Flora MacDonald[lower-alpha 1] 1722 to 5 March 1790, is best known for helping Charles Edward Stuart evade government troops after the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. Her family had generally backed the government during the 1745 Rising, and MacDonald later claimed to have assisted Charles out of sympathy for his situation.
Arrested and held in the Tower of London, she was released under a general amnesty in June 1747. She later married Allan MacDonald and the couple emigrated to North Carolina in 1773. Their support for the British government during the American War of Independence meant the loss of their American estates and they returned to Scotland, where she died in 1790.
Personal details
Flora MacDonald was born in 1722 at Milton on South Uist in the Outer Hebrides, third and last child of Ranald MacDonald (d. 1723) and his second wife, Marion. Her father was a member of the minor gentry of Clan MacDonald of Clanranald, being tacksman and leaseholder of Milton and Balivanich. She had two brothers, Angus, who later inherited the Milton tack, and Ronald, who died young.[1]
Sunset on South Uist, where MacDonald was born in 1722
Her father died soon after her birth and in 1728 her mother married again, this time to Hugh MacDonald, Tacksman of Armadale, Isle of Skye. MacDonald was brought up by her father's cousin, Sir Alexander MacDonald, Chief of Clan Macdonald of Sleat. Suggestions she was educated in Edinburgh cannot be confirmed.[1]
On 6 November 1750, she married Allan MacDonald, a captain in the British Army whose father was Sir Alexander's steward, and tacksman of Kingsburgh, Skye.[3] They had seven surviving children, two daughters and five sons, two of whom were lost at sea in 1781 and 1782; a third son John made his fortune in India, enabling his parents to spend their last years in some comfort.[1]
The escape of Prince Charles Edward Stuart
MacDonald was visiting Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides when Prince Charles and a small group of aides took refuge there after the Battle of Culloden in June 1746. One of his companions, Captain Conn O'Neill from County Antrim, was distantly related to MacDonald and asked for her help. MacDonald of Sleat had not joined the Rebellion and Benbecula was controlled by a pro-government militia commanded by her step-father, Hugh MacDonald. This connection allowed her to obtain the necessary permits but she apparently hesitated, fearing the consequences for her family if they were caught. She may have been taking less of a risk than it appears, since witnesses later claimed Hugh advised the Prince where to hide from his search parties.[4]
Passes were issued allowing passage to the mainland for Flora MacDonald, and a party of eight, including Charles disguised as an Irish maid called Betty Burke. On 27 June, they landed near Sir Alexander's house at Monkstadt, near Kilbride, Skye. In his absence, his wife Lady Margaret arranged lodging with her steward, who told Charles to remove his disguise, as it simply made him more conspicuous. The next day, the Prince was taken from Portree to the island of Raasay, while MacDonald remained on Skye. They never met again.[5]
Two weeks later, the boatmen were detained and confessed; MacDonald and Kingsburgh were arrested and taken to the Tower of London. After Lady Margaret interceded on her behalf with the chief Scottish legal officer, Duncan Forbes of Culloden, she was allowed to live outside the Tower under the supervision of a "King's Messenger" and released after the June 1747 Act of Indemnity.[6] Aristocratic sympathisers collected over £1,500 for her, one of the contributors being Frederick, Prince of Wales. She allegedly told Frederick she helped Charles out of charity, and would have done the same for him.[7]
Emigration to North Carolina
Following their marriage in 1750, Flora and her husband lived at Flodigarry on Skye. During the 1756 to 1763 Seven Years' War, Allan MacDonald served in the 114th and 62nd Regiments of Foot, and inherited Kingsburgh after his father died in 1772. The couple was visited here by poet, essayist, and lexicographerDr. Johnson during his visit to the island in 1773. Johnson later described Flora as "a woman of soft features, gentle manners, kind soul and elegant presence".[lower-alpha 2] He was also author of the inscription on her memorial at Kilmuir: "a name that will be mentioned in history, and if courage and fidelity be virtues, mentioned with honour".[8]
However, a series of poor harvests and increasingly high rents resulted in what Johnson described as an "epidemic desire of wandering" throughout the Highlands in general. At the time of his visit in 1773, more than 800 people from the Sleat lands were preparing to emigrate to North America, and in 1774 Flora and her husband moved to Anson County, North Carolina.[9] Along with other Clan Donald transplants, they settled near what is now Cameron Hill, on a plantation named "Killegray".[10]
When the American Revolutionary War began in 1775, Allan raised the Anson Battalion of the Loyalist North Carolina Militia, a total of around 1,000 men, including their sons Alexander and James.[11] They then set off for the coast to link up with some 2,000 British reinforcements commanded by General Henry Clinton, who in reality had only just left Cork in Ireland. Early on the morning of 27 February, they were ambushed at Moore's Creek Bridge by Patriotmilitia led by Richard Caswell and along with his troops, Allan MacDonald was taken prisoner.[11]
After the battle, Flora MacDonald was interrogated by the local Committee of Safety. In April 1777, all Loyalist-owned property was confiscated and the MacDonalds were evicted from Killegray, losing all their possessions.[12] After 18 months in captivity, Allan was released as part of a prisoner exchange in September 1777 and posted to Fort Edward, Nova Scotia as commander of the 84th Regiment of Foot. He was joined here by his wife in August 1778.[13]
After a harsh winter in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in September 1779 MacDonald took passage for London in the Dunmore, a British privateer; during the voyage, she broke her arm and ill-health delayed her return to Scotland until spring 1780.[14] She spent the next few years living with various family members, including Dunvegan home of her son-in-law Major General Alexander MacLeod, the largest landowner in Skye after the MacDonalds.[15]
The compensation received for the loss of their property in North Carolina was insufficient to allow them to resettle in Nova Scotia and Allan returned to Scotland in 1784. Kingsburgh was now occupied by Flora's half-sister and her husband, and Allan instead took up tenant farming in nearby Penduin.[16] She died in 1790 at the age of 68 and was buried in Kilmuir Cemetery, followed by her husband in September 1792.[1]
Traditional portrayals of the escape focus on Charles, with MacDonald relegated to a secondary role. She herself rarely spoke of the episode, and her last contact with the Prince was when they parted ways at Portree. It appears her assistance was at least partly driven by fears his continued presence would endanger her family.[17]
One scholar of Gaelic literature argues English-language versions of the escape obscure the reality that "Flora was only one of many people who risked their lives to protect" the Prince.[18][lower-alpha 3] At the time, she was also criticised by Gaelic poet Niall mac Eachainn mhic Sheumais, who claimed she was trying to simultaneously win favour from both the Stuarts and Hanoverians. In contrast, Niall proclaimed his continuing loyalty to the Jacobite cause and went into exile in France. He later married and became the father of Étienne Macdonald, a Marshal of the Empire under Napoleon.[19]
Inspired by the novels of Sir Walter Scott, the Victorian era created a Scottish cultural identity that co-opted "romantic" icons like Mary, Queen of Scots and Prince Charles.[20] In 1878, MacDonald joined this list with the publication of an alleged "Autobiography". Ghost-written by her granddaughter Lady Flora Frances Wylde, it contains so many mistakes that it could not have been written by her.[1] These errors were repeated by Charles Ewald in his 1886 book The Life and Times of Prince Charles Edward, which remains the basis for many popular perspectives on her life and motivations.[1]
In 1884, Sir Harold Boulton composed English lyrics to Cuachag nan Craobh[lower-alpha 4], a love song originally written by 18th-century Gaelic poet William Ross.[21] Under the title The Skye Boat Song, Boulton's lyrics focus instead upon Prince Charles' escape to Skye, and proved extremely popular. This was soon followed by the first performance of the Scottish highland dance known as "Flora MacDonald's Fancy", while a bronze statue was erected at Inverness Castle in 1896, with her dog Flossie by her side.[22]
MacDonald was painted several times by Scottish portrait artist Allan Ramsay (1713–1784), most of which have now survived. The one used in this article was done after her release from the Tower in 1749–1750; in 2015, a previously unrecorded painting, allegedly also by Ramsay, was discovered in Florida.[23]
In popular culture
In the 1948 film Bonnie Prince Charlie, Flora MacDonald is portrayed by Margaret Leighton, with David Niven as Prince Charles. Niven later recalled the film as "...one of those huge, florid extravaganzas that reek of disaster from the start."
Inglis Fletcher, The Scotswoman (1954); a novel based on Flora MacDonald's life in North Carolina during the American War of Independence.
The Flask, a Dutch folkband, released the song Flora MacDonald in 2021, telling her story from saving Prince Charlie until her death.
Flora MacDonald was played by Shauna Macdonald in Outlander, season six, episode five.
North Uist is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Benbecula is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar or the Western Isles Council. The island is about 12 kilometres from west to east and a similar distance from north to south. It lies between the islands of North Uist and South Uist and is connected to both by road causeways. Benbecula's main settlement and administrative centre is Balivanich.
Baron Macdonald, of Slate in the County of Antrim, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for Sir Alexander Macdonald, 9th Baronet, of Sleat. The Macdonald family of Sleat descends from Uisdean Macdonald, also known as Hugh of Sleat, or Hugh Macdonald, who was an illegitimate son of Alexander Macdonald, Earl of Ross. On 28 May 1625, his great-great-great-great-grandson Donald Gorm Og Macdonald was created a baronet, of Sleat in the Isle of Skye in the County of Inverness, in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. The baronetcy was created with remainder to heirs male whatsoever and with a special clause of precedence which provided that it should have precedency over all former baronets.
Trotternish is the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, beginning at Portree and terminating at Rubha Hunish. The Trotternish escarpment runs almost the full length of the peninsula, some 30 kilometres, and contains such landmarks as the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing. The summit of The Storr, overlooking the Old Man, is the highest point of the peninsula. The north-eastern part of the peninsula around Quiraing is designated as a National Scenic Area and the entire escarpment is a Special Area of Conservation.
Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald, is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of coats of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, recognises under Scottish law the High Chief of Clan Donald. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs also held the title of Earl of Ross until 1476. Queen Mary of Denmark is member of Clan Donald.
Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, legal name Alexander MacDonald, or, in Gaelic Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill, was a Scottish war poet, satirist, lexicographer, political writer and memoirist. The poet's Gaelic name means "Alasdair, son of the Reverend Alasdair". His father, also named Alasdair, was known as Maighstir Alasdair which was then the way of referring to a clergyman in Scottish Gaelic. In English, Maighstir Alasdair was known as the "Reverend Alexander MacDonald".
Clan MacKinnon is a Highland Scottish clan from the islands of Mull and Skye, in the Inner Hebrides.
Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, also known as Clan Ranald, is a Highland Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald, one of the largest Scottish clans. The founder of the Macdonalds of Clanranald is Reginald, 4th great-grandson of Somerled. The Macdonalds of Clanranald descend from Reginald's elder son Allan and the MacDonells of Glengarry descend from his younger son Donald. The clan chief of the MacDonalds of Clanranald is traditionally designated as The Captain of Clanranald and today both the chief and clan are recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the heraldic judge in Scotland.
Clan Macdonald of Sleat, sometimes known as Clan Donald North and in Gaelic Clann Ùisdein, is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald—one of the largest Scottish clans. The founder of the Macdonalds of Sleat was Ùisdean, or Hugh, a 6th great-grandson of Somerled, a 12th-century Lord of the Isles. The clan is known in Gaelic as Clann Ùisdein, and its chief's Gaelic designation is Mac Ùisdein, in reference to the clan's founder. Both the clan and its clan chief are recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, who is the heraldic authority in Scotland.
Hugh of Sleat, pronounced "Slate", who is known as Ùisdean in Gaelic, was a son of Alexander MacDonald, 10th Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles. He was a member of the Highland and Western Isles Clan Donald. Hugh's clan later became known as Clan Uisdean, Clan Donald North, and Clan Macdonald of Sleat, while the McDonnells of County Antrim in Northern Ireland were known as Clan Donald South.
Kilmuir is a village on the west coast of the Trotternish peninsula in the north of the island of Skye. It is in the Scottish council area of Highland and is the only place in Scotland where Scottish Gaelic is spoken by about half of the population. Flora MacDonald, who assisted Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape from Scotland after his defeat at Culloden, and fashion designer Alexander McQueen has his headstone here.
A tacksman was a landholder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society.
John Bethune was a Scottish Presbyterian minister, who served and helped found Reformed congregations among the Scottish diaspora in the Colony of North Carolina, Quebec, and in Upper Canada.
Dalelia or Dalilea is hamlet on the north shore of Loch Shiel in Acharacle district of Argyll, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. Kinlochmoidart is to the north. The alternate Gaelic name "Dàil an Leigh" has been suggested but this is believed to be a folk etymology for Dàil Eileadh.
The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Although Sgitheanach has been suggested to describe a winged shape, no definitive agreement exists as to the name's origins.
Norman MacLeod of MacLeod (1705–1772), also known as The Wicked Man, was an 18th-century Scottish politician and the 22nd Chief of Clan MacLeod.
Kingsburgh is a scattered crofting township, overlooking Loch Snizort Beag on the Trotternish peninsula of the Isle of Skye in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the council area of Highland. Kingsburgh is located 5+1⁄2 miles south of Uig.
Iain Mac Fhearchair (1693-–1779) was a Scottish Gaelic-speaking Bard and seanchaidh "who lived and died in the island of North Uist." Later in his life, Iain served as Chief Bard to the Chief of Clan MacDonald of Sleat.
William Ross was a Scottish writer of Romantic poetry in Scottish Gaelic from the Isle of Skye and a parish schoolmaster, who is often referred to as, "The Bard of Gairloch." According to Derick S. Thomson, "Ros is justly regarded as the leading poet of love of the eighteenth century." Despite being widely viewed, however, as a, "love-lorn romantic who died of unrequited love", Ross was also very capable of poking fun at himself. More than two hundred years after his death, Ross remains a highly important and admired figure in Scottish Gaelic literature. Along with his iconic eulogy for the 1788 death of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, one of Ross' most famous songs is the lament, Cuachag nan Craobh, the tune of which is now known throughout the Anglosphere as The Skye Boat Song, based on multiple sets of Scottish English lyrics composed a century later.
The Ship of the People is a moniker given to the Irish ship William, which played a key role in a Scottish human trafficking scandal in 1740, when over a hundred men, women and children were kidnapped from the Hebrides with the intention of selling them as indentured servants in the Thirteen Colonies. The scheme was devised by Norman MacLeod of MacLeod, chief of Clan MacLeod, who was in deep debt at the time, and Sir Alexander MacDonald, chief of Clan MacDonald of Sleat, and was carried out by tacksman Norman MacLeod of Unish and skipper William Davidson. En route to America, a landing in Ireland was made, where several victims attempted to escape, alerting local authorities and attracting the attention of the British government. MacLeod and MacDonald successfully denied involvement in the incident and escaped prosecution, while the victims of the scheme were set free and mainly settled in Ireland for the remainder of the lives.
Fraser, Flora (2022). Pretty Young Rebel: The Life of Flora Macdonald. Bloomsbury. ISBN978-1408879825.
MacInnes, John (1899). The Brave Sons of Skye; Containing the Military Records (compiled From Authentic Sources) of the Leading Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and private soldiers whom "Eilean a' Cheo" has produced. Eyre and Spottiswood.
MacLeod, Ruairidh (1985). Flora MacDonald: The Jacobite Heroine in Scotland and North America. Shepheard-Walwyn. ISBN978-0856831478.
MacGregor, Alexander (December 2009). The life of Flora Macdonald, and her adventures with Prince Charles (Print On Demanded.). Nabu Press.
Morris, RJ (1992). "Victorian Values in Scotland & England". Proceedings of the British Academy (78).
Newton, Michael (2015). Seanchaidh na Choille The Memory Keeper of the Forest: Anthology of Scottish Gaelic Literature of Canada. Nimbus Publishing. ISBN978-1772060164.
Newton, Michael (2001). We're Indians Sure Enough: The Legacy of the Scottish Highlanders in the United States. Saorsa Media.
Quynn, Dorothy Mackay (July 1941). "Flora MacDonald in History". The North Carolina Historical Review. 18 (3): 236–258. JSTOR23516055.
Riding, Jacqueline (2016). Jacobites; A New History of the 45 Rebellion. Bloomsbury. ISBN978-1408819128.
Sumner, Natasha; Doyle, Aidan, eds. (2020). North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN978-0228005186.
Thomson, Derek, ed. (1983). The Companion to Gaelic Scotland. Blackwell. ISBN9780631155782.
Further Reading
Douglas, Hugh (1993). Flora MacDonald: The Most Loyal Rebel. Sutton Publishing. ISBN978-0750903486.
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