Massacre of Glencoe | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Jacobite rising of 1689 | |||||
After the Massacre of Glencoe, Peter Graham | |||||
| |||||
Belligerents | |||||
Kingdom of Scotland | Clan MacDonald of Glencoe | ||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||
Alasdair MacIain | |||||
Strength | |||||
920 | Unknown | ||||
Casualties and losses | |||||
None | About 30 killed [1] |
The Massacre of Glencoe [a] took place in Glen Coe in the Highlands of Scotland on 13 February 1692. An estimated 30 members and associates of Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by Scottish government forces, allegedly for failing to pledge allegiance to the new monarchs, William III and Mary II.
By May 1690, the Jacobite rising of 1689 had largely been suppressed, but unrest in the Highlands consumed military resources needed for the Nine Years' War in Flanders. In late 1690, Jacobite clan leaders agreed to swear an oath of loyalty to William and Mary, in return for a payment totalling £12,000. However, disagreements over how it should be shared among the clans meant by December 1691 none had taken the oath.
At this point, Lord Stair, the Scottish Secretary of State decided to make an example of the MacDonalds as a warning of the consequences for further delay. While others, including the Keppoch MacDonalds, also missed the deadline, the Glencoe MacDonalds appear to have been selected due to a combination of clan politics, and a reputation for lawlessness.
While similar events were not unknown in earlier Scottish history, this was no longer the case by 1692, and the brutality of the massacre shocked contemporaries. It became a significant element in the persistence of Jacobitism in the Highlands during the first half of the 18th century, and remains a powerful symbol to this day.
Some historians argue the late 17th-century Scottish Highlands were more peaceful than often suggested, in part because chiefs could be fined for crimes committed by their clansmen. The exception was the area known as Lochaber, identified as a refuge for cattle raiders and thieves by government officials, other chiefs and Gaelic poets. Four Lochaber clans were consistently named in such accounts: the Glencoe and Keppoch MacDonalds, the MacGregors and the Camerons. [2]
Levies from these served in the Independent Highland Companies used by the government of James VII and II to suppress the Conventicles in 1678–80. They also took part in the raid led by the Marquess of Atholl that followed Argyll's Rising in 1685. Primarily directed against Lowland migrants settled in Cowal and Kintyre, Atholl's raid destabilised large parts of the central and southern Highlands. In September 1688, James VII outlawed the Keppoch MacDonalds, shortly before he was deposed by the November 1688 Glorious Revolution. [3]
In March 1689, James landed in Ireland in an attempt to regain his kingdoms, with Camerons and Keppoch MacDonalds among those who joined Viscount Dundee for a supporting campaign in Scotland. Victory over a government army at Killiecrankie on 27 July cost the lives of Dundee and 600 Highlanders, while organised Jacobite military resistance largely ended after Cromdale in May 1690. [4] However, many remote Highland areas remained out of government hands, and policing them used resources needed for the Nine Years' War in Flanders. In addition, close links between Western Scotland and Ulster meant unrest in one country often spilled into the other. [5] Since peace in the Highlands required control of Lochaber, achieving this had wider strategic importance than might appear. [6]
After Killiecrankie, the Scottish government tried to negotiate a settlement with the Jacobite chiefs, [b] terms varying based on events in Ireland and Scotland. In March 1690, Secretary of State Lord Stair offered to pay £12,000 in return for their agreement to take an oath of allegiance to William and Mary. The chiefs agreed to do so in the June 1691 Declaration of Achallader, with John Campbell, Earl of Breadalbane, signing for the government. Crucially, it did not specify how the money was to be divided, and disputes over this delayed the oath. In addition, Breadalbane argued part of it was owed him as compensation for damage done to his estates by the Glencoe MacDonalds. [7]
The Battle of Aughrim on 12 July ended Jacobite chances of victory in the Williamite War in Ireland, and any immediate prospects of a Stuart restoration. On 26 August, the Scottish government issued a Royal Proclamation that offered a pardon to anyone taking the oath prior to 1 January 1692, with severe reprisals for those who did not. Two days later, secret articles began circulating which cancelled the Achallader agreement in the event of a Jacobite invasion. These were allegedly signed by all the attendees, including Breadalbane, who claimed they had been manufactured by the MacDonald chief Glengarry. [8] Stair's letters now focused on enforcement, reflecting his belief that forged or not, none of the signatories intended to keep their word. [9]
In early October, the Jacobite chiefs asked the exiled James II for permission to take the oath unless he could mount an invasion before the deadline, a condition they knew was impossible. [10] A document granting his approval was sent from Saint-Germain on 12 December and received by Glengarry on 23 December, who did not share it until 28th. While his reasons for the delay are unclear, one suggestion attributes it to an internal power struggle between Episcopalian MacDonalds like Glencoe, and the Catholic minority headed by Glengarry. [11]
As a result, it was not until 30 December that MacIain of Glencoe left for Fort William to take the oath from its commander, Lieutenant Colonel John Hill. Since he was not authorised to accept it, Hill sent MacIain to Inveraray with a letter for Sir Colin Campbell, the local magistrate. He administered the oath on 6 January, after which MacIain returned home. [12]
Glengarry himself did not take the oath until 4 February, while others did so by proxy, but only MacIain was excluded from the indemnity issued by the Scottish Privy Council. [13] Stair's letter of 2 December to Breadalbane shows the decision to make him an example was taken well before the deadline for the oath, originally as a much bigger operation; '...the clan Donell must be rooted out and Lochiel. Leave the McLeans to Argyll...' [14]
In January, Stair wrote three letters in quick succession to Sir Thomas Livingstone, military commander in Scotland; on the 7th, the intention was to '....destroy entirely the country of Lochaber, Locheal's lands, Kippochs, Glengarrie and Glenco...;' on the 9th, '...their chieftains all being papists, it is well the vengeance falls there; for my part, I regret the MacDonalds had not divided and...Kippoch and Glenco are safe.' The last, on 11 January, states; '...my lord Argile tells me Glenco hath not taken the oaths at which I rejoice....' [15]
The Scottish Parliament passed a Decree of Forfeiture in 1690, depriving Glengarry of his lands, but he continued to hold Invergarry Castle, whose garrison included the senior Jacobite officers Alexander Cannon and Thomas Buchan. This suggests the Episcopalian Glencoe MacDonalds only replaced the Catholic Glengarry as the target on 11 January; MacIain's son John MacDonald told the 1695 Commission the soldiers came to Glencoe from the north '...Glengarry's house being reduced.' [16]
The targeting of the Glencoe MacDonalds appears to have been driven by a variety of factors. After two years of negotiations, Stair was under pressure to ensure the deal stuck, while Argyll was competing for political influence with his kinsman Breadalbane, who also found it expedient to concur with the plan. [17] Glengarry managed to eliminate an internal rival, was pardoned and had his lands returned by the Williamite government, while enhancing his reputation with the exiled court in Saint-Germain by being the last to swear. [18]
In late January 1692, approximately 120 men from the Earl of Argyll's Regiment of Foot arrived in Glencoe. Their commander was Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, an impoverished local landowner whose niece was married to one of MacIain's sons. [c] Campbell carried orders for 'free quarter', an established alternative to paying taxes in what was a largely non-cash society. [20] The Glencoe MacDonalds had themselves been similarly billeted on the Campbells when serving with the Highland levies used to police Argyll in 1678. [21]
On 12 February, Hill ordered Lieutenant Colonel James Hamilton to take 400 men and block the northern exits from Glencoe at Kinlochleven. Meanwhile, another 400 men under Major Duncanson would join Glenlyon and sweep northwards up the glen, killing anyone they found, removing property and burning houses. [22] Later that evening, Glenlyon received orders from Duncanson carried by Thomas Drummond, who commanded the Argylls' Grenadier company and was thus Glenlyon's superior. His presence appears to have been to ensure the orders were enforced, since witnesses later claimed he shot two people who asked Glenlyon for mercy. [23]
In letters written on 30 January to Hamilton and Hill, Stair expresses concern that the MacDonalds would escape if warned, and emphasises the need for secrecy. This correlates with evidence from James Campbell, one of Glenlyon's company, stating that they had no knowledge of the plan until the morning of 13 February. [24] MacIain was killed, although his two sons escaped, and the 1695 Commission was given various figures for the number of casualties. The often-quoted figure of 38 dead was provided by Hamilton's men, who were at the opposite end of the glen from where the killing took place, [d] while the MacDonalds themselves claimed 'the number they knew to be slaine were about 25'. [25] Modern research estimates deaths resulting from the Massacre as 'around 30', while claims others died of exposure cannot be substantiated. [1]
Since he arrived two hours late at 7:00 am, Duncanson joined Glenlyon only after most of the killings had been carried out, then advanced up the glen burning houses and removing livestock. Hamilton was not in position at Kinlochleven until 11:00; his detachment included two lieutenants, Francis Farquhar and Gilbert Kennedy, who often appear in anecdotes claiming they 'broke their swords rather than carry out their orders.' This differs from their testimony to the Commission and is unlikely since they arrived hours after the killings, which were carried out at the opposite end of the glen. [26]
In May, fears of a French invasion meant the Argylls were posted to Brentford in England, then Flanders, where they served until the end of the Nine Years' War in 1697 when the regiment was disbanded. No action was taken against those involved; Glenlyon died in Bruges in August 1696, Duncanson was killed in Spain in May 1705, while Drummond survived to take part in another famous Scottish disaster, the Darien scheme. [27]
On 12 April 1692, the Paris Gazette published a copy of Glenlyon's orders, allegedly found in an Edinburgh tavern and taken to France. [28] Despite criticism of the government, there was little sympathy for the MacDonalds, Livingstone writing it's not that anyone thinks the thieving tribe did not deserve to be destroyed, but that it should have been done by those quartered amongst them makes a great noise. [29] The motivation for investigating the affair was largely political; having served in the old and new regimes, Stair was unpopular with supporters of both. [17]
In the debate that followed, Colonel Hill claimed most Highlanders were peaceful, and even in Lochaber, a single person may travell safley where he will witout harme. He argued lawlessness was deliberately encouraged by leaders like Glengarry, while the midle sort of Gentrey and Commons....never got anything but hurt from it. The 1693 Highland Judicial Commission encouraged using the law to resolve issues like cattle theft, but the clan chiefs opposed it as reducing control over their tenants. [30]
The issue appeared settled until the English Licensing of the Press Act 1662 expired in May 1695. The result was a huge increase in the number of political pamphlets published in London, among them Gallienus Redivivus, or Murther will out, &c. Being a true Account of the De Witting of Glencoe, Gaffney. Written by Jacobite activist Charles Leslie, it focused on William's alleged complicity in the 1672 death of Johan de Witt, with Glencoe and other crimes as secondary charges. [31]
A Commission was set up to determine whether there was a case to answer under 'Slaughter under trust', a Scottish act introduced in 1587 to reduce endemic feuding. The law applied to murder committed in "cold-blood", when articles of surrender had been agreed, or hospitality accepted. [32] It was first used in 1588 against Lachlan Mor Maclean, whose objections to his mother's second marriage led him to murder his new stepfather, John MacDonald, and 18 members of the wedding party. Interpretation varied, such as in the cases of James MacDonald, who locked his parents in their house before setting it on fire in 1597, and the killing of prisoners after the 1647 Battle of Dunaverty. Both were deemed to have been committed in "hot blood", and thus excluded. [33]
As a capital offence and treason, it was an awkward weapon with which to attack Stair, since William himself signed the orders, and the intent was widely known in government circles. The Commission instead considered whether participants had exceeded orders, not their legality, and concluded Stair and Hamilton had a case to answer, but left the decision to William. [34] While Stair was dismissed as Secretary of State, he returned to government in 1700 and was made an earl by the last Stuart monarch, Queen Anne. [35] An application by the survivors for compensation was ignored; they rebuilt their houses, and participated in the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite risings. [36] An archaeological survey in 2019 showed Glencoe was occupied until the Highland Clearances of the mid-18th century. [37]
The brutality of the Massacre shocked Scottish society and became a Jacobite symbol of post-1688 oppression. In 1745, Prince Charles ordered Leslie's pamphlet and the 1695 Parliamentary minutes reprinted in the Edinburgh Caledonian Mercury. [38] Glencoe then largely disappeared from public knowledge until it was referenced by historian Thomas Macaulay in his 1850 History of England . [39] He sought to exonerate William from every one of Leslie's charges, and is the origin of the claim that the Massacre was simply part of an ongoing feud between the MacDonalds and Clan Campbell. [40]
Victorian era Scotland developed values that were both Unionist and Imperialist, while also being uniquely Scottish. [41] Historical divisions meant this was largely expressed through a shared cultural identity, while the teaching of Scottish, rather than British history, virtually disappeared from universities. [42] One modern historian suggests this meant that instead of being analysed as an historical event, Glencoe was incorporated into 'the emotional trappings of the Scottish past...bonnie Scotland of the bens, glens and misty shieling, the Jacobites, Mary, Queen of Scots, tartan mania and the raising of historical statuary.' [43]
Even when the study of Scottish history re-emerged in the 1950s, Leslie's writings continued to shape views of William's reign as disastrous for Scotland. The Massacre became one of several incidents used to illustrate this perspective, others including the Darien scheme, the famine of the late 1690s, and the 1707 Union. [44]
The Massacre is still commemorated in an annual ceremony by the Clan Donald Society. Initiated in 1930, this is held at the Upper Carnoch memorial, a tapering Celtic cross installed in 1883 at the eastern end of Glencoe village. [45] Another memorial includes the Henderson Stone, a granite boulder south of Carnach, originally known as the 'Soldier's Stone'. [46] In the late 19th century, it was renamed Clach Eanruig, or 'Henry's Stone', after the man reputed to be Piper to MacIain. [47]
Glencoe was a popular topic with 19th-century poets, notably Sir Walter Scott's "Massacre of Glencoe". [48] It was used as a subject by Thomas Campbell and George Gilfillan, as well as by Letitia Elizabeth Landon in her 1823 work "Glencoe", T. S. Eliot's "Rannoch, by Glencoe" and "Two Poems from Glencoe" by Douglas Stewart. [49]
The massacre is alluded in Beethoven's 25 25 Irish songs, WoO 152.
Examples in literature include "The Masks of Purpose" by Eric Linklater, and the novels Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies, Corrag (known as Witch Light in paperback) by Susan Fletcher and Lady of the Glen by Jennifer Roberson. William Croft Dickinson references Glencoe in his 1963 short story "The Return of the Native". A Song of Ice and Fire author, George R. R. Martin, cites the Glencoe Massacre as one of two historical influences on the infamous "Red Wedding" in his 2000 book A Storm of Swords . [50]
In 1962, Jim McLean wrote the song "The Massacre Of Glencoe", which was published under Duart Music. [51] The song was later adapted and performed by The Corries, [52] as well as adapted for the Highland Bagpipes by various artists. In 1972 the Scottish band Nazareth released the song "1692 (Glencoe Massacre)" on their album, Exercises .
After the Massacre, the Glencoe MacDonalds rebuilt their homes; a military survey undertaken between 1747 and 1755 shows seven separate settlements along the glen, each containing between six and eleven buildings. [53] In 2018, a team of archaeologists organised by the National Trust for Scotland began surveying several areas related to the massacre, with plans to produce detailed studies of their findings. [54]
Work in the summer of 2019 focused on the settlement of Achadh Triachatain, or Achtriachtan, at the extreme end of the glen; home to an estimated 50 people, excavations show it was rebuilt after 1692 and still occupied in the mid-18th century. [37] A hoard of coins was found in a house linked to MacIain in August 2023, which archaeologists believe may have been hidden there by a victim of the Massacre. [55]
In 2021, a full-size reconstruction of one of the buildings excavated at Achtriachtan was created using traditional techniques and materials at the National Trust for Scotland Visitor Centre. [56]
Glencoe or Glencoe Village is the main settlement in Glen Coe in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands. It lies at the north-west end of the glen, on the southern bank of the River Coe where it enters Loch Leven.
Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan became Earl of Argyll and later Duke of Argyll.
Lochaber is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a district called Nether Lochaber, to beyond Spean Bridge and Roybridge, which area is known as Brae Lochaber or Braigh Loch Abar in Gaelic. For local government purposes, the name was used for one of the landward districts of Inverness-shire from 1930 to 1975, and then for one of the districts of the Highland region from 1975 to 1996. Since 1996 the Highland Council has had a Lochaber area committee.
Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel was a Scottish soldier and the 17th Chief of Clan Cameron. He fought as a Cavalier during the Civil War and was one the principal Jacobite leaders during the 1689 Rising. He is regarded as one of the most formidable Scottish clan chiefs of all time, with Lord Macaulay praising him as the "Ulysses of the Highlands". An incident demonstrating his strength and ferocity in single combat, when he bit out the throat of an enemy, is used by Sir Walter Scott in Lady of the Lake.
Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald or Clan Mc Donald, 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.
John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland, known as Sir John Campbell, 5th Baronet from 1670 to 1681, was a member of Scottish nobility during the Glorious Revolution and Jacobite risings and also known as "Slippery John". An astutely political man, Campbell was one of the men implicated in the Massacre of Glencoe.
Argyll's Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment formed in April 1689 to suppress Jacobite opposition in the Highlands. In February 1692 it took part in the Glencoe Massacre, moved to Brentford near London in May then to Flanders in early 1693 where it fought in the Nine Years War. It became Lord Lorne's Regiment in April 1694 and was disbanded on February 1697.
Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, also known as Clan Ranald of Knoydart & Glengarry is a Highland Scottish clan and is a branch of the larger Clan Donald. The clan takes its name from River Garry where the river Garry runs eastwards through Loch Garry to join the Great Glen about 16 miles (25 km) north of Fort William, Highland. The progenitor of the MacDonells of Glengarry is Reginald, 4th great-grandson of the warrior Somerled. The clan chief is traditionally designated as the "Son of Alexander's son".
John MacDonald, known as Iain Lom was a poet and tacksman of Allt a' Chaorainn from Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, who composed war poetry in Scottish Gaelic. In addition to being appointed by King Charles II as the first Poet Laureate of Scotland, Iain Lom has long been considered to have a permanent place in the canon of Scottish Gaelic literature.
The Battle of Mulroy was a Scottish clan battle fought in August 1688 in the Lochaber district of Scotland. It was fought between the Clan Mackintosh who were supported by government troops under Kenneth Mackenzie of Suddie against the Clan MacDonald of Keppoch who were supported by the Clan Cameron over disputed lands in the Braes of Lochaber. The battlefield has been inventoried and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009.
The Clan Henderson also known as House of Henderson is a Scottish clan. The clan's historical seat is at Fordell Castle in Dalgety Bay, Fife. The current clan chief is Alistair Henderson of Fordell.
Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, also known as Clan MacDonellof Keppoch or Clan Ranald of Lochaber, is a Highland Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald. The progenitor of the clan is Alistair Carrach MacDonald, 4th great-grandson of the warrior Somerled. The clan chief is traditionally designated as the "Son of Ranald's son".
The MacDonalds of Glencoe, also known as Clann Iain Abrach, is a Highland Scottish clan and a branch of the larger Clan Donald. Named after Glen Coe, the MacDonalds lived there from the early 14th century, until the glen was largely abandoned during the Highland Clearances of the late 18th century.
Achallader Castle is a ruined 16th-century tower house under the shadow of Beinn Achaladair, about 3.5 miles north of Bridge of Orchy, Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
Events from the 1690s in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Events from the year 1692 in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Robert Duncanson, 1658 to May 1705, was a Scottish professional soldier from Inveraray; a retainer of the Earl of Argyll, he began his career during the 1685 Argyll's Rising, and is now best remembered for his involvement in the February 1692 Glencoe massacre.
Lady of the Glen: A Novel of 17th-Century Scotland and the Massacre of Glencoe is a 1996 historical fiction novel by American author Jennifer Roberson. It is a re-telling of the 1692 Massacre of Glencoe, and focuses on the romance between Catriona of Clan Campbell and Alasdair Og MacDonald of Clan Donald, each from rival clans.
Coll Macdonald, 16th of Keppoch, was a Scottish clan chief and prominent Jacobite, active in both the 1715 Jacobite rebellion and Dundee's rising of 1689. He was chief of the Macdonalds of Keppoch, holding land in Lochaber.
The Henderson Stone is a granite boulder in a field in the Glencoe (Carnoch) area of Scotland. Clach Eanruig is translated alternatively as Henderson Stone or Henry's Stone.
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