprietor there-
of, was brought before the privy council by
Lachlan Maclean, then of Coll, Hector's son.

Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p.
2 F

259.

226

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

and the same year he was ordered to deliver up
not only the castle of Coll, but all his own
castles and strongholds, to the lieutenant of the
Isles, on twenty-four hours' warning, also, to
restore to Coll, within thirty days, all the lands
of which he had deprived him, under a penalty
of 10,000 merks. In 1598, Lachlan M6r, with
the view of expelling the Macdonalds from
Isla, levied his vassals and proceeded to that
island, and after an ineffectual attempt at an
adjustment of their differences, was encoun-
tered, on 5 th August, at the head of Loch-
greinord, by Sir James Macdonald, son of
Angus, at the head of his clan, when the
Macleans were defeated, and their chief killed,
with 80 of his principal men and 200 common
soldiers. Lachlan Barrach Maclean, a son of
Sir Lachlan, was dangerously wounded, but
escaped.

Hector Maclean, the son and successor of
Sir Lachlan, at the head of a numerous force,
afterwards invaded Isla, and attacked and de-
feated the Macdonalds at a place called Bern
Bige, and then ravaged the whole island. In
the conditions imposed upon the chiefs for the
pacification of the Isles in 1616, we find that
Maclean of Dowart was not to use in his house
more than four tun of wine, and Coll and
Loehbuy one tun each.

Sir Lachlan Maclean of Morvern, a younger
brother of Hector Maclean of Dowart, was in
1631 created a baronet of Nova Scotia by
Charles I., and on the death of his elder brother
he succeeded to the estate of Dowart. In the
civil wars the Macleans took arms under Mon-
trose, and fought valiantly for the royal cause.
At the battle of Inverlochy, 2d February
1645, Sir Lachlan commanded his clan. He
engaged in the subsequent battles of the royalist
general. Sir Hector Maclean, his son, with
800 of his followers, was at the battle of Inver-
keithing, 20th July 1651, when the royalists
were opposed to the troops of Oliver Cromwell.
On this occasion an instance of devoted attach-
ment to the chief was shown on the part of the
Macleans. In the heat of the battle, Sir Hector
was covered from the enemy's attacks by seven
brothers of his clan, all whom successively
sacrificed their lives in his defence. Each
brother, as he fell, exclaimed, " Fear eile air
son Eachainn," 'Another for Eachann,' or Hec-

tor, and a fresh one stepping in, answered,
"Bas air son Eachainn," ' Death for Eachann.'
The former phrase, says General Stewart, has
continued ever since to be a proverb or watch-
word, when a man encounters any sudden dan
ger that requires instant succour. Sir Hector,
however, was left among the slain, with about
500 of his followers.

The Dowart estates had become deeply
involved in debt, and the Marquis of Argyll,
by purchasing them up, had acquired a claim
against the lands of Maclean, which ultimately
led to the greater portion of them becoming the
property of that accumulating family. In 1074,
after the execution of the marquis, payment
was insisted upon by his son, the earl. The
tutor of Maclean, the chief, his nephew, being
a minor, evaded the demand for a considerable
time, and at length showed a disposition to
resist it by force. Argyll had recourse to legal
proceedings, and supported by a body of 2,000
Campbells, he crossed into Mull, where he took
possession of the castle of Dowart, and placed a
garrison in it. The Macleans, however, refused
to pay their rents to the earl, and in conse-
quence he prepared for a second invasion of
Mull. To resist it, the Macdonalds came to
the aid of the Macleans, but Argyll's ships
were driven back by a storm, when he applied
to government, and even went to London, to
ask assistance from the king. Lord Macdonald
and other friends of the Macleans followed him,
and laid a statement of the dispute before
Charles, who, in February 1676, remitted the
matter to three lords of the Scottish privy
council. No decision, however, was come to
by them, and Argyll was allowed to take pos-
session of the island of Mull without resistance
in 1680. At the battle of Killiecrankie, Sir
John Maclean, with his regiment, was placed on
Dundee's right, and among the troops on his left
was a battalion under Sir Alexander Maclean.
The Macleans were amongst the Highlanders
surprised and defeated at Cromdale in 1690.
In the rebellion of 1715, the Macleans ranged
themselves under the standard of the Earl
of MaT, and were present at the battle of Sheriff-
muir. For his share in the insurrection Sir
John Maclean, the chief, was forfeited, but the
estates were afterwards restored to the family,
On the breaking out of the rebellion of 1 745,

THE MACLEANS.

227

Sir John's son, Sir Hector Maclean, the fifth
baronet, was apprehended, with his servant, at
Edinburgh, and conveyed to London. He was
set at liberty in June 1 747. At Culloden, how-
ever, 500 of his clan fought for Prince Charles,
under Maclean of Drirnnin, who was slain while
leading them on. Sir Hector died, unmarried,
at Paris, in 1750, when the title devolved upon
his third cousin, the remainder being to heirs
male whatsovcr. This third cousin, Sir Allan
Maclean, was great-grandson of Donald Mac-
lean of Brolas, eldest son, by his second mar-
riage, of Hector Maclean of Dowart, the father

Sir Allan Maclean. From the original painting in possession of
John Maclean Mackenzie Grieves, Esq. of Hutton Hall, Ber-
wickshire.

of the first baronet. Sir Allan married Anne,
daughter of Hector Maclean of Coll, and had
three daughters, the eldest of whom, Maria,
became the wife of Maclean of Kinlochaline,
and the second, Sibella, of Maclean of Inver-
scadell. In 1773, when Johnson and Boswell
visited the Hebrides, Sir Allan was chief of
the clan. He resided at that time on Inch-
kenneth, one of his smaller islands, in the dis-
trict of Mull, where he entertained his visitors
very hospitably. From the following anecdote

told by Bomvell, it would appear that the feel-
ing of devotion to the chief had survived the
abolition act of 1747. "The Maclnnises are
said to be a branch of the clan of Maclean.
Sir Allan had been told that one of the name
had refused to send him some rum, at which
the knight was in great indignation. ' You
rascal ! ' said he, ' don't you know that I can
hang you, if I please ? Eefuse to send rum to
me, you rascal ! Don't you know that if I
order you to go and cut a man's throat, you
are to do it 1 ' ' Yes, an't please your honour,
and my own too, and hang myself too ! ' The
poor fellow denied that he had re-
fused to send the rum. His making
these professions was not merely a
pretence in presence of his chief, for,
after he and I were out of Sir Allan's
hearing, he told me, ' Had he sent
his dog for the rum, I would have
given it : I would cut my bones for
him.' Sir Allan, by the way of
upbraiding the fellow, said, ' I be-
lieve you are a Campbell /'"

Dying without male issue in
1783, Sir Allan was succeeded by
his kinsman, Sir Hector, 7th baro-
net; on whose death, Nov. 2, 1818,
his brother, Lieut. -general Sir Fitz-
roy Jefferies Grafton Maclean, be-
came the 8th baronet. He died
July 5, 1847, leaving two sons, Sir
Charles Fitzroy Grafton Maclean of
Morvern, and Donald Maclean, of
the chancery bar. Sir Charles, 9th
baronet, married a daughter of the
Hon. arid Eev. Jacob Marsham,
uncle of the Earl of Romney, and
has issue, a son, Fitzroy Donald,
major 13th dragoons, and four
daughters, one of whom, Louisa, became the
wife of Hon. Ralph Pelham Neville, son of the
Earl of Abergavenny.

The first of the Lochbuy branch of the Mac-
leans was Hector Reganach, brother of Lachlan
Lubanach above mentioned. He had a son
named John, or Murchard, whose great-grand-
son, John Og Maclean of Lochbuy, received
from King James IV. several charters of the
lands and baronies which had been held by his
progenitors. He was killed, with his two elder

228

HTSTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

sons, in a family feud with the Macleans of
Dowart. His only surviving son, Murdoch,
was obliged, in consequence of the same feud,
to retire to Ireland, where he married a
daughter of the Earl of Antrim. By the
mediation of his father-in-law, his differences
with Dowart were satisfactorily adjusted, and
he returned to the isles, where he spent his
latter years in peace. The house of Lochhuy
has always maintained that of the two brothers,
Lachlan Lubanach and Hector Eeganach, the
latter was the senior, and that, consequently,
the chiefship of the Macleans is vested in its
head ; " but this," says Mr Gregory, " is a
point on which there is no certain evidence."
The whole clan, at different periods, have fol-
lowed the head of both families to the field, and
fought under their command. The Lochbuy
family now spells its name Maclaine.

The Coll branch of the Macleans, like that
of Dowart, descended from Lachlan Lubanach,
said to have been grandfather of the fourth
laird of Dowart and first laird of Coll, who
were brothers. John Maclean, surnamed
Garbh, son of Lachlan of Dowart, obtained
the isle of Coll and the lands of Quinish in
Mull from Alexander, Earl of Eoss and Lord
of the Isles, and afterwards, on the forfeiture
of Cameron, the lands of Lochiel. The latter
grant engendered, as we have seen, a deadly
feud between the Camerons and the Macleans.
At one time the son and successor of John
Garbh occupied Lochiel by force, but was killed
in a conflict with the Camerons at Corpach, in
the reign of James III. His infant son would
also have been put to death, had the boy not
been saved by the Macgillonies or Macalonichs,
a tribe of Lochaber that generally followed the
clan Cameron. This youth, subsequently known
as John Abraeh Maclean of Coll, was the repre-
sentative of the family in 1493, and from him
was adopted the patronymic appellation of Mac-
lean Abraeh, by which the lairds of Coll were
ever after distinguished.

The tradition concerning this heir of Coll is
thus related by Dr Johnson, in his Tour to the
Hebrides:— "On the wall of old Coll Castle
was, not long ago, a stone with an inscription,
importing, ' That if any man of the clan of
Macalonich shall appear before this castle,
though he come at midnight with a man's

head in his hand, he shall there find safety and
protection against all but the king.' This is an
old Highland treaty made upon a memorable
occasion. Maclean, the son of John Garbh,
had obtained, it is said, from James II.,
a grant of the lands of Lochiel. Eorfeited
estates were not in those days quietly resigned :
Maclean, therefore, went with an armed force
to seize his new possessions, and, I know not
for what reason, took his wife with him. The
Camerons rose in defence of their chief, and a
battle was fought at the head of Lochness,
near the place where Eort Augustus now
stands, in which Lochiel obtained the victory,
and Maclean, with his followers, was defeated
and destroyed. The lady fell into the hands of
the conquerors, and being pregnant, was placed
in the custody of Macalonich, one of a tribe or
family branched from Cameron, with orders, if
she brought a boy, to destroy him, if a girl, to
spare her. Macalonich's wife had a girl about
the same time at which Lady M'Lean brought
a boy ; and Macalonich, with more generosity
to his captive than fidelity to his trust, con-
trived that the children should be changed.
Maclean in time recovered his original patri-
mony, and in gratitude to his friend, made his
castle a place of refuge to any of the clan that
should think himself in danger ; and Maclean
took upon himself and his posterity the care of
educating the heir of Macalonich. The power
of protection subsists no longer ; but Maclean
of Coll now educates the heir of Macalonich."
The account of the conversion of the simple
islanders of Coll from Popery to Protestantism
is curious. The laird had imbibed the prin-
ciples of the Eeformation, but found his people
reluctant to abandon the religion of their
fathers. To compel them to do so, he took his
station one Sunday in the path which led to the
Eoman Catholic church, and as his clansmen
approached he drove them back with his cane.
They at once made their way to the Protestant
place of worship, and from this persuasive mode
of conversion his vassals ever after called it the
religion of the gold-headed stick. Lachlan,
the seventh proprietor of Coll, went over to
Holland with some of his own men, in the
reign of Charles II., and obtained the command
of a company in General Mackay's regiment,
in the service of the Prince of Orange. Ho

THE MACNAUGHTONS.

229

afterwards returned to Scotland, and was
rlrowned in the water of Locliy, in Looliaber,
in 1687.

Colonel Hugh Maclean, London, the last
laird of Coll, of that name, was the 15th in
regular descent from John Garbh, son of
Lauchlan Luhanach.

The Abdgour branch of the Macleans, which
held its lands directly from the Lord of the
Isles, is descended from Donald, another son
of Lachlan, third laird of Dowart. The estate
of Ardgour, which is in Argyleshire, had pre-
viously belonged to a different tribe (the Mac-
masters), but it was conferred upon Donald,
either by Alexander, Earl of Eoss, or by his
son and successor, John. In 1463, Ewen or
Eugene, son of Donald, held the office of
seneschal of the household to the latter earl ;
and in 1493, Lachlan Macewen Maclean was
laird of Ardgour. Alexander Maclean, Esq.,
the present laird of Ardgour, is the 14th from
father to son.

During the 17th and 18th centuries the
Macleans of Lochbuy, Coll, and Ardgour, more
fortunate than the Dowart branch of the clan,
contrived to preserve their estates nearly en-
tire, although compelled by the Marquis of
Argyll to renounce their holdings in capite of
the crown, and to become vassals of that
nobleman. They continued zealous partizans
of the Stuarts, in whose cause they suffered
severely.

Erom Lachlan Og Maclean, a younger son
of Laohlan M6r of Dowart, sprung the family
of Torloisk in Mull.

Of the numerous flourishing cadets of the
different branches, the principal were the
Macleans of Kinlochaline, Ardtornish, and
Drimnik, descended from the family of
Dowart ; of Tapul and Scallasdale, in the
island of Mull, from that of Lochbuy; of Isle
of Muck, from that of Coll; and of Borrera,
in jSorth Uist and Treshinish:, from that of
Ardgour. The family of Borrera are repre-
sented by Donald Maclean, Esq., and General
Archibald Maclean. Erom the Isle of Muck
and Treshinish Macleans is descended A. C.
Maclean, Esq. of Haremere Hall, Sussex.

The Macleans of Pennycross, island of Mull,
represented by Alexander Maclean, Esq., de-
rives from John Dubh, the first Maclean of

Morvern. General Allan Maclean of Penny-
cross, colonel of the 13th light dragoons,
charged with them at "Waterloo.

The force of the Macleans was at one time
800; in 1745 it was 500.

MACNAUGHTON.

Badge — Heath.

Another clan, supposed by Mr Skene to have
originally belonged to Moray, is the clan
Nachtan or Macnaughton.

The MS. of 1450 deduces the descent of the
heads of this clan from Nachtan Mor, who is
supposed to have lived in the 10th century.
The Gaelic name Neachtain is the same as the
Pictish Nectan, celebrated in the Pietish
Clironicle as one of the great Celtic divisions
in Scotland, and the appellation is among the
most ancient in the north of Ireland, the
original seat of the Cruithen Picts. According
to Buchanan of Auchmar,1 the heads of this
clan were for ages thanes of Loch Tay, and
possessed all the country between the south
side of Loch-Fyne and Lochawe, parts of which
were Glenira, Glenshira, Glenfine, and other
places, while their principal seat was Dun-
derraw on Loch-Fyne.

In the reign of Eobert III., Maurice or
Morice Macnaughton had a charter from Colin
Campbell of Lochow of sundry lands in Over
Lochow, but their first settlement in Argyle-
shire, in the central parts of which their lands
latterly wholly lay, took place long before
this. When Malcolm the Maiden attempted

1 History of the Origin of the Clans, p. 84.

230

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

to civilise the ancient province of Moray, by
introducing Norman and Saxon families, such,
as the Bissets, the Comyns, &c, in the place
of the rude Celtic natives whom he had ex-
patriated to the south, he gave lands in or
near Strathtay or Strathspey, to Nachtan of
Moray, for those he had held in that province.
He had there a residence called Dunnaehtan
castle. Nesbit2 describes this Nachtan as
" an eminent man in the time of Malcolm IV.,"
and says that he " was in great esteem with
the family of Lochawe, to whom he was very
assistant in their wars with the Macdougals,
for which he was rewarded with sundry lands."
The family of Lochawe here mentioned were
the Campbells.

The Macnaughtons appear to have been
fairly and finally settled in Argyleshire pre-
vious to the reign of Alexander III., as Gil-
christ Macnaughton, styled of that ilk, was by
that monarch appointed, in 1287, heritable
keeper of his castle and island of Frechelan
(Fraoch Elian) on Lochawe, on condition that
he should be properly entertained when he
should pass that way ; whence a castle em-
battled was assumed as the crest of the family*

This Gilchrist was father or grandfather 01
Donald Macnaughton of that ilk, who, being
nearly connected with the Macdougals of Lorn*,
joined that powerful chief with his clan against
Robert the Bruce, and fought against the latter
at the battle of Dalree in 1306, in consequence
of which he lost a great part of his estates.
In Abercromby's Martial Achievements? it is
related that the extraordinary courage shown
by the king in having, in a narrow pass, slain
with his own hand several of his pursuers,
and amongst the rest three brothers, so greatly
excited the admiration of the chief of the
Macnaughtons that he became thenceforth one
of his firmest adherents.4

His son and successor, Duncan Macnaugh-
ton of that ilk, was a steady and loyal subject
to King David II., who, as a reward for his
fidelity, conferred on his son, Alexander, lands
in the island of Lewis, a portion of the for-
feited possessions of John of the Isles, which
the chiefs of the clan Naughton held for a

- Heraldry, vol. i. p. 419.

3 Vol. i. p. 577.

4 See account of the Macdougals.

time. The ruins of their castle of Macnaugh-
ton are still pointed out on that island.

Donald Macnaughton, a younger son of the
family, was, in 1436, elected bishop of Dun-
keld, in the reign of James I.

Alexander Macnaughton of that ilk, who
lived in the beginning of the 16th century,
was knighted by James IV., whom he accom-
panied to the disastrous field of Flodden, where
he was slain, with nearly the whole chivalry
of Scotland. His son, John, was succeeded
by his second son, Malcolm Macnaughton of
Glenshira, his eldest son having predeceased
him. Malcolm died in the end of the reign
of James VI., and was succeeded by his eldest
son, Alexander.

John, the second son of Malcolm, being of
a handsome appearance, attracted the notice of
King James VI., who appointed him one of
his pages of honour, on his accession to the
English crown* He became rich, and pur-
chased lands in Kin tyre. His elder brother,
Alexander Macnaughton of that ilk, adhered
firmly to the cause of Charles I., and in his
service sustained many severe losses. At the
Kestoration, as some sort of compensation, he
was knighted by Charles II., and, unlike many
others, received from that monarch a liberal
pension for life. Sir Alexander Macnaughton
spent his later days in London, where he
died. His son and successor, John Macnaugh-
ton of that ilk, succeeded to an estate greatly
burdened with debt, but did not hesitate in
his adherence to the fallen fortunes of the
Stuarts. At the head of a considerable body
of his own clan, he joined Viscount Dundee,
and was with him at Killiecrankie. James
VII. signed a deed in his favour, restoring to
his family all its old lands and hereditary
rights, but, as it never passed the seals in Scot-
land, it was of no value. His lands were taken
from him, not by forfeiture, but " the estate,"
says Buchanan of Auchmar, " was evicted by
creditors for sums noways equivalent to its
value, and, there being no diligence used for
relief thereof, it went out of the hands of the
family." His son, Alexander, a captain in
Queen Anne's guards, was killed in the expe-
dition to Vigo in 1702. His brother, John,
at the beginning of the last century was for
many years collector of customs at Anstruther

THE MUNROES.

231

in Fife, and subsequently was appointed in-
spector-general in the same department. The
direct male line of the Macnaughton chiefs
became extinct at his death.

" The Mackenricks are ascribed to the Mac-
naughton line, as also families of Macknights
(or Macneits), Macnayers, Macbraynes, and
Maceols." The present head of the Macbraynes
is John Burns Macbrayne, Esq. of Glen-
branter, Cowel, Argyleshire, grandson of
Donald Macbrayne, merchant in Glasgow, who
was great-grandson, on the female side, of
Alexander Macnaughton of that ilk, and heir
of line of John Macnaughton, inspector-general
of customs in Scotland. On this account the
present representative of the Macbraynes is
entitled to quarter his arms with those of the
Macnaughtons.

There are still in Athole families of the
Macnaughton name, proving so far what has
been stated repecting their early possession
of lands in that district. Stewart of Garth
makes most honourable mention of one of the
sept, who was in the service of Menzies of Cul-
dares in the year 1745. That gentleman had
been " out" in 1715, and was pardoned. Grate-
ful so far, he did not join Prince Charles, but
sent a fine charger to him as he entered England.
The servant, Macnaughton, who conveyed the
present, was taken and tried at Carlisle. The
errand on which he had come was clearly
proved, and he was offered pardon and life if
he would reveal the name of the sender of the
horse. He asked with indignation if they sup-
posed that he could be such a villain. They
repeated the offer to him on the scaffold, but
he died firm to his notion of fidelity. His life
was nothing to that of his master, he said.
The brother of this Macnaughton was known
to Garth, and was one of the Gael who
always carried a weapon about him to his
dying day.5

Under the subordinate head of Siol O'Cain,
other two clans are included in the Maormor-
dom of Moray, viz., clan Roich or Munro, and
clan Gillemhaol or Macmillan.

Munro.
The possessions of the clan Monro or Munro,

5 Smibert's Clans.

situated on the north side of Cromarty Firth,
were generally known in the Highlands by
the name of Fearrann Donull or Donald's
country, being so called, it is said, from the
progenitor of the clan, Donald the son of
O'Ceann, who lived in the time of Macbeth.
The Munroes were vassals of the Earls of Ross,
and may be regarded as a portion of the native
Scottish Gael. According to Sir George Mac-
kenzie, they came originally from the north of
Ireland with the Macdonalds, on which great
clan " they had constantly a depending." Their
name he states to have been derived from
" a mount on the river Roe," county Derry.
Clan tradition, probably not more to be relied
upon than tradition generally, holds that they
formed a branch of the natives of Scotland
who, about 357, being driven out by the
Romans, and forced to take refuge in Ireland,
were located for several centuries on the stream
of the Roe, and among the adjacent mountains.
In the time of Malcolm II., or beginning of
the 11th century, the ancestors of the Munroes
are said to have come over to Scotland to aid
in expelling the Danes, under the above named
Donald, son of O'Ceann, who, for his services,
received the lands of East Dingwall in Ross-
shire. These lands, erected into a barony,
were denominated Foulis, from Loch Foyle
in Ireland, and the chief of the clan was desig-
nated of Foulis, his residence in the parish of
Kiltearn, near the mountain called Ben Uaish
or Ben "Wyvis. So says tradition.

MUNRO OF FOULIS.

Badge — According to some, Eagle's Feathers, others,
Common Club Moss.

232

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

Another conjecture as to tlie origin of the
name of Munro is that, from having acted as
bailiffs or stewards to the Lords of the Isles in
the earldom of Eoss, they were called " Mun-
rosses." Skene, as we have said, ranks the
clan as members of a great family called the
Siol O'Cain, and makes them out to be a branch
of the clan Chattan, by ingeniously converting
O'Cain into O'Cathan, and thus forming Chat-
tan. Sir George Mackenzie says the name
originally was Bunroe.

Hugh Munro, the first of the family authen-
tically designated of Foulis, died in 1126. He
seems to have been the grandson of Donald,
the son of O'Ceann above mentioned. Eobert,
reckoned the second baron of Foulis, was
actively engaged in the wars of David I. and
Malcolm IV. Donald, heir of Eobert, built
the old tower of Foulis. His successor, Eobert,
married a daughter of the Earl of Sutherland.
George, fifth baron of Foulis, obtained charters
from Alexander II. Soon after the accession
of Alexander III., an insurrection broke out
against the Earl of Eoss, the feudal superior
of the Munroes, by the clans Ivor, Talvigh,
and Laiwe, and other people of the province.
The earl having apprehended their leader, and
imprisoned him at Dingwall, the insurgents
seized upon his second son at Balnagowan, and
detained him as a hostage till their leader
should be released. The Munroes and the
Dingwalls immediately took up arm3, and
setting off in pursuit, overtook the insur-
gents at Bealligh-ne-Broig, between Ferran-
donald and Loch- Broom, where a sanguinary
conflict took place. " The clan Iver, clan
Talvigh, and clan Laiwe," says Sir Eobert
Gordon, " wer almost uterlie extinguished
and slain." The earl's son was rescued, and
to requite the service performed he made
various grants of land to the Munroes and
Dingwalls.

Sir Eobert Munro, the sixth of his house,
fought in the army of Bruce at the battle of
Bannockburn. His only son, George, fell
there, leaving an heir, who succeeded his
grandfather. This George Munro of Foulis
was slain at Halidonhill in 1333. The same
year, according to Sir Eobert Gordon, although
Shaw makes the date 1454, occurred the re-
markable event which led to a feud between

the Munroes and Mackintoshes, and of which
an account is given under the former date in
the General History.

Eobert, the eighth baron of Foulis, married
a niece of Eupheme, daughter of the Earl
of Eoss, and queen of Eobert II. He was
killed in an obscure skirmish in 1369, and was
succeeded by his son, Hugh, ninth baron of
Foulis, who joined Donald, second Lord of the
Isles, when he claimed the earldom of Ecss in
right of his wife.

The forfeiture of the earldom of Eoss in
1476, made the Munroes and other vassal
families independent of any superior but the
crown. In the charters which the family ol
Foulis obtained from the Scottish kings, at
various times, they were declared to hold their
lands on the singular tenure of furnishing a
ball of snow at Midsummer if required, which
the hollows in their mountain property could
at all times supply ; and it is said that when the
Duke of Cumberland proceeded north against
the Pretender in 1746, the Munroes actually
sent him some snow to cool his wines. In
one charter, the addendum was a pair of white
gloves or three pennies.

Eobert, the 14th baron, fell at the battle of
Pinkie in 1547. Eobert More Munro, the
15 th chief, was a faithful friend of Mary,
queen of Scots. Buchanan states, that when
that unfortunate princess went to Inverness in
1562, " as soon as they heard of their sove-
reign's danger, a great number of the most
eminent Scots poured in around her, especially
the Frasers and Munroes, who were esteemed
the most valiant of the clans inhabiting those
countries." These two clans took for the
Queen Inverness castle, which had refused her
admission.

With the MacKenzies the Munroes were
often at feud, and Andrew Munro of Miln-
town defended, for three years, the castle of
the canonry of Eoss, which he had received
from the Eegent Moray in 1569, against the
clan Kenzie, at the expense of many lives on
both sides. It was, however, afterwards de-
livered up to the Mackenzies under the act of
pacification.

The chief, Eobert More Munro, became a
Protestant at an early period of the Scottish
Eeformation. He died in 1588. His son,

THE MUNEOES.

233

Eobert, sixteenth baron of Foulis, died with-
out issue in July 1589, and was succeeded by
his brother, Hector Munro, seventeenth baron
of Foulis. The latter died 14 th November
1603.

Hector's eldest son, Eobert Munro, eighteenth
chief of Foulis, styled " the Black Baron," was
the first of his house who engaged in the reli-
gious wars of Gustavus Adolphus, in the 17th
century. In 1626 he went over with the
Scottish corps of Sir Donald Maekay, first
Lord Eeay, accompanied by six other officers
of his name and near kindred. Doddridge
says of him, that " the worthy Scottish gentle-
man was so struck with a regard to the com-
mon cause, in which he himself had no concern
but what piety and virtue gave him, that he
joined Gustavus with a great number of his
friends who bore his own name. Many of
them gained great reputation in this war, and
that of Eobert, their leader, was so eminent
that he was made colonel of two regiments at
the same time, the one of horse, the other of
foot in that service." In 1629 the laird of
Foulis raised a reinforcement of 700 men on
his own lands, and at a later period joined
Gustavus with them. The officers of Mackays
and Munro's Highland regiments who served
under Gustavus Adolphus, in addition to rich
buttons, wore a gold chain round their necks,
to secure the owner, in case of being wounded
or taken prisoner, good treatment, or payment
for future ransom. In the service of Gustavus,
there were at one time not less than " three
generals, eight colonels, five lieutenant-colonels,
eleven majors, and above thirty captains, all
of the name of Munro, besides a great number
of subalterns."

The " Black Baron" died at Ulm, from a
wound in his foot, in the year 1633, and
leaving no male issue, he was succeeded by his
brother, Hector Munro, nineteenth baron of
Foulis, who had also distinguished himself in
the German wars, and who, on his return to
Britain, was created by Charles I. a baronet of
Nova Scotia, 7th June 1634. He married
Mary, daughter of Hugh Maekay of Farr, and
dying in 1635, in Germany, was succeeded by
his only son, Sir Hector, second baronet, who
died, unmarried, in 1651, at the age of 17.
The title and property devolved on his cousin,

Eobert Munro of Opisdale, grandson of George,
third son of the fifteenth baron of Foulis.

During the civil wars at home, when Charles
I. called to his aid some of the veteran officers
who had served in Germany, this Colonel
Eobert Munro was one of them. He was
employed chiefly in Ireland from 1641 to 1645,
when he was surprised and taken prisoner per-
sonally by General Monk. He was subsequently
lieutenant-general of the royalist troops in
Scotland, when he fought a duel with the
Earl of Glencairn. Afterwards he joined
Charles II. in Holland. After the Eevolution
he was appointed commander-in-chief of the
forces in Scotland.

Sir Eobert Munro, third baronet of Foulis,
died in 1688, and was succeeded by his eldest
son, Sir John, fourth baronet, who, in the
Scottish convention of estates, proved himself
to he a firm supporter of the Eevolution. He
was such a strenuous advocate of Presby-
terianism, that, being a man of large frame, he
was usually called " the Presbyterian mortar-
piece." In the Stuart persecutions, previous
to his succession to the title, he had, for his
adherence to the covenant, been both fined
and imprisoned by the tyrannical government
that then ruled in Scotland. He died in 1696.
His son, Sir Eobert, fifth baronet, though
blind, was appointed by George I. high sheriff
of Eoss, by commission, under the great seal,
dated 9th June 1725. He married Jean,
daughter of John Forbes of Culloden, and
died in 1729.

His eldest son, Sir Eobert, twenty-seventh
baron and sixth baronet of Foulis, a gallant
military officer, was the companion in arms of
Colonel Gardiner, and fell at the battle of
Falkirk, 17th January 1746.

In May 1740, when the Independent com-
panies were formed into the 43d Highland
regiment (now the 42d Eoyal Highlanders),
Sir Eobert Munro was appointed lieutenant-
colonel, John Earl of Crawford and Lindsay
being its colonel. Among the captains were
his next brother, George Munro of Culcairn,
and John Munro, promoted to be lieutenant-
colonel in 1745. The surgeon of the regiment
was his youngest brother, Dr .lames Munro.6

6 See the History of the 42d Regiment, in Part Third.
2 G

234

HTSTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

The fate of Sir Eobert's other brother, Cap-
tain George Munro of Culcairn, was peculiar.
He was shot on the shores of Loch Arkaig
among the wild rocks of Lochaber, on Sunday,
31st August 1746, by one of the rebels named
Dugald Eoy Cameron, or, as he is styled in
tradition, Du Elm. After the Eebellion, an
order was issued to the Highlanders to deliver
up their arms. Dugald, accordingly, sent his
son to Fort- William with his arms to be de-
livered up. "When proceeding down Loch
Arkaig, the young man was met by an officer
of the name of Grant, who was conducting a
party of soldiers into Knoydart, and being
immediately seized, was shot on the spot. His
father swore to be revenged, and learning that
the officer rode a white horse, he watched be-
hind a rock for his return, on a height above
Loch Arkaig. Captain Munro had unfortun-
ately borrowed the white horse on which Grant
rode, and he met the fate intended for Grant.
Dugald Eoy escaped, and afterwards became a
soldier in the British service.

Sir Eobert left a son, Sir Harry Munro,
seventh baronet and twenty-fifth baron of
Foulis, an eminent scholar and a M.P.

His son, Sir Hugh, eighth baronet, had an
only daughter, Mary Seymour Munro, who
died January 12, 1849. On his decease,
May 2, 1848, his kinsman, Sir Charles, be-
came ninth baronet and twenty-seventh baron
of Foulis. He was eldest son of George
Munro, Esq. of Culrain, Eoss-shire (who died
in 1845), and lineal male descendant of Lieut. -
general Sir George Munro, next brother to the
third baronet of this family. He married —
1st, in 1817, Amelia, daughter of Frederick
Browne, Esq., 14th dragoons; issue, five sons
and two daughters; 2d, in 1853, Harriett*,
daughter of Eobert Midgely, Esq. of Essing-
ton, Yorkshire. Charles, the eldest son, was
born in 1824, married in 1847, with issue.

The military strength of the Munroes in
1715 was 400, and in 1745, 500 men. The
clan slogan or battle cry was " Caisteal Foulis
na theine" — Castle Foulis in flames.

Macmillan.

Of the origin and history of the Macmillans,
little seems to be known. According to
Buchanan of Auchmar, they are descended

from the second son of Aurelan, seventh laird
of Buchanan. According to Mr Skene, the
earliest seat of the Macmillans appears to have
been on both sides of Loch Arkaig, and he
thinks this confirmatory of a clan tradition,
that they are connected with the clan Chattan.
The Macmillans were at one time dependent
on the Lords of the Isles, but when Loch
Arkaig came into possession of the Camerons,
they became dependent on the latter. " An-
other branch of this clan," says Skene, " pos-
sessed the greater part of southern Enapdale,
where their chief was known under the title
of Macmillan of Knap ; and although the
family is now extinct, many records of their
former power are to be found in that district."
We take the liberty of quoting further from
Mr Skene as to the history of the Macmillans.

" One of the towers of that fine ancient
edifice, Castle Sweyn, bears the name of Mac-
millan's Tower, and there is a stone cross in
the old churchyard of Kilmoray Knap, up-
wards of twelve feet high, richly sculptured,
which has upon one side the representation of
an Highland chief engaged in hunting the
deer, having the following inscription in an-
cient Saxon characters underneath the figure : —
' Hsec est crux Alexandri Macmillan.' Al-
though the Macmillans were at a very early
period in Knapdale, they probably obtained
the greater part of their possessions there by
marriage with the heiress of the chief of the
Macneills, in the 16th century. Tradition
asserts that these Knapdale Macmillans came
originally from Lochtay-side, and that they
formerly possessed Lawers, on the north side
of that loch, from which they were driven by
Chalmers of Lawers, in the reign of David II.

" As there is little reason to doubt the accu-
racy of the tradition, it would appear that
this branch of the Macmillans had been re-
moved by Malcolm IV. from North Moray,
and placed in the crown lands of Strathtay.
Macmillan is said to have had the charter of
his lands in Knapdale engraved in the Gaelic
language and character upon a rock at the
extremity of his estate; and tradition reports
that the last of the name, in order to prevent
the prostitution of his wife, butchered her ad-
mirer, and was obliged in consequence to ab
scond. On the extinction of the family of the

THE CLAN EOSS.

235

chief, the next branch, Macmillan of Dun-
more, assumed the title of Macmillan of Mac-
millan, but that family is now also extinct.

" Although the Macmillans appear at one
time to have been a clan of considerable im-
portance, yet as latterly they became mere
dependants upon their more powerful neigh-
bours, who possessed the superiority of their
lands, and as their principal families are now
extinct, no records of their history have come
down to us, nor do we know what share they
took in the various great events of Highland
history. Their property, upon the extinction
of the family of the chief, was contended for
by the Campbells and Macneills, the latter of
whom were a powerful clan in North Knap-
dale, but the contest was, by compromise,
decided in favour of the former. It continued
in the same family till the year 1775, when,
after the death of the tenth possessor, the
estate was purchased by Sir Archibald Camp-
bell of Inverniel."

There have been a considerable number of
Macmillans long settled in Galloway, and the
tradition is that they are descendants of an
offshoot from the northern Macmillans, that
went south about the time the Knapdale
branch migrated from Lochtay side. These
Macmillans are famous in the annals of the
Covenanters, and are mentioned by Wodrow as
having acted a prominent part during the times
of the religious persecution in Scotland. In-
deed, we believe that formerly, if not indeed
even unto this day, the modern representatives
of the Covenanters in Galloway are as often
called " Maemillamtes" as " Cameronians."

CHAPTEE VII.

Clan Aurias or Ross — Rose— Rose of Kilravoek —
Kenneth or Mackenzie — Mackenzie of Gerloch or
Gairloch — Mackenzies of Tarbet and Royston — of
Coul — Scatwell — Allangrange — Applecross — Ord —
Gruinard — Hilton — Mathieson or Clan Mhathain —
Siol Alpine — Macgregor — Dugald Ciar Mhor — Rob
Roy — Grant — Grants of Pluscardine — Ballindalloch
— Glenmoriston — Lynaehoarn— Aviemore — Croskie
-Dalvey — Monymusk — Kilgraston — Mackinnon —
Macnab — Duffie Macfie — Macquarrie- -Mac Aulay.

Under the head of the Maormordom of Eoss,
Mr Skene, following the genealogists, includes
a considerable number of clans viz., the clan

Anrias or Eoss, clan Kenneth or Mackenzie,
clan Mathan or Mathieson; and under the
subordinate head of Siol Alpine, the clans
Macgregor, Grant, Mackinnon, Macnab, Mac-
phie, Macquarrie, and Macaulay. We shall
speak of them in their order.

Badge — Juniper.

The clan Anrias or Eoss — called in Gaelic
clan Roisch na Gille Andras, or the offspring
of the follower of St Andrew—by which can
be meant only the chiefs or gentry of the
clan, are descended from the Earls of Eoss,
and through them from the ancient Maormors
of Eoss. According to Mr Smibert, the mass
of the clan Eoss was swallowed up by and
adopted the name of the more powerful Mac-
kenzies. " The generality," he says, " had
never at any time borne the name of Eoss
the gentry of the sept only were so distin
guished. Thus, the common people, who must
naturally have intermingled freely with the
real Mackenzies, would ere long retain only
vague traditions of their own descent ; and
when the days of regular registration, and also
of military enlistment, required and introduced
the use of stated names, the great bod\- of the
true Eoss tribe wovdd, without doubt, be en-
rolled under the name of Mackenzie, the pre-
vailing one of the district. In all likelihood,
therefore, the old Bosses are yet numerous in
Boss-shire."

The first known Earl of Boss was Malcolm,
who lived in the reign of Malcolm the Maiden
(1153-1165).

236

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

Ferquhard, the second earl, called Fearchar
Mac an t-Sagairt, or son of the priest, at the
head of the tribes of Moray, repulsed Donald
MacWilliam, the son of Donald Bane, when,
soon after the accession of Alexander II. in
1214, that restless chief made an inroad from
Ireland into that province.

William, third Earl of Eoss, was one of the
Scots nobles who entered into an agreement,
8th March 1258, with Lewellyn, Prince of
Wales, that the Scots and Welsh should only
make peace with England by mutual consent.

William, fourth earl, was one of the wit-
nesses to the treaty of Bruce with Haco, King
of Norway, 28th October 1312. With his
clan he was at the battle of Bannockburn, and
he signed the memorable letter to the Pope in
1320, asserting the independence of Scotland.
He had two sons, Hugh, his successor, and
John, who with his wife, Margaret, second
daughter of Alexander Comyn, fourth Earl of
Buchan, got the half of her father's lands in
Scotland. He had also a daughter, Isabel,
who became the wife of Edward Bruce, Earl of
Carrick and King of Ireland, brother of Robert
the Bruce, 1st June 1317.

Hugh, the next Earl of Ross, fell, in 1333,
at Halidonhill.

Hugh's successor, William, left no male
heir. His eldest daughter, Euphemia, married
Sir Walter Lesley of Lesley, Aberdeenshire,
and had a son, Alexander, Earl of Ross, and a
daughter, Margaret. Earl Alexander married
a daughter of the Regent Albany, and his only
child, Euphemia, Countess of Ross, becoming
a nun, she resigned the earldom to her uncle
John, Earl of Buchan, Albany's second son.
Her aunt Margaret had married Donald, second
Lord of the Isles, and that potent chief
assumed in her right the title of Earl of Ross,
and took possession of the earldom. This led
to the battle of Harlaw in 1411.

On the death of the Earl of Buchan and Ross,
at the battle of Verneuil in France in 1424,
the earldom of Ross reverted to the crown.
James I., on his return from his long captivity
in England, restored it to the heiress of line,
the mother of Alexander, Lord of the Isles,
who, in 1420, had succeeded his father, Donald,
above mentioned. In 1429 he summoned
together his vassals, both of Ross and the

Isles, and at the head of 10,000 men wasted
the crown lands in the vicinity of Inverness,
and burned the town itself to the ground.
At the head of some troops, which he had
promptly collected, the king hastened, by
forced marches, to Lochaber, and surprised
the earl. The mere display of the royal
banner won over the clan Chattan and the
clan Cameron from his support, and he him-
self, suddenly attacked and hotly pursued,
was compelled to sue, but in. vain, for peace.
Driven to despair, he resolved to cast himself
on the royal mercy, and on Easter Sunday, did
so in the extraordinary manner narrated at
p. 140 of this volume

Alexander's son, John, the next Earl of
Ross and Lord of the Isles, having joined the
Earl of Douglas in his rebellion against James
II., sent, in 1455, to the western coast of
Scotland an expedition of 5000 men, under
the command of his near kinsman, Donald
Balloch, Lord of Islay. With this force he
desolated the whole coast from Innerkip to
Bute, the Cumbrays, and the island of Arran ;
but from the prudent precautions taken by the
king to repel the invaders, the loss was not
very considerable. The Earl of Ross after-
wards made his submission, and was received
into the royal favour. On the accession of
James III., however, his rebellious disposition
again showed itself. Edward IV. of England
having entered into a negotiation with him to
detach him from his allegiance, on the 19th
October 1461, the Earl of Ross, Donald Bal-
loch, and his son, John of Islay, held a council
of their vassals and dependants at Astornish,
at which it was agreed to send ambassadors to
England to treat with Edward, for assistance to
effect the entire conquest of Scotland. On the
forfeiture of the Lord of the Isles in 1476, the
earldom of Ross became vested in the crown.

Hugh Ross of Rarichies, brother of the last
Earl of 'Ross, obtained a charter of the lands
of Balnagowan in 1374, and on him by clan
law the chiefship devolved. In the beginning
of the 18th century, Donald Ross of Balna-
gowan, the last of his race, sold that estate to
the Hon. General Ross, the brother of the
twelfth Lord Ross of Hawkhead, who, although
bearing the same surname, was not in any way
related to him.

THE EOSSES.

237

In February 1778, Munro Eoss of Pitcalnie
presented a petition to the king, claiming the
earldom of Ross, as male descendant of the
above-named Hugh Eoss of Earichies. This
petition was sent to the House of Lords, but
no decision appears to have followed upon it.

According to Mr Skene, Eoss of Pitcalnie
is the representative of the ancient earls ; but
as this claim has been disputed, and as other
authorities think the Balnagowan family has
a stronger claim to the chiefship, we shall take
the liberty of quoting what Mr Smibert says
on behalf of the latter : — " Mr Skene labours,
with a pertinacity to us almost incomprehen-
sible, to destroy the pretensions of the house,
to represent the old Earls of Eoss. He at-
tempts to make out, firstly, that Paul Mactyre
(or Mactire), who headed for a time the clan
Ross, was the true heir-male of the fifth Earl
of Eoss, the last of the first house; and that
the Balnagowan family, therefore, had no
claims at that early time. He quotes ' an an-
cient historian of Highland families' to prove
the great power and possessions of Paul Mac-
tyre, the passage, as cited, running thus : —
' Paul Mactyre was a valiant man, and caused
Caithness to pay him black-mail. It is re-
ported that he got nyn score of cowes yearly
out of Caithness for black-mail so long as he
was able to travel.'

" Now, there are a few words omitted in
this citation. The original document, now
before us, begins thus : ' Paull M'Tyre, afore-
said, grandchild to Leandris;' that is, grand-
child to Gilleanrias, the founder of the clan,
and its name-giver. If he was the grandson
of the founder of the sept, Paul Mactyre could
certainly never have been the heir of the fifth
Earl of Eoss, unless he had lived to a most
unconscionable age. It would seem as if Mr
Skene here erred from the old cause — that is,
from his not unnatural anxiety to enhance the
value and authenticity of the MS. of 1450,
which was his own discovery, and certainly
was a document of great interest. That MS.
speaks of Paul Mactyre as heading the clan at
a comparatively late period. We greatly prefer
the view of the case already given by us, which
is, that Paul Mactyre was either kinsman or
quasi tutor to one of the first Eoss earls, or
successfully usurped their place for a time.

" Besides, the ancient document quoted by
Mr Skene to show the greatness of Paul Mac-
tyre, mentions also the marriage of ' his dough-
ter and heire ' to Walter, laird of Balna-
gowne. If the document be good for one
thing, it must be held good also for others.
Such a marriage seems quite natural, supposing
Mactyre to have been a near kinsman of the
Bosses.

" Perhaps too much has been already said
on this subject to please general readers; but
one of our main objects is to give to clansmen
all the rational information procurable on their
several family histories."

" Among another class of Bosses or Eoses,"
says the same authority, " noticed by Nisbet
as bearing distinct arms, the principal family
appears to be that of Eose of Kilravock," to
which a number of landed houses trace their
origin. According to a tradition at one period
prevalent among the clan Donald, the first of
the Kilravock family came from Ireland, with
one of the Macdonalds, Lords of the Isles.
There does not seem, however, to be any
foundation for this, except, perhaps, that as
vassals of the Earls of Eoss, the clan Eose
were connected for about half a century with
the lordship of the Isles. Mr Hugh Eose, the
genealogist of the Kilravock family, is of
opinion that they were originally from Eng-
land, and from their having three water
bougets in their coat armour, like the English
family of Boos, it has been conjectured that
they were of the same stock. But these figures
were carried by other families than those of
the name of Eose or Eoos. Four water bougets
with a cross in the middle were tbe arms of
the Counts D'Eu in Normandy, and of the
ancient Earls of Essex in England of the sur-
name of Bourchier. They were indicative of
an ancestor of the respective families who bore
them having been engaged in the crusades,
and forced, in the deserts of Palestine, to fight
for and carry water in the leathern vessels
called bougets, budgets, or buckets, which
were usually slung across the horse or camel's
back. The badge of the Eoses is Wild Eose-
mary.

The family of Eose of Kilravock appear to
have been settled in the county of Nairn since
the reign of David I.

238

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

MACKENZIE.

Badge — Deer Grass.

The clan Kenneth or Mackenzie lias long
cherished a traditionary belief in its descent
from the Norman family of Fitzgerald settled
in Ireland. Its pretensions to such an origin
are founded upon a fragment of the records of
Icolmkill, and a charter of the lands of Kintail
in Wester Eoss, said to have been granted by
Alexander III. to Colin Fitzgerald, their sup-
posed progenitor. According to the Icolmkill
fragment, a personage described as " Peregrinus
et Hibernus nobilis ex familia Geraldinorum,"
that is, " a noble stranger and Hibernian, of
the family of the Geraldines," being driven
from Ireland, with a considerable number of
followers, about 1261, was received graciously
by the king, and remained thenceforward at
the court. Having given powerful aid to the
Scot3 at the battle of Largs two years after-
wards, he was rewarded by a grant of Kintail,
erected into a free barony by charter dated 9 th
January, 1266. No such document, however,
as this pretended fragment of Icolmkill is known
to be in existence, at least, as Mr Skene says,
nobody has ever seen it, and as for Fung Alex-
ander's charter, he declares3 that " it bears,
the most palpable marks of having been a for-
gery of later date, and one by no means happy
in the execution." Besides, the words " Colino
Hiberno," contained in it, do not prove the
said Colin to have been an Irishman, as
Hiberni was at that period a common appel-
lation of the Gael of Scotland.

3 Highlanders, vol. ii. p. 235.

The ancestor of the clan Kenzie was Giileon-
og, or Colin the younger, a son of Gilleon na
hair'de, that is, Colin of the Aird, progenitor
of the Earls of Eoss, and from the MS. of 1450
their Gaelic descent may be considered estab-
lished. Colin of Kintail is said to have married
a daughter of Walter, lord high steward of Scot-
land. He died in 1278, and his son, Kenneth,
being, in 1304, succeeded by his son, also called
Kenneth, with the addition of Mackenneth, the
latter, softened into Mackenny or Mackenzie,
became the name of the whole clan. Murdoch,
or Murcha, the son of Kenneth, received from
David II. a charter of the lands of Kintail as
early as 1362. At the beginning of the 15th
century, the clan Kenzie appears to have been
both numerous and powerful, for its chief,
Kenneth More, when arrested, in 1427, with
his son-in-law, Angus of Moray, and Mac-
mathan, by James I. in his parliament at
Inverness, was said to be able to muster 2,000
men.

In 1463, Alexander Mackenzie of Kintail
received Strathgarve and many other lands
from John, Earl of Eoss, the same who was
forfeited in 1476. The Mackenzie chiefs were
originally vassals of the Earls of Eoss, but after
their forfeiture, they became independent of
any superior but the crown. They strenuously
opposed the Macdonalds in every attempt
which they made to regain possession of the
earldom. Alexander was succeeded by his son.
Kenneth, who had taken for his first wife
Lady Margaret Macdonald, daughter of the
forfeited earl, John, Lord of the Isles, and hav-
ing, about 1480, divorced his wife, he brought
upon himself the resentment of her family.

Kenneth Oig, his son by the divorced wife,
was chief in 1493. Two years afterwards, he
and Farquhar Mackintosh were imprisoned by
James V. in the castle of Edinburgh. In
1497, Eoss and Mackintosh made their escape,
but on their way to the Highlands they
were treacherously seized at the Torwood, by
the laird of Buchanan. Kenneth Oig resisted
and was slain, and his head presented to the
king by Buchanan.

Kenneth Oig having no issue, was succeeded
by his brother, John, whose mother, Agnes
Fraser, was a daughter of Lord Lovat. She
had other sons, from whom sprung numerous

THE MACKENZIES.

230

branches of this wide-spread family. As he
was very young, his kinsman, Hector Eoy
Mackenzie, progenitor of the house of Gairloch,
assumed the command of the clan, as guardian
of the young chief. " Under his rule," says
Mr. Gregory,4 " the clan Kenzie became in-
volved in feuds with the Munroes and other
clans ; and Hector Roy himself became ob-
noxious to government, as a disturber of the
public peace. His intentions towards the
young Lord of Kintail were considered very
dubious ; and the apprehensions of the latter
and his friends having been roused, Hector was
compelled by law to yield up the estate and
the command of the tribe to the proper heir."
John, at the call of James IV., marched with
his clan to the fatal field of Flodden, where he
was taken prisoner by the English.

On King James the Fifth's expedition to
the Isles in 1540, he was joined at Kintail
by John, chief of the Mackenzies, who accom-
panied him throughout his voyage. He fought
at the battle of Pinkie at the head of his clan
in 1547. On his death in 1556, he was suc-
ceeded by his son, Kenneth, who, by a daughter
of the Earl of Athole, had Colin and Eoderick,
the latter ancestor of the Mackenzies of Red-
castle, Kincraig, Rosend, and other branches.

Colin, eleventh chief,.son of Kenneth, fought
on the side of Queen Mary at the battle of
Langside. He was twice married. By his
first wife, Barbara, a daughter of Grant of
Grant, he had, with three daughters, four sons,
namely, Kenneth, his successor ; Sir Roderick
Mackenzie of Tarbat, ancestor of the Earls of
Cromarty ; Colin, ancestor of the Mackenzies
of Kennock and Pitlundie ; and Alexander, of
the Mackenzies of Kilcoy, and other families
of the name. By a second wife, Mary, eldest
daughter of Roderick Mackenzie of Davoch-
maluak, he had a son, Alexander, from whom
the Mackenzies of Applecross, Coul, Delvin,
Assint, and other families are sprung.

Kenneth, the eldest son, twelfth chief of the
Mackenzies, soon after succeeding his father,
was engaged in supporting the claims of Tor-
quil Macleod, surnamed Connanach, the disin-
herited son of Macleod of Lewis, whose mother
was the sister of John Mackenzie of Kintail,

1 Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 111.

and whose daughter had married Roderick
Mackenzie, Kenneth's brother. The barony
of Lewis he conveyed by writings to the Mac-
kenzie chief, who caused the usurper thereof
and some of his followers to be beheaded in
July 1597. In the following year he joined
Macleod of Harris and Macdonald of Sleat in
opposing the project of James VI. for the
colonization of the Lewis, by some Lowland
gentlemen, chiefly belonging to Fife.

In 1601, Neill Macleod deserted the cause
of the colonists, and Mackenzie, who had de-
tained in captivity for several years Tormod,
the only surviving legitimate son of Ruari
Macleod of the Lewis, set him at liberty, and
sent him into that island to assist Neill in
opposing the settlers. In 1602, the feud be-
tween the Mackenzies and the Glengarry Mac-
donalds, regarding their lands in Wester Ross,
was renewed with great violence. Ultimately,
after much bloodshed on both sides, an agree-
ment was entered into, by which Glengarry
renounced in favour of Mackenzie the castle
of Strone, with the lands of Lochalsh, Loch-
carron, and others, so long the subject of dis-
pute between them. A crown charter of these
lands was granted to Kenneth Mackenzie in
1607. The territories of the clan Kenzie at
this time were very extensive. " All the
Highlands and Isles, from Ardnamurchan to
Strathnaver, were either the Mackenzies' pro-
perty, or under their vassalage, some few ex-
cepted," and all about them were bound to
them "by very strict bonds of friendship."
The same year, Kenneth Mackenzie obtained,
through the influence of the lord-chancellor, a
gift, under the great seal, of the Lewis to him-
self, in virtue of the resignation formerly made
in his favour by Torquil Macleod ; but on the
complaint to the king of those of the colonists
who survived, he was forced to resign it. He
was created a peer, by the title of Lord Mac-
kenzie of Kintail, by patent, dated 19th
November 1609. On the abandonment of
the scheme for colonising the Lewis, the re-
maining adventurers, Sir George Hay and Sir
James Spens, were easily prevailed upon to
sell their title to Lord Kintail, who likewise
succeeded in obtaining from the king a grant
of the share in the island forfeited by Lord Bal-
merino, another of the grantees. Having thus

240

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

at length acquired a legal right to the Lewis, he
procured from the government a commission of
fire and sword against the Islanders, and land-
ing there with a large force, he speedily re-
duced them to obedience, with the exception
of Neil Macleod and a few others, his kinsmen
and followers. The struggle for the Lewis
between the Mackenzies and the Macleods
continued some time longer ; an account of
it has been already given. The Mackenzies
ultimately succeeded in obtaining possession
of the island.

Lord Kintail died in March 1611. He had
married, first, Anne, daughter of George Boss
of Balnagowan, and had, with two daughters,
two sons, Colin, second Lord Kintail, and first
Earl of Seaforth, and the Hon. John Mackenzie
of Lochslin. His second wife was Isabel,
daughter of Sir Alexander Ogilvie of Powrie,
by whom, with a daughter, Sybilla, Mrs Mac-
leod of Macleod, he had four sons, viz., Alex-
ander; George, second Earl of Seaforth; Thomas
of Pluscardine ; and Simon of Lochslin, whose
eldest son was the celebrated Sir George Mac-
kenzie of Eosehaugh, lord advocate in the reigns
of Charles IT. and James VII.

Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh. From a painting
by Sir Godfrey Kneller.

Colin, second Lord Kintail, was created

Earl of Seaforth, by patent dated at Theo-
bald's, 3d December 1623, to him and hi3
heirs male.

The great-grandson of the third Earl of Sea-
forth, and male heir of the family, was Colonel
Thomas Frederick Humberston Mackenzie,
who fell at Gheriah in India in 1783. His
brother, Francis Humberston Mackenzie, ob-
tained the Seaforth estates, and was created
Baron Seaforth in the peerage of the United
Kingdom in 1796. Dying without surviving
male issue, his title became extinct, and his
eldest daughter, the Hon. Mary Frederica
Elizabeth, having taken for her second husband
J. A. Stewart of Glaserton, a cadet of the
house of Galloway, that gentleman assumed
the name of Stewart Mackenzie of Seaforth.

The clan Kenzie from small beginnings had
increased in territory and influence till they
became, next to the Campbells, the greatest
clan in the West Highlands. They remained
loyal to the Stuarts, but the forfeiture of the
Earl of Seaforth in 1715, and of the Earl of
Cromarty in 1745, weakened their power
greatly. They are still, however, one of the
most numerous tribes in the Highlands. In
1745 their effective strength was calculated at
2500. No fewer than seven families of the
name possess baronetcies.

The armorial bearings of the Mackenzies are
a stag's head and horns. It is said that they
were assumed in consequence of Kenneth, the
ancestor of the family, having rescued the king
of Scotland from an infuriated stag, which he
had wounded. " In gratitude for his assist-
ance," says Stewart of Garth, " the king gave
him a grant of the castle and lands of Castle
Donnan, and thus laid the foundation of the
family and clan Mackenneth or Mackenzie."
From the stag's head in their arms the term
" Caberfae" was applied to the chiefs.

The progenitor of the Gerloch or Gaieloch
branch of the Mackenzies was, as above shown,
Hector, the elder of the two sons of Alexander,
seventh chief, by his second wife, Margaret
Macdowail, daughter of John, Lord of Lorn.
He lived in the reigns of Kings James III. and
IV, and was by the Highlanders called
"Eachin Boy," or Bed Hector, from the colour
of his hair. To the assistance of the former
of these monarchs, when the confederated

THE MACKENZIES— THE MATHIESONS.

241

nobles collected in arms against hirn, he raised
a considerable body of the clan Kenzie, and
fought at their head at the battle of Sauchie-
burn. After the defeat of his party, he re-
treated to the north, and, taking possession of
Eedcastle, put a garrison in it. Thereafter he
joined the Earl of Huntly, and from James IV.
he obtained in 1494 a grant of the lands and
barony of Gerloch, or Gairloch, in Eoss-shire.
These lands originally belonged to the Siol-
Vic-Gilliechallum, or Macleods of Easay, a
branch of the family of Lewis ; but Hector, by
means of a mortgage or wadset, had acquired
a small portion of them, and in 1508 he got
Brachan, the lands of Moy, the royal forest of
Glassiter, and other lands, united to them. In
process of time, his successors came to possess
the whole district, but not till after a long and
bloody feud with the Siol-Vic-Gilliechallum,
which lasted till 1611, when it was brought
to a sudden close by a skirmish, in which
Gilliechallum Oig, laird of Easay, and Mur-
doch Mackenzie, a younger son of the laird of
Gairloch, were slain. From that time the
Mackenzies possessed Gairloch without inter-
ruption ffom the Macleods.

Kenneth Mackenzie, eighth Baron of Gair-
loch, was created a baronet of Nova Scotia in
1700. He married Margaret, daughter of Sir
Eoderbk Mackenzie of Findon, and was suc-
ceeded, in 1704, by his son, Sir Alexander,
second baronet. His eldest son, Six Alex-
ander, third baronet, married — first, Margaret,
eldest daughter of Eoderick Mackenzie of Eed-
castle, issue one son, Hector ; second, Jean,
only daughter of John Gorrie, Esq., commis-
sary of Eoss, issue two sons, John, a general
officer, and Kenneth, an officer in India, and
three daughters. He died 13th April 1770.

Sir Hector Mackenzie, his eldest son, fourth
baronet of the Gairloch branch, died in April
1826. His son, Sir Francis Alexander, fifth
baronet, born in 1798, died June 2, 1843. The
eldest son of Sir Francis, Sir Kenneth Smith
Mackenzie, sixth baronet, born 1832, married
in 1860 the second daughter of Walter Frede-
rick Campbell of Islay.

The first of the Mackenzies of Taebet and
Eoyston, in the county of Cromarty, was Sir
Eoderick Mackenzie, second son of Colin
Mackenzie of Kiutail. brother of the first Lord

Mackenzie of Kintail. Having married Mar-
garet, daughter and heiress of Torquil Macleod
of the Lewes, he added the armorial bearings
of the Macleods to his own. His son, John
Mackenzie of Tarbet, was created a baronet of
Nova Scotia, 21st May 1628. He had four
sons.

The eldest son, Sir George Mackenzie, second
baronet, was the first Earl of Cromarty. His
eldest son becoming a bankrupt, his estate of '
Cromarty was sold in 1741 to William Ur-
quhart of Meldrum. He was succeeded by
his brother, Sir Kenneth, fourth baronet, at
whose death, without issue, in 1763, the
baronetcy lay dormant until revived in favour
of Sir Alexander Mackenzie of Tarbet, elder
son of Eobert Mackenzie, lieutenant-colonel in
the East India Company's service, great-great-
grandson of the first baronet. Colonel Mac-
kenzie's father was Alexander Mackenzie of
Ardlock, and his mother the daughter of
Eobert Sutherland, Esq. of Langwell, Caith-
ness, twelfth in descent from William de
Sutherland, fifth Earl of Sutherland, and the
Princess Margaret Bruce, sister and heiress of
David II. Sir Alexander, fifth baronet, was
in the military service of the East India Com-
pany. On his death, April 28, 1843, his
brother, Sir James Wemyss Mackenzie, became
sixth baronet of Tarbet and Eoyston. He died
November 24, 1858, and was succeeded by his
son, Sir James John Eandoll Mackenzie.

The first of the family of Coul, Eoss-shire,
was Alexander Mackenzie, brother of Kenneth,
first Lord Mackenzie of Kintail, who, before
his death, made him a present of his own
sword, as a testimony of his particular esteem
and affection. His son, Kenneth Mackenzie
of Coul, was created a baronet of Nova Scotia,
October 16, 1673. His eldest son, Sir Alex-
ander, second baronet, died in 1702. His son,
Sir John Mackenzie, third baronet, for being
concerned in the rebellion of 1715, was for-
feited. He died without male issue, and the
attainder not extending to collateral branches
of the family, the title and estates devolved
upon his brother, Sir Colin, fourth baronet,
clerk to the pipe in the exchequer. He died
in 1740.

The Mackenzies of Scatwell, Eoss-shire,
who also possess a baronetcy, are descended

ii-z

H1ST0BY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

from Sir Eoderick Mackenzie, knight, of
Tarbet and Cogeaeh, second sen of Colin,
eleventh feudal haron of Kintail, father of Sir
John Mackenzie, ancestor of the Earls of
Cromarty, and Kenneth Mackenzie of Scat-
well, whose son, Kenneth, was created a
baronet of Nova Scotia, February 22, 1703.
By his marriage with Lilias, daughter and
heiress of Sir Eoderick Mackenzie of Findon,
that branch of the Mackenzie family merged
in that of Scatwell.

Other principal families of the name are
Mackenzie of Allangrange, heir male of the
Earls of Seaforth ; of Applecross, also a branch
of the house of Seaforth; of Oed, of Gruinard.
and of Hilton, all in Eoss-shire.

Mathieson.

The name Mathieson, or Clan Mliathain,
is said to come from the Gaelic Mathaineach,
heroes, or rather, from Mathan, pronounced
Mahan, a bear. The MacMathans were set-
tled in Lochalsh, a district of Wester Eoss,
from an early period. They are derived by
ancient genealogies from the same stock as
the Earls of Eoss and are represented by the
MS. of 1450 as a branch of the Mackenzies.
Kenneth MacMathan, who was constable of
the castle of Ellandonan, is mentioned both
in the Norse account of the expedition of
the king of Norway against Scotland in 12G3,
and in the Chamberlain's Eolls for that year,
in connection with that expedition. He is
said to have married a sister of the Earl of
Eoss. The chief of the clan was engaged in
the rebellion of Donald, Lord of the Isles, in
1411, and was one of the chiefs arrested at In-
verness by James I., in 1427, when he is said
to have been able to muster 2000 men. The
possessions of the Mathiesons, at one time
very extensive, were greatly reduced, in the
course of the 16th century, by feuds with
their turbulent neighbours, the Macdonalds of
Glengarry.

Of this clan Mr Skene says, — "Of the
history of this clan we know nothing whatever.
Although they are now extinct, they must at
one time have been one of the most powerful
clans in the north, for among the Highland
chiefs seized by James I. at the parliament
held at Inverness in 1427, Bower mentions

Macmaken leader of two thousand men, and
this circumstance affords a most striking
instance of the rise and fall of different
families ; for, while the Mathison appears at
that early period as the leader of two thousand
men, the Mackenzie has the same number only,
and we now see the clan of Mackenzie extend-
ing their numberless branches over a great part
of the North, and possessing an extent of terri-
tory of which few families can exhibit a parallel,
while the one powerful clan of the Mathisons
has disappeared, and their name become nearly
forgotten."

Siol Alpine.

Under the general denomination of Siol
Alpine are included several clans situated at
considerable distances from one another, but
all of them supposed to have been descended
from Kenneth Macalpine, the founder of the
Scottish monarchy, and the ancestor of a long
line of Scottish kings. The validity of this
lofty pretension has, however, been disputed ;
and, in point of fact, it appears that the clans,
composing the Siol Alpine, were never united
under the authority of a common chief, but,
on the contrary, were, from the earliest period,
at variance amongst themselves ; in conse-
quence of which they sunk into insignificance,
and became of little account or importance in
a general estimate of the Highland tribes.
The principal clan appears to have been that
of the Macgregors, a race famous for their mis-
fortunes as well as the unbroken spirit with
which they maintained themselves linked and
banded together in spite of the most severe
laws executed with the greatest rigour against
all who bore this proscribed name.

Macgregor.

The Macgregors are generally esteemed
one of the purest of all the Celtic tribes, and
there seems to be no doubt of their unmixed
and direct descent from the ancient Celtic
inhabitants of Scotland. They were once
numerous in Balquhidder and Menteith, and
also in Glenorchy, which appears to have been
theh original seat. An air of romance has
been thrown around this particular clan from
the exploits and adventures of the celebrated
Eob Eoy, and the cruel sufferings and pro-

THE MACGEEGOES.

243

scriptions to which, they were, at different
times, subjected by the government.

MACGREGOR-

Baiige — Pine.

Claiming a regal origin, their motto anciently
was, "My race is royal." Griogar, said to
have been the third son of Alpin, king of
Scotland, who commenced his reign in 833, is
mentioned as their remote ancestor, bat it is
impossible to trace their descent from any such
personage, or from his eldest brother, Kenneth
Macalpine, from whom they also claim to be
sprung.

According to Buchanan of Auchmar, the
clan Gregor were located in Glenorchy as early
as the reign of Malcolm Canmore (1057-1093).
As, however, they were in the reign of Alex-
ander II. (1214-1219) vassals of the Earl of
Eoss, Skene thinks it probable that Glen-
orchy was given to them, when that mon-
arch conferred a large extent of territory
on that potent noble. Hugh of Glenorchy
appears to have been the first of their chiefs
who was so styled. Malcolm, the chief of 'the
clan in the days of Brace, fought bravely
on the national side at the battle of Bannock-
burn. He accompanied Edward Brace to
Ireland, and being severely wounded at Dun-
dalk, he was ever afterwards known as " the
lame lord."

In the reign of David II., the Campbells
managed to procure a legal title to the lands of
Glenorchy ; nevertheless, the Macgregors main-
tained, for a long time, the actual possession of
them by the strong hand. They knew no
other right than that of the sword, but, ulti-

mately, that was found unavailing, and, at
last, expelled from their own territory, they
became an outlawed, lawless, and landless
clan.

John Macgregor of Glenorchy, who died in
1390, is said to have had three sons : Patrick,
his successor ; John Dow, ancestor of the
family of Glenstrae, who became the chief of
the clan ; and Gregor, ancestor of the Mac-
gregors of Eoro. Patrick's son, Malcolm, was
compelled by the Campbells to sell the lands
of Auchinrevach in Strathfillan, to Campbell
of Glenorchy, who thus obtained the first foot-
ing in Breadalbane, which afterwards gave
the title of earl to his family.

The principal families of the Macgregors,
in process of time, except that of Glenstrae,
who held that estate as vassals of the Earl of
Argyll, found themselves reduced to the posi-
tion of tenants on the lands of Campbell of
Glenorchy and other powerful barons. It
being the policy of the latter to get rid of
them altogether, the unfortunate clan were
driven, by a continuous system of oppression
and annoyance, to acts of rapine and violence,
which brought upon them the vengeance of
the government. The clan had no other means
of subsistence than the plunder of their neigh-
bours' property, and as they naturally directed
their attacks chiefly against those who had
wrested from them their own lands, it became
still more the interest of their oppressors to
represent to the king that nothing could put
a stop to their lawless conduct, "save the eut-
ting off' the tribe of Macgregor root and branch."
In 1488, soon after the youthful James IV.
had ascended the throne which the murder of
his father had rendered vacant, an act was
passed " for staunching of thiftreif and other
enormities throw all the realme;" evidently
designed against the Macgregors, for among
the barons to whom power was given for
enforcing it, were Duncan Campbell of Glen-
orchy, Neil Stewart of Eortingall, and Ewin
Campbell of Strachur. At this time the Mac-
gregors were still a numerous clan. Besides
those in Glenorchy, they were settled in great
numbers in the districts of Breadalbane and
Athol, and they all acknowledged Macgregor
of Glenstrae, who bore the title of captain of
the clan, as their chief.

244

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

With, the view of reducing these branches.
Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy obtained,
in 1492, the office of bailiary of the crown
lands of Disher and Toyer, Glenlyon, and
Glendo chart, and in 1502 he procured a charter
of the lands of Glenlyon. " From this period,"
says Mr Skene, " the history of the Macgregors
consists of a mere list of acts of privy council,
by which commissions are granted to pursue
the clan with fire and sword, and of various
atrocities which a state of desperation, the
natural result of these measures, as well as a
deep spirit of vengeance, against both the
framers and executors of them, frequently led
the clan to committ. These actions led to the
enactment of still severer laws, and at length
to the complete proscription of the clan."

But still the Macgregors were not subdued.
Taking refuge in their mountain fastnesses,
they set at defiance all the efforts made by
their enemies for their entire extermination,
and inflicted upon some of them a terrible
vengeance. In 1589 they seized and murdered
John Drummond of Drummond Ernoch, a
forester of the royal forest of Glenartney, an
act which forms the foundation of the incident
detailed in Sir Walter Scott's " Legend of
Montrose." The clan swore upon the head
of the victim that they would avow and
defend the deed in common. An outrage
like this led at once to the most rigorous pro-
ceedings on the part of the crown. Fresh
letters of fire and sword for three years were
issued against the whole clan, and all persons
were interdicted from harbouring or having
any communication with them. Then followed
the conflict at Glenfruin in 1603, when the
Macgregors, under Alexander Macgregor of
Glenstrae, their chief, defeated the Colquhouns,
under the laird of Luss, and 140 of the latter
were killed. Details of this celebrated clan
battle have been already given in the former
part of this work, and more will be found
under the Colquhouns. Dugald Ciar Mohr,
ancestor of Eob Eoy, is said on this occasion
to have exhibited extraordinary ferocity and
courage.

In relation to the betrayal and melancholy
end of the unfortunate chief, Alexander, Mac-
gregor of Glenstrae, there is the following entry
in the MS. diary of Eobert Birrell : " The 2 of

October (1603,) Allester M'Gregour Glainstrc
tane be the laird of Arkynles, bot escapit
againe ; bot efter, taken be the Earle of
Argyill the 4 of Januar ; and brocht to Edin-
burghe the 9 of Januar 1604, with mae of 18
his friendis, M'Gregouris. He wes convoyit
to Berwick be the gaird, conforme to the earlis
promese ; for he promesit to put him out oi
Scottis grund. Swa he keipit ane Hieland-
nianis promes ; in respect he sent the gaird to
convoy him out of Scottis grund : Bot thai
wer not directit to pairt with him back agane !
The 18 of Januar, at evine, he come agane to
Edinburghe ; and vpone the 20 day, he was
hangit at the croce, and ij (eleven) of his
freindis and name, upone ane gallous : Him-
selff, being chieff, he was hangit his awin hieht
above the rest of his friendis." That Argyll
had an interest in his death appears from a
declaration, printed in Pitcairn's Criminal
Trials.'' which the chief made before his execu-
tion, wherein he says that the earl had enticed
him to commit several slaughters and disorders,
and had endeavoured to prevail upon him to
commit " sundrie mair."

Among other severe measures passed against
this doomed clan was one which deprived
them of their very name. By an act of the
privy council, dated 3d April 1603, all of the
name of Macgregor were compelled, on pain of
death, to adopt another surname, and all who
had been engaged at the battle of Glenfruin,
and other marauding expeditions detailed in
the act, were prohibited, also under the pain of
death, from carrying any weapon but a knife
without a point to cut their victuals. They
were also forbidden, under the same penalty of
death, to meet in greater numbers than four at a
time. The. Earls of Argyll and Athole were
charged with the execution of these enactments,
and it has been shown how the former carried
out the task assigned to him. With regard to the
ill-fated chief so treacherously " done to death"
by him, the following interesting tradition is
related : — His son, while out hunting one da}-,
met the young laird of Lamond travelling with
a servant from Cowal towards Inverlochy.
They dined together at a house on the Black-
mount, between Tyndrum and King's House ;

'" Vol. ii. p. 435.

ROB ROY MACGREGOR.

340

but naving unfortunately quarrelled during
the evening, dirks were drawn, and the young
Macgregor was killed. Laruond instantly fled,
and was closely pursued by some of the clan
Gregor. Outstripping his foes, he reached the
house of the chief of Glenstrae, whom he be-
sought earnestly, without stating his crime, to
afford him protection. " Tou are safe with
me," said the chief, " whatever you may have
done." On the pursuers arriving, they in-
formed the unfortunate father of what had
occurred, and demanded the murderer; but
Macgregor refused to deliver him up, as he
had passed his word to protect him. " Let
none of you dare to injure the man," he ex-
claimed ; " Macgregor has promised him safety,
and, as I live, he shall be safe while with me."
He afterwards, with a party of his clan, escorted
the youth home ; and, on bidding him fare-
well, said, " Lamond, you are now safe on your
own land. I cannot, and I will not protect you
farther ! Keep away from my people ;
and may God forgive you for what
you have done !" Shortly afterwards
the name of Macgregor was proscribed,
and the chief of Glenstrae became a
wanderer without a name or a home.
But the laird of Lamond, remember-
ing that he owed his life to him,
hastened to protect the old chief and
his famity, aud not only received
the fugitives into his house, but
shielded them for a time from their

proceedings directed against them. These did
not cease with the reign of James VI., for under
Charles I. all the enactments against them were
renewed, and yet in 1644, when the Marquis
of Montrose set up the king's standard in the
Highlands, the clan Gregor, to the number of
1000 fighting men, joined him, under the
command of Patrick Macgregor of Glenstrae,
their chief. In reward for their loyalty, at the
Restoration the various statutes against them
were annulled, when the clan men were enabled
to resume their own name. In the reign of
William III., however, the penal enactments
against them were renewed in their full force.
The clan were again proscribed, and compelled
once more to take other names.

According to Buchanan of Auohmar. the
direct male line of the chiefs became extinct
in the reign of the latter monarch, and the
representation fell, by " a formal renunciation
of the chiefship,"'into the branch of Glengyle.

enemies.

Logan states, that on the death of |§1
Alexander, the executed chief, without
surviving lawful issue, the clan, then
in a state of disorder, elected a chief,
but the head of the collateral branch,
deeming Gregor, the natural son of
the late chief, better entitled to the
honour, without ceremony dragged the
chief-elect from Ms inaugural chair in
the kirk of Strathfillan, and placed
Gregor therein, in his stead.

The favourite names assumed by the
clanwhilecompelled to relinquish their
own, were Campbell, Graham, Stewart, and
Drummond. Their unity as a clan remained
unbroken, and they even seemed to increase in
numbers, notwithstanding all the oppressive

Hob Roy. From an original painting in the possession
of Herbert Buchanan, Esq., of Arden.

Of this branch was the celebrated Rob Roy,
that is, Red Rob, who assumed the name of
Campbell under the proscriptive act.

As we promised in the former part of the

246

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

work, we shall here give some account of this
celebrated robber-chief. Born about 1660, he
was the younger son of Donald Macgregor of
Glengyle, a lieutenant-colonel in the service of
King James VII., by his wife, the daughter
of William Campbell of Glenfalloch, the third
son of Sir Eobert Campbell of Glenorchy.
Rob Roy himself married Helen-Mary, the
daughter of Macgregor of Cromar. His own
designation was that of Inversnaid, but he
seems to have acquired a right to the property
of Craig Royston, a domain of rock and forest
lying on the east side of Loch Lomond. He
became tutor to his nephew, the head of the
Glengyle branch, then in his minority, who
claimed the chiefship of the clan.

Like many other Highland gentlemen, Rob
Roy was a trader in cattle or master drover,
and in this capacity he had borrowed several
sums of money from the Duke of Montrose,
but becoming insolvent, he absconded. In
June 1712 an advertisement appeared for his
apprehension, and he was involved in prosecu-
tions which nearly ruined him. Some mes-
sengers of the law who visited his house in his
absence are said to have abused his wife in a
most shameful manner, and she, being a high-
spirited woman, incited her husband to acts of
vengeance. At the same time, she gave vent
to her feelings in a fine piece of pipe music,
still well known by the name of "Rob Roy's
Lament." As the duke had contrived to get
possession of Rob's lands of Craig Royston, he
was driven to become the " bold outlaw "
which he is represented in song and story.

" Determined," says General Stewart of
Garth, " that his grace should not enjoy his
lands with impunity, he collected a band of
about twenty followers, declared open war
against him, and gave up his old course of
regular droving, declaring that the estate of
Montrose should in future supply him with
cattle, and that he would make the duke rue
the day he quarrelled with him. He kept his
word ; and for nearly thirty years — that is, till
the day of his death — regularly levied contri-
butions on the duke and his tenants, not by
nightly depredations, but in broad day, and in
a systematic manner; on an appointed time
making a complete sweep of all the cattle of a
district — always passing over those not be-

longing to the duke's estates, or the estates of
his friends and adherents; and having pre-
viously given notice where he was to be on a
certain day with his cattle, he was met there
by people from all parts of the country, to whom
he sold them publicly. These meetings, or
trysts, as they were called, were held in dif-
ferent parts of the country; sometimes the
cattle were driven south", but oftener to the
north and west, where the influence of his
friend the Duke of Argyll protected him.
When the cattle were in this manner driven
away, the tenants paid no rent, so that the
duke was the ultimate sufferer. But he was
made to suffer in every way. The rents of the
lower farms were partly paid in grain and
meal, which was generally lodged in a store-
house or granary, called a girnal, near the
Loch of Monteath. When Macgregor wanted
a supply of meal, he sent notice to a certain
number of the duke's tenants to meet him at
the girnal on a certain day, with their horses
to carry home his meal. They met accordingly,
when he ordered the horses to be loaded, and,
giving a regular receipt to his grace's store-
keeper for the quantity taken, he marched
away, always entertaining the people very
handsomely, and careful never to take the meal
till it had been lodged in the duke's storehouse
in payment of rent. When the money rents
were paid, Macgregor frequently attended. On
one occasion, when Mr Graham of Killearn,
the factor, had collected the tenants to pay
their rents, all Rob Roy's men happened to be
absent, except Alexander Stewart, called ' the
bailie.' With this single attendant he de-
scended to Chapel Errock, where the factor
and the tenants were assembled. He reached
the house after it was dark, and, looking in at
a window, saw Killearn, surrounded by a
number of the tenants, with a bag full of
money which he had received, and was in the
act of depositing it in a press or cupboard, at
the same time saying that he would cheerfully
give all that he had in the bag for Rob Roy's
head. This notification was not lost on the
outside visitor, who instantly gave orders in a
loud voice to place two men at each window,
two at each corner, and four at each of two
doors, thus appearing to have twenty men.
Immediately the door opened, and he walked

EOB EOY MACGEEGOE.

247

in with his attendant close behind, each armed
with a sword in his right hand and a pistol in
his left hand, and with dirks and pistols slung
in their belts. The company started up, but
he desired them to sit down, as his business
was only with Killearn, whom he ordered to
hand down the bag and put it on the table.
When this was done, he desired the money to
be counted, and proper receipts to be drawn
out, certifying that he received the money
from the Duke of Montrose's agent, as the
duke's property, the tenants having paid their
rents, so that no after demand could be made
on them on account of this transaction; and
finding that some of the people had not ob-
tained receipts, he desired the factor to grant
them immediately, ' to show his grace,' said
he, ' that it is from him I take the money, and
not from these honest men who have paid
him.' After the whole was concluded, he
ordered supper, saying that, as he had got the
purse, it was proper he should pay the bill ; and
aftertheyhad drunk heartily together for several
hours, he called his bailie to produce his dirk,
and laj7 it naked on the table. Killearn was
[hen sworn that he would not move, nor direct
any one else to move, from that spot for an
hour after the departure of Macgregor, who thus
cautioned him — ' If you break your oath, you
know what you are to expect in the next
world, and in this,' pointing to his dirk. He
then walked away, and was beyond pursuit
before the hour expired."

At the breaking out of the rebellion of 1715,
in spite of the obligations which he owed to
the indirect protection of the Duke of Argyll,
Eob Eoy's Jacobite partialities induced him to
join the rebel forces under the Earl of Mar.

On this occasion none of the Clan Gregor,
except the sept of Ciar Mohr, to which Eob
Eoy belonged, took up arms for the Chevalier,
though they were joined by connexions of the
family, and among others by Leckie of Croy-
Leckie, a large landed proprietor in Dumbar-
tonshire, who had married a daughter of
Donald M'Gregor, by his wife the daughter of
Campbell of Glenfalloch, and who was thus
the brother-in-law of Eob Eoy. "They were
not," says Sir Walter Scott, " commanded by
Eob Eoy, but by his nephew already men-
tioned, Gregor Macgregor, otherwise called

James Grahame of (ilengyle, and still better
remembered b)' the Gaelic epithet of Gklune
Dim, i.e. Black Knee, from a black spot on
one of his knees, which his Highland garb
rendered visible. There can be no question,
however, that being then very young, Glengyle
must, have acted on most occasions by the
advice and direction of so experienced a leader
as his uncle. The Macgregors assembled in
numbers at that period, and began even to
threaten the lowlands towards the lower extre-
mity of Loch Lomond. They suddenly seized
all the boats which were upon the lake, and,
probably with a view to some enterprise of
their own, drew them overland to Inversnaid,
in order to intercept the progress of a large
body of west country whigs who were in arms
for the government, and moving in that direc-
tion. The whigs made an excursion for the
recovery of the boats. Their forces consisted
of volunteers from Paisley, Kilpatrick, and
elsewhere, who, with the assistance of a body
of seamen, were towed up the river Leven in
long boats belonging to the ships of war then
lying in the Clyde. At Luss, they were joined
by the forces of Sir Humphrey Colquhoun, and
James Grant, his son-in-law, with their fol-
lowers, attired in the Highland dress of the
period, which is picturesquely described. The
whole party crossed to Craig Eoyston, but the
Macgregors did not offer combat. If we were
to believe the account of the expedition given
by the historian Eae, they leaped on shore at
Craig Eoyston with the utmost intrepidity, no
enemy appearing to oppose them, and by the
noise of their drums, which they beat inces-
santly, and the discharge of their artilleiy and
small arms, terrified the Macgregors, whom
they appear never to have seen, out of their
fastnesses, and caused them to fly in a panic
to the general camp of the Highlanders at
Strathfillan. The low-countrymen succeeded
in getting possession of the boats, at a great
expenditure of noise and courage, and little
risk of danger.

" AfteT this temporary removal from his old
haunts, Eob Eoy was sent by the Earl of Mar
to Aberdeen, to raise, it is believed, a part of
the clan Gregor, which is settled in that
country. These men were of his own family
(the race of the Ciar Mohr). They were the

248

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

descendants of about three hundred Macgregors
■whom the Earl of Moray, about the year 1624,
transported from his estates in Monteith to
oppose against his enemies the Mackintoshes,
a race as hardy and restless as they were
themselves. We have already stated that Eob
Boy's conduct during the insurrection of 1715
was very equivocal. His person and followers
were in the Highland army, but his heart
seems to have been with the Duke of Argyll's.
Yet the insurgents were constrained to trust
to him as their only guide, when they marched
from Perth towards Dunblane, with the view
of crossing the Forth at what are called the
Fords of Frew, and when they themselves said
he could not be relied upon.

" This movement to the westward, on the
part of the insurgents, brought on the battle
of Sheriffmuir ; indecisive, indeed, in its im-
mediate results, but of which the Duke of
Argyll reaped the whole advantage." We
have already given an account of Eob Eoy's
vacillating behaviour at this battle. " One of
the Macphersons, named Alexander, one of
Eob's original profession, videlicet a drover,
but a man of great strength and spirit, was so
incensed at the inactivity of his temporary
leader, that he threw off his plaid, drew his
sword, and called out to his clansmen, ' Let us
endure this no longer ! if he will not lead you,
I will.' Eob Eoy replied, with great coolness,
' Were the question about driving Highland
stots or kyloes, Sandie, I would yield to your
superior skill ; but as it respects the leading of
men, I must be allowed to be the better judge.'
' Did the matter respect driving Glen-Eigas
stots,' answered Macpherson, 'the question with
Eob would not be, which was to be last, but
which was to be foremost.' Incensed at this
sarcasm, Macgregor drew his sword, and they
would have fought upon the spot if their
friends on both sides had not interfered.

" Notwithstanding the sort of neutrality
which Eob Eoy had continued to observe
during the progress of the rebellion, he did
not escape some of its penalties. He was in-
cluded in the act of attainder, and the house
in Breadalbane, which was his place of retreat,
was burned by General Lord Cadogan, when,
after the conclusion of the insurrection, he
marched through the Highlands to disarm and

punish the offending clans. But upon going
to Inverary with about forty or fifty of his
followers, Eob obtained favour, by an apparent
surrender of their arms to Colonel Patrick
Campbell of Finnah, who furnished them and
their leader with protections under his hand.
Being thus in a great measure secured from the
resentment of government, Eob Eoy established
his residence at Craig Eoyston, near Loch
Lomond, in the midst of his own kinsmen, and
lost no time in resuming his private quarrel
with the Duke of Montrose. For this purpose,
he soon got on foot as many men, and well
armed too, as he had yet commanded. He
never stirred without a body guard of ten or
twelve picked followers, and without much
effort could increase them to fifty or sixty."6

For some years he continued to levy black-
mail from those whose cattle and estates he
protected, and although an English garrison
was stationed at Inversnaid, near Aberfoyle,
his activity, address, and courage continually
saved him from falling into their hands. The
year of his death is uncertain, but it is sup-
posed to have been after 1738. He died at an
advanced age in his bed, in his own house at
Balquhidder. When he found death approach-
ing, "he expressed," says Sir Walter Scott,
" some contrition for particular parts of his
life. His wife laughed at these scruples of
conscience, and exhorted him to die like a
man, as he had lived. In reply, he rebuked
her for her violent passions, and the counsels
she had given him. ' You have put strife,' he
said, ' between me and the best men of the
country, and now you would place enmity be-
tween me and my God.' There is a tradition
noway inconsistent with the former, if the
character of Eob Eoy be justly considered,
that, while on his deathbed, he learned that a
person with whom he was at enmity, proposed
to visit him. ' Eaise me from my bed,' said
the invalid, ' throw my plaid around me, and
bring me my claymore, dirk, and pistols ; it
shall never be said that a foeman saw Eob Eoy
Macgregor defenceless and unarmed.' His foe-
man, conjectured to be one of the Maclarens,
entered and paid his compliments, inquiring-
after the health of his formidable neighbour.

6 Introduction to Hob Roy.

THE MACGEEGOES.

249

Bob Eoy maintained a cold haughty civility
during their short conference, and as soon as
he had left the house, ' Now,' he said, ' all is
over; let the piper play Ha til mi tulidW (we
return no more), and he is said to have expired
before the dirge was finished." The grave of
Macgregor, in the churchyard of Balquhidder,
is distinguished by a rude tombstone, over
which a sword is carved.

Eob Eoy had five sons — Coll, Eanald, James
(called James Eoy, after his father, and James
Mohr, or big James, from his height), Dun-
can, and Eobert, called Eobin Oig, or Young
Eobin.

On the breaking out of the rebellion of
1745, the clan Gregor adhered to the cause of
the Pretender. A Macgregor regiment, 300
strong, was raised by Eobert Macgregor of
Glencairnock, who was generally considered
chief of the clan, which joined the prince's
army. The branch of Ciar Mohr, however,
regarded William Macgregor Drummond of
Bohaldie, then in France, as their head, and a
separate corps formed by them, commanded
by Glengyle, and James Eoy Macgregor, united
themselves to the levies of the titular Duke of
Perth, James assuming the name of Drum-
mond, the duke's family name, instead of that
of Campbell. This corps was the relics of Eob
Eoy's band, and with only twelve men of it,
James Eoy, who seems to have held the rank
of captain or major, succeeded in surprising
and burning, for the second time, the fort at
Inversnaid, constructed for the express purpose
of keeping the country of the Macgregors in
order.

At the battle of Prestonpans, the Duke of
Perth's men and the Macgregors composed the
centre. Armed only with scythes, this party
cut off the legs of the horses, and severed, it is
said, the bodies of their riders in twain. Cap-
tain James Eoy, at the commencement of the
battle, received five wounds, but recovered
from them, and rejoined the prince's army
with six companies. He was present at
the battle of Culloden, and after that defeat
the clan Gregor returned in a body to their
own country, when they dispersed. James
Eoy was attainted for high treason, but from
some letters of his, published in Blackwood's
Magazine for December 1817, it appears that

he had entered into some communication with
the government, as he mentions having ob-
tained a pass from the Lord Justice-clerk in
1747, which was a sufficient protection to him
from the military.

On James Eoy's arrival in France, he seems
to have been in very poor circumstances, as he
addressed a letter to Mr Edgar, secretary to
the Chevalier de St George, dated Boulogne-
sur-Mer, May 22, 1753, craving assistance " for
the support of a man who has always shown
the strongest attachment to his majesty's per-
son and cause." To relieve his necessities,
James ordered his banker at Paris to pay Mac-
gregor 300 livres. James Eoy, availing him-
self of a permission he had received to return
to Britain, made a journey to London, and had
an interview, according to his own statement,
with Lord Holderness, secretary of state. The
latter and the under secretary offered him, he
says, a situation in the government service,
which he rejected, as he avers his acceptance
of it would have been a disgrace to his birth,
and would have rendered him a scourge to his
country. On this he was ordered instantly to
quit England. On his return to France, an
information was lodged against him by Mac-
donnell of Lochgarry, before the high bailie of
Dunkirk, accusing him of being a spy. In
consequence, he was obliged to quit that town
and proceed to Paris, with only thirteen livres
in his pocket. In his last letter to his acknow-
ledged chief, Macgregor of Bohaldie, dated
Paris, 25th September 1754, he describes
himself as being in a state of extreme destitu-
tion, and expresses his anxiety to obtain some
employment as a breaker and breeder of horses,
or as a hunter or fowler, " till better cast up."
In a postscript he asks his chief to lend him
his bagpipes, "to play some melancholy tunes."
He died about a week after writing this letter,
it is supposed of absolute starvation.

It was not till 1784 that the oppressive acts
against the Macgregors, which, however, for
several years had fallen into desuetude, were
rescinded by the British parliament, when they
were allowed to resume their own name, and
were restored to all the rights and privileges
of British citizens. A deed was immediately
entered into, subscribed by 826 persons of the
name of Macgregor, recognising John Murray
2 i

250

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

of Lanrick, representative of the family of
Glencarnoek, as their chief, Murray being the
name assumed, under the Prescriptive act, by
John Macgregor, who was chief in 1715. Al-
though he secretly favoured the rebellion of
that year, the latter took no active part in it;
but Eobert, the next chief, mortgaged his
estate, to support the cause of the Stuarts, and
he commanded that portion of the clan who
acknowledged him as their head in the rebel-
lion of 1745. Altogether, with the Ciar Mohr
branch, the Macgregors could then muster 700
fighting men. To induce Glencarnock's fol-
lowers to lay down their arms, the Duke of
Cumberland authorised Mr Gordon, at that
time minister of Alva, in Strathspey, to treat
with them, offering them the restoration of
their name, and other favours, but the chief
replied that they could not desert the cause.
They chose rather to risk all, and die with the
characters of honest men, than live in infamy,
and disgrace their posterity.

After the battle of Culloden, the chief was
long confined in Edinburgh castle, and on his
death in 1758, he was succeeded by his brother
Evan, who held a commission in the 41st regi-
ment, and served with distinction in Germany.
His son, John Murray of Lanrick, was the
chief acknowledged by the clan, on the restora-
tion of their rights in 1784. He was a general
in the East India Company's service, and
auditor-general in Bengal. Created a baronet
of Great Britain 23d July 1795, he resumed
in 1822 the original surname of the family,
Macgregor, by royal license. He died the
same year. The chiefship, however, was dis-
puted by the Glengyle family, to which Eob
Eoy belonged.

Sir John Murray Macgregor's only son, Sir
Evan John Macgregor, second baronet, was
born in January 1785. He was a major-general
in the army, K.C.B., and G.C.H., and governor-
general of the Windward Isles. He died at
his seat of government, 14th June 1841. By
his wife, Lady Elizabeth Murray, daughter of
John, fourth Duke of Athole, he had five sons
and four daughters.

His eldest son, Sir John Athole Bannatyne
Macgregor, third baronet, born 20th January
1810, was lieutenant-governor of the Virgin
Islands, and died at Tortola, his seat of govern-

ment, 11th May 1851. He had four sons and
two daughters. The eldest son, Sir Malcolm
Murray Macgregor, fourth baronet, was born
29th August 1834, and styled of Macgregor,
county Perth.

GRANT.

Badge — Pine (or, according to some, Cranberry
Heath).

With regard to the clan Grant, Mr Skene
says, — " Nothing certain is known regarding
the origin of the Grants. They have been
said to be of Danish, English, Erench, Norman,
and of Gaelic extraction; but each of these
suppositions depends for support upon con-
jecture alone, and amidst so many conflicting
opinions it is difficult to fix upon the most
probable. It is maintained by the supporters
of their Gaelic origin, that they are a branch
of the Macgregors, and in this opinion they
are certainly borne out by the ancient and
unvarying tradition of the country; for their
Norman origin, I have upon examination en-
tirely failed in discovering any further reason
than that their name may be derived from the
French, grand or great, and that they occa-
sionally use the Norman form of de Grant.
The latter reason, however, is not of any force,
for it is impossible to trace an instance of their
using the form de Grant until the 15th cen-
tury; on the contrary, the form is invariably
Grant or le Grant, and on the very first ap-
pearance of the family it is ' dictus Grant.'
It is certainly not a territorial name, for there
was no ancient property of that name, and the
peculiar form under which it invariably appears
in the earlier generations, proves that the name

THE GRAFTS.

251

is derived from a personal epithet. It so
happens, however, that there was no epithet
so common among the Gael as that of Grant,
as a perusal of the Irish annals will evince;
and at the same time Ragman's Boll shows
that the Highland epithets always appear
among the Xornian signatures with the Xor-
nian 'le' prefixed to them. The clan them-
selves unanimously assert their descent from
Gregor Mor Maegregor, who lived in the 12th
century; and this is supported by their using
to this day the same badge of distinction. So
strong is this belief in both the clans of Grant
and Maegregor, that in the early part of the
last century a meeting of the two was held in
the Blair of Athole, to consider the policy of
re-uniting them. Upon this point all agreed,
and also that the common surname should be
Macgregor, if the reversal of the attainder of
that name could be got from government. If
that could not be obtained it was agreed that
either MaeAlpine or Grant should be substi-
tuted. This assembly of the clan Alpine lasted
for fourteen days, and was only rendered abor-
tive by disputes as to the chieftainship of the
combined clan. Here then is as strong an
attestation of a tradition as it is possible to
conceive, and when to this is added the utter
absence of the name in the old Xorrnan rolls,
the only trustworthy mark of a Xorman
descent, we are warranted in placing the Grants
among the Siol Alpine."

With Mr Smibert we are inclined to think
that, come the clan designation whence it
may, the great bod}' of the Grants were Gael
of the stock of Alpine, which, as he truly says,
is after all the main point to be considered.1

The first of the name on record in Scotland
is Gregory de Grant, who, in the reign of
Alexander II. (1214 to 1249), was sheriff of

1 A IIS., pan of it evidently of ancient date, a copy
of which was kindly lent to the editor by John Grant
of Kilgraston, Esq., boldly sets out by declaring
that the great progenitor of the Grants was the Scan-
dinavian god Wodiu, who "came out of Asia about
the year 600" a.d. "While a thread of genealogical
truth seems to run through this SIS., little reliance
can be placed on the accuracy of its statements. It
pushes dates, till about the 16th century, back more
than 200 veal's, and contains mauy stories which are
evidently traditionary or wholly fabulous. The latter
part of it, however, written about the end of last
century, may undoubtedly be relied upon as the work
of a contemporary.

the shire of Inverness, which then, and till
1583, comprehended Ross, Sutherland, and
Caithness, besides what is now Inverness-shire.
By Ids marriage with Mary, daughter of Sir
John Bisset of Lovat, he became possessed of
the lands of Stratherrick, at that period a part
of the province of Moray, and had two sons,
namely, Sir Lawrence, his heir, and Robert,
who appears to have succeeded his father as
sheriff of Inverness.

The elder son, Sir Lawienee de Grant, with
his brother Robert, witnessed an agreement,
dated 9th Sept. 1258, between Archibald, bishop
of Moray, and John Bisset of Lovat; Sir
Lawrence is particularly mentioned as the friend
and kinsman of the latter. Chalmers2 states
that he married Bigla, the heiress of Comyn
of Glenchernach, and obtained his father-in-
law's estates in Strathspey, and a connection
with the most potent family in Scotland.
Douglas, however, in his Baronage,' says that
she was the wife of his elder son, John. He
had two sons, Sir John and Rudolph They
supported the interest of Bruce against Baliol,
and were taken prisoners in 1296, at the battle
of Dunbar. After Baliol's surrender of his
crown and kingdom to Edward, the English
monarch, with his victorious army, marched
north as far as Elgin. On his return to Ber-
wick he received the submission of many of
the Scottish barons, whose names were written
upon four large rolls cf parchment, so fre-
quently referred to as the Ragman RolL Most
of them were dismissed on their swearing alle-
giance to him, among whom was Rudolph de
Grant, but his brother, John de Grant, was
carried to London. He was released the fol-
lowing year, on condition of serving King
Edward in France, John Comyn of Badenoch
being his surety on the occasion. Robert de
Grant, who also swore fealty to Edward L in
1296, is supposed to have been his uncle.

At the accession of Robert the Bruce in
1306, the Grants do not seem to have been
very numerous in Scotland; but as the people
of Strathspey, which from that period was
known as " the country of the Grants," came
to form a clan, with their name, they soon
acquired the position and power of Highland
chiefs.

: Caledonia, vol. i. p. 596. = P. 321.

252

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

Sir John had three sons — Sir John, who
succeeded him ; Sir Allan, progenitor of the
clan Allan, a tribe of the Grants, of •whom the
Grants of Auehemick are the head ; and
Thomas, ancestor of some families of the name.
Sir John's grandson, John de Grant, had a
son; and a daughter, Agnes, married to Sir
Richard Comyn, ancestor of the Cummings of
Altyre. The son, Sir Robert de Grant, in
1385, when the king of France, then at "war
with Richard II., remitted to Scotland a sub-
sidy of 40,000 French crowns, to induce the
Scots to invade England, was one of the prin-
cipal barons, about twenty in all, among whom
the money was divided. He died in the suc-
ceeding reign.

At this point there is some confusion in the
pedigree of the Grants. The family papers
state that the male line was continued by the
son of Sir Robert, named Malcolm, who soon
after his father's death began to make a figure
as chief of the clan. On the other hand, some
writers maintain that Sir Robert had no son,
but a daughter, Maud or Matilda, heiress of
the estate, and lineal representative of the
family of Grant, who about the year 1400
married Andrew Stewart, son of Sir John
Stewart, commonly called the Black Stewart,
sheriff of Bute, and son of King Robert II.,
and that this Andrew sunk the royal name,
and assumed instead the name and arms of
Grant. This marriage, however, though sup-
ported by the tradition of the country, is not
acknowledged by the family or the clan, and
the very existence of such an heiress is denied.

Malcolm de Grant, above mentioned, had a
son, Duncan de Grant, the first designed of
Freuchie, the family title for several genera-
tions. By his wife, Muriel, a daughter of
Mackintosh of Mackintosh, captain of the clan
Chattan, he had, with a daughter, two sons,
John and Patrick. The latter, by his elder
son, John, was ancestor of the Grants of Bal-
lkidalloch, county of Elgin, of whom after7
wards, and of those of Tomnavoulen, Tulloch,
&c. ; and by his younger son, Patrick, of the
Grants of Dunlugas in Banffshire.

Duncan's elder son, John Grant of Freuchie,
by his wife, Margaret, daughter of Sir James
Ogilvie of Deskford, ancestor of the Earls of
Findlater, had, with a daughter, married to her

cousin, Hector, son of the chief of Mackintosh,
three sons — John, his heir; Peter or Patrick,
said to be the ancestor of the tribe of Phadrig,
or house of Tullochgorum ; and Duncan, pro-
genitor of the tribe called clan Donachie, or
house of Gartenbeg. By the daughter of Baron
Stewart of Kincardine, he had another son,
also named John, ancestor of the Grants of
Glenmoriston.

His eldest son, John, the tenth laird, called,
from his poetical talents, the Bard, succeeded
in 1508. He obtained four charters under the
great seal, all dated 3d December 1509, of
various lands, among which were Urquhart
and Glenmoriston in Inverness-shire. He had
three sons; John, the second son, was ancestor
of the Grants of Shogglie, and of those of
Corrimony in Urquhart.

The younger son, Patrick, was the progenitor
of the Grants of Bonhard in Perthshire. John
the Bard died in 1525.

His eldest son, James Grant of Freuchie,
called, from his daring character, Shemas nan
Creach, or James the Bold, was much em-
ployed, during the reign of King James V., in
quelling insurrections in the northern counties.
His lands in Urquhart were, in November
1513, plundered and laid waste by the ad-
herents of the Lord of the Isles, and again in
1544 by the Clanranald, when his castle of
Urquhart was taken possession of. This chief
of the Grants was in such high favour with
King James V. that he obtained from that
monarch a charter, dated 1535, exempting
him from the jurisdiction of all the courts of
judicature, except the court of session, then
newly instituted. He died in 1553. He had,
with two daughters, two sons, John and Archi-
bald ; the latter the ancestor of the Grants of
Cullen, Monymusk, &c.

His eldest son, John, usually called Evan
Baold, or the Gentle, was a strenuous promoter
of the Reformation, and was a member of that
parliament which, in 1560, abolished Popery
as the established religion in Scotland. He
died in 1585, having been twice married —
first, to Margaret Stewart, daughter of the
Earl of Athole, by whom he had, with two
daughters, two sons, Duncan and Patrick, the
latter ancestor of the Grants of Rothiemurchus ;
and, secondly, to a daughter of Barclay of

THE GEANTS.

253

Towie, by "whom lie had an only son, Archi-
bald, ancestor of the Grants of Bellintomb,
represented by the Grants of Monymusk.

Duncan, the elder son, predeceased his father
in 1581, leaving four sons — John; Patrick,
ancestor of the Grants of Easter Elchies, of
which family was Patrick Grant, Lord Elchies,
a lord of session ; Eobert, progenitor of the
Grants of Lurg; and James, of Ardnellie, an-
cestor of those of Moyness.

John, the eldest son, succeeded his grand-
father in 1585, and was much employed in
public affairs. A large body of his clan, at
the battle of Glenlivet, was commanded by
John Grant of Gartenbeg, to whose treachery,
in having, in terms of a concerted plan, re-
treated with his men as soon as the action
began, as well as to that of Campbell of Loch-
nell, Argyll owed his defeat in that engage-
ment. This laird of Grant greatly extended
and improved his paternal estates, and is
said to have been offered by James VI., in
1610, a patent of honour, which he declined.
From the Shaws he purchased the lands of
Bothiemurehus, which he exchanged with his
uncle Patrick for the lands of Muehrach. On
his marriage with Lilias Murray, daughter of
John, Earl of Athole, the nuptials were
honoured with the presence of King James VI.
and his queen. Besides a son and daughter
by his wife, he had a natural son, Duncan,
progenitor of the Grants of Cluny. He died
in 1622.

His son, Sir John, by his extravagance and
attendance at court, greatly reduced his estates,
and when he was knighted he got the name of
" Sir John Sell-the-land." He had eight sons
and three daughters, and dying at Edinburgh
in April 1637, was buried at the abbey church
of Holyroodhouse.

His elder son, James, joined the Covenanters
on the north of the Spey in 1638, and on 19th
July 1644, was, by the Estates, appointed one
of the committee for trying the malignants in
the north. After the battle of Inverlochy,
however, in the following year, he joined the
standard of the Marquis of Montrose, then in
arms for the king, and ever after remained
faithful to the royal cause. In 1663, he went
to Edinburgh, to see justice done to his kins-
man, Allan Grant of Tulloch, in a criminal

prosecution for manslaughter, in which he was
successful ; but he died in that city soon after
his arrival there. A patent had been made
out creating him Earl of Strathspey, and Lord
Grant of Freuchie and Urquhart, but in con-
sequence of his death it did not pass the seals.
The patent itself is said to be preserved in the
family archives. He had two sons, Ludovick
and Patrick, the latter ancestor of the family
of Wester Elchies in Speyside.

Ludovick, the eldest son, being a minor, was
placed under the guardianship of his uncle,
Colonel Patrick Grant, who faithfully dis-
charged his trust, and so was enabled to re-
move some of the burdens on the encumbered
family estates. Ludovick Grant of Grant and
Freuchie took for his wife Janet, only child of
Alexander Brodie of Lethen. By the favour
of his father-in-law, the laird of Grant was
enabled in 1685, to purchase the barony of
Pluscardine, which was always to descend to
the second son. By King William he was ap-
pointed colonel of a regiment of foot, and
sheriff of Inverness. In 1700 he raised a
regiment of his own clan, being the only com-
moner that did so, and kept his regiment in
pay a whole year at his own expense. In
compensation, three of his sons got commis-
sions in the army, and his lands were erected
into a barony. He died at Edinburgh in 1718,
in his 66th year, and, like his father and
grandfather, was buried in Holyrood abbey.

Alexander, his eldest son, after studying the
civil law on the continent, entered the army,
and soon obtained the command of a regiment
of foot, with the rank of brigadier. When the
rebellion broke out, being with his regiment
in the south, he wrote to his brother, Captain
George Grant, to raise the clan for the service
of government, which he did, and a portion of
them assisted at the reduction of Inverness.
As justiciary of the counties of Inverness,
Moray, and Banff, he was successful in sup-
pressing the bands of outlaws and robbers
which infested these counties in that unsettled
time. He succeeded his father in 1718, but
died at Leith the following year, aged 40.
Though twice married, he had no children.

His brother, Sir James Grant of Pluscardine,
was the next laird. In 1702, in his father's
lifetime, he married Anne, only daughter of

254

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

Sir Humphrey Colquhoun of Luss, Baronet.
By the marriage contract it was specially pro-
vided that he should assume the surname
and arms of Colquhoun, and if he should at
any time succeed to the estate of Grant, his
second son should, with the name of Colquhoun,
become proprietor of Luss. In 1704, Sir
Humphrey obtained a new patent in favour of
his son-in-law, James Grant, who on his death,
in 1715, became in consequence Sir James
Grant Colquhoun of Luss, Baronet. On suc-
ceeding, however, to the estate of Grant four
years after, he dropped the name of Colquhoun,
retaining the baronetcy, and the estate of Luss
went to his second surviving son. He had five
daughters, and as many sons, viz. Humphrey,
who predeceased him in 1732; Ludovick ;
James, a major in the army, who succeeded to
the estate and baronetcy of Luss, and took the
name of Colquhoun ; Erancis, who died a i

general in the army; and Charles, a captain
in the Eoyal Navy.

The second son, Ludovick, was admitted
advocate in 1728; but on the death of his
brother he relinquished his practice at the bar,
and his father devolving on him the manage-
ment of the estate, he represented him there-
after as chief of the clan. He was twice mar-
ried— first, to a daughter of Sir Eobert Dal-
rymple of North Berwick, by whom he had a
daughter, who died young ; secondly, to Lady
Margaret Ogilvie, eldest daughter of James
Earl of Findlater and Seafield, in virtue of
which marriage his grandson succeeded to the
earldom of Seafield. By his second wife Sir
Ludovick had one son, James, and eleven
daughters, six of whom survived him. Fenuel,
the third of these, was the wife of Henry Mac-
kenzie, Esq. , author of the Man of Feeling. Sir
LudovickdiedatCastleGrant,18thMarchl773.

Castle Grant. From a photograph.

His only son, Sir James Grant of Grant,
Baronet, born in 1738, was distinguished for
his patriotism and public spirit. On the de-
claration of war by France in 1793, he was
among the first to raise a regiment of fencibles,
called the Grant or Strathspey fencibles, of
which he was appointed colonel. After a

lingering illness, he died at Castle Grant on
ISthFebruary 1811. He had married, in 1763,
Jean, only child of Alexander Duff, Esq. of
Hatton, Aberdeenshire, and had by her three
sons and three daughters. Sir Lewis Alex-
ander Grant, the eldest son, in 1811 succeeded
to the estates and earldom of Seafield, on the

THE GRANTS.

death of his cousin, James Earl of Findlater
and Seafield, and his brother, Francis William,
became, in 1840, sixth earl. The younger
children obtained in 1822 the rank and pre-
cedency of an earl's junior issue.

The Grants of Ballindalloch, in the parish
of Inveravon, Banffshire — commonly called the
Craig-Achrochcan Grants — as already stated,
descend from Patrick, twin brother of John,
ninth laird of Freuchie. Patrick's grandson,
John Grant, was killed by his kinsman, John
Eoy Grant of Carron, as afterwards mentioned,
and his son, also John Grant, was father of
another Patrick, whose son, John Eoy Grant,
by his extravagant living and unhappy dif-
ferences with his lady, a daughter of Leslie of
Balquhain, entirely ruined his estate, and was
obliged to consent to placing it under the
management and trust of three of his kinsmen,
Brigadier Grant, Captain Grant of Elchies, and
Walter Grant of Arndilly, which gave occasion
to W. Elchies' verses of " What meant the
man 1 "

General James Grant of Ballindalloch suc-
ceeded to the estate on the death of his nephew,
Major William Grant, in 1770. He died at
Ballindalloch, on 13th April 1806, at the age
of 8G. Having no children, he was succeeded
by his maternal grand-nephew, George Mac-
pherson, Esq. of Invereshie, who assumed in
consequence the additional name of Grant, and
was created a baronet in 1838.

The Grants of Glenmoriston, in Inverness-
shire, are sprung from John More Grant,
natural son of John Grant, ninth laird of
Freuchie. His son, John Boy Grant, acquired
the lands of Carron from the Marquis of
Huntly. In a dispute about the marches of
their respective properties, he killed his kins-
nlan, John Grant of Ballindalloch, in 1588, an
event tvhich led to a lasting feud between the
families, of which, in the first part of the work
we have given a detailed account. John Eoy
Grant had four sons — Patrick, who succeeded
him in Carron ; Eobert of Nether Glen of
Eothes; James an Tuim, or James of the hill;
and Thomas.

The Glenmoriston branch of the Grants
adhered faithfully to the Stuarts. Patrick
Grant of Glenmoriston appeared in arms in
Viscount Dundee's army at Killiecrankie. He

was also at the skirmish at Cromdale against
the government soon after, and at the battle of
Sheriffmuir in 1715. His estate was, in conse-
quence, forfeited, but through the interposition
of the chief of the Grants, was bought back from
the barons of the Exchequer. The laird of Glen-
moriston in 1745 also took arms for the Pre-
tender ; but means were found to preserve the
estate to the family. The families proceeding
from this branch, besides that of Canon, which
estate is near Elchies, on the river Spey, are
those of Lynachoarn, Aviemorb, Croskie, &c.

The favourite song of " Eoy's Wife of Aldi-
valloch" (the only one she was ever known
to compose), was written by a Mrs Grant of
Carron, whose maiden name was Grant, born,
near Aberlour, about 1 745. Mr Grant of
Carron, whose wife she became about 1763,
was her cousin. After his death she married,
a second time, an Irish physician practising at
Bath, of the name of Murray, and died in that
city in 1814.

The Grants of Dalvey, who possess a
baronetcy, are descended from Duncan, second
son of John the Bard, tenth laird of Grant.

The Grants of Monymusk, who also possess
a baronetcy (date of creation, December 7,
1705), are descended from Archibald Grant of
Ballintomb, an estate conferred on him by
charter, dated 8th March 1580. He was the
younger son of John Grant of Freuchie, called
Evan Baold, or the Gentle, by his second wife,
Isobel Barclay. With three daughters, Archi-
bald Grant had two sons. The younger son,
James, was designed of Tombreak. Duncan
of Ballintomb, the elder, had three sons —
Archibald, his heir ; Alexander, of Allachie ;
and William, of Arndillie. The eldest son,
Archibald, had, with two daughters, two sons,
the elder of whom, Archibald Grant, Esq. of
Bellinton, had a son, Sir Francis, a lord of
session, under the title of Lord Cullen, the
first baronet of this family.

The Grants of Kilgraston, in Perthshire,
are lineally descended, through the line of the
Grants of Glenlochy, from the ninth laird of
Grant. Peter Grant, the last of the lairds of
Glenlochy, which estate he sold, had two sons,
John and Francis. The elder son, John, chief
justice of Jamaica from 1783 to 1790, pur-
chased the estates of Kilgraston and Pitcaith-

£56

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

ley, lying contiguous to each other in Strath-
earn; and, dying in 17y3, without issue, he
was succeeded by his brother, Erancis. This
gentleman married Anne, eldest daughter of
Eobert Oliphant, Esq. of Eossie, postmaster-
general of Scotland, and had five sons and two
daughters. He died in 1819, and was suc-
ceeded by his son, John Grant, the present
representative of the Eilgraston family. He
married — first, 1820, Margaret, second daughter
of the late Lord Gray; second, 1828, Lucy,
third daughter of Thomas, late Earl of Elgin.
Heir, his son, Charles Thomas Constantine,
born, 1831, and married, 1856, Matilda, fifth
daughter of William Hay, Esq. of Dunse
Castle.

The badge of the clan Grant was the pine
or cranberry heath, and their slogan or gather-
ing cry, " Stand fast, Craigellachie ! " the bold
projecting rock of that name (" the rock of
alarm") in the united parishes of Duthil and
Eothiemurchus, being their hill of rendezvous.
The Grants had a long-standing feud with the
Gordons, and even among the different branches
of themselves there were faction fights, as be-
tween the Ballindalloch and Carron Grants.
The clan, with few exceptions, was noted for
its loyalty, being generally, and the family of
the chief invariably, found on the side of
government In Strathspey the name pre-
vailed almost to the exclusion of every other,
and to this day Grant is the predominant sur-
name in the district, as alluded to by Sir
Alexander Boswell, Baronet, in his lively
verses —

" Come the Grants of Tullochgorum,
Wi' their pipers gaun before 'em,
Proud the mothers are that bore 'em .

Next the Grants of Rothiemurehus,
Every man his sword and durk has,
Every man as proud 's a Turk is."

In 1715, the force of the clan was 800, and
in 1745, 850.

Maokinnon.
The clan Fingon or the MacKinnons,
another clan belonging to the Siol Alpine, are
said to have sprung from Eingon, brother of
Ani-ias or Andrew, an ancestor of the Mac-
gregors. This Eingon or Einguin is mentioned
in the MS. of 1450 as the founder of the clan

Einguin, that is, the Mackinnons. Of the
history of this clan, Mr Skene says, little is
known. At an early period they became fol-
lowers of the Lords of the Isles, and they
appear to have been engaged in few transac-
tions " by which their name is separately
brought forward."

MACKINNON.

Badge — Pine.

Their seat was in the islands of Skye and
Mull, and the first authentic notice of them is
to be found in an indenture (printed in the
Appendix to the second edition of Hailes'
Annals of Scotland) between the Lords of the
Isles and the Lord of Lorn. The latter
stipulates, in surrendering to the Lord of the
Isles the island of Mull and other lands, that
the keeping of the castle of Kerneburg in the
Treshinish Isles, is not to be given to any of
the race of clan Einnon. " This," says Mr
Gregory, " proves that the Mackinnons were
then connected with Mull. They originally
possessed the district of Griban in that island,
but exchanged it for the district of Mishnish,
being that part of Mull immediately to the
north and west of Tobermory. They, like-
wise, possessed the lands of Strathairdle in
Skye, from which the chiefs usually took
their style. Lauchlan Macfingon, or Mac-
kinnon, chief of his clan, witnessed a charter
by Donald, Lord of the Isles, in 1409. The
name of the chief in 1493 is uncertain; but
Neil Mackinnon of Mishnish was at the head
of the tribe in 1515."1 Two years afterwards

1 Highlands caul Isles of Scotlcaul, p. 80.

THE MACKINNONS.

257

tliis Neil and several others, described as " km,
men, servants, and part-takers " of Lauchlan
Maclean of Dowart, were included in a re-
mission which that chief obtained for their
share in the rebellion of Sir Donald Mac-
donald of Lochalsh. In 1545 the chief's name
was Ewen. He was one of the barons and council
of the Isles who, in that year, swore allegiance
to the king of England at Knockfergus in
Ireland.

" In consequence," says Mr Skene, " of
their connection with the Macdonalds, the
Mackinnons have no history independent of
that clan ; and the internal state of these
tribes during the government of the Lords of
the Isles is so obscure that little can be
learned regarding them, until the forfeiture of
the last of these lords. During their de-
pendence upon the Macdonalds there is but
one event of any importance in which we find
the Mackinnons taking a share, for it would
appear that on the death of John of the Isles,
in the fourteenth century, Mackinnon, with
what object it is impossible now to ascertain,
stirred up his second son, John Mor, to rebel
against his eldest brother, apparently with a
view to the chiefship, and his faction was
joined by the Macleans and the Macleods.
But Donald, his elder brother, was supported
by so great a proportion of the tribe, that he
drove John Mor and his party out of the
Isles, and pursued him to Gallowaj', and from
thence to Ireland. The rebellion being thus
put down, John Mor threw himself upon his
brother's mercy, and received his pardon, but
Mackinnon was taken and hanged, as having
been the instigator of the disturbance,"2
This appears to have taken place after 1380,
as John, Lord of the Isles, died that year. In
the disturbances in the Isles, during the 16th
century, Sir Lauchlan Mackinnon bore an
active part.

As a proof of the common descent of the
Mackinnons, the Macgregors and the Macnabs,
although their territories were far distant
from each other, two bonds of friendship
exist, which are curious specimens of the
manners of the times. The one dated 12th
July 1606, was entered into between Lauchlan

= Skene's Highlanders, vol. ii. p. 259.

Mackinnon of Strathairdle and Finlay Macnab
of Bowaine, who, as its tenor runs, happened
" to forgether togedder, with certain of the
said Finlay's friends, in their rooms, in the
laird of Glenurchy's country, and the said
Lauchlan and Finlay, being come of ane
house, and being of one surname and lineage,
notwithstanding the said Lauchlan and Finlay
this long time bygane oversaw their awn
dueties, till udderis, in respect of the long
distance betwixt their dwelling places," agreed,
with the consent of their kin and friends, to
give all assistance and service to each other.
And are " content to subscribe to the same,
with their hands led to the pen." Mackinnon's
signature is characteristic. It is " Lauchland,
mise (L e. myself) Mac Fingon." The other
bond of manrent, dated at Kilmorie in 1671.
was between Lauchlan Mackinnon of Strath-
airdle and James Macgregor of Macgregor, and
it is therein stated that " for the special love
and amitie between these persons, and con-
descending that they are descended lawfully
fra twa hreethren of auld descent, wherefore
and for certain onerous causes moving, we
witt ye we to be bound and obleisit, likeas by
the tenor hereof we faithfully bind and obleise
us and our successors, our kin, friends, and
followers, faithfully to serve ane anither in all
causes with our men and servants, against all
who live or die."

During the civil wars the Mackinnons
joined the standard of the Marquis of Mon-
trose, and formed part of his force at the
battle of Inverlochy, Feb. 2, 1645. In 1650,
Lauchlan Mackinnon, the chief, raised a
regiment of his clan for the service of Charles
II., and, at the battle of "Worcester, in 1646,
he was made a knight banneret. His son,
Daniel Mohr, had two sons, John, whose great-
grandson died in India, unmarried, in 1808,
and Daniel, who emigrated to Antigua, and
died in 1720. The latter's eldest son and heir,
William Mackinnon of Antigua, an eminent
member of the legislature of that island, died
at Bath, in 1767. The son of the latter,
William Mackinnon of Antigua and Binfield,
Berkshire, died in 1809. The youngest of
his four sons, Henry, major-general Mackinnon,
a distinguished officer, was killed by the
explosion of a magazine, while leading on the

258

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

main storming party, at Ciudad Eodrigo, Feb.
29,1812. The eldest son, William MacMnnon,
died young, leaving, with two daughters, two
sons, William Alexander Mackinnon, who
succeeded his grandfather, and Daniel, colonel
of the Coldstream Guards.

William Alexander Mackinnon of Mac-
kinnon, M.P., the chief magistrate and deputy
lieutenant for the counties of Middlesex,
Hampshire, and Essex, horn in 1789, suc-
ceeded in 1809. He married Emma, daughter
of Joseph Palmer, Esq. of Bush House,
county Dublin, with issue, three sons and
three daughters. The eldest son, William
Alexander, also M.P., born in 1813, married
daughter of F. Willes, Esq.

Lauchlan Mackinnon of Letterfearn also
claims to be the heir-male of the family.
Although there are many gentlemen of the
name still resident in Skye, there is no Mac-
kinnon proprietor of lands now either in that
island or in Mull.

The Mackinnons engaged in both rebellions
in favour of the Stuarts. In 1715, 150 of
them fought with the Macdonalds of Sleat at
the battle of Sheriffmuir, for which the chief
was forfeited, but received a pardon, 4th
January 1727. In 1745, Mackinnon, though
then old and infirm, joined Prince Charles
with a battalion of his clan. President Forbes
estimated their effective force at that period at
200 men. After the battle of Culloden, the
prince, in his wanderings, took refuge in the
country of the Mackinnons, when travelling
in disguise through Skye, and was concealed by
the chief in a cave, to which Lady Mackinnon
brought him a refreshment of cold meat and
wine.

Macstab.

The clan Anaba or Macnab has been said
by some to have been a branch of the Mac-
donalds, but we have given above a bond • of
manrent which shows that they were allied to
the Mackinnons and the Macgregors. " From
their comparatively central position in the
Highlands," says Smibert, " as well as other
circumstances, it seems much more likely that
they were of the primitive Albionic race, a
shoot of the Siol Alpine." The chief has his
residence at Kinnell, on the banks of the
Dochart, and the family possessions, which

originally were considerable, lay mainly on the
western shores of Loch Tay. The founder of
the Macnabs, like the founder of the Mac-
phersons, is said to have belonged to the
clerical profession, the name Mac-anab being
said to mean in Gaelic, the son of the abbot.
He is said to have been abbot of Glendochart.

MACNAB.

Badge — Common Heath. '

The Macnabs were a considerable clan before
the reign of Alexander III. When Robert
the Bruce commenced his struggle for the
crown, the baron of Macnab, with his clan,
joined the Macdougalls of Lorn, and fought
against Bruce at the battle of Dalree. After-
wards, when the cause of Bruce prevailed,
the lands of the Macnabs were ravaged by his
victorious troops, their houses burnt, and all
their family writs destroyed. Of all their
possessions only the barony of Bowain or
Bovain, in Glendochart, remained to them,
and of it, Gilbert Macnab of that ilk, from
whom the line is usually deduced, as the first
undoubted laird of Macnab, received from
David II., on being reconciled to that monarch,
a charter, under the great seal, to him and his.
heirs whomsoever, dated in 1336. He died in
the reign of Robert II.

His son, Finlay Macnab, styled of Bovain,
as well as " of that ilk," died in the reign of
James I. He is said to have been a famous
bard. According to tradition he composed
one of tne Gaelic poems which Macpherson
attributed to Ossian. He was the father of
Patrick Macnab of Bovain and of that ilk,
whose son was named Finlay Macnab, after

THE MACNABS.

259

nis grandfather. Indeed, Finlay appears to
have heen, at this time, a favourite name of
the chief, as the next three lairds -were so
designated. Upon his father's resignation,
he got a charter, under the great seal, in the
reign of James III., of the lands of Ardchyle,
and Wester Duinish, in the barony of Glen-
dochart and county of Perth, dated January
1, 1486. He had also a charter from James
IV., of the lands of Ewir and Leiragan, in the
same barony, dated January 9, 1502. He
died soon thereafter, leaving a son, Finlay
Macnab, fifth laird of Macnab, who is witness
in a charter, under the great seal, to Duncan
Campbell of Glenorchy, wherein he is designed
" Finlaus Macnab, domhivs de eodem," &c,
Sept. 18, 1511. He died about the close of
the reign of James V.

His son, Finlay Macnab of Bovain and of
that ilk, sixth chief from Gilbert, alienated or
mortgaged a great portion of his lands to
Campbell of Glenorchy, ancestor of the Mar-
quis of Breadalbane, as appears by a charter to
" Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, his heirs and
assignees whatever, according to the deed
granted to him by Finlay Macnab of Bovain,
24th November 1552, of all and sundry the
lands of Bovain and Ardchyle, &c, confirmed
by a charter under the great seal from Mary,
dated 27th June 1553." Glenorchy's right of
superiority the Macnabs always refused to
acknowledge.

His son, Finlay Macnab, the seventh laird,
who lived in the reign of James VI., was the
chief who entered into the bond of friendship
and manrent with his cousin, Lauchlan Mac-
kinnon of Strathairdle, 12th July 1606. This
chief carried on a deadly feud with the Neishes
or M'Hduys, a tribe which possessed the upper
parts of Strathearn, and inhabited an island in
the lower part of Loch Earn, called from them
Neish Island. Many battles were fought
between them, with various success. The
last was at Glenboultachan, about two miles
north of Loch Earn foot, in which the
Macnabs were victorious, and the Neishes
cut off almost to a man. A small remnant of
them, however, still lived in the island referred
to, the head of which was an old man, who
subsisted by plundering the people in the
neighbourhood. One Christmas, the chief of

the Macnabs had sent his servant to Crieff for
provisions, but, on his return, he was waylaid,
and robbed of all his purchases. He went
home, therefore, empty-handed, and told his
tale to the laird. Macnab had twelve sons,
all men of great strength, but one in particular
exceedingly athletic, who was called for a bye-
name, Iain mion Mae an Appa, or " Smooth
John Macnab." In the evening, these men
were gloomily meditating some signal revenge
on their old enemies, when their father entered,
and said in Gaelic, " The night is the night,
if the lads were but lads !" Each man instantly
started to his feet, and belted on his dirk, his
claymore, and his pistols. Led by their
brother John, they set out, taking a fishing-
boat on their shoulders from Loch Tay, carry-
ing it over the mountains and glens till they
reached Loch Earn, where they launched it,
and passed over to the island. All was silent
in the habitation of Neish. Having all the
boats at the island secured, they had gone to
sleep without fear of surprise. Smooth John,
with his foot dashed open the door of N"eish's
house ; and the party, rushing in, attacked the
unfortunate family, every one of whom was
put to the sword, with the exception of one
man and a boy, who concealed themselves
under a bed. Carrying off the heads of the
Neishes, and any plunder they could secure,
the youths presented themselves to their
father, while the piper struck up the pibroch
of victory.

The next laird, " Smooth John," the son of
this Finlay, made a distinguished figure in the
reign of Charles I., and suffered many hard-
ships on account of his attachment to the
royal cause. He was killed at the battle of
Worcester in 1651. During the common-
wealth, his castle of Eilan Rowan was burned,
his estates ravaged and sequestrated, and the
family papers again lost. Taking advantage
of the troubles of the times, his powerful
neighbour, Campbell of Glenorchy, in the
heart of whose possessions Macnab's lands
were situated, on the pretence that he had
sustained considerable losses from the clan
Macnab, got possession of the estates in
recompense thereof.

The chief of the Macnabs married a daughter
of Campbell of Glenlyon, and with one daughter,

260

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

had a son, Alexander Maenab, ninth, laird,
who was only four years old when his father
was killed on "Worcester hattle-field. His
mother and friends applied to General Monk
for some relief from the family estates for
herself and children. That general made a
favourable report on the application, but it
had no effect.

After the Restoration, application was made
to the Scottish estates, by Lady Maenab and
her son, for redress, and in 1661 they received
a considerable portion of their lands, which
the family enjoyed till the beginning of the
present century, when they were sold.

By his wife, Elizabeth, a sister of Sir
Alexander Menzies of Weem, Baronet, Alex-
ander Maenab of that ilk had a son and heir,
Robert Maenab, tenth laird, who married
Anne Campbell, sister of the Earl of Breadal-
bane. Of several children only two survived,
John, who succeeded his father, and Archibald.
The elder son, John, held a commission in the
Black Watch, and was taken prisoner at the
battle of Prestonpans, and, with several others,
confined in Doune Castle, under the charge of
Macgregor of Glengyle, where he remained
till after the battle of Culloden. The majority
of the clan took the side of the house of
Stuart, and were led by Allister Maenab of
Inshewan and Archibald Maenab of Acliarne.

John Maenab, the eleventh laird, married
the only sister of Francis Buchanan. Esq. of
Arnprior, and had a son, Francis, twelfth laird.

Francis, twelfth laird, died, unmarried, at
Callander, Perthshire, May 25, 1816, in his
82d year. One of the most eccentric men of
his time, many anecdotes are related of his
curious sayings and doings.

We give the following as a specimen, for
which we are indebted to Mr Smibert's excel-
lent work on the clans : —

" Maenab had an intense antipathy to ex-
cisemen, whom he looked on as a race of
intruders, commissioned to suck the blood of
his country : he never gave them anybetter name
than vermin. One day, early in the last war, he
was marching to Stirling at the head of a corps
of feneibles, of which he was commander.
In those days the Highlanders were notorious
for incurable smuggling propensities ; and an
excursion to the Lowlands, whatever might be

its cause or import, was an opportunity by
no means to be neglected. The Breadalbane
men had accordingly contrived to stow a
considerable quantity of the genuine ' peat
reek ' (whisky) into the baggage carts. All
went well with the party for some time. On
passing Alloa, however, the excisemen there
having got a hint as to what the carts con-
tained, hurried out by a shorter path to
intercept them. In the meantime, Maenab,
accompanied by a gillie, in the true feudal
style, was proceeding slowly at the head of
his men, not far in the rear of the baggage.
Soon after leaving Alloa, one of the party in
charge of the carts came running back and
informed their chief that they had all been
seized by a posse of excisemen. This intelli-
gence at once roused the blood of Maenab.
' Did the lousy villains dare to obstruct the
march of the Breadalbane Highlanders!' he
exclaimed, inspired with the wrath of a
thousand heroes ; and away he rushed to the
scene of contention. There, sure enough, he
found a party of excisemen in possession of
the carts. ' Who the devil are you V demanded
the angry chieftain. ' Gentlemen of the ex-
cise,' was the answer. ' Robbers ! thieves !
you mean ; how dare you lay hands on His
Majesty's stores 1 If you be gaugers, show
me your commissions.' Unfortunately for the
excisemen, they had not deemed it necessary
in their haste to bring such documents with
them. In vain they asserted their authority,
and declared they were well known in the
neighbourhood. ' Ay, just what I took ye
for; a parcel of highway robbers and scoundrels.
Come, my good fellows,' (addressing the
soldiers in charge of the baggage, and ex-
tending his voice with the lungs of a stentor,)
' prime ! — load ! — ' The excisemen did not
wait the completion of the sentence ; away
they fled at top speed towards Alloa, no doubt
glad they had not caused the waste of His
Majesty's ammunition. ' Now, my lads,' said
Maenab, ' proceed — your whisky's safe.'"

He was a man of gigantic height and strong
originality of character, and cherished many
of the manners and ideas of a Highland gentle-
man, having in particular a high notion of the
dignity of the chieftainship. He left numerous
illegitimate children.

CLAN DUFFLE MAOFIE.

2t>l

The only portion of the property of the
Macnabs remaining is the small islet of Innis-
Buie, formed by the parting of the water of the
Dochart just before it issues into Loch Tay,
in which is the most ancient burial place of
the family; and outside there are numerous
gravestones of other members of the clan.
The lands of the town of Callander chiefly
belong to a descendant of this laird, not in
marriage.

Archibald Macnab of Macnab, nephew of
Francis, succeeded as thirteenth chief. The
estates being considerably encumbered, he was
obliged to sell his property for behoof of his
creditors.

Many of the clan having emigrated to
Canada about the beginning of the nineteenth
century, and being very successful, 300 of
those remaining in Scotland were induced
about 1817 to try their fortunes in America,
and in 1821, the chief himself, with some
more of the clan, took their departure for
Canada. He returned in 1853, and died at
Lannion, Cotes du Nord, France, Aug. 12,
1860, aged 83. Subjoined is bis portrait,
from a daguerreotype, taken at Saratoga, United
States of America, in 1 848.

The last Laird of Macnab.
He left a widow, and one surviving daughter,
Sophia Frances.

The next Macnabs by descent entitled to
the chiefship are believed to be Sir Allan
Napier Macnab, Bart., Canada; Dr Bobert
Macnab, 5th Fusileers ; and Mr John Macnab,
Glenmavis, Bathgate.

The lairds of Macnab, previous to the reign
of Charles I., intermarried with the families of
Lord Gray of ELilfauns, Gleneagles, Tnchbraco,
Bobertson of Strowan, &c.

The chief cadets of the family were the
Macnabs of Dnndurn, Acharne, Newton,
Cowie, and Inchewen.

Clan or Duffie Macfie.

The clan Duffie (in Gaelic, clann Dhuhhie
means " the coloured tribe ") or Macphie
(generally spelt Macfie) appear to have been the
original inhabitants of the island of Colonsay,
which they held till the middle of the 1 7th
century, when tbey were dispossessed of it by
the Macdonalds. They were probably a branch
of the ancient Albionic race of Scotland, and
their genealogy given in the MS. of 1450,
according to Skene, evinces their connection
by descent with the Macgregors and Mae-
kinnons.

On the south side of the church of the
monastery of St Augustine in Colonsay, accord-
ing to Martin (writing in 1703), "lie the
tombs of Macduffie, and of the cadets of his
family ; there is a skip under sail, and a two-
handed sword engraven on the principal tomb-
stone, and this inscription : ' Hie jacet Mal-
columbus Macduffie de Collonsay ;' his coat of
arms and colour-staff is fixed in a stone, through
which a hole is made to hold it. About a
quarter of a mile on the south side of the
church there is a cairn, in which there is a
stone cross fixed, called Macduffie's cross ; for
when any of the heads of this famil}- were to
be interred, their corpses were laid on this
cross for some moments, in their way toward
the church.''

Donald Macduffie is witness to a charter by
John, Earl of Boss, and Lord of the Isles,
dated at the Earl's castle of Dingwall, 12th
April 1463.3 After the forfeiture of the Lord-
ship of the Isles in 1493, the clan Duffie fol-
lowed the Macdonalds of Isla. The name of

3 Register of the Great Seal, lib. vi. So. 17

262

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

the Maeduffie chief in 1531 was Murroch.
In 1609 Donald Macfie in Colonsay was one
of the twelve chiefs and gentlemen who met
the bishop of the Isles, the king's representa-
tive, at Iona, when, with their consent, the
nine celebrated " Statutes of Icolmkill" were
enacted. In 1 6 1 5, Malcolm Macfie of Colonsay
joined Sir James Macdonald of Isla, after his
escape from the castle of Edinburgh, and was
one of the principal leaders in his subsequent
rebellion. He and eighteen others were de-
livered up by Coll Macgillespick Macdonald,
the celebrated Colkitto, to the Earl of Argyll,
by whom he was brought before the privy
council. He appears afterwards to have been
slain by Colkitto, as by the Council Eecords
for 1623 we learn th/it the latter was accused,
with several of his followers, of being " art
and pairt guilty of the felonie and cruell
slaughter of umquhill Malcolm Macphie of
Collonsay."

" From this period," says Skene, " their
estate seems to have gone into the possession
of the Macdonalds, and afterwards of the
Macneills, by whom it is still held ; while the
clan gradually sunk until they were only to be
found, as at present, forming a small part of
the inhabitants of Colonsay."

A branch of the clan Duffle, after they had
lost their inheritance, followed ' Cameron of
Lochiel, and settled in Lochaber.

MACQUARRIE.

Badge — Pine.

The clan Quarrie or Macquaerie is another
clan held by Mr Skene to belong to the ancient

stock of Alpine, their possessions being the
small island of Ulva, and a portion of Mull.

The Gaelic MS. of 1450 deduces their
descent from Guarie or Godfrey, called by the
Highland Sennachies, Gor or Gorbred, said to
have been " a brother of Fingon, ancestor of
the Mackinnons, and Anrias or Andrew,
ancestor of the Macgregors." This is the
belief of Mr Skene, who adds, " The history
of the Macquarries resembles that of the Mac-
kinnons in many respects ; like them they
had migrated far from the head-quarters of
their race, they became dependent on the
Lords of the Isles, and followed them as if
they had become a branch of the clan."

Mr Smibert, however, thinks this origin
highly improbable, and is inclined to believe
that they constituted one branch of the Celto-
Irish immigrants. " Their mere name," he
says, " connects them strongly with Ireland — ■
the tribe of the Macquarries, Macquires, Mac-
guires (for the names are the same), being
very numerous at this day in that island, and
having indeed been so at all times." We do
not think he makes out a very strong case in
behalf of this origin.

According to a history of the family, by one
of its members, in 1249 Cormac Mohr, then
" chief of Ulva's Isle," joined Alexander II.,
with his followers and three galleys of sixteen
oars each, in his expedition against the western
islands, and after that monarch's death in the
Island of Kerrera, was attacked by Haco of
Norway, defeated and slain. His two sons,
Allan and Gregor, were compelled to take
refuge in Ireland, where the latter, surnamed
Garbh or the rough, is said to have founded
the powerful tribe of the MacGuires, the chief
of which at one time possessed the title of
Lord Inniskillen. Allan returned to Scotland,
and his descendant, Hector Macquarrie of
Ulva, chief in the time of Eobert the Bruce,
fought with his clan at Bannockburn.

The first chief of whom there is any notice
in the public records was John Macquarrie of
Ulva, who died in 1473.4 His son, Dunslaff,
was chief when the last Lord of the Isles was
forfeited twenty years afterwards. After that
event, the Macquarries, like the other vassal

4 Register of Great Seal, 31, No. 159.

THE MACQUAEPJES.

263

tribes of the Macdonalds, became independent.
In. war, however, they followed the banner
of their neighbour, Maclean of Dowart. With
the latter, DunslafF supported the claims of
Donald Dubh to the Lordship of the Isles, in
the beginning of the sixteenth century, and in
1504, " MacGorry of Ullowaa" was sum-
moned, with some other chiefs, before the
Estates of the kingdom, to answer for his
share in Donald Dubh's rebellion.

His son, John Macquarrie of Ulva, was one
of the thirteen chiefs who were denounced the
same year for carrying on a traitorous cor-
respondence with the king of England, with
the view of transferring their allegiance to
him.

Allan Macquarrie of Ulva was slain, with
most of his followers, at the battle of Inver-
keithing against the English parliamentary
troops, 20th July 1651, when the Scots army
was defeated, and a free passage opened to
Cromwell to the whole north of Scotland.

According to tradition one of the chiefs of
Ulva preserved his life and estate by the
exercise of a timely hospitality under the fol-
lowing circumstances : — Maclean of Dowart
had a natural son by a beautiful young woman
of his own clan, and the boy having been born
in a barn was named, from his birth-place,
Allan-a-Sop, or Allan of the straw. The girl
afterwards became the wife of Maclean of
Torloisk, residing in Mull, but though he
loved the mother he cared nothing for her boy,
and when the latter came to see her, he was
very unkind to him. One morning the lady
saw from her window her son approaching and
hastened to put a cake on the fire for his
breakfast. Her husband noticed this, and
snatching the cake hot from the girdle, thrust
it into his stepson's hands, forcibly clasping
them on the burning bread. The lad's hands
were severely burnt, and in consequence he
refrained from going again to Torloisk. As
he grew up Allan became a mariner, and joined
the Danish pirates who infested the western
isles. From his courage he soon got the com-
mand of one galley, and subsequently of a
flotilla, and made his name both feared and
famous. Of him it may be said that —

" Sir Ralph the Rover sailed away,
He scoured the seas for many a day,

And now, grown rich with plunder'd store,
He steers his way for Scotland's shore."

The thought of his mother brought him back
onee more to the island of Mull, and one
morning he anchored his galleys in front of
the house of Torloisk. His mother had been
long dead, but his stepfather hastened to the
shore, and welcomed him with apparent kind-
ness. The crafty old man had a feud with
Macquarrie of Ulva, and thought this a favour-
able opportunity to execute his vengeance on
that chief. With this object he suggested to
Allan that it was time he should settle on
land, and said that he could easily get pos-
session of the island of Ulva, by only putting
to death the laird, who was old and useless.
Allan agreed to the proposal, and, setting sail
next morning, appeared before Macquarrie's
house. The chief of Ulva was greatly alarmed
when he saw the pirate galleys, but he resolved
to receive their commander hospitably, in the
hope that good treatment would induce him to
go away, without plundering his house or
doing him any injury. He caused a splendid
feast to be prepared, and welcomed Allan to
Ulva with every appearance of sincerity.
After feasting together the whole day, in the
evening the pirate-chief, when about to retire
to his ships, thanked the chief for his enter-
tainment, remarking, at the same time, that it
had cost him dear. "How so?" said Mac-
quarrie, " when I bestowed this entertainment
upon you in free good will." " It is true,"
said Allan, who, notwithstanding his being a
pirate, seems to have been of a frank and
generous disposition, " but it has disarranged
all my plans, and quite altered the purpose for
which I came hither, which was to put you
to death, seize your castle and lands, and
settle myself here in your stead." Macquarrie
replied that he was sure such a suggestion was
not his own, but must have originated with
his stepfather, old Torloisk, who was his
personal enemy. He then reminded him that
he had made but an indifferent husband to
his mother, and was a cruel stepfather to
himself, adding, " Consider this matter better,
Allan, and you will see that the estate and
harbour of Torloisk lie as conveniently for you
as those of Ulva, and if you must make a
settlement by force, it is much better you

264

HTSTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

should do so at the expense of the old churl,
who never showed you kindness, than of a
friend like me who always loved and honoured
you."

Ailan-a-Sop, remembering his scorched
fingers, straightway sailed hack to Torloisk,
and meeting his stepfather, who came eagerly
expecting to hear of Macquarrie's death, thus
accosted him : " You hoary old villain, you
instigated me to murder a better man than
yourself. Have you forgotten how you
scorched my lingers twenty years ago with a
burning cake 1 The day has come when that
breakfast must be paid for." So saying, with
one stroke of his battle-axs he cut down his
stepfather, took possession of his castle and
property, and established there that branch of
the clan Maclean afterwards represented by Mr
Clephane Maclean.

Hector, brother of Allan Macquarrie of
ITlva, and second son of Donald the twelfth
chief of the Macquarries, by his wife, a daughter
of Lauchlan Oig Maclean, founder of the
Macleans of Torloisk, obtained from his father
the lands of Ormaig in Ulva, and was the first
of the Macquarries of Ormaig. This family
frequently intermarried with the Macleans,
both of Lochbuy and Dowart. Lauchlan,
Donald's third son, was ancestor of the Mac-
quarries of Laggan, and John, the fourth son,
of those of Ballighartan.

Lauchlan Macquarrie of Ulva, the sixteenth
chief in regular succession, was compelled to
dispose of his lands for behoof of his creditors,
and in 1778, at the age of 63, he entered the
army. He served in the American war, and
died in 1818, at the age of 103, without male
issue. He was the last chief of the Macquarries,
and was the proprietor of Ulva when Dr Samuel
Johnson and Mr Boswell visited that island in
1773.

A large portion of the ancient patrimonial
property was repurchased by General Mac-
quarrie, long governor of New South Wales,
and from whom Macquarrie county, Macquarrie
river, and Port Macquarrie in that colony,
Macquarrie's harbour, and Macquarrie's island
in the South Pacific, derive their name. He
was the eldest cadet of his family, and was
twice married, first, to Miss Baillie of Jervis-
wood, and secondly, to a daughter of Sir John

Campbell of Airds, by whom he had an only
son, Lauchlan, who died without issue.

.MacAulay.
The last clan claimed by Mr Skene as be-
longing to the Siol Alpine is the minor one oi
MacAulay, or clan Aula. Many formerly held
that the MacAulays derived their origin from
the ancient earls of Lennox, and that their
ancestor was Maurice, brother of Earl Mal-
douin and son of Aulay, whose name appears
in the Eagman Eoll as having sworn fealty to
Edward I. in 1296. According to Skene,
these Aulays were of the family of De Fasse-
lan, who afterwards succeeded to the earldom.
The MacAulays consider themselves a sept of
the clan Gregor, their chief being designed of
Ardincaple from his residence in Dumbarton-
shire. That property was in their possession
in the reign of Edward I. They early settled
in the Lennox, and their names often occur in
the Lennox chartulary, hence the very natural
supposition that they sprung from that dis-
tinguished house. In a bond of manrent, or
deed of clanship, entered into between Mac-
Gregor of Glenstrae and MacAulay of Ardin-
caple, of date 27th May 1591, the latter
acknowledges his being a cadet of the former,
and agrees to pay him the " calp," that is, a
tribute of cattle given in acknowledgment ot
superiority. In 1694, in a similar bond given
to Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck, they
again declared themselves MacGregors, ' ' Their
connection with the MacGregors," says Mr
Skene, "led them to take some part in the
feuds that unfortunate race were at all times
engaged in, but the protection of the Earls of
Lennox seems to have relieved the MacAulays
from the consequences which fell so heavily on
the MacGregors."

Mr Joseph Irving, in his History of Dum-
bartonsJiire (p. 418), states that the surname
of the family was originally Ardincaple of that
ilk, and' seems inclined to believe in their
descent from the Earl of Lennox. He says,
"A Celtic derivation may be claimed for
this family, founded on the agreement entered
into between the chief of the clan Gregor
and Ardincaple in 1591, where they describe
themselves as originally descended from tho
same stock, ' M'Alpins of aulcl,' but the

THE MACAULAYS.

2G5

theory most in harmony with the annals of
the house (of Ardincaple of that ilk) fixes
their descent from a younger son of the second
Alwyn, Earl of Lennox." Alexander de Ard-
incaple who lived in the reign of James V.,
son of Aulay de Ardincaple, was the first to
assume the name of MacAulay, as stated in the
Historical and Critical Semarks on the Rag-
man Roll,5 " to humour a patronymical desig-
nation, as "being more agreeable to the head of
a clan than the designation of Ardincaple of
that ilk."

When the MacGregors fell under the ban of
the law, Sir Aulay MacAulay, the then chief,
became conspicuous by the energy with which
he turned against them, probably to avert
suspicion from himself, as a bond of caution
■was entered into on his account on Sept. 8,
1610. He died in Dec. 1617, and was suc-
ceeded by his cousin-german, Alexander.

Walter MacAulay, the son of Alexander, was
twice sheriff of Dumbarton.

With Aulay MacAulay, his son and successor,
commenced the decline of the family. He
and his successors indulged in a system of
extravagant living, which compelled them to
dispose, piece by piece, of every acre of their
once large possessions. Although attached to
Episcopacy, he was by no means a partisan of
James VII., for in 1689 he raised a company
of fencibles in aid of William and Mary.

Aulay MacAulay, the twelfth and last chief
of the MacAulays, having seen the patrimony
of his house sold, and his castle roofless, died
about 1767. Ardincaple had been purchased
by John, fourth Duke of Argyll, and now
belongs to the Argyll family.

About the beginning of the 18th century, a
number of MacAulays settled in Caithness and
Sutherland. Others went into Argyleshire,
and some of the MaePheiderans of that
county acknowledged their descent from the
MacAulays.

A tribe of MacAulays were settled at Uig,
Ross-shire, in the south-west of the island of
Lewis, and many were the feuds which they
had with the Morrisons, or clan Alle Mhuire,
the tribe of the servant or disciple of Marg,
who were located at Ness, at the north end

6 Nisbet, vol. ii. App.

of the same island. In the reign of James
VI., one of the Lewis MacAulays, Donald
Cam, so called from being blind of one eye,
renowned for his great streugth, distin-
guished himself on the patriotic side, in the
troubles that took place, first with the Fife-
shire colonies at Stornoway. Donald Cam
Macaulay had a son, Fear Bhreinis, " The
Man," or Tacksman " of Erenish," of whose
feats of strength many songs and stories are
told. His son, Aulay MacAulay, minister of
Harris, had six sons and some daughters.
Five of his sons were educated for the church,
and one named Zachary he bred for the bar.

One of Aulay MacAulay's sons was the Rev.
John Macaulay, A.M., was grandfather of the
celebrated orator, statesman, and historian,
Lord Macaulay. One of his sons entered the
East India Company's military service, and
attained the rank of general.

Another son, Aulay Macaulay, was known as
a miscellaneous writer. In 1796 he was pre-
sented to the vicarage of Rothley, by Thomas
Eabington, Esq., M.P., who had married his
sister Jane. He died February 24, 1819.

Zachary, a third son, was for some years a
merchant at Sierra Leone. On his return to
London, he became a prominent member of
the Anti-slavery Society, and obtained a
monument in Westminster Abbey. He mar-
ried Miss Mills, daughter of a Bristol mer-
chant, and had a son, Thomas Eabington
Macaulay, Lord Macaulay, author of " The
History of England," "Lays of Ancient Rome,"
&c, and M.P. for the city of Edinburgh.

CHAPTER VIII.

Mackay, or Siol Mhorgau — Mackays of C'lan-Abrach
— Bighouse — Strathy — M elness — Kinlock — Mac-
kays of Holland — Maenicol — Sutherland — Gunn —
Maclaurin or Maclaren — Macrae — Buchanan —
" The King of Kippen " — Buchanan of Auchmar —
Colquhoun — Macgregors and Macfaiianes in Dum-
bartonshire — Forbes — Forbes of Tolquhoun —
Craigievar — -Pitsligo and Fettercairn — Culloden —
Urquhart.

The most northern mainland county of Scot-
land is that of Caithness, and the principal
I clan inhabiting this district is the important
2l

266

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

one of Maokay, or the siol Mhorgan. With
regard to Caithness, Mr Skene says — " The
district of Caithness was originally of much
greater extent than the modern county of that
name, as it included the whole of the exten-
sive and mountainous district of Strathnaver.
Towards the middle of the tenth century the
Norwegian Jarl of Orkney ohtained possession
of this province, and with the exception of a
few short intervals, it continued to form a part
of his extensive territories for a period of
nearly two hundred years. The district of
Strathnaver, which formed the western portion
of the ancient district of Caithness, differed
very much in appearance from the rest of it,
exhibiting indeed the most complete contrast
which could well he conceived, for while the
eastern division was in general low, destitute
of mountains, and altogether of a Lowland
character, Strathnaver possessed the character-
istics of the rudest and most inaccessible of
Highland countries ; the consequence of this
was, that while the population of Caithness
proper became speedily and permanently
Norse, that of Strathnaver must, from the
nature of the county, have remained in a
great measure Gaelic ; and this distinction
between the two districts is very strongly
marked throughout the Norse Sagas, the
eastern part being termed simply Kaienesi,
while Strathnaver, on the other hand, is always
designated ' Dblum a Katenesi,' or the Glens
of Caithness. That the population of Strath-
naver remained Gaelic we have the distinct
authority of the Sagas, for they inform us
that the Dblum, or glens, were inhabited by
the ' Gaddgedli,' a word plainly signifying
some tribe of the Gael, as in the latter syllable
we recognise the word Gaedil or Gael, which
at all events shews that the population of that
portion was not Norse.

Mackat.

" The oldest Gaelic clan which we find in
possession of this part of the ancient district
of Caithness is the clan Morgan or Mackay."

The accounts of the origin of the Mackays
are various. In the MS. of 1450, there is no
reference to it, although mention is made of
the Mackays of Kintyre, who were called of
XJo-adale. These, however, were vassals of the

Isles, and had no connection with the Mackays
of Strathnaver. Fennant assigns to them a
Celto-Irish descent, in the 12th century, after
King William the Lion had defeated Harald,
Earl of Orkney and Caithness, and taken pos-
session of these districts. Mr Skene6 supposes
that they were descended from what he calls
the aboriginal Gaelic inhabitants of Caithness.
The Norse Sagas state that about the beginning
of the twelfth century, " there lived in the
Dolum of Katanesi (or Strathnaver) a man
named Moddan, a noble and rich man," and
that his sons were Magnus Orfi and Ottar, the
Jarl in Thurso. The title of jarl was the same
as the Gaelic maormor, and Mr Skene is of
opinion that Moddan and his son Ottar were
the Gaelic maormors of Caithness.

MACKAY.

Badge. — Bulrush.

Sir Eobert Gordon, in his History of Suther-
land (p. 302), from a similarity of badge and
armorial bearings, accounts the clan Mackay
a branch of the Forbeses, but this is by no
means probable.

Mr Smibert is of opinion that the Mackays
took their name from the old Catti of Caith-
ness, and that the chiefs were of the Celto-
Irish stock. This, however, is a very impro-
bable supposition. Whatever may have been
the origin of the chiefs, there is every reason
to believe that the great body of the clan
Mackay originally belonged to the early Celtic
population of Scotland, although, from their

« Highlands of Scotland, p. 283.

THE MACKAYS.

2 1>7

proximity to the Norse immigrants, it is not
at all improbable that latterly the two races
became largely blended.

As we have already, in the first part of the
work, had occasion to enter somewhat minutely
into the earty history of this important clan,
it will be unnecessary to enter into lengthened
detail in this place, although it will be scarcely
possible to avoid some slight repetition. We
must refer the reader for details to the earlier
chapters of the general history.

Alexander, who is said to have been the
first of the family, aided in driving the Danes
from the north. His son, Walter, chamber-
lain to Adam, bishop of Caithness, married
that prelate's daughter, and had a son, Martin,
who received from his maternal grandfather
certain church lands in Strathnaver, being the
first of the family who obtained possessions
there. Martin had a son, Magnus or Manus,
who fought at Bannockburn under Bruce, and
had two sons, Morgan and Farquhar. From
Morgan the elan derived their Gaelic name
of Clan-wic-Worgan, or Morgan, and from
Farquhar weredescended the Clan-wic-Farquhar
in Strathnaver.

Donald, Morgan's son, married a daughter
of Macneill of Gigha, who was named lye, and
had a son of the same name, in Gaelic Aodh,
pronounced like Y or I.

Aodh had a son, another Donald, called
Donald Macaodh, or Mackaoi, and it is from
this son that the elan has acquired the patrony-
mic of Mackay. He and his son were killed
in the castle of Dingwall, by William, Earl of
Sutherland, in 1395. The Mackays, how-
ever, were too weak to take revenge, and a
reconciliation took place between Robert, the
next earl, ' and Angus Mackay, the eldest of
Donald's surviving sons, of whom there were
other two, viz., Houcheon Dubh, and jSTeill.
Angus, the eldest son, married a sister of
Malcolm Macleod of the Lewis, and had by
her two sons, Angus Dubh, that is, dark-com-
plexioned, and Roderick Gald, that is, Low-
land. On their father's death, their uncle,
Houcheon Dubh, became their tutor, and
entered upon the management of their lands.

In 1411, when Donald, Lord of the Isles,
in prosecution of his claim to the earldom of
Ross, burst into Sutherland, be was attacked

at Dingwall, by Angus Dubh, or Black Angus
Mackay. The latter, however, was defeated
and taken prisoner, and his brother, Roriegald,
and many of his men were slain. After a
short confinement, Angus was released by the
Lord of the Isles, who, desirous of cultivating
the alliance of so powerful a chief, gave him
his daughter, Elizabeth, in marriage, and with
her bestowed upon him many lands by charter
in 1415. He was called Enneas-en-I?nprissi,
or " Angus the Absolute," from his great
power. At this time, we are told, Angus
Dubh could bring into the field 4000 fighting
men.

Angus Dubh, with his four sons, was
arrested at Inverness by James I. After a
short confinement, Angus was pardoned and
released with three of them, the eldest, Neill
Mackay, being kept as a hostage for his good
behaviour. Being confined in the Bass at the
mouth of the Firth of Forth, he was ever
after called Neill Wasse (or Bass) Mackay.

In 1437, Neill Wasse Mackay was released
from confinement in the Bass, and on assuming
the chiefship, he bestowed on John Aberigh,
for his attention to his father, the lands of
Lochnaver, in fee simple, which were long
possessed by his posterity, that particular
branch of the Mackays, called the Sliochd-ean-
Aberigh, or an-Abrach. Neill Wasse, soon
after his accession, ravaged Caithness, but
died the same year, leaving two sons, Angus,
and John Roy Mackay, the latter founder of
another branch, called the Sliochd-ean-Roy.

Angus Mackay, the elder son, assisted the
Keiths in invading Caithness in 1464, when
they defeated the inhabitants of that district
in an engagement a't Blaretannie. He was
burnt to death in the church of Tarbet in
1475, by the men of Ross, whom he had often
molested. With a daughter, married to Suther-
land of Dilred, he had three sons, viz., John
Reawigh, meaning yellowish red, the colour of
his hair ; Y-Roy Mackay ; and Meill Naverigh
Mackay.

To revenge his father's death, John Reawigh
Mackay, the eldest son, raised a large force,
and assisted by Robert Sutherland, uncle to
the Earl of Sutherland, invaded Strathoikell,
and laid waste the lands of the Rosses in that
district. A battle took place, 11th July 1487,

268

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

at Aldy-Charrish, when the Eosses were de-
feated, and their chief, Alexander Eoss of
Balnagowan, and seventeen other principal
men of that clan were slain. The victims
returned home with a large booty.

It was by forays such as these that the
great Highland chiefs, and even some of the
Lowland nobles, contrived, in former times, to
increase their stores and add to their possessions,
and the Maekays about this time obtained a
large accession to their lands by a circumstance
narrated in the former part of this history,
connected with Alexander Sutherland of Dil-
red, nephew of Y-Eoy Mackay, the then chief.

In 1516, Y-Eoy Mackay gave his bond of
service to Adam Gordon of Aboyne, brother of
the Earl of Huntly, who had become Earl of
Sutherland, by marriage with Elizabeth, sister
and heiress of the ninth earl, but died soon
after. Donald, his youngest son, slain at
Morinsh, was ancestor of a branch of the
Mackays called the Sliochd-Donald-Mackay.
John, the eldest son, had no sooner taken
possession of his father's lands, than his uncle,
ISTeill Naverigh Mackay and his two sons,
assisted by a force furnished them by the
Earl of Caithness, entered Strathnaver, and
endeavoured unsuccessfully to dispossess him
of his inheritance.

In 1517, in the absence of the Earl of
Sutherland, who had wrested from John
Mackay a portion of his lands, he and his
brother Donald invaded Sutherland with a
large force. But after several reverses, John
Mackay submitted to the Earl of Sutherland in
1518, and granted him his bond of service.
But such was his restless and turbulent dispo-
sition that he afterwards prevailed upon Alex-
ander Sutherland, the bastard, who had married
his sister and pretended a claim to the earldom,
to raise the standard of insurrection against
the earl. After this he again submitted to the
earl, and a second time gave him his bond of
service and manrent in 1522. He died in
1529, and was succeeded by his brother,
Donald.

In 1539, Donald Mackay obtained restitu-
tion of the greater part of the family estates,
which had been seized by the Sutherland
Gordons, and in 1542 he was present in the
engagement at Solway Moss. Soon after, he

committed various ravages in Sutherland, but
after a considerable time, became reconciled to
the earl, to whom he again gave his bond of
service and manrent on 8th April 1549. He
died in 1550.

He was succeeded by his son, Y-Mackay,
who, with the Earl of Caithness, was perpetu-
ally at strife with the powerful house of
Sutherland, and so great was his power, and
so extensive his spoliations, that in the first
parliament of James VI. (Dec. 1567), the lords
of the articles were required to report, " By
what means might Mackay be dantoned."
He died in 1571, full of remorse, it is said,
for the wickedness of his life.

His son, Houcheon, or Hugh, succeeded
him when only eleven years old. In 1587, he
joined the Earl of Caithness, when attacked
by the Earl of Sutherland, although the latter
was his superior. He was excluded from the
temporary truce agreed to by the two earls in
March of that year, and in the following year
they came to a resolution to attack him to-
gether. Having received secret notice of their
intention from the Earl of Caithness, he made
his submission to the Earl of Sutherland, and
ever after remained faithful to him.

Of the army raised by the Earl of Suther-
land in 1601, to oppose the threatened invasion
of his territories by the Earl of Caithness, the
advance guard was commanded by Patrick
Gordon of Gartay and Donald Mackay of
Scourie, and the right wing by Hugh Mackay.
Hugh Mackay died at Tongue, 11th September
1614, in his 55th year. He was connected with
both the rival houses by marriage ; his first
wife being Lady Elizabeth Sinclair, second
daughter of George, fourth Earl of Caithness,
and relict of Alexander Sutherland of Duffus ;
and his second, Lady Jane Gordon, eldest
daughter of Alexander, eleventh Earl of Suther-
land. The former lady was drowned, and left
a daughter. By the latter he had two sons,
Sir Donald Mackay of Ear, first Lord Eeay,
and John, who married in 1619, a daughter of
James Sinclair of Murkle, by whom he had
Hugh Mackay and other children. Sir Donald
Mackay of Far, the elder son, was, by
Charles I., created a peer of Scotland, by the
title of Lord Eeay, by patent, dated 20th
June 1628, to him and his heirs male

THE MACKAYS.

269

whatever. From him the land of the Mackays
in Sutherland acquired the name of " Lord
Eeay's Country," which it has ever since
retained.

On the breaking out of the civil wars, Lord
Eeay, with the Earl of Sutherland and others,
joined the Covenanters on the north of the
river Spey. He afterwards took arms in
defence of Charles I., and in 1643 arrived
from Denmark, with ships and arms, and a
large sum of money, for the service of the
king. He was in Newcastle in 1644, when
that town was stormed by the Scots, and being
made prisoner, was conveyed to Edinburgh
tolbooth. He obtained his release after the
battle of Kilsyth in August 1645, and em-
barked at Thurso in July 1648 for Denmark,
where he died in February 1649. He married,
first, in 1610, Barbara, eldest daughter of
Kenneth, Lord Kintail, and had by her Y-
Mackay, who died in 1617; John, second
Lord Eeay, two other sons and two daughters.
By a second wife, Eachel Winterfield or Har-
rison, he had two sons, the Hon. Kobert
Mackay Forbes and the Hon. Hugh Forbes.
Of this marriage he procured a sentence of
nullity, and then took to wife Elizabeth,
daughter of Robert Thomson of Greenwich,
but in 1637 was ordained to pay his second
wife £2,000 sterling for part maintenance,
and £3,000 sterling yearly during his non-
adherence. By Elizabeth Thomson he had
one daughter.

John, second Lord Beay, joined the royalists
under the Earl of Glencairn in 1654, and was
taken at Balveny and imprisoned. By his
wife, a daughter of Donald Mackay of Scourie,
he had three sons ; 1. Donald, master of Beay,
who predeceased his father, leaving by his
wife Ann, daughter of Sir George Munro of
Culcairn. a son, George, third Lord Beay ;
2. The Hon. Brigadier-General iEueas Mackay,
who married Margaretta, Countess of Fuchlor ;
and 3. The Hon. Colin Mackay. iEneas, the
second son, was colonel of the Mackay Dutch
regiment. His family settled at the Hague,
where they obtained considerable possessions,
and formed alliances with several noble families.
Their representative, Berthold Baron Mackay,
died 26th December 1854, at his chateau of
Ophemert, in Guelderland, aged eighty-one.

He married the Baroness Van Benasse Van
Wilp, and his eldest son, the Baron <Eneas
Mackay, at one time chamberlain to the king
of Holland, became next heir to the peerage of
Eeay, after the present family.

George, third Lord Eeay, F.E.S., took the
oaths and his seat in parliament, 29 th October
1700. In the rebellion of 1715, he raised his
clan in support of the government. In 1719,
when the Earls Marischal and Seaforth, and the
Marquis of Tullibardine, with 300 Spaniards,
landed in the Western Highlands, he did the
same, and also in 1745. He died at Tongue,
21st March 1748. He was thrice married, and
had by his first wife, one son, Donald, fourth
Lord Eeay.

Donald, fourth Lord Eeay, succeeded his
father in 1748, and died at Durness, 18th
August 1761. He was twice married, and,
with one daughter, the Hon. Mrs Edgar, had
two sons, George, fifth Lord Eeay, who died
at Eosebank, near Edinburgh, 27th February
1768, and Hugh, sixth lord. The fifth Lord
Eeay was also twice married, but had issue
only by his second wife, a son, who died
young, and three daughters. Hugh, his half-
brother, who succeeded him, was for some
years in a state of mental imbecility. He died
at Skerray, 26th January 1797, unmarried,
when the title devolved on Eric Mackay, son
of the Hon. George Mackay of Skibo, third
son of the third Lord Eeay. He died at
Tongue, June 25, 1782. By his wife, Anne,
third daughter of Hon. Eric Sutherland, only
son of the attainted Lord Duffus, he had five
sons and four daughters. His eldest son,
George, died in 1790. Eric, the second son,
became seventh Lord Eeay. Alexander, the
next, an officer in the arm}', succeeded as
eighth Lord Eeay. Donald Hugh, the fourth
son, a vice-admiral, died March 26, 1850.
Fatrick, the youngest, died an infant.

Eric, seventh Lord Eeay, was, in 1806,
elected one of the representative Scots peers.
He died, unmarried, July 8, 1847, and was
succeeded, as eighth Lord Eeay, by his brother,
Alexander, barrack-master at Malta, born in
1775. He married in 1809, Marion, daughter
of Colonel Goll, military secretary to Warren
Hastings, and relict of David Eoss, Esq. of
Calcutta, eldest son of the Scottish judge,

270

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

Lord Ankerville ; he had two sons and six
daughters. He died in 1863, and was suc-
ceeded hy his second son, Eric, who was born
in 1813, George, the eldest son, having died
in 1811.

The Mackays became very numerous in the
northern counties, and the descent of their
chiefs, in the male line, has continued un-
broken from their first appearance in the north
down to the present time. In the county of
Sutherland, they multiplied greatly also, under
other names, such as MacPhail, Poison, Bain,
Nielson, &c. The names of Mackie and
MacGhie are also said to be derived from
Mackay. The old family of MacGhie of Bal-
niaghie, which for about 600 years possessed
estates in Galloway, used the same arms as
the chief of the Mackays. They continued in
possession of their lands till 1786. Balrnaghie
means Mackay town. The name MacCrie is
supposed to be a corruption of MacGhie.

At the time of the rebellion of 1745, the
effective force of the Mackays was estimated
at 800 men by President Forbes. It is said
that in the last Sutherland fencibles, raised in

1793 and disbanded in 1797, there were 33
John Mackays in one company alone. In

1794 the Eeay fencibles, 800 strong, were
raised in a few weeks, in " Lord Beay's
country," the residence of the clan Mackay.
The names of no fewer than 700 of them had
the prefix Mac.

With regard to the term Siol Mhorgan
applied to the clan Mackay, it is right to
state that Mr Eobert Mackay of Thurso,
the family historian, denies that as a clan
they were ever known by that designation,
which rests, he says, only on the affirma-
tion of Sir Eobert Gordon, without any
authority. He adds : " There are, indeed, to
this day, persons of the surname Morgan and
Morganach, who are understood to be of the
Mackays, but that the whole clan, at any
period^ went under that designation, is in-
correct ; and those of them who did so, were
always few and of but small account. The
name seems to be of Welsh origin ; but how
it obtained among the Mackays it is impos-
sible now to say."

Of the branches of the clan Mackay, the
family of Scourie is the most celebrated. They

were descended from Donald Mackay of
Scourie and Eriboll, elder son of Y Mackay
III., chief of the clan from 1550 to 1571, by
his first wife, a daughter of Hugh Macleod of
Assynt,

Donald Mackay, by his wife, Euphemia,
daughter of Hugh Munro of Assynt in Eoss,
brother of the laird of Foulis, had three sons
and four daughters. The sons were Hugh,
Donald, and William. Hugh, the eldest,
succeeded his father, and by the Scots Estates
was appointed colonel of the Eeay countrymen.
He married a daughter of James Corbet of
Eheims, by whom he had five sons, William,
Hector, Hugh, the celebrated General Mackay,"
commander of the government forces at the
battle of Killiecrankie, James and Eoderick.
He had also three daughters, Barbara, married
to John, Lord Eeay ; Elizabeth, to Hugh
Munro of Eriboll, and Ann, to the Hon. Capt.
William Mackay of Kinloch. William and
Hector, the two eldest sons, both unmarried,
met with untimely deaths. In February 1688,
the Earl of Caithness, whose wife was younger
than himself, having conceived some jealousy
against William, caused him to be seized at
Dunnet, while on his way to Orkney, with a
party of 30 persons. He was conveyed to
Thurso, where he was immured in a dungeon,
and after long confinement was sent home in
an open boat, and died the day after. In
August of the same year, his brother, Hector;
accompanied by a servant, having gone to
Aberdeenshire, on his way to Edinburgh, was
waylaid and murdered by William Sinclair of
Dunbeath and John Sinclair of Murkle, and
their two servants. A complaint was imme-
diately raised before the justiciary, at the
instance of John, Earl of Sutherland, and the
relatives of the deceased, against the Earl of
Caithness and the two Sinclairs for these
crimes. A counter complaint was brought by
Caithness against the pursuers, for several
alleged crimes from 1649 downwards, but a
compromise took place between the parties.

General Mackay's only son, Hugh, major of
his father's regiment, died at Cambray, in
1708, aged about 28. He left two sons, Hugh
and Gabriel, and a daughter. Hugh died at

7 For portrait of General Hugh Mackay, vide vol. i.
p. 361.

THE MACKAYS— THE MACNICOLS.

271

Breda, a lieutenant-general in the Dutch ser-
vice, and colonel of the Mackay Dutch
regiment, which took its name from his father.
He had an only daughter, the wife of lieutenant-
general Prevost, of the British service, who, on
the death of his father-in-law, without maleissue,
obtained the king's license to hear the name
ind arms of Mackay of Scourie in addition to
his own, which his descendants in Holland
still hear. Gabriel, the younger son, lieutenant-
colonel of the Mackay regiment, died without
issue. James, the next brother of General
Mackay, a lieutenant- colonel in his regiment,
was killed at Killiecrankie, and Roderick, the
youngest, died in the East Indies, both un-
married.

The eldest branch of the Mackays was that
of the Clan-Abrach, descended from John
Aberigh Mackay, second son of Angus Dubh,
who received the lands of Auchness, Breachat,
and others, from his brother, Neill Wasse.
Of this family was Robert Mackay, writer,
Thurso, historian of the clan Mackay. Accord-
ing to this gentleman, John Aberigh, the first
of this branch, gave his name to the district of
Strathnaver. In the Gaelic language, he says,
the inhabitants of Strathnaver are called
Naverigh, and that tribe the Sliochd-nan-
Aberigh. John, their founder, some say, took
his appellation of Aberigh from Lochaber,
where he resided in his youth with some
relatives, and from Strath-na-Aberieh the
transition is natural to Strath-n'-Averich.
Neill Naverich, above mentioned, was so called
from his having belonged to the Reay Country,
that is, Strathnaver. The Clan-Abrach were
the most numerous and powerful branch of
the Mackays. They acted as wardens of their
country, and never betrayed their trust.

The Bighouse branch were descendants of
William Mackay of Far, younger half-brother
of Donald Mackay of Scourie, by his second
wife, Christian Sinclair, daughter of the laird
of Dun.

The Strathy branch sprung from John
Mackay of Dilred and Strathy, brother of the
first Lord Reay, and son of Hugh Mackay of
Far, by his wife, Lady Jane Gordon, eldest
daughter of Alexander, Earl of Sutherland.

The Melness branch came from the Hon.
Colonel iEneas Mackay, second son of the

first Lord Reay, by his first wife, the Hon.
Barbara Mackenzie, daughter of Lord Kintail.

The Kinloch branch descended from the
Hon. Captain William Mackay, and the Sand-
wood branch from the Hon. Charles Mackay,
sons of the first Lord Reay by his last wife,
Marjory Sinclair, daughter of Francis Sinclair
of Stircoke.

The founder of the Holland branch of the
Mackays, General Hugh Mackay, prior to
1680, when a colonel in the Dutch service,
and having no prospect of leaving Holland,
wrote for some of his near relatives to go over
and settle in that country. Amongst those
were his brother, James, and his nephews,
iEneas and Robert, sons of the first Lord
Reay. The former he took into his own
regiment, in which, in a few years, he became
lieutenant-colonel. The latter he sent to school
at Utrecht for a short time, and afterwards
obtained commissions for them in his own
regiment. In the beginning of 1687, several
British officers in the Dutch service were
recalled to England by King James, and
amongst others was IEneas Mackay, then a
captain. On his arrival in London, the King
made him some favourable propositions to
enter his service, which he declined, and, in
consequence, when he reached Scotland, he
was ordered to be apprehended as a spy. He
had been imprisoned nearly seven months in
Edinburgh Castle, when the Prince of Orange
landed at Torbay, and he was liberated upon
granting his personal bond to appear before
the privy council when called upon, under a
penalty of £500 sterling. The Dutch Mackays
married among the nobility of Holland, and
one of the families of that branch held the
title of baron.

MACNICOL.

In a district mostly in Ross-shire, anciently
known by the name of Ness, there was originally
located a small and broken clan, known as the
Macnicols. The only districts, according to
Skene, which at all answers to the description
of ISTess, are those of Assynt, Edderaclrylis,
and Duirness.

The Macnicols were descended from one
Mackrycul (the letter r in the Gaelic bein^
invariably pronounced like n), who, tradition

272

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

says, as a reward for having rescued from some
Scandinavians a great quantity of cattle carried
off from Sutherland, received from one of the
ancient thanes of that province, the district of
Assynt, then a forest "belonging to them. This
Mackrycul held that part of the coast of
Cogeach, which is called Ullapool. In the
MS. of 1450, the descent of the clan Nicail is
traced in a direct line from a certain Gregall,
plainly the Krycul here mentioned, who is
supposed to have lived in the twelfth century.
He is said to have been the ancestor, besides
the Macnicols, of the Nicols and the Nicholsons.
When Gregall lived, Sutherland was occupied
by Gaelic tribes, and the Macnicols may there-
fore be considered of Gaelic origin.

About the beginning of the 14th century,
the family of the chief ended in an heiress, who
married Torquil Macleod, a younger son of
Macleod of Lewis. Macleod obtained a crown
charter of the district of Assynt and other
lands in "Wester Eoss, which had been the
property of the Macnicols. That sept subse-
quently removed to the Isle of Skye, and the
residence of their head or chief was at Scoire-
breac, on the margin of the loch near Portree.
Even after their removal to Skye the Mac-
nicols seem to have retained their independence,
for tradition relates that on one occasion when
the head of this clan, called Macnicol Mor,
was engaged in a warm discussion with Mac-
leod of Easay, carried on in the English
language, the servant of the latter coming into
the room, imagined they were quarrelling, and
drawing liis sword mortally wounded Macnicol.
To prevent a feud between the two septs, a
council of chieftains and elders was held to
determine in what manner the Macnicols could
be appeased, when, upon some old precedent, it
was agreed that the meanest person in the
clan Nicol should behead the laird of Easay.
The individual of least note among them was
one Lomach, a maker of pannier baskets, and
he accordingly cut off the head of the laird of
Easay.

In Argyleshire there were many Macnicols,
but the clan may be said to have long been
extinct.

SUTHERLAND.

Badge — Broom (butcher's broom).

The clan Sutherland, which gets its name
from being located in the district of that
name, is regarded by Skene and others as
almost purely Gaelic. The district of Suther-
land, which was originally considerably smaller
than the modern county of that name, got its
name from the Orcadian Norsemen, because it
lay south from Caithness, which, for a long
time, was their only possession in the main-
land of Scotland.

According to Skene, the ancient Gaelic
population of the district now known by
the name of Sutherland were driven out or
destroyed by the Norwegians when they took
possession of the country, after its conquest by
Tkorfmn, the Norse Jarl of Orkney, in 1034,
and were replaced by settlors from Moray
and Eoss. He says, " There are consequently
no clans whatever descended from the Gaelic
tribe which anciently inhabited the district of
Sutherland, and the modern Gaelic population
of part of that region is derived from two
sources. In the first place, several of the
tribes of the neighbouring district of Eoss, at
an early period, gradually spread themselves
into the nearest and most mountainous parts
of the country, and they consisted chiefly of
the clan Anrias. Secondly, Hugh Ereskin, a
descendant of Ereskin de Moravia, and whose
family was a branch of the ancient Gaelic
tribe of Moray, obtained from Eing William
the territory of Sutherland, although it is
impossible to discover the circumstances which
occasioned the grant. He was of course

THE SUTHEELANDS

273

accompanied in this expedition by numbers of
his followers, who increased in Sutherland to
an extensive tribe ; and Ereskin became the
founder of the noble family of Sutherland,
who, under the title of Earls of Sutherland,
have continued to enjoy possession of this
district for so many generations."8 We do
not altogether agree with this intelligent author
that the district in question was at any time
entirely colonised by the Norsemen. There can
be no doubt that a remnant of the old in-
habitants remained, after the Norwegian con-
quest, and it is certain that the Gaelic popu-
lation, reinforced as they were undoubtedly by
incomers from the neighbouring districts and
from Moray, ultimately regained the superiority
in Sutherland. Many of them were unquestion-
ably from the province of Moray, and these,
like the rest of the inhabitants, adopted the
name of Sutherland, from the appellation given
by the Norwegians to the district.

The chief of the clan "was called " the Great
Cat," and the head of the house of Sutherland
has long carried a black cat in his coat-of-arms.
According to Sir George Mackenzie, the name
of Cattu was formerly given to Sutherland and
Caithness (originally Cattu-ness), on account
of the great number of wild cats with which
it was, at one period, infested.

The Earl of Sutherland was the chief of
the clan, but on the accession to the earldom
in 1766, of Countess Elizabeth, the infant
daughter of the eighteenth earl, and afterwards
Duchess of Sutherland, as the chiefship could
not descend to a female, "William Sutherland
of Killipheder, who died in 1832, and enjoyed
a small annuity from her grace, was accounted
the eldest male descendant of the old earls.
John Campbell Sutherland, Esq. of Fors, was
afterwards considered the real chief.

The clan Sutherland could bring into the
field 2,000 fighting men. In 1715 and 1745
they were among the loyal clans, and zealously
supported the succession of the house of Han-
over. Further details concerning this clan
will be given in the History of the Highland
Regiments.

The Earldom of Sutherland, the oldest ex-
tant in Britain, is said to have been granted

8 Skene's Highlanders, vol ii.

301.

by Alexander II., to William, Lord of Suther-
land, about 1228, for assisting to quell a
powerful northern savage of the name of
Gillespie.9 William was the son of Hugh
Freskin, who acquired the district of Suther-
land by the forfeiture of the Earl of Caithness
for rebellion in 1197. Hugh was the grandson
of Freskin the Fleming, who came into Scot-
land in the reign of David I., and obtained
from that prince the lands of Strathbrock in
Linlithgowshire, also, the lands of Duffus and
others in Moray.1 His son, William, was a
constant attendant on King William the Lion,
during his frequent expeditions into Moray, and
assumed the name of William de Moravia.
He died towards the end of the 12th century.
His son, Hugh, got the district of Sutherland,
as already mentioned. Hugh's son, " Willielmus
dominus de Sutherlandia filius et haeres quon-
dam Hugonis Freskin," is usually reckoned
the first Earl of Sutherland, although Sir
Robert Gordon, the family historian, puts it
three generations farther back.

The date of the creation of the title is not
known ; but from an indenture executed in
1275, in which Gilbert, bishop of Caithness,
makes a solemn composition of an affair that
had been long in debate betwixt his predeces-
sors in the see and the noble men, William of
famous memory, and William, his son, Earls
of Sutherland, it is clear that there existed an
Earl of Sutherland betwixt 1222, the year of
Gilbert's consecration as bishop, and 1245, the
year of his death, and it is on the strength of
this deed that the representative of the house
claims the rank of premier earl of Scotland,
with the date 1228.

Earl William died at Dunrobin2 in 1248.
His son, William, second earl, succeeded to
the title in his infancy. He was one of the
Scots nobles who attended the parliament of
Alexander III. at Scone, 5th February 1284,
when the succession to the crown of Scotland
was settled, and he sat in the great convention
at Bingham, 12th March 1290. He was one
of the eighteen Highland chiefs who fought
at the battle of Bannockburn, in 1314, on
the side of Bruce, and he subscribed the

9 See p. 61, vol. i. 1 See p. 60, vol. i.

2 For view of old Dunrobin Castle, vide vol. i.
p. 83.

2 M

274

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS..

famous letter of the Soots nobles to the
Pope, 6th April 1320. He died in 1325,
having enjoyed the title for the long period of
77 years.

His son, Kenneth, the third earl, fell at the
"battle of Halidon-hill in 1333, valiantly sup-
porting the cause of David II. "With a
daughter, Eustach, he had two sons, William,
fourth earl, and Nicholas, ancestor of the Lords
Duffus.

"William, fourth earl, married the Princess
Margaret, eldest daughter of Eobert I., by his
second wife, Elizabeth de Burgo, and he made
grants of land in the counties of Inverness and
Aberdeen to powerful and influential persons,
to win their support of his eldest son, John's
claim to the succession to the crown. John
was selected by his uncle, David II., as heir
to the throne, in preference to the high-steward,
who had married the Princess Marjory, but he
died at Lincoln in England in 1361, while a
hostage there for the payment of the king's
ransom. His father, Earl William, was one
of the commissioners to treat for the release of
King David in 1351, also on 13th June 1354,
and again in 1357. He was for some years
detained in England as a hostage for David's
observance of the treaty on his release from his
long captivity. The earl did not obtain his
full liberty till 20th March 1 367. He died at
Dunrobin in Sutherland in 1370. His son,
William, fifth earl, was present at the surprise
of Berwick by the Scots in November 1384.

With their neighbours,, the Mackays, the
clan Sutherland were often at feud, and in all
their contests with them they generally came
off victorious.3

John, seventh earl, resigned the earldom in
favour of John, his son and heir, 22d February
1456, reserving to himself the liferent of it,
and died in 1460. He had married Margaret,
daughter of Sir William Baillie of LamingtOn,
Lanarkshire, and by her had four sons and
two daughters. The sons were — 1. Alexander,
who predeceased his father ; 2. John, eighth
Earl of Sutherland ; 3. Nicholas ; 4. Thomas
Beg. The elder daughter, Lady Jane, married
Sir James Dunbar of Cumnock, and was the
mother of Gawin Dunbar, bishop of Aberdeen.

2 TMails of these feuds will be found in vol. i.

John, eighth earl, died in 1508. He had
married Lady Margaret Macdonald, eldest
daughter of Alexander, Earl of Eoss, Lord of
the Isles, and by her, who was drowned cross-
ing the ferry of Uness, he had two sons — John
ninth earl, and Alexander, who died young,
and a daughter, Elizabeth, Countess of Suther-
land.

The ninth earl died, without issue, in 1514,
when the succession devolved upon his sister
Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland in her. own
right. This lady had married Adam Gordon of
Aboyne, second son of George, second Earl of
Huntly, high-chancellor of Scotland, and in
his wife's right, according to the custom of
the age, he was styled Earl of Sutherland.
The Earl of Sutherland, when far advanced •
in life, retired for the most part to Strathbogio
and Aboyne, in Aberdeenshire, to spend the
remainder of his days among his friends, and
intrusted the charge of the country to his
eldest son, Alexander Gordon, master of
Sutherland, a young man of great intrepidity
and talent ; and on the countess' resignation,
a charter of the earldom was granted to him
by King James V., on 1st December 1527.
She died in 1535, and her husband in 1537.
Their issue were — 1. Alexander, master of
Sutherland, who was infeft in the earldom in
1527, under the charter above mentioned, and
died in 1529, leaving, by his wife, Lady Jane
Stewart, eldest daughter of the second Earl of
Athole, three sons — John, Alexander, and "Wil-
liam, and two daughters ; 2. John Gordon ;
3. Adam Gordon, killed at the battle of Pinkie,
10th September 1547 ; 4. Gilbert Gordon of
Gartay, who married Isobel Sinclair, daughter
of the laird of Dunbeath.

Alexander's eldest son, John, born about
1525, succeeded his grandfather as eleventh
earl. He was lieutenant of Moray in 1547
and 1548, and with George, Earl of Huntly,
was selected to accompany the queen regent to
France in September 1550.

On the charge of having engaged in the
rebellion of the Earl of Huntly in 1562, the
Earl of Sutherland was forfeited, 28th May
1563, when he retired to Flanders. He re-
turned to Scotland in 1565, and his forfeiture
was rescinded by act of parliament, 19th April
1567. He and his countess, who was then in

THE SUTHEELANDS.

275

a state of pregnancy, were poisoned at Helms-
dale Castle by Isobel Sinclair, the wife of the
earl's uncle, Gilbert Gordon of Gartay, and the
cousin of the Earl of Caithness, and died five
days afterwards at Dunrobin Castle.' This
happened in Jul)'' 1567,. when the earl was in
his 42d year.4 Their only son, Alexander,
master of Sutherland, then in his fifteenth
year, fortunately escaped the same fate.

The eleventh earl, styled the good Earl
John, was thrice married — 1st, to Lady Eliza-
beth Campbell, only daughter of the third
Earl of Argyll, relict of James, Earl of Moray,
natural son of James IV. ; 2dly, to Lady
Helen Stewart, daughter of the third Earl of
Lennox, relict of the fifth Earl of Errol ; and
3dly, to Marion, eldest daughter of the fourth
Lord Seton, relict of the fourth Earl of Men-
teith. This was the lady who was poisoned
with him. He had issue by his second wife
only — two sons and three daughters. John,
the elder son, died an infant. Alexander,
the younger, was the twelfth Earl of Suther-
land.

Being under age when he succeeded to the
earldom, the ward of this young nobleman was
granted to his eldest sister, Lady Margaret
Gordon, who committed it to the care of John,
Earl of Athole. The latter sold the wardship
to George, Earl of Caithness, the enemy of his
house. Having by treachery got possession of
the castle of Skibo, in which the young earl
resided, he seized his person and carried him
off to Caithness, where he forced him to marry
his daughter, Lady Barbara Sinclair, a profligate
woman of double his own age. When he
attained his majority he divorced her. In
1569, he escaped from the Earl of Caithness,
who had taken up his residence at Dunrobin
Castle and formed a design upon his life.

In 1583 he obtained from the Earl of
Huntly, the king's lieutenant in the north, a
grant of the superiority of Strathnaver, and of
the heritable sheriffship of Sutherland and
Strathnaver, which last was granted in lieu of
the lordship of Aboyne. This grant was con-
firmed by his majesty in a charter under the
great seal, by which Sutherland and Strath-

4 For the circumstances attending this unnatural
murder, which the Earl of Caithness is said to have
instigated, see vol. i. p. 9P.

naver were disjoined and dismembered from
the sheriffdom of Inverness. The earl died at
Dunrobin, 6th December 1594, in his 43d
year. Having divorced Lady Barbara Sinclair
in 1573, he married, secondly, Lady Jean
Gordon, third daughter of the fourth Earl of
Huntly, high-chancellor of Scotland, who had
been previously married to the Earl of Both-
well, but repudiated to enable that ambitious
and profligate nobleman to marry Queen Mary.
She subsequently married Alexander Ogilvy
of Boyne, whom she also survived. To the
Earl of Sutherland she had, with two daughters,
four sons — 1. John, thirteenth earl; 2. Hon.
Sir Alexander Gordon ; 3. Hon. Adam Gordon ;
4. Hon. Sir Eobert Gordon of Gordonstoun,
the historian of the family of Sutherland,
created a baronet of Sova Scotia, being the
first of that order, 28th May 1625.

John, thirteenth Earl of Sutherland, was
born 20th July 1576. Many details con-
cerning him will be found in the former
part of this work. He died at Dornoch,
11 th September 1615, aged 40. By his
countess, Lady Anna Elphinston, he had,
with two daughters, four sons, namely —
1. Patrick, master of Sutherland, who died
young ; 2. John, fourteenth earl ; 3. Hon.
Adam Gordon, who entered the Swedish ser-
vice, and was killed at the battle of Xord-
lingen, 27th August 1634, aged 22; 4. Hon.
George Posthumus Gordon, born after his
father's death, 9th February 1616, a lieutenant-
colonel in the army.

John, fourteenth Earl of Sutherland, born
4th March 1609, was only six years old when
he succeeded his father, and during his minority
his uncle, Sir Eobert Gordon, was tutor of
Sutherland. In this capacity the latter was
much engaged in securing the peace of the
country, so often broken by the lawless pro-
ceedings of the Earl of Caithness. By Sir
Eobert's judicious management of the affairs
of the house of Sutherland, his nephew, the
earl, on attaining his niajorit}7", found the
hostility of the enemy of his house, the Earl
of Caithness, either neutralised, or rendered no
longer dangerous. In 1637, the earl joined
the supplicants against the service book, and
on the breaking out of the civil war in the
following year, espoused the liberal cause. In

276

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

1641 lie was appointed by parliament a privy
councillor for life, and in 1644 he was sent
north with a commission for disarming malig-
nants, as the royalists were called. In 1645
lie was one of the committee of estates. The
same year he joined General Hurry, with his
retainers at Inverness, just immediately before
the battle of Auldearn. In 1650 he accom-
panied General David Leslie when he was
sent by the parliament against the royalists in
the north.

On the Marquis of Montrose's arrival in
Caithness, the earl assembled all his country-
men to oppose his advance into Sutherland.
Montrose, however, had secured the important
pass of the Ord, and on his entering Suther-
land, the earl, not conceiving himself strong
enough to resist him, retired with about 300
men into Eoss. In August of the same year,
the earl set off to Edinburgh, with 1 ,000 men,
to join the forces under General Leslie, col-
lected to oppose Cromwell, but was too late
for the battle of Dunbar, which was fought
before his arrival. During the Protectorate of
Cromwell the earl lived retired. He is com-
monly said to have died in 1663, but the
portrait of John, who must be this earl,
prefixed to Gordon's history of the family
(Ed. 1813) has upon it " Aetatis Suae 60 :
1669." This would seem to prove that he was
then alive.

His son, George, fifteenth earl, died 4th
March 1703, aged 70, and was buried at Holy-
rood-house, where a monument was erected to
his memory. The son of this nobleman, John,
sixteenth earl, married, when Lord Strath-
naver, Helen, second daughter of William,
Lord Cochrane, sister of the Viscountess
Dundee. He was one of the sixteen repre-
sentatives of the Scots peerage chosen in the
last Scots parliament in 1707, and subse-
quently three times re-elected. His services
in quelling the rebellion were acknowledged
by George I., who, in June 1716, invested
him with the order of the Thistle, and in the
following September settled a pension of
£1,200 per annum upon Mm. He figured
conspicuously both as a statesman and a
soldier, and obtained leave to add to his
armorial bearings the double " tressure circum-
flour-de-lire," to indicate his descent from the

royal family of Bruce. His lordship died at
London, 27th June 1 733.

His son, William, Lord Strathnaver, pre-
deceased his father 19th July 1720. He had
five sons and two daughters. His two eldest
sons died young. William, the third son,
became seventeenth Earl of Sutherland. The
elder daughter, the Hon. Helen Sutherland,
was the wife of Sir James Colquhoun of Luss.
The younger, the Hon. Janet Sutherland,
married George Sinclair, Esq. of Ulbster, and
was the mother of -the celebrated Sir John
Sinclair, baronet.

William, seventeenth Earl of Sutherland,
contributed greatly to the suppression of the re-
bellion in the north. Under the heritable juris-
dictions' abolition act of 1747, he had £1,000
allowed him for the redeemable sheriffship of
Sutherland. He died in France, December 7,
1750, aged 50. By his countess, Lady Eliza-
beth Wemyss, eldest daughter of the third
Earl of Wemyss, he had, with a daughter,
Lady Elizabeth, wife of her cousin, Hon.
James Wemyss of Wemyss, a son, William.

The son, William, eighteenth Earl of Suther-
land, born May 29, 1735, was an officer in the
army, and in 1759, when an invasion was
expected, he raised a battalion of infantry,
of which he was constituted lieutenant-colonel.
He was appointed aide-de-camp to the king,
with the rank of colonel in the army, 20th
April 1763. He was one of the sixteen repre-
sentative Scots peers, and died at Bath, 16th
June 1766, aged 31. He had married at
Edinburgh, 14th April 1761, Mary, eldest
daughter and coheiress of William Maxwell,
Esq. of Preston, stewartry of Kirkcudbright,
and had two daughters, Lady Catherine and
Lady Elizabeth. The former, born 24th May
1764, died at Dunrobin Castle, 3d January
1766. The loss of their daughter so deeply
affected the earl and countess that they went
to Bath, in the hope that the amusements of
that place would dispel their grief There,
however, the earl was seized with a fever,
and the countess devoted herself so entirely to
the care of her husband, sitting up with him
for twenty-one days and nights without re-
tiring to bed, that her health was affected,
and she died 1st June the same year, sixteen
days before his lordship. Their bodies were

THE SUTHERLANDS.

277

brought to Scotland, aud interred in HoljTOod-
house.

Their only surviving daughter, Elizabeth,
born at Leven Lodge, near Edinburgh, 24th
May 1765, succeeded as Countess of Suther-
land, when little more than a year old. She
was placed under the guardianship of John,
Puke of Athole, Charles, Earl of Elgin and
Kincardine, Sir Adam Eergusson of Kilkerran,
and Sir David Dalrymple of Hailes, baronets,
and John Mackenzie, Esq. of Delvin. A sharp

contest arose for the title, her right to the
earldom being disputed on the ground that it
could not legally descend to a female heir. Her
opponents were Sir Robert Gordon of Gordons-
toun and Letterfourie, baronet, and George
Sutherland, Esq. of Eors. Lord Hailes drew
up a paper for her ladyship, entitled " Ad-
ditional Case for Elizabeth, claiming the title
and dignity of Countess of Sutherland," which
evinced great ability, accuracy, and depth of
research. The House of Lords decided in her

Dunrobin Castle, from a photograph by Collier and Park, Inverness.

favour, 21st March 1771. The countess, the
nineteenth in succession to the earldom, mar-
ried 4th September 1785, George Granville
Leveson Gower, Viscount of Trentham, eldest
son of Earl Gower, afterwards Marquis of
Stafford, by his second wife, Lady Louisa
Egerton, daughter of the first Duke of Bridge-
water. His lordship succeeded to his father's
titles, and became the second Marquis of Staf-
ford. On 14th January 1833 he was created
Duke of Sutherland, and died 19th July, the
same year. The Duchess of Sutherland,
countess in her own right, thenceforth styled
Duchess-Countess of Sutherland, held the earl-

dom during the long period of 72 years and
seven months, and died in January 1839.

Her eldest son, George Granville, born in
1786, succeeded his father as second Duke of
Sutherland, in 1833, and his mother in the
Scottish titles, in 1839. He married in 1823,
Lady Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana, third
daughter of the sixth Earl of Carlisle ; issue —
four sons and seven daughters. His grace
died Feb. 28, 1861, and was succeeded by his
eldest son, George Granville "vTilliam. The
second duke's eldest daughter married in 1844,
the Duke of Argyll ; the second daughter
married in 1843, Lord Blantyre ; the third

1278

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

daughter married in 1847, the Marquis of
Eildare, eldest son of the Duke of Leinster.

George Granville William, third Duke of
Sutherland, previously styled Marquis of Staf-
ford and Lord Strathnaver, horn Dee. 19,
1828, married in 1849, Anne, only child of
John Hay Mackenzie, Esq. of Cromartie and
Newhall, and niece of Sir William Gibson
Craig, Bart. ; issue — three sons and two
daughters. Sons — 1. George Granville, Earl
Gower, horn July 25, 1850, died July 5, 1858 ;
2. Cromartie, Marquis of Stafford, born 20th
July 1851 ; 3. Lord Francis, Viscount Tarbet,
horn August 3, 1852. Daughters, Lady
Florence and Lady Alexandra ; for the latter
the Princess of Wales was sponsor.

There are a number of clans not dignified
by Mr Skene with separate notice, pro-
bably because he considers them subordinate
branches of other clans. The principal of
these, however, we shall shortly notice here,
before giving an account of four important
clans located in the Highlands, which are
generally admitted to he of foreign origin, at
least so far as their names and chiefs are con-
cerned.

GUNN.

Badge — Juniper.

As we have given in minute detail the
history of the somewhat turbulent clan Gunn
in the first part of the work, our notice of it
here will be brief.

The clan, a martial and hardy, though not a
numerous race, originally belonged to Caith-
ness, but in the sixteenth century they settled
in Sutherland. Mr Smihert thinks they are
perhaps among the very purest remnants of

the Gael to be found about Sutherlandshire
and the adjoining parts. " It is probable," he
says, "that they belong to the same stock
which produced the great body of the Suther-
land population. But tradition gives the
chieftains at least a Norse origin. They are
said to have been descended from Gun, or
Gunn, or Gum, second son of Olaus, or Olav,
the Black, one of the Norwegian kings of
Man and the Isles, who died 18th June
1237. One tradition gives them a settle-
ment in Caithness more than a century
earlier, deducing their descent from Gun,
the second of three sons of Olaf, described as
a man of great braver y, who, in 1100, dwelt
in the Orcadian isle of Grasmsay. The above-
mentioned Gun or Guin is said to have received
from his grandfather on the mother's side,
Farquhar, Earl of Boss, the possessions in
Caithness which long formed the patrimony
of his descendants : the earliest stronghold of
the chief in that county being Halbury castle,
or Easter Clythe, situated on a precipitous
rock, overhanging the sea. From a subse-
quent chief who held the office of coroner, it
was called Crowner Gun's Castle. It may he
mentioned here that the name Gun is the same
as the Welsh Gwynn, and the Manx Gawne.
It was originally Gun, but is now spelled
Gunn.

The clan Gunn continued to extend their
possessions in Caithness till about the middle
of the fifteenth century, when, in consequence
of their deadly feuds with the Keiths, and
other neighbouring clans, they found it neces-
sary to remove into Sutherland, where they
settled on the lands of Kildonan, under the
protection of the Earls of Sutherland, from
whom they had obtained them. Mixed up
as they were with the clan feuds of Caith-
ness and Sutherland, and at war with the
Mackays as well as the Keiths, the history
of the clan up to this time is full of in-
cidents which have more the character of
romance than reality. In one place Sir Robert
Gordon, alluding to " the inveterat deidlie
feud betuein the clan Gun and the Slaightean-
Aberigh," — a branch of the Mackays,— he
says : " The long, the many, the horrible en-
counters which happened between these two
trybes, with the bloodshed and infinit spoils

THE GTJNtfS— THE MACLATJEINS.

279

committed in every part of the dioey of Cat-
teynes by them and their associats, are of so
disordered and troublesome memorie," that he
declines to give details.

Previous to their removal into Sutherland,
George Gun, commonly called the Chruner, or
Coroner, and by the Highlanders, Fear IPm
Braisteach-more, from the great brooch which
he wore as the badge of his office of coroner,
was killed by the Keiths of Caithness, as for-
merly narrated.

The Crowner's eldest son, James, succeeded
as chief, and he it was who, with his family
and the greater portion of his clan, removed
into Sutherland. The principal dwelling-house
of the chiefs was, thereafter, Killeman, in the
parish of Kildonan, until the house was acci-
dentally destroyed by fire about 1690. From
this chief, the patronymic of Mac-Sheumais, or
MacKeamish, (that is, the son of James,) which
then became the Gaelic sept-name of the chiefs,
is derived. From one of the sons of the
Crowner, named William, are descended the
Wilsons of Caithness, (as from a subsequent
chief of the same name, the Williamsons,) and
from another, Henry, the Hendersons. An-
other son, Eobert, who was killed with his
father, was the progenitor of the Gun Kobsons;
and another son, John, also slain by the
Keiths, of the Gun MacEans, or Maclans,
that is Johnsons, of Caithness. The Gallies
are also of this clan, a party of whom settling
in Eoss-shire being designated as coming from
Gall-'aobh, the stranger's side.

William Gunn, the eighth MacKeamish, an
officer in the army, was killed in battle in
India, without leaving issue, when the chief-
ship devolved on Hector, great-grandson of
George, second son of Alexander, the fifth
MacKeamish, to whom he was served nearest
male heir, on the 31st May 1803, and George
Gunn, Esq. of Ehives, county of Sutherland,
his only son, became, on his death, chief of the
clan Gunn, and the tenth MacKeamish.

Maclaurin.
Maclatjrin, more commonly spelled Mac-
laren, is the name of a small clan belonging
to Perthshire, and called in Gaelic the claim
Labhrin. The name is said to have been
derived from the district of Lorn, in Argvle-

shire, the Gaelic orthography of which is
Lubhrin. The Maclaurins bear the word Dal-
riada, as a motto above their coat of arms.

MACLAURIN OR MACLAREN.

CcHTts

Badge — La urel.

From Argyleshire the tribe of Laurin moved
into Perthshire, having, it is said, acquired
from Kenneth Macalpin, after his conquest of
the Picts in the 9th century, the districts of
Balquhidder and Strathearn, and three brothers
are mentioned as having got assigned to them
in that territory the lands of Bruach, Auchle-
skin, and Stank. In the churchyard of Bal-
quhidder, celebrated as containing the grave
of Bob Eoy, the burial places of their different
families are marked off separately, so as to cor-
respond with the situation which these estates
bear to each other, a circumstance which so far
favours the tradition regarding them.

When the earldom of Strathearn became
vested in the crown in 1370, the Maclaurins
were reduced from the condition of proprietors
to that of " kyndly " or perpetual tenants,
which they continued to be till 1508, when it
was deemed expedient that this Celtic holding
should be changed, and the lands set in feu,
"for increase of policie and augmentation of
the king's rental."

About 1497, some of the clan Laurin having
carried off the cattle from the Braes of Lnchaber,
the Macdonalds followed the spoilers, and,
overtaking them in Glenurchy, after a sharp
fight, recovered the "lifting." The Mac-
laurins straightway sought the assistance of
their kinsman. Dugal Stewart of Appin, who

280

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

at once joined them with his followers, and a
conflict took place, when both Dugal and
Macdonald of Keppoch, the chiefs of their
respective clans, were among the slain. This
Dugal was the first of the Stewarts of Appin.
He was an illegitimate son of John Stewart,
third Lord of Lorn, hy a lady of the clan
Laurin, and in 1469 when he attempted, by
force of arms, to obtain possession of his father's
lands, he was assisted by the Maclaurins, 1 30
of whom fell in a battle that took place at the
foot of Bendoran, a mountain in Glenurchy.

The clan Laurin were the strongest sept in
Balquhidder, which was called " the country
of the Maclaurins." Although there are few
families of the name there now, so numerous
were they at one period that none dared enter
the church until the Maclaurins had taken
their seats. This invidious right claimed by
them often led to unseemly brawls and fights
at the church door, and lives were sometimes
lost in consequence. In 1532, Sir John Mac-
laurin, vicar of Balquhidder, was killed in one
of these quarrels, and several of his kinsmen,
implicated in the deed, were outlawed.

A deadly feud existed between the Mac-
laurins and their neighbours, the Macgregors
of Bob Boy's tribe. In the 1 6th century, the
latter slaughtered no fewer than eighteen
householders of the Maclaurin name, with the
whole of their families, and took possession of
the farms which had belonged to them. The
deed was not investigated till 1604, forty-sis
years afterwards, when it was thus described
in their trial for the slaughter of the Col-
quhouns : " And siclyk, John M'Cotill cheire,
ffor airt and pairt of the crewall murthour
and burning of auchtene houshalders of the
elan Lawren, thair wyves and bairns, com-
mittit fourtie sax zeir syne, or thairby." The
verdict was that he was " clene, innocent, and
acquit of the said crymes." 5 The hill farm of

5 In reference to this, we extract the following from
the Scotsman, Feb. 12, 1869 :—" Within the last few
days a handsome monument from the granite works
of Messrs Macdonald, Field, & Co., Aberdeen, has
been erected in the churchyard of Balquhidder, bear-
ing the following inscription : — 'In memoriam of the
Clan Laurin, anciently the allodian inhabitants of
Balquhidder and Strathearn, the chief of whom, in
the decrepitude of old age, together with his aged and
infirm adherents, their wives and children, the widows
of their departed kindred— all were destroyed in the
silent midnight hour by fire and sword, by the hands

Invernenty, on " The Braes of Balquhidder,"
was one of the farms thus forcibly occupied by
the Macgregors, although the property of a
Maclaurin family, and in the days of Rob
Boy, two centuries afterwards, the aid of
Stewart of Appin was called in to replace the
Maclaurins in their own, which he did at the
head of 200 of his men. All these farms,
however, are now the property of the chief of
clan Gregor, having been purchased about 1798
from the commissioners of the forfeited estates.

The Maclaurins were out in the rebellion of
1745. According to President Forbes, they
were followers of the Murrays of Athole, but
although some of them might have been so,
the majority of the clan fought for the Pre-
tender with the Stewarts of Appin under
Stewart of Ardsheil.

The chiefship was claimed by the family to
which belonged Colin Maclaurin, the eminent
mathematician and philosopher, and his son,
John Maclaurin, Lord Dreghorn. In the
application given in for the latter to the Lyon
Court, he proved his descent from a family
which had long been in possession of the
island of Tiree, one of the Argyleshire He-
brides.

MACRAE.

Badge — Club-moss.

Macrae (MaoEa or MacBath)6 is the name
of a Boss-shire clan at one time very numerous

of a banditti of incendiarists from Glendoehart, A.D.
1558. Erected by Daniel Maclaurin, Esq. of St
John's "Wood, London, author of a short history of
his own clan, and for the use of his clansmen only. —
October 1868.'"

0 For the information here given, we are mainly
indebted to the MS. above referred to.

THE MACRAES— THE BUCHANANS.

281

on the shores of Kintail, but now widely scat-
tered through Scotland and the colonies, more
especially Canada. The oldest form of the
name " M'Rath " signifies " son-of-good-luck.:'
The clan is generally considered to he of pure
Gaelic stock, although its earliest traditions
point to an Irish origin. They are said to have
come over with Colin Fitzgerald, the founder
of the clan Mackenzie, of whose family they
continued through their whole history the
warm friends and adherents, so much so that
they were jocularly called " Seaforth's shirt,"
and under his leadership they fought at the
battle of Largs, in 1263. They settled first in
the Aird of Lovat, but subsequently emigrated
into Glenshiel, in the district of Kintail. At
the battle of Auldearn, in May 1645, the
Macraes fought under the " Caber-Eey," on the
side of Montrose, where they lost a great num-
ber of men. The chief of the Macraes is
Macrae of Inverinate, in Kintail, whose family
since about the year 1520 held the honourable
post of constables of Islandonan. A MS.
genealogical account of the clans, written by
the Rev. John Macrae, minister of Dingwall,
who died in 1704, was formerly in possession
of Lieut. -Col. Sir John Macrae of Ardintoul,
and is now possessed by the present head of
the Inverinate family, Colin Macrae, Esq.,W.S.,
who has also a copy of a treaty of friendship
between the Campbells of Craignish and the
Macraes of Kintail, dated 1702. This history
contains many interesting stories, descriptive
of the great size, strength, and courage for
which the clan was remarkable. One Duncan
Mor, a man of immense strength, contributed
largely to the defeat of the Macdonalds at the
battle of Park, in 1464, and it was said of him
that, though engaged in many conflicts and
always victorious, he never came off 'without a
wound; and another Duncan, who lived in the
beginning of the 18th century, was possessed of
so great strength that he is said to have carried
for some distance a stone of huge size, and laid
it down on the farm of Auchnangart, where it is
still to be seen. He was the author of several
poetical pieces, and was killed with many of his
clan at Sheriffmuir, in 1715, his two brothers
falling at his side. His sword, long preserved
in the Tower of London, was shown as "the
great Highlander's sword."

Loth males and females of the Macraes are
said to have evinced a strong taste, not only
for severe literary studies, but for the gentler
arts of poetry and music. Erom the beginning
of the 15th century, one of the Inverinate
family always held the office of vicar of Kin-
tail ; and John, the first vicar, was much re-
vered for his learning, which he acquired with
the monks of Beauly. Farquhar Macrae, born
1580, who entered the church, is said to have
been a great Latin scholar. It is told of this
Farquhar, that on his first visit to the island
of Lewes, he had to baptize the whole popula-
tion under forty years of age, no minister being
resident on the island.

"We shall here give a short account of the
Buchanans and Colquhouns, because, as Smi-
bert says of the latter, they have ever been
placed among the clans practically, although
the neighbouring Lowlanders gave to them
early Saxon names. It is probable that pri-
mitively the}r were both of Gaelic origin.

BUCHANAN.

Badge — Bilberry or Oak.

The Buchanans belong to a numerous clan
in Stirlingshire, and the country on the north
side of Loch Lomond. The reputed founder
of the clan was Anselan, son of O'Kyan, king
of Ulster, in Ireland, who is said to have been
compelled to leave Ms native country by the
incursions of the Danes, and take refuge in
Scotland. He landed, with some attendants,
on the northern coast of Argyleshire, near the
Lennox, about the year 1016, and having,
according to the family tradition, in all such
2 N

'282

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

cases made and provided, lent his assistance
to King Malcolm the Second in repelling his
old enemies the Danes, on two different occa-
sions of their arrival in Scotland, he received
from that king for his services a grant of land
in the north of Scotland. The improbable
character of this genealogy is manifested by
its farther stating that the aforesaid Anselan
married the heiress of the lands of Buchanan,
a lady named Dennistoun ; for the Dennis-
touns deriving their name from lands given to
a family of the name of Danziel, who came
into Scotland with Alan, the father of the
founder of the Abbey of Paisley, and the first
dapifer, seneschal, or steward of Scotland, no
heiress of that name could have been in Scot-
land until long after the period hero referred
to. It is more probable that a portion of
what afterwards became the estate of Buchanan
formed a part of some royal grant as being
connected with the estates of the Earls of
Lennox, whom Skene and Napier have estab-
lished to have been remotely connected with
the royal family of the Canmore line, and to
have been in the first instance administrators,
on the part of the crown, of the lands which
were afterwards bestowed upon them.

The name of Buchanan is territorial, and is
now that of a parish in Stirlingshire, which
was anciently called Inchcaileoch (" old
woman's island"), from an island of that
name in Loch Lomond, on which in earlier
ages there was a nunnery, and latterly the
parish church for a century after the Kefor-
mation. In 1621 a detached part of the
parish of Luss, which comprehends the lands
of the family of Buchanan, was included in
this parish, when the chapel of Buchanan was
used for the only place of worship, and gave
the name to the whole parish.

Anselan (in the family genealogies styled
the third of that name) the seventh laird of
Buchanan, and the sixth in descent from the
above-named Irish prince, but not unlikely to
be the first of the name, which is Norman
French, is dignified in the same records with
the magniloquent appellation of seneschal or
chamberlain to Malcolm the first Earl of Leve-
nax (as Lennox was then called). In 1225,
this Anselan obtained from the same earl a
charter of a small island in Lochlomond called

Clareinch — witnesses Dougal, Gilchrist, and
Amalyn, the earl's three brothers — the name
of which island afterwards became the rallying
cry of the Buchanans. He had three sons
viz., Methlen, said by Buchanan of Auchmar
to have been ancestor of the MacMillans ;
Colman, ancestor of the MacColmans ; and his
successor Gilbert.

His eldest son, Gilbert, or Gillebrid, appears
to have borne the surname of Buchanan.

Sir Maurice Buchanan, grandson of Gilbert,
and son of a chief of the same name, received
from Donald, Earl of Lennox, a charter of the
lands of Sallochy, with confirmation of the
upper part of the carrucate of Buchanan. Sir
Maurice also obtained a charter of confirmation
of the lands of Buchanan from King David
II. in the beginning of his reign.

Sir Maurice de Buchanan the second, above
mentioned, married a daughter of Menteith of
Eusky, and had a son, Walter de Buchanan,
who had a charter of confirmation of some of
his lands of Buchanan from Eobert the Second,
in which he is designed the king's " consan-
guineus," or cousin. His eldest son, John,
married Janet, daughter and sole heiress of
John Buchanan of Leny, fourth in descent
from Allan already noticed. John, who died
before his father, had three sons, viz., Sir
Alexander, Walter, and John, who inherited
the lands of Leny, and carried on that family.

Sir Alexander died unmarried, and the
second son, Sir Walter, succeeded to the
estate of Buchanan.

This Sir Walter de Buchanan married
Isabel, daughter of Murdoch, Duke of Al-
bany, governor of Scotland, by Isabel, countess
of Lennox, in her own right. With a daughter,
married to Gray of Foulis, ancestor of Lord
Gray, he had three sons, viz., Patrick, his
successor ; Maurice, treasurer to the Princess
Margaret, the daughter of King James I.,
and Dauphiness of France, with whom he
left Scotland ; and Thomas, founder of the
Buchanans of Carbeth.

The eldest son, Patrick, acquired a part of
Strathyre in 1455, and had a charter under
the great seal of his estate of Buchanan, dated
in 1460. He had two sons and a daughter,
Anabella, married to her cousin, James Stew-
art of Baldorrans, grandson of Murdoch,

THE BUCHANANS.

283

Duke of Albany. Their younger son, Thomas
Buchanan, was, in 1482, founder of the house
of Drumakill, whence, in the third genera-
tion, came the celebrated George Buchanan.
Patrick's elder son, Walter Buchanan of that
ilk, married a daughter of Lord Graham, and
by her had two sops, Patrick and John, and
two daughters, one of them married to the
laird of Lamond, and the other to the laird of
Ardkinglass.

John Buchanan, the younger son, succeeded
by testament to Menzies of Arnprior, and was
the facetious "King of Kippen," and faithful
ally of James V, The way in which the
laird of Arnprior got the name of " King of
Kippen" is thus related by a tradition which
Sir Walter Scott has introduced into his Tales
of a Grandfather : — " When James the Fifth
travelled in disguise, he used a name which
was known only to some of his principal
nohility and attendants. He was called the
Goodman (the tenant, that is) of Ballengeich.
Ballengeich is a steep pass which leads down
behind the castle of Stirling. Once upon a
time when the court was feasting in Stirling,
the king sent for some venison from the neigh-
bouring hills. The deer was killed and put
on horses' backs to be transported to Stirling.
Unluckily they had to pass the castle gates of
Arnprior, belonging to a chief of the Buchanans,
who chanced to have a considerable number of
guests with him. It was late, and the company
were rather short of victuals, though they had
more than enough of liquor. The chief, seeing
so much fat venison passing his very door,
seized on it, and to the expostulations of the
keepers, who told him it belonged to King
James, he answered insolently, that if James
was king in Scotland, he (Buchanan) was king
in Kippen ; being the name of the district in
which Arnprior lay. On hearing what had
happened, the king got on horseback, and
rode instantly from Stirling to Buchanan's
house, where he found a strong fierce-looking
Highlander, with an axe on his shoulder,
standing sentinel at the door, This grim
warder refused the king admittance, saying
that the laird of Arnprior was at dinner, and
would not be disturbed. ' Yet go up to the
company, my good friend,' said the king, ' and
tell him that the Goodman of Ballengeich is

come to feast with the King of Kippen.' The
porter went grumbling into the house, and told
his master that there was a fellow with a red
beard at the gate, who called himself the
Goodman of Ballengeich, who said he was
come to dine with the King of Kippen. As
soon as Buchanan heard these words, he knew
that the king was come in person, and has-
tened down to kneel at James's feet, and to
ask forgiveness for his insolent behaviour.
But the king, who only meant to give him a
fright, forgave him freely, and, going into the
castle, feasted on his own venison which
Buchanan had intercepted. Buchanan of
Arnprior was ever afterwards called the King
of Kippen." " He was killed at the battle of
Pinkie in 1547.

The elder son, Patrick, who fell on Flodden
field, durng his father's lifetime, had married
a daughter of the Earl of Argyll. She bore
to him two sons and two daughters. The
younger son, Walter, in 1519, conveyed to
his son Walter the lands of Spittal, and was
thus the founder of that house. On the 14th
December of that year, he had a charter from
his father of the temple-lands of Easter-Catter.

The elder son, George Buchanan of that ilk,
succeeded his grandfather, and was sheriff of
Dumbartonshire at the critical epoch of 1561.
By Margaret, daughter of Edmonstone of Dun-
treath, he had a son, John, who died before
his father, leaving a son. By a second lady,
Janet, daughter of Cunninghame of Craigans,
he had William, founder of the now extinct
house of Auchmar.

John Buchanan, above mentioned as dying
before his father, George Buchanan of that ilk,
was twice married, first to the Lord Living-
ston's daughter, by whom he had one son,
George, who succeeded his grandfather. The
son, Sir George Buchanan, married Mary
Graham, daughter of the Earl of Monteith,
and had, with two daughters, a son, Sir John
Buchanan of that ilk. Sir John married
Anabella Erskine, daughter of Adam, conimen-
dator of Cambuskenneth, a son of the Master
of Mar. He had a son, George, his successor,
and a daughter married to Campbell of Ea-
hein.

Sir George Buchanan the son married Eliza-
7 History of Scotland.

284

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

beth Preston, daughter of the laird of Craig-
millar. Sir George was taken prisoner at
Inverkeithing, in which state he died in the
end of 1651, leaving, with three daughters,
one son, John, the last laird of Buchanan,
who was twice married, but had no male issue.
By hi3 second wife, Jean Pringle, daughter of
Mr Andrew Pringle, a minister, he had a
daughter Janet, married to Henry Buchanan
of Leny. John, the last laird, died in Decem-
ber 1682. His estate was sold by his creditors,
and purchased by the ancestor of the Duke of
Montrose.

The barons or lairds of Buchanan built a
castle in Stirlingshire, where the present
Buchanan house stands, formerly called the
Peel of Buchanan. Part of it exists, formina
the charter-room. A more modern house was
built by these chiefs, adjoining the east side.
This mansion came into the possession of the
first Duke of Montrose, who made several
additions to it, as did also subsequent dukes,
and it is now the chief seat of that ducal
family in Scotland.

The principal line of the Buchanans be-
coming, as above shown, extinct in 1682, the
representation of the family devolved on
Buchanan of Auchmar. This line became, in
its turn, extinct in 1816, and, in the absence
of other competitors, the late Dr Francis
Hamilton-Buchanan of Bardowie, Spittal, and
Leny, as heir-male of Walter, first of the
family of Spittal, established in 1826 his
claims as chief of the clan.

The last lineal male descendant of the Bucha-
nans of Leny was Henry Buchanan, about 1723,
whose daughter and heiress, Catherine, mar-
ried Thomas Buchanan of Spittal, an officer in
the Dutch service, who took for his second
wife, Elizabeth, youngest daughter of John
Hamilton of Bardowie, the sole survivor of
her family, and by her he had four sons and
two daughters. Their eldest son John, born
in 1758, succeeded to the estate of Bardowie,
and assumed the additional name of Hamilton,
but dying without male issue, was succeeded
by his brother, the above named Dr Francis
Hamilton-Buchanan.

There were at one time so many heritors of
the name of Buchanan, that it is said the
laird of Buchanan could, in a summer's day,

call fifty heritors of his own surname to his
house, upon any occasion, and all of them
might with convenience return to their re-
spective residences before night, the most dis-
tant of their homes not being above ten miles
from Buchanan Castle.

COLQUHOUN.

Badge — Bearberry.
The territory of the Colquhouns is in Dum-
bartonshire, and the principal families of the
name are Colquhoun of Colquhoun and Luss,
the chief of the clan, a baronet of Scotland
and Nova Scotia, created in 1704, and of
Great Britain in 1786; Colquhoun of Killer-
mont and Garscadden ; Colquhoun of Arden-
connel ; and Colquhoun of Glenmillan. There
was likewise Colquhoun of Tilliquhoun, a
baronet of Scotland and Nova Scotia (1625),
but this family is extinct.

The origin of the name is territorial. One
tradition deduces the descent of the first pos-
sessor from a younger son of the old Earls of
Lennox, because of the similarity of their
armorial bearings. It is certain that they
were anciently vassals of that potent house.

The immediate ancestor of the family of
Luss was Humphry de Kilpatrick, who, in the
reign of Alexander II., not later than 1246,
obtained from Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, a
grant of the lands and barony of Colquhoun,
in the parish of Old or West Kilpatrick, pro
servitio unius militis, &c, and in consequence
assumed the name of Colquhoun, instead of
his own.

His grandson, Ingelram, third Colquhoun,
lived in the reign of Alexander III.

THE COLQUHOUNS.

285

His son, Humphry de Colqulioun, is witness
in a charter of Malcolm, fifth Earl of Lennox,
in favour of Sir John de Luss,9 between the
years 1292-1333. The following remarkable
reference to the construction of a house ad opus
Gulquhanorum, by order of King Eobert Bruce,
is extracted from the Compotum Constabularii
de Cardross, vol. L, in the accounts of the
Great Chamberlains of Scotland, under date
30th July 1329, as quoted by Mr Tytler in
the appendix to the second volume of his
History of Scotland : " Item, in construccione
cujusdam domus ad opus CidquhanorumDomim
Eegis ibidem, 10 solidi." Mr Tytler in a
note says that Gulquhanorum is " an obscure
word, which occurs nowhere else — conjectured
by a learned friend to be ' keepers of the dogs,'
from the Gaelic root Gillen-au-con — abbre-
viated, GiUecon, Culquhoun."

Sir Eobert de Colquhoun, supposed by Mr
Fraser, the family historian, to be fifth in descent
from the first Humphry, and son of a Humphry,
the fourth of Colquhoun, in the reign of David
Bruce, married in or previous to the year 1368
the daughter and sole heiress (known in the
family tradition as " The Fair Maid of Luss,")
of Godfry de Luss, lord of Luss, head or
chief of an ancient family of that name, and
the sixth in a direct male line from Malduin,
dean of Lennox, who, in the beginning of the
thirteenth century, received from Alwyn,
second Earl of Lennox, a charter of the lands
of Luss. The Luss territories lie in the
mountainous but beautiful and picturesque
district on the margin of Loch Lomond.
Sir Eobert was designed " dominus de Col-
quhoun and de Luss," in a charter dated
in 1368; since which time the family have
borne the designation of Colquhoun of Col-
quhoun and Luss. He is also witness in a
charter of the lands of Auchmar by Walter
of Faslane, Lord of Lennox, to Walter de
Buchanan in 1373. He had four sons, namely
— Sir Humphry, his heir ; Eobert, first of the
family of Camstraddan, from whom several
other families of the name of Colquhoun in
Dumbartonshire are descended ; Eobert men-
tioned in the Camstraddan charter as " frater
junior;'' and Patrick, who is mentioned in a

' Fraser's Chiefs of Colquhoun.

charter from his brother Sir Humphry to his
other brother Eobert.

The eldest son, Six Humphry, sixth of
Colquhoun, and eighth of Luss, is a witness in
three charters by Duncan, Earl of Lennox, in
the years 1393, 1394, and 1395. He died in
1406, and left three sons and two daughters.
Patrick, his youngest son, was ancestor of the
Colquhouns of Glennis, from whom the
Colquhouns of Barrowfield, Piemont, and
others were descended. The second son, John,
succeeded his eldest brother. The eldest son,
Sir Eobert, died in 1408, and was succeeded
by his brother. Sir John Colquhoun was
appointed governor of the castle of Dumbarton,
by King James I., for his fidelity to that king
during his imprisonment in England. From
his activity in punishing the depredations of
the Highlanders, who often committed great
outrages in the low country of Dumbarton-
shire, he rendered himself obnoxious to them,
and a plot was formed for his destruction.
He received a civil message from some of their
chiefs, desiring a friendly conference, in order
to accommodate all their differences. Suspecting
no treachery, he went out to meet them but
slightly attended, and was immediately attacked
by a numerous body of Islanders, under two
noted robber-chiefs, Lachlan Maclean and
Murdoch Gibson, and slain in Inchmurren, on
Loch Lomond, in 1439. By his wife, Jean,
daughter of Eobert, Lord Erskine, he had a
son, Malcolm, a youth of great promise. He
died before his father, leaving a son, John,
who succeeded his grandfather in 1439. This
Sir John Colquhoun was one of the most
distinguished men of his age in Scotland, and
highly esteemed by King James III., from
whom he got a charter in 1457 of the lands of
Luss, Colqulioun, and Garscube, in Dumbarton-
shire, and of the lands of Glyn and Sauchie,
in Stirlingshire, incorporating the whole into
a free barony, to be called the Barony of Luss ;
and in the following year he obtained from
the king a charter erecting into a free forest
the lands of Eossdhu and Glenmachome. From
1465 to 1469 he held the high office of
comptroller of the Exchequer, and was subse-
quently appointed sheriff principal of Dum-
bartonshire. In 1645 he got a grant of the
lands of Kilmardinny, and in 1473 and in 1474,

286

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

of Boseneath, Strone, &o. In 1474 he was
appointed lord high chamberlain of Scotland,
and immediately thereafter was nominated one
of the ambassadors extraordinary to the Court
of England, to negotiate a marriage between
the Prince Eoyal of Scotland and the Princess
Cicily, daughter of King Edward IV. By
a royal charter dated 17th September 1477,
he was constituted governor of the castle of
Dumbarton for life. He was killed by a
cannon-ball at the siege of Dumbarton Castle,
probably in 1478. By his wife, daughter of
Thomas, Lord Boyd, he had two sons and one
daughter. His second son, Eobert, was bred
to the church, and was first rector of Kippen
and Luss, and afterwards bishop of Argyle
from 1473 to 1499. The daughter, Margaret,
married Sir William Murray, seventh baron of
Tullibardine (ancestor of the Dukes of Athole),
and bore to him seventeen sons.

His eldest son, Sir Humphry Colquhoun,
died in 1493, and was succeeded by his son, Sir
John Colquhoun, who received the honour of
knighthood from King James IV., and obtained
a charter under the great seal of sundry lands
and baronies in Dumbartonshire, dated 4th
December 1506. On 11th July 1526 he and
Patrick Colquhoun his son received a respite
for assisting John, Earl of Lennox, in treason-
ably besieging, taking, and holding the castle
of Dumbarton. He died before 16th August
1536. By his first wife, Elizabeth Stewart,
daughter of John, Earl of Lennox, Sir John
Colquhoun had four sons and four daughters ;
and by his second wife, Margaret, daughter of
William Cunningham of Craigends, he had
two sons and two daughters. His eldest son,
Sir Humphry Colquhoun, married Lady
Catherine Graham, daughter of William, first
Earl of Montrose, and died in 1537. By
her he had three sons and two daughters.
His son James, designated of Garscube;
ancestor of the Colquhouns of Garscube,
Adam, and Patrick.9 His eldest son, Sir John
Colquhoun, married, first, Christian Erskine,
daughter of Eobert, Lord Erskine ; and
secondly, Agnes, daughter of the fourth Lord
Boyd, ancestor of the Earls of Kilmarnock.
He died in 1575.

9 Fraser's Chiefs of ColqvJwim.

His eldest son, Humphry, acquired the
heritable coronership of the county of Dum-
barton, from Eobert Graham of Knockdollian,
which was ratified and confirmed by a charter
under the great seal in 1583.

In July 1592, some of the Macgregors
and Macfarlanes came down upon the low
country of Dumbartonshire, and committed
vast ravages, especially upon the territory of
the Colquhouns. At the head of his vassals,
and accompanied by several of the gentlemen
of the neighbourhood, Sir Humphry Colquhoun
attacked the invaders, and after a bloody
conflict, which was only put an end to at
nightfall, he was overpowered by his assailants,
and forced to retreat. To quote from Mr
Fraser's Chiefs of the Colquhouns — "He betook
himself to the castle of Bannachra, a strong-
hold which had been erected by the Colquhouns
at the foot of the north side of the hill of
Bennibuie, in the parish of Luss. A party of
the Macfarlanes and Macgregors pursued him,
and laid siege to his castle. One of the ser-
vants who attended the knight was of the
same surname as himself. He had been
tampered with by the assailants of his master,
and treacherously made him their victim. The
servant, while conducting his master to his
room up a winding stair of the castle, made
him by preconcert a mark for the arrows of
the clan who pursued him by throwing the
glare of a paper torch upon his person when
opposite a loophole. A winged arrow, darted
from its string with a steady aim, pierced the
unhappy knight to the heart, and he fell dead
on the spot. The fatal loophole is still pointed
out, but the stair, like its unfortunate lord,
has crumbled into dust." Sir Humphry mar-
ried, first, Lady Jean Cunningham, daughter
of Alexander, fifth Earl of Glencairn, widow
of the Earl of Argyll, by whom he had no
children, and secondly, Jean, daughter of John,
Lord Hamilton, by whom he had a daughter.
Having no male issue, he was succeeded by
his younger brother, Alexander.

In Sir Alexander's time occurred the raid ot
Glenfinlas, and the bloody clan conflict of Glen-
fruin, between the Colquhouns and Macgregors,
in December 1602 and February 1603, regard-
ing which the popular accounts are much al
variance with the historical facts. The Col-

THE COLQUHOUNS

287

quhouns had taken part in the execution of
the letters of fire and sword issued by the
crown against the Macgregors some years
before, and the feud between them had been
greatly aggravated by various acts of violence
and aggression on both sides.

In 1602, the Macgregors made a regular
raid on the laird of Luss's lands in Glentinlas,
and carried off a number of sheep and cattle,
as well as slew several of the tenants. Alex-
ander Colquhoun, who had before complained
to the privy council against the Earl of Argyll
for not repressing the clan Gregor, but who
had failed in obtaining any redress, now
adopted a tragic method in order to excite the
sympathy of the king. He appeared before
his majesty at Stirling, accompanied by a
number of females, the relatives of those who
had been killed or wounded at Glenfinlas,
each carrying the bloody shirt of her killed
or wounded relative, to implore his majesty to
avenge the wrongs done them. The ruse had
the desired effect upon the king, who, from a
sensitiveness of constitutional temperament,
which made him shudder even at the sight of
blood, was extremely susceptible to impressions
from scenes of this description, and he imme-
diately granted a commission of lieutenancy to
the laird of Luss, investing him with power
to repress similar crimes, and to apprehend the
perpetrators.

" This commission granted to their enemy
appears to have roused the lawless rage of the
Macgregors, who rose in strong force to duly
the laird of Luss ; and Glenfruin, with
its disasters and sanguinary defeat of the
Colquhouns, and its ultimate terrible conse-
quences to the victorous clan themselves, was
the result."

In the beginning of the year 1603, Allaster
Macgregor of Glenstrae, followed by four
hundred men chiefly of his own clan, but
including also some of the clans Cameron and
Anverich, armed with " halberschois, pow-
aixes, twa-handit swordis, bowis and arrowis,
and with hagbutis and pistoletis," advanced
into the territory of Luss. Colquhoun, acting
under his royal commission, had raised a force
which has been stated by some writers as
having amounted to 300 horse and 500 foot.
This is probably an exaggeration, but even if

it is not, the disasters which befell them may-
be explained from the trap into which they
fell, and from the nature of the ground on
which they encountered the enemy. This
divested them of all the advantages wdiich
they might have derived from superiority of
numbers and from their horse.

On the 7th February 1603, the Macgregors
were in Glenfruin " in two divisions," writes
Mr Fraser — " One of them at the head of the
glen, and the other in ambuscade near the farm
of Strone, at a hollow or ravine called the
Crate. The Colquhouns came into Glenfruin
from the Luss side, which is opposite Strone —
probably by Glen Luss and Glen Mackurn.
Alexander Colquhoun pushed on his forces in
order to get through the glen before encounter-
ing the Macgregors ; but, aware of his approach,
Allaster Macgregor also pushed forward one
division of his forces and entered at the head
of the glen in time to prevent his enemy from
emerging from the upper end of the glen,
whilst his brother, John Macgregor, with the
division of his clan, which lay in ambuscade,
by a detour, took the rear of the Colquhouns,
which prevented their retreat down the glen
without fighting their way through that section
of the Macgregors who had got in their rear.
The success of the stratagem by which the
Colquhouns were thus placed between two
fires seems to be the only way of accounting
for the terrible slaughter of the Colquhouns
and the much less loss of the Macgregors.

" The Colquhouns soon became unable to
maintain their ground, and, falling into a moss
at the farm of Auchingaich, they were thrown
into disorder, and made a hasty and disorderly
retreat, which proved even more disastrous
than the conflict, for they had to force their
way through the men led by John Macgregor,
whilst they were pressed behind by Allaster,
who, reuniting the two divisions of his army,
continued the pursuit."

All who fell into the hands of the victors
were at once put to death, and the chief of
the Colquhouns barely escaped with his life
after his horse had been killed under him.
One hundred and forty of the Colquhouns were
slaughtered, and many more were wounded,
among whom were several women and children.
When the pursuit ended, the work of spolia-

288

H1ST0EY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

tion and devastation commenced. Large num-
bers of horses, cattle, sheep, and goats were
carried off, and many of the houses and stead-
ings of the tenantry were turned to the ground.
Their triumph the Macgregors were not allowed
long to enjoy. The government took instant
and severe measures against them. A price
was put upon the heads of seventy or eighty
of them by name, and upon a number of their
confederates of other clans : — " Before any
judicial inquiry was made," says Mr Eraser,
"on 3d April 1603, only two days before
James VI. left Scotland for England to take
possession of the English throne, an Act of
Privy Council was passed, by which the
name of Gregor or Macgregor was for ever
abolished. AH of thie surname were com-
manded, under the penalty of death, to change
it for another; and the same penalty was
denounced against those who should give food
or shelter to any of the clan. All who had
been at the conflict of Glenfruin, and at the
spoliation and burning of the lands of the
Laird of Luss, were prohibited, under the
penalty of death, from carrying any weapon
except a pointless knife to eat their meat."
Thirty-five of the clan Gregor were executed
after trial between the 20th May 1633 and the
2d March 1604. Amongst these was Allaster
Macgregor, who surrendered himself to the
Earl of Argyll.

By his wife Helen, daughter of Sir George
Buchanan of that ilk, Alexander had one son
and five daughters. He died in 1617.

The eldest son, Sir John, in his father's
lifetime, got a charter under the great seal of
the ten pound land of Dunnerbuck, dated
20th February 1602, was created a baronet of
Nova Scotia by patent dated the last day of
August 1625. He married Lady Lillias
Graham, daughter of the fourth Earl of Mon-
trose, brother of the great Marquis, "by whom
he had three sons and three daughters. His
two eldest sons succeeded to the baronetcy.
From Alexander, the third son, the Col-
quhouns of Tillyquhoun were descended. He
died in 1647.

Sir John, the second baronet of Luss,
married Margaret, daughter and sole heiress
of Sir Gideon Baillie of Lochend, in the
county of Haddington, and had two sons, and

seven daughters. He adhered firmly to the
royal cause during all the time of the civil
wars, on which account he suffered many
hardships, and, in 1654, was by Cromwell
fined two thousand pounds sterling. He was
succeeded in 1676 by his younger son, Sir
James — the elder having predeceased him —
third baronet of Luss, who held the estates
only four years, and being a minor, unmarried,
left no issue. He was succeeded in 1680 by
his uncle, Sir James, who married Penuel,
daughter of William Cunningham of Bal-
leichan, in Ireland. He had, with, one
daughter, two sons, Sir Humphry, fifth baro-
net, and James. The former was a member of
the last Scottish Parliament, and strenuously
opposed and voted against every article of the
treaty of union. By his wife Margaret,
daughter of Sir Patrick Houston of that ilk,
baronet, he had an only daughter, Anne Col-
quhoun, his sole heiress, who, in 1702, mar-
ried James Grant of Pluscardine, second son
of Ludovick Grant of Grant, immediate
younger brother of Brigadier Alexander Grant,
heir apparent of the said Ludovick.

Having no male issue, Sir Humphry, with the
design that his daughter and her husband should
succeed him in his whole estate and honours, in
1704 resigned his baronetcy into the hands of
her majesty Queen Anne, for a new patent to
himself in liferent, and his son-in-law and his
heirs therein named in fee, but with this ex-
press limitation that he and his heirs so suc-
ceeding to that estate and title should be
obliged to bear the name and arms of Col-
quhoun of Luss, &c. It was also specially pro-
vided that the estates of Grant and Luss
should not be conjoined.

Sir Humphry died in 1718, and was suc-
ceeded in his estate and honours by James
Grant, his son-in law, under the name and
designation of Sir James Colquhoun of Luss.
He enjoyed that estate and title till the death
of his elder brother, Brigadier Alexander Grant,
in 1719, when, succeeding to the estate of
Grant, he relinquished the name and title of
Colquhoun of Luss, and resumed his own,
retaining the baronetcy, it being by the last
patent vested in his person. He died in
1747.

By the said Anne, his wife, he had a

THE COLQUHOILNS.

289

numerous family. His eldest son, Humphry
Colquhoun, subsequently Humphry Grant of
Grant, died unmarried in 1732. The second
son, Ludovick, became Sir Ludovick Grant
of Grant, baronet, while the fourth son James
succeeded as Sir James Colquhoun of Luss,
the third son having died in infancy. He
is the amiable and very polite gentleman
described by Smollett in his novel of
Humphry Clinker, under the name of " Sir
George Colquhoun, a colonel in the Dutch
service." He married Lady Helen Sutherland,
daughter of William Lord Strathnaver, son
of the Earl of Sutherland, and by her he
had three sons and five daughters. In 1777
he founded the town of Helensburgh on the
frith of Clyde, and named it after his wife.
To put an end to some disputes which had
arisen with regard to the destination of the

old patent of the Nova Scotia baronetc}',
(John Colquhoun of Tillyquhoun, as the eldest
cadet, having, on the death of his cousin-
german, Sir Humphry Colquhoun, in 1718,
assumed the title as heir male of his grand-
father, the patentee), Sir James was, in 1786,
created a baronet of Great Britain. His second
youngest daughter, Margaret, married William
Baillie, a lord of session, under the title of
Lord Polkemmet, and was the mother of Sir
William Baillie, baronet. Sir James died in
November 1786.

His eldest son, Sir James Colquhoun, second
baronet under the new patent, sheriff-depute
of Dumbartonshire, was one of the principal
clerks of session. By his wife, Mary, daughter
and co-heir of James Falconer, Esq. of Monk-
town, he had seven sons and four daughters.
He died in 1805. His eldest son, Sir James,

Old Rossdhu Castle, from the Chiefs of the Colquhouns.

third baronet, was for some time M.P. for
Dumbartonshire. He married, on 13th June
1799, his cousin Janet, daughter of Sir John
Sinclair, baronet, and had three sons and two
daughters. Of this lady, who died October 21,
1846, and who was distinguished for her piety
and benevolence, a memoir exists by the late
Rev, James Hamilton, D.D., London,
n.

" Some time after Sir James' succession."
says Mr Fraser, to whose book on the Col-
quhouns we have been much indebted in this
account, " significant testimony was given that
the ancient feud between his family and that
of the Macgregors, which had frequently led to
such disastrous results to both, had given place
to feelings of hearty goodwill and friendship.

290

HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

On an invitation from Six James and Lady
Colquhoun, Sir John Murray Macgregor and
Lady Macgregor came on a visit to Bossdhu.
The two baronets visited Glenfruin. They
were accompanied by Lady Colquhoun and
Misses Helen and Catherine Colquhoun. After
the battlefield had been carefully inspected by
the descendants of the combatants, Sir J. M.
Macgregor insisted on shaking hands with Sir
James Colquhoun and the whole party on the
spot where it was supposed that the battle had
been hottest. On the occasion of the same
visit to Bossdhu, the party ascended Ben
Lomond, which dominates so grandly over
Loch Lomond. On the summit of this lofty
mountain, Sir John M. Macgregor danced a
Highland reel with Miss Catherine Col-
quhoun, afterwards Mrs Millar of Earnoch.
Sir John was then fully eighty years of age."

His eldest son, Sir James Colquhoun, the
fourth baronet of the new creation, and the
eighth of the old patent, succeeded on his
father's death, 3d Eeb. 1836; chief of the
Colquhouns of Luss ; Lord-lieutenant of Dum-
bartonshire, and M.P. for that county from
1837 to 1841. He married in June 1843,
Jane, daughter of Sir Bobert Abercromby of
Birkenbog. She died 3d May 1844, leaving
one son, James, born in 1844.

The family mansion, Boss-dhu, is situated
on a beautiful peninsula. To the possessions
of the family of Colquhoun was added in 1852
the estate of Ardincaple, purchased from the
Duchess Dowager of Argyll. According to
Mr Fraser, the three baronets of Luss, before
Sir James, purchased up no less than fourteen
lairdships.

Bobert, a younger son of Sir Bobert Col-
quhoun of that ilk, who married the heiress of
Luss, was the first of the Colquhouns of Cam-
strodden, which estate, with the lands of
Achirgahan, he obtained by charter, dated 4th
July 1395, from his brother Sir Humphry.
Sir James Colquhoun, third baronet, purchased
in 1826 that estate from the hereditary pro-
prietor, and re-annexed it to the estate of
Luss.

The Killermont line, originally of Garscad-
den, is a scion of the Camstrodden branch.

FORBES.

Badge — Broom.

Although there is great doubt as to the
Celtic or at least Gaelic origin of the Forbes
clan, still, as it was one of the most powerful
and influential of the northern clans, it may
claim a notice here. " The Forbes Family
and following," says Smibert, " ranked early
among the strongest on the north-eastern coast
of Scotland ; and no one can reasonably doubt
but that the ancient Pictish Gael of the region
in question constituted a large proportion (if
not of the Fortieses, at least) of the followers
of the house."

The traditions regarding the origin of the
surname of Forbes are various ; and some of
them very fanciful. The principal of these,
referred to by Sir Samuel Forbes in his
"View of the diocese of Aberdeen" (MS.
quoted by the Statistical Account of Scot-
land, art. Tullynessle and Forbes), states
that this natne was first assumed by one
Ochonchar, from Ireland, who having slain a
ferocious bear in that district, took the name
of Forbear, now spelled and pronounced
Forbes, in two syllables ; although the English,
in pronunciation, make it only one. In con-
sequence of this feat the Forbeses carry in
their arms three bears' heads. A variation
of this story says that the actor in this daring
exploit was desirous of exhibiting his courage
to the young and beautiful heiress of the
adjacent castle, whose name being Bess, he, on
receiving her hand as his reward, assumed it

THE FORBESES.

291

to commemorate his having killed the bear
for " Bess." Another tradition states that the
name of the founder of the family was originally
Bois, a follower of an early Scottish king,
and that on granting him certain lands for
some extraordinary service, his majesty observed
that they were " for Boice." The surname,
however, is territorial, and said to be Celtic,
from the Gaelic word Ferbash or Ferbasach, a
bold man.

" On the whole," says Smibert, " the tra-
ditions of the family, as well as other authorities,
countenance with unusual strength, the belief,
that the heads of the Forbeses belonged really
to the Irish branch, and were among those
strangers of that race whom the Lowland kings
planted in the north and north-east of Scot-
land to orerawe the remaining primary popu-
lation of Gaelic Picts."

According to Skene, in his treatise De
Verborum Signification e, Duncan Forbois got
from King Alexander (but which of the three
Icings of that name is not mentioned) a charter
of the lands and heritage of Forbois in Aber-
deenshire, whence the surname. In the reign
of King William the Lion, John de Forbes
possessed the lands of that name. His son,
Fergus de Forbes, had a charter of the same
from Alexander, Earl of Buchan, about 1236.
Next of this race are Duncan de Forbes, his
son, 1262, and Alexander de Forbes, grandson,
governor of Urquharb Castle in Moray, which
he bravely defended for a long time, in 1304,
against Edward I. of England ; but on its
surrender all within the castle were put to the
sword, except the wife of the governor, who
escaped to Ireland, and was there delivered of
a posthumous son. This son, Sir Alexander
de Forbes, the only one of his family remain-
ing, came to Scotland in the reign of Robert
the Bruce, and his patrimonial inheritance
of Forbes having been bestowed upon others,
he obtained a grant of other lands instead.
He was killed at the battle of Duplin, in 1332,
fighting valiantly on the side of King David,
the son of Bruce. From his son, Sir John de
Forbes, 1373, all the numerous families in
Scotland who bear the name and their offshoots,
trace their descent.'

1 Low's Scot. Heroes, App.

Sir John's son, Sir Alexander de Forbes
(curiously said to be posthumous like the
above Alexander), acquired from Thomas,
Earl of Mar, several lands in Aberdeenshire,
the grant of which King Robert II. ratified by
charter in the third year of his reign. By
King Robert III. he was appointed justiciary
of Aberdeen, and coroner of that county. He
died in 1405. By his wife, a daughter of
Kennedy of Dunure, he had four sons, namely
— Sir Alexander, his successor, the first Lord
Forbes ; Sir William, ancestor of the Lords
Pitsligo ; Sir John, who obtained the thane-
dom of Formartine (which now gives the title
of viscount to the Earl of Aberdeen) and the
lands of Tolquhoun, by his marriage with
Marjory, daughter and heiress of Sir Henry
Preston of Formartine, knight (of the Dingwall
family), and was ancestor of the Forbeses of
Tolquhoun, Foveran, Watertoun, Culloden,
and others of the name ; and Alexander,
founder of the family of Brux, and others.

Alexander, the elder son, was created a peer
of parliament sometime after 1436. The
precise date of creation is not known, but in a
precept, directed by James II. to the lords
of the exchequer, dated 12th July 1442, he
is styled Lord Forbes. He died in 1448.
By his wife, Lady Elizabeth (sometimes called
Lady Mary) Douglas, only daughter of George,
Earl of Angus, and grand-daughter of King
Robert II., he had two sons and three
daughters.

James, the elder sou, second Lord Forbes,
was knighted by King James III. He died
soon after 1460. By his wife, Lady Egidia
Keith, second daughter of the first Earl
Marischal, he had three sons and a daughter,
namely — William, third Lord Forbes; Duncan,
of Corsindae, ancestor (by his second son) of
the Forbeses of Monymusk ; and Patrick, the
first of the family of Corse, progenitor of the
Forbeses, baronets, of Craigievar, and of the
Irish Earls of Granard. The daughter, Egidia,
became the wife of Malcolm Forbes of Tol-
quhoun.

William, third Lord Forbes, married Lady
Christian Gordon, third daughter of Alexander,
first Earl of Huntly, and had, with a daughter,
three sons, Alexander, fourth lord ; Arthur,
fifth lord; and John, sixth lord.

292

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

Alexander, fourth lord, died, while yet
young, before 16th May 1491.

Arthur, fifth Lord Forbes, succeeded his
brother, and being under age at the time, he
was placed as one of the king's wards, under
the guardianship of John, Lord Glammis,
whose daughter he had married, but he died
soon after his accession to the title, without
children.

His next brother, John, became sixth Lord
Forbes, before 30th October 1496, at which
date he is witness to a charter. The sixth
lord died in 154"7. He was thrice married,
first, to Lady Catherine Stewart, second
daughter of John, Earl of Athole, uterine
brother of King James II., and by her he had
a son John, who died young, and a daughter,
Elizabeth, married to John Grant of Grant;
secondly, to Christian, daughter of Sir John
Lundin of that ilk, by whom he had two
sons and four daughters; and, thirdly, to Eliza-
beth Barlow or Barclay, relict of the first Lord
Elphinstone, killed at Flodden in 1513, by
whom he had a son, Arthur Forbes of Putachie,
and a daughter, Janet, who was also thrice
married.

The elder son of the second marriage, John,
the Master of Forbes above mentioned, is stated
to have been a young man of great courage
and good education, but of a bold and turbu-
lent spirit. He was beheaded for treason, on
the 17th of July 1537.

After the execution of the Master, the king
(James V.) seems to have been anxious to com-
pensate the family for his severity towards
them, by admitting his next brother, William,
into his favour. He restored to him his
brother's honours and estates, and in 1539,
appointed him one of the gentlemen of his
bedchamber. This William succeeded his
father in 1547, as seventh Lord Forbes, and
died in 1593. He had married Elizabeth
Keith, daughter and coheiress, with her sister,
Margaret, Countess Marischal, of Sir William
Keith of Inverugie, and had by her six sons
and eight daughters. The sons were, John,
eighth Lord Forbes; William, of Foderhouse;
James, of Lethendy: Robert, prior of Mony-
musk; Arthur of Logie, called from his com-
plexion, "Black Arthur;" and Abraham, of
Blacktoun.

John, eighth Lord Forbes, was one of the
five noblemen appointed by commission from
the king, dated 25th July 1594, lieutenants of
the northern counties, for the suppression of
the rebellion of the popish Earls of Huntly
and Errol. His lordship was served heir to
his mother 13th November 1604, and died
soon afterwards. He had married, while still
Master of Forbes, Lady Margaret Gordon,
eldest daughter of George, fourth Earl of
Huntly, and had, with a daughter named Jean,
a son, John, who, being educated in the faith
of his mother, entered a religious order on the
continent, and died without succession. This
lady Lord Forbes repudiated, and in consequence
a sanguinary contest took place in 1572, in the
parish of Clatt, Aberdeenshire, between the
two rival clans of Forbes and Gordon. The
latter, under the command of two of the earl's
brothers, attacked the Forbeses, within a rude
intrenchment which they had formed on the
white hill of Tillyangus, in the south-western
extremity of the parish, and after a severe con-
test the Gordons prevailed, having carried the
intrenchment, and slain the Master's brother,
" Black Arthur." The pursuit of the Forbeses
was continued to the very gates of Druminner,
the seat of their chief. A number of cairns
are still pointed out where those slain on this
occasion are said to have been buried. The
eighth Lord Forbes took for his second wife,
Janet, daughter of James Seton of Touch, and
had, besides Arthur, ninth lord, another son,
and a daughter.

Arthur, ninth lord, married on 1st February
1600, Jean, second daughter of Alexander,
fourth Lord Elphinstone. He was succeeded by
his only surviving son, Alexander, tenth Lord
Forbes, who fought against the imperialists
under the banner of the lion of the north,
the renowned Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden,
in whose service he attained the rank of
lieutenant-general, and won for himself a
high military reputation. On his return
home, he had a considerable command in
the army sent from Scotland to suppress the
Irish rebellion in 1643. He afterwards
retired to Germany, where he spent the
remainder of his days. He was twice mar-
ried— first, to Anne, eldest daughter of Sir
John Forbes of Pitsligo, by whom he had,

THE FORBESES.

203

besides several children, who died young, a
son, William, eleventh Lord Forbes; and
secondl}', to Elizabeth, daughter of Robert
Forbes of Bires, in Fife, and by her had a
large family.

William, eleventh Lord Forbes, died in
1691. He was thrice married, but had issue
only by his first wife, Jean, a daughter of Sir
John Campbell of Calder.

His eldest sdn, William, twelfth Lord Forbes,
was a zealous supporter of the revolution. In
1689 he was sworn a privy councillor to King
William. He died in July 1716. By his
wife, Anne, daughter of James Brodie of
Brodie, he had three sons and one daughter.

William, the eldest son, thirteenth Lord
Forbes, married, in September 1720, Dorothy,
daughter of William Dale, Esq. of Covent
Garden, Westminster. He died at Edinburgh
26th June 1730. He had a son, Francis, four-
teenth lord, who died in August 1734, in the
thirteenth year of his age, and four daughters,
one of whom, Jean, was married to James
Dundas of Dundas, and another, the youngest,
Elizabeth, married John Gregory, M.D., pro-
fessor of the practice of medicine in the uni-
versity of Edinburgh, and was the mother of
the celebrated Dr James Gregory.

James, second son of the twelfth lord, suc-
ceeded his nephew, as fifteenth Lord Forbes,
and died at Putachie, 20th February 1761, in
the 73d year of his age. He married, first,
Mary, daughter of the third Lord Pitsligo,
widow of John Forbes of Monymusk, and
grandmother of the celebrated Sir William
Forbes of Pitsligo, baronet, and had a son,
James, sixteenth Lord Forbes, and three
daughters; secondly, in July 1741, Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir James Gordon of Park, baronet.
James, sixteenth lord, died ' at Edinburgh
29th July 1804, in the 80th year of his age.
By his wife Catherine, only daughter of Sir
Robert Innes, baronet, of Orton and Balvenie,
he had four sons and two daughters.

James Ochoncar Forbes, seventeenth lord,
the eldest son, born 7th March 1765, entered
the army in 1781, as ensign in the Coldstream
regiment of foot guards, in which he was an
officer for twenty-six years, holding important
positions, and doing good service for his
country. He died 4th. May 1843. By his

wife, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Walter
Hunter of Polmood, Peeblesshire, and Crailing,
Roxburghshire, he had six sons and four
daughters. The estate of Polmood had been
the subject of litigation for nearly fifty years
in the Court of Session and House of Lords,
but it was ultimately decided that an old man
named Adam Hunter, who laid claim to it,
had not established his pedigree. It conse-
quently came into the possession of Lady
Forbes. His lordship's eldest son, James, a
lieutenant-colonel in the Coldstream guards,
predeceased his father in 1835.

Walter, the second son, born 29th May
1798, became eighteenth Lord Forbes, on his
father's death in 1843. He was twice mar-
ried, and had in all eight sons and one daugh-
ter. He died in May 1868, and was succeeded
by his eldest son, Horace Courtenay, born in
1829.

Lord Forbes is the premier baron of Scot-
land, being the first on the union roll. He is
also a baronet of Nova Scotia, the date of
creation being 1628.

The Forbeses of Tolquhoux, ancient cadets
of this family, one of whom fell at the
battle of Pinkie, 10th September 1547, are
descended from Sir John Forbes, third son of
Sir John Forbes, justiciary of Aberdeen in the
reign of Robert III., are now represented by
James Forbes Leith, Esq. of Whitehaugh, in
the same county.

The Forbeses of Craigievar (also in Aber-
deenshire), who possess a baronetcy, descend
from the Hon. Patrick Forbes of Corse, armour-
bearer to King James III., and third son, as
already stated, of James, second Lord Forbes.
The lands of Corse, which formed part of the
barony of Coul and O'iS ele or O'Neil, were in
1476 bestowed on this Patrick, for his services,
by that monarch, and on 10th October 1482 he
had a charter of confirmation under the great
seal, of the barony of O'Neil, namely, the lands
of Coule, Kincraigy, and le Corss. In 1510
his son and successor, David_. called " Trail
the Axe," had a charter of the lands of O'Xele,
C.ors, Kincraigy, le Mureton, with the mill and
alehouse thereof (the lands of Coul being now
disjoined therefrom), and uniting and incor-
porating them into a haill and free barony,
" cum furca, fossa, pitt et gallous," &c, to be

294

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

called the barony of O'.Neil in all time coming.
He married Elizabeth, sister of Panter of New-
manswells, near Montrose, secretary of state to
James IV., and had a son, Patrick of O'Neil

Corse, infeft in 1554. Patrick's eldest son,
William, infeft in January 1567, by his wife
Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Alexander Strachan
of Thornton, had six sons and five daughters.

Craigievar Castle.

His eldest son, Patrick Forbes of Corse and
O'Neil, was bishop of Aberdeen for seventeen
years, and died in 1635. The bishop's male
line failing with his grandchildren, the family
estates devolved on the descendants of his next
brother, William Forbes of Craigievar, the first
of that branch.

His eldest son, William, was created a
baronet of Nova Scotia, 20th April 1630, with
a grant of sixteen thousand acres in New Bruns-
wick, erected into a free barony and regality,
to be called New Craigievar.

Sir William's son, Sir John, second baronet,
married Margaret, a daughter of Young oi
Auldbar, and had six sons and three daughters.

His grandson, Sir Arthur, fourth baronet,
represented the county of Aberdeen in parlia-
ment from 1727 to 1747. Sir Arthur was the
bosom friend of Sir Andrew Mitchell, British
ambassador to Frederick the Great of Prussia,
who left to Sir Arthur the bulk of his pro-

perty, including his valuable library, and his
estate of Thainston.

His son, Sir William, fifth baronet, born in
1753, by his wife, the Hon. Sarah Sempill,
daughter of the twelfth Lord Sempill, had
four sons and seven daughters.

His son, Sir Arthur, sixth baronet, was for
some time an officer in the 7th hussars. He
died unmarried in 1823, and was succeeded by
his brother, Sir John, seventh baronet, born
in 1785. He was a judge in the Hon. East
India company's service, and married in Sep-
tember 1825, the Hon. Charlotte Elizabeth,
daughter of the 17th Lord Forbes, and had
two sons and six daughters. He died 16th
February 1846.

The elder son, Sir William, born May 20,
1836, succeeded as eighth baronet. In 1858
he married the only daughter of Sir Charles
Forbes, Bart., of Newe and Edinglassie. He
married, secondly, in November 1862, Frances

THE FOEBESES.

295

Emily, youngest daughter of ■ the late bir
George Abercromby, Bart, of Birkenbog, and
has issue several sons.

The family of Forbes of Pitsligo and Fet-
tercairn, which possesses a baronetcy, is
descended from Hon. Duncan Forbes of Cor-
sindae, second son of the second Lord Forbes.

The family of Forbes of Newe and Edin-
glassie, which also possesses a baronetcy, is
descended from William Forbes of Dauch and
J^ewe, younger son of Sir John Forbes, knight,
who obtained a charter of the barony of Pit-
sligo and Kinnaldie, 10th October 1476, and
whose elder son, Sir John Forbes, was the
progenitor of Alexander Forbes, created Lord
Forbes of Pitsligo, 24th June 1633, a title
attainted in the person of Alexander, fourth
lord, for his participation in the rebellion of
1745. John Forbes of Bellabeg, the direct
descendant of the said William of Dauch, was
born at Bellabeg in September 1743. In early
life he went to Bombay, and engaging in mer-
cantile pursuits, became one of the most ex-
tensive and distinguished merchants in India.
Having realised a large fortune he repurchased
Newe, the estate of his ancestors, besides other
lands in Strathdon, and the whole of his rental
was laid out in improvements. He died 20th
June 1821, and was succeeded by his nephew,
Sir Charles Forbes, eldest son of the Rev.
George Forbes of Lochell, by his wife, Katha-
rine, only daughter of Gordon Stewart of In-
veraurie. He was created a baronet, 4th
November 1823. He sat in parliament for
upwards of twenty years. In 1833 he was
served nearest male heir in general to Alex-
ander, third Lord Pitsligo, by a jury at Aber-
deen, and the same year he obtained the
authority of the Lord Lyon to use the Pitsligo
arms and supporters. He died 20th Novem-
ber 1849, and was succeeded by his grandson,
Sir Charles, second baronet, born 15th July
1832, on whose death, unmarried, 23d May
1852, the title devolved on his uncle, Sir
Charles Forbes, third baronet, born at Bombay
21st September 1803, and educated at Harrow
school.

The first of the Fortieses of Culloden,2
Inverness-shire, was Duncan Forbes, great-

■ See view of Culloden House, vol. i. p. 657.

grandfather of the celebrated Lord President
Forbes, descended from the noble family of
Forbes through that of Tolquhoun, and by the
mother's side from that of Keith, EarlMarischal.
He was M.P. and provost of Inverness, and
purchased the estate of Culloden from the laird
of Mackintosh in 1626. He died in 1654,
aged 82.

Duncan Forbes, the first of Culloden, mar-
ried Janet, eldest daughter of James Forbes of
Corsindae, also descended from the noble
family at the head of the clan, and had, with
two daughters, three sons, namely, John, his
heir, Captain James Forbes of Caithness, and
Captain Duncan Forbes of Assynt.

John Forbes of Culloden, the eldest son,
was aho provost of Inverness. He was the
friend and supporter of the Marquis of Argyll,
and from his strong support of Presbyterian
principles he suffered much in the reign of
Charles II. and his brother James. About
the year 1670, his landed estate was doubled
by the purchase of the barony of Feriutosh
and the estate of Bunchrew. As a compen-
sation for the loss which the family had
sustained during the revolution, his eldest
son and successor, Duncan Forbes, third
of Culloden, received from the Scots par-
liament the privilege of distilling into spirits
the grain of the barony of Ferintosh, at a
nominal composition of the duty, which re-
mained the same, after the spirits distilled in
other parts of the country were subjected to a
comparatively heavy excise ; hence Ferintosh
became renowned for its whisky. The privilege
was taken away in 1785. By his wife, Marj7,
daughter of Sir Robert Times, of Innes, in
Morayshire, baronet, he had two sons, John,
and Duncan, Lord President, and several
daughters.

John, the fourth laird of Culloden, took an
active part on the side of government on the
breaking out of the rebellion of 1715, and,
with the afterwards celebrated Lord Lovat,
narrowly escaped being apprehended at Aber-
deen by Lord Saltoun, in command of the
Jacobite forces there. Both he and his brother
Duncan were engaged in putting down the in-
surrection in Inverness-shire. In those con-
vivial times he so much excelled most of his
friends in the quantity of claret that he could

296

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

drink, that he was distinguished by the name
of Bumper John. Dying without issue in
1734, he was succeeded by his only brother,
Duncan,1 the celebrated Lord President, whose
only child, John Forbes, the sixth of Culloden,
showed, when young, says Mr Burton, "the
convivial spirit of his race, without their energy
and perseverance." He lived retired at Stradis-
hall, in Suffolk, and by economy and judicious
management succeeded in some measure in re-
trieving the losses which his father had sus-
tained in the public service, and which, with
the utmost ingratitude, the government, which
his exertions and outlay had mainly helped to
establish, refused to acknowledge or compen-
sate. John Forbes died 26th September 1772.
He was twice married — first to Jane, daughter
of Sir Arthur Forbes of Craigievar, baronet,
by whom he had two sons, Duncan, who died
before him, and Arthur, his successor; and,
secondly, Jane, daughter of Captain Forbes of
Newe, without issue.

Arthur, seventh laird, died 26th May 1803,
and was succeeded by his only son, Duncan
George, who died 3d November 1827, when
his eldest son, Arthur, born 25th January
1819, became the ninth laird of Culloden.

There are many other -families of this name,
but want of space forbids us entering into
further details.

UBQUHABT.

Badge — Wall-flower.
Urquhart, or Urchakd, is the name of a

1 See portrait, vol. i. p. 679. Details concerning
this true patriot and upright judge will be found in
l ho account of the rebellion of 1745.

minor clan (Urachduri), originally settled in
Cromarty (badge, the wallflower), a branch of
the clan Forbes. Nisbet says, — "A brother
of Ochonchar, who slew the bear, and was
predecessor of the Lords Forbes, having in
keeping the castle of Urquhart, took his sur-
name from the place." This castle stood on
the south side of Loch Ness, and was in an-
cient times a place of great strength and im-
portance, as is apparent from its extensive and
magnificent ruins. In that fabulous work,
" The true pedigree and lineal descent of the
most ancient and honourable family of Ur-
quhart. since the creation of the world, by Sir
Thomas Urquhart, Knight of Cromartie," the
origin of the family and name is ascribed
to Ourohartoa, that is, "fortunate and well-
beloved," the familiar name of Esormon, of
whom the eccentric author describes himself
as the 128th descendant. He traces his pedi
gree, in a direct line, even up to Adam ana
Eve, and somewhat inconsistently makes the
word Urquhart have the same meaning as
Adam, namely, red earth.

The family of "Urquhart is one of great anti
quity. In Hailes' Annuls, it is mentioned
that Edward I. of England, during the time of
the competition for the Scottish crown, ordered
a list of the sherill's in Scotland to be made
out. Among them appears the name of Wil-
liam Urquhart of Cromartie, heritable sheriff
of the county. He married a daughter of
Hugh, Earl of Ross, and his son Adam obtained
charters of various lands. A descendant of his,
Thomas Urquhart of Cromartie, who lived in the
16th century, is said to have been father of 11
daughters and 25 sons. Seven of the latter
fell at the battle of Pinkie in 1547, and from
another descended the Urquharts of Newhall,
Monteagle, Kinbeachie, and Braelangwell.

The eldest son, Alexander Urquhart of
Cromartie, had a charter from James V. of the
lands of Inch Rory and others, in the shires
of Ross and Inverness, dated March 7, 1532.
He had two sons. The younger son, John
Urquhart, born in 1547, became tutor to his
grand-nephew, Sir Thomas Urquhart. and wms
well known afterwards by the designation of
the " Tutor of Cromartie." He died November
S, 1631, aged 84.

Sir Thomas, the family genealogist, is

THE URQUHARTS— THE STEWARTS.

297

chiefly known as the translator of Rabelais.
He appears to have at one period travelled
much on the continent. He afterwards became
a cavalier officer, and was knighted by Charles
I. at Whitehall. After that monarch's decapi-
tation, he accompanied Charles II. in his
march into England, and was taken prisoner
at the battle of Worcester in 1651, when his
estates were forfeited by Cromwell. He wrote
several elaborate works, but the most creditable
is his translation of Rabelais. Such, notwith-
standing, was the universality of his attain-
ments, that he deemed himself capable of
enlightening the world on many things never
"dreamed of in the philosophy" of ordinary
mortals. " Had I not," he says, " been pluck'd
awa}>- by the importunity of my creditors, I
would have emitted to public view above five
hundred several treatises on inventions, never
hitherto thought upon by any." The time and
place of his death are unknown. There is a
tradition that he died of an inordinate fit of
laughter, on hearing of the restoration of
Charles II. The male line ended in Colonel
James Urquhart, an officer of much distinction,
who died in 1741. The representation of the
family devolved on the Urquharts of Braelang-
well, which was sold (with the exception of a
small portion, which is strictly entailed) by
Charles Gordon Urquhart, Esq., an officer in
the Scots Greys. The Urquharts of Meldrum,
Aberdeenshire, obtained that estate through
the marriage, in 1610, of their ancestor, John
Urquhart of Craigfintry, tutor of Cromarty,
with Elizabeth Seton, heiress of Meldrum.
The Urquharts of Craigston, and a few more
families of the name, still possess estates in
the north of Scotland ; and persons of this
surname are still numerous in the counties of
Ross and Cromarty. In Ross-shire, Inverness-
shire, and Morayshire, there are parishes of
the name of Urquhart.

CHAPTER IX.

Stewart — Stewart of Lorn — Appin — Balquhidder —
"Donald of the hammer" — Stewarts of Athole —
Grandtully — Balcaskie — Drumin — Ardvoirlich —
Steuart of Dalguise — Ballechin — Fraser — Fraser of
Philorth — Lovat — Ballyfurth and Ford — Beaufort —
Castle Fraser — American Frasers — Menzies — Castle
Menzies — Pitfoddels — Chisholm — Cromlix or Crom-
Icck — Murray — Athole — Tullibardine — Ochtertyre
— Drummond — Bellyelone — Grame or Graham —
Kincardine — Earl of Montrose — Gordon — Earl of
Huntly — Duke of Gordon — "The Cock of the
North" — Gumming — Ogilvy — Ferguson.

It now only remains for us to notice shortly
several of those families, which, though gene-
rally admitted not to be of Celtic origin, yet
have a claim, for various important reasons, to
be classed among the Highland clans. Most
of them have been so long established in the
Highlands, they have risen to such power and
played such an important part in Highland
history, their followers are so numerous and so
essentially Gaelic in then' blood and manners,
that any notice of the Highland clans would
be incomplete without an account of these.
We refer to the names of Stewart, Fraser,
Menzies, Chisholm, and several others. To the
uninitiated the three last have as genuine a
Gaelic ring about them as any patronymic
rejoicing in the unmistakable prefix " Mac."

STEWART.

It is not our intention here by any means
to enter into the general history of the Stewarts
— which would be quite beyond our province,
even if we had space — but simply to give a
short account of those branches of the family
which were located in the Highlands, and to
a certain extent were regarded as Highland
clans. With regard to the origin of the
Stewarts generally, we shall content ourselves
with making use of Mr Eraser's excellent sum-
mary in the introduction to his " Red Book of
Grandtully."

Walter, the son of Alan or Fitz-Alan, the
founder of the royal family of the Stewarts,
being the first of that family who established
himself in Scotland, came from Shropshire, in
England. Walter's elder brother, William,
was progenitor of the family of Fitz-Alan, Earls
of Arundel. Their father, a Norman, married,
soon after the Xorman Conquest, the daughter

il.

298

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

of Warine, sheriff of Shropshire. He acquired
the manor of Ostvestrie or Oswestry in
Shropshire, on the "Welsh "border. On the
death of Henry I. of England, in 1135,
Walter and "William strenuously supported the
claims of the Empress Maud, thus raising
themselves high in the favour of her uncle,
David I., king of the Scots. When that king,
in 1141, was obliged to retire to Scotland,
Walter probably then accompanied him, en-
couraged, on the part of the Scottish monarch,
by the most liberal promises, which were faith-
fully fulfilled; whilst his brother William re-
mained in England, and was rewarded by
Maud's son, Henry II. of England. Erom the
munificence of King David I. Walter obtained
large grants of land in Renfrewshire and in
other places, together with the hereditary office
Senescallus Scoriae, lord high-steward of Scot-
land, an office from which his grandson, Wal-
ter, took the name of Stewart, which the
family ever afterwards retained. King Mal-
colm IV., continuing, after the example of his
grandfather, King David, to extend the royal
favour towards this English emigrant, con-
firmed and ratified to "Walter and his heirs the
hereditary office of high steward of Scotland,
and the numerous lands which King David I.
had granted. In the annals of the period,
Walter is celebrated as the founder, probably
about 1163, of the monastery of Paisley, in
the barony of Renfrew. At or after the time
of his establishing himself in Scotland, Walter
was followed to that kingdom by many English
families from Shropshire, who, settling in Ren-
frewshire, obtained lands there as vassals of
the Stewarts. W alter married Eschina de
Londonia, Lady of Moll, in Roxburghshire, by
whom he had a son, Alan; and dying in 1177,
he was succeeded in his estates and office as
hereditary steward of Scotland by that son.

Having thus pointed out the true origin of
the family of the Stewarts, our subject does not
require us to trace the subsequent history of
the main line.

Walter's son and successor, Alan, died in
1201, leaving a son, "Walter, who was ap-
pointed by Alexander II. justiciary of Scot-
land, in addition to bis hereditary office of
high-steward. He died in 1246, leaving four
sons and three daughters. Walter, the third

son, was Earl of Menteith. The eldest son,
Alexander, married Jean, daughter and heiress
of James, lord of Bute, and, in her right, he
seized both the Isle of Bute and that of Arran.

Alexander had two sons — James, his succes-
sor, and John, known as Sir John Stewart
of Bonkill, who fell at the battle of Falkirk
in 1298. Sir John Stewart had seven sons.
I. Sir Alexander, ancestor of the Stewarts,
Earls of Angus ; 2. Sir Alan of Dreghorn, of
the Earls and Dukes of Lennox, of the name
of Stewart ; 3. Sir Walter, of the Earls of
Galloway; 4. Sir James, of the Earls of
Athole, Buchan, and Traquair, and the Lords
of Lorn and Innermeath ; 5. Sir John, killed
at Halidonhill in 1333 ; 6. Sir Hugh, who
fought in Ireland under Edward Bruce ; 7.
Sir Robert of Daldowie.

James, the elder son of Alexander, succeeded
as fifth high-steward in 1283. On the death
of Alexander III. in 1286. he was one of the
six magnates of Scotland chosen to act as re-
gents of the kingdom. He died in the service
of Bruce, in 1309.

His son, Walter, the sixth high-steward,
when only twenty-one years of age, commanded
with Douglas the left wing of the Scots army
at the battle of Bannockburn. King Robert
bestowed his daughter, the Princess Marjory,
in marriage upon him, and from them the royal
house of Stuart and the present dynasty of
Great Britain are descended.

His son, Robert, seventh lord-high-steward,
had been declared heir presumptive to the
throne in 1318, but the birth of a son to Bruce
in 1326 interrupted his prospects for a time.
From his grandfather he received large posses-
sions of land in Kintyre. During the long
and disastrous reign of David II. the steward
acted a patriotic part in the defence of the
kingdom. On the death of David, without
issue, February 22d, 1371, the steward, who
was at that time fifty five years of age, suc-
ceeded to the crown as Robert II., being the
first of the family of Stewart who ascended
the throne of Scotland.

The direct male line of the elder branch of
the Stewarts terminated with James V., and
at the accession of James VI., whose descent
on his father's side was through the Earl of
Lennox, the head of the second branch, there

THE STEWAETS.

•299

did uot exist a male offset o± the family which
had sprung from an individual later than
Eobert II. Widely as some branches of the
Stewarts have spread, and numerous as are the
families of this name, there is not a lineal male
representative of any of the crowned heads of
the race, Henry, Cardinal Duke of York,- who
died iu 1807, having been the last. The crown
which came into the Stewart family through
a female seems destined ever to be transmitted
through a female.

The male representation or chiefship of the
family is claimed by the Earl of Galloway ;
also, by the Stewarts of Castlemilk as descended
from a junior branch of Darnley and Lennox.

The lirst and principal seat of the Stewarts
was in Renfrewshire, but branches of them
penetrated into the Western Highlands and
Perthshire, and acquiring territories there, be-
came founders of distinct families of the name.
Of these the principal were the Stewarts of

LORN

Badge — Oak or Thistle.

Lorn, the Stewarts of Athole, and the Stewarts
of Balquhidder, from one or other of which
all the rest have been derived. How the
Stewarts of Lorn acquired that district is told
in our account of clan Macdougall. The
Stewarts of Lorn were descended from a natural
son of John Stewart, the laiit Lord of Lorn, who,
with the assistance of the MacLarens, retained
forcible possession of part of his father's estates.
From this family sprang the Stewarts of Appin,
in Argyleshire, who, with the Athole branches,
were considered in the Highlands as forming
the clan Stewart. The badge of the original

2 For portrait of Henry,
vol. i. p. 745.

Cardinal Duke of York, v.

Stewarts was the oak, and of the royal Stuarts,
the thistle.

In the end of the fifteenth century, the
Stewarts of Appin were vassals of the Earl of
Argyll in his lordship of Lorn. In 1493 the
name of the chief was Dougal Stewart. He
was the natural son of John Stewart, the last
Lord of Lorn, and Isabella, eldest daughter of
the first Earl of Argyll. The assassination of
Campbell of Calder, guardian of the }roung
Earl of Argyll, in February 1592, caused a
feud between the Stewarts of Appin and the
Campbells, the effects of which were long felt.
During the civil wars, the Stewarts of Appin
ranged themselves under the banners of Mon-
trose, and at the battle of Inverlochy, 2d
February 1645, rendered that chivalrous noble-
man good service. They and the cause which
they upheld were opposed by the Campbells,
who possessed the north side of the same parish,
a small rivulet, called Con Runyli, or red bog,
from the rough swamp through which it ran,
being the dividing line of their lands.

The Stewarts of Appin under their chief,
Eobert Stewart, engaged in the rebellion ol
1715, when they brought 400 men into the
field. They were also "out" in T745, under
Stewart of Ardshiel, 300 strong. Some lands
in Appin were forfeited on the latter occasion,
but were afterwards restored. The principal
family is extinct, and their estate has passed to
others, chiefly to a family of the name of
Downie. There are still, however, many
branches of this tribe remaining in Appin.
The chief cadets are the families of Ardshiel,
Invernahyle, Auchnacrone, Fasnaeloich, and
Balachulish.

Between the Stewarts of Invernahyle and
the Campbells of Dunstaffnage there existed
a hitter feud, and about the beginning of the
sixteenth century, the former family were all
cut off hut one child, the infant son of Stewart
of Invernahyle, by the chief of Duntsaffnage,
called Gailein Uaine, " Green Colin." The
boy's nurse fled with him to Ardnamurchan,
where her husband, the blacksmith of the dis-
trict, resided. The latter brought him up to
his own trade, and at sixteen years of age he
could wield two forehammers at once, one in
each hand, on the anvil, which acquired for
him the name of Domhnull nan ord, " Donald

300

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

of the hammers." Having made a two-edged
sword for him, his foster-father, on presenting
it, told him of his hirth and lineage, and of the
event which was the cause of his being brought
to Ardnamurchan. Burning with a desire for
vengeance, Donald set off with twelve of his
companions, for each of whom, at a smithy at
Corpach in Lochaber, he forged a two-edged
sword. He then proceeded direct to Dun-
staifnage, where he slew Green Colin and
fifteen of his retainers. Having recovered his
inheritance, he ever after proved himself "the
unconquered foe of the Campbell." The chief
of the Stewarts of Appin being, at the time, a
minor, Donald of the hammers was appointed
tutor of the clan. He commanded the Stewarts
of Appin at the battle of Pinkie in 1547, and
on their return homewards from that disastrous
field, in a famishing condition, they found in
a house at the church of Port of Menteith,
some fowls roasting for a marriage party.
These they took from the spit, and greedily
devoured. They then proceeded on their way.
The Earl of Menteith, one of the marriage
guests, on heing apprised of the circumstance,
pursued them, and came up with them at a
place called Tobernareal. To a taunt from one
of the earl's attendants, one of the Stewarts
replied by an arrow through the heart. In the
conflict that ensued, the earl fell by the ponder-
ous arm of Donald of the hammers, and nearly
all his followers were killed.3

The Stewarts of Athole consist almost en-
tirely of the descendants, "by his five illegitimate
sons, of Sir Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan,
called, from his ferocity, "The wolf of Baden-
och," the fourth son of Eobert II., b}' his first
wife, Elizabeth More. One of his natural sons,
Duncan Stewart, whose disposition was as
ferocious as his father's, at the head of a vast
number of wild Catherans, armed only with the
sword and target, descended from the range of
hills which divides the counties of Aberdeen
and Forfar, and began to devastate the country
and murder the inhabitants. Sir Walter Ogilvy,
sheriff of Angus, Sir Patrick Gray, and Sir David
Lindsay of Glenesk, immediately collected a
force to repel them, and a desperate conflict

:i The History of Donald of the Hammers, written
by Sir Walter Scott, will be found m the fifth edition
of Captain Burt's Letters.

took place at Gasklune, near the water of Isla,
in which the former were overpowered, and
most of them slain.

James Stewart, another of the Wolf of
Badenoch's natural sons, was the ancestor of
the family of Stewart of Garth, from which
proceed almost all the other Athole Stewarts.
The Garth family became extinct in the direct
line, by the death of General David Stewart,
author of " Sketches of the Highlanders." The
possessions of the Athole Stewarts lay mainly
on the north side of Loch Tay.

The Balquhidder Stewarts derive their
origin from illegitimate branches of the Al-
bany family.

The Stewarts or Steuarts4 of GralNdtully,
Perthshire, are descended from James Stewart
of Pierston and Warwickhill, Ayrshire, who
fell at Halidon Hill in 1333, fourth son of
Sir John Stewart of Bonkill, son of Alexander,
fourth lord-high-steward of Scotland, who died
in 1283.

James Stewart's son was Sir Kobert Stewart
of Shambothy and Innermeath, whose son, Sir
John Stewart, was the first of the Stewarts of
Lorn. The fourth son of the latter, Alexander
Stewart, was ancestor of the Stewarts of Grand-
tully. " On the resignation of his father, Sir
John (apparently the first Stewart of Grand-
tully), he received a charter from Archibald,
Earl of Douglas, of the lands of Grandtully,
Kyltilich, and Aberfeldy, 30th March 1414.
He married Margaret, sister of John Hay (?) of
Tulliebodie." 5

Of this family was Thomas Stewart of Bal-
caskie, Fifeshire, a lord of session, created a
baronet of Xova Scotia, June 2, 1683. He
was cousin, through his father, of John Stew-
art, thirteenth of Grandtully, who died without
issue in 1720, and was succeeded by Sir
Thomas's son, Sir George Stewart, who also
died without issue. He was succeeded by his
brother, Sir John Stewart, third baronet, an
officer of rank in the army, who married, 1st,
Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir James
Mackenzie of Eoyston, and had by her an only
surviving son, Sir John, fourth baronet ; 2dly,

4 The late Sir William Steuart spelled his name
with the u, though we are not aware that any of his
ancestors did.

6 Fraser's Red Book of Grwndtully,

THE STEWAETS.

301

Lady Jane Douglas, only daughter of James,
Marquis of Douglas, and his son, by her,
Archibald Stewart, after a protracted litiga-
tion, succeeded to the immense estates of his
uncle, the last Duke of Douglas, and assuming
that name, was created a peer of the United
Kingdom, by the title of Baron Douglas. Sir
John Stewart married, 3dly, Helen, a daughter
of the fourth Lord Elibank, without issue.
He died in 1764.

His son, Sir John, fourth baronet, died in
1797.

Sir John's eldest son, Sir George, fifth
baronet, married Catherine, eldest daughter
of John Drummond, Esq. of Logie Almond,
and died in 1827, leaving live sons and two
daughters.

The eldest son, Sir John, sixth baronet, died
without issue, May 20. 1838.

His brother, Sir William Drummond Steuart,
born December 26, 1795, succeeded as seventh
baronet. He married in 1830, and had a son
William George, captain 93d Highlanders, born
in February 1831, and died October 1868. Sir
William died April 28, 1871, and was suc-
ceeded by his 3roungest brother Archibald
Douglas, born August 29, 1807.

The Stewarts of Drumin, Banffshire, now
Belladrum, Inverness-shire, trace their descent
from Sir Walter Stewart of Strathaven,
knighted for his services at the battle of
Havla.w in 1411, one of the illegitimate sons
of the Wolf of Badenoch, and consequently of
royal blood.

The Stewarts of Ardvoirlich, Perthshire, are
descended from James Stewart, called James
the Gross, fourth and only surviving son of
Murdoch, Duke of Albany, Begent of Scotland,
beheaded in 1425. On the ruin of his family
he fled to Ireland, where, by a lady of the
name of Macdonald, he had seven sons and
one daughter. James II. created Andrew, the
eldest son, Lord Avandale.

James, the third son, ancestor of the Stewarts
of Ardvoirlich, married Annabel, daughter of
Buchanan of that ilk.

His son, William Stewart, who succeeded
him, married Mariota, daughter of Sir Colin
Campbell of Glenorchy, and had several children.
From one of his younger sons, John, the family
of Stewart of Olenbuckie, and from another,

that of Stewart of Gartnaferaran, both in
Perthshire, were descended.

His eldest son, Walter Stewart, succeeded
his father, and married Euphemia, daughter of
James Beddoch of Cultobraggan, comptroller
of the household of James IV.

His son, Alexander Stewart of Ardvoirlich,
married Margaret, daughter of Drummond of
Drummond Erinoch, and had two sons, James,
his successor, and John, ancestor of the Perth-
shire families of Stewart of Annat, Stewart of
Ballachallan, and Stewart of Craigtoun.

The family of Steuart of Dalguise, Perth-
shire, are descended from Sir John Stewart of
Arntullie and Cardneys, also designed of
Dowallie, the youngest natural son of King
Bobert II. of Scotland, by Marion or Mariota
de Cardney, daughter of John de Cardney of
that ilk, sister of Bobert Cardney, bishop of
Dunkeld from 1396 to 1436.

The Steuarts of Ballechin, in the same
county, are descended from Sir John Stewart,
an illegitimate son of King James II. of Scot-
land. Having purchased the lands of Sticks
in Glenquaich from Patrick Cardney of that
ilk, he got a charter of those lands from King
James III., dated in December 1486. The
family afterwards acquired the lands of Bal-
lechin.

There are many other Stewart families
throughout Scotland, but as we are concerned
only with these which can be considered
Highland, it would be beyond our province to
notics any moie. The spelling of this name
seems very capricious : the royal spelling is
Stuart, while most families spell it Stewart,
and a few Steuart and Steuard. We have en-
deavoured always to give the spelling adhered to
by the various families whom we have noticed.

Eraser.

The first of the surname of Eraser in
Scotland was undoubtedly of Xorman origin,
and, it is not improbable, came over with
William the Conqueror. The Chronicles of
the Eraser family ascribe its origin to one
Pierre Fraser, seigneur de Troile, who in
the reign of Charlemagne, came to Scotland
with the ambassadors from France to form
a league with King Achaius ; but this is.
of course, fabulous. Their account of the

302

H1STOKY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

creation of their arms is equally incredible.
According to their statement, in the reign of
Charles the Simple of France, Julius de Berry,
a nobleman of Bourbon, entertaining that
monarch with a dish of fine strawberries was,
for the same, knighted, the strawberry flowers,
/raises, given him for his arms, and his name
changed from de Berry to Fraiseur or Frizelle.
They claim affinity with the family of the Duke
de la Frezeliere, in France. The first of the
name in Scotland is understood to have settled
there in the reign of Malcolm Canmore, when
surnames first began to be used, and although
the Frasers afterwards became a powerful and
numerous clan in Inverness-shire, their earliest
settlements were in East Lothian and Tweed-
dale.

FRASER.

tured to have been Simon. Bernard was a
frequent witness to the charters of Alexander
II., and in 1234 was made sheriff of Stirling,
an honour long hereditary in his family. By
his talents he raised himself from being the
vassal of a subject to be a tenant in chief to
the king. He acquired the ancient territory of
Oliver Castle, which he transmitted to his pos-
terity. He was succeeded by his son Sir Gil-
bert Fraser, who was sheriff or vicecomes of
Traquair during the reigns of Alexander II.
and his successor. He had three sons: Simon,
his heir; Andrew, sheriff of Stirling' in 1291
and 1293; and William, chancellor of Scot-
land from 1274 to 1280, and bishop of St.
Andrews from 1279 to his death in 1297.

Badge — Yew.

In the reign of David L, Sir Simon Fraser
possessed half of the territory of Keith in East
Lothian (from him called Keith Simon), and
to the monks of Kelso he granted the church
of Keith.

A member of the same family, Gilbert de
Fraser, obtained the lands of North Hailes,
also in East Lothian, as a vassal of the Earl of
March and Dunbar, and is said to have been
witness to a charter of Cospatrick to the monks
of Coldstream, during the reign of Alexander
I. He also possessed large estates in Tweed-
dale.

In the reign of Alexander II., the chief of
the family was Bernard de Fraser, supposed
to have been the grandson of the above-named
Gilbert, by a third son, whose name is eonjec-

Bishop Fraser's Seal. From Anderson's Diplomata
Scoticc.

Sir Simon Fraser, the eldest son, was a man
of great influence and power. He possessed
the lands of Oliver Castle, Niedpath Castle,
and other lands in Tweeddale; and accom-
panied King Alexander II. in a pilgrimage to
Iona, a short time previous to the death of
that monarch. He was knighted by Alexander
III., who, in the beginning of his reign, con-
ferred on him the office of high sheriff of
Tweeddale, which he held from 1263 to 1266.
He died in 1291. He had an only son, Sir
Simon Fraser, the renowned patriot, with
whom may be said (in 1306) to have expired
the direct male line of the south country
Frasers, after having been the most consider-
able family in Peeblesshire during the Scoto-
Saxon period of our history, from 1097 to
1306.

The male representation of the principal
family of Fraser devolved, on the death of the

THE FEASEES.

302

great Sir Simon, ou the next collateral heir;
his uncle, Sir Andrew, second son of Sir
Gilbert Eraser, above mentioned. He is sup-
posed to have died about 1 308, surviving his
renowned nephew, Sir Simon, only two years.
He was, says the historian of the family,8 " the
first of the name of Fraser who established an
interest for himself and his descendants in the
northern parts of Scotland, and more especially
in Inverness-shire, where they have ever since
lin-ured with such renown and distinction."
He married a wealthy heiress in the county
of Caithness, then and for many centuries
thereafter comprehended within the sheriffdom
of Inverness, and in right of his wife he

Sir Alexander Fraser of Philorth, from Pinkerton's
Scotish Gallery.

acquired a very large estate in the north of
Scotland. He had four sons, namely — Simon,
the immediate male ancestor of the Lords
Lovat, and whose descendants and dependants
(the clan Fraser), after the manner of the Celts,
took the name of MacShimi, or sons of Simon ;
Sir Alexander, who obtained the estate of
Touch, as the appanage of a younger son ; and
Andrew and James, slain with their brother,
Simon, at the disastrous battle of Halidonhill,
22d July 1333.

8 Anderson's History of the Fraser Family.

The ancient family of the Erasers of Phil-
orth in Aberdeenshire, who have enjoyed since
1669 the title of Lord Saltoun, is immediately
descended from William, son of an Alexander
Fraser, who flourished during the early part of
the fourteenth century, and inherited from his
lather the estates of Cowie and l»urris in
Kincardineshire.

The proper Highland clan Fraser was that
headed by the Lovat branch in Inverness-shire,
as mentioned above.

Unlike the Aberdeenshire or Salton Erasers,
the Lovat branch, the only branch of the
Erasers that became Celtic, founded a tribe or
clan, and all the natives of the purely Gaelic
districts of the Aird and Stratherrick came to
be called by their name. The Simpsons, " solis
of Simon," are also considered to be descended
from them, and the Tweedies of Tweeddale
are supposed, on very plausible grounds, to
have been originally Frasers. Logan's con-
jecture that the name of Fraser is a corruption
of the Gaelic Friosal, from frith , a forest, and
siol, a race, the th being silent (that is, the
race of the forest), however pleasing to the
clan as piroving them an indigenous Gaelic
tribe, may only be mentioned here as a mere
fancy of his own.

Simon Fraser, the first of the Frasers of
Lovat, fell at the battle of Halidon Hill, 19th
July 1333. His son, Hugh Eraser of Lovat,
had four sons; Alexander, who died unmarried;
Hugh, created a lord of Parliament, under the
title of Lord Fraser of Lovat ; John, ancestor
of the Frasers of Knock in Aryshire ; and
another son, ancestor of the Frasers of Foyers.
Hugh, first Lord Lovat, was one of the
hostages for James I., on his return to Scot-
land in 1424, and in 1431 he was appointed
high sheriff' of the count}' of Inverness. His
son, also named Hugh, second Lord Lovat,
was father of Thomas, third lord; Alexander,
ancestor of the Frasers of Fanaline, the Frasers
of Leadclune, baronets, and other families of
the name ; and James, ancestor of the Frasers
of Ballyfueth and Ford, of whom Major-
General Simon Fraser, late of Ford, is the
lineal male descendant and representative.

Thomas, third lord, held the office of justi-
ciary of the north in the reign of James IV.,
and died 21st October 1524. He had four

304

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

sons: Thomas, master of Lovat, killed at
Flodden, 9th September 1513, unmarried;
Hugh, fourth Lord Lovat ; Alexander, fifth
lord; and William Fraser of Stray, ancestor of
several families of the name in Inverness-shire.

Hugh, fourth lord, the queen's justiciary in
the north, resigned his whole estates into the
hands of King James V., and obtained from
his majesty a new charter, dated 26th March
1539, uniting and incorporating them into the
barony of Lovat, to him and the heirs male of his
body, failing whom to his nearest lawful heirs
male, bearing the name and arms of Fraser,
and failing them to his heirs whatsoever.
With his eldest son Hugh, Master of Lovat,
he was killed in an engagement with the
Macdonalds of Clanranald at Loohlochy, Inver-
ness-shire, 2d June 1544.3 His brother, Alex-
ander, fifth Lord Lovat, died in 1558. With
one daughter, the latter had three sons : Hugh,
sixth lord; Thomas, ancestor of the Frasers of
Strichen, from whom Lord Lovat of Lovat is
descended; and James of Ardochie.

Hugh, sixth Lord Lovat, had a son, Simon,
seventh lord, who was twice married, and died
3d April 1633. By his first wife, Margaret,
eldest daughter of Sir Colin Mackenzie of
Kintail, he had two sons, — Simon, Master of
Lovat, who predeceased him, without issue,
and Hugh, eighth Lord Lovat, who died 16th
February 1646. By a second wife, Jean
Stewart, daughter of Lord Doune, he had Sir
Simon Fraser, ancestor of the Frasers of Inneral-
lochy ; Sir James Fraser of Brae, and one
daughter. Hugh, eighth lord, had, with three
daughters, three sons, namely, — Simon, Master
of Lovat, and Hugh, who both predeceased
their father, the one in 1640 and the other in
1643, and Thomas Fraser of Beaufort, eleventh
Lord Lovat. The second son, Hugh, styled
after his elder brother's death, Master of Lovat,
left a son Hugh, ninth lord, who succeeded 'his
grandfather in February 1646, and married in
July 1659, when a boy of sixteen years of age
at college, Anne, second daughter of Sir John
Mackenzie of Tarbet, baronet, sister of the
first Earl of Cromarty, and by her had a son,
Hugh, tenth lord, and three daughters.

9 For an account of this fight, called B/air-nan-leine,
or " Field of Shirts," so disastrous to the Frasers, see
the former part of this work.

Hugh, tenth lord, succeeded his father in
1672, and died in 1696, when Thomas Fraser
of Beaufort, third son of the eighth lord,
became eleventh Lord Lovat, but did not take
the title. The tenth lord married Lady Amelia
Murray, only daughter of the first Marquis of
Athole, and had four daughters. His eldest
daughter, Amelia, assumed the title of Baroness
Lovat, and married in 1702, Alexander Mac-
kenzie, younger of Prestonhall. who assumed
the name of Fraser of Fraserdale. His son,
Hugh Fraser, on the death of his mother,
adopted the title of Lord Lovat, which, how-
ever, by decree of the Court of Session, 3d
July 1730, was declared to belong to Simon,
Lord Fraser of Lovat, as eldest lawful son of
Thomas, Lord Fraser of Lovat, granduncle of
the tenth lord. This judgment proceeded on
the charter of 1539, and though pronounced
by an incompetent court, was held to be right.
To prevent an appeal, a compromise was madn,
by which Hugh Mackenzie ceded to Simon,
Lord Lovat, for a valuable consideration, his
pretensions to the honours, and his right to
the estates, after his father's death.

Thomas Fraser of Beaufort, by right eleventh
Lord Lovat, died at Dunvegan in Skye in May
1699. By his first wife, Sibylla, fourth
daughter of John Macleod of Macleod, he had
fourteen children, ten of whom died young.
Simon, the eldest surviving son, was the
celebrated Lord Lovat, beheaded in April
1747.

The clan Fraser formed part of the army of
the Earl of Seaforth, when, in the beginning
of 1645, that nobleman advanced to oppose
the great Montrose, who designed to seize
Inverness, previous to the battle of Inverlochy,
in which the latter defeated the Campbells
under the Marquis of Argyll in Febiuary of
that year. After the arrival of King Charles
II. in Scotland in 1650, the Frasers, to the
amount of eight hundred men, joined the
troops raised to oppose Cromwell, their chief's
son, the Master of Lovat, being appointed one
of the colonels of foot for Inverness and Boss.
In the rebellion of 1715, under their last
famous chief, Simon, Lord Lovat, they did
good service to the government by taking
possession of Inverness, which was then in the
hands of the Jacobites. In 1719 also, at the

THE FEASEES.

305

aifair of Glenshiel, in which, the Spaniards
were defeated on the west coast of Inverness-
shire, the Frasers fought resolutely on the side
of government, and took possession of the
castle of Brahan, the seat of the Earl of Sea-
forth. On the breaking out of the rebellion of
1745, they did not at first take any part in the
struggle, but after the battle of Prestonpans,
on the 21st September, Lord Lovat " mustered
his clan," and their first demonstration in favour
of the Pretender was to make a midnight
attack on the Castle of Culloden, but found it
garrisoned and prepared for their reception.
On the morning of the battle of Culloden, six
hundred of the Frasers, under the command
of the Master of Lovat, a fine young man of
nineteen, effected a junction with the rebel
army, and behaved during the action with
characteristic valour.

Lord Lovat's eldest son, Simon Fraser,
Master of Lovat, afterwards entered the service
of government, and rose to the rank of
lieutenant-general in the army.

General Fraser was succeeded by his half-
brother, Colonel Archibald Campbell Fraser of
Lovat, appointed consul-general at Algiers in
1766, and chosen M.P. for Inverness-shire on
the general's death in 1 782. By his wife, Jane,
sister of William Fraser, Esq. of Leadclune,
F.R.S., created a baronet, 27th .November
1806, he had five sons, all of whom he
survived. On his death, in December 1815,
the male descendants of Hugh, ninth Lord
Lovat, became extinct, and the male repre-
sentation of the family, as well as the right to
its extensive entailed estates, devolved on the
junior descendant of Alexander, fifth lord,
Thomas Alexander Fraser, of Lovat and
Strichen, who claimed the title of Lord Lovat
in the peerage of Scotland, and in 1837 was
created a peer of the United Kingdom, by that
of Baron Lovat of Lovat.

The family of Fraser, of Castle Eraser, in
Eoss-shire, are descended, on the female side,
from the Hon. Sir Simon Fraser, of Inveral-
lochy, second son of Simon, eighth Lord Lovat,
but on the male side their name is Mackenzie.

American Frasers.

We cannot close our account of the Frasers
without briefly referring to the numerous mem-

bers of the clan who inhabit British North
America. Concerning these we have been
obligingly furnished with many details by the
Honourable John Fraser de Berry, of St Mark
de Cournoyer, Chambly Eiver, Vercheres Cy.,
District of Montreal, Member of the Legisla-
tive Council for Eougemont. The information
furnished by this gentleman is very interesting,
and we are sorry that the nature of this work,
and the space at our disposal, permits us to
give only the briefest summary.

It would seem that in the Dominion of
Canada the ancient spirit of clanship is far
from dead ; indeed, it appears to be more
intensely full of life there than it is on its
native Highland mountains. From statistics
furnished to us by our obliging informant, it
would appear that in British North America
there are bearing the old name of Fraser 12,000
persons, men, women, and children, some speak-
ing English and some French, many Protestants
and many Eoman Catholics, but all, we believe,
unflinchingly loyal to the British throne. ISTot
one of these, according to the Honourable J.
Fraser de Berry's report, is a day labourer,
" earning daily wages," but all more or less
well-to-do in the world, and filling respectable,
and many of them responsible positions. Many
are descendants of the officers and soldiers of
the " Fraser Highlanders," who settled in
British North America after the American
war. " They are all strong well built men,
hardy, industrious, and sober, having fine
comfortable houses, where quietness reigns and
plenty abounds."

Some years ago a movement was formed
among these enthusiastic and loyal Frasers to
organise themselves into a branch clan, to be
called the " New Clan Fraser,'' partly for the
purpose of reviving and keeping alive the old
clan feeling, and partly for purposes of bene-
volence. At a meeting held in February
1868, at Quebec, this movement took definite
shape, and " resolutions were unanimously
passed defining the constitution of the clan,
pointing out its object, appointing its digni-
taries, determining their duties, and the time
and manner of their election."

As " Chief of the Frasers of the whole of
British North America," was elected the
Honourable James Fraser de Ferraline, Mem-

306

H1STOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

ber of the Legislative Council for the Province
of Nova Scotia, " a wealthy and influential
merchant, born in 1S02, on the Drummond
estate in the braes of Stratherrick, Inverness-
shire, Scotland ; descended by his father from
the Ferraline family of the Frasers, and by
his mother from the Gorthlic Frasers. The
true Fraser blood," we are assured, " runs
very pure through the veins of the worthj'
chief."

The great and undoubted success of this
laudable movement is, we believe, mainly
owing to the exertions of the Honourable J.
Fraser de Berry, whose enthusiasm and loyalty
to his descent and ancient kinship are worthy
of the palmiest days of clanship in the olden
time on its native Highland soil. Besides the
"chief" above mentioned, 111 subordinate
chieftains1 of provinces and districts have been
appointed, and we are sorry that, for the
reasons already mentioned, it is impossible to
give a full list of them. We can only say that
the gentleman just mentioned was elected
Chieftain of the Province of Quebec, and also
acts as " Secretary to the New Clan Fraser."
As a specimen of the unflinching thoroughness
with which Mr Fraser de Berry performs his
duties, and of the intense enthusiasm with
which he is animated, we may state that he,
founding on documents in his possession, has
been able to trace his genealogy, and, therefore,
the genealogy of the whole clan, as far back as
the year 21G a.d. !

Altogether, we cannot but commend the
main object of this organisation of the Ame-
rican Frasers, and think that members of other
clans residing in our colonies would do well to
follow their example. We believe that no
member of the Fraser clan in British North
America, who is really anxious to do well,
need be in want of the means of success, for
if he only make his position known to the
authorities of the "New Clan," all needful
assistance will be afforded him. Moreover, we
understand, that any one of the name of Fraser,
or alHed to the clan, emigrating to the dominion
from the old country, by applying to any mem-
ber of the Colonial clan, will be put in the way

i By mistake, these are in our report called
"chiefs;" subordinate chiefs are correctly called
"chieftains."

of obtaining all assistance aud information
necessary to his comfortable settlement and
success in his new home.

Indeed, this movement of the Frasers has so
much to commend it, that their example has
been followed by persons of other names, in
the United States as well as in Canada, and
similar clan confederations are in the way of
being formed under names that are certainly
not Highland.

MENZIES.

Badge — Heath (a species named the Menzies heath).

From the armorial bearings of the Menzieses
it has been conjectured that the first who
settled in Scotland of this surname was a
branch of the Anglo-Norman family of Meyners,
by corruption Manners. But this supposition
does not seem to be well-founded.

The family of Menzies obtained a footing in
Athole at a very early period, as appears from
a charter granted by Eobert de Meyners in
the reign of Alexander II. This Eobert de
Meyners, knight, on the accession of Alexander
III. (1249) was appointed lord high chamber-
lain of Scotland. His son, Alexander de
Meyners, possessed the lands of Weem and
Aberfeldy in Athole, and Glendochart in
Breadalbane, besides his original seat of
Durrisdeer in Nithsdale, and was succeeded
by his eldest son, Eobert, in the estates of
Weem, Aberfeldy, and Durrisdeer, whilst his
second son, Thomas, obtained the lands of
FortingaJ.

From the former of these is descended the
family of Menzies of Castle Menzies, but
that of Menzies of Fortingal terminated in

THE MENZIES— THE CHISHOLMS.

307

an heiress, by whose marriage with James
Stewart, a natural son of the Wolf of
Badenoch, the property was transferred to
the Stewarts.

In 1487, Sir Robert de Mengues, knight,
obtained from the crown, in consequence of
the destruction of his mansion-house by fire, a
grant of the whole lands and estates erected
into a free barony, under the title of the
barony of Menzies. From this Sir Eobert
lineally descended Sir Alexander Menzies of
Castle Menzies, who was created a baronet of
Nova Scotia, 2d September 1665.

Sir Eobert Menzies, the seventh baronet,
who succeeded his father, 20th August 1844,
is the 27th of the family in regular de-
scent. The ancient designation of the
family was Menzies of Weem. their common
style in old writings. In 1423 "David
Menzies of Weem (de Wimo) " was ap-
pointed governor of Orkney and Shetland,
" under the most clement lord and lad}", Eric
and Philippa, king and queen of Denmark,
Swedland, and Norway."

The Gaelic appellation of the clan is Mein-
narich, a term, by way of distinction, also
applied to the chief. Of the eighteen clans
who fought under Eobert Bruce at Bannock-
burn, the Menzies was one.

The "Menyesses" of Athole and Appin
Dull are named in the parliamentary rolls of
1587, as among " the clans that have captains,
chiefs, and chieftains." Castle Menzies, the
principal modern seat of the chief, stands to
the east of Loch Tay, in the parish and near
to the church of Weem, in Perthshire. Weem
Castle, the old mansion, is picturesquely
situated under a rock, called Craig Uanih,
hence its name. In 1502, it was burnt by
Niel Stewart of Fortingal, in consequence of a
dispute respecting the lands of Eannoch.

In 1644, when the Marquis of Montrose
appeared in arms for Charles I., and had
commenced his march from Athole towards
Strathern, he sent forward a trumpeter, with
a friendly notice to the Menzieses, that it was
liis intention to pass through their country.
His messenger, unhappily, was maltreated, and,
as some writers say, slain by them. They
also harassed the rear of his army, which so
exasperated Montrose, that he ordered his men

to plunder and lay waste their lands and burn
their houses.

During the rebellion of 1715, several gentle-
men of the clan Menzies were taken prisoners
at the battle of Dunblane. One of them,
Menzies of Culdares, having been pardoned for
his share in the rebellion, felt himself bound
not to join in that of 1745. He sent, however,
a valuable horse as a present to Prince Charles,
but his servant who had it in charge, was seized
and executed, nobly refusing to divulge his
master's name, though offered his life if he
would do so. In the latter rebellion, Menzies
of Shian took out the clan, and held the rank
of colonel, though the chief remained at home.
The effective force of the clan in 1745 was 300.

The family of Menzies of Pitfoddbi.s in
Aberdeenshire, is now extinct. Gilbert Men-
zies of this family, carrying the royal standard
at the last battle of Montrose, in 1650, re-
peatedly refused quarter, and fell rather than
give up his charge. The last laird, John
Menzies of Pitfoddels, never married, and
devoted the greater part of his large estate to
the endowment of a Roman Catholic College.
He died in 1843.

CHISHOLM.

Badge — Fern.

The modern clan Chisholji or Siosal, in
Inverness-shire, though claiming to be of Celtic
origin, are, it is probable, descended Irom one
of the northern collaterals of the original family
of Chisholme of Chisholme in Roxburghshire,
which possessed lands there as early as the
reign of Alexander III.

Few families have asserted their right to be

308

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

considered as a Gaelic clan with greater vehe-
mence than the Chisholms, notwithstanding
that there are perhaps few whose Lowland
origin is less doubtful. Their early charters
suffice to establish the real origin of the
family with great clearness. The Highland
possessions of the family consist of Comer,
Strathglass, &c, in which is situated their
castle of Erchless, and the manner in which
they acquired these lands is proved by the fact,
that there exists a confirmation of an indenture
betwixt "William de Fenton of Baky on the one
part, and "Margaret de la Ard domino, de
Erchless and Thomas de Chishelme her son and
heir" on the other part, dividing between them
the lands of which they were heirs portioners,
and among these lands is the barony of the
Ard in Inverness-shire. This deed is dated at
Kinrossy, 25th of April, 1403.

Erchless Castle.

In all probability, therefore, the husband
of Margaret must have been Alexander de
Chishelme, who is mentioned in 1368 as com-
portioner of the barony of Ard along with Lord
Fenton.

The Chisholms came into prominence in
the reign of David II., when Sir Eobert de
Chisholm married the daughter of Sir Robert
Lauder of Quarrelwood, and ultimately suc-
ceeded him in the government of Urquhart
Castle. In 1376 he occupied the important
position of justiciar north of the Forth.

Wiland de Chesholm obtained a charter of
the lands of Comer dated 9th April 1513.

In 1587, the chiefs on whose lands resided
"broken men," were called upon to give
security for their peaceable behaviour, among
whom appears " Cheisholme of Cummer."
After the battle of Killiecrankie in 1689,
Erchless castle, the seat of the chief, -was
garrisoned for King James, and General Liv-
ingstone, the commander of the government
forces, had considerable difficulty in dislodging
the Highlanders. In' 1715, Euari, or Roderick
Maclan, the chief, signed the address of a
hundred and two chiefs and heads of houses
to George the First, expressive of their attach-
ment and loyalty, but no notice being taken of
it, he engaged very actively in the rising under
the Earl of Mar; and at the battle of Dunblane,
the clan was headed by Chisholm of Crocfin, an
aged veteran, for which the estates of the chief
were forfeited and sold. In 1727, he procured,
with several other
chiefs, a pardon
under the privy
seal, and the lands
were subsequently
conveyed, by the
then proprietor, to
Roderick's eldest
son, who entailed
them on his heirs
male. In 1 745, this
chief joined the
standard of the
Pretender with his
clan, and Colin, his
youngest son, was
appointed colonel of
the clan battalion.
Lord President Forbes thus states the strength
of the Chisholms at that period. " Chisholms
— Tbeir chief is Chisholm of Strathglass, in
Gaelic called Chisallich. His lands are held
crown, and he can bring out two hundred
of the men."

Alexander Chisholm, chief of the clan, who
succeeded in 1785, left an only child, Mary,
married to James Gooden, Esq., London, and
dying in 1793, the cbiefship and estates, agree-
ably to the deed of entail, devolved on his
youngest brother, William, who married Eliza-
beth, eldest daughter of Duncan MacDonnell,
Esq. of Glengarry, and left two sons and one

TEE CHISHOLMS— THE MUEEAYS.

309

daughter. On his death in 1817 he was suc-
ceeded by the elder son, Alexander William,
once member of parliament for Inverness-shire,
who died, prematurely, in September 1838.
He was succeeded by his brother, Duncan
MacDonnell Chisholm, who died in London
14th September 1858, aged 47, when the estate
devolved on James Sutherland Chisholm, the
present Chisholm, son of Eoderich, son of Archi-
bald, eldest son of the above Alexander, who
resides at Erchless Castle, Inverness-shire.

The common designation of the chief of the
house is The Chisholm, and, whatever be its
antiquity, it is a title which is very generally
accorded to him, and, like the designation of
"The O'Connor Don," has ever been sanc-
tioned by use in the senate. An old chief of
the clan Chisholm once not very modestly said
that there were but three persons in the world
entitled to it — 'the Pope, the King, and the
Chisholm.'

One of the chiefs of this clan having carried
off a daughter of Lord Lovat, placed her on an
islet in Loch Bruirach, where she was soon
discovered by the Frazers, who had mustered
for the rescue. A severe conflict ensued, during
which the young lady was accidentally slain
by her own brother. A plaintive Gaelic song
records the sad calamity, and numerous tunmli
mark the graves of those who fell.

The once great family of Chisholme of Croji-
lix, sometimes written Ceomleck, in Perth-
shire, which for above a century held the here-
ditary bailie and justiciary-ship of the ecclesias-
tical lordship of Dunblane, and furnished three
bishops to that see, but which is now extinct,
was also descended from the border Chisholmes;
the first of that family, Edmund Chisholme of
Cromlix, early in the fifteenth century, being
the son of Chisholme of Chisholme in Eox-
burghshire.

Into the history of other families — for they
can scarcely be called clans — living on the
Highland borders, and who have at one time
played an important part in Highland history,
and some of whom at the present day are re-
garded as genuine Highland families, it would
be out of place for us to enter here. We refer
to such families as the Murrays, Drummonds,
Grahams. Gordons, Cumings, &c. We shall

conclude this account of the Highland clans by
referring briefly to the origin of these houses.

MURRAY (ATHOLEl.

Badge — Broom (butcher's).

The acknowledged chieftainship of the great
family of Murray, or Moray (originally Murreff)
is vested in Moray-Stirling of Abercairney and
Ardoch, both in Perthshire. The Murrays are
generally supposed to have descended from
Freskine, a Fleming, who settled in Scotland
in the reign of David I. (1122-1153), and
acquired from that monarch the lands of Strath-
broch in Linlithgowshire, and of Duffus in
Moray.

The Athole Murrays are descended from Sir
William de Moravia, who acquired the lands
of Tullibardine, an estate in the lower part of
Perthshire, with his wife Adda, daughter of
Malise, seneschal of Strathern, as appears by
charters dated in 1282 and 1284.

His descendant, Sir William Murray of
Tullibardine, succeeded to the estates of his
family in 1446. He was sheriff of Perth-
shire, and in 1458, one of the lords named
for the administration of justice, who were
of the king's daily council. He married
Margaret, daughter of Sir John Colquhoun
of Luss, great chamberlain of Scotland, by
whom he had a numerous issue. According
to tradition they bad seventeen sons, from
whom a great many families of the name of

510

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

Murray are descended. In a curious document
entitled "The Declaration qf George Halley,
in Ochterarder, concerning the Laird of Tulli-
bardine's seventeen sons — 1710," it is stated
that they "lived all to he men, and that they
waited all one day upon their father at Stirling,
to attend the king, with each of them one
servant^ and their father two. This happening
shortly after an act was made by King James
Fifth, discharging any person to travel with
>great numbers of attendants besides their own
family, and having challenged, the laird of
Tullibardine for breaking the said act, he
answered he brought only his own sons, with
their necessary attendants: with which the
king was so well pleased that he gave them
small lands in heritage."

The eldest of Tullibardine's seventeen sons,
Sir William Murray of Tullibardine, had, with
other issue, William, his successor, and Sir
Andrew Murray, ancestor of the Viscounts
Stormont. His great-grandson, Sir William
Murray of Tullibardine, was a zealous pro-
moter of the Reformation in Scotland. George
Halley, in the curious document already
quoted,, says that "Sir William Murray of
Tullibardine having broke Argyll's face with
the hilt of his sword, in King James the
Sixth's presence, was obliged to leave the
kingdom. Afterwards, the king's mails and
slaughter cows were not paid, neither could
any subject to the realm be able to compel
those wbo were bound to pay them; upon
which the king cried out — ' 0, if I had Will.
Murray again, he would soon get my mails and
slaughter cows ;' to which one standing by
replied — 'That if his majesty would not take
Sir William Murray's life, he might return
shortly.' The kiug answered, 'He would be
loath to take his life, for he had not another
subject like him!' Upon which promise Sir
William Murray returned and got a commission
from the king to go to the north, and lift up
the mails and the cows, which he speedily did,
to the great satisfaction of the king, so that
immediately after he was made lord comp-
troller." This office he obtained in 1565.

His eldest son, Sir John Murray, the twelfth
feudal baron of Tullibardine, was brought up
with King James, who, in 1592, constituted
him his master of the household. On 10th

July 1606 he was created Earl of Tullibardine.
His lordship married Catherine, fourth daughter
of David, second Lord Drummond, and died in
1609.

His eldest son, William, second Earl of
Tullibardine, married Lady Dorothea Stewart,
daughter of the fifth Earl of Athole of the
Stewart family, who died in 1595, and on the
death in 1625 of James, second Earl of Athole,
son of John, sixth Lord Innermeath, created
Earl of Athole by James VI., he petitioned
King Charles the First for the earldom of Athole,
as his countess was the eldest daughter and heir
of line of Earl John, of the family of Innermeath,
which had become extinct in the male line.
The king received the petition graciously, and
gave his royal word that it should be done.
The earl accordingly surrendered the title of
Earl of Tullibardine into the king's hands,
1st April 1626, to be conferred on his brother
Sir Patrick Murray, as a separate dignity, but
before the patents could be issued, his lord-
ship died the same year. His son John, how-
ever, obtained in Feburary 1629 the title of
Earl of Athole, and thus became the first earl of
the Murray branch, and the earldom of Tulli-
bardine was at the same time granted to Sir
Patrick. This Earl of Athole was a zealous
royalist, and joined the association formed by
the Earl of Montrose for the king at Cumber
nauld, in January 1 641. He died in June' 1642
His eldest son John, second Earl of Athole of
the Murray family, also faithfully adhered to
Charles the First, and was excepted by Crom-
well out of his act of grace and indemnity, 12th
April 1654, when he was only about nineteen
years of age. At the restoration, he was sworn
a privy councillor, obtained a charter of the
hereditary office of sheriff of Fife, and in 1663
was appointed justice-general of Scotland. In
1670 he was constituted captain of the king's
guards, in 1672 keeper of the privy seal, and 14th
January 1673, an extraordinary lord of session.
In 1670 he succeeded to the earldom of Tulli-
bardine on the death of James, fourth earl of
the new creation, and was created Marquis of
Athole in 1676. He increased the power of
his family by his marriage with Lady Amelia
Sophia Stanley, third daughter of the seventh
Earl of Derby, beheaded for his loyalty 15th
October 1651. Through her mother, Charlotte

THE MUEEAYS.

311

de la Tremouille, daughter of Claude de la
Tremouille, Duke of Thouars and Prince- of
Palniont, she was related in blood to the Em-
peror of Germany, the kings of Eranoe and
Spain, the Prince of Orange, the Duke of
Savoy, and most of the principal families of
Europe; and by her the family of Athole ac-
quired the seignory of the Isle of Man, and
also large property in that island.

John, the second Marquis, and first Duke,
of Athole, designated Lord John Murray, was
one of the commissioners for inquiring into
the massacre of Glencoe in 1693. He was
created a peer in his father's lifetime, by the
title of Earl of Tullibardine, Viscount of Glen-
almond, and Lord Murray, for life, by patent
dated 27th July 1696, and in April 1703 he
was appointed lord privy seal. On the 30th
July of that year, immediately after his father's
death, he was created Duke of Athole, by Queen
Anne, and invested with the order of the
Thistle. His grace died 14th November 1724.
He was twice married; first to Catherine,
daughter of the Duke of Hamilton, by whom
he had six sons and a daughter, and secondly
to Mary, daughter of William Lord Eoss, by
whom he had three sons and a daughter. His
eldest son John, Marquis of Tullibardine, died
in 1709. His second son William, who suc-
ceeded his brother, was the Marquis of Tulli-
bardine who acted the prominent part in both
the Scottish rebellions of last century, which, is
recorded in the former part of this work. In
1745 he accompanied Prince Charles Edward
to Scotland, and landed with him at Borodale
25th July. He was styled Duke of Athole by
the Jacobites. After the battle of Culloden he
tied to the westward, intending to embark for
the isle of Mull, but being unable, from the
bad state of his health, to bear the fatigue of
travelling under concealment, he surrendered,
on the 27th April 1746, to Mr Buchanan of
Drummakill, a Stirlingshire gentleman. Being
conveyed to London he was committed to the
Tower, where he died on the 9th July follow-
ing.

James, the second Duke of Athole, was the
third son of the first duke. He succeeded to
the dukedom on the death of his father in
November 1724, in the lifetime of his elder
brother William, attainted by parliament. Being

maternal great-grandson of James, seventh Earl
of Derby, upon the death of the tenth earl of
that line, he claimed and was allowed the
English barony of Strange, which had been
conferred on Lord Derby by writ of summons,
in 1628. His grace was married, first to Jean,
sister of Sir John Erederick, Bart., by whom
he had a son and two daughters; secondly to
Jane, daughter of John Drummond of Meg-
ginch, who had no issue. The latter was the
heroine of Dr Austen's song of 'For lack of
gold she's left me, 0 !' She-was betrothed to
that gentleman, a physician in Edinburgh, when
the Duke of Athole saw her, and falling in love
with her, made proposals of marriage, which
were accepted ; and, as Burns says, she jilted
the doctor. Having survived her first husband,
she married a second time, Lord Adam Gordon.
The son and the eldest daughter of the
second Duke of Athole died young. Charlotte,
his youngest daughter, succeeded on his death,
which took place in 1764, to the barony of
Strange and the sovereignty of the Isle of Man.
She married her cousin John Murray, Esq.,
eldest son of Lord George Murray, fifth son of
the first duke, and the celebrated generalissimo
of the forces of the Pretender in 1745.
Though Lord George was attainted by parlia-
ment for his share in the rebellion, his son was
allowed to succeed his uncle and father-in-law
as third duke, and in 1765 he and his duchess
disposed of their sovereignty of the Isle of Man
to the British government, for seventy thousand
pounds, reserving, however, their landed inter-
est in the island, with the patronage of the
bishopric and other ecclesiastical benefices, on
payment of the annual sum of one hundred
and one pounds fifteen shillings and eleven
pence, and rendering two falcons to the kings
and queens of England upon the days of their
coronation. His grace, who had five sons and
two daughters, died 5th November 1774, and
was succeeded by his eldest son John, fourth
duke, who in 1786 was created Earl Strange
and Baron Murray of Stanley, in the peerage
of the United Kingdom. He died in 1830.
The fourth duke was succeeded by his eldest
son John, who was for many years a recluse,
and died single 14th September 1846. His
next brother James, a major-general in the
army, was created a peer of the United King-

312

HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

dom, as baron Glenlyon of Glenlyon, in the
county of Pe"th, 9th July 1821. He married
in May 1810, Emily Frances, second daughter
of the Duke of Northumberland, and by her

the death of his uncle in 1846, sixth Duke of
Athole. He died in 1864, and was succeeded
by his only son, John James Hugh Henry,
seventh Duke of Athole. The family resi-

he had two sons and two daughters. He died I dence of the Duke of Athole is Blair Castle,

in 1837. His eldest son, George Augustus
Frederick John, Lord Glenlyon, became, on

Perthshire, a view of which, as restored in
1872, is here given.

Blair (Jastle.

The first baronet of the Ochtertyrb family
was William Moray of Ochtertyre, who was
created a baron of Nova Scotia, with remainder
to his heirs male, 7th June 1673. He was
descended from Patrick Moray, the first styled
of Ochtertyre, who died in 1476, a son of Sir
David Moray of Tullibardine. The family
continued to spell their name Moray till 1739,
when the present orthography, Murray, was
adopted by Sir William, third baronet.

Drummond.

The name of Drummond may be derived
originally from the parish of Drymen, in what
is now the western district of Stirlingshire.
The Gaelic name is Druiman, signifying a
ridge, or high ground.

An ancestor of the noble family of Perth
thus fancifully interprets the origin of the
name : Drum, in Gaelic signifies a height, and
onde a wave, the name being given to Maurice

the Hungarian, to express how gallantly he
had conducted through the swelling waves the
ship in which prince Edgar and his two sisters
had embarked for Hungary, when they were
driven out of their course, on the Scottish
coast. There are other conjectural derivations
of the name, but the territorial definition above-
mentioned appears to be the most probable one.

The chief of the family at the epoch of their
first appearing in written records was Malcolm
Beg (or the little), chamberlain on the estate
of Levenax, and the fifth from the Hungarian
Maurice, who married Ada, daughter of Mal-
duin, third Earl of Lennox, by Beatrix,
daughter of Walter, lord high steward of Scot-
land, and died before 1260.

Two of his grandsons are recorded as having
sworn fealty to Edward the First.

The name of one of them, Gilbert de Dro-
mund, "del County de Dunbretan," appears in
Prynne's copy of the Eagman Poll. He was

THE DKUMMONDS.

313

Drummond of Balquapple in Perthshire, and
had a son, Malcolm de Drummond, who also
swore fealty to Edward in 1296, and was
father of Bryce Drummond, killed in 1330 by
the Monteiths.

DRUMMOND.

Badge — Thyme (or mother of thyme).

The other, the elder brother of Gilbert,
named Sir John de Dromund, married his
relation, a daughter of Walter Stewart, Earl
of Menteith, and countess in her own right.

His eldest son, Sir Malcolm de Drummond,
attached himself firmly to the cause of Bruce.
King Bobert, after the battle of Bannockburn,
bestowed upon him certain lands in Perthshire.
He married a daughter of Sir Patrick Graham
of Kincardine, elder brother of Sir John Gra-
ham, and ancestor of the family of Montrose.
He had a son, Sir Malcolm Drummond, who
died about 1346. The latter had three sons,
John, Maurice, and Walter. The two former
married heiresses.

Maurice's lady was sole heiress of Concraig
and of the stewardship of Strathearn, to both
of which he succeeded.

The wife of John, the eldest son, was Mary,
eldest daughter and co-heiress of Sir William
de Montefex, with whom he got the lands of
Auchterarder, Kincardine in Monteith, Cargill,
and Stobhall in Perthshire. He had four sons.
Sir Malcolm, Sir John, William, and Dougal;
and three daughters — Annabella, married, in
1357, John, Earl of Carrick, high steward of
Scotland, afterwards King Bobert the Third,
and thus became Queen of Scotland, and the
mother of David, Duke of Bothesav, starved

to death in the palace of Falkland, in 1402,
and of James the First, as well as of three
daughters ; Margaret, married to Sir Colin
Campbell of Lochow, Jean, to Stewart of
Donally, and Mary, to Macdonald of the
Isles.

About 1360, in consequence of a feud which
had long subsisted between the Drummonds
and the Menteiths of Busky, the residence of
the family seems to have been transferred from
Drymen, in Stirlingshire, where they had chiefly
lived for about two hundred years, to Stobhall,
in Perthshire, which had some years before
come into their possession by marriage.

Sir Malcolm Drummond, the eldest son,
succeeded to the earldom of Mar in right of his
wife, Lady Isabel Douglas, only daughter of
William, first Earl of Douglas. His death
was a violent one, having been seized by a
band of ruffians and imprisoned till he died ''of
his hard captivity." This happened before
27th May 1403. Not long after his death,
Alexander Stewart, a natural son of "the Wolf
of Badenoch," a bandit and robber by profession,
having cast his eyes on the lands of the earldom,
stormed the countess' castle of Kildruminie :
and, either by violence or persuasion, obtained
her in marriage. As Sir Malcolm Drummond
had died without issue, his brother, John,
succeeded him.

John's eldest son, Sir Walter Drummond,
was knighted by King James the Second, and
died in 1455. He had three sons : Sir Malcolm
his successor; John, dean of Dunblane; and
Walter of Ledcrieff, ancestor of the Drum-
monds of Blaie-Drumjioxd (now the Houe
Drummoxds, Henry Home, the celebrated Lord
Karnes, having married Agatha, daughter of
James Drummond of Blair-Drummond, and
successor in the estate to her nephew in 1766) ;
of Cairdrum ; of Newton, and other families of
the name.

The eldest son of the main stem, that is,
the Cabgill and Stobhall family, Sir Malcolm
by name, had great possessions in the
counties of Dumbarton, Perth, and Stirling,
and died in 1470 By his wife Marion,
daughter of Murray of. Tullibardine, he had six
sons. His eldest son, Sir John, was first Lord
Drummond.

Sir John, the eldest son, was a personage of

314

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

considerable importance in the reigns of James
the Third and Fourth, having been concerned
in most of the public transactions of that period.
He died in 1519.

By his wife, Lady Elizabeth Lindsay,
daughter of David, Duke of Montrose, the
first Lord Drummond, had three sons, and six
daughters, the eldest of whom, Margaret, was
mistress to James the Fourth. Malcolm, the
eldest son, predeceased his father. William,
the second son, styled master of Drummond,
suffered on the scaffold.

William had two sons, Walter and Andrew,
ancestor of the Drummonds of Bellyclone.
Walter died in 1518, before his grandfather.
By Lady Elizabeth Graham, daughter of the
first Earl of Montrose, he had a son, David,
second Lord Drummond, who was served heir
to his great-grandfather, John, first lord, 17th
February 1520. Of his two sons, Patrick,
the elder, was third Lord Drummond ; James,
the younger, created, 31st January 1609, Lord
Maderty, was ancestor of the viscounts of
Strathallan.

Patrick, third Lord Drummond, embraced
the reformed religion, and spent some time in
France. He died before 1600. He was twice
married, and by his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter
of David Lindsay of Edzell, eventually Earl of
Crawford, he had two sons and five daughters.

The elder son, James, fourth Lord Drum-
mond, passed a considerable portion of his
youth in France, and after James the Sixth's
accession to the English throne he attended
the Earl of Nottingham on an embassy to the
Spanish court. On his return he was created
Earl of Perth, 4th March 1605. John, the
younger son, succeeded his brother in 1611, as
second Earl of Perth.

The Hon. John Drummond, second son of
James, third Earl of Perth, was created in
1685 Viscount, and in 1686 Earl of Melfort';
and his representative Captain George Drum-
mond, due de Melfort, and Count de Lussan
in France, whose claim to the earldom of
Perth in the Scottish peerage was established by
the House of Lords, June 1853, is the chief of
the clan Drummond, which, more' than any
other, signalised itself by its fidelity to the lost
cause of the Stuarts.

GRAHAM.

Badge — Laurel spurge.

The surname Graeme, or Graham, is said to
be derived from the Gaelic word grumaeh.
applied to a person of a stern countenance arid
manner. It may possibly, however, be con-
nected with the British word grym, signifying
strength, seen in grime's dyke, erroneously
called Graham's dyke, the name popularly
given to the wall of Antoninus, from an
absurd fable of Fordun and Boece, that one
Greme, traditionally said to have governed
Scotland during the minority of the fabulous
Eugene the Second, broke through the
mighty rampart erected by the Eomans
between the rivers Forth and Clyde. It is
unfortunate for this fiction that the first
authenticated person who bore the name in
North Britain was Sir William de Grasme (the
undoubted ancestor of the Dukes of Montrose
and all "the gallant Grahams" in this country),
who came to Scotland in the reign of David
the First, from whom he received the lands of
Abercorn and Dalkeith, and witnessed the
charter of that monarch to the monks of the
abbey of Holyrood in 1128. In Gaelic grim
means war, battle. Anciently, the word Grimes-
dike was applied to trenches, roads, and boun-
daries, and was not confined to Scotland.

This Anglo-Norman knight, Sir William de
Graham, had two sons, Peter and John,in whom
the direct line was carried on. The elder,
Peter de Graham, styled of Dalkeith and
Abercorn, had also two sons, Henry and Wil-
liam. Henry the elder, witnessed some of the
charters of King William the Lion. He was

THE GEAHAMS.

315

succeeded by his son Henry, whose son, also
named Henry, "by marrying the daughter of
Eoger Avenel (who died in 1243), acquired
the extensive estates of Avenel, in Eskdale.
His grandson, Sir John de Graham of Dalkeith,
had a son, John de Graham, who dying with-
out issue, was the last of the elder line of the
original stock of the Grahams.

The male line of the family was carried on
by the younger son of Sir William de Graham
first above mentioned, John de Graham, whose
son, David de Graham, obtained from his
cousin, Henry, the son of Peter de Graham,
the lands of Clifton and Clifton Hall in Mid-
Lothian, and from King William the Lion
those of Charlton and Barrowfield, as well as
the lordship of Kinnaber, all in Forfarshire.
This was the first connection of the family
with the district near Montrose, whence they
subsequently derived their ducal title. His
eldest son, also named Sir David de Graham,
had, from Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, in the
reign of King Alexander the Second, with
other lands, those of Dundaff, in Stirlingshire.
The son of Sir David de Graham last men-
tioned, also named Sir David de Graham, who
appears to have held the office of sheriff of the
county of Berwick, acquired from Malise,
Earl of Strathearn, the lands of Kincardine,
in Perthshire, which became one of the chief
designations of the family. He died about
1270. By his wife, Annabella, daughter of
Bobert, Earl of Strathearn, he had three sons,
namely, Sir Patrick, who succeeded him; the
celebrated Sir John the Graham, the companion
of Wallace ; and Sir David, one of the nominees,
his eldest brother being another, of Baliol, in
his competition for the crown of Scotland, 1292.
His eldest son, Sir Patrick Graham of Kincar-
dine, fell in battle against the English at Dun-
bar, 28th April 1296. Another son, Sir David
de Graham, a favourite name among the early
Grahams, was also designed of Kincardine.
From Bobert the First, in consideration of
his good and faithful services, he had several
grants, and exchanged with that monarch his
property of Cardross in Dumbartonshire for
the lands of "Old Montrose" in Forfarshire.
He died in 1327.

Sir William Graham of Kincardine, his great-
grandson, was frequently employed in nego-

ciations with the English relative to the liber-
ation of King James the First. He was twice
married. By his first wife he had two sons,
Alexander, — who predeceased him, leaving two
sons, — and John. His second wife was the
princess Mary Stewart, second daughter of
King Bobert the Second, widow of the Earl
of Angus and of Sir James Kennedy of
Dun ure j after Sir William Graham's death
she took for her fourth husband Sir William
Edmonstone of Duntreath. By this lady he
had five sons, namely, 1. Sir Bobert Graham
of Strathcarron, ancestor of the Grahams of
Fintry, of Claverhouse, and of Duntrane. 2.
Patrick Graham, consecrated bishop of Brechin,
in 1463, and three years after translated to
the see of St. Andrews. 3. WLUiain, ancestor
of the Grahams of Garvoch in Berthshire,
from a younger son of whom came the Grahams
of Balgowan, the most celebrated of which
family was the gallant Sir Thomas Graham,
Lord Lynedoch, the hero of Barossa. 4.
Henry, of whom nothing is known. 5. Walter,
of Wallacetown, Dumbartonshire, ancestor of
the Grahams of Knoekdolian in Carrick, and
their cadets.

Batrick Graham, of Kincardine, the son of
Alexander, the eldest son, succeeded his grand-
father, and was created a peer of parliament in
1451, under the title of Lord Graham. He
died in 1465. His only son, William, second
Lord Graham, married lady Anne Douglas,
eldest daughter of the fourth Earl of Angus,
and had two sons, WiUiam, third Lord Graham,
and George, ancestor of the Grahams of Calen-
dar.

William, third Lord Graham, sat in the
first parliament of King James the Fourth,
1488; and on 3d March, 1504-5, he was
created Earl of Montrose, a charter being
granted to him of that date, of his hereditary
lands of "Auld Montrose," which were then
erected into a free barony and earldom to
be called the barony and earldom of Montrose.
It is from these lands, therefore, and not
from the town of Montrose, that the family
take their titles of earl and duke. He
fell at the battle of Flodden, 9th September
1513. He was thrice married. By his first
wife, Annabella, daughter of Lord Drummond,
he had a son, second Earl of Montrose; by his

316

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLAN'S.

second wife, Janet, a daughter of Sir Archibald
Edmonstone of Duntreath, he had three daugh-
ters; and by his third wife, Christian Wavance
of Segy, daughter of Thomas "Wavance of
Stevenston, and widow of the ninth Lord
Haly burton of Dirleton, two sons, Patrick,
ancestor of the Grasmes of Inchbrakie, Perth-
shire ; and Andrew, consecrated bishop of
Dunblane in 1575, and the first protestant
bishop of that see.

From the third son of the second Earl of
Montrose came the Grahams of Orchil, and
from the fourth son the Grahams of Killearn.
From the second son of the third earl descended
the Grahams of Braco, who once possessed a
baronetcy of Nova Scotia, conferred on the
first of the family, 28th September 1625.
From the third son of the same earl, the
Grahams of Soottistoun derived their descent.

The Grahams of the borders are descended
from Sir John Graham of Kilbbyde, called,
from his bravery, Sir John "with the bright
sword," second son of Malise, Earl first of
Strathearn, and afterwards of Menteith, by
his wife, the Lady Ann Vere, daughter of
Henry, Earl of Oxford.

Sir John " with the bright sword " was also
ancestor of the Grahams of Gartmore in Perth-
shire. Sir William Graham of Gartmore, created
a baronet of Nova Scotia in 1665, married
Elizabeth, second daughter of John Graham,
Lord Kilpont (son of the Earl of Airth), who
was slain by one of his own vassals, James
Stewart of Ardvoirlich, in the camp of the
Marquis of Montrose, in 1644; and had a son,
Sir John Graham, second baronet of Gartmore,
declared insane in 1696. On his death, 12th
July 1708, without issue, the baronetcy became
extinct, and the representation of the family
devolved upon his sister Mary, wife of James
Hodge, Esq. of Gladsmuir, advocate. Their
only daughter, Mary Hodge, married, in 1701,
William, son of John Graham of Callingod,
and had a son, William Graham, who assumed
the title of Earl of Menteith.

The castle of Kilbryde, near Dunblane, built
by Sir John "with the bright sword," in 1460,
was possessed by his representatives, the Earls
of Menteith, till 1 640, when it was sold. The
Menteith Grahams were called the Grahams
"of the hens," from the following circum-

stances. An armed party of the Stewarts of
Appin, headed by Donald Nan Ord,2 called
Donald of the Hammer, in their retreat from the
disastrous field of Pinkie in 1547, in passing
the lake of Menteith, stopped at a house of the
Earl of Menteith, where a large feast, consist-
ing principally of poultry, was prepared for a
marriage party, and ate up all the provisions ;
but, being immediately pursued, they were over-
taken in the gorge of a pass, near a rock called
Craig- Vad, or the Wolf's cliff, where a bloody
encounter took place. The earl and nearly the
whole of his followers were killed, and Donald
of the Hammer escaped, amidst the darkness
of the night, with only a single attendant.
From the cause of the fight the Highlanders
gave the name of Gramoch na Oeric, or "Gra-
hams of the hens," to the Menteith branch
ever after.

The clan Graham were principally confined
to Menteith and Strathearn.

GORDON.

Badge — Rock ivy.

The Gordons are an ancient and distin-
guished family, originally from Normandy,
where their ancestors are said to have had large
possessions. From the great antiquity of the
race, many fabulous accounts have been given
of the descent of the Gordons. Some derive
them from a city of Macedonia, called Gordonia,
whence they went to Gaul ; others find their
origin in Spain, Flanders, &c. Some writers
suppose Bertrand de Gourdon who, in 1199,
wounded Pilchard the Lion-heart mortally with

- See our Account of the Stewarts.

THE GORDONS.

317

an arrow before the castle of Chalus in the
Limoges, to have been the great ancestor of
the Gordons, but there does not seem to be
any other foundation for such a conjecture than
that there was a manor in Normandy called
Gourdon. It is probable that the first persons
of the name in this island came over with
William the Conqueror in 1066. According
to Chalmers,3 the founder of this great family
came from England in the reign of David the
First (1124-53), and obtained from that prince
the lands of Gordon (anciently Gordun, or Gor-
dyn, from, as Chalmers supposes, the Gaelic Gor-
din, " on the hill"). He left two sons, Eichard,
and Adam, who, though the younger son, had
a portion of the territory of Gordon, with the
lands of Fanys on the southern side of it.

The elder son, Richard de Gordon, granted,
between 1150 and 1160, certain lands to the
monks of Kelso, and died in 1200. His son,
Sir Thomas de Gordon, confirmed by charter
these donations, and his son and successor, also
named Thomas, made additional grants to the
same monks, as well as to the religious of
Coldstream. He died in 1285, without male
issue, and his only daughter, Alicia, marrying
her cousin Adam de Gordon, the son of Adam,
younger brother of Richard above mentioned,
the two branches of the family thus became
united.

His grandson, Sir Adam de Gordon, Lord
of Gordon, one of the most eminent men of
his time, was the progenitor of most of the
great families of the name in Scotland. In
reward of his faithful services, Bruce granted
to him and his heirs the noble lordship of
Strathbolgie (now Strathbogie), in Aberdeen-
shire, then in the Crown, by the forfeiture of
David de Strathbogie, Earl of Athole, which
grant was afterwards confirmed to his family by
several charters under the great seal. Sir
Adam fixed his residence there, and gave these
lands and lordship the name of Huntly, from a
village of that name in the western extremity of
Gordon parish, in the Merse, the site of which
is now said to be marked only by a solitary tree.
From their northern domain, the family after-
wards acquired the titles of Lord, Earl, and Mar-
quis of Huntly, and the latter is now their chief

a Caledonia, vol. ii. p. 387.

title. Sir Adam was slain, fighting bravely in
the vanguard of the Scotch army at the battle
of HalidonhiU, July 12, 1333. By AnnabeUa,
his wife, supposed to have been a daughter of
David de Strathbolgie above mentioned, he
had four sons and a daughter. The eldest son,
Sir Alexander, succeeded him. The second
son, William, was ancestor of the "Viscounts of
Kenmure.

Sir John Gordon, his great-grandson, got a
new charter from King Robert the Second of
the lands of Strathbogie, dated 13th June
1376. He was slain at the battle of Otter-
bourne in 1388. His son, Sir Adam, lord of
Gordon, fell at the battle of Homildon, 14th
September 1402. By his wife, Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir William Keith, great mareschal
of Scotland, he had an only child, Elizabeth
Gordon, who succeeded to the whole family
estates, and having married Alexander Seton,
second son of Sir William Seton of Seton,
ancestor of the Earls of Winton, that gentle-
man was styled lord of Gordon and Huntly.
He left two sons, the younger of whom became
ancestor of the Setons of Meldrum.

Alexander, the elder, was, in 1449, created
Earl of Huntly, with limitation to his heirs
male, by Elizabeth Crichton, his third wife,
they being obliged to bear the name and arms
of Gordon. George, the sixth earl, was created
Marquis of Huntly, by King James, in 1599.
George, the fourth marquis, was made Duke of
Gordon in 1684. George, fifth duke, died
without issue on 28th May 1836. At his
death the title of Duke of Gordon became
extinct, as well as that of Earl of Norwich in
the British peerage, and the Marquisate of
Huntly devolved on George Earl of Aboyne,
descended from Charles, fourth son of George,
second Marquis of Huntly, while the Duke
of Richmond and Lennox, son of his eldest
sister, succeeded to Gordon castle, Banffshire,
and other estates in Aberdeenshire and Inver-
ness-shire.

The clan Gordon was at one period one of
the most powerful and numerous in the north
Although the chiefs were not originally of
Celtic origin, as already shown, they yet gave
their name to the clan, the distinctive badge
of which was the rock ivy. The clan feuds
and battles were frequent, especially with the

318

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

Mackintoshes, the Canierons, the Murrays, and
the Fortieses. Their principal exploits have
"been noticed in the first volume.

The Duke of Gordon, who was the chief of
the clan, was usually styled " The Cock of the
North.'' His most ancient title was the " Gude-
man of the Bog," from the Bog-of-Gight, a
morass in the parish of Bellie, Banffshire, in

r the centre of which the former stronghold of
' this family was placed, and which forms the
; site of Gordon castle, considered the most mag
nificent edifice in the north of Scotland. The
Marquis of Huntly is now the chief of the clan
Gordon. Of the name of Gordon, there are
many ancient families belonging to Aberdeen-
shire, Banffshire, and the north of Scotland.

__^J£3^%&>

Gordon Castle. From Nattes' Scotia Depicta.

GUMMING.

Badge — Ciirriin plant.

The family of Cumyn, Comyn, Cumin, Cum-
min, or Cumming, merit notice among the septs

of the north of Scotland, from the prominent
figure which they made there in early times.
But almost all authors agree in representing
them as having come from England, and having
been of either Norman or Saxon descent origin-
ally. The time when they migrated north-
wards is also well marked in history. The
event occurred in the reign of David I. That
prince still claimed a large part of the north
of England, and, besides, had engaged deeply
in the contests betwixt King Stephen and the
Empress Matilda, which agitated South Britain
in the twelfth century. He was thus brought
into frequent contact with the barons of North-
umberland and the adjoining districts, some of
whom were properly his vassals, and many of
whose younger sons followed him permanently
into Scotland. In this way were founded
various northern families in the time of King

THE CUMMIN GS— THE OGILVIES.

310

David, and among others, seemingly, the
Curnyns. William Cumyn is the first of the
name authentically mentioned in the Scottish
annals. He had been trained clerically by
Gaufred, bishop of Durham, some time chan-
cellor to Henry I. ; and his abilities and experi-
ence appear to have recommended Cumyn to
David of Scotland for the same high office in
the north. He was nominated chancellor of
Scotland in 1133; though we find him seizing
on the bishopric of Durham in 1142, under
countenance of a grant from the Empress
Maude. But he soon after resigned it to the
proper incumbent, reserving only certain of the
episcopal estates for behoof of his nephew and
heir, Eichard.

Eichard Cumyn, properly the founder of the
line of the Scottish Cuymn, rose high in the
service of William the Lion, and long acted
as chief minister and justiciary of Scotland.
During his life he held the lands of North-
allerton and others, secured to him by his
uncle in England; and he also obtained estates
in Eoxburghshire, the first property of the
family in Scotland. That the Curnyns must
have been of high importance in England is
proved by, and in part explains, their sudden
elevation in the north. Eichard Cumyn even
intermarried with the royal famdy of Scotland,
wedding Hexilda, great-granddaughter of the
'■gracious" King Duncan of "Macbeth."1

In the reign of Alexander III., as stated
by Fordun, there were of the name in Scotland
three Earls — Buchan, Menteith,andAthole, and
one great feudal baron, Cumyn lord of Strath-
bogie, with thirty knights all possessing lands.
The chief of the elan was lord of Badenoch and
Lochaber, and other extensive districts in the
Highlands. Upwards of sixty belted knights
were bound to follow his banner with all their
vassals, and he made treaties witli princes as a
prince himself. One such compact with Lew-
ellyn of Wales is preserved in Eymer's Fcedera.

The Cummings, as the name is now spelled,
are numerous in the counties of Aberdeen,
Banff, and Moray; but a considerable number,
in consequence of being prevented, for some
reason, from burying their relatives in the
family burial-place, changed their names to

4 See Smibert's Clans.

Farquharson, as being descended from Fer-
quhard, second son of Alexander the fourth
designed of Altyre, who lived in the middle of
the fifteenth century. It is from them that
the Farquharsons of Balthog, Haughton, and
others in the county of Aberdeen derive their
descent.

From Sir Eobert Comyn, younger son of
John lord of Badenoch, who died about 1274,
are descended the Cummings of Altyre, Logie,
Auchry (one of whom in 1760 founded the
village of Cuminestovvn in Aberdeenshire), Ee
lugas, &c.

OGILVY.

Badge — Alkanet.

Ogilvy is a surname derived from a barony
in the parish of Glammis, Forfarshire, which,
about 1163, was bestowed by William the Lion
on Gilbert, ancestor of the noble family of
Airlie, and, in consequence, he assumed the
name of Ogilvy. He is said to have been the
third son of Gillibrede, or Gilchrist, maormor
of Angus. In the charters of the second
and third Alexanders there are witnesses of
the name of Ogilvy. Sir Patrick de Ogilvy -
adhered steadily to Eobert the Bruce, wha
bestowed upon him the lands of Kettins in
Forfarshire. The barony of Cortachy was
acquired by the family in 1369-70. The
'• gracious gude Lord Ogilvy," as he is styled in
the old ballad of the battle of Harlaw, in
which battle the principal barons of Forfarshire
fought on the side of the Earl of Mar, who
commanded the royal army, was the son of
Sir Walter Ogilvy of Auchterhouse, slain in a
clan battle with the Eobertsons in 1394.

320

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

' ' Of the best ainang them was

The gracious gude Lord Ogilvy,

The sheriff-principal of Angus,
Renownit for truth and equity —
For faith and magnanimity
He had few fellows in the field,
Yet fell by fatal destiny,

For he nae ways wad grant to yield. ''

His eldest son, George Ogilvy, was also
slain.

Lord Ogilvy, the first title of Airlie family,
was conferred by James IV., in 1491, on Sir
John Ogilvy of Lintrathen.

James, seventh lord Oglivy, was created
Earl of Airlie, in 1639.

The title of Lord Ogilvy of Deskford was
conferred, 4th October 1616, on Sir Walter
Ogilvy of Deskford and Eindlater, whose son,
James, second Lord Deskford, was created Earl
of Findlater, 20th Feburary 1638. He was de-
scended from Sir Walter Ogilvy of Auchleven,
second son of Sir Walter Ogilvy of Lintra-
then, high treasurer of Scotland.

The clan Ogilvy are called "the Siol Gil-
christ," the race or posterity of Gilchrist. In
1526, the Mackintoshes invaded the country of
the Ogilvies, and massacred no fewer than 24
gentlemen of the name. A feud between the
Campbells and the Ogilvies subsisted for
several centuries. In Pitcairn's Criminal Trials
we find James Ogilvy complaining, on 21st
October, 1591, that a body of Argyll's men
had attacked him when residing peaceably in

Glenisla, in Forfarshire, which anciently be-
longed to the Ogilvies, killed several of his
people, ravaged the country, and compelled
him and Iris lady to flee for their lives.

The Ogilvies had their revenge in 1645, for
the burning of "the bonnie house of Airlie,"
and the other strongholds of the Ogilvies, when
Castle Campbell, near Dollar, or the Castle
of Gloom, its original name, was destroyed by
them and the Macleans, and the territory of
the Marquis of Argyll was overrun by the
fierce and ruthless clan that followed Montrose,
and carried fire and sword throughout the
whole estates of the clan Campbell.

FERGUSON.
Badge — Little Sunflower.

Ferguson, or Fergusson, is the surname (son
of Fergus) of a Highland sept (whose arms
we have been unable to obtain), which had
its seat on the borders of the counties of Perth
and Forfar, immediately to the north of Dun-
keld, and the distinctive badge of which was
the little sunflower. In the Roll of 1587,
they are named as among the septs of Mar and
Athole, where their proper seat as a clan
originally lay, having chiefs and captains of
their own. In Galloway, the Craigdarroch
Fergussons have flourished from an early date,
and in Fife the Fergusons of Raith have long
held a high position as landholders.

PART THIRD.

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.

INTEODUCTION.

Military character of the Highlands.

Hitherto the account of tke military exploits
of the Highlanders has been limited to their
own clan feuds and to the exertions which, for a
century, they made in behalf of the unfortunate
Stuarts. We are now to notice their operations
on a more extended field of action, by giving
a condensed sketch of their services in the
cause of the country; services which have ac-
quired for them a reputation as deserved as it
has been unsurpassed. From moral as well as
from physical causes, the Highlanders were well
fitted to attain this pre-eminence.

"In forming his military character, the High-
lander was not more favoured by nature than
by the social system under which he lived.
Nursed in poverty, he acquired a hardihood
which enabled him to sustain severe pri-
vations. As the simplicity of his life gave
vigour to his body, so it fortified his mind.
Possessing a frame and constitution thus hard-
ened, he was taught to consider courage as the
most honourable virtue, cowardice the most
disgraceful failing; to venerate and obey his
chief, and to devote himself for his native
country and clan ; and thus prepared to be a
soldier, he was ready to follow wherever honour
and duty called him. With such principles,
and regarding any disgrace he might bring on
his clan and district as the most cruel misfor-
tune, the Highland private soldier had a peculiar
motive to exertion. The common soldier of
many other countries has scarcely any other
stimulus to ■ the performance of his duty than

the fear of chastisement, or the habit of
mechanical obedience to command, produced
by the discipline in which he has been
trained. With a Highland soldier it is
otherwise. When in a national or district
corps, he is surrounded by the companions
of his youth and the rivals of his early
achievements ; he feels the impulse of emu-
lation strengthened by the consciousness that
every proof which he displays, either of
bravery or cowardice, will find its way to his
native home. He thus learns to appreciate the
value of a good name; and it is thus, that in a
Highland regiment, consisting of men from the
same country, whose kindred and connexions
are mutually known, every individual feels that
his conduct is the subject of observation, and
that, independently of his duty as a. member
of a systematic whole, he has to sustain a
separate and individual reputation, which will
be reflected on his family, and district or glen.
Hence he requires no artificial excitements.
He acts from motives within himself; his
point is fixed, and his aim must terminate
either in victory or death. The German soldier
considers himself as a part of the military
machine, and duly marked out in the orders of
the day. He moves onward to his destination
with a well-trained pace, and with as phlegmatic
indifference to the result as a labourer who
works for his daily hire. The courage of the
French soldier is supported in the hour of
trial by his high notions of the point of
honour; but this display of spirit is not always
steady. A Highland soldier faces his enemy,
whether in front, rear, or flank; and if he has
confidence in his commander,itmavbe predicted
2 s

HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

with certainty that he will be victorious or die on
the ground which he maintains. He goes into
the field resolved not to disgrace his name.
A striking characteristic of the Highlander is,
that all his actions seem to flow from sentiment.
His endurance of privation and fatigue. — his
resistance of hostile opposition, — his solicitude
for the good opinion of his superiors, — all
originate in this source, whence also proceeds
his obedience, which is always most conspicuous
when exhibited under kind treatment. Hence
arises the difference observable between the
conduct of one regiment of Highlanders and
that of another, and frequently even of the
same regiment at different times, and under
different management. A Highland regiment,
to be orderly and well disciplined, ought to
be commanded by men who are capable of
appreciating their character, directing their
passions and prejudices, and acquiring their
entire confidence and affection. The officer to
whom the command of Highlanders is intrusted
must endeavour to acquire their confidence
and good opinion. With this view, lie must
watch over the propriety of his own conduct.
He must observe the strictest justice and
fidelity in his promises to his men, conciliate
them by an attention to their dispositions and
prejudices, and, at the same time, by preserv-
ing a firm and steady authority, without which
he will not be respected.

"Officers who are accustomed to command
Highland soldiers find it easy to guide and
control them when their full confidence has
been obtained; but when distrust prevails
severity ensues, with a consequent neglect of
duty, and by a continuance of this unhappy
misunderstanding, the men become stubborn,
disobedient, and in the end mutinous. The
spirit of a Highland soldier revolts at any
unnecessary severity; though he may be led
to the mouth of a cannon if properly directed,
will rather die than be unfaithful to his trust.
But if, instead of leading, his officers attempt
to drive him, he may fail in the discharge of
the most common duties."1

A learned and ingenious author,2 who,
though himself a Lowlander, had ample op-

1 Stewart's Sketches.

2 Jackson's View of the Formation, &c., of Armies.
1824.

portunity, while serving in many campaigns
with Highland regiments, of becoming inti-
mately acquainted with their character, thus
writes of them : —

"The limbs of the Highlander are strong
and sinewy, the frame hardy, and of great
physical power, in proportion to size. He
endures cold, hunger, and fatigue with patience;
in other words, he has an elasticity or pride
of mind which does not feel, or which refuses to
complain of hardship. The air of the gentleman
is ordinarily majestic; the air and gait of the
gilly is not graceful. He walks with a bended
knee, and does not walk with grace, but his
movement has energy; and between walking
and trotting, and by an interchange of pace,
he performs long journeys with facility, particu-
larly on broken and irregular ground, such as
he has been accustomed to traverse in his
native country.

"The Highlanders of Scotland, born and
reared under the circumstances stated, mar-
shalled for action by clans, according to ancient
usage, led into action by chiefs who possess
confidence from an opinion of knowledge, and>
love from the influence of blood, may be calcu-
lated upon as returning victorious, or dying in
the grasp of the enemy.

"Scotch Highlanders have a courage devoted
to honour; but they have an impetuosity
which, if not well understood, and skilfully
directed, is liable to error. The Scotch fight
individually as if the cause were their own,
not as if it were the cause of a commander
only, — and they fight impassioned. Whether
training and discipline may bring them in
time to the apathy of German soldiers, further
experience will determine; but the Highlanders
are even now impetuous; and, if they fail to
accomplish their object, they cannot be with-
drawn from it like those who fight a battle by
the job. The object stands in their own view;
the eye is fixed upon it ; they rush towards it,
seize it, and proclaim victory with exultation.
" The Highlander, upon the whole, is a sol-
dier of the first quality; but, as already said,
he requires to see his object fully, and to come
into contact with it in all its extent. He then
feels the impression of his duty through a
channel which he understands, and he acts con-
sistently in consequence of the impression, that

MILITAEY CHARACTER OF THE HIGHLANDS.

323

is, in consequence of the impulse of his own
internal sentiment, rather than the external
impulse of the command of another; for it is
often verified in experience that, where the
enemy is before the Highlander and nearly in
contact with him, the authority of the officer
is in a measure null; the duty is notwithstand-
ing done, and well done, by the impulses of
natural instinct.

"Their conduct in the year 1745 proves very
distinctly that they are neither a ferocious nor
a cruel people. No troops ever, perhaps, tra-
versed a country which might be deemed
hostile leaving so few traces of outrage behind
them as were left by the Highlanders in the
year 1745. They are better known at the
present time than they were then, and they
are known to be eminent for honesty and
fidelity, where confidence is given them. They
possess exalted notions of honour, warm friend-
ships, and much national pride."

Of the disinclination from peaceful employ-
ment, and propensity for war here spoken
of, Dr Jackson elsewhere affords us a striking
illustration. "While passing through the Isle
of Skye3 in the autumn of 1783, he met a man
of great age whose shoulder had, through a
recent fall, teen dislocated. This condition
was speedily rectified by our traveller. "As
there seemed to be something rather uncommon
about the old man, I asked if he had lived
all his life in the Highlands? No : — he said
he made one of the Forty-second when they
were first raised; then had gone with them
to Germany; but when he had heard that
his Erince was landed in the North, he pur-
chased, or had made suck interest that he
procured his discharge; came home, and en-
listed under Ms banner. He fought at Cul-

■> "The Isle of Skye has, within the last forty years,
furnished for the public service, twenty-one lieutenant-
generals and major-generals ; forty-five lieutenant-
colonels; six hundred majors, captains, lieutenants,
and subalterns ; ten thousand foot soldiers ; one hun-
dred and twenty pipers ; four governors of British
colonies; one governor-general ; one adjutant-general ;
one chief-baron of England ; and one judge of the
Supreme Court of Scotland. The generals may be
classed thus : — eight Macdonalds, six Macleods, two
llacallisters, two Macaskills, one Mackinnon, one
Elder, and one Macqueen. The Isle of Skye is forty-
five miles long, and about fifteen in mean breadth.
Truly the inhabitants are a wonderous people. It
may be mentioned that this island is the birth-place
of Cuthullin, the celebrated hero mentioned in Ossian's
Poems." — Inverness Journal.

loden, and was wounded. After everything
was settled, he returned to his old regiment,
and served with it till he received another
wound that rendered him unlit for service.
He now, he said, lived the best way he could,
on his pension."

Dr Jackson also strongly advocates the
desirability of forming national and district
regiments, and of keeping them free from any
foreign intermixture. Such a policy seems to
be getting more and more into favour among
modern military authorities; and we believe
that at the present time it is seldom, and only
with reluctance, that any but Scotchmen are
admitted into Scotch, and especially into
Highland regiments, at least this is the case
with regard to privates. Indeed, it is well
known that in our own country there is even
now an attempt among those who manage such
matters, to connect particular regiments with
certain districts. Not only does such a plan
tend to keep up the morale respectability and
esprit de coi-ps of each regiment, but is well
calculated to keep up the numbers, by estab-
lishing a connection between the various regi-
ments and the militia of the districts with
which they are connected. Originally each
Highland regiment was connected and raised
from a well defined district, and military men
who are conversant in such matters think that
it would be advisable to restore these regi-
ments to their old footing in this respect. On
this subject, we again quote the shrewd remarks
of Dr Jackson : —

"If military materials be thrown together
promiscuously — that is, arranged by no other
rule except that of size or quantity of matter,
as it is admitted that the individual parts
possess different propensities and different
powers of action, it is plain that the in-
strument composed of these different and
independent parts has a tendency to act dif-
ferently; the parts are constrained to act on
one object by stimulation or coercion only.

" Military excellence consists, as often hinted,
in every part of the instrument acting with
full force — acting from one principle and for
one purpose ; and hence it is evident that in a
mixed fabric, composed of parts of unequal
power and different temper, disunion is a con-
sequence, if all act to the full exteut of their

324

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

power; or if disunion be not a consequence,
the combined act must necessarily be shackled,
and, as such, inferior, the strong being restrained
from exertion for the sake of preserving union
with the weak.

"The imperfection now stated necessarily
attaches to regiments composed of different
nations mixed promiscuously. It even attaches,
in some degree, to regiments which are formed
indiscriminately from the population of all
the districts or counties of an extensive king-
dom. This assumption, anticipated by reason-
ing, is confirmed by experience in the military
history of semi-barbarous tribes, which are often
observed, without the aid of tactic, as taught
in modern schools, to stick together in danger
and to achieve acts of heroism beyoad the
comprehension of those who have no knowledge
of man but as part of a mechanical instrument
of war. The fact has numerous proofs in the
history of nations; but it has not a more de-
cisive one than that which occurred in the late
Seventy-first Eegiment in the revolutionary
war of America. In the summer of the year
1779, a party of the Seventy-first Regiment,
consisting of fifty-six men and five officers,
was detached from a redoubt at Stoneferry,
in South Carolina, for the purpose of recon-
noitring the enemy, which was supposed to be
advancing in force to attack the post. The
instructions given to the officer who commanded
went no further than to reconnoitre and retire
upon the redoubt. The troops were new
troops, — ardent as Highlanders usually are.
They fell in with a strong column of the
enemy (upwards of two thousand) within a
short distance of the post; and, instead of re-
tiring according to instruction, they thought
proper to attack, with an instinctive view, it
was supposed, to retard progress, and thereby
to give time to those who were in the redoubt
to make better preparations for defence. This
they did; but they were themselves nearly
destroyed. All the officers and non-commis-
sioned officers were killed or wounded, and
seven cf the privates only remained on their
legs at the end of the combat. The command-
ing officer fell, and, in falling, desired the few
who still resisted to make the best of their way
to the redoubt. They did not obey. The
national sympathies were warm. National

honour did not permit them to leave their
officers in the field; and they actually persisted
in covering their fallen comrades until a rein-
forcement arriving from head quarters, which
was at some distance, induced the enemy to
retire.

In the narratives which follow, we have
confined ourselves strictly to those regiments
which are at the present day officially recog-
nised as Highland. Many existing regiments
were originally raised in Highland districts,
and formerly wore the Highland dress, which,
as our readers will see, had ultimately to be
changed into ordinary line regiments, from the
difficulty of finding Highlanders willing to
enlist ; the history of such regiments we have
followed only so long as they were recognised
as Highland. In this way the existing strictly
Highland regiments are reduced to eight — The
Black Watch or 42d, the 71st, 72d, 74th, 78th,
79th, 92d, 93d.

42d EOYAL HIGHLAND EEGIMENT.

AM FREICEADAN DUBH—
"THE BLACK WATCH."

1726-1775.

Embodying the Black "Watch — March for England —
Mutiny — Fontenoy — Embarks for the French coast
— Flanders — Battle of Lafeldt — Return of the regi-
ment to Ireland — Number changed from the 43d to
the 42d — Embarks for New York — Louisbourg —
Ticonderoga — The West Indies — Ticonderoga and
Crown Point — Surrender of Montreal— Martinique
— Havannah — Bushy Run — Fort Pitt — Ireland —
Return of the 42d to Scotland.

RAISING OF "THE BLACK WATCH."

325

Victories.

Egypt. Orthes.

(With the Sphinx.) Toulouse.

Corunna. Peninsula.

Fuentes d'Onor. Waterloo.

Pyrenees. Alma.

Nivelle. Sevastopol.

Nive. Lucknow.

The design of rendering such a valuable class
of subjects available to the state by forming
regular military corps out of it, seems not
to have entered into the views of the govern-
ment till about the year 1729, when six com-
panies of Highlanders were raised, which, from
forming distinct corps unconnected with each
other, received the appellation of independent
companies. Three of these companies consisted
of 100 men each, and were therefore called
large companies ; Lord Lovat, Sir Duncan
Campbell of Lochnell, and Colonel Grant of
Ballindalloch, were appointed captains over
them. The three smaller companies, which
consisted of 75 each, were commanded by
Colonel Alexander Campbell of Finab, John
Campbell of Carrick, and George Munro of
Culcairn, under the commission of captain-
lieutenants. To each of the six companies
were attached two lieutenants and one ensign.
To distinguish them from the regular troops,
who, from having coats, waistcoats, and breeches
of scarlet cloth, were called Saighdearan Dearg,
or Red soldiers; the independent companies,
who were attired in tartan consisting mostly of
black, green, and blue, were designated Am
Frekeadan Dahh, or Black Watch, — from the
sombre appearance of their dress.

As the services of these companies were not
required beyond their own territory, and as
the intrants were not subjected to the humili-
ating provisions of the disarming act, no diffi-
culty was found in forming them; and when
completed, they presented the singular spectacle
of a number of young men of respectable
families serving as privates in the ranks.
" Many of the men who composed these
companies were of a higher station in society
than that from which soldiers in general are
raised; cadets of gentlemen's families, sons of
gentlemen farmers, and tacksmen, either imme-
diately or distantly descended from gentlemen's
families, — men who felt themselves responsible

for their conduct to high-minded and honour-
able families, as well as to a country for which
they cherished a devoted affection. In addition
to the advantages derived from their superior
rank in life, they possessed, in an eminent
degree, that of a commanding external deport-
ment, special care being taken in selecting men
of full height, well proportioned, and of hand-
some appearance."'

The duties assigned to these companies were
to enforce the disarming act, to overawe the
disaffected, and watch their motions, and to
check depredations. For this purpose they
were stationed in small detachments in dif-
ferent parts of the country, and generally
throughout the district in which they were
raised. Thus Fort Augustus and the neigh-
bouring parts of Inverness-shire were occupied
by the Frasers under Lord Lovat; Ballindalloch
and the Grants were stationed in Strathspey
and Badenoch; the Munros under Culcairn, in
Ross and Sutherland; Lochnell's and Carrick's
companies were stationed in Athole and Bread-
albane, and Finab's in Lochaber, and the
northern parts of Argyleshire among the dis-
affected Camerons, and Stewarts of Appin. All
Highlanders of whatever clan were admitted in-
discriminately into these companies as soldiers ;
but the officers were taken, almost exclusively,
from the whig clans.

The independent companies continued to
exist as such until the year 1739, when govern-
ment resolved to raise four additional com-
panies, and to form the whole into a regiment
of the line. For this purpose, letters of service,
dated 25th October 1739, were addressed to
the Earl of Crawford and Lindsay, who was
appointed to the command of the regiment
about to be formed, which was to consist of
1000 men. Although the commissions were
dated as above, the regiment was not embodied
till the month of May 1740, when it assembled

4 Stewart's Sketches. In confirmation of this,
General Stewart mentions the case of Mr Stewart of
Bohallie, his grand-uncle by marriage, who was one
of the gentlemen soldiers in Carrick's company. ' ' This
gentleman, a man of family and education, was five
feet eleven inches in height, remarkable for his personal
strength and activity, and one of the best swordsmen
of his time in an age when good swordsmanship was
common, and considered an indispensable and graceful
accomplishment of a gentleman ; and yet, with all
these qualifications, he was only a centre man of the
centre rank of his company."

326

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

on a field between Taybridge and Aberfeldy,5 in
the county of Perth, under the number of the
43d regiment, although they still retained the
country name of the Black Watch. " The
uniform was a scarlet jacket and waistcoat,
with buff facings and white lace, — tartan6 plaid
of twelve yards plaited round the middle of the
body, the upper part being fixed on the left
shoulder ready to be thrown loose, and wrapped
overboth shoulders and firelockinrainy weather.
At night the plaid served the purpose of a
blanket, and was a sufficient covering for the
Highlander. These were called belted plaids
from being kept tight to the body by a belt,
and were worn on guards, reviews, and on all
occasions when the men were in full dress.
On this belt hung the pistols and dirk when
worn. In the barracks, and when not on duty,
the little kilt or pliilibeg was worn, a blue
bonnet with a border of white, red and green,
arranged in small squares to resemble, as is
said, the fess cheque in the arms of the different
branches of the Stewart family, and a tuft of
feathers, or sometimes, from economy or neces-
sity, a small piece of black bear-skin. The
arms were a musket, a bayonet, and a large
basket-hilted broadsword. These were fur-
nished by government. Such of the men as
chose to supply themselves with pistols and

5 Sir Robert Menzies, writing to the Dundee Adver-
tiser in connection with the monument recently erected
at Dunkeld to the Black Watch, says this is a mistake,
although it is the account generally received, and that
given by General David Stewart. Sir Robert says
"the detailed companies of the Black "Watch met "at
Weem, and that the whole regiment was first drawn
up in the field at Boltachan, between Weem and Tay-
bridge." It is strange, considering the inscription on
the monument, that Sir Robert should have been
asked to allow it to be erected in the field in question.
After all, both statements may be essentially correct,
and it is of no great consequence.

0 While the companies acted independently, each
commander assumed the tartan of his own clan.
When embodied, no clan having a superior claim to
offer a uniform plaid to the whole, and Lord Craw-
ford, the colonel, being a lowlander, a new pattern
was assumed, which has ever since been known as the
42d, or Black Watch tartan, being distinct from all
others. Here we must acknowledge our indebtedness
to a manuscript history of this regiment, kindly lent
us by Lieutenant-Colonel Wheatley, whose "happy
home," he says himself, the regiment was for 38 years.
The volume contains much curious, valuable, and in-
teresting information, on which we shall largely
draw in our account of the 42d. Our obligations to
Colonel Wheatley in connection with this history of
the Highland regiments are very numerous ; his wil-
lingness to lend us every assistance in his power
deserves our warmest thanks.

dirks were allowed to carry them, and some
had targets after the fashion of their country.
The sword-belt was of black leather, and the
cartouch-box was carried in front, supported
by a narrow belt round the middle."7

The officers appointed to this regiment
were : —

Colonel — John, Karl of Crawford and Lindsay, died in
1748.

Lieutenant-Colonel — Sir Robert Munro of Foulis, Bart.,
killed at Falkirk, 1746.

Major — George Grant, brother of the Laird of Grant,
removed from the service by sentence of a
court-martial, for allowing the rebels to get
possession of the castle of Inverness in 1746.

Captains.

George Munro of Culcairn, brother of Sir Robert

Munro, killed in 1746.»
Dugal Campbell of Craignish, retired in 1745.
John Campbell of Carriek, killed at Fontenoy.
Colin Campbell, junior, of Monzie, retired in 1743.
Sir James Colquhoun of Luss, Bart., retired in 1748.
Colin Campbell of Baltimore, retired.
John Munro, promoted to be Lieutenant-Colonel in

1743, retired in 1749.
Captain-Lieutenant Duncan Macfarlane, retired in

1744.

Lieutenants.
Paul Macpherson.
Lewis Grant of Auchterblair.

John Maclean of Kingarloch.
John Mackenzie.

Both removed from the
I regiment in conse-
I quence of having
( fought a duel in 1744.
Alexander Macdonald.
Malcolm Fraser, son of Culduthel, killed at Bergen-

op-Zoom in 1747.
George Ramsay.
Francis Grant, son of the Laird of Grant, died Lieu-

tenant-General in 1782.
John Macneil.

Ensigns.

Dugal Campbell, killed at Fontenoy.

Dugal Stewart.

John Menzies of Comrie.

Edward Carriek.

Gilbert Stewart of Kincraigie.

Gordon Graham of Draines.

Archd. Macnab, son of the Laird of Macnab, died

Lieutenant-General, 1790.
Colin Campbell.
Dugal Stewart.
James Campbell of Glenfalloch, died of wounds at

Fontenoy.

Clia2)lain — Hon. Gideon Murray,

Surgeon — James Munro, brother of Sir Robert Munro. *

Adjutant — Gilbert Stewart.
Quarter- Master — John Forbes.

In 1740 the Earl of Crawford was removed to the
Life Guards, and Brigadier-General Lord Sempill was
appointed Colonel of the Highlanders.

7 Stewart's Sketches.

8 See p. 234 of this volume.

9 See vol. i., p. 626.

MARCH FOR ENGLAND.

32;

After remaining nearly eighteen months in
quarters near Tayhridge,1 the regiment was
inarched northward, in the winter of 1741-2
and the men remained in the stations assigned
them till the spring of 1743, wh'en they were
ordered to repair to Perth. Having assembled
there in March of that year, they were surprised
on being informed that orders had been received
to march the regimen); for England, a step
which they considered contrary to an alleged
understanding when regimented, that the sphere
of their services was not to extend beyond
their native country. When the intention of
employing them in foreign service came to be
known, many of the warmest supporters of the
government highly disapproved of the design,
among whom was Lord President Forbes. In
a letter to General Clayton, the successor of
Marshal Wade, the chief commander in Scot-
land, his lordship thus expresses himself: —
"When I first heard of the orders given to the
Highland regiment to march southwards, it
gave me no sort of concern, because I supposed
the intention was only to see them; but as I
have lately been assured that they are destined
for foreign service, I cannot dissemble my
uneasiness at a resolution, that may, in my
apprehension, be attended with very bad con-
sequences; nor can 1 prevail with myself not
to communicate to you my thoughts on the
subject, however late they may coine; because if
what I am to suggest has not been already
under consideration, it's possible the resolution
may be departed from." After noticing the con-
sequences which might result from leaving the
Highlands unprotected from the designs of
the disaffected in the event of a war with
France, he thus proceeds : — "Having thus stated
to you the danger I dread, I must, in the next
place, put you in mind, that the present system
for securing the peace of the Highlands,
which is the best I ever heard of, is by regular
troops stationed from Inverness to Fort Wil-
liam, alongst the chain of lakes which in a
manner divides the Highlands, to command
the obedience of the inhabitants of both sides,
and by a body of disciplined Highlanders
wearing the dress and speaking the language of

1 Taybridge and the Point of Lyon, a mile below
Taymouth Castle, were their places of rendezvous for
exercise.

the country, to execute such orders as require
expedition, and for which neither the dress
nor the manner of the other troops are proper.
The Highlanders, now regimented, were at
first independent companies; and though their
dress, language, and manners, qualified them
for securing the low country against depreda-
tions ; yet that was not the sole use of them :
the same qualities fitted them for every expedi-
tion that required secrecy and despatch; they
served for all purposes of hussars or light
horse, in a country where mountains and bogs
render cavalry useless, and if properly disposed
over the Highlands, nothing that was com-
monly reported and believed by the High-
landers could be a secret to their commanders,
because of their intimacy with the people and
the sameness of the language." 2 Notwith-
standing this remonstrance, the government
persisted in its determination to send the
regiment abroad; and to deceive the men, from
whom their real destination was concealed,
they were told that the object of their march
to England was merely to gratify the curiosity
of the king,3 who was desirous of seeing a

2 Culloden Papers, No. CCCXC.

3 The king, having never seen a Highland soldier,
expressed a desire to see one. Three privates, re-
markable for their figure and good looks, were fixed
upon and sent to London a short time before the
regiment marched. These were Gregor M'Gregor,
commonly called Gregor the Beautiful, John Camp-
bell, son of Duncan Campbell of the family of Dun-
eaves, Perthshire, and John Grant from Strathspey,
of the family of Ballindalloch. Grant fell sick, and
died at Aberfeldy. The others "were presented by
their Lieutenant-Colonel, Sir Robert Munro, to the
king, and performed the broadsword exercise, and
that of the Lochaber axe, or lance, before his majesty,
the Duke of Cumberland, Marshal Wade, and a num-
ber of general officers assembled for the purpose, in
the Great Gallery at St James's. They displayed so
much dexterity and skill in the management of their
weapons, as to give perfect satisfaction to his majesty.
Each got a gratuity of oue guinea, which they gave to
the porter at the palace gate as they passed oat. "* They
thought that the king had mistaken their character
and condition in their own country. Such was, in
general, the character of the men who originally com-
posed the Black Watch. This feeling of self-estima-
tion inspired a high spirit and sense of honour in the
regiment, which continued to form its character and
conduct long after the description of men who originally
composed it was totally changed. These men after-
wards rose to rank in the army. Mr Campbell got an
ensigncy for his conduct at Fontenoy, and was captain-
lieutenant of the regiment when he was killed at
Ticonderoga, where he also distinguished himself.
Mr M'Gregor was promoted in another regiment, and
afterwards purchased the lands of Inverardine in

* Westminster Journal.

328

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

Highland regiment. Satisfied with this expla-
nation, they proceeded on their march. The
English people, who had been led to consider
the Highlanders as savages, were struck with
the warlike appearance of the regiment and
the orderly deportment of the men, who re-
ceived in the country and towns through
which they passed the mostly friendly atten-
tions.

Having reached the vicinity of London on
the 29th and 30th of April, in two divisions,
the regiment was reviewed on the 14th of
May, on Fincbley Common, by Marshal Wade.
The arrival of the corps in the neighbourhood
of the metropolis had attracted vast crowds of
people to their quarters, anxious to behold
men of whom they had heard the most extra-
ordinary relations; but, mingled with these,
were persons who frequented the quarters of
the Highlanders from a very different motive.
Their object was to sow the seeds of distrust
and disaffection among the men, by circu-
lating misrepresentations and falsehoods re-
specting the intentions of the government.
These incendiaries gave out that a gross decep-
tion had been practised upon the regiment, in
regard to the object of their journey, in proof
of which they adduced the fact of his majesty's
departure for Hanover, on the very day of the
arrival of the last division, and that the real
design of the government was to get rid of
them altogether, as disaffected persons, and,
with that view, that the regiment was to be
transported for life to the American plantations.
These insidious falsehoods had their intended
effect upon the minds of the Highlanders, who
took care, however, to conceal the indignation
they felt at their supposed betrayers. All their
thoughts were bent upon a return to then- own
country, and they concerted their measures for
its accomplishment with a secrecy which escaped
the observation of their officers, of whose 'in-
tegrity in the affair they do not, however, appear
to have entertained any suspicion.

The mutiny which followed created a great
sensation, and the circumstances which led to
it formed, both in public and in private, the
ordinary topic of discussion. The writer of a

Breadalbane. He was grand father of Sir Gregor
M'Gregor, a commander in South America. — Stewart's
Sketches, vol. i. p. 250.

pamphlet, which was published immediately
after the mutiny, and which contains the best
view of the subject, and an intimate know-
ledge of the facts, thus describes the affair : —

"On their march through the northern
counties of England, they were every where
received with such hospitality, that they ap-
peared in the highest spirits ; and it was
imagined that their attachment to home was so
much abated, that they would feel no reluctance
to the change. As they approached the metro-
polis, however, and were exposed to the tauats
of the true-bred English clowns, they became
more gloomy and sullen. Animated, even to
the lowest private, with the feelings of gentle-
men, they could ill brook the rudeness of boors
— nor could they patiently submit to affronts
in a country to which they had been called by
invitation of their sovereign. A still deeper
cause of discontent preyed upon their minds.
A rumour had reached them on their march
that they were to be embarked for the planta-
tions. The fate of the marines, the invalids,
and other regiments which had been sent to
these colonies, seemed to mark out this service
as at once the most perilous and the most
degrading to which British soldiers could be
exposed. With no enemy to encounter worthy
of their courage, there was another considera-
tion, which made it peculiarly odious to the
Highlanders. By the act of parliament of the
eleventh of George I., transportation to the
colonies was denounced against the Highland
rebels, &c. as the greatest punishment that
could be inflicted on them except death, and,
when they heard that they were to be sent
there, the galling suspicion naturally arose in
their minds, that 'after being used as rods to
scourge their own countrymen, they loere to be
thrown into the fireP These apprehensions
they kept secret even from their own officers;
and the care with which they dissembled them
is the best evidence of the deep impression
which they had made. Amidst all their
jealousies and fears, however, they looked for-
ward with considerable expectation to the
review, when they were to come under the
immediate observation of his majesty, or some
of the royal family. On the 14th of May they
were reviewed by Marshal Wade, and many
persons of distinction, who were highly de-

MUTINY.

329

lighted with the promptitude aud alacrity with
which they went through their military exer-
cises, and gave a very favourable report of them,
where it was likely to operate most to their ad-
vantage. From that moment, however, all their
thoughts were bent on the means of returning
to their own country; and on this wild and
romantic march they accordingly set out a few
days after. Under pretence of preparing for
the review, they had been enabled to provide
themselves, unsuspectedly, with some necessary
articles, and, confiding in their capability of en-
during privations and fatigue, they imagined
that they should have great advantages over
any troops that might be sent in pursuit of
them.' It was on the night between Tuesday
and Wednesday (17th and 18th May) after the
review that they assembled on a common near
Highgate, and commenced their march to the
north. They kept as nearly as possible between
the two great roads, passing from wood to wood
in such a manner that it was not well known
which way they moved. Orders were issued
by the lords- justices to the commanding officers
of the forces stationed in the counties between
them and Scotland, and an advertisement was
published by the secretary at war, exhorting
the civil officers to be vigilant in their endea-
vours to discover their route. It was not,
however, till about eight o'clock on the evening
of Thursday, 19 th May, that any certain intel-
ligence of them was obtained, and they had
then proceeded as far as Northampton, and
were supposed to be shaping their course to-
wards Nottinghamshire. General Blakeney,
who commanded at Northampton, immediately
despatched Captain Ball, of General Wade's
regiment of horse, an officer well acquainted
with that part of the country, to search after
them. They had now entered Lady Wood
between Brig Stock and Dean Thorp, about
four miles from Oundle, when they were dis-
covered. Captain Ball was joined in the
evening by the general himself, and about nine
all the troops were drawn up in order, near the
wood where the Highlanders lay. Seeing
themselves in this situation, and unwilling to
aggravate their offence by the crime of shedding
the blood of his majesty's troops, they sent one
of their guides to inform the general that he
might, without fear, send an officer to treat of
ii.

the terms on which they should be expected
to surrender. Captain Ball was accordingly
delegated, and, on coming to a conference, the
captain demanded that they should instantly
lay down their arms and surrender as prisoners
at discretion. This they positively refused,
declaring that they wculd rather be cut to
pieces than submit, unless the general should
send them a written promise, signed by his own
hand, that their arms should not be taken
from them, and that they should have a free
pardon. Upon this the captain delivered the
conditions proposed by General Blakeney, viz.,
that if they would peaceably lay down their
arms, and surrender themselves prisoners, the
most favourable report should be made of them
to the lords-j ustices ; when they again protested
that they would be cut in pieces rather than
surrender, except on the conditions of retain-
ing their arms, and receiving a free pardon.
'Hitherto,' exclaimed the captain, 'I have been
your friend, and am stUl anxious to do all I
can to save you ; but, if you continue obstinate
an hour longer, surrounded as you are by the
king's forces, not a man of you shall be left
alive; and, for my own part, I assure you that
I shall give quarter to none.' He then de-
manded that two of their number should be
ordered to conduct him out of the wood. Two
brothers were accordingly ordered to accompany
him. Finding that they were inclined to sub-
mit, he promised them both a free pardon,
and, taking one of them along with him, he
sent back the other to endeavour, by every
means, to overcome the obstinacy of the rest.
He soon returned with thirteen more. Having
marched them to a short distance from the
wood, the captain again sent one of them back
to his comrades to inform them how many had
submitted; and in a short time seventeen more
followed the example. These were all marched
away with their arms (the powder being blown
out of their pans,) and when they came before
the general they laid down their arms. On
returning to the wood they found the whole
body disposed to submit to the general's
troops.

"While this was doing in the country," con-
tinues our author, "there was nothing but the
flight of the Highlanders talked of in town.
The wiser sort blamed it, but some of their

2 T

330

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.

hot-headed countrymen were for comparing it
to the retreat of the 10,000 Greeks through
Persia; by which, for the honour of the ancient
kingdom of Scotland, Corporal M'Pherson was
erected into a Xenophon. But amongst these
idle dreams, the most injurious were those that
reflected on their officers, and bjr a strange kind
of innuendo, would have fixed the crime of these
people's desertion upon those who did their
duty, and staid here.

"As to the rest of the regiment, they were
ordered immediately to Kent, whither they
marched very cheerfully, and were from thence
transported to Flanders, and are by this time
with the army, where I dare say it will quickly
appear they were not afraid of fighting the
French. In King William's war there was
a Highland regiment that, to avoid going to
Flanders, had formed a design of -flying into
the mountains. This was discovered before
they could put it into execution ; and General
M'Kay, who then commanded in Scotland,
caused them to be immediately surrounded and
disarmed, and afterwards shipped them for
Holland. When they came to the confederate
army, they behaved very briskly upon all occa-
sions ; but as pick-thanks are never wanting in
courts, some wise people were pleased to tell
King William that the Highlanders drank
King James's health, — a report which was
probably very true. The king, whose good
sense taught him to despise such dirty infor-
mations, asked General Talmash, who was near
him, how they behaved in the field? 'As well
as any troops in the army,' answered the
general, like a soldier and a man of honour.
'Why then,' replied the king, 'if they fight
for me, let them drink my father's health as
often as they please.' On the road, and even
after they entered to London, they kept up
their spirits, and marched very cheerfully; nor
did they show any marks of terror when they
were brought into the Tower."

Though it was evident that the Highlanders
were led to commit this rash act under a false
impression, and that they were the unconscious
dupes of designing men, yet the government
thought it could not overlook such a gross breach
of military discipline, and the deserters were
accordingly tried before a general court-martial
on the 8th of June. They were all found

guilty, and condemned to be shot. Three only,
however, suffered capitally. These were Cor-
porals Malcolm and Samuel M'Pherson,4 and
Farquhar Shaw, a private. They were shot

Farquhar Shaw, of the Black Watch, in the uniform
of the Regiment, 1743. From the picture in the
possession of Lord John Murray, Colonel of the
Regiment 1745, Major-General 1755.

upon the parade within the Tower, in presence
of the other prisoners, who joined in their
prayers with great earnestness. The unfor-
tunate men met their death with composure,
and acted with great propriety. Their bodies
were put into three coffins by three of the
prisoners, their clansmen and connexions, and
were buried together in one grave at the place
of execution.5 From an ill-judged severity,
one hundred of the deserters were equally
divided between the garrisons of Gibraltar and
Minorca, and a similar number were distributed
among the different corps in the Leeward
islands, Jamaica and Georgia, — a circumstance

4 Brother to General Kenneth M'Pherson of the
East India Company's Service, who died in 1815.
General Stewart says that Lord John Murray, who
was afterwards colonel of the 'regiment, had por-
traits of the sufferers hung up in his dining-room ;
but for what reason is not known. They were remark-
able for their great size and handsome figure.

6 St James's Chronicle, 20th July 1743.

FEENCH COAST— FLANDEES.

331

which, it is believed, impressed the Highlanders
with an idea that the government had intended
to deceive them.

Near the end of May the remainder of the
regiment was sent to Flanders, where it joined
the army under the command of Field-marshal
the Earl of Stair. During the years 1743-44,
they were quartered in different parts of that
country, and by their quiet, orderly, and kind
deportment, acquired the entire confidence of
the people among whom they mixed. The
regiment "was judged the most trust-worthy
guard of property, insomuch that the people
in Flanders choose to have them always for
their protection. Seldom were any of them
drunk, and they as rarely swore. And the
elector-palatine wrote to his envoy in London,
desiring him to thank the king of Great Britain
for the excellent behaviour of the regiment
while in his territories in 1743 and 1744, and
for whose sake he adds, ' I will always pay a
respect and regard to a Scotchman in future.'"6

Lord Sempill, who had succeeded the Earl
of Crawford in the colonelcy of the regiment
in 1740, being appointed in April 1745 to the
25th regiment, Lord John Murray, son of the
Duke of Athole, succeeded him as colonel of the
Highlanders. During the command of these
officers, the regiment was designated by the
titles of its successive commanders, as Lord
Crawford's, Lord Sempill's, and Lord John
Murray's Highlanders.

Baffled in his efforts to prevent the elevation
of the Grand Duke of Tuscany to the im-
perial throne, the King of France resolved to
humble the house of Austria by making a con-
quest of the Netherlands. With this view he
assembled an immense army in Flanders under
the command of the celebrated Marshal Saxe,
and having with the dauphin joined the army
in April 1745, he, on the 30th of that month,
invested Tournay, then garrisoned by 8000
men, commanded by General Baron Dorth,
who defended the place with vigour. The
Duke of Cumberland, who arrived from
England early in May, assumed the command
of the allied army assembled at Soignies. It
consisted of twenty battalions and twenty-
six squadrons of British, five battalions and

6 Dr Doddridge's Life of Colonel Gardiner.

sixteen squadrons of Hanoverians, all under
the immediate command of his royal high-
ness; twenty-six battalions and forty squad-
rons of Dutch, commanded by the Prince of
Waldeck; and eight squadrons of Austrians.
under the command of Count Konigseg.

Though the allied army was greatly inferior
in number to the enemy, yet as the French
army was detached, the duke resolved to march
to the relief of Tournay. Marshal Saxe, who
soon became aware of the design of the allies,
drew up his army in line of battle, on the right
bank of the Scheldt, extending from the wood
of Barri to Fontenoy, and thence to the village
of St Antoine in sight of the British army.

The allied army advanced to Leuse, and on
the 9th of May took up a position between the
villages of Bougries and Maulbre, in sight of
the French army. In the evening the duke,
attended by Field-marshal Konigseg and the
Prince of Waldeck, reconnoitred the ptosition of
Marshal Saxe. They were covered by the High-
landers, who kept up a sharp fire with French
sharp-shooters who were concealed in the woods.
After a general survey, the Earl of Crawford,
who was left in command of the advance of
the army, proceeded with the Highlanders and
a party of hussars to examine the enemy's out-
posts more narrowly. In the course of the
day a Highlander in advance observing that
one of the sharp-shooters repeatedly fired at
his post, placed his bonnet upon the top of a
stick near the verge of a hollow road. This
stratagem decoyed the Frenchman, and whilst
he was intent on his object, the Highlander
approaching cautiously to a point which afforded
a sure aim, succeeded in bringing him to the
ground.7

Having ascertained that a plain which lay
between the positions of two armies was cov-
ered with some flying squadrons of the enemy,
and that their outposts commanded some narrow
defiles through which the allied forces had
necessarily to march to the attack, the Duke
of Cumberland resolved to scour the plain, and
to dislodge the outposts, preparatory to ad-
vancing upon the besieging arrny. Accord-
ingly at an earky hour next morning, six batta-
lions and twelve squadrons were ordered to

7 Holt's Life of tlie Earl of Crawford.

332

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.

disperse the forces on the plain and clear the
defiles, a service which they soon performed.
Some Austrian hussars being hotly pressed
on this occasion by the French light troops, a
party of Highlanders was sent to support them,
and the Frenchmen were quickly repulsed
with loss. This was the first time the High-
landers stood the fire of the enemy in a regular
body, and so well did they acquit themselves,
that they were particularly noticed for their
spirited conduct.

Resolving to attack the enemy next morning,
the commander-in-chief of the allied army
made the necessary dispositions. Opposite the
space between Fontenoy and the wood of Barri,
he formed the British and Hanoverian infantry
in two lines, and posted their cavalry in the
rear. Near the left of the Hanoverians he
drew up the Dutch, whose left was towards St
Antoine. The French in their turn completed
their batteries, and made the most formidable
preparations to receive the allies. At two
o'clock in the morning of the 11th of May,
the Duke of Cumberland began his march,
and drew up his army in front of the enemy.
The engagement began about four by the
guards and the Highlanders attacking a re-
doubt, advanced on the right of the wood
near Vezon, occupied by 600 men, in the
vicinity of which place the dauphin was posted.
Though the enemy were entrenched breast-high
tliey were forced out by the guards with
bayonets, and by the Highlanders with sword,
pistol, and dirk, the latter killing a consider-
able number of them.

The allies continuing steadfastly to advance,
Marshal Saxe, who had, during three attacks,
lost some of his bravest men, began to think
of a retreat; but being extremely unwilling to
abandon his position, he resolved to make a
last effort to retrieve the fortune of the day by
attacking his assailants with all his forces.
Being far advanced in a dropsy, the marshal
had been carried about the whole day in a litter.
This he now quitted, and mounting his horse,
he rode over the field giving the necessary
orders, whilst two men supported him on each
side. He brought forward the ' household
troops of the King of France: he posted his
best cavalry on the flanks, and the king's body
guards, with the flower of the infantry in the

centre. Having brought up all his field-pieces,
he, under cover of their fire and that of the
batteries, made a combined charge of cavalry
and infantry on the allied army, the greater
part of which had, by this time, formed into
line by advancing beyond the confined ground.
The allies, unable to withstand the impetuosity
of this attack, gave way, and were driven back
across the ravine, carrying along with them
the Highlanders, who had been ordered up
from the attack of the village, and two other
regiments ordered from the reserve to support
the line. After rallying for a short time
beyond the ravine, the whole army retreated
by order of the duke, the Highlanders and
Howard's regiment (the 19th) under the com-
mand of Lord Crawford, covering the rear.
The retreat, which was commenced about three
o'clock in the afternoon, was effected in excellent
order. When it was over his lordship pulled
off his hat, and returning thanks to the cover-
ing party, said "that they had acquired as much
honour in covering so great a retreat, as if they
had gained a battle." s The carnage on both
sides was great. The allies lost, in killed and
wounded, about 7000 men, including a number
of officers. The loss of the French is supposed
to have equalled that of the allies. The High-
landers lost Captain John Campbell of Carrick,0
whose head was carried off by a cannon-ball
early in the action;1 Ensign Lachlan Campbell,
son of Craignish, and 30 men ; Captain Bobert
Campbell of Finab; Ensigns Ronald Campbell,
nephew of Craignish, and James Campbell, son
of Glenfalloch; 2 sergeants, and 86 rank and
file wounded.

Before the engagement, the part which the
Highlanders would act formed a subject of
general speculation. Those who knew them
had no misgivings ; but there were other persons,

8 Rolfs Life, of the Earl of Crawford.

9 " Captain John Campbell of Carrick was one of
the roost accomplished gentleman of his day. Pos-
sessing very agreeable manners and bravery, tempered
by gaiety, "he was regarded by the people as one of
those who retained the chivalrous spirit of their ances-
tors. A poet, a soldier, and a gentleman, no less gal-
lant among the ladies than he was brave among men ;
he was the object of general admiration ; and the last
generation of Highlanders among whom he was best
known, took great pleasure in cherishing his memory,
and repeating anecdotes concerning him. He married
a sister of General Campbell of Mamore, afterwards
Duke of Argyll. "—Stewart's Sketches.

1 Culloden Papers, p. 200.

BATTLE OF FONTEJSTOY.

333

high in rank, who looked upon the support of
such men with an unfavourable eye. So strong
was this impression "in some high quarters,
that, on the rapid charge made by the High-
landers, when pushing forward sword in hand
nearly at full speed, and advancing so far, it
was suggested that they inclined to change
sides and join the enemy, who had already
three brigades of Scotch and Irish engaged,
which performed very important services on
that day."2 All anxiety, however, was soon
put an end to by the decided way in which
they sustained the national honour.

Captain John Munro of the 43d regiment,
in a letter to Lord-president Forbes, thus
describes the battle: — "A little after four in
the morning, the 30th of April, our cannon
began to play, and the French batteries, with
triple oar weight of metal and numbers too,
answered us; about five the infantry was in
march; we (the Highlanders) were in the
centre of the right brigade ; but by six we were
ordered to cross the field, (I mean our regiment,
for the rest of our brigades did not march to
attack,) a little village on the left of the whole,
called Fontenoy. As we passed the field the
French batteries played upon our front, and
right and left flanks, but to no purpose,
for their batteries being upon rising ground
their balls flew over us and hurt the second
line. We were to support the Dutch, who, in
their usual way, were very dilatory.- We got
within musket-shot of their batteries, when we
received three full fires of their batteries and
small arms, which killed us forty men and
one ensign. Here we were obliged to skulk
behind houses and hedges for about an hour
and a half, waiting for the Dutch, who, when
they came up, behaved but so and so. Our
regiment being in some disorder, I wanted to
draw them up in rear of the Dutch, which
their general would scarce allow of; but at
last I did it, and marched them again to the
front. In half an hour after the Dutch gave
way, and Sir Eobert Munro thought proper we
should retire; for we had then the whole bat
teries from the enemy's ground playing upon
us, and three thousand foot ready to fall upon
us. We retired; but before we had marched

2 Stewart's Sketches.

thirty yards, we had orders to return to the
attack, which we did; and in about ten minutes
after had orders to march directly with all
expedition, to assist the Hanoverians, who had
got by this time well advanced upon the bat-
teries upon the left. They behaved most gal-
lantly and bravely; and had the Dutch taken
example from them, we had supped at Tournay.
The British behaved well ; we (the Highland-
ers) were told by his royal highness that we

did our duty well By two of the

clock we all retreated; and we were ordered
to cover the retreat, as the only regiment that
could be kept to their duty, and in this affair
we lost sixty more; but the duke made so
friendly and favourable a speech to us, that
if we had been ordered to attack their lines
afresh, I dare say our poor fellows would have
done it." 3

The Highlanders on this occasion were com-
manded by Sir Bobert Munro of Fowlis,
their lieutenant-colonel, in whom, besides great
military experience, were united all the best
qualities of the soldier. Aware of the import-
ance of allowing his men to follow their accus-
tomed tactics, he obtained leave of the Duke of
Cumberland to allow them to fight in their
own way. He accordingly "ordered the whole
regiment to clap to the ground on receiving the

3 Culloden Papers, No. CCXL1II. "On this occa-
sion the Duke of Cumberland was so much struck
with the conduct of the Highlanders, and concurred
so cordially in the esteem which they had secured to
themselves both from friends and foes, that, wishing to
show a mark of his approbation, he desired it to be
intimated to them, that he w-ould be happy to grant
the men any favour which they chose to ask, and
which he could concede, as a testimony of the good
opinion he had formed of them. The reply was worthy
of so handsome an offer. After expressing acknow-
ledgments for the condescension of the commander-in-
chief, the men assured him that no favour he could
bestow would gratify them so much as a pardon for one
of their comrades, a soldier of the regiment, who had
been tried by a court-martial for allowing a prisoner
to escape, and was under sentence of a heavy corporal
punishment, which, if inflicted, would bring disgrace
on them all, and on their families and country. This
favour, of course, was instantly granted. The nature
of this request, the feeling which suggested it, and, in
short, the general qualities of the corps, struck the
Duke with the more force, as, at the time, he had not
been in Scotland, and had no means of knowing the
character of its inhabitants, unless, indeed, he had
formed his opinion from the common ribaldry of the
times, when it was the fashion to consider the High-
lander ' as a fierce and savage depredator, speaking a
barbarous language, and inhabiting a barren and gloomy
region, which fear and prudence forbade all strangers
to enter.'" — Stewart's Sketclies, i. p. 274-5.

334

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.

French, fire; and instantly" after its discharge
they sprang up, and coming close to the enemy,
poured in their shot upon them to the certain
destruction of multitudes, and drove them pre-
cipitately through their lines; then retreating,
drew up again, and attacked them a second
time after the same manner. These attacks
they repeated several times the same day, to
the surprise of the whole army. Sir Robert
was everywhere with his regiment, notwith-
standing his great corpulency, and when in the
trenches he was Hauled out by the legs and
arms by his own men; and it is observed that
when he commanded the whole regiment to
clap to the ground, he himself alone, with the
colours behind him, stood upright, receiving
the whole fire of the enemy; and this because,
(as he said,) though he could easily lie down,
his great bulk would not suffer him to rise so
quickly. His preservation that day was the
surprise and astonishment not only of the
whole army, but of all that heard the par-
ticulars of the action." 4

The gallantry thus displayed by Sir Robert
and his regiment was the tbeme of universal
admiration in Britain, and the French them-
selves could not withhold their meed of praise.
" The British behaved well," says a French
writer, " and could be exceeded in ardour by
none but our officers, who animated the troopis
by their example, when the Highland furies
rushed in upon us with more violence than
ever did a sea driven by a tempest. I can-
not say much of the other auxiliaries,
some of whom looked as if they had no
great concern in the matter which way it
went. In short, we gained the victory; but
may I never see such another!"5 Some idea
may be formed of the havoc made bj' the
Highlanders from the fact of one of them
having killed nine Frenchmen with his broad-
sword, and he was only prevented from in-
creasing the number by his arm being shot oft'.6

4 Life of Colonel Gardiner.

5 Account published at Paris, 26th May 1745.

6 The Conduct of tlie Officers at Fontcnoy Con-
sidered. Lond. 1745. — "Such was the battle of
Fontenoy, and such were the facts from which a very
favourable opinion was formed of the military quali-
fications -of the Black Watch, as it was still called
in Scotland. At this period there was not a soldier
in the regiment born south of the Grampians." —
Stewart's Sketches, i. 278.

In consequence of the rebellion in Scotland,
eleven of the British regiments were ordered
home in October 1745, among which was the
43d. The Highlanders arrived in the Thames
on the 4th of November, and whilst the other
regiments were sent to Scotland under General
Hawley to assist in quelling the insurrection,
the 43d was marched to the coast of Kent, and
joined the division of the army assembled there
to repel an expected invasion. When it is con-
sidered that more than three hundred of the
soldiers in the 43d had fathers and brothers
engaged in the rebellion, the prudence and
humanity of keeping them aloof from a contest
between duty and affection, are evident. Three
new companies, which had been added to the
regiment in the early part of the year 1745,
were, however, employed in Scotland against
the rebels before joining the regiment. These
companies were raised chiefly in the districts
of Athole, Breadalbane, and Braeniar, and the
command of them was given to the laird of
Mackintosh, Sir Patrick Murray of Ochtertyre,
and Campbell of Inveraw, who had recruited
then}. The subalterns were James Farquhar-
son, the younger of Invercauld ; John Camp-
bell, the younger of Glenlyon, and Dugald
Campbell ; and Ensign Allan Grant, son of
Glenmoriston ; John Campbell, son of Glen-
falloch; and Allan Campbell, son of Barcaldine.
General Stewart observes that the privates of
these companies, though of the best character,
did not occupy that rank in society for which
so many individuals of the independent com-
panies had been distinguished. One of these
companies, as has been elsewhere observed,
was at the battle of Prestonpans. The services
of the other two companies were confined to the
Highlands during the rebellion, and after its
suppression they were employed along with de-
tachments of the English army in the barbarous
task of burning the houses, and laying waste
the lands of the rebels, — a service which must
have been very revolting to their feelings.

Having projected the conquest of Quebec,
the government fitted out an expedition at
Portsmouth, the land forces of which consisted
of about 8000 men, including Lord John
Murray's Highlanders, as the 43d regiment
was now called. The armament having been
delayed from various causes until the season

BATTLE OF LAFELDT.

335

was too far advanced for crossing the Atlantic,
it was resolved to employ ib in surprising the
Port l'Orient, then the repository of all the
stores and ships belonging to the French East
India Company. While this new expedition
was in preparation, the Highland regiment was
increased to 1100 men, by draughts from the
three companies in Scotland.

The expedition sailed from Portsmouth on
the 15th of September, 174G, under the com-
mand of Eear-Admiral Lestock, and on the
20th the troops were landed, without much
opposition, in Quiuiperly bay, ten miles from
Port l'Orient. As General St Clair soon per-
ceived that he could not carry the place, he
abandoned the siege, and retiring to the sea-
coast, re-embarked Iris troops.

Some of these forces returned to England ;
the rest landed in Ireland. The Highlanders
arrived at Cork on the 4th of November,
whence they marched to Limerick, where they
remained till February 1747, when they re-
turned to Cork, where they embarked to join a
new expedition for Flanders. This force,
which consisted cliiefly of the troops that had
been recalled in 1745, sailed from Leith roads
in the beginning of April 1747. Lord Lou-
don's Highlanders and a detachment from the
three additional companies of Lord John Mur-
ray's Higldanders also joined this force; and
such was the eagerness of the latter for this
service, that when informed that only a part
of them was to join the army, they all claimed
permission to embark, in consequence of which
demand it was found necessary to settle the
question of preference by drawing lots."

To relieve Hulst, which was closely besieged
by Count Lowendahl, a detachment, consisting
of Lord John Murray's Highlanders, the first
battalion of the Eoyals and Bragg's regiment,
was ordered to Flushing, under the command
of Major-general Fuller. The}' landed at Staple-
dyke on the 1st of May. The Dutch governor
of Hulst, General St Boque, ordered the Eoyals
to join the Dutch camp at St Bergue, and
directed the Highlanders and Bragg's regiment
to halt within four miles of Hulst. On the
5th of May the besiegers began an assault, and
drove the outguards and picquets back into

7 Caledonian Mercitry, March 1717.

the garrison, and would have carried the place,
had not the Eoyals maintained their post with
the greatest bravery till relieved by the High-
land regiment, when the French were com-
pelled to retire. The Highlanders had only
five privates killed and a few wounded on this
occasion. The French continuing the siege,
St Eoque surrendered the place, although he
was aware that an additional reinforcement of
nine battalions was on the march to his relief.
The British troops then embarked for South
Beveland. Three hundred of the Highland
regiment, who were the last to embark, were
attacked by a body of French troops. " They
behaved with so much bravery that they beat
off three or four times their number, killing
man}', and making some prisoners, with only
the loss of four or five of their own number.""

A few days after the battle of Lafeldt,
July 2d, in which the Highlanders are not
particularly mentioned, Count Lowendahl laid
siege to Bergen-op-Zoom with a force of 25,000
men. This place, from the strength of its
fortifications, the favourite work of the cele-
brated Coehorn, having never been stormed,
was deemed impregnable. The garrison con-
sisted of 3000 men, including Lord Loudon's
Highlanders. Though Lord John Murray's
Highlanders remained in South Beveland, his
lordship, with Captain Fraser of Culduthel,
Captain Campbell of Craignish, and several
other officers of his regiment, joined the be-
sieged. After about two months' siege, this
important fortress was taken by storm, on
account of the too great confidence of Constrom
the governor, who never anticipated an assault.
On obtaining possession of the ramparts, the
French attempted to enter the town, but were
attacked with such impetuosity by two bat-
talions of the Scottish troops in the pay of the
States-General, that they were driven from
street to street, until fresh reinforcements arriv-
ing, the Scotch were compelled to retreat in
their turn ; yet they disputed every inch cf
ground, and fought till two-thirds of them
were killed on the spot. The remainder then
abandoned the town, carrying the old governor
along with them.

The different bodies of the allied array

* Hague Gazelle.

33G

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

assembled in the neighbourhood of Earemond
in March 1748, but, with the exception of the
capture of Maestricht, no military event of any
importance took place in the Netherlands ;
and preliminaries of peace having been signed,
the Highlanders returned to England in Decem-
ber, and were afterwards sent to Ireland.
The three additional companies had assembled
at Preston pans in March 1748, for the purpose
of embarking for Flanders ; but the orders to
ship were countermanded, and in the course
of that year these companies were reduced.

In 1749, in consequence of the reduction
of the 42d regiment (Oglethorpe's), the num-
ber of the Black Watch was changed from the
43d to the 42d, the number it has ever since
retained.

During eight years — from 1749 to 1756 — that
the Highlanders were stationed in Ireland, the
utmost cordiality subsisted between them and
the inhabitants of the different districts where
they were quartered ; a circumstance the more
remarkable, when it is considered that the
military were generally embroiled in quarrels
with the natives. So lasting and favourable
an impression did they make, that upon the
return of the regiment from America, after an
absence of eleven years, applications were made
from the towns and districts where they had
been formerly quartered, to get them again
stationed among them. Although, as General
Stewart observes, the similarity of language,
and the general belief in a common origin,
might have had some influence with both
parties, yet nothing but the most exemplary
good conduct on the part of the Highlanders
could have overcome the natural repugnance
of a people who, at that time, justly regarded
the British soldiery as ready instruments of
oppression.

In consequence of the mutual encroachments
made by the French and English on their
respective territories in North America, both
parties prepared for war; and as the British
ministry determined to make their chief efforts
against the enemy in that quarter, they resolved
to send two bodies of troops thither. The
first division, of which the Highlanders formed
a part, under the command of Lieutenant-
general Sir James Abercromby, set sail iD
March 1756, and landed at New York in June

following. In the month last mentioned, 700
recruits, who had been raised by recruiting
parties sent from the regiment previous to its
departure from Ireland, embarked at Greenock
for America. When the Highlanders landed,
they attracted much notice, particularly on
the part of the Indians, who, on the march
of the regiment to Albany, flocked from all
quarters to see strangers, whom, from the
similarity of their dress, they considered to be
of the same extraction as themselves, and whom
they therefore regarded as brothers.

Before the departure of the 42d, several
changes and promotions had taken place.
Lieutenant-colonel Campbell, afterwards Duke
of Argyll, who had commanded the regiment
during the six years they were quartered in Ire-
land, having been promoted to the command of
the 54th, was succeeded by Major Grant, who was
so popular with the men, that, on the vacancy
occurring, they subscribed a sum of money
among themselves to purchase the lieutenant-
colonelcy for him ; but the money was not
required, the promotion at that time being
without purchase. Captain Duncan Campbell
of Inveraw was appointed major ; Thomas
Graham of Duchray, James Abercromby, son of
General Abercromby of Glassa, the commander
of the expedition, and John Campbell of
Strachur, were made captains ; Lieutenant John
Campbell, captain-lieutenant; Ensigns Kenneth
Tolme, James Grant, John Graham, brother of
Duchray, Hugh M'Pherson, Alexander Turn-
bull of Stracathro, and Alexander Campbell,
son of Barcaldine, were raised to the rank of
lieutenants. From the half-pay list were taken
Lieutenants Alexander Mackintosh, James Gray,
William Baillie, Hugh Arnot, William Suther-
land, .John Small, and Archibald Campbell ;
the ensigns were James Campbell, Archibald
Lamont, Duncan Campbell, George MacLagan,
Patrick Balneaves, son of Edradour, Patrick
Stewart, son of Bonskeid, Norman MacLeod,
George Campbell, and Donald Campbell.9

The regiment had been now sixteen years
embodied, and although its original members
had by this time almost disappeared, " their
habits and character were well sustained by
their successors, to whom they were left, as it

0 Stewart's Sketches,

NEW YORK— LOUISBURG— TICONDEROGA.

337

were, in charge. This expectation has been
fulfilled through a long course of years and
events. The first supply of recruits after the
original formation was, in many instances,
inferior to their predecessors in personal appear-
ance, as well as in private station and family
connexions ; but they lost nothing of that firm
step, erect air, and freedom from awkward
restraint, the consequence of a spirit of inde-
dendence and self-respect, which, distinguished
their predecessors."1

The second division of the expedition, under
the Earl of Loudon, who was appointed
commander-in-chief of the army in North
America, soon joined the forces under General
Abercromby ; but, owing to various causes,
they did not take the field till the summer of
the following year.2 Pursuant to an attack on
Louisburg, Lord Loudon embarked in the
month of June 1757 for Halifax with the
forces under his command, amounting to 5300
men.- At Halifax bis forces were increased to
10,500 men, by the addition of five regiments
lately arrived from England, including Eraser's
and Montgomery's Highlanders.

When on the eve of bis departure from
Halifax, Lord Loudon received information
tbat the Brest fleet had arrived in the harbour
of Louisburg. The resolution to abandon the
enterprise, however, was not taken till it clearly

1 There were few courts-martial; and, for many
years, no instance occurred of corporal punishment.
If a soldier was brought to the halberts, he became
degraded, and little more good was to be expected of
him. After being publicly disgraced, he could no
longer associate with his comrades ; and, in several
instances, the privates of a company have, from their
pay, subscribed to procure the discharge of an obnoxious
individual.

Great regularity was observed in the duties of public
worship. In the regimental orders, hours were fixed
for morning prayers by the chaplain ; and on Sundays,
for Divine service, morning and evening. The greatest
respect was observed towards the ministers of religion.
When Dr Ferguson was chaplain of the corps, he held
an equal, if not, in some respects, a greater, influence
over the minds of the men than the commanding
officer. The succeeding chaplain, Mr Maclaggan, pre-
served the same authority ; and, while the soldiers
looked up with reverence to these excellent men, the
most beneficial effects were produced on their minds
and conduct by the religious and moral duties which
their chaplains inculcated.

2 "During the whole of 1756 the regiment re-
mained in Albany inactive. During the winter and
spring of 1757, they were drilled and disciplined for
bush-fighting and sharp-shooting, a species of war-
fare for which they we.re well fitted, being in general
good marksmen, and expert in the management of
their arms." — Stewart's Sketches.

appeared from letters which were taken in a
packet bound from Louisburg to France, that
the force was too great to be encountered.
Leaving the remainder of the troops at Hali-
fax, Lord Loudon returned to New York,
taking along with bim the Highlanders and
four other regiments.

By the addition of three new companies and
the junction of 700 recruits, the regiment was
now augmented to upwards of 1300 men, all
Highlanders, for at that period none else were
admitted into the regiment. To the three
additional companies the following officers
were appointed ; James Murray, son of Lord
George Murray, James Stewart of TJrrard, and
Thomas Stirling, son of Sir Henry Stirling of
Ardoch, to be captains ; Simon Blair, David
Barklay, Archibald Campbell, Alexander Mac-
kay, Alexander Menzies, and David Mills, to
be lieutenants ; Duncan Stewart, George Rat-
tray, and Alexander Farquharson, to be ensigns;
and the Reverend James Stewart to be assistant
chaplain.

The Earl of Loudon having been recalled,
the command of the army devolved on General
Abercromby. Determined to wipe off the dis-
grace of former campaigns, the ministry, who
had just come into power, fitted out a great
naval armament and a military force of 32,000
men, which were placed under commanders
who enjoyed the confidence of the country.
The command of the fleet was given to Ad-
miral Boscawen, and Brigadier-generals Wolfe,
Townsend, and Murray, were added to the
military staff. Three expeditions were planned
in 1758; one against Louisburg; another
against Ticonderoga and Crown Point ; and
a third against Eort du Quesne.

General Abercromby, the commander-in-chief,
took charge of the expedition against Ticon-
deroga, with a force of 15,390 men, of whom
6337 were regulars (including Lord John
Murray's Highlanders), and 9024 provincials,
besides a train of artillery.

Fort Ticonderoga stands on a tongue of land
between Lake Champlain and Lake George,
and is surrounded on three sides by water ;
part of the fourth side is protected by a morass ;
the remaining part was strongly fortified with
high entrenchments, supported and flanked by
three batteries, and the whole front of that
2 D

338

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

part which, was accessible was intersected by
deep traverses, and blocked up with felled
trees, with their branches turned outwards
and theh points first sharpened and then
hardened by fire, forming altogether a most
formidable defence.3 On the 4th of July 1758
the commander-in-chief embarked his troops
on Lake George, on board 900 batteaux and
135 whale-boats, with provisions, artillery, and
ammunition ; several pieces of cannon being
mounted on rafts to cover the landing, which
was effected next day without opposition.
The troops were then formed into two parallel
columns, and in this order marched towards
the enemy's advanced post, consisting of one
battalion, encamped behind a breast-work of
logs. The enemy abandoned this defence
without a shot, after setting the breast-work
on fire and burning their tents and implements.

The troops continued their march in the same
order, but the route lying through a wood,
and the guides being imperfectly acquainted
with the country, the columns were broken by
coming in contact with each other. The right
column, at the head of which was Lord Howe,
fell in with a detachment of the enemy who
had also lost their way in the retreat from the
advanced post, and a smart skirmish ensuing,
the enemy were routed with considerable loss.
Lord Howe unfortunately fell in the beginning
of this action. He was much regretted, being
" a young nobleman of the most promising
talents, who had distinguished himself in a
peculiar manner by his courage, activity, and
rigid observance of military discipline, and had
acquired the esteem and affection of the soldiery
by his generosity, sweetness of manners, and
engaging address."1

LAKE 'M|

nttii-7u£fc CrcJo'iLt/ie.

ztuaitiiyT&t t/14 J^^cn^/i —

-TV/tltti? tc ike. Xttmie

7vit/i. tfu>j u&nvQJ t

Plan of the Sieges of Ticonderoga. Facsimile from The Scots Magazine, August 1758.

Perceiving that his men were greatly fatigued,
General Abercromby ordered them to march
back to their landing-place, which they reached
about eight o'clock in the morning. Having
taken possession of a saw-mill in the neigh-
bourhood of Ticonderoga, which the enemy
had abandoned, General Abercromby advanced
towards the place next morning. It was
garrisoned by 5000 men, of whom 2800 were

3 Stewart's Sketches.

French troops of the line, who were stationed
behind the traverses and felled trees in front
of the fort. Eeceiving information from some
prisoners that General Levi, with a force of
3000 men, was marching to the defence of
Ticonderoga, the English commander resolved
to anticipate him by striking, if possible, a
decisive blow before a junction could be
effected. He therefore sent an engineer acros.1-

4 Smollett's History of England.

SIEGE OF TICONDEEOGA.

339

the river on the opposite side of the fort to
reconnoitre the enemy's entrenchments, who
reported that the works being still unfinished,
might be attempted with a prospect of success.
Preparations for the attack were therefore in-
stantly made. The whole army being put in
motion, the picquets, followed by the grena-
diers, the battalions and reserve, which last
consisted of the Highlanders and the 55th
regiment, advanced with great alacrity towards
the entrenchments, which they found to be
much more formidable than they expected.
The breast-work, which was regularly fortified,
was eight feet high, and the ground before it
was covered with an abbatis or chevaux-de-
frize, projecting in such a manner as to render
the entrenchment almost inaccessible. Undis-
mayed by these discouraging obstacles, the
British troops marched up to the assault in the
face of a destructive fire, and maintained their
ground without flinching. Impatient in the
rear, the Highlanders broke from the reserve,
and, pushing forward to the front, endeavoured
to cut their way through the trees with their
broadswords. After a long and deadly struggle,
the assailants penetrated the exterior defences
and advanced to the breast-work ; but being
unprovided with scaling ladders, they attempted
to gain the breast-work, partly by mounting
on each other's shoulders, and partly by fixing
their feet in the holes which they made with
their swords and bayonets in the face of the
work. No sooner, however, did a man reach
the top, than he was thrown down by the
troops behind the entrenchments. Captain
John Campbell,5 with a few men, at length
forced their way over the breast-work, but
they were immediately despatched with the
bayonet. After a desperate struggle, which
lasted about four hours under such discouraging
circumstances, General Abercromby seeing no
possible chance of success, gave orders for a
retreat. It was with difficulty, however, that
the troops could be prevailed upon to retire,
and it was not till the third order that the
Highlanders were induced to retreat, after

5 This officer, who was son of Duncan Camphell, of
the family of Duneaves, in Perthshire, along with
Gregor MacGregor, commonly called Gregor the Beau-
tiful, grandfather of Sir Gregor MacGregor, were the
two who were presented to George II. in the year
1743, when privates in the Black Watch.

more than one-half of the men and twenty-five
officers had been either killed or desperately
wounded. No attempt was made to molest
them in their retreat, and the whole retired
in good order, carrying along with them the
whole of the wounded, amounting to 65 officers
and 1178 non-commissioned officers and sol-
diers. Twenty-three officers and 567 rank and
file were killed.

The loss sustained by the 42d was as fol-
lows, viz.: — 8 officers, 9 sergeants, and 297
men killed ; and 17 officers, 10 sergeants, and
306 soldiers wounded. The officers killed
were Major Duncan Campbell of Inveraw,
Captain John Campbell, Lieutenants George
Earquarson, HughMacPherson, William Eaillie,
and John Sutherland ; Ensigns Patrick Stewart,
brother of Bonskeid, and George Eattray.
The wounded were Captains Gordon Graham,
Thomas Graham of Duchray, John Campbell
of Strachur, James Stewart of Urrard, James
Murray (afterwards General); Lieutenants James
Grant, Eobert Gray, John Campbell, William
Grant, John Graham, brother of Duchray,
Alexander Campbell, Alexander Mackintosh,
Archibald Campbell, David Miller, Patrick
Balneaves ; and Ensigns John Smith and Peter
Grant. 6

The intrepid conduct of the Highlanders
on this occasion was made the topic of uni-
versal panegyric in Great Britain, and the
public prints teemed with honourable testi-
monies to their bravery. If anything could
add to the gratification they received from the
approbation of their country, nothing was
better calculated to enhance it than the hand-
some way in which their services were appre-
ciated by their companions in arms. " With
a mixture of esteem, grief, and envy (says an
officer of the 55th), I consider the great loss and
immortal glory acquired by the Scots High-
landers in the late bloody affair. Impatient for
orders, they rushed forward to the entrench-
ments, which many of them actually mounted.
They appeared l^ke lions breaking from their
chains. Their intrepidity was rather animated
than damped by seeing their comrades fall
on every side. I have only to say of them,
that they seemed more anxious to revenge the

6 Stewart's Sketches.

340

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND SEGMENTS.

cause of their deceased friends, than careful to
avoid the same fate. By their assistance, we
expect soon to give a good account of the enemy
and of ourselves. There is much harmony and
friendship between us."7 The following ex-
tract of a letter from Lieutenant William Grant,
an officer of the regiment, seems to contain no
exaggerated detail : — " The attack began a little
past one in the afternoon, and about two the
fire became general on both sides, which was
exceedingly heavy, and without any inter-
mission, insomuch that the oldest soldier
present never saw so furious and incessant a
fire. The affair at Fontenoy was nothing to
it : I saw both. We laboured under insur-
mountable difficulties. The enemy's breast-
work was about nine or ten feet high, upon the
top of which they had plenty of wall-pieces
fixed, and which was well lined in the inside
with small arms. But the difficult access to
their lines was what gave them a fatal advan-
tage over us. They took care to cut down
monstrous large oak trees which covered all
the ground from the foot of their breast-work
about the distance of a cannon-shot every way
in their front. This not only broke our ranks,
and made it impossible for us to keep our
order, but put it entirely out of our power to
advance till we cut our way through. I have
seen men behave with courage and resolution
before now, but so much determined bravery
can hardly be equalled in any part of the
history of ancient Eome. Even those that
were mortally wounded cried aloud to their
companions, not to mind or lose a thought
upon them, but to follow their officers, and to
mind the honour of their country. Nay, their
ardour was such, that it was difficult to bring
them off. They paid dearly for their intre-
pidity. The remains of the regiment had the
honour to cover the retreat of the army, and
brought off the wounded as we did at Fontenoy.
When shall we have so fine a regiment again 1
I hope we shall be allowed to recruit."8 Lieu-

7 St James's Chronicle.

8 "It lias been observed, that the modern Highland
corps display less of that chivalrous spiritwhich marked
the earlier corps from the mountains. If there be any
good ground for this observation, it may probably he
attributed to this, that these corps do not consist
wholly of native Highlanders. If strangers are intro-
duced among them, even admitting them to be the best
of soldiers, still they are not Highlanders. The charm

tenant Grant's wish had been anticipated, as
letters of service had been issued, before the
affair of Ticonderoga was known in England,
for raising a second battalion. Moreover,
previous to the arrival of the news of the affair
at Ticonderoga, his majesty George II. had
issued a warrant conferring upon the regiment
the title of Eoyal, so that after this it was
known as the 42d Eoyal Highland Eegi-
ment.

So successful were the officers in recruiting,
that within three months seven companies,
each 120 men strong, which, with the three
additional companies raised the preceding year,
were to form the- second battalion, were raised
in three months, and embodied at Perth in
October 1758. 9 The officers appointed to

is broken, — the conduct of such a corps must be divided,
and cannot be called purely national. The motive
whiun made the Highlanders, when united, fight for
the honour of their name, their clan, and district, is
by this mixture lost. Officers, also, who are strangers
to their language, their habits, and peculiar modes
of thinking, cannot be expected to understand their
character, their feelings, and their prejudices, which,
under judicious management, have so frequently stimu-
lated to honourable conduct, although they have
sometimes served to excite the ridicule of those who
knew 'not the dispositions and cast of character on
which they were founded. But if Highland soldiers are
judiciously commanded in quarters, treated with kind-
ness and confidence by their officers, and led into action
with spirit, it cannot on any good grounds be alleged
that there is any deficiency of that firmness and
courage which formerly distinguished them, although
it may be readily allowed that much of the romance of
the character is lowered. The change of manners in
their native country will sufficiently account for this.

In my time many old soldiers still retained their
original manners, exhibiting much freedom and ease in
their comunieations with the officers. I joined the
regiment in 17S9, a very young soldier. Colonel
Graham, the commanding officer, gave me a steady old
soldier, named William Fraser, asmyservant, — perhaps
as my adviser and director. I know not that he had
received any instructions on that point, but Colonel
Graham himself could not have been more frequent and
attentive in his remonstrances, and cautious with
regard to my conduct and duty, than my old soldier was,
when he thought he had cause to disapprove . These
admonitions he always gave me in Gaelic, calling me
by my Christian name, with an allusion to the colour of
my hair, which was fair, or bane, never prefixing Mr or
Ensign, except when he spoke in English. However
contrary to the common rules, and however it might
surprise those unaccustomed to the manners of the
people, to hear a soldier or a servant calling his master
simply by his name, my honest old monitor was one of
the most respectful, as he was one of the most faithful,
of servants. " — Stewart's Sketches, p. 302.

9 General Stewart says that two officers, anxious to
obtain commissions, enlisted eighteen Irishmen at Glas-
gow, contrary to the peremptory orders of Lord John
Murray, that none but Highlanders should be taken.
Several of the men were O'Donnels, O'Lachlans,
O'Briens, &c. To cover this deception the 0 was

THE WEST INDIES— GUADALOUPE.

341

these seven additional companies were Francis
MacLean, Alexander Sinclair, John Stewart of
Stenton, "William Murray, son of Lintrose,
Archibald Campbell, Alexander Eeid, and
Robert Arbuthnot, to be captains ; Alexander
MacLean, George Grant, George Sinclair, Gordon
Clunes, Adam Stewart, John Robertson, son
of Lude, John Grant, James Fraser, George
Leslie, John Campbell, Alexander Stewart,
Duncan Richardson, and Robert Robertson, to
be lieutenants ; and Patrick Sinclair, John
Mackintosh, James MacDuff, Thomas Fletcher,
Alexander Donaldson, William MacLean, and
William Brown, to be ensigns.

Government having resolved to employ the
seven new companies in an expedition against
Martinique and Guadaloupe, 200 of the 840
men, embodied at Perth, were immediately
embarked at Greenock for the West Indies,
under the convoy of the Ludlow Castle, for
the purpose of joining the armament lying in
Carlisle bay, destined for that service. The
whole land force employed in this expedition
amounted to 5560 men, under the command of
Major-generals Hopson and Barrington, and of
Brigadier-generals Armiger, Haldane, Trapaud,
and Clavering. They sailed from Barbadoes
on the 13th of January 1759, for Martinique,
which they descried next morning; and on
the following day the British squadron entered
the great bay of Port RoyaL About this time
the other division of the seven newly raised
companies joined the expedition. On the
16th, three ships of the line attacked Fort
Negro, the guns of which they soon silenced.
A detachment of marines and sailors landing
in flat-bottomed boats, clambered up the rock,
and, entering, through the embrasures with
fixed bayonets, took possession of the fort,
which had been abandoned by the enemj^.
The whole French troops retired to Port
Royal, leaving the beach open, so that the
British forces landed next morning at Cas de
Navire without opposition. No enemy being
in sight, the grenadiers, the 4th or king's regi-
ment, and the Highlanders, moved forward
about ten o'clock to reconnoitre; but they had
not proceeded far when they fell in with

changed to Mac, and the Milesians passed muster as
true Macdonnels, Maclachlans, and Macbriars, with-
out being questioned.

parties of the enemy, who retired on their
approach. When within a short distance of
Morne Tortueson, an eminence that overlooked
the town and citadel of Port Royal, and the
most important post in the island, the ad-
vanced party halted till the rest of the army
came up. The advancing and retiring parties
had kept up an irregular fire when in motion,
and they still continued to skirmish. It was
observed on this occasion, " that although
debarred the use of arms in their own country,
the Highlanders showed themselves good marks-
men, and had not forgot how to handle their
arms." The inhabitants of Martinique were
in the greatest alarm, and some of the principal
among them were about sending deputies to
the British commander to treat for a surrender,
but General Hopson relieved them from their
anxiety by re-embarking his troops in the
evening. The chief reason for abandoning the
enterprise was the alleged impracticability of
getting up the heavy cannon. The British had
one officer killed and two wounded, one of
whom was Lieutenant Leslie of the Royal
Highlanders. Sixty privates were killed and
wounded.

In a political point of view, the possession of
Martinique was an object of greater importance
than Guadaloupe, as it afforded, from its spa-
cious harbour, a secure retreat to the enemy's
fleets. By taking possession of St Pierre, the
whole island might have been speedily reduced ;
and the British commanders proceeded to that
part of the island with that view; but alarmed
lest they might sustain considerable loss by its
capture, which might thus cripple their future
operations, they absurdly relinquished their
design, and proceeded to Guadaloupe. On the
expedition reaching the western division of
the island, it was resolved to make a general
attack by sea upon the citadel, the town,
and the batteries by which it was defended.
Accordingly, on the 20th of January, such a
fire was opened upon the place that about-
ten o'clock at night it was in a general confla-
gration.

The troops landed at five o'clock in the
evening of the following day without oppo-
sition, and took possession of the town and
citadel, which they found entirety abandoned.
The Chevalier D'Etreil, the governor of the

342

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.

island, taking shelter among the mountains,
yielded the honour of continuing the contest
to a lady of masculine courage named Dnchar-
mey. Arming her slaves, whom she headed in
person, she made several bold attempts upon
an advanced post on a hill near the town,
occupied by Major (afterwards General) Mel-
ville, opposite to which she threw up some
entrenchments. Annoyed by the incessant
attacks of this amazon, Major Melville attacked
her entrenchments, which he carried, after
an obstinate resistance. Madame Ducharmey
escaped with difficulty, but some of her female
companions in arms were taken prisoners. Ten
of her people were killed and many wounded.
Of the British detachment, 12 were slain and
30 wounded, including two subaltern officers,
one of whom, Lieutenant MacLean of the High-
landers, lost an arm.

Finding it impracticable to carry on a cam-
paign among the mountains of Basseterre, the
general resolved to transfer the seat of war to
the eastern division of the island, called Grande-
terre, which was more accessible. Accordingly,
on the 10th of February, a detachment of
Highlanders and marines was landed in that
part of the island in the neighbourhood of
Fort Louis, after a severe cannonading which
lasted six hours. The assailants, sword in
hand, drove the enemy from their entrench-
ments, and, taking possession of the fort,
hoisted the English colours.

General Hopson died on the 27th. He was
succeeded by General Barrington, who resolved
to complete the reduction of the island with
vigour. Leaving, therefore, one regiment and
a detachment of artillery under Colonel Debri-
say in Basseterre, the general re-embarked the
rest of the army and proceeded to Grandeterre,
where he carried on a series of successful opera-
tions by means of detachments. One of these
consisting of 600 men, under Colonel Crump,
carried the towns of St Anne and St Francis
with little loss, notwithstanding the fire from
the entrenchments. The only officer who
fell was Ensign MacLean of the Highlanders.
Another detachment of 300 men took the town
of Gosier by storm, and drove the garrison
into the woods. The next operation of the
general was an attempt to surprise the three
towns of Petit Bourg, St Mary's, and Gouyave,

on the Capesterre side, the execution of which
was committed to Colonels Crump and Claver-
ing ; but owing to the extreme darkness of the
night, and the incapacity of the negro guides,
the attempt was rendered abortive. Resolved
to carry these towns, the general directed the
same commanders to land their forces in a bay
near the town of Arnonville. No opposition
was made to their landing by the enemy, who
retreated behind a strong entrenchment they
had thrown up behind the river Licorn. With
the exception of two narrow passes which they
had fortified with a redoubt and entrenchments
mounted with cannon, which were defended
by a large body of militia, the access to the
river was rendered inaccessible by a morass
covered with mangroves ; yet, in spite of these
difficulties, the British commanders resolved
to hazard an assault. Accordingly, under
cover of a fire from the entrenchments from
their field -pieces and howitzers, the regiment
of Duroure and the Highlanders moved for-
ward, firing by platoons with the utmost
regularity as they advanced. Observing the
enemy beginning to abandon the first entrench-
ment on the left, " the Highlanders drew their
swords, and, supported by a part of the other
regiment, rushed forward with their character-
istic impetuosity, and followed the enemy into
the redoubt, of which they took possession."1

Several other actions of minor importance
afterwards took place, in which the enemy
were uniformly worsted ; and seeing resistance
hopeless, they capitulated on the 1st of May,
after an arduous struggle of nearly three
months. The only Highland officer killed in
this expedition was Ensign MacLean. Lieu-
tenants MacLean, Leslie, Sinclair, and Robert-
son, were wounded ; and Major Anstruther
and Captain Arbuthnot died of the fever. Of
the Royal Highlanders, 106 privates were
killed, wounded, or died of disease.2

1 Letters from Giutdaloupe.

2 "By private accounts, it appears that the French
had formed the most frightful and absurd notions of the
Sauvages d'Ecosse. They believed that they would
neither take nor give quarter, and that they were so
nimble, that, as no man could catch them, so nobody
could escape them ; that no man had a chance against
their broadsword ; and that, with a ferocity natural to
savages, they made no prisoners, and spared neither
man, woman, nor child : and as they were always in the
front of every action in which they were engaged, it is
probable that these notions had no small influence on

EVACUATION OF CROWN POINT.

343

After the reduction of Guadaloupe, the
services of the second battalion of Royal High-
landers were transferred to North America,
where they arrived early in July, and after
reaching the head quarters of the British army,
were combined with the first battalion. About
this time a series of combined operations had
been projected against the French settlements
in Canada. Whilst Major-general Wolfe, who
had given proofs of great military talents at
the siege of Louisburg, was to proceed up the
St Lawerence and besiege Quebec, General
Amherst, who had succeeded General Aber-
cromby as commander-in-chief, was to attempt
the reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point,
after which he was to cross Lake Champlain
and effect a junction with General Wolfe
before Quebec. Brigadier-general Prideaux
was to proceed against the French fort near
the falls of the Niagara, the most important
post of all French America. The army under
General Amherst, which was the first put
in motion, assembled at Fort Edward on
the 19th of June. It included the 42d and
Montgomery's Highlanders, and when after-
wards joined by the second battalion of the
Royal Highlanders, it amounted to 14,500 men.
Preceded by the first battalion of the last named
regiment and the light infantry, the main body
of the army moved forward on the 21st, and en-
camped in the neighbourhood of Ticonderoga.
The enemy seemed at first resolved to defend
that important fortress; but perceiving the for-
midable preparations made by the English
general for a siege, they abandoned the fort,
after having in part dismantled the fortifica-
tions, and retired to Crown Point.

On taking possession of this important post,
which effectually covered the frontiers of New
York, General Amherst proceeded to repair
the fortifications ; and, while these were going
on, he directed batteaux and other vessels to
be prepared, to enable him to obtain the com-

the nerves of the militia, and perhaps regulars of
Guadaloupe." It was always believed by the enemy
that the Highlanders amounted to several thousands.
This erroneous enumeration of a corps only eight
hundred strong, was said to proceed from the frequency
of their attacks and annoyance of the outposts of the
enemy, who ' ' saw men in the same garb who attacked
them yesterday from one direction, again appear to-day
to advance from another, and in this manner ever
harassing their advanced position, so as to allow
them no rest." — Letters from Giuulaloupe.

mand of the lakes. Meanwhile the enemy,
who seems to have had no intention of hazard-
ing an action, evacuated Crown Point, and
retired to Isle aux Noix, on the northern
extremity of Lake Champlain. Detaching a
body of rangers to take possession of the place
the general embarked the rest of the army and
landed at the fort on the 4th of August, where
he encamped. The general then ordered up
the second battalion of the Royal Highlanders
from Oswego, with the exception of 150 men
under Captain James Stewart, who were left
to guard that post. Having by great exertions
acquired a naval superiority on Lake Champlain,
the general embarked his army in furtherance
of his original plan of descending the St
Lawrence, and co-operating with General
Wolfe in the reduction of Quebec; but in con-
sequence of contrary winds, the tempestuous
state of the weather, and the early setting in
of winter, he was compelled to abandon further
prosecution of active operations in the mean
time. He then returned to Crown Point to
winter. A detailed account of the important
enterprise against Quebec will be found in the
history of Fraser's Highlanders.

After the fall of the fort of Niagara, which
was taken by Prideaux's division, and the
conquest of Quebec, Montreal was the only
place of strength which remained in possession
of the French in Canada. General Murray was
ordered to proceed up the St Lawrence to
attack Montreal, and General Amherst, as
soon as the season permitted, made arrange-
ments to join him. After his preparations
were completed, he ordered Colonel Haviland,
with a detachment of troops, to take possession
of the Isle aux Noix, and thence to proceed to
the banks of the St Lawrence by the nearest
route. To facilitate the passage of the armed
vessels to La Galette, Colonel Haldiniand
with the grenadiers, light infantry, and a bat-
talion of the Royal Highlanders, took post at
the bottom of the lake. Embarking the whole
of his army on the 10th of August, he pro-
ceeded towards the mouth of the St Lawrence,
and, after a dangerous navigation, in the course
of which several boats were upset and about
eighty men drowned, landed six miles above
Montreal on the 6th of September. General
Murray appeared before Montreal on the even-

344

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

ing of the same day, and the detachments
under Colonel Haviland came down the follow-
ing day on the south side of the river. Thus
heset by three armies, who, by a singular
combination, had united almost at the same
instant of time, after traversing a great extent
of unknown country, Monsieur Vandreuil, the
governor, seeing resistance hopeless, surrendered
upon favourable terms. Thus ended a series
of successful operations, which secured Canada
to the Crown of Great Britain.3

The Eoyal Highlanders remained in North
America until the close of the year 1761, when
they were embarked along with ten other
regiments, among whom was Montgomery's
Highlanders, for Barbadoes, there to join an
armament against Martinique and the Havan-
nah. The land forces consisted altogether of
eighteen regiments, under the command of
Major-general Monckton. The naval part of
the expedition, which was commanded by
Bear-admiral Bodney, consisted of eighteen
sail of the line, besides frigates, bomb-vessels,
and fire-ships.

The fleet anchored in St Ann's Baj', Martin-
ique, on the 8th of January 1762, when the
bulk of the army immediately landed. A
detachment, under Brigadiers Grant (Ballin-
dalloch) and Haviland, made a descent with-
out opposition in the bay of Ance Darlet.
Be-embarking his troops, General Monckton
landed his whole army on the 16th near Cas
de Navire, under Morne Tortueson and Morne
Gamier. As these two eminences commanded
the town and citadel of Fort Boyal, and were
their chief defence, great care had been taken
to improve by art their natural strength, which,
from the very deep ravines which protected
them, was great. The general having resolved
to attack Morne Tortueson first, he ordered a
body of troops and 800 marines to advance on
the right along the sea-side towards the town,
for the purpose of attacking two redoubts near
the beach; and to support this movement, he at
the same time directed some flat-bottomed boats,

3 An Indian sachem, astonished at the success of the
British arms, remarked that "the English, formerly
women, are now men, and are thick all over the
country as trees in the woods. They have taken
Niagara, Cataracrue, Ticonderoga, Louisburg, and
now lately Quebec, and they will soon eat the re-
mainder of the French in Canada, or drive them out of
the country. "

each carrying a gun, and manned with sailors, to
follow close along the shore. A corps of light
infantry was to get round the enemy's left,
whilst, under cover of the fire of some batteries
which had been raised on the opposite ridges by
the perseverance of some sailors from the fleet,
the attack on the centre was to be made by
the grenadiers and Highlanders, supported by
the main body of ■the army. After an arduous
contest, the enemy were driven from the Morne
Tortueson; but a more difficult operation still
remained to be performed. This was to gain
possession of the other eminence, from which,
owing to its greater height, the enemy annoyed
the British troops. Freparations were made
for carrying this post ; but before they were
completed, the enemy descended from the hill,
and attacked the advanced posts of the British.
This attempt was fatal to the assailants, who
were instantly repulsed. " When they began
to retire, the Highlanders, drawing their swords,
rushed forward like furies, and being supported
by the grenadiers under Colonel Grant (Ballin-
dalloch), and a party of Lord Bollo's brigade,
the hills were mounted, and the batteries
seized, and numbers of the enemy, unable to
escape from the rapidity of the attack, were
taken."4 The militia dispersed themselves
over the country, but the regulars retired into
the town, which surrendered on the 7th of
February. The whole island immediately sub-
mitted, and in terms of the capitulation all the
Windward Islands were delivered up to the
British.

In this enterprise the Eoyal Highlanders
had 2 officers, viz., Captain William Cockburn
and Lieutenant David Barclay, 1 sergeant, and
12 rank and file killed: Major John Eeid,
Captains James Murray and Thomas Stirling;
Lieutenants Alexander Mackintosh, David
Milne, Patrick Balnea ves, Alexander Turnbull,
John Eobertson, William Brown, and George
Leslie; 3 sergeants, 1 drummer, and 72 rank
and file, were wounded.

The Eoyal and Montgomery's Highlanders
were employed the following year in the im-
portant conquest of the Havannah, under
Lieutenant-general the Earl of Albemarle, in
which they sustained very little loss. That of

4 Westminster Journal.

HA VANNAH— BUSHY BUN— FOET PITT.

345

the two battalions of the 42d consisted only
of 2 drummers and 6 privates killed, and 4
privates wounded; but they lost by disease
Major Maeneil, Captain Eobert Menzies
(brother of Sir John Menzies), and A. Mac-
donald ; Lieutenants Farquharson, Grant,
Lapsley, Gunnison, Hill, and Blair, and 2
drummers and 71 rank and file.

Shortly after the surrender of the Havannah,
all the available forces in Cuba were removed
from the island. The first battalion of the
42d and Montgomery's regiment embarked for
New York, which they reached in the end of
October. Before leaving Cuba all the men of
the second battalion of the Eoyal Highlanders
fit for service were drafted into the first. The
remainder with the officers returned to Scot-
land, where they were reduced the following
year. The junior officers were placed on half
pay.

The Eoyal Highlanders were stationed in
Albany till the summer of 1763, when they
were sent to the relief of Fort Pitt, then be-
sieged by the Indians. The management of
this enterprise was intrusted to Colonel Bouquet
of the 60th regiment, who, in addition to the
42d, had under his command a detachment of
his own regiment and another of Montgomery's
Highlanders, amounting in all to 956 men.
This body reached Bushy Bun about the end
of July. When about to enter a narrow pass
beyond the Eun, the advanced guards were
suddenly attacked by the Indians, who had
planned an ambuscade. The light infantry of
the 42dj regiment moved forward to the sup-
port of the advanced guard, and driving the
Indians from the ambuscade, pursued them a
considerable distance. The Indians returned
and took possession of some neighbouring
heights. They were again compelled to retire ;
but they soon re-appeared on another position,
and continuing to increase in numbers, they
succeeded in surrounding the detachment, which
they attacked on every side. Night put an
end to the combat ; but it was renewed next
morning with increased vigour by the Indians,
who kept up an incessant fire. They, how-
ever, avoided coming to close action, and the
troops could not venture to pursue them far, as
they were encumbered with a convoy of pro-
visions, and were afraid to leave their wounded,

lest they might fall into the hands of the
enemy. Eecourse was, therefore, had to
stratagem to bring the Indians to closer action.
Feigning a retreat, Colonel Bouquet ordered
two companies which were in advance to re-
tire, and fall within a square which had been
formed, which, as if preparing to cover a retreat,
opened its files. The stratagem succeeded.
Assuring themselves of victory, the Indians
rushed forward with great impetuosity, and
whilst they were vigorously charged in front,
two companies, moving suddenly round a hill
which concealed their approach, attacked them
in flank. The assailants, in great consternation,
turned their backs and fled, and Colonel Bouquet
was allowed to proceed to Fort Pitt without
further molestation. In this affair, the loss
sustained by the Eoyal Highlanders was as
follows : — Lieutenants John Graham and
James Mackintosh, 1 sergeant, and 26 rank
and file, killed; and Captain John Graham of
Duchray, Lieutenant Duncan Campbell, 2 ser-
geants, 2 drummers, and 30 rank and file,
wounded.

After passing the winter in Fort Pitt, eight
companies of the Eoyal Highlanders were sent
on a new enterprise, in the summer of 1764,
under Colonel Bouquet, now promoted to the
rank of brigadier-generaL The object of this
expedition was to repress the attacks of the
Indians on the back-settlers. After a harass-
ing warfare among the woods, the Indians
sued for peace, which was granted, and the
detachment under Brigadier-general Bouquet-
returned to Fort Pitt in the month of January,
after an absence of six months. Notwithstand-
ing the labours of a march of many hundred
miles among dense forests, during which they
experienced the extremes of heat and cold, the
Highlanders did not lose a single man from
fatigue or exhaustion.5

5 It was in 1776 that William Pitt, afterwards Lord
Chatham, uttered in Parliament his famous eulogy on
the Highland regiments : — " I sought for merit where-
ever it could he found. It is my hoast that I was the
first minister who looked for it, and found it, in the
mountains of the north. I called it forth, and drew
into your service a hardy and intrepid race of men :
men who, when left by your jealousy, became a prey
to the artiticies of your enemies, and had gone nigh to
have overturned the State, in the war before last.
These men, in the last war, were brought to combat on
your side ; they served with fidelity, as they fought
with valour, and conquered for you in every quarter of
the world. "

346

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND BEGLMENTS.

The regiment passed the following year in
Pennsylvania. Being ordered home, permis-
sion was given to such of the men as were
desirous of remaining in America to volunteer
into other regiments, and the result was, that
a considerahle number availed themselves of
the offer. The regiment, reduced almost to a
skeleton, embarked at Philadelphia for Ireland
in the month of July 1767. The following
extract from the Virginia Gazette of the 30th
of that month shows the estimation in which
the Highlanders were held by the Americans :
— " Last Sunday evening the Eoyal Highland
regiment embarked for Ireland, which regi-
ment, since its arrival in America, has been
distinguished for having undergone most amaz-
ing fatigues, made long and frequent marches
through an inhospitable country, bearing ex-
cessive heat and severe cold with alacrity and
cheerfulness, frequently encamping in deep
snow, such as those that inhabit the interior
parts of this province do not see, and which
only those who inhabit the northern parts of
Europe can have any idea of, continually ex-
posed in camp, and on their marches, to the
alarms of a savage enemy, who, in all their
attempts, were forced to fly. ... In a par-
ticular manner, the freemen of this and the
neighbouring provinces have most sincerely to
thank them for that resolution and bravery
with which they, under Colonel Bouquet, and
a small number of Eoyal Americans, defeated
the enemy, and insured to us peace and security
from a savage foe; and, along with our bless-
ings for these benefits, they have our thanks
for that decorum in behaviour which they
maintained during their stay in this city, giving
an example that the most amiable behaviour in
civil life is no way inconsistent with the cha-
racter of the good soldier; and for their loyalty,
fidelity, and orderly behaviour, they have every
wish of the people for health, honour, and 'a
pleasant voyage."

The loss sustained by the regiment during
the seven years it was employed in North Ame-
rica and the West Indies was as follows : —

In Officers,
Sergeants,
Rank and Tile,

WOUHDED

33
22

. 508

Total,

. 563

Grand Total,

. 970

In Officers,
Sergeants,
Rank and File,

Total,

KILLKP.

382

407

With the exception of the unfortunate affair
at Ticonderoga, the loss sustained by the 42d
in the field during this war was comparatively
smaller than that of any other corps. The
moderate loss the Highlanders suffered was
accounted for by several officers who served in
the corps, from the celerity of their attack and
the use of the broadsword, which the enemy
could never withstand. " This likewise," says
General Stewart, "was the opinion of an old
gentleman, one of the original soldiers of the
Black Watch, in the ranks of which, although
a gentleman by birth and education, he served
till the peace of 1748. He informed me that
although it was believed at home that the regi-
ment had been nearly destroyed at Fontenoy,
the thing was quite the reverse; and that it
was the subject of general observation in the
army that their loss should have been so small,
considering how actively they were engaged in
different parts of the field. ' On one occasion,'
said the respectable veteran, who was animated
with the subject, 'a brigade of Dutch were
ordered to attack a rising ground, on which
were posted the troops called the Xing of
France's Own Guards. The Highlanders were
to support them. The Dutch conducted their
march and attack as if they did not know the
road, halting and firing, and halting every
twenty paces. The Highlanders, losing all
patience with this kind of fighting, which
gave the enemy such time and opportunity to
fire at their leisure, dashed forward, passed the
Dutch, and the first ranks giving their fire-
locks to the rear rank, they drew their swords,
and soon drove the French from their ground.
When the attack was concluded, it was found
that of the Highlanders not above a dozen men
were killed and wounded, while the Dutch,
who had not come up at all, lost more than
five times that number.' "

On the arrival of the regiment at Cork,
recruiting parties were sent to the Highlands,
and so eager were the youths there to enter the
corps, that in May following the regiment was

"THE GAEB OF OLD GAUL."

347

fully completed. 6 When the battle of Fontenoy
was fought, there was not a soldier in the
regiment born south of the Grampians, and at

6 To allure the young Highlanders to enlist into
other regiments, recruiting parties assumed the dress
of the Royal Highlanders, thus deceiving the recruits
into the helief that they were entering the 42d. When
the regiment lay in Dublin, a party of Highland
recruits, -destined for the 38th regiment, arrived
there ; but on representing the deception which had
been practised upon them, they were, after a full
inquiry, discharged by Lord Townshend, the lord lieu-
tenant. They, however, immediately re-enlisted into
the 42d regiment. — Stewart.

7 At this time, the words of " the Garb of Old Gaul"
were composed. Major Reid set them to music of his
own composition, which has ever since been the regi-
mental march. Peace and country quarters affording
leisure to the officers, several of them indulged their
taste for poetry and music. Major Reid was one of the
most accomplished flute-players of the age. He died in
1806, a general in the army, and colonel of the 88th
or Connaught Rangers. He left the sum of £52, 000 to
the University of Edinburgh, where he was educated,
to establish a Professorship of Music in the College,
with a salary of not less than £800 per annum, and to
hold an annual concert on the anniversary of his

IN THE GARB OF OLD GAUL.

In the garb of old Gaul, with the fire of old Rome,
From the heath-covered mountains of Scotia we come ;
Where the Romans endeavoured our country to gain,
But our ancestors fought, and they fought not in vain.

Such our love of liberty, our country, and our laws,
That, like our ancestors of old, we stand by freedom's

cause ;
We'll bravely fight, like heroes bright, for honour

and applause,
And defy the French, with all their arts, to alter

our laws.

No effeminate customs our sinews unbrace,

No luxurious tables enervate our race ;

Our loud-sounding pipe bears the true martial strain,

So do we the old Scottish valour retain.

As a storm in the ocean when Boreas blows,
So are we enraged when we rush on our foes :
We sons of the mountains, tremendous as rocks,
Dash the force of our foes with our thundering strokes.

We're tall as the oak on the mount of the vale,
Are swift as the roe which the hound doth assail,
As the full moon in autumn our shields do appear,
Minerva would dread to encounter our spear.

Quebec and Cape Breton, the pride of old France,
In their troops fondly boasted till we did advance ;
But when our claymores they saw us produce,
Their courage did fail, and they sued for a truce.

In our realm may the fury of faction long cease,
May our councils be wise and our commerce increase,
And in Scotia's cold climate may each of us find,
That our friends still prove true and our beauties prove
kind.

Then we'll defend our liberty, our country, and our

laws,
And teach our late posterity to fight in freedom's

cause,
That they like our ancestors bold, for honour and

applause,
May defy the French, with all their arts, to alter

our laws.

this period they were all, except two, born
north of the Tay."

At the period of their arrival in Ireland the

birth-day, the 13th of February; the performance to
commence with several pieces of his own composition,
for the purpose of showing the style of music in his
early years, and towards the middle of the last
century. Among the first of these pieces is the Garb
of Old Gaul. [See account of Clan Robertson.] The
statement in Stewart's Sketches, that this song was
originally written in Gaelic by a soldier of the 42d, is
incorrect. Dr David Laing says, in Wood's Sonys of
Scotland, edited by G. F. Graham, that it was originally
written in English by Lieutenant-General Sir Henry
Erskine, Bart., second son of Sir John Erskine of
Alva, who commanded the Scots Greys in 1762. It
has been attributed to Sir Henry Erskine of Torry,
but it was not written by him. Its earliest appear-
ance (in English) was iu The Lark, 1765. An
indifferent translation into Gaelic, by Morrison, was
published in Gillies' Gaelic Poetry, 1786. This is
the first Gaelic version. A much better translation
into Gaelic is by Captain M'Intyre, and appeared in
Am Filidh, a Gaelic Song Book, edited by James
Munro, 12mo, Edin. 1840.

We give here the original song, with the Gaelic
version of Captain M'Intyre : —

EIDEADH NAN GAEL.

Ann an eideadh nan Gael,
Le tein'-ardain na Roimh',
'S ann o f hraoch-bheannaibh Alba
A dh' fhalbh sinn a chum gleois,
Til a stribhich na Roimhich
Le foirneart thoirt uainn,
Ach ar sinnsearra chomhraig,
'S mar sheoid thug iad buaidli!

Le soghalas no feisdeachas

Ar feithean las cha-n f has ;

Cha toir roic no ruidht oirnn striocadh

Chum's gu'u diobair sinn ar cail ;

'S i a' phlob a's airde nual

A hhios g' ar gluasad gu blar ; —

Sin an ceol a chumas suas annainn

Cruadal nan Gael.

'S co-chruaidh sinn ris na daragan
Tha thaR-ud arms a' ghleann ;
Is co-luath sinn ris an eilid
Air nach beir ach an cu seang ;
Mar a' ghealach Ian as t-fhogar
Nochdar aghaidh ar cuid sgiath,
'S roimh 'r lannan guineach geur
Air Minerbha bi'dh fiamh !

Mar a sheideas a' ghaoth tuath
Air a' chuan a's gairge toirm,
'S ann mar sin a ni sinn bmchdadh
Air ar naimhde 'nidi gu horb ;
Mar chreaga trom a' tuirling orr'
Thig ur-shiol nam beannta,
G' an caitheamh as le 'n treuntas,
'S le geiread an lann.

Mar so, ar Lagh 's ar Righeaehd
Gu'n dionar leinn gu brath ; —
Agus cath air taobli na saorsa
Gu'm faoghluim sinn d' ar n-al ;
Gus an diong iad fos an seanairean
'Am fearalas 's 'an cail,
'S gus an cuir iad cis gun tainng
Air an Fhraing 's air an Spainn.

318

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.

uniform of the regiment had a very sombre
appearance. " The jackets were of a dull
rusty-coloured red, and no part of the accoutre-
ments was of a light colour. Economy was
strictly observed in the article of clothing.
The old jacket, after being worn a year, was
converted into a waistcoat, and the plaid, at
the end of two years, was reduced to the phili-
beg. The hose supplied were of so bad a
quality that the men advanced an additional
sum to the government price, in order to
supply themselves with a better sort. Instead
of feathers for their bonnets, they were allowed
only a piece of black bear-skin; but the men
supplied themselves with ostrich feathers in
the modern fashion,8 and spared no expense in
fitting up their bonnets handsomely. The
sword-belts were of black leather, two inches
and a half in breadth; and a small cartouch-
box, fitted only for thirty-two rounds of car-
tridges, was worn in front above the purse,
and fixed round the loins with a thick belt, in
which hung the bayonet. In these heavy
colours and dark-blue facings the regiment
had a far less splendid appearance at a short
distance than English regiments with white
breeches and belts; but on a closer view the
line was imposing and warlike. The men
possessed what an "ingenious author calls ' the
attractive beauties of a soldier ; sun burnt
complexions, a hardy weather-beaten visage,
with a penetrating eye, and firm expressive
countenance, sinewy and elastic limbs, traces
of muscles strongly impressed, indicating capa-
city of action, and marking experience of ser-
vice.'1' The personal appearance of the men
has, no doubt, varied according as attention
was paid to a proper selection of recruits. The
appointments have also been different. The
first alteration in this respect was made in
the year 1769, when the regiment removed to
Dublin. At this period the men. received
white cloth waistcoats, and the colonel sup-
plied them with white goat-skin and buff
leather purses, which were deemed an im-

8 "Officers and non-commissioned officers always
wore a small plume of feathers, after the fashion of
their country ; hut it was not till the period of
which I am now writing that the soldiers used so
many feathers as they do at present." — Stewart's
Sketches.

3 Jackson's European Armies.

provement on the vests of red cloth, and the
purses made of badgers' skin.

" The officers also improved their dress, by
having their jackets embroidered. During the
war, however, they wore only a narrow edging
of gold-lace round the borders of the facings,
and very often no lace at all, epaulettes and
all glittering ornaments being laid aside, to
render them less conspicuous to the Indians,
who always aimed particularly at the officers.
During their stay in Ireland the dress of the
men underwent very little alteration. The
officers had only one suit of embroidery; this
fashion being found too expensive was given
up, and gold-lace substituted in its stead.
Upon ordinary occasions they wore light
hangers, using the basket-kilted broadsword
only in full dress. They also carried fusils.
The sergeants were furnished with carbines
instead of the Lochaber axe or halbert, which
they formerly carried. The soldiers were pro-
vided with new arms when on Dublin duty in
1774. The sergeants had silver-lace on their
coats, which they furnished, however, at their
own expense." '

The regiment remained in Ireland after its
return from North America about eight years,
in the course of which it was occasionally
occupied in different parts of that country in
aid of the civil power, — a service in which,
from their conciliatory disposition, they were
found very useful. While in Ireland, a new
company was added, as was the case with all
the other regiments on the Irish establishment.
Captain James Macpherson, Lieutenant Camp-
bell, and Ensign John Grant, were in conse-
quence appointed to the 42d.

In 1775 the regiment embarked at Donagh-
adee, and landed at Port Patrick, after an
absence from Scotland of thirty-two years.
Impelled by characteristic attachment to the
country of their birth, many of the old soldiers
leaped on shore with enthusiasm, and kissed
the earth, which they held up in handfuls.
Erom Port Patrick the regiment marched to
Glasgow.

The conduct of the regiment and its mode
of discipline while in Ireland is depicted
by an intelligent officer who served in it at

1 Stewart's Sketches. The use of silver lace was not
discontinued until 1830.

DISCIPLINE— EMBARKS FOE AMERICA.

349

that time, and for many years both before and
after that period, in a communication to Gene-
ral Stewart. He describes the regiment as
still possessing the character which it had
acquired in Germany and America, although
there were not more than eighty of the men
remaining who had served in America, and
only a few individuals of those who had served
in Germany previously to the year 1748.
Their attachment to their native dress, and
their peculiarity of language, habits, and
manners contributed to preserve them a race
of men separate from others of the same pro-
fession, and to give to their system of regi-
mental discipline a distinctive and peculiar
character. Their messes were managed by the
non-commissioned officers, or old soldiers, who
had charge of the barrack-room; and these
messes were always so arranged that in each
room the men were in friendship or intimacy
with each other, or belonged to the same glen
or district, or were connected by some similar
tie. By these means every barrack-room was
like a family establishment. After the weekly
allowances for breakfast, dinner, and small
necessaries had been provided, the surplus pay
was deposited in a stock purse, each member
of the mess drawing for it in his turn. The
stock thus acquired was soon found worth
preserving, and instead of hoarding, they lent
it out to the inhabitants, who seemed greatly
surprised at seeing a soldier save money. Their
accounts with their officers were settled once in
three months, and, with the exception of a few
careless spendthrifts, all the men purchased
their own necessaries, with which they were
always abundantly provided. At every settle-
ment of accounts they enjoyed themselves very
heartily, but with a strict observance of pro-
priety and good humour; and as the members
of each mess considered themselves in a manner
answerable for one another's conduct, they
animadverted on any impropriety with such
severity as to render the interference of further
authority unnecessary.

Shortly after the arrival of the regiment in
Glasgow two companies were added, and the
establishment of the whole regiment augmented
to 100 rank and file each company. The bat-
talion, when complete, amounted to 1075 men,
including sergeants and drummers. Little in-

ducement was required to .fill the ranks, as men
were always to be found ready to join a corps
in such high estimation. At this time the
bounty was a guinea and a crown. It was
afterwards increased to three guineas; but this
advance had little effect in the north where the
esprit du corps had greater influence than gold.

Hitherto the officers had been entirely High-
land and Scotch; but the lord-lieutenant of
Ireland, contrary to the remonstrances of Lord
John Murray, who saw the advantage of
officering the regiment with natives of Scot-
land, prevailed with the government to admit
two English officers into the regiment. His
excellency even went so far as to get two
lieutenants' commissions in favour of Scotch-
men cancelled, although they had been
gazetted.

In consequence of hostilities with America,
the regiment was ordered to embark for that
country. Before its departure the recruits
were taught the use of the firelock, and, from
the shortness of the time allowed, were drilled
even by candle-light. New arms and accoutre-
ments were supplied to the men by the govern-
ment, and the colonel furnished them with
broadswords and pistols, iron-stocked, at his
own expense. The regiment was reviewed on
the 10th of April 1776 by General Sir Adol-
phus Oughton, and being reported quite com-
plete and unexceptionable, embarked on the
14th at Greenock, along with Eraser's High-
landers.''

II.

1776-1795.

The 42d goes to America — Battle of Brooklyn, 1776
— Broadswords and pistols laid aside — Skirmish near
New York— White Plains— Capture of Fort Wash-
ington and Fort Lee — Skirmish at Trenton — Defeat
of Mawhood's detachment— Pisquatua — Chesapeak
— Battle of Brandy Wine — Skirmish at Monmouth
— Hew Plymouth — Portsmouth — Verplanks and
Stony Point, 1779 — Mutiny of a detachment at
Leith — Charlestown — Panlus Hook — Desertion,
1783 — Halifax — Cape Breton — Return of the regi-
ment to England — Proceeds to Flanders — The "red
heckle" — England — Coast of France — Ostend —
Nimeguen — Gilderwalsen — Eeturn of the regiment
to England.

In conjunction with Fraser's Highlanders, the

42d embarked at Greenock on the 14th of

* Of the number of privates, 931 were Highlanders,
74 Lowland Scotch, 5 English (in the band), 1 Welsh,
and 2 Irish.

350

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

April 1776, to join an expedition under
General Howe against the American revolu-
tionists. The transports separated in a gale
of wind, hut they all reached their destination
in Staten Island, where the main hody of the
army had assembled.1 A grenadier "battalion
was immediately formed under the command
of the Hon. Major (afterwards General) Sir
Charles Stewart, the staff appointments to
which, out of respect to the 42 d, were taken
by the commander-in-chief from that regi-
ment. A light infantry corps was also formed,
to the command of which Lieutenant-colonel
Musgrave was appointed. The flank com-
panies of the 42d were attached to these
battalions. " The Highland grenadiers were
remarkable for strength and height, and con-
sidered equal to any company in the army :
the light infantry were quite the reverse in
'point of personal appearance, as the command-
ing officer would not allow a choice of men for
them. The battalion companies were formed
into two temporary battalions, the command
of one being given to Major William Murray
(Lintrose), and that of the other to Major
William Grant (Eothiemurchus), with an
adjutant quarter-master in each battalion; the
whole being under the command of Lieutenant-
colonel Thomas Stirling. These grenadiers
were placed in the reserve with the grenadiers
of the army, under the command of Earl Corn-

1 The Oxford transport, with a company of the 42d
on board, was captured by an American privateer.
The military officers and ship's crew were taken on
board the privateer, and a crew and guard sent to the
transport, with directions to make the first friendly
port. A few days afterwards the soldiers overpowered
the Americans ; and with the assistance of the car-
penter, who had been left on board, navigated the
vessel into the Chesapeak, and casting anchor at
Jamestown, which had been evacuated by Lord
Dunmore and the British, she was taken possession of,
and the men marched as prisoners to Williamsburgh
in Virginia, where every exertion was made, and
every inducement held out, to prevail with them to
break their allegiance, and join the American cause.
When it was found that the offers of military pro-
motion were rejected, they were told that they would
have grants of fertile land to settle in freedom and
happiness, and that they wonld all be lairds them-
selves, and have no rents to pay. These latter induce-
ments also failed. " These trust-worthy men declared
they would neither take nor possess any land, but
what they had deserved by supporting their king,
whose health they could not be restrained from
drinking, although in the middle of enemies ; and
when all failed, they were sent in small separate parties
to the back-settlements.'' — They were exchanged in
1778, and joined the regiment. — Stewart's Sketches,
i. 368.

wallis. To these were added the 33d, his
lordship's own regiment." a

The whole of the British force under the
command of Sir William Howe, including
13,000 Hessians and Waldeckers, amounted
to 30,000 men. The campaign opened by a
landing on Long Island on the 22d of August
1776. The whole army encamped in front of
the villages of Gravesend and Utrecht. The
American army, under General Putnam, was
encamped at Brooklyn, a few miles distant.
A range of woody hills, which intersected the
country from east to west, divided the two
armies.

The British general having resolved to
attack the enemy in three divisions, the right
wing, under General Clinton, seized, on the
26th of August, at night-fall, a pass on the
heights, about three miles from Bedford. The
main body then passed through, and descended
to the level country which lay between the
hills and General Putnam's lines. Whilst
this movement was going on, Majur-general
Grant (Ballindalloch) with his brigade (the
4th), supported by the Eoyal Highlanders
from the reserve, was directed to march from
the left along the coast to the Narrows, and
attack the enemy in that quarter. The right
wing having reached Bedford at nine o'clock
next morning, attacked the left of the American
army, which, after a short resistance, retired to
their lines in great confusion, pursued by the
British troops, Colonel Stuart leading with his
battalion of Highland grenadiers. The Hes-
sians, who had remained at Plat Bush, on
hearing the fire at Bedford, advanced, and,
attacking the centre of the American army,
drove them, after a short engagement, through
the woods, and captured three pieces of cannon.
General Grant had previously attacked the right
of the enemy, and a cannonade had been kept
up near the Narrows on both sides, till the
Americans heard the firing at Bedford, when
they retreated in disorder. Notwithstanding
these advantages, neither General Howe nor
General Grant ventured to follow them up by
pursuing the enemy, and attacking them in
their lines, although they could have made no
effectual resistance. The enemy lost 2000
men, killed, drowned, and taken prisoners.
2 Stewart's Sketches.

SKIEMISH NEAR NEW TOEK— WHITE PLAINS.

351

The British, had 5 officers, and 56 non-com-
missioned officers and privates killed ; and
12 officers and 245 non-commissioned officers
and privates wounded. Among the latter "was
Lieutenant Cramniond and 9 rank and file of
the 42d.

About this time the broadswords and pis-
tols which the men received in Glasgow were
ordered to be laid aside. The pistols being
considered unnecessary, except in the field,
were not intended, like the swords, to be
worn by the men in quarters. The reason for
discontinuing the broadswords was that the.y
retarded the men by getting entangled in the
brushwood. " Admitting that the objection
was well-founded, so far as regarded the swords,
it certainly could not apply to the pistols. In
a close woody country, where troops are liable
to sudden attacks and surprises by a hidden
enemy, such a weapon is peculiarly useful.
It is, therefore, difficult to discover a good
reason for laying them aside. I have been
told by several old officers and soldiers, who
bore a part in these attacks, that an enemy
who stood for many hours the fire of musketry,
invariably gave way when an advance was
made sword in hand. They were never re-
stored, and the regiment has had neither
swords nor pistols since." 3

The army encamped in front of the enemy's
lines in the evening of the 27th of August,
and next day broke ground opposite their left
redoubt. General "Washington had crossed
over from New York during the action at
Brooklyn, and seeing resistance hopeless, re-
solved to retreat. With surprising skill he
transported 9000 men, with guns, ammunition,
and stores, in the course of one night, over to
New York; and such was the secrecy with
which this movement was effected, that the
British army knew nothing of it till next
morning, when the last of the rear-guard were
seen in their boats crossing the broad ferry and
out of danger.

Active operations were not resumed till the
15th of September, when the reserve, including
the Eoyal Highlanders, crossed over to New
York, and, after some opposition, took pos-
session of the heights above the town. The

3 Stewart's Sketches.

Highlanders and Hessians fell in with and
captured a body of Xew England men and
Virginians. Next day the light infantry were
sent out to dislodge a party of the enemy from
a wood opposite the British left. A smart
action ensued, and, the enemy pushing forward
reinforcements, the Highlanders were sent to
support the light infantry. The Americans
were then driven back to their entrenchments;
but they renewed the attack with an increased
force, and were again repulsed with consider-
able loss. The British had 14 men killed, and
5 officers and 70 men wounded. The 42d had
1 sergeant and 5 privates killed; and Captains
Duncan Maepherson and John Mackintosh,
and Ensign Alexander Mackenzie (who died
of his wounds), and 1 piper, 2 drummers, and
47 privates wounded.

General Howe, in expectation of an attack,
threw up entrenchments; but General Wash-
ington having no such intention, made a general
movement, and took up a strong position on
the heights in the rear of the White Plains.
To induce the enemy to quit their ground,
General Howe resolved to make a movement,
and accordingly embarked his army on the
12th of October in flat-bottomed boats, and
passing through the intricate narrow called
Hell Gate, disembarked the same evening at
Frogsneck, near West Chester. In conse-
quence of the bridge which connected the
latter place with the mainland having been
broken down by the enemy, the general re-
embarked his troops next day, and landed at
Pell's Point, at the mouth of Hudson's river.
On the 14th he reached the White Plains in
front of the enemy's position. As a preli-
minary to a general engagement, General Howe
attacked a post on a rising ground occupied by
4000 of the enemy, which he carried; but
General Washington declining battle, the
British general gave up the attempt, and pro-
ceeded against Fort Washington, the posses-
sion of which was necessary in order to open
the communication between New York and
the continent, to the eastward and northward
of Hudson's river. The fort, the garrison
of which consisted of 3000 men, was pro-
tected by strong grounds covered with lines
and works. The Hessians, under General
Knyphausen, supported by the whole of the

352

HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLAND BEGIMENTS.

reserve, under Major- General Earl Percy, with
the exception of the 42d, who were to make a
feint on the east side of the fort, were to make
the principal attack. The Eoyal Highlanders
embarked in "boats on the 16th of November,
before day-break, and landed in a small creek
at the foot of the rock, in the face of a smart
fire. The Highlanders had now discharged
the duty assigned them, but determined to
have a full share in the honour of the day,
they resolved upon an assault, and assisted by
each other, and by the brushwood and shrubs
which grew out of the crevices of the rocks,
scrambled up the precipice. On gaining the
summit, they rushed forward, and attacked
the enemy with such rapidity, that upwards of
200, unable to escape, threw down their arms;
whilst the Highlanders, following up their ad-
vantage, penetrated across the table of the hill,
and met Lord Percy's brigade as they were
coming up on the opposite side. On seeing
the Hessians approach in another direction,
the enemy surrendered at discretion. In this
affair the Eoyal Highlanders had 1 sergeant
and 10 privates killed; and Lieutenants
Patrick Graham (Inchbrakie), Norman Mac-
leod,4 and Alexander Grant, and 4 sergeants
and 66 rank and file wounded.

To secure the entire command of the North
river, and to open an easy entrance into the
Jerseys, Port Lee was next reduced, in which
service the Eoyal Highlanders were employed.
The enemy, pursued by the detachment which
captured that post, retired successively to
Newbridge, Elizabeth Town, Newark, and
Brunswick. On the 17th of November Gene-
ral Howe entered Prince Town with the main
body of the army, an hour after it was evacu-
ated by General Washington. Winter having

4 "This hill was so perpendicular, that the ball
which wounded Lieutenant Maeleod, entering the pos-
terior part of his neck, ran down on the middle of his
ribs, and lodged in the lower part of his back.

" One of the pipers, who began to play when he
reached the point of a rock on the summit of the hill,
was immediately shot, and tumbled from one piece of
rook to another till he reached the bottom.

" Major Murray, being a large corpulent man, could
not attempt this steep ascent without assistance. The
soldiers, eager to get to the point of their duty, scrambled
up, forgetting the situation of Major Murray, when he,
in a melancholy supplicating tone, cried, ' Oh soldiers,
will you leave me !' A party leaped down instantly,
and brought him up, supporting him from one ledge of
the rocks to another till they got him to the top." —
Stewart's Sketches.

now set in, General Howe put his army into
winter quarters. The advanced posts, which
extended from Trenton to Mount-holly, were
occupied by the Hessians and the Eoyal High-
landers, who were the only British regiments
in front.

If, instead of suspending active operations,
General Howe had continued occasionally to
beat up the quarters of the Americans whilst
dispirited by their late reverses, it is thought
that he would have reduced them to the last
extremity. General Washington availed him-
self of the inactivity of the British commander,
and by making partial attacks on the advanced
posts, he not only improved the discipline of
his army, but, in consequence of the success
which sometimes attended these attacks, re-
vived the drooping spirits of his men. On the
22d of January 1777, he surprised and com-
pletely defeated the detachment of Hessians
stationed at Trenton ; in consequence of which
reverse, the Eoyal Highlanders, who formed
the left of the line of defence at Mount-holly,
fell back on the light infantry at Prince Town.

During the remainder of the season the
Eoyal Highlanders were stationed in the vil-
lage of Pisquatua, on the line of communica-
tion between New York and Brunswick by
Amboy. The duty was severe, from the rigour
of the season and the want of accommodation.
The houses in the village not being sufficient
to contain one-half of the men, the officers and
soldiers were intermixed in barns and sheds,
and they always slept in their body-clothes,
as the enemy were constantly sending down
nocturnal parties to fire at the sentinels and
picquets. The Americans, however, always
kept at a respectful distance, and did not
make any regular attack on the post till the
10th of May 1777, on which day, at four
o'clock in the afternoon, a body of 2000 men,
under the command of Maxwell and Stephens,
American generals, attempted to surprise the
Highlanders. Advancing with great secrecy,
and being completely covered by the rugged
nature of the country, their approach was not
perceived till they had gained a small level
piece of ground in front of the picquets, when
they rushed forward, and attacked them with
such promptitude, that the picquets had hardly
time to seize their arms. At this time the

THE BATTLE OF BEANDY WINE.

353

soldiers were either all differently employed,
or taking the rest they could not obtain at
night; but the picquets, by disputing every
inch of ground, gave time to the soldiers
to assemble, who drove the enemy back with
great precipitation, leaving behind them up-
wards of 200 men in killed and wounded. On
this occasion the 42d had 3 sergeants and 9
privates killed ; and Captain Duncan Mac-
pherson, Lieutenant William Stewart, 3 ser-
geants, and 35 privates wounded.5

The British troops again took the field about
the middle of June, when General Howe
attempted to draw Washington from his sta-
tion at Middle Brook ; but the American com-
mander knew too well the value of such a
strong position to abandon it. Not judging it
prudent to attack it, the British general re-
solved to change the seat of war. Pursuant
to this resolution, he embarked 36 battalions
of British and Hessians, including the flank
battalions of the grenadiers and light infantry,
and sailed for the Chesapeak. Before the
embarkation the Eoyal Highlanders received
an accession of 170 recruits from Scotland.

The army landed at Elk Eerry on the 24th
of August, after a tedious voyage. It was not
till the 3d of September that they began their
march for Philadelphia. The delay enabled
Washington to cross the country, and to take
an advantageous position at Eed Clay Creek,

5 "On this occasion Sergeant Macgregor, whose
company was immediately in the rear of the picquet,
rushed forward to their support with a few men who
happened to have their arms in their hands, when the
enemy commenced the attack. Being severely wounded,
he was left insensible on the ground. When the
piequet was overpowered, and the few survivors forced
to retire, Macgregor, who had that day put on a new
jacket with silver-laee, having, besides, large silver
buckles in his shoes, and a watch, attracted the notice
of an American soldier, who deemed him a good prize.
The retreat of his friends not allowing him time to
strip the sergeant on the spot, he thought the shortest
way was to take him on his back to a more convenient
distance. By this time Macgregor began to recover ;
and, perceiving whither the man was carrying him,
drew his dirk, and grasping him by the throat, swore
that he would run him through the breast if he did not
turn back and carry him to the camp. The American
finding this argument irresistible, complied with the
request, and meeting Lord Cornwallis (who had come
up to the support of the regiment when he heard the
firing), and Colonel Stirling, was thanked for his care
of the sergeant ; but he honestly told them that he
only conveyed him thither to save his own life. Lord
Cornwallis gave him liberty to go whithersoever he
chose. His lordship procured for the sergeant a
situation under government at Leith, which he enjoyed
many years." — Stewart's Sketches.

If.

whence he pushed forward detachments to
harass the British troops on their march.
General Howe did not reach the Brandy Wine
Eiver till the middle of September, in conse-
quence of the difficulties he met with in
traversing a country covered with wood and
full of defiles. On reaching that river, he
found that the enemy had taken up a strong
position beyond it, with the view of opposing
the further advance of the royal army. The
Americans had secured all the fording places,
and in expectation that the British would
attempt to cross at Chad's Ford, they had
erected batteries and thrown up entrenchments
at that place to command the passage. Making
a circuit of some miles, Lord Cornwallis crossed
Jeffrey's Ford with one division of the army
without opposition, and turning down the
river fell in with the American general,
Sullivan, who had been detached by Washing-
ton to oppose him. An action took place, and
the Americans were driven from all their posts
through the woods towards the main army.
Meanwhile General Knyphausen, with his
division, made demonstrations for crossing the
river at Chad's Ford, and as soon as he knew
from the firing of cannon that Lord Corn-
wallis's movement had succeeded, he passed
the river, and carried the batteries and entrench-
ments of the enemy. A general rout ensued,
and Washington, with the corps he was able
to keep together, fled with his baggage and
cannon to Chester. The British had 50 officers
killed and wounded in the battle of Brandy
Wine, and 438 rank and file, including non-
commissioned officers. The flank companies
of the 42d, being the only ones engaged, had
6 privates killed, and 1 sergeant and 15
privates wounded.

On the 25th, the army marched to German
Town, and the following morning the grenadiers
took peaceable possession of Philadelphia.
The 42d took part in the operations, by which
the British commander endeavoured to bring
the enemy to a general engagement at White
Marsh, and was afterwards quartered at
Philadelphia.6

6 From Watson's Annals of Philadelphia we learn
that a Mrs Gordon opened a boarding-house in Front
Street, which was much frequented by British officers
during the American Revolution war, and at times
was nearly filled with officers of the 42d and Royal
2 Y

354

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

The next enterprise in which the Eoyal
Highlanders were engaged, was under Major-
General Charles Grey, who emharked with the
grenadiers, the light infantry brigade, and the
42d regiment, for the purpose of destroying a
number of privateers, with their prizes, at
New Plymouth. The troops landed on the
hanks of the Acushnet river on the 5th of
September, and having destroyed seventy

vessels, with all the stores, cargoes, wharfs,
and buildings, along the whole extent of the
river, the whole were re-embarked the follow-
ing day, and returned to New York.

Matters remained quiescent till the 25th of
February 1779, when Colonel Stirling, with a
detachment consisting of the light infantry of
the Guards and the 42 d regiment, was ordered
to attack a post at Elizabeth Town, which was

British Barracks, Philadelphia. From "Watson's Annals of Philadelphia.

taken without opposition. In April following,
the Highland regiment was employed in an
expedition to the Chesapeak, to destroy the
stores and merchandise at Portsmouth in
Virginia. They were again employed with the
Guards and a corps of Hessians in another
expedition under General Mathews, which
sailed on the 30th, under the convoy of Sir

Irish. "The British Barracks," we learn from Wat-
son's Annals of Philadelphia, "were bnilt in the
Northern Liberties soon after the defeat of Braddock's
army, and arose from the necessity, as it was alleged,
of making better permanent provision for troops
deemed necessary to be among us for future pro-
tection. Many of the people had so petitioned the
king, not being then so sensitive of the presence of
'standing armies' as their descendants have since
become. The parade and 'pomp of war' "which their
erection produced in the former peaceful city of Penn,
gave it an attraction to the town's people, and being
located far out of town, it was deemed a pleasant walk
to the country and fields, to go out and see the long
ranges of houses, the long lines of kilted and bon-
neted Highlanders, and to hear 'the spirit stirring
fife and soul-inspiring drum ! ' The ground plot of
the barracks extended from Second to Third Street,
and from St Tamany Street to Green Street, having
the officer's quarters, a large three-storey brick build-

George Collier, in the Reasonable and several
ships of war. This expedition reached its
destination on the 10th of May, when the
troops landed on the glebe on the western
bank of Elizabeth. They returned to New
York after fulfilling the object of the expe-
dition.

The campaign of 1779 was begun by the

ing, on Third Street, the same now standing as a
Northern Liberty Town Hall. The parade ground
fronted upon Second Street, shut in by an ornamental
palisade fence on the line of that street. After the
war of Independence they were torn down, and the
lots sold for the benefit of the public. It was from
the location of those buildings that the whole region
thereabout was familiarly called Campingtown. In
1758 I notice the first public mention of 'the new
barracks in Campingtown,' the Gazettes stating the
arrival there of ' Colonel Montgomery's Highlanders,'
and some arrangement by the City Council to provide
them their bedding, &c. In the year 1764 the bar-
racks were made a scene of great interest to all the
citizens ; there the Indians, who fled from the threats
of the murderous Paxtaug boys, sought their refuge
under the protection of the Highlanders, while the
approach of the latter was expected, the citizens ran
there with their arms to defend them and to throw
up entrenchments. "

CAPTUEE OF VERPLANKS AND STONY POINT.

355

capture, on the part of tlie British, of Ver-
planks and Stony Point. A garrison of 600
men, among whom were two companies of
Eraser's Highlanders, took possession of this
last post ; but owing to the too great con-
fidence of the commander, it was surprised
and re-captured. Flushed with this success,
the American general, Wayne, made an imme-
diate attack upon Verplanks, which was
garrisoned by the 33d regiment; but receiving
accounts of the advance of Colonel Stirling
with the light infantry of the 42d, he retreated
from Verplanks and abandoned Stony Point,
of which Colonel Stirling took possession.
This officer being shortly thereafter appointed
aid-de-camp to the king, and a brigadier-
general, the command of the 42d regiment
devolved on Major Charles Graham.

About this time a circumstance occurred
which tended greatly to deteriorate, for several
years, the hitherto irreproachable character of
the Royal Highland regiment. By order of
the inspector-general at Chatham, a body of
150 recruits, raised principally from the refuse
of the population of London and Dublin, was
embarked for the regiment in the autumn of
this year. Of such dissipated habits had these
men been, that 16 died on the voyage, and 75
were seat to the hospital as soon as they dis-
embarked.7 The infusion of such immoral
ingredients could not have failed to taint the
whole mass, and General Stirling made a
strong representation to the commander-in-
chief to avert such a calamity from the regiment,
by removing the recruits to another corps.
They were, in consequence, drafted into the
26th, in exchange for the same number of
Scotchmen; but the introduction of these men
into the regiment dissolved the charm which,
for nearly forty years, had preserved the High-
landers from contamination. During that long
period there were few courts-martial, and, for
many years, no instance of corporal punish-
ment occurred. So nice were their notions of
honour, that, " if a soldier was brought to the
balberts, be became degraded, and little more
good was to be expected of him. After being

7 " In the year 1776 (says General Stewart) the three
battalions of the 42d and of Fraser's Highlanders
embarked 3248 soldiers ; after a stormy passage of more
than three months, none died ; they had only a few
sick, and these not dangerously. "

publicly disgraced, he could no longer associate
with his comrades; and, in several instances, the
privates of a company have, from their pay, sub-
scribed to procure the discharge of an obnoxious
individual." But " punishments being found
indispensable for the men newly introduced,
and others becoming more habituated to the
sight, much of the sense of honour was neces-
sarily lost.8

An illustration of the strong national feeling
with, which the corps was regarded by the
Highlanders, and of the expediency of keeping
it unmixed, occurred in April of the same
year, when two strong detachments of recruits
belonging to the 42d and 71st regiments
arrived at Leith from Stirling Castle, for the
purpose of embarking to join their respective
regiments in North America. Being told that
they were to be turned over to the 80th and
82d, the Edinburgh and Hamilton regiments,
the men remonstrated, and declared openly and
firmly that they were determined to serve only
in the corps for which they were enlisted.
After some negotiation, troops were sent to
Leith with orders to convey the refractory
Highlanders as prisoners to Edinburgh Castle,
if they persisted in their determination. As
they still refused to forego their resolution,
attempts were made to enforce the orders; but
the Highlanders refused to submit, and flying
to arms, a desperate conflict ensued, in which
Captain Mansfield of the South Fencible
regiment and 9 men were killed, and 31
soldiers wounded. Being at last overpowered,
the mutineers were carried to the castle.

In the month of May following, three of
these prisoners, Charles Williamson and Archi-
bald Macivor, soldiers of the 42d regiment,
and Robert Budge, soldier of the 71st, were
brought before a court-martial, " charged with
having been guilty of a mutiny at Leith, upon
Tuesday the 20th of April last past, and of
having instigated others to be guilty of the
same, in which mutiny several of his majesty's
subjects were killed, and many wounded."

Their reasons for resisting the orders to
embark are thus stated in their defence : — " The
prisoners, Archibald Macivor and Charles
Williamson, enlisted as soldiers in the 42d.

6 Stewart's Sketches.

356

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

being an old Highland regiment, wearing the
Highland dress. Their native language was
Gaelic, — the one being a native of the northern
parts of Argyleshire, and the other of the
western parts of Inverness-shire, where the
language of the country is Gaelic only. They
have never used any other language, and are
so ignorant of the English tongue that they
cannot avail themselves of it for any purpose
of life. They have always been accustomed to
the Highland habit, so far as never to have
worn breeches, a tiling so inconvenient, and even
so impossible for a native Highlander to do,
that, when the Highland dress was prohibited
by act of parliament, though the philibeg was
one of the forbidden parts of the dress, yet it
was necessary to connive at the use of it, pro-
vided only that it was made of a stuff of
one colour and not of tartan, as is well known
to all acquainted with the Highlands, particu-
larly with the more mountainous parts of the
country. These circumstance made it more
necessary for them to serve in a Highland
regiment only, as they neither could have
understood the language, nor have used their
arms, or marched in the dress of any other
regiment."

The other prisoner, Budge, stated that he
was a native of the upper parts of Caithness,
and being ignorant of the English language,
and accustomed to wear the Highland garb, he
enlisted to serve in Eraser's Highlanders, and
in no other regiment. In continuation, the
three prisoners stated, that, " when they arrived
at Leith, they were informed by their officer,
Captain Innes, who had conducted them, that
they were now to consider the officers of the
82d, or Duke of Hamilton's regiment, a regiment
wearing the Lowland dress and speaking the
tongue, as their officers; but how this happened
they were not informed. No order from the
commander-in-chief for their being drafted was
read or explained to them, but they were told
that they must immediately join the Hamilton
and Edinburgh regiments. A great number
of the detachment represented, without any
disorder or mutinous behaviour, that they were
altogether unfit for service in any other corps
than Highland ones, particularly that they
were incapable of wearing breeches as a part
of their dress. At the same time, they declared

their willingness to be regularly transferred to
any other Highland regiment, or to continue
to serve in those regiments into which they
had been regularly enlisted. But no regard
was paid to these remonstrances, which, if
they had had an opportunity, they would have
laid before the commander-in-chief. But an
order for an immediate embarkation prevented
this. The idea that naturally suggested itself
to them was, that they should insist on serving
in the same regiment in which they had been
enlisted, and not to go abroad as part of the
Duke of Hamilton's regiment till such time as
these difficulties were removed. They accord-
ingly drew up under arms on the shore of
Leith, each respective corps by itself. The
prisoners were informed that the orders issued
were to take them prisoners to the castle : had
these orders been explained to them, they
would have submitted, and, with proper
humility, have laid their case before those
that could have given them redress. But,
unfortunately, the sergeant who undertook to
explain to them in Gaelic, represented that
they were immediately to go on board as part
of the Hamilton regiment, but which they do
with great deference say, that they did not at
the time conceive they could lawfully have
done." After the defence was read, " Captain
Innes of the 71st regiment showed an attesta-
tion to the court, which he said was in the uni
form style of the attestations for that regiment;
and it expressly bore, that the persons thereby
attested were to serve in the 71st regiment,
commanded by General Simon Eraser of Lovat,
and that they were to serve for three years
only, or during the continuance of the present
war."

Having been found guilty, the prisoners
were sentenced to be shot. The king gave
them a free pardon, " in full confidence that
they would endeavour, by a prompt obedience
and orderly behaviour, to atone for this
atrocious offence." These men, along with
the rest of the detachment, joined the second
battalion of the 42d. The prisoners justified
the confidence of his majesty by steadiness and
good conduct in the regiment.

With the intention of pushing the war with
vigour, the new commander-in-chief resolved
to attack Charlestown, the capital of South

EE-EMBABK FOE NEW YOEK.

357

Carolina. Leaving General Kmyphausen in
command, he embarked part of his army,
and after a boisterous and protracted voyage
of nearly seven weeks, during which some
of his transports were lost or taken, he landed
at John's Island, 30 miles from Charles-
town, on the 11th of February 1780. Owing
to various impediments, he did not reach
Charlestown till the end of March. After a
siege of six weeks the place surrendered. The
loss of the British did not exceed 300 men.
Lieutenant Macleod of the 42d, and 9 privates,
were killed; and Lieutenant Alexander Grant
of the same regiment, son of Colonel Grant of
Moy, was wounded by a six-pound ball, which
struck him on the back in a slanting direction,
near the right shoulder, and carried away the
entire scapula with several other bones. The
surgeons considered his case as utterly hope-
less, but to their surprise they found him
alive next morning, and free from fever and
all bad symptoms. He recovered completely,
and served many years in perfect good health.
14 privates were wounded.

The Eoyal Highlanders, with the Grenadiers
and Hessians, re-embarked on the 4th of June
for New York, and, after several movements in
the province, went into winter quarters. Here
they received an accession of 100 recruits from
Scotland. The regiment was not again em-
ployed in any active service during the re-
mainder of the war.

Whilst the war lasted, the Americans held
out every allurement to the British soldiers to
induce them to desert their ranks and join the
cause of American independence. Many were,
in consequence, seduced from their allegiance;
but during five campaigns, and until the un-
fortunate draft of men from the 26th regiment,
not one man from the 42d deserted its ranks.
About the close of the war the regiment was
stationed at Paulus Hook, an advanced post
from New York leading to the Jerseys, and
here, for the first time, several of the men
deserted to the enemy. One of these deserters,
by name Anderson, was afterwards taken,
tried by a court-martial, and shot.

After the peace the establishment of the
regiment was reduced to 8 companies of 50
men each. The officers of the ninth and tenth
companies were not put on half-pay, but kept

as supernumeraries to fill up vacancies as they
occurred in the regiment. Many of ths men
having been discharged at their own request,
their places were supplied by drafts from
Fraser's and Macdonald's Highlanders, and
from the Edinburgh and Hamilton regiments,
some of the men in these corps having preferred
rather to remain in America than return home
with their regiments.

During the American revolutionary war the
loss of the Eoyal Highlanders was as follows : —

KILLED.
9

In Officers, ....

Sergeants, ..... 9
Rank and File, including Drummers, 72

Total,

WOUNDED.

In Officers, ..... 12

Sergeants, ..... 18
Rank and File, including Drummers, 256

Total,
Grand Total,

286
369

In October 1783, the regiment was sent to
Halifax, in Nova Scotia, where it remained till
the year 1786, when six companies were re-
moved to the island of Cape Breton, the
remaining two companies being detached to
the island of St John. Next year two com-
panies were added to the regiment, in conse-
quence of preparations for war with Holland.
Captains William Johnstone and Eobert
Christie succeeded to these companies. Lieu-
tenant Eobert Macdonald, brother of Mac-
donald of Sanda, from the half-pay of Fraser's
regiment, and Ensign James Eose, were ap-
pointed lieutenants ; and Ensign David Stewart
(afterwards major-general, and author of the
Sketches,) and James Stewart, nephew of the
Earl of Moray, ensigns.

On the 1st of January 1785, new colours
were presented to the regiment by Major-
General John Campbell, commanding the
Forces in Nova Scotia, who made an eloquent
address on that occasion : —

"Forty-second, Eoyal Highlanders, — With
particular pleasure I address you on this
occasion, and congratulate you on the service
you have done your country, and the honour
you have procured yourselves, by protecting
your old colours, and defending them from

358

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.

your enemies in different engagements during
the late unnatural rebellion.

" From those ragged, but honourable, re-
mains, yon are now to transfer your allegiance
and fidelity to these new National and Regi-
mental Standards of Honour, now consecrated
and solemnly dedicated to the service of our
King and Country. These Colours are com-
mitted to your immediate care and protection ;
and I trust you will, on all occasions, defend
them from your enemies, with honour to your-
selves, and service to your country, — with that
distinguished and noble bravery which has
always characterised the Royal Highlanders
in the field of battle.

" With what pleasure, with what peculiar
satisfaction, — nay, with what pride, would I
enumerate the different memorable actions
where the regiment distinguished itself. To
particularise the whole would exceed the
bounds of this address : let me therefore beg
your indulgence while I take notice only of a
few of them."

He then in glowing language alluded to the
numerous engagements in which the regiment
had distinguished itself, from Fontenoy to
Pisquata, and concluded by urging upon the
men ever to try to sustain the high character
of the regiment, and never to forget they were
citizens of a great . country, and Christians as
well as soldiers.

About this time the regiment had to regret
the loss of its colonel, Lord John Murray, who
died on the 1st of June 1787, after com-
manding the corps forty-one years. He was
the steady friend of the officers and men.
Major-General Sir Hector Monro succeeded
him in the command.9

9 "On the 1st of June this year, Lord John Murray
died, in the forty-seeond year of his command of the
regiment, and was succeeded by Major-General Sir
Hector Munro. It is said that Lord Eglinton was
much disappointed on that occasion. He had formed
an attachment to the Highland soldiers, when he
commanded his Highland regiment in the seven years'
war ; and, owing to Lord J. Murray's great age, had
long looked to the command of the Royal Highlanders.
In Lord North's administration, and likewise in Mr
Pitt's, he had, in some measure, secured the suc-
cession; but the king had previously, and without
the knowledge of his ministers, assented to an applica-
tion from Sir H. Munro. Lord Eglinton was appointed
to the Scots Greys on the first vacancy. Till Lord
John Murray was disabled by age, he was the friend
and supporter of every deserving officer and soldier in
the regiment. The public journals during the German

The regiment embarked for England in
August 1789, and landed in Portsmouth in
October, after an absence of fourteen years.
They wintered in Tynemouth barracks, where
they received a reinforcement of 245 young
recruits. At this time a small alteration was
made in the military appointments of the men.
Instead of the black leather belts for the
bayonet, white buff belts were substituted.
The epaulettes of the officers, formerly very
small, were then enlarged.1

The regiment was removed to Glasgow in
the month of May 1790, where they were
received with great cordiality by the inhabitants.
From an ill-judged hospitality on the part of
the citizens, who compelled some of the soldiers
to drink copiously of ardent spirits, the dis-
cipline of the regiment was relaxed; but its
removal to Edinburgh Castle in the month of
November cured the evil.

"Warlike preparations having been made in
1790, in expectation of a rupture with Spain,
orders were received to augment the regiment;
but, from recent occurrences in the Highlands,
the regiment was not successful in recruiting.
Several independent companies were raised,
one of which, a fine body of young Highlanders,
recruited by the Marquis of Huntly (afterwards
Duke of Gordon), joined the regiment along
with his lordship, who had exchanged with
Captain Alexander Grant.

The regiment was reviewed in June 1791,
by Lord Adam Gordon, the commander-in-
chief in Scotland, and was marched to the
north in October following. The head quarters
were at Fort George; one company was
stationed at Dundee, another at Montrose,
two at Aberdeen, and one at Banff. The
regiment assembled at Fort George in the

or seven years' war give many instances. I shall
notice one. When the disabled soldiers came home
from Ticonderoga in 1758, to pass the Board at
Chelsea, it is stated, "that the morning they were
to appear before the Board, he was in London, and
dressed himself in the full Highland uniform, and,
putting himself at the head of all those who could
walk, he marched to Chelsea, and explained their case
in such a manner to the Commissioners, that all
obtained the pension. He gave them five guineas to
drink the king's health, and their friends, with the
regiment, and two guineas to each of those who had
wives, and lie got the whole a free passage to Perth,
with an offer to such as chose to settle on his estate,
to give them a house and garden."— Westminster
Journal.

1 Stewart's Sketches.

EMBAEK FOE FLANDEBS.

359

spring of 1792, and after having been marched
south to Stirling, and reviewed by the Hon.
Lieutenant-General Leslie, returned to their
former cantonments along the coast. The men
had however scarcely returned to their quarters,
when they were ordered to proceed by forced
marches into Eoss-shire, to quell some tumults
among the tenantry who had been cruelly
ejected from their farms. Fortunately, how-
ever, there was no occasion for the exercise of
such an unpleasant duty, as the poor people
separated and concealed themselves on hearing
of the approach of the military. After a series
of marches and countermarches, the regiment
returned to its former cantonments.

In consequence of the war with France, the
whole regiment was ordered south, and, pre-
paratory to their march, assembled at Montrose
in April 1793. An attempt to increase the
establishment by recruiting proved unsuc-
cessful, the result, in some degree, of the
depopulating system which had lately been
commenced in Eoss-shire, and which soured
the kindly dispositions of the Highlanders.
The corps at this time scarcely exceeded 400
men, and to make up for deficiencies in recruit-
ing, two independent companies, raised by
Captains David Hunter of Burnside, and
Alexander Campbell of Ardchattan, were
ordered to join the regiment.

On the 8th of May, the regiment embarked
at Musselburgh for Hull, the inhabitants of
which received the Highlanders most kindly,
and were so well pleased with their good con-
duct that, after they embarked for Flanders,
the town sent each man a present of a pair of
shoes, a flannel shirt, and worsted socks. The
regiment joined the army under his Eoyal High-
ness the Duke of York, then encamped in the
neighbourhood of Menin, on the 3d of October.

The first enterprise in which the Highlanders
were engaged was in conjunction with the light
companies of the 19th, 27th, and 57th regi-
ments, in the month of October, when they
marched to the relief of Nieuport, then gar-
risoned by the 53d regiment, and a small
battalion of Hessians. On the appearance of
this reinforcement, the besiegers retired. The
Highlanders had 1 sergeant and 1 private
killed, and 2 privates wounded. After this
the regiment was re-embarked for England,

along with the three others just mentioned, to
join an expedition then preparing against the
French colonies in the West Indies ; but on
arriving at Portsmouth, the 42d was ordered
to join another expedition then fitting out
against the coast of France, under the com-
mand of the Earl of Moira. Colonel Graham,
who had held the command of the regiment
since the year 1791, being at this time ap-
pointed to the command of a brigade, the com-
mand devolved on Major George Dalrymple.

The expedition sailed on the 30th of Novem-
ber ; but although it reached the coast of
France to the eastward of Cape la Hogue, no
landing took place. The expedition, after
stopping some time at Guernsey, returned to
Portsmouth in the beginning of January 1794.
The troops remained in England till the 18th
of June, when they were re-embarked for
Flanders, under the command of the Earl of
Moira. They landed at Ostend on the 26th.
At this time the allied armies, in consequence
of the advance of a large French army and the
partial defection of Prussia, were placed in a
very critical situation, particularly the small
division under the Duke of York encamped
at Malines. A junction with the duke be-
came a primary object with Lord Moira, who
accordingly resolved to abandon Ostend. He
embarked all the stores and the garrison, and
whilst the embarkation was proceeding, the
troops were ordered under arms on the sand
hills in the neighbourhood in light marching
order. The officers left all their luggage
behind, except what they carried on their
backs. In the evening of the 28th the troops
moved forward, and halting ten miles beyond
the town, proceeded at midnight towards
Ostaker, and reached Alost on the 3d of July.
Whilst these troops remained here, about 400
of the enemy's cavalry entered the town, and
being mistaken for Hessians, passed unmo-
lested to the market-place. One of them made
an attempt to cut down a Highlander named
Macdonald, who was passing through the
market-place with a basket on bis head. The
dragoon having wounded the man severely in
the hand which held the basket, the enraged
mountaineer drew his bayonet with the other
hand and attacked the horseman, who fled.
Macdonald thereupon continued his course,

360

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

venting his regret as lie went along that lie
had not a broadsword to out down the in-
truder. On being recognised, the enemy were
driven out by some dragoons and picquets.

After a fatiguing march in presence of a
superior force under General Vandamme, the
reinforcement joined the Duke of York on the
9 th of July. A succession of petty skirmishes
occurred until the 20th, when Lord Moira
resigned the command. He was succeeded by
Lieutenant - General Ealph Abercromby, to
whom the command of the third brigade, or
reserve, in which were the Highlanders, was
assigned. The army crossed the Waal at
JSTimeguen on the 8th of October. Several
smart affairs took place between the advanced
posts of the two armies till the 20th, when
the enemy attacked the whole of the British
advanced posts. They were repulsed, but the
77th regiment sustained a severe loss in officers
and men. By incessant attacks, however, the
enemy established themselves in front of Nime-
guen, and began to erect batteries preparatory to
a siege; but on the 4th of November they were
driven from their works, after an obstinate re-
sistance. The enemy still persevering with great
energy to push their preparations for a siege, it .
was found necessary to evacuate the town.

This evacuation took place on the 7th of
November, and the army was cantoned along
the banks of the river. They suffered greatly
from the severity of the weather, and so in-
tense was the frost, that the enemy crossed the
Waal on the ice. They took post at Thuyl ;
but although the place was surrounded with
entrenchments, and the approach flanked by
batteries placed on the isle of Bommell, they
were forced from all their posts, and obliged
to repass the Waal, by a body of 8000 British,
among whom was the third brigade. The loss
of the British was trifling. The enemy again
crossed the Waal on the 4th of January 1795',
and retook Thuyl, from which it was now
found impossible to dislodge them. In an
attack which they made on the forces under
General David Dundas at Gildermaslen, they
were repulsed with the loss of 200 men, whilst
that of the British was only about one-fourth
of that number. The 42d had 1 private
killed, and Lieutenant-Colonel Lamond and 7
privates wounded.

Compelled by the severity of the weather,
and the increasing numbers of the French, to
retreat, the British troops retired behind the
Leek, after the division under Lord Cathcart
had repulsed an attack made by the enemy on
the 8th.

Disease, the result of a want of necessaries
and proper clothing, had greatly diminished
the ranks of the British ; and the men, whose
robustness of constitution had hitherto enabled
them to withstand the rigours of one of the
severest winters ever remembered, at last sank
under the accumulated hardships which beset
them. Such was the state of the British army
when General Pichegru, crossing the Waal in
great force, made a general attack on the 14th
of January along the whole line, from Arnheim
to Amerougen. After a continued resistance
till morning, the British began the disastrous
retreat to Deventer, the miseries of which have
only been exceeded by the sufferings of the
French in their disastrous retreat from Moscow.2
The inhumanity of the Dutch boors, who uni-
formly shut their doors against the unfortunate
sufferers, will ever remain a disgrace on the
Dutch nation. The hospitable conduct of the
inhabitants of Bremen, where the remains of
this luckless army arrived in the beginning of
April, formed a noble contrast to that of the
selfish and unfeeling Dutch.

In no former campaign was the superiority
of the Highlanders over their companions in
arms, in enduring privations and fatigues, more
conspicuous than in this ; for whilst some of
the newly-raised regiments lost more than 300
men by disease alone, the 42d, which had 300
young recruits in its ranks, lost only 25, in-
cluding those killed in battle, from the time
of their disembarkation at Ostend till their
embarkation at Bremen, on the 1 4th of April.

The Eoyal Highlanders having landed at
Harwich were marched to Chelmsford, and
encamped in June 1795 in the neighbourhood
of Danbury. In September the regiment was
augmented to 1000 men, by drafts from the
Strathspey and Perthshire Highlanders, and
the regiments of Colonel Duncan Cameron
and Colonel Simon Fraser, which had been
raised the preceding year, and were now broken

2 Stewart's Sketches.

STOEY OF THE " EED HECKLE."

361

up. " Although these drafts," says General
Stewart, " furnished many good and service-
able men, they were, in many respects, very
inferior to former recruits. This difference of
character was -more particularly marked in
their habits and' manners in quarters, than in
their conduct in the field, which was always
unexceptionable. Having been embodied for
upwards of eighteen months, and having been
subject to a greater mixture of character than
was usual in Highland battalions, these corps
had lost much of their original manners, and
of that strict attention to religious and moral
duties which distinguished the Highland youths
on quitting their native glens, and which, when
in corps unmixed with men of different cha-
racters, they always retained. This intermix-
ture produced a sensible change in the moral
conduct and character of the regiment."

Since 1795 the soldiers of the 42d have worn
a red feather or " heckle" in their bonnets,
being in this respect distinguished from all the
other Highland regiments. The following is
the story of the " glorious old red heckle," as
told by Lieutenant-Colonel Wheatley, who, we
believe, had his information directly from those
who took part in the exploit on account of
which the Black Watch is entitled to wear the
plume.

In December 1794, when the Forty-Second
were quartered at Thuyl, as above mentioned,
they received orders for the night of the 31st
to march upon Bommell, distant some miles
on the opposite side of the river Waal, which
they reached by four o'clock on the morning
of 1st January 1795. Here they were joined
by a number of other regiments, and lay on
their arms until daybreak, when they attacked
the French army, aud drove them across the
river on the ice. The British held their posi-
tion on the banks of the river until the even-
ing of the 3d, when (the French having been
reinforced) a partial retreat took place early on
the morning of the 4th. The British retired
upon the village of Guildermalson, where the
4"2d, with a number of other regiments, halted,
and formed up to cover the retreat through the
village. The French cavalry, however, cut
through the retreating picquets, and made their
way up to the regiments stationed at the
village, where they were met and repulsed,

and a number of them taken prisoners.3 Two
field-pieces were placed in front of the village
to protect the retreat of the picquets; but
instead of resisting the charge of cavalry,
they (the picquets) retreated to the rear of
the village, leaving their guns in possession
of the French, who commenced dragging them
off. An A.D.C. (Major Eose) ordered Major
Dalrymple, commanding the 42d, to charge
with his regiment, and retake the guns; which
was immediately done, with the loss of 1 man
killed and 3 wounded. The guns were thus
rescued and dragged in by the 4 2d, the horses
having been disabled and the harness cut.

There was little or no notice taken of this
affair at the time, as all was bustle ; but after
their arrival in England, it was rumoured
that the 42d were to get some distinctive
badge for their conduct in retaking the guns
on the 4th of January; but the nature of the
honour was kept a profound secret. On the
4th of June 1795, as the regiment, then quar-
tered at Eoyston, Cambridgeshire, was out on
parade to fire three rounds in honour of his
Majesty's birthday, the men were surprised and
delighted when a large box was brought on
to the field, and a red feather distributed to
each soldier. This distinctive ornament has
ever since adorned the otherwise funereal
headdress of the old Black Watch.

In 1822, from a mistaken direction in a
book of dress for the guidance of the army,
some of the other Highland regiments con-
cluded that they also had a right to wear
" a red vulture feather." The 42d, however,
remonstrated, and their representations at
headquarters called forth the following me-
morandum : —

"For Officers commanding Highland Regime.nts.

" Horse Guards, 20tt Aug. 1822.
" The red vulture feather prescribed by the
recent regulations for Highland regiments is
intended to be used exclusively by the Forty-
Second Eegiment : other Highland corps will be
allowed to continue to wear the same description
of feather that may have been hitherto in use.

" H. Torrens, Adjutant-General"

3 One of these, a trumpeter, was brought to Eng-
land by the 42d, and given over to the York Rangers,
at the formation of that corps.
2 z

362

HTSTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

III.

1795—1811.

Expedition to the West Indies — England, Gibraltar,
Minorca, 1798— Expedition to Egypt, 1800— Battle
of the 13th March 1801— Battle of the 21st— Death
of Sir Ralph Abercromby — Capture of Rosetta —
Surrender of Grand Cairo and of Alexandria —
England — Misunderstanding between the 42d and
the Highland Society of London — The regiment re-
viewed by George III. — Return of the 42d to Scotland
—Embarks at Leith for Weeley in Essex — Second
battalion — Gibraltar — Portugal — Spain — Retreat to
Corunna — Battle of Corunna — Death of Sir John
Moore — England, 1809 — Walcheren — Scotland,
1810— England, 1811.

Government having determined to reduce the
French and Dutch possessions in the West
Indies, a large armament was fitted out under
the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Ealph
Abercromby. The land forces consisted of
460 cavalry and 16,479 infantry. The Eoyal
Highlanders formed part of this expedition.
Another expedition, destined also for the West
Indies, consisting of 2600 cavalry and 5680
foot, assembled at Cork during the embarka-
tion of the first. Great care was taken to
furnish the troops with everything necessary
for the voyage, and particular attention was
paid to their clothing. To protect them from
the damps and chills of midnight, they were
supplied with flannel, and various changes
were made in their clothing to guard them
against the effects of the yellow fever. Among
other changes, the plaid kilt and bonnet of the
Highlanders were laid aside, and their place
supplied by Eussian duck pantaloons and a
round hat; but experience showed that the
Highland dress was better suited to a cam-
paign in the West Indies during the rainy
season, than the articles which superseded it.

The embarkation was completed by the 27th
of October 1795 ; but in consequence of
damage sustained by some of the ships in a
hurricane, and the loss of others, the expedition
did not sail till the 11th of November. On
that clay the fleet, amounting to 328 sail, got
under weigh with a favourable breeze. Owing
to accidents which befell two of the ships, the
fleet did not clear the channel till the 1 3th of
December; but it had scarcely got out when a
violent storm arose, which continued almost
without intermission for several weeks. The

greater part of the fleet was scattered, and
many of the ships took refuge in different ports
in England. Admiral Crichton struggled with
such of the ships as remained with him till the
end of January, but was at last obliged, from
the disabled state of some of the ships, to re-
turn to Portsmouth, where he arrived on the
29th of that month with about 50 sail.
Seventy-eight of the ships which kept the sea
proceeded on their voyage, and reached Bar-
badoes in a straggling manner. Had the
troops been sent off in detachments as they
embarked, these misfortunes would have been
avoided.

After the partial return of the expedition,
the destination of some of the returned regi-
ments was changed. Five companies of the
Highlanders were in a few weeks embarked
for Gibraltar, under the commanded of Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Dickson. The other five com-
panies reached Barbadoes on the 9th of
February in the Middlesex East Indiaman,
one of the straggling ships which had pro-
ceeded on the voyage. The expedition again
put to sea on the 14th of February, and
arrived at Barbadoes on the 14th of March.
By the great care of Sir Ealph Abercromby,
in ordering the transports to be properly ven-
tilated on their arrival, and by enforcing clean-
liness and exercise among the troops, few deaths
occurred ; and of the five Highland companies,
none died, and only 4 men with trifling com-
plaints were left on board when the troops
disembarked at St Lucia in April. The troops
from Cork, though favoured with better weather,
were less fortunate in their voyage, several
officers and a great many men having died.

The first enterprise was against the Dutch
colonies of Demerara and Berbice, which sur-
rendered to a part of the Cork division under
Major-General White on the 22d of April.
On the same day the expedition sailed from
Barbadoes, and appeared off St Lucia on the
26th, it being considered imprudent to attempt
Guadaloupe with a force which had been so
much diminished.

The troops landed in four divisions at Lon-
gueville Bay, Pigeon Island, Chock Bay, and
Ance la Baze. The Highlanders, under the
command of Brigadier-General John Moore,
landed in a small bay close under Pigeon

EXPEDITION TO THE WEST INDIES.

363

Island. The army moved forward on the
27th to close in upon Morne Fortunee, the
principal post in the island. To enable them
to invest this place, it became necessary to
obtain possession of Morne Chabot, a strong
and commanding position overlooking the
principal approach. Detachments under the
command of Brigadier-Generals Moore and the
Hon. John Hope, were accordingly ordered to
attack this post on two different points.
General M'oore advanced at midnight, and
General Hope followed an hour after by a
less circuitous route; but falling in with the
enemy sooner than he expected, General Moore
carried the Morne, after a short but obstinate
resistance, before General Hope came up.
Next day General Moore took possession of
Morne Duchassaux. By the advance of Major-
General Morshead from Ance la Raze, Morne
Fortunee was completely invested, but not
until several officers and about 50 of the
grenadiers, who formed the advanced post
under Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonald, had been
killed and wounded.

To dispossess the enemy of the batteries they
had erected on the Cul de Sac, Major-General
Morshead's division was ordered to advance
against two batteries on the left ; whilst Major-
General Hope, with the five companies of the
Highlanders, the light infantry of the 57th
regiment, and a detachment of Malcolm's
Bangers, supported by the 55th regiment, was
to attack the battery of Secke, close to the
works of Morne Fortunee. The light infantry
and the rangers quickly drove the enemy from
the battery; but they were obliged to retire
from the battery in their turn under the cover
of the Highlanders, in consequence of the other
divisions under Brigadier- General Perryn and
Colonel Biddle having been obstructed in their
advance. In this affair Colonel Malcolm, a
brave officer, was killed, and Lieutenant J. J.
Fraser of the 42d, and a few men, wounded.
The other divisions suffered severely.

So great were the difficulties which pre-
sented themselves from the steep and rugged
nature of the ground, that the first battery was
not ready to open till the 14th of May. In
an attempt which the 31st regiment made upon
a fortified ridge called the Vizie, on the even-
ing of the 1 7th, they were repulsed with great

loss; but the grenadiers, who had pushed for-
ward to support them, compelled the enemy to
retire. For six days a constant fire was kept
up between the batteries and the fort. Having
ineffectually attempted to drive back the 27th
regiment from a lodgment they had formed
within 500 yards of the garrison, the enemy
applied for and obtained a suspension of hos-
tilities. This was soon followed by a capitula-
tion and the surrender of the whole island.
The garrison marched out on the 29th, and
became prisoners of war. The loss of the
British was 2 field officers, 3 captains, 5
subalterns, and 1 84 non-commissioned officers
and rank and file killed ; and 4 field officers,
12 captains, 15 subalterns, and 523 non-com-
missioned officers and rank and file wounded
and missing.

As an instance of the influence of the mind
on bodily health, and of the effect of mental
activity in preventing disease, General Stewart
adduces this expedition as a striking illustra-
tion : — " During the operations which, from
the nature of the country, were extremely
harassing, the troops continued remarkably
healthy; but immediately after the cessation
of hostilities they began to droop. The five
companies of Highlanders, who landed 508
men, sent few to the hospital until the third
day subsequent to the surrender; but after
this event, so sudden was the change in their
health, that upwards of 60 men were laid up
within the space of seven days. This change
may be, in part, ascribed to the sudden transi-
tion from incessant activity to repose, but its
principal cause must have been the relaxation
of the mental and physical energies, after the
motives which stimulated them had subsided."

The next enterprise was against St Vin-
cent, where the expedition, consisting of the
Buffs, the 14th, 34th, 42d, 53d, 54th, 59th,
and 63d regiments, and the 2d West Indian
Regiment, landed on the 8th of June. The
enemy had erected four redoubts on a high
ridge, called the Vizie, on which they had
taken up a position. The arrangements for an
attack having been completed on the 10th,
the troops were drawn up in two divisions
under Major-Generals Hunter and William.
Morshed, at a short distance from the ridge.
Another division formed on the opposite side

364

HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.

of the hill. The attack was commenced by a
fire from some field-pieces on the redoubts,
which was kept up for some hours, apparently
with little effect. As a feint, the Highlanders
and some of the Rangers in the meantime
moved forward to the bottom of a woody steep
which terminated the ridge, on the top of
which stood one of the redoubts, the first
in the range. Pushing their way up the
steep, the 42d turned the feint into a real
assault, and, with the assistance of the Buffs,
by whom they were supported, drove the
enemy successively from the first three re-
doubts in less than half an hour. Some of
the Highlanders had pushed close under the
last and principal redoubt, but the general,
seeing that he had the enemy in his power,
and wishing to spare the lives of his troops,
recalled the Highlanders, and offered the enemy
terms of capitulation, which were accepted.
The conditions, inter alia, were, that the enemy
should embark as prisoners of war ; but several
hundreds of them broke the capitulation by
escaping into the woods the following night.
The total loss of the British on this occasion
was 181 in killed and wounded. The High-
landers had 1 sergeant and 12 rank and file
killed; and 1 officer (Lieutenant Simon Eraser),
2 sergeants, 1 drummer, and 29 rank and file
wounded.1

In order to subjugate the island, the troops
were divided and sent to different stations, and
military posts were established in the neigh-
bourhood of the country possessed by the
Caribs and brigands. Favoured by the natural
strength of the country, the enemy carried on
a petty warfare with the troops among the
woods till the month of September, when they

1 General Stewart says that in the assault on the
redoubts, when proceeding from the second to the third,
he found a lad of seventeen years of age whom he had
enlisted in August preceding, with his foot on the
body of a French soldier, and his bayonet thrust through
from ear to ear, attempting to twist off his head. Lieu-
tenant Stewart touched him on the shoulder, and desired
him to let the body alone. " Oh, the brigand," said
he, "I must take off his head." When told thatthe man
was already dead, and that he had better go and take
the head off a living Frenchman, he answered, " You
are very right, Sir; I did not think of that;" and
immediately ran forward to the front of the attack.
Yet such is the power of example, that this young man,
so bold, turned pale and trembled, when, a few days
after he had enlisted, he saw one of his companions
covered with blood from a cut he had received in the
head and face in some horseplay with his comrades.

surrendered. The French, including the bri-
gands, were sent prisoners to England, and the
Indians or Caribs, amounting to upwards of
5000, were transported to Eatan, an island in
the gulf of Mexico.2

2 In one of the skirmishes in the woods between a
party of the 42d and the enemy, Lieutenant-Colonel
Graham (afterwards a lieutenant-general and governor
of Stirling Castle) was wounded, and lay senseless on
the ground. "His recovery from his wound," says
General Stewart, "was attended by some uncommon
circumstances. The people believing him dead,
rather dragged than carried him over the rough
channel of the river, till they reached the sea-beach.
Observing here that he was still alive, they put
him in a blanket and proceeded in search of a sur-
geon. After travelling in this manner four miles, I
met them, and directed the soldiers to carry him to a
military post, occupied by a party of the 42d under
my command. All the surgeons were out in the woods
with the wounded soldiers, and none could be found.
Colonel Graham was still insensible. A ball had
entered his side, and passing through, had come out
under his breast. Another, or perhaps the same ball,
had shattered two of his fingers. No assistance
could be got but that of a soldier's wife, who had been
long in the service, and was in the habit of attending
sick and wounded soldiers. She washed his wounds,
and bound them up in such a manner, that when a
surgeon came and saw the way in which the operation
had been performed, he said he could not have done it
better, and would not unbind the dressing The
colonel soon afterwards opened his eyes, and though
unable to speak for many hours, seemed sensible of
what was passing around him. In this state he lay
nearly three weeks, when he was carried to Kingston,
and thence conveyed to England. He was still in a
most exhausted state, — the wound in his side discharg-
ing matter from both orifices. He went to Edinburgh,
with little hopes of recovery ; but on the evening of
the illumination for the victory of Camperdoun, the
smoke of so many candles and fl ambeaux having affected
his breathing, he coughed with great violence ; and, in
the exertion, threw up a piece of cloth, carried in and
left by the ball in its passage through his body. From
that day he recovered as by a charm.

"The soldier's wife," continues the General, "who
was so useful to him in his extremity, was of a character
rather uncommon. She had been long a follower of
the camp, and had acquired some of its manners.
While she was so good and useful a nurse in quarters,
she was bold and fearless in the field. When the
arrangements were made previously to the attack on
the Vizie on the 10th of June, I directed that her
husband, who was in my company, should remain
behind to take charge of the men's knapsacks, which
they had thrown off to be light for the advance up the
hill, as I did not wish to expose him to danger on
account of his wife aud family. He obeyed his orders,
and remained with his charge ; but his wife, believing,
perhaps, that she was not included in these injunc-
tions, pushed forward to the assult. When the enemj
had been driven from the third redoubt, I was standing
giving some directions to the men, and preparing to
push on to the fourth and last redoubt, when I found
myself tapped on the shoulder, and turning round, I
saw my Amazonian friend standing with her clothes
tucked up to her knees, and seizing my hand, ' Well
done, my Highland lad, ' she exclaimed, ' see how the
brigands scamper like so many deer !' — 'Come,' added
she, ' let us drive them from yonder hill ! ' On inquiry,
I found that she had been in the hottest fire, cheering

EXPEDITION TO MINOECA.

305

In September, Sir Ealph Abercromby re-
turned to England, when the temporary com-
mand of the army devolved upon Major-General
Charles Graham, who was promoted this year
from the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 42d to
the colonelcy of the 5 th West India Eegiment.
He was succeeded in the lieutenant-colonelcy
by Major James Stewart. The commander-in-
chief returned from England in February 1797,
and immediately collected a force for an attack
on Trinidad, which surrendered without oppo-
sition. He, thereafter, assembled a body of
troops, consisting of the 26th light dragoons
dismounted, the 14th, 42d, 53d, and some
other corps, at St Christopher's, for an attack
on Porto Eico, whither they proceeded on the
15th of April, and anchored off Congregus's
Point on the 17th. The enemy made a
slight opposition to the landing, but retired
when the troops disembarked. As the in-
habitants of Porto Eico, who had been re-
presented as favourable, did not show any
disposition to surrender, and as the Moro or
castle was too strong to be attacked with such
an inconsiderable force, which was insufficient
to blockade more than one of its sides, the
commander-in-chief resolved to give up the
attempt, and accordingly re-embarked his
troops on the 30th of April. This was the
last enterprise against the enemy in that quar-
ter during the rest of the war. The High-
landers were sent to Martinique, where they
embarked for England, free from sickness,
after having the casualties of the two preced-
ing years more than supplied by volunteers
from the 79th Highlanders, then stationed in
Martinique. The Eoyal Highlanders landed
at Fortsmouth on the 30th of July in good
health, and were marched to Hillsea barracks.
After remaining a few weeks there, the five
companies embarked for Gibraltar, where they
joined the five other companies, whose destina-
tion had been changed by their return to port
after the sailing of the expedition to the West
Indies. The regiment was now 1100 men
strong.

The next service in which the Eoyal High-
landers were engaged was on an expedition

and animating the men ; and when the action was over,
she was as active as any of the surgeons in assisting the
wounded."

against the island of Minorca, under the com-
mand of Lieutenant-Geueral the Hon. Sir
Charles Stewart, in the month of November
1798. The British troops having invested
Cittadella, the principal fortress in the island,
on the 14th of November, the Spanish com-
mander, who had concentrated his forces in
that garrison, surrendered on the following
day. The Spanish general, whose force greatly
exceeded that of the invaders, was deceived as
to their numbers, which, from the artful mode
in which they were dispersed over the adjoin-
ing eminences, he believed to amount to at
least 10,000 men.

The possession of Minorca was of consider-
able importance, as it was made the rendezvous
of a large force about to be employed on the
coast of the Mediterranean, in support of our
allies, in the year 1800. The command of
this army was given to Sir Ealph Abercromby,
who arrived on the 22d of June 1799, accom-
panied by Major-Generals Hutchinson and
Moore. A part of the army was embarked
for the relief of Genoa, then closely besieged
by the French, and a detachment was also sent
to Colonel Thomas Graham of Balgowan, who
blockaded the garrison of La Vallette in the
island of Malta.

Genoa having surrendered before the rein-
forcement arrived, the troops returned to
Minorca, and were afterwards embarked for
Gibraltar, where they arrived on the 14th of
September, when accounts were received of
the surrender of Malta, after a blockade of
nearly two years. Early in October the arma-
ment sailed for Cadiz, to take possession of
the city, and the Spanish fleet in the harbour
of Carraccas, and was joined by the army
under Sir James Pulteney from Ferrol; but
when the Highlanders and part of the reserve
were about landing in the boats, a gun from
Cadiz announced the approach of a flag of
truce. The town was suffering dreadfully
from the ravages of the pestilence, and the
object of the communication was to implore
the British commander to desist from the
attack. Sir Ealph Abercromby, with his
characteristic humanity, could not withstand
the appeal, and accordingly suspended the
attack. The fleet got under weigh the fol-
lowing morning for the bay of Tetuan, on the

366

HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.

coast of Barbary, and after being tossed about
in a violent gale, during which, it was obliged
to take refuge under the lee of Cape Spartell,
the fleet returned to Gibraltar.

Government having determined to make an
attempt to drive the French out of Egypt,
despatched orders to the commander-in-chief
to proceed to Malta, where, on their arrival,
the troops were informed of their destination.
Tired of confinement on board the transports,
they were all greatly elevated on receiving
this intelligence, and looked forward to a con-
test on the plains of Egypt with the hitherto
victorious legions of France, with the feelings
of men anxious to support the honour of their
country. The whole of the British land forces
amounted to 13,234 men and 630 artillery,
but the efficient force was only 12,334. The
French force amounted to 32,000 men, besides
several thousand native auxiliaries.

The fleet sailed in two divisions for Mar-
morice, a bay on the coast of Greece, on the
20th and 21st of December, in the year 1800.
The Turks were to have a reinforcement of
men and horses at that place. The first
division arrived on the 28th of December,
and the second on the 1st of January follow-
ing. Having received the Turkish supplies,
which were in every respect deficient, the
fleet again got under weigh on the 23d of
February, and on the morning of Sunday the
1st of March the low and sandy coast of Egypt
was descried. The fleet came to anchor in the
evening of 1st March 1801 in Aboukir bay,
on the spot where the battle of the Nile had
been fought nearly three years before. After
the fleet had anchored, a violent gale sprung
up, which continued without intermission till
the evening of the 7th, when it moderated:

As a disembarkation could not be attempted
during the continuance of the gale, the French
had ample time to prepare themselves, and to
throw every obstacle which they could devise
in the way of a landing. No situation could
be more embarrassing than that of Sir Ralph
Abercromby on the present occasion; but his
strength of mind carried him through every
difficulty. He had to force a landing in an
unknown country, in the face of an enemy
more than double his numbers, and nearly
three times as numerous as they were pre-

viously believed to be — an enemy, moreover,
in full possession of the country, occupying all
its fortified positions, having a numerous and
well-appointed cavalry, inured to the climate,
and a powerful artillery, — an enemy who knew
every point where a landing could, with any
prospect of success, be attempted, and who
had taken advantage of the unavoidable delay,
already mentioned, to erect batteries and bring
guns and ammunition to the point where they
expected the attempt would be made. In
short, the general had to encounter embarrass-
ments and bear up under difficulties which
would have paralysed the mind of a man less
firm and less confident of the devotion and
bravery of his troops. These disadvantages,
however, served only to strengthen his resolu-
tion. He knew that his army was determined
to conquer, or to perish with him; and, aware
of the high hopes which the country had placed
in both, he resolved to proceed in the face of
obstacles which some would have deemed in-
surmountable.3

The first division destined to effect a landing
consisted of the flank companies of the 40th,
and Welsh Fusileers on the right, the 28th,
42d, and 58th, in the centre, the brigade of
Guards, Corsican Eangers, and a part of the
1st brigade, consisting of the Royals and 54th,
on the left, — amounting altogether to 5230
men. As there was not a sufficiency of boats,
all this force did not land at once; and one
company of Highlanders, and detachments of
other regiments, did not get on shore till the
return of the boats. The troops fixed upon to
lead the way got into the boats at two o'clock
on the morning of the 8th of March, and
formed in the rear of the Mondovi, Captain
John Stewart, which was anchored out of
reach of shot from the shore. By an admirable
arrangement, each boat was placed in such a
manner, that, when the landing was effected,
every brigade, every regiment, and even every
company, found itself in the proper station
assigned to it. As such an arrangement
required time to complete it, it was eight
o'clock before the boats were ready to move
forward. Expectation was wound up to the
highest pitch, when, at nine o'clock, a signal

3 Stewart's Sketches.

EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.

367

was given, and the whole boats, with a simul-
taneous movement, sprung forward, under the
command of the Hon. Captain Alexander
Cochrane. Although the rowers strained
every nerve, such was the regularity of their
pace, that no boat got a-head of the rest.

At first the enemy did not believe that the
British would attempt a landing in the face of
their lines and defences; but when the boats
had come within range of their batteries, they
began to perceive their mistake, and then
opened a heavy fire from their batteries in
front, and from the castle of Aboukir in flank.
To the showers of grape and shells, the enemy
added a fire of musketry from 2500 men, on
the near approach of the boats to the shore.
In a short time the boats on the right, con-
taining the 23d, 28th, 42d, and 58th regiments,
with the flank companies of the 40th, got
under the elevated position of the enemy's
batteries, so as to be sheltered from their tire,
and meeting with no opposition from the
enemy, who did not descend to the beach,
these troops disembarked and formed in line
on the sea shore. Lest an irregular fire might
have created confusion in the ranks, no orders
were given to load, but the men were directed
to rush up the face of the hill and charge the
enemy.

When the word was given to advance, the
soldiers sprung .up the ascent, but their pro-
gress was retarded by the loose dry sand which
so deeply covered the ascent, that the soldiers
fell back half a pace every step they advanced.
When about half way to the summit, they
came in sight of the enemy, who poured down
upon them a destructive volley of musketry.
Eedoubling their exertions, they gained the
height before the enemy could reload their
pieces ; and, though exhausted with fatigue,
and almost breathless, they drove the enemy
from their position at the point of the bayonet.
A squadron of cavalry then advanced and
attacked the Highlanders, but they were
instantly repulsed, with the loss of their com-
mander. A scattered fire was kept up for
some time by a party of the enemy from
behind a second line of small sand-hills, but
they fled in confusion on the advance of the
troops. The Guards and first brigade having
landed on ground nearly on a level with the

water, were immediately attacked, — the first
by cavalry, and the 54th by a body of infantry,
who advanced with fixed bayonets. The
assailants were repulsed.4

In this brilliant affair the British had 4
officers, 4 sergeants, and 94 rank and file
killed, among whom were 31 Highlanders;
26 officers, 34 sergeants, 5 drummers, and 450
rank and file wounded; among whom were, of
the Highlanders, Lieutenant-Colonel James
Stewart, Captain Charles Macquarrie, Lieu-
tenants Alexander Campbell, John Dick,
Frederick Campbell, Stewart Campbell, Charles
Campbell, Ensign Wilson, 7 sergeants, 4
drummers, and 140 rank and file.5

The venerable commander-in-chief, anxious
to be at the head of his troops, immediately
left the admiral's ship, and on reaching the
shore, leaped from the boat with the vigour of
youth. Taking his station on a little sand-hill,
he received the congratulations of the officers
by whom he was surrounded, on the ability
and firmness with which he had conducted

4 When the boats were about to start, two young
French field officers, who were prisoners on board the
Minotaur, Captain Louis, went up to the rigging " to
witness, as they said, the last sight of their English
friends. But when they saw the troops land, ascend
the hill, and force the defenders at the top to fly, the
love of their country and the honour of their arms
overcame their new friendship : they burst into tears,
and with a passionate exclamation of grief and surprise
ran down below, and did not again appear on deck
during the day." — Stewart's Sketches.

6 " The great waste of ammunition," says General
Stewart, "and the comparatively little execution of
musketry, unless directed by a steady hand, was
exemplified on this occasion. Although the sea was
as smooth as glass, with nothing to interrupt the aim
of those who fired, — although the line of musketry was
so numerous, that the soldiers compared the fall of the
bullets on the water to boys throwing handfuls of
pebbles into a mill-pond, — and although the spray
raised by the cannon-shot and shells, when they struck
the water, wet the soldiers in the boats, — yet, of the
whole landing force, very few were hurt ; and of the
42d one man only was killed, and Colonel James
Stewart and a few soldiers wounded. The noise and
foam raised by the shells aud large and small shot,
compared with the little effect thereby produced,
afford evidence of the saving of lives by the invention
of gunpowder ; while the fire, noise, and force, with
which the bullets flew, gave a greater sense of danger
than in reality had any existence. That eight hundred
and fifty men (one company of the Highlanders did
not land in the first boats) should force a passage
through such a shower of balls and bomb-shells, and
only one man killed and five wounded, is certainly
a striking fact." Four-fifths of the loss of the
Highlanders was sustained before they reached the top
of the hill. General Stewart, who then commanded a
company in the 42d, says that eleven of his men fell
by the volley they received when mounting the ascent.

368

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

the enterprise. The general, on his part, ex-
pressed his gratitude to them for " an intre-
pidity scarcely to he paralleled," and which
had enabled them to overcome every difficulty.

The remainder of the army landed in the
course of the evening, hut three days elapsed
before the provisions and stores were disem-
barked. Menou, the French commander,
availed himself of this interval to collect more
troops and strengthen his position; so that on
moving forward on the evening of the 12th,
the British found him strongly posted among
sand-hills, and palm and date trees, about three
miles east of Alexandria, with a force of up-
wards of 5000 infantry, 600 cavalry, and 30
pieces of artillery.

Early on the morning of the 13th, the
troops moved forward to the attack in three
columns of regiments. At the head of the
first column was the 90th or Perthshire regi-
ment; the 92d or Gordon Highlanders formed
the advance of the second; and the reserve
marching in column covered the movements of
the first line, to which it ran parallel. "When
the army had cleared the date trees, the enemy,
leaving the heights, moved down with great
boldness on the 92d, which had just formed in
line. They opened a heavy fire of cannon and
musketry, which the 92d quickly returned ;
and although repeatedly attacked by the French
line, supported by a powerful artillery, they
maintained their ground singly till the whole
line came up. "Whilst the 92d was sustaining
these attacks from the infantry, the French
cavalry attempted to charge the 90th regiment
down a declivity with great impetuosity. The
regiment stood waiting their approach wi L
cool intrepidity, and after allowing the cavalry
to come within fifty yards of them, they poured
in upon them a well-directed volley, which so
completely broke the charge that only a few of
the cavalry reached the regiment, and the
greater part of these were instantly bayoneted;
the rest fled to their left, and retreated in con-
fusion. Sir Ealph Abercromby, who was
always in front, had his horse shot under him,
and was rescued by the 90th regiment when
nearly surrounded by the enemy's cavalry.

After forming in line, the two divisions
moved forward — ■ the reserve remaining in
column to cover the right flank. The enemy

retreated to their lines in front of Alexandria,
followed by the British army. After recon-
noitring their works, the British commander,
conceiving the difficulties of an attack insuper-
able, retired, and took up a position about a
league from Alexandria. The British suffered
severely on this occasion. The Eoyal High-
landers, who were only exposed to distant shot,
had only 3 rank and file killed, and Lieutenant-
Colonel Dickson, Captain Archibald Argyll
Campbell, Lieutenant Simon Fraser, 3 ser-
geants, 1 drummer, and 23 rank and file
wounded.

In the position now occupied by the British
general, he had the sea on his right flank, and
the Lake Maadie on his left. On the right the
reserve was placed as an advanced post ; the
58th possessed an extensive ruin, supposed to
have been the palace of the Ptolemies. On the
outside of the ruin, a few paces onward and
close on the left, was a redoubt, occupied by
the 28th regiment. The 23d, the flank com-
panies of the 40th, the 42d, and the Corsican
Eangers, were posted 500 yards towards the
rear, ready to support the two corps in front.
To the left of this redoubt a sandy plain ex-
tended about 300 yards, and then sloped into
a valley. Here, a little retired towards the
rear, stood the cavalry of the reserve ; and still
farther to the left, on a rising ground beyond
the valley, the Guards were posted, with a
redoubt thrown up on their right, a battery on
their left, and a small ditch or enbankment in
front, which connected both. To the left of
the Guards, in echelon, were posted the Eoyals,
54th (two battalions), and the 92d; then the
8th or Kings, 18th or Eoyal Irish, 90th, and
13th. To the left of the line, and facing the
lake at right angles, were drawn up the 27th
or Enniskillen, 79th or Cameron Highlanders,
and 50th regiment. On the left of the second
line were posted the 30th, 89th, 44th, Dillon's,
De Eoll's, and Stuart's regiments ; the dis-
mounted cavalry of the 1 2th and 26th dragoons
completed the second line to the right. The
whole was flanked on the right by four cutters,
stationed close to the shore. Such was the
disposition of the army from the 14th till the
evening of the 20th, during which time the
whole was kept in constant employment, either
in performing military duties, strengthening

EXPEDITION TO EGYPT— BATTLE OF 21st MAECH.

3G9

the position — which had few natural advan-
tages— by the erection of batteries, or in bring-
ing forward cannon, stores, and provisions.
Along the whole extent of the line were
arranged two 24 pounders, thirty-two field-
pieces, and one 24 pounder in the redoubt
occupied by the 28th.

The enemy occupied a parallel position on a
ridge of hills extending from the sea beyond
the left of the British line, having the town of
Alexandria, Fort Caffarell, and Pharos, in the
rear. General Lanusse was on the left of
Menou's army with four demi-brigades of
infantry, and a considerable body of cavalry
commanded by General Poise. General Keg-
nier was on the right with two demi-brigades
and two regiments of cavalry, and the centre
was occupied by five demi-brigades. The
advanced guard, which consisted of one demi-
brigade, some light troops, and a detachment
of cavalry, was commanded by General
D'Estain.

Meanwhile, the fort of Aboukirwas blockaded
by the Queen's regiment, and, after a slight
resistance, surrendered to Lord Dalhousie on
the 18th. To replace the Gordon Highlanders,
who had been much reduced by previous sick-
ness, and by the action of the 13th, the
Queen's regiment was ordered up on the even-
ing of the 20th. The same evening the
British general received accounts that General
Menou had arrived at Alexandria with a large
reinforcement from Cairo, and was preparing
to attack him.

Anticipating this attack, the British army
was under arms at an early hour in the morn-
ing of the 21st of March, and at three o'clock
every man was at his post. For half an hour
no movement took place on either side, till the
report of a musket, followed by that of some
cannon, was heard on the left of the line.
Upon tliis signal the enemy immediately
advanced, and took possession of a small
picquet, occupied by part of Stuart's regiment;
but they were instantly driven back. For a
time silence again prevailed, but it was a still-
ness which portended a deadly struggle. As
soon as he heard the firing, General Moore,
who happened to be the general officer on duty
during the night, had galloped off to the left;
but an idea having struck him as he proceeded,

that this was a false attack, he turned back,
and had hardly returned to his brigade when
a loud huzza, succeeded by a roar of musketry,
showed that ho was not mistaken. The morn-
ing was unusually dark, cloudy, and close.
The enemy advanced in silence until they
approached the picquets, when they gave a
shout and pushed forward. At this moment
Major Sinclair, as directed by Major-General
Oakes, advanced with the left wing of the
42d, and took post on the open ground lately
occupied by the 28th regiment, which was
now ordered within the redoubt. "Whilst the
left wing of the Highlanders was thus drawn
up, with its right supported by the redoubt,
Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Stewart was
directed to remain with the right wing 200
yards in the rear, but exactly parallel to the
left wing. The Welsh Fusileers and the flank
companies of the 40th moved forward, at the
same time, to support the 58th, stationed in
the ruin. This regiment had drawn up in the
chasms of the ruined walls, which were in
some parts from ten to twenty feet high,
under cover of some loose stones which the
soldiers had raised for their defence, and which,
though sufficiently open for the fire of musketry,
formed a perfect protection against the entrance
of cavalry or infantry. The attack on the
ruin, the redoubt, and the left wing of the
Highlanders, was made at the same moment,
and with the greatest impetuosity ; but the
fire of the regiments stationed there, and of
the left wing of the 42d, under Major Stirling,
quickly checked the ardour of the enemj'.
Lieutenant-Colonels Paget of the 28th, and
Houston of the 58th, after allowing the eneinj'
to come quite close, directed their regiments to
open a fire, which was so well-directed and
effective, that the enemy were obliged to retire
precipitately to a hollow in their rear.6

During this contest in front, a column of
the enemy, which bore the name of the
" Invincibles," preceded by a six-pounder,
came silently along the hollow interval from
which the cavalry picquet had retired, and
passed between the left of the 42d and the
right of the Guards. Though it was still so
dark that an object could not be properly

6 Stewart's SketcJies.

3 A

370

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.

distinguished at the distance of two yards, yet,
with such precision did this column calculate
its distance and line of march, that on coming
ill line with the left wing of the Highlanders,
it wheeled to its left, and marched in between
the right and left wings of the regiment, which
were drawn up in parallel lines. As soon as
the enemy were discovered passing between
the two lines, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander
Stewart instantly charged them with the right
wing to his proper front, whilst the rear-rank
of Major Stirling's force, facing to the right
about, charged to the rear. Being thus placed
between two fires, the enemy rushed forward
with an intention of entering the ruin, which
they supposed was unoccupied. As they
passed the rear of the redoubt the 28th faced
about and fired upon them. Continuing their
course, they reached the ruin, through the
openings of which they rushed, followed by
the Highlanders, when the 58th and 48th,
facing about as the 28th had done, also fired
upon them. The survivors (about 200), unable
to withstand this combined attack, threw down
their arms and surrendered. Generals Moore
and Oakes were both wounded in the ruin,
but were still able to continue in the exercise
of their duty. The former, on the surrender
of the " Invincibles," left the ruin, and hurried
to the left of the redoubt, where part of the
left wing of the 4 2d was busily engaged with
the enemy after the rear rank had followed the
latter into the ruins. At this time the enemy
were seen advancing in great force on the left
of the redoubt, apparently with an intention
of making another attempt to turn it. On
perceiving their approach, General Moore
immediately ordered the Highlanders out of
the ruins, and directed them to form line in
battalion on the flat on which Major Stirling
had originally formed, with their right sup-
ported by the redoubt. By thus extending
their line they were enabled to present a greater
front to the enemy; but, in consequence of the
rapid advance of the latter, it was found
necessary to check their progress even before
the battalion had completely formed in line.
Orders were therefore given to drive the enemy
back, which were instantly performed with
complete success.

Encouraged by the commander-in-chief, who

called out from his station, " My brave High-
landers, remember your country, remember
your forefathers !■" they pursued the enemy
along the plain; but they had not proceeded
far, when General Moore, whose eye was keen,
perceived through the increasing clearness of
the atmosphere, fresh columns of the enemy
drawn up on the plain beyond with three
squadrons of cavalry, as if ready to charge
through the intervals of their retreating
infantry. As no time was to be lost, the
general ordered the regiment to retire from
their advanced position, and re-form on the
left of the redoubt. This order, although
repeated by Colonel Stewart, was only partially
heard in consequence of the noise of the firing;
and the result was, that whilst the companies
who heard it retired on the redoubt, the rest
hesitated to follow. The enemy observing the
intervals between these companies, resolved to
avail themselves of the circumstance, and
advanced in great force. Broken as the line
was by the separation of the companies, it
seemed almost impossible to resist with effect
an impetuous charge of cavalry; yet every man
stood firm. Many of the enemy were killed
in the advance. The companies, who stood in
compact bodies, drove back all who charged
them, with great loss. Part of the cavalry
passed through the intervals, and wheeling to
their left, as the " Invincibles " had done
early in the morning, were received by the
28th, who, facing to their rear, poured on
them a destructive fire, which killed many of
them. It is extraordinary that in this onset
only 13 Highlanders were wounded by the
sabre, — a circumstance to be ascribed to tho
firmness with which they stood, first endeavour-
ing to bring down the horse, before the rider
came within sword-length, and then despatch-
ing him with the bayonet, before he had time
to recover his legs from the fall of the horse.7

7 Concerning this episode in the fight, and the
capture of the standard of the " Invincibles" by one of4
the 42d, we shall here give the substance of the nar-
rative of Andrew Dowie, one of the regiment who
was present and saw the whole affair. We take it
from Lieutenant-Colonel Wheatley's Memoranda, and
we think our readers may rely upon it as being a fair
statement of the circumstances. It was written in
1845, in a letter to Sergeant-Major Drysdale of the 42d,
who went through the whole of the Crimean and
Indian Mutiny campaigns without being one day
absent, and who died at Uphall, near Edinburgh —

EXPEDITION TO EGYPT— BATTLE OF 21st MAECH.

371

Enraged at the disaster which, had befallen
the elite of his cavalry, General Menou ordered
forward a column of infantry, supported hy
cavalry, to make a second attempt on the
position; hut this body was repulsed at all
points by the Highlanders. Another body of
cavalry now dashed forward as the former had
done, and met with a similar reception, num-
bers falling, and others passing through to
the rear, where they were again overpowered
by the 28th. It was impossible for the High-
landers to withstand much longer such repeated
attacks, particularly as they were reduced to
the necessity of fighting every man on his own
ground, and unless supported they must soon
have been destroyed. The fortunate arrival of
the brigade of Brigadier-General Stuart, which
advanced from the second line, and formed on
the left of the Highlanders, probably saved
them from destruction. At this time the
enemy were advancing in great force, both in
cavalry and infantry, apparently determined to
overwhelm the handful of men who had hitherto
baffled all then- efforts. Though surprised to

Major and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in the regiment
— on the 4th July 1865 : — While Dowie was inside of
the ruin above mentioned, he observed an officer with
a stand of colours, surrounded by a group of some 30
men. He ran and told Major Stirling of this, who
advanced towards the French officer, grasped the
colours, carried them off, and handed them to Sergeant
Sinclair of the 42d Grenadiers, telling him to take
them to the rear of the left wing, and display them.
The major then ordered all out of the fort to support
the left wing, which was closely engaged. Meantime,
some of the enemy seeing Sinclair with the colours,
made after and attacked him. He defended himself
to the utmost till he got a sabre-cut on the back of
the neck, when he fell with the colours among the
killed and wounded. Shortly afterwards the German
regiment, commanded by Sir John Stewart, came from
the rear line to the support of the 42d, and in passing
through the killed and wounded, one Anthony Lutz
picked up the colours, stripped them off the staff,
wound them round his body, and in the afternoon
took them to Sir Ralph's son, and it was reported
received some money for them. In 1802 this German
regiment (97th or Queen's Own) arrived at Winchester,
. where this Anthony Lutz, in a quarrel with one of his
comrades, stabbed him with a knife, was tried by
civil law, and sentence of death passed upon him.
His officers, to save his life, petitioned the proper
i uthorities, stating that it was he who took the
"Invincible Colours." Generals Moore and Oakes
(who had commanded the brigade containing the 42d),
then in London, wrote to Lieut. -Col. Dickson, who
was with the regiment in Edinburgh Castle, and a
court of inquiry was held. Sergeant Sinclair was sent
for from Glasgow, and, along with Dowie, was ex-
amined on the matter, the result of the examina-
tion being in substance what has just been narrated.
Sergeant Sinclair was a captain in the 81st regiment
in Sicily in 1810.

find a fresh and more numerous body of
troops opposed to them, they nevertheless
ventured to charge, but were again driven
back with great precipitation.

It was now eight o'clock in the morning;
but nothing decisive had been effected on
either side. About this time the British had
spent the whole of their ammunition ; and not
being able to procure an immediate supply,
owing to the distance of the ordnance-stores,
their fire ceased, — a circumstance which sur-
prised the enemy, who, ignorant of the cause,
ascribed the cessation to design. Meanwhile,
the French kept up a heavy and constant
cannonade from their great guns, and a
straggling fire from their sharp-shooters in
the hollows, and behind some sand-hills in
front of the redoubt and ruins. . The army
suffered greatly from the fire of the enemy,
particularly the Highlanders, and the right of
General Stuart's brigade, who were exposed to
its full effect, being posted on a level piece of
ground over which the cannon-shot rolled after
striking the ground, and carried off a file of
men at every successive rebound. Yet not-
withstanding this havoc no man moved from
his position except to close up the gap made
by the shot, when his right or left hand man
was struck down.

At this stage of the battle the proceeedings
of the centre may be shortly detailed. The
enemy pushed forward a heavy column of
infantry, before the dawn of day, towards the
position occupied by the Guards. After allow-
ing them to approach very close to his front,
General Ludlow ordered his fire to be opened,
and his orders were executed with such effect,
that the enemy retired with precipitation.
Foiled in this attempt, they next endeavoured
to turn the left of the position; but they were
received and driven back with such spirit by
the Boyals and the right wing of the 54th,
that they desisted from all further attempts to
carry it. They, however, kept up an irregular
fire from their cannon and sharp-shooters,
which did some execution. As General
Begnier, who commanded the right of the
French line, did not advance, the left of the
British was never engaged. He made up for
this forbearance by keeping up a heavy can-
nonade, which did considerable injury.

372

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

Emboldened by the temporary cessation of
the British fire on the right, the French sharp-
shooters came close to the redoubt; but they
were thwarted in their designs by the oppor-
tune arrival of ammunition. A fire was imme-
diately opened from the redoubt, which made
them retreat with expedition. The whole line
followed, and by ten o'clock the enemy had
resumed their original position in front of
Alexandria. After this, the enemy despairing

of success, gave up all idea of renewing the
attack, and the loss of the commander-in-
chief, among other considerations, made the
British desist from any attempt to force the
enemy to engage again.

Sir Ealph Abercomb}r, who had taken his
station in front early in the day between the
right of the Highlanders and the left of the
redoubt, having detached the whole of his
staff, was left alone. In this situation two of

Sir Ralph Abercromby in Egypt. From Kay's Edinburgh Portraits.

the enemy's dragoons dashed forward, and
drawing up on each side, attempted to lead
him away prisoner. In a struggle which
ensued, he received a blow on the breast; but
with the vigour and strength of arm for which
he was distinguished, he seized the sabre of
one of his assailants, and forced it out of his
hand. A corporal (Barker) of the 42d coming
up to his support at this instant, for lack of
other ammunition, charged his piece with
powder and his ramrod, shot one of the

dragoons, and the other retired. The general
afterwards dismounted from his horse though
with difficulty; but no person knew that he
was wounded, till some of the staff who joined
him observed the blood trickling down his
thigh. A musket-ball had entered his groin,
and lodged deep in the hip-joint. Notwith-
standing the acute pain which a wound in
such a place must have occasioned, he had,
during the interval between the time he had
been wounded and the last charge of cavalry,

FXPEDITION TO EGYPT— DEATH OF SIE EALPH ABEBCEOMBY. 37 3

walked with, a firm and steady step along the
line of the Highlanders and General Stuart's
brigade, to the position of the Guards in the
centre of the line, where, from its elevated
position, he had a full view of the whole field
of battle, and from which place he gave his
orders as if nothing had happened to him. In
his anxiety about the result of the battle, he
seemed to forget that he had been hurt ; but
after victory had declared in favour of the
British army, he became alive to the danger of
his situation, and in a state of exhaustion, lay
down on a little sand-hill near the battery.

In this situation he was surrounded by the
generals and a number of officers. The soldiers
were to be seen crowding round this melan-
choly group at a respectful distance, pouring
out blessings on his head, and prayers for his
recovery. His wound was now examined, and
a large incision was made to extract the ball ;
but it could not be found. After this opera-
tion he was put upon a litter, and carried on
board the Foudroyant, Lord Keith's ship,
where he died on the morning of the 28th of
March. " As his life was honourable, so his
death was glorious. His memory will be re-
corded in the annals of his country, will be
sacred to every British soldier, and embalmed
in the memory of a grateful posterity."8

The loss of the British, of whom scarcely
6000 were actually engaged, was not so great
as might have been expected. Besides the com-
mander-in-chief, there were killed 10 officers,
9 sergeants, and 224 rank and file ; and 60
officers, 48 sergeants, 3 drummers, and 1082
rank and file, were wounded. Of the Eoyal
Highlanders, Brevet -Major Bobert Bisset,
Lieutenants Colin Campbell, Eobert Ander-
son, Alexander Stewart, Alexander Donaldson,
and Archibald M'Nicol, and 48 rank and file,
were killed ; and Major James Stirling, Cap-
tain David Stewart, Lieutenant Hamilton
Eose, J. Millford Sutherland, A. M. Cuning-
ham, Frederick Campbell, Maxwell Grant,
Ensign William Mackenzie, 6 sergeants, and
247 rank and file wounded. As the 42d
was more exposed than any of the other regi-
ments engaged, and sustained the brunt of
the battle, their loss was nearly three times the

8 General Hutchinson's Official Despatches.

aggregate amount of the loss of all the other
regiments of the reserve. The total loss of the
French was about 4000 men.

General Hutchinson, on whom the command
of the British army now devolved, remained in
the position before Alexandria for some time,
during which a detachment under Colonel
Spencer took j >ssession of Eosetta. Having
strengthened his position between Alexandria
and Aboukir, General Hutchinson transferred
his headquarters to Eosetta, with a view to
proceed against Rhamanieh, an important post,
commanding the passage of the Nile, and pre-
serving the communication between Alexandria
and Cairo. The general left his camp on the
5th of May to attack Ehamanieh ; but although
defended by 4000 infantry, 800 cavalry, and
32 pieces of cannon, the place was evacuated
by the enemy on his approach.

The commander-in-chief proceeded to Cairo,
and took up a position four miles from that
city on the 16th of June. Belliard, the French
general, had made up his mind to capitulate
whenever he could do so with honour; and
accordingly, on the 2 2d of June, when the
British had nearly completed their approaches,
he offered to surrender, on condition of his
army being sent to France with their arms,
baggage, and effects.

Nothing now remained to render the con-
quest of Egypt complete but the reduction of
Alexandria. Eeturning from Cairo, General
Hutchinson proceeded to invest that city.
Whilst General Coote, with nearly half the
army, approached to the westward of the town,
the general himself advanced from the east-
ward. General Menou, anxious for the honour
of the French arms, at first disputed the
advances made towards his lines ; but finding
himself surrounded on two sides by an army of
14,500 men, by the sea on the north, and cut
off from the country on the south by a lake
which had been formed by breaking down the
dike between the Nile and Alexandria, he
applied for, and obtained, on the evening of
the 26th of August, an armistice of three days.
On the 2d of September the capitulation was
signed, the terms agreed upon being much the
same with those granted to General Belliard.

After the French were embarked, imme-
i diate arrangements were made for settling in

374

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMEJSTTS.

quarters the troops that were to remain in the
country, and to embark those destined for
other stations. Among these last were the
three Highland regiments. The 42d landed
at Southampton, and marched to Win-

chester. "With the exception of those who
were affected with ophthalmia, all the men
were healthy. At Winchester, however, the
men caught a contagious fever, of which Cap-
tain Lamont and several privates died.

Medal of 42d Royal Highland Regiment for services in Egypt. From the collection of Surgeon- Major

Fleming, late 4th Dragoon Guards.

" At this period," says General Stewart, " a
circumstance occurred which caused some con-
versation on the French standard taken at
Alexandria. The Highland Society of Lon-
don, much gratified with the accounts given
of the conduct of theii
countrymen in Egypt, re-
solved to bestow on them
some mark of their esteem
and approbation. The
Society being composed of
men of the first rank and
character in Scotland, and
including several of the
royal family as members, it
was considered that such
an act would be honourable
to the corps and agreeable
to all. It was proposed tc
commence with the 42d as
the oldest of the Highland
regiments, and with the

Medal to Sir Ralph Abercrombyfor services
in Egypt. From the same collection.

piece of plate was likewise ordered. While
these were in preparation, the. Society held a
meeting, when Sir John Sinclair, with the
warmth of a clansman, mentioned his namesake,
Sergeant Sinclair, as having taken or having
got possession of the French
standard, which had been
brought home. Sir John
being at that time ignorant
of the circumstances, made
no mention of the loss of
the ensign which the ser-
geant had gotten in charge.
This called forth the claim
of Lutz,9 already referred
to, accompanied with some
strong remarks by Cobbett,
the editor of the work in
which the claim appeared.
The Society then asked an
explanation from the
officers of the 42d. To

others in succession, as their service offered | this very proper request a reply was given by the

an opportunity of distinguishing themselves.
Fifteen hundred pounds were immediately sub
scribed for this purpose. Medals were struck
with a head of Sir Ealph Abercromby, and some
emblematical figures on the obverse. A surjerb

officers who were then present with the regi-
ment. The majority of these happened to be
young men, who expressed, in warm terms, their

9 See note, pp. 370, 71.

REVIEWED BY GEORGE 1IL

375

surprise that the Society should imagine them
capable of countenancing any statement im-
plying that they had laid claim to a trophy
to which they had no right. This misappre-
nension of the Society's meaning brought on
a correspondence, which ended in an inter-
ruption of farther communication for many
years."1

In May 1802 the regiment marched to Ash-
ford, where they were reviewed by George III.,
who expressed himself satisfied with its appear-
ance; but although the men had a martial air,
they had a diminutive look, and were by no
means equal to their predecessors, either in
bodily appearance or in complexion.

Shortly after this review the regiment was
ordered to Edinburgh. During their march to
the north the men were everywhere received
with kindness; and, on approaching the north-
ern metropolis, thousands of its inhabitants
met them at a distance from the city, and,
welcoming them with acclamations, accom-
panied them to the castle. They remained in
their new quarters, giving way too freely to
the temptations to which they were exposed,
by the hospitality of the inhabitants, till the
spring of 1803, when, in consequence of the
interruption of peace, they were embarked at
Leith for the camp then forming at Weeley, in
Essex. The regiment at this time did not ex-
ceed 400 men, in consequence chiefly of the
discharge of 475 men the preceding year.
While in Edinburgh (December 1, 1803) new
colours, bearing the distinctions granted for
its services in Egypt, were formally presented
to the regiment.

As a means at once of providing for the
internal defence of the kingdom, and recruiting
the regular army, an act was passed to raise a
body of men by ballot, to be called " The
Army of Reserve." Their services were to be
confined to Great Britain and Ireland, with
liberty to volunteer into the regular army, on
a certain bounty. In the first instance, the
men thus raised in Scotland, were formed into
second battalions to regiments of the line. The
quota raised in the counties of Perth, Elgin,
Nairn, Cromarty, Boss, Sutherland, Caithness,

1 Farther details concerning this unfortunate mis-
understanding will be given when we come to speak
of the presentation of the vase in 1817.

Argyle, and Bute, which was to form the
second battalion of the 42d, amounted to 1343
men. These embarked in November at Fort
George, to join the first battalion in Weeley
barracks, about which time upwards of 500 had
volunteered into the regular army. In April
of this year Captain David Stewart, Garth,
was appointed major, and Lieutenants Robert
Henry Dick and Charles M'Lean, captains to
the second battalion of the 78th regiment. In
September following, Colonel Dickson was
appointed brigadier-general; and Lieutenant-
Colonels James Stewart and Alexander Stewart
having retired, they were succeeded by Lieu-
tenant-Colonels Stirling and Lord Blantyre.
Captains M'Quarrie and James Grant became
majors; Lieutenants Stewart Campbell, Donald
Williamson, John M'Diarmid, John Dick, and
James Walker, captains; and Captain Lord
Saltoun was promoted to the Foot Guards.

In consequence of the removal of a part of
the garrison of Gibraltar, the first battalion of
the 42d, and the second battalion of the 78th,
or Seaforth Highlanders, were marched to
Plymouth, where they embarked early in
October for Gibraltar, which they reached in
November. Nothing worthy of notice oc-
curred during their stay in Gibraltar. Since
their former visit, the moral habits of the
42d had improved, and they did not fall into
those excesses in drinking in winch they had
previously indulged. The mortality conse-
quently was not so great as before — 31 only
out of 850 men having died during the three
years they remained at this station.

In 1806 Sir Hector Munro, the colonel of
the regiment, died, and was succeeded by
Major-General the Marquis of Huntly, after-
wards Duke of Gordon.

After the battle of Vimiera, which was
fought on the 21st of August 1808, the
British army was joined by the 42d from
Gibraltar, then 624 men strong,2 and by the
Gordon and Cameron Highlanders from
England. Major-General Sir Arthur Wel-
lesley, who had gained the battle, was super-
seded the same day by two senior generals, Sir
Harry Burrard and Sir John Moore, who were,
strange to tell, again superseded by General

2 Of these 231 were Lowlanders, 7 English, and 3
Irish.

37G

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.

Sir Hew Dalrymple tlie following morning.
Generals Burrard and Dalrymple having been
recalled in consequence of the convention of
Gintra, the command of the army devolved on
Sir John Moore, who, on the 6th of October,
received an order to march into Spain. Hav-
ing made no previous preparations for marching,
the advance of the army from Lisbon was re-
tarded ; and as he could obtain little assistance
from the Portuguese Government, and no cor-
rect information of the state of the country, or
of the proper route he ought to take, he was
obliged to act almost entirely upon conjecture.
Conceiving it impossible to convey artillery
by the road through the mountains, he re-
solved to divide his army, and to march into
Spain by different routes.

One of these divisions, consisting of the
brigade of artillery and four regiments of in-
fantry, of which the 42d was one, under the
Hon. Lieutenant General Hope, marched upon
Madrid and Espinar; another, under General
Paget, moved by Elvas and Alcantara ; a third
by Coimbra and Almeida, under General Beres-
ford; and a fourth, under General Mackenzie
Fraser, by Abrantes and Almeida. These
divisions, amounting together to 18,000 in-
fantry and 900 cavalry, were to form a junction
at Salamanca. General Moore reached Sala-
manca on the 13th of November, without see-
ing a single Spanish soldier. Whilst on the
march, Lieutenant-General Sir David Baird
arrived off Corunna with a body of troops
from England, for the purpose of forming a
junction with General Moore; but his troops
were kept on board from the 13th to the 31st
of October, and, when allowed to disembark,
no exertions were made by the Spaniards to
forward his march.

Whilst waiting the junction of General
Baird and the division of General Hope,
which, from its circuitous route, was the last
of the four in reaching Salamanca, General
Moore received intelligence of the defeat and
total dispersion of General Blake's army on
the 10th of November, at Espenora de los
Monteros, as well as of a similar fate which
subsequently befell the army of General Cas-
tanos at Tudela. No Spanish army now
remained in the field except the corps under
the Marquis of Romana, but acting independ-

ently, it tended rather to obstruct than forward
the plans of the British commander.

It was now the 1st of December. General
Baird had reached Astorga, and General Hope's
division was still four day's march from
Salamanca. Beset by accumulated difficulties,
and threatened with an army already amount-
ing to 100,000 men, and about to be increased
by additional reinforcements, General Moore
resolved on a retreat, though such a measure
was opposed to the opinion of many officers of
rank. Whilst he himself was to fall back
upon Lisbon, he ordered Sir David Baird to
retire to Corunna, and embark for the Tagus.
He afterwards countermanded the order for
retreat, on receiving some favourable accounts
from the interior, but having soon ascertained
that these were not to be relied on, he resumed
his original intention of retiring. Instead of
proceeding, however, towards Lisbon, he deter-
mined to retreat to the north of Spain, with
the view of joining General Baird. This
junction he effected at Toro, on the 21st of
December. Their united forces amounted to
26,311 infantry, and 2450 cavalry, besides
artillery.

The general resolved to attack Marshal
Soult at Saldanha ; but, after making his
dispositions, he gave up his determination, in
consequence of information that Soult had
received considerable reinforcements ; that
Buonaparte had marched from Madrid with
40,000 infantry and cavalry ; and that Marshals
Junot, Mortier, and Leferbe, with their dif-
ferent divisions, were also on their march
towards the north of Spain. The retreat was
begun on the 24th of December, on which day
the advance guard of Buonaparte's division
passed through Tordesillas.

When ordered again to retreat, the greatest
disappointment was manifested by the troops,
who, enraged at the apathy shown by the
people, gratified their feelings of revenge by
acts of insubordination and plunder hitherto
unheard of in a British army. To such an
extent did they carry their ravages, that they
obtained the name of " malditos ladrones," or
cursed robbers, from the unfortunate inhabi
tants. The following extract of general orders,
issued at Benevente, on the 27th of December,
shows how acutely the gallant Moore felt the

EETEEAT TO COBUNNA— BATTLE OF COBUNNA.

377

disgracB which the conduct of his British
troops brought on the British name: — "The
Commander of the Forces has observed, with
concern, the extreme bad conduct of the troops,
at a moment when they are about to come into
contact with the enemy, and when the greatest
regularit}r and the best conduct are most re-
quisite. The misbehaviour of the troops in
the column which marched from Valdaras to
this place, exceeds what he could have believed
of British soldiers. It is disgraceful to the
officers, as it strongly marks their negligence
and inattention. The Commander of the
Forces refers to the general orders of the 15th
of October and the 11th of November. He
desires that they may be again read at the
head of every company in the army. He can
add nothing but his determination to execute
them to the fullest extent. He can feel no
mercy towards officers who neglect, in times like
these, essential duties, or towards soldiers who
injure the country they are sent to protect. It
is impossible for the General to explain to his
army his motive for the movements he directs.
"When it is proper to fight a battle he will do
it, and he will choose the time and place he
thinks most fit. In the mean time, he begs
the officers and soldiers of the army to attend
diligently to discharge their part, and leave to
him and to the general officers the decision of
measures which belong to them alone."

It is quite unnecessary, in a work of this
nature, to give the details of this memorable
retreat. Suffice it to say, that after a series of
brilliant and successful encounters with the
enemy, and after enduring the most extra-
ordinary privations, the British army arrived
in the neighbourhood of Corunna on the 11th
of January 1809. Had the transports been at
Corunna, the troops might have embarked
without molestation, as the French general did
not push forward with vigour from Lago; but,
as they had to wait the arrival of transports
from Vigo, the enemy had full time to come
up. The inhabitants showed the greatest
kindness to the troops, and, in conjunction
with them, exerted themselves with much
assiduity to put the town in a proper state
of defence.

On the land side Corunna is surrounded
by a double range of hills, a higher and a

II.

lower. As the outward or higher range was
too extensive, the British were formed on the
inner or lower range. The French on their
arrival took post on the higher range.

Several of the transports having arrived on
the 14th, the sick, the cavalry, and part cf
the artillery were embarked. Next day was
spent in skirmishing, with little loss on either
side; but on the 16th, affairs assumed a more
serious aspect. After mid-day, the enemy
were seen getting under arms. The British
drew up immediately in line of battle. General
Hope's division occupied the left. It consisted
of Major-General Hill's brigade of the Queen's,
14th, 32d ; and Colonel Crawford's brigade of
the 36th, 71st, and 92d or Gordon Highlanders.
On the right of the line was the division of
General Baird, consisting of Lord William
Bentinck's brigade of the 4th, 42d or Eoyal
Highlanders, and 50th regiment; and Major-
General Manningham's brigade of the third
battalion of the Eoyals, 26th or Cameronians,
and second battalion of the 81st; and Major-
General Ward with the first and second bat-
talions of the Foot Guards. The other bat-
talions of Guards were in reserve, in rear of
Lord William Bentinck's brigade. The Bifle
corps formed a chain across a valley on the
right of Sir David Baird, communicating with
Lieutenant-General Fraser's division, which
was drawn up in the rear at a short distance
from Corunna. This division was composed
of the 6th, 9th, 23d or Welsh Fusileers, and
second battalion of the 43d, under Major-
General Beresford ; and the 36th, 79th or
Cameron Highlanders, and 82d, under Brigadier-
General Fane. General Paget's brigade of
reserve formed in rear of the left. It consisted
of the 20th, 28th, 52d, 91st, and Bine corps.
The whole force under arms amounted to
nearly 16,000 men.

The battle was begun by the enemy, who,
after a discharge of artillery, advanced upon
the British in four columns. Two of these
moved towards General Baird's wing, a third
advanced upon the centre, and a fourth against
the left. The enemy kept a fifth column as a
reserve in the rear. On the approach of the
French the British advanced to meet them.
The 50th regiment, under Majors Napier and
Stanhope, two young officers who had been
3b

378

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND EEGIMENTS.

trained up under the general's own eye, passing
over an enclosure in front, charged and drove
the enemy out of the village of Elvina, with
great loss. General Moore, who was at the
post occupied "by Lord William Bentinck's
brigade, directing every movement, on observ-
ing the brave conduct of the regiment, ex-
claimed, "Well done the 50th — well done my
majors!" Then proceeding to the 42d, he
cried out, " Highlanders, remember Egypt."
They thereupon rushed forward, accompanied
by the general, and drove back the enemy in
all directions. He now ordered up a battalion
of the Guards to the left flank of the High-
landers. The light company, conceiving, as
their ammunition was spent, that the Guards
were to relieve them, began to fall back; but
Sir John discovering their mistake, said to
them, " My brave 42d, join your comrades, —
ammunition is coming, — you have your bayo-
nets." This was enough.

Sir David Baird about this time was forced
to leave the field, in consequence of his arm
being shattered by a musket ball, and imme-
diately thereafter a cannon ball struck Sir
John Moore in the left shoulder and beat him
to the ground. " He raised himself and sat
up with an unaltered countenance, looking
intensely at the Highlanders, who were warmly
engaged. Captain Hardinge threw himself
from his horse and took him by the hand;
then observing his anxiety, he told him the
42d were advancing, upon which his counte-
nance immediately brightened up."

After the general and Sir David Baird had
been carried off the field, the command of the
army devolved upon Lieutenant-General Hope,
who, at the close of the battle, addressed a
letter to Sir David, from which the following
is an extract: — " The first effort of the enemy
was met by the commander of the forces and
by yourself, at the head of the 42d regiment;
and the brigade under Lord William Bentinck.
The village on your right became an object of
obstinate contest. I lament to say, that, after
the severe wound which deprived the army of
your services, Lieutenant-General Sir John
Moore, who had just directed the most able
disposition, fell by a cannon-shot. The troops,
though not unacquainted with the irrepar-
able loss they had sustained, were not dis-

mayed, but, by the most determined bravery,
not only repelled every attempt of the enemy
to gain ground, but actually forced him to
retire, although he had brought up fresh troops
in support of those originally engaged. The
enemy finding himself foiled in every attempt
to force the right of the position, endeavoured
by numbers to turn it. A judicious and well-
timed movement which was made by Major-
General Paget with the reserve, which corps
had moved out of its cantonments to support
the right of the army, by a vigorous attack
defeated this intention. The major-general
having pushed forward the 95th (Bifie corps)
and the first battalion of the 52d regiment,
drove the enemy before him, and in his rapid
and judicious advance threatened the left of
the enemy's position. This circumstance, with
the position of Lieutenant-General Eraser's
division (calculated to give still farther security
to the right of the line), induced the enemy to
relax his efforts in that quarter. They were,
however, more forcibly directed towards the
centre, when they were again successfully
resisted by the brigade under Major-General
Manningham, forming the left of your division,
and a part of that under Major-General Leith,
forming the right of that under my orders.
Upon the left the enemy at first contented
himself with an attack upon our picquets,
which, however, in general maintained their
ground. Finding, however, his efforts unavail-
ing on the right and centre, he seemed deter-
mined to render the attack upon the left more
serious, and had succeeded in obtaining pos-
session of the village through which the great
road to Madrid passes, and which was situated
in front of that part of the line. From this
post, however, he was soon expelled, with a con-
siderable loss, by a gallant attack of some
companies of the second battalion of the 14th
regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel !Nicholls.
Before five in the evening, we had not only
successfully repelled every attack made upon the
position, but had gained ground, in almost all
points, and occupied a more forward line than
at the commencement of the action; whilst the
enemy confined his operations to a cannonade,
and the fire of his light troops, with a view to
draw off his other corps. At six the firing
ceased."

DEATH OF SIB JOHN MOOEE.

379

The loss of the British was 800 men
killed and wounded. The 42d had 1 ser-
geant and 36 rank and file killed ; and 6
officers, viz., Captains Duncan Campbell,
John Fraser, and Maxwell Grant, and Lieu-
tenants Alexander Anderson, William Middle-
ton, and Thomas Maclnnes, 1 sergeant, and
104 rank and file wounded. The enemy lost
upwards of 3000 men, — a remarkable dispro-
portion, when it is considered that the British
troops fought under many disadvantages.

In general orders issued on the 18th of
January, Lieutenant-General Hope congratu-
lated the army on the victory, and added, —
" On no occasion has the undaunted valour of
British troops been more manifest. At the
termination of a severe and harassing march,
rendered necessary by the superiority which
the enemy had acquired, and which had
materially impaired the efficiency of the troops,
many disadvantages were to be encountered.

"These have all been surmounted by the
conduct of the troops themselves ; and the
enemy has been taught, that whatever advan-
tages of position or numbers he may employ,
there is inherent, in British officers and soldiers,
a bravery that knows not how to yield, — that
no circumstances can appal, — and that will
ensure victory when it is to be obtained by
the exertion of any human means.

" The lieutenant-general has the greatest
satisfaction in distinguishing such meritorious
services as came within his observation, or
have been brought to his knowledge.

" His acknowledgments are in a peculiar
manner due to Lieutenant-General Lord Wil-
liam Bentinck, and the brigade under his com-
mand, consisting of the Fourth, Forty-Second,
and Fiftieth Regiments, which sustained the
weight of the attack."

Though the victory was gained, General
Hope did not consider it advisable, under
existing circumstances, to risk another battle,
and therefore issued orders for the immediate
embarkation of the army. By the great exer-
tions of the naval officers and seamen, the
whole, with the exception of the rear guard,
were on board before the morning; and the
rear guard, with the sick and wounded, were
all embarked the following day.

General Moore did not long survive the

action. When he fell he was removed, with
the assistance of a soldier of the 42d, a few
yards behind the shelter of a wall. He wa3
afterwards carried to the rear in a blanket by
six soldiers of the 42d and Guards. When
borne off the field his aid-de-camp, Captain
Hardinge, observing the resolution and com-
posure of his features, expressed his hopes
that the wound was not mortal, and that he
would still be spared to the army. Turning
his head round, and looking steadfastly at the
wound for a few seconds, the dying commander
said, "No, Hardinge; I feel that to be impos-
sible." A sergeant of the 42d and two spare
files, in case of accident, were ordered to con-
duct their brave general to Corunna. Whilst
being carried along slowly, he made the soldiers
turn frequently round, that he might view the
field of battle and listen to the firing. As the
sound grew fainter, an indication that the
enemy were retiring, his countenance evinced
the satisfaction he felt. In a few hours he
was numbered with the dead.

Thus died, in the prime of life, one of the
most accomplished and bravest soldiers that
ever adorned the British army. From his
youth he embraced the profession with the
sentiments and feelings of a soldier. He felt
that a perfect knowledge and an exact per-
formance of the humble but important duties
of a subaltern officer are the best foundation
for subsequent military fame. In the school
of regimental duty, he obtained that correct
knowledge of his profession, so essential to the
proper direction of the gallant spirit of the
soldier; and was enabled to establish a
characteristic order and regularity of conduct,
because the troops found in their leader a
striking example of the discipline which he
enforced on others. In a military character,
obtained amidst the dangers of climate, the
privations incident to service, and the suffer-
ings of repeated wounds, it is difficult to select
any point as a preferable subject for praise.
The life of Sir John Moore was spent among
his troops. During the season of repose, his
time was devoted to the care and instruction
of the officer and soldier; in war, he courted
service in every quarter of the globe. Begard-
less of personal considerations, he esteemed
that to which his country called him, the post-

380

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS.

of honour; and, by his undaunted spirit and
unconquerable perseverance, he pointed the
way to victory.3

General Moore had been often heard to
express a wish that he might die in battle like
a soldier ; and, like a soldier, he was interred
in his full uniform in a bastion in the garrison
of Corunna.4

When the embarkation of the army was
completed it sailed for England. One division,
in which the 42d was, landed at Portsmouth ;
another disembarked at Plymouth.

The regiment was now brigaded at Shorn-
cliffe with the rifle corps, under the command
of Major-General Sir Thomas Graham. As
the second battalion, which had been in Ire-
land since 1805, was about to embark for
Portugal, they could obtain no draughts from
it to supply the casualties which they had

3 General Orders, Horse Guards, 1st February 1809.

4 " It was not without cause that the Highland
soldiers shed tears for the sufferings of the kind and
partial friend whom they were now about to lose. He
always reposed the most entire confidence in them :
placing them in the post of danger and honour, and
wherever it was expected that the greatest firmness
and courage would be required ; gazing at them with
earnestness in his last moments, and in this extremity
taking pleasure in their successful advance ; gratified
at being carried by them, and talking familiarly to
them when he had only a few hours to live ; and, like
a perfect soldier, as he was, dying with his sword by
his side. Speaking to me, on one occasion, of the
character of the Highland soldiers, " I consider," said
he, "the Highlanders, under proper management, and
under an officer who understands and values their
character, and works on it, among the best of our
military materials. Under such an officer, they will
conquer or die on the spot, while their action, their
hardihood, and abstinence, enable them to bear up
against a severity of fatigue under which larger, and
apparently stronger, men would sink. But it is the
principles of integrity and moral correctness that I
admire most in Highland soldiers, and this was the
trait that first caught my attention. It is this that
makes them trustworthy, and makes their courage
sure, and not that kind of flash in the pan, which
would scale a bastion to-day, and to-morrow be
alarmed at the fire of a picquet. You Highland officers
may sleep sound at night, and rise in the morning
with the assurance that, with your men, your profes-
sional character and honour are safe, unless you your-
selves destroy the willing and excellent material en-
trusted to your direction." Such was the opinion par-
ticularly addressed to me, as a kind of farewell advice
in 1805, when my regiment left his brigade to embark
for the Mediterranean. It was accompanied by many
excellent observations on the character of the High-
land soldier, and the duties of Highland officers, espe-
cially what regards their management of, and be-
haviour towards their soldiers, and the necessity of
paying attention to their feelings. The correctness of
his views on this important subject I have seen fully
confirmed by many years' experience.' — Stewart's
Sketches.

suffered in the late retreat and loss at Corunna,
but these were speedily made up otherwise.

The 42d was next employed in the disastrous
expedition to Walcheren, and returned to
Dover in September 1809, having only 204
men fit for duty out of 758, who, about six
weeks before, had left the shores of England.
The regiment marched to Canterbury on the
11th of September, where it remained till
July 1810, when it was removed to Scotland,
and quartered in Musselburgh. The men had
recovered very slowly from the Walcheren
fever, and many of them still suffered under
its influence. During their stay at Mussel-
burgh, the men unfortunately indulged them-
selves to excess in the use of ardent spirits, a
practice which would have destroyed their
health, had not a change of duty put an end
to this baneful practice.

IV.

1811—1816.

Return of the 42d to England — Embarks a second
time for Portugal in 1812 — Consolidation of the
first and second battalions — Spain — Battle of Sala-
manca— Madrid — Siege of Burgos — Retreat into
Portugal — Campaign of 1813 — Battle of Vittoria —
Siege of St Sebastian — Pyrenees — Succession of
battles — Fall of St Sebastian — Allied army enters
France — Crosses the Nivelle — Passage of the Nive
— Series of actions — Bayonne — Battles of Orthes and
Ayre — Bordeaux — Tarbes — Battle of Toulouse —
Peace of 1814 — War of 1815 — Quatre Bras-
Waterloo — Return of the. 42d to Scotland — Edin-
burgh.

In August 1811 the regiment sailed for Eng-
land, and after remaining some time in Lewis
barracks, embarked in April of the following
year for Portugal. The ardour for recruiting
had now ceased, and the consequence was that
the regiment obtained few recruits wliile in
Scotland. Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Blantyre,
the commander of the second battalion, had
experienced the growing indifference of the
Highlanders for the army, having been obliged,
before his departure for Portugal, to enlist 150
men from the Irish militia. The first battalion
joined the army, under Lord Wellington, after
the capture of Cuidad Eodrigo and Badajoz,
and meeting with the second battalion, they
were both consolidated.

WALCHEEEN— EETUEN TO ENGLAND.

381

" The second battalion had continued with
the allied army in Portugal, and was engaged
in the operations by which the English com-
mander endeavoured to retard the advance of
the superior numbers of the enemy, under
Marshal Massena, who boasted he would drive
the British into the sea, and plant the eagles
of France on the towers of Lisbon. As the
French army advanced iu full confidence of
success, suddenly the rocks of Busaco were
seen bristling with bayonets and streaming
with British colours. The Eoyal Highlanders
were in position on the mountains when that
formidable post was attacked by the enemy on
the 27th of September, and when the valour of
the British troops repulsed the furious onsets
of the French veterans, who were driven back
with severe loss. The loss of the Forty- Second
was limited to 2 sergeants, 1 drummer, and 3
rank and file wounded. Major Eobert Henry
Dick received a medal for this battle.

" Being unable to force the position, the
French commander turned it by a flank move-
ment ; and the allied army fell back to the
lines of Torres Vedras, where a series of works
of vast extent, connected with ranges of rooks
and mountains, covered the approach to Lisbon,
and formed a barrier to the progress of the
enemy, which could not be overcome. The
Forty-Second were posted in the lines.

" The French commander, despairing to
accomplish his threat against the English, fell
back to Santarem.

" For three months the opposing armies
confronted each other a few stages from Lisbon ;
the enemy's numbers became seriously reduced
by sickness, and other causes, his resources
were exhausted, and during the night of the
5th of March 1811 he commenced his retreat
towards the frontiers. The British moved
forward in pursuit, and in numerous encounters
with the enemy's rearguard gained signal ad-
vantages.

" The French army crossed the confines .of
Portugal ; the British took up a position near
the frontiers, and blockaded Almeida. The
French advanced to relieve the blockaded
fortress ; and on the 3d of May they attacked
the post of Fuentes d'Onor. The Eoyal High-
landers had 2 soldiers killed on this occasion;
Captain M'Donald, 1 sergeant, and 5 rank and

file wounded. On the 5th of May the enemy
made another attack on the British position,
but was repulsed. On this occasion the Forty-
Second, commanded by Lieutenant -Colonel
Lord Blantyre, were charged by a body of
French cavalry, which they defeated with
signal gallantry. Lieutenant - Colonel Lord
Blantyre received a gold medal ; and the word
' Fuentes d'Onor,' displayed, by royal authority,
on the regimental colour, commemorates the
steady valour of the second battalion on this
occasion. Its loss was 1 sergeant and 1 private
soldier killed ; 1 sergeant and 22 rank and
file wounded. Major E. H. Dick received a
medal for the battle of Fuentes d'Onor, where
he commanded a flank battalion.

" In the subsequent operations of this cam-
paign, the second battalion took an active part ;
but was not brought into close contact with the
enemy."1

On the consolidation of the two battalions,
the officers and staff of the second were ordered
to England, leaving the first upwards of 1160
rank and file fit for service. These were placed
in the division under Lieutenant - General
Sir Thomas Graham. The allied army now
amounted to 58,000 men, being larger than
any single division of the enemy, whose whole
force exceeded 160,000 men.

After a successful attack on Almarez by a
division of the army under General Hill, Lord
Wellington moved forward and occupied Sala-
manca, which the French evacuated on his
approach, leaving 800 men behind to garrison
the fort, and retain possession of two redoubts
formed from the walls and ruins of some con-
vents and colleges. After a gallant defence of
some days, the fort and redoubts surrendered
on the 27th of June 1812.

Whilst the siege was proceeding, Marshal
Marmont manoeuvred in the neighbourhood ,
but not being yet prepared for a general action,
he retired across the Douro, and took up a
position on the 22d from La Seca to Polios.
By the accession of a reinforcement from the
Asturias, and another from the army of the
centre, the marshal's force was increased to
nearly 60,000 men. Judging himself now able
to cope with the allied army, he resolved either

1 Cannon's Historical Record of the i2d.

382

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND BEGIMENTS.

to bring Lord Wellington to action, or force
him to retire towards Portugal, by threatening
his communication with that country. By
combining with Marshal Soult from the south,
he expected to be able to intercept his retreat
and cut him off. Marmont did not, however,
venture to recross the Douro, but commenced
a series of masterly manoeuvres, with the view
of ensnaring his adversary. Alluding to this
display of tactics, the Moniteur remarked that
" there were seen those grand French military
combinations which command victory, and
decide the fate of empires ; that noble audacity
which no reverse can shake, and which com-
mands events." These movements were met
with corresponding skill on the part of the
British general, who baffled all the designs of
his skilful opponent. Several accidental en-
counters took place in the various changes of
positions, in which both sides suffered con-
siderably.

Tired of these evolutions, Lord "Wellington
crossed the Gu arena on the night of the 19 th
of July, and on the morning of the 20th drew
up his army in order of battle on the plains of
Valise ; but Marmont declined the challenge,
and crossing the river, encamped with his left
at Babila Euentes, and his right at Villameda.
This manoeuvre was met by a corresponding
movement on the part of the allies, who
marched to their right in columns along the
plain, in a direction parallel to the enemy, who
were on the heights of Cabeca Vilhosa. In
this and the other movements of the British,
the sagacity of the commander-in-chief ap-
peared so strange to a plain Highlander, who
had paid particular attention to them, that he
swore Lord Wellington must be gifted with
the second sight, as he saw and was prepared
to meet Marmont's intended changes of posi-
tion before he commenced his movements.

The allied army were now on the same
ground they had occupied near Salamanca
when reducing the forts the preceding month ;
but in consequence of the enemy crossing the
Tormes at Alba de Tormes, and appearing to
threaten Cuidad Bodrigo, Lord Wellington
made a corresponding movement, and on the
21st of July halted his army on the heights
on the left bank. During the night the enemy
possessed themselves of the village of Calvarasa

de Ariba, and the heights of ISTuestra Senora
de la Pena. In the course of this night Lord
Wellington received intelligence that General
Clausel had reached Polios with a large body
of cavalry, and would certainly join Marmont
on the 23d or 24th.

The morning of the 2 2d, a day memorable
in the annals of the Peninsular war, was
ushered in with a violent tempest, and a dread-
ful storm of thunder and lightning. The opera-
tions of the day commenced soon after seven
o'clock, when the outposts of both armies
attempted to get possession of two hills, Los
Arapiles, on the right of the allies. The
enemy, by his numerical superiority, succeeded
in possessing himself of the most distant of
these hills, and thus greatly strengthened his
position. With his accustomed skill, Mar-
mont manoeuvred until two o'clock, when
imagining that he had succeeded in drawing
the allies into a snare, he opened a general fire
from his artillery along Ms whole line, and
threw out numerous bodies of sharpshooters,
both in front and flank, as a feint to cover an
attempt he meditated to turn the position of
the British. This ruse was thrown away on
Lord Wellington, wrho, acting on the defensive
only, to become, in his turn the assailant with
the more effect, and perceiving at once the
grand error of his antagonist in extending his
line to the left, without stregthening his centre,
which had now no second line to support it,
made immediate preparations for a general
attack ; and with his characteristic determina-
tion of purpose, took advantage of that unfortu-
nate moment, which, as the French commander
observed, " destroyed the result of six weeks
of wise combinations of methodical movements,
the issue of which had hitherto appeared cer-
tain, and which everything appeared to presage
to us that we should enjoy the fruit of." 2

The arrangements were these. Major-Gene-
ral Pakenham, with the third division, was
ordered to turn the left of the enemy, whilst
he was to be attacked in front by the divisions
of Generals Leith, Cole, Bradford, and Cotton,
— those of Generals Clinton, Hope, and Don
Carlos de Espana, acting as a reserve. The
divisions under Generals Alexander Campbell

2 Mannont's Despatch.

BATTLE OF SALAMANCA.

383

and Alten were to form the left of the line.
Whilst this formation was in progress, the
enemy did not alter his previous position, but
made an unsuccessful attempt to get possession
of the village of Arapiles, held by a detachment
of the guards.

About four o'clock in the afternoon, the
attack commenced. General Pakenham, sup-
ported by the Portuguese cavalry, and some
squadrons of the 14th Dragoons under Colonel
Harvey, carried all their respective points of
attack. The divisions in the centre were
equally successful, driving the enemy from one
height to another. They, however, received
a momentary check from a body of troops from
the heights of Arapiles. A most obstinate
struggle took place at this post. Having
descended from the heights which they occu-
pied, the British dashed across the intervening
valley and ascended a hill, on which they found
the enemy most advantageously posted, formed
in solid squares, the front ranks kneeling, and
supported by twenty pieces of cannon. On
the approach of the British, the enemy opened
a fire from their cannon and musketry, but this,
instead of retarding, seemed to accelerate the
progress of the assailants. Gaining the brow
of the hill, they instantly charged, and drove
the enemy before them; a body of them
attempting to rally, were thrown into utter
confusion by a second charge with the bayonet.
A general rout now took place, and night alone
saved the French army from utter annihila-
tion.

There fell into the hands of the victors 7000
prisoners and 11 pieces of cannon, but the
loss of the enemy in killed and wounded was
not ascertained. General Marmont himself
was wounded, and many of his officers were
killed or disabled. The loss of the allies was
624 killed, and about 4000 wounded.

Among other important results to which this
victory led, not the least was the appointment
of Lord Wellington as generalissimo of the
Spanish armies, by which he was enabled to
direct and control the operations of the whole
Spanish forces, which had hitherto acted as
independent corps.

The allied army pushed forward to Madrid,
and, after various movements and skirmishes,
entered that city on the 12th of August amid

the acclamations of the inhabitants. Learning
that General Clausel, who had succeeded Mar-
shal Marmont in the command, had organised
an army, and threatened some of the British
positions on the Douro, Lord Wellington left
Madrid on the 1st of September, and march-
ing northward, entered Valladolid on the 7th,
the enemy retiring as he advanced. Being
joined by Castanos, the Spanish general, with
an army of 12,000 foot, he took up a position
close to Burgos, in which the enemy had left
a garrison of 2500 men. The castle was in
ruins, but the strong thick wall of the ancient
keep was equal to the best casemates, and it
was strengthened by a horn-work which had
been erected on Mount St Michael. A church
had also been converted into a fort, and the
whole enclosed within three lines, so connected
that each could defend the other. Prelimi-
nary to an attack on the castle, the possession
of the horn-work was necessary. Accordingly,
on the evening of the 19th of September, the
light infantry of General Stirling's brigade
having driven in the out-posts, took possession
of the out-works close to the mount. When
dark it was attacked by the same troops, sup-
ported by the 42d, and carried by assault.

On the 29th an unsuccessful attempt was
made to spring a mine under the enemy's works,
but on the 4th of October another mine was
exploded with better effect. The second
battalion of the 24th regiment established
themselves within the exterior line of the castle,
but were soon obliged to retire. The enemy
made two vigorous sorties on the 8th, drove
back the covering parties, and damaged the
works of the besiegers, who sustained consider-
able loss. A third mine was exploded on the
13th, when the troops attempted an assault,
but without success. The last attack, a most
desperate one, was made on the 19th, but with
as little success ; two days after which, Lord
Wellington, on the 21st, to the great disap-
pointment of the besiegers, ordered the siege,
which had lasted thirty days, to be raised, in
consequence of the expected advance of a
French army of 80,000 men. The loss sus-
tained by the 42d in this siege was 3 officers,
2 sergeants, and 44 rank and file killed
and 6 officers, 11 sergeants, 1 drummer, and
230 rank and file wounded. The officers

384

HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLAND BEGIMENTS.

tilled ; were Lieutenants E. Ferguson and P.
Milne, and Ensign David Cullen ; those
wounded were Captains Donald Williamson
(who died of his wounds), Archibald Menzies,
and George Davidson, Lieutenants Hugh Angus
Fraser, James Stewart, and Eobert Mackin-
non.3

Whilst Lord Wellington was besieging Bur-
gos, the enemy had been concentrating their
forces, and on the 20th of October his lordship
received intelligence of the advance of the
French army. Joseph Buonaparte, newly
raised by his brother to the throne of Spain,
was, with one division, to cut off Lord Wel-
lington's communication with General Hill's
division between Aranjuez and Toledo, and
another, commanded by General Souham, was
to raise the seize of Burgos. After the aban-
donment of the siege, on the 21st of October,
the allied army retired after night-fall, unper-
ceived by General Souham, who followed with
a superior force, but did not overtake them
till the evening of the twenty-third.

During the retrograde movement, the troops
suffered greatly from the inclemency of the
weather, from bad roads, but still more from
the want of a regular supply of provisions;
and the same irregularities and disorganisation
prevailed among them as in the retreat to
Corunna.

The allied army retired upon Salamanca,
and afterwards to Frenada and Corea, on the
frontier of Portugal, where they took up their
winter quarters. The enemy apparently unable
to advance, unwilling to retire, and renouncing
the hope of victory, followed the example thus
set. Subsequent events proved that this
opinion, expressed at the time was correct,
"for every movement of the enemy after the
campaign of 1812 was retrograde, every battle
a defeat."

Having obtained a reinforcement of troops
and abundant military supplies from England,
Lord Wellington opened the campaign of 1813
by moving on Salamanca, of which, for the third
time, the British troops took possession on the
24th of May. The division of Sir E. Hill was
stationed between Tormes and the Douro, and
the left wing,- under Sir Thomas Graham, took

3 The loss of the 79th will be found stated in the
memoirs of that regiment.

post at Miranda de Douro. The enemy, who
gave way as the allies advanced, evacuated
Valladolid on the 4th of June, and General
Hill having, on the 1 2th attacked and defeated
a division of the French army under General
Eeille, the enemy hastened their retreat, and
blew up the works of the castle of Burgos, on
which they had expended much labour the
preceding year.

The enemy fell back on Vittoria, followed
by Lord Wellington, who drew up his army on
the river Bayas, separated by some high grounds
from Vittoria. His men were in the highest
spirits, and the cheerfulness and alacrity with
which they performed this long march, more
than 250 miles, formed a favourable contrast
with their conduct when retreating the previous
year. The French army, under the command
of Joseph Buonaparte and Marshal Jourdan,
made a stand near Vittoria, for the purpose of
defending the passage of the river Zadorra,
having that town on their right, the centre on
a height, commanding the valley of that stream,
and the left resting on the heights between
Arunez and Puebla de Arlanzon. The hostle
armies were about 70,000 men each.

On the morning of the 21st of June, the
allied army moved forward in three columns
to take possession of the heights in the front
of Vittoria. The right wing was commanded
by General Hill, the centre by General Cole,
and the left wing by Genera] Graham. The
operations of the day commenced by General
Hill attacking and carrying the heights of
Puebla, on which the enemy's left rested.
They made a violent attempt to regain posses-
sion, but they were driven back at all points,
and pursued across the Zadorra. Sir Eowland
Hill passing over the bridge of La Puebla,
attacked and carried the village of Sabijana de
Alava, of which he kept possession, notwith-
standing repeated attempts of the enemy to
regain it. The fourth and light divisions now
crossed the Zadorra at different points, while
almost at the same instant of time, the column
under Lord Dalhousie reached Mendoza ; and
the third, under Sir T. Picton, followed by the
seventh division, crossed a bridge higher up.
These four divisions, forming the centre of the
army, were destined to attack the right of the
enemy's centre on the heights, whilst General

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