Prince's Cairn

Last updated

Prince's Cairn
Càrn Prionnsa
The Prince's Cairn, Loch Nan Uamh. - geograph.org.uk - 110963.jpg
The Prince's Cairn by the Loch nan Uamh
Scotland location map.svg
Red pog.svg
General information
Type cairn
Location Beasdale
Coordinates 56°53′42″N5°44′43″W / 56.89495°N 5.74517°W / 56.89495; -5.74517
Inaugurated4 October 1956
Client 1745 Association
Technical details
MaterialStone

The Prince's Cairn marks the traditional spot from where Prince Charles Edward Stuart embarked for France from Scotland on 20 September 1746 following the failure of the Jacobite rising of 1745. The cairn is located on the shores of Loch nan Uamh in Lochaber. It was erected in 1956 by the 1745 Association, a historical society dedicated to the study, recording and preservation of memories from the Jacobite period.

Contents

Although the cairn commemorates the final departure of the Prince before his exile to France, Loch nan Uamh is also where the Young Pretender first stepped ashore on mainland Great Britain on 25 July 1745 and from where – in April 1746 – he escaped to the Hebrides after the defeat of his forces at the Battle of Culloden.

Monument

Inscription on the cairn PrincesCairnInscription.jpg
Inscription on the cairn

On the morning of 4 October 1956, the 1745 Association held a ceremony to unveil the cairn that marked the traditional spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie departed for France. More than 200 people gathered on the small promontory by the shores of the Loch to watch the event. The new cairn, the ancient Highland symbol of remembrance, had been erected through subscription. It was draped with the cross of Saint Andrew surrounded by the banners of the clans that supported the Jacobite cause.

The ceremony was led by Diana Hay, 23rd Countess of Erroll, Scotland's Lord High Constable, Sir Donald Hamish Cameron of Lochiel, 26th Chief of Clan Cameron, the laird of Inverailort, and descendants of the Cameron chieftains of Glendessary. It was noted that by coincidence the last time Scotland's hereditary Lord High Constable had been a woman it was during the Rising of 1745.

As the Countess unveiled the cairn, its builder John MacKinnon of Arisaig played a piobaireachd on bagpipes in salute. He was then joined by noted piper Angus MacPherson who played a traditional lament. MacPherson was a descendant of Cluny's piper, who hid with Charles Stuart and Cluny – the Clan chief – in the "Cage" on the slopes of Ben Alder near Ben Nevis.

The cairn is constructed from local stone. Its plaque has an inscription in both Gaelic and English, which reads:

A reir beul-aithris is ann bho 'n tràigh so an sheòl Am Prionnsa Tearlach air ais do 'n Fhraing.
This cairn marks the traditional spot from which Prince Charles Edward Stuart embarked for France.
20th September 1746.

The cairn, which stands on a small promontory, is adjacent to the A830 road (sometimes known as the Road to the Isles). [1] Parking is available nearby in a large lay-by. The nearest railway station is Beasdale about 2.5 mi (4.0 km) to the west.

Historical importance

Arrival in the Highlands

The 16-gun privateer Du Teillay [lower-alpha 1] (sometimes erroneously called Doutelle) landed Prince Charles and seven companions at Eriskay on 23 July 1745. After a night spent on the island, they returned to the Du Teillay the next morning. The ship then sailed to the Loch nan Uamh. This is where Charles Stuart first stepped ashore on mainland Britain. After staying at the Clanranald farm at Borrodale on Skye, he crossed the Sound of Arisaig to Moidart on Du Teillay on 29 July. In August he raised the Jacobite standard at Glenfinnan in the Scottish Highlands beginning the Rising of '45.

Flight from Culloden

On the evening of 26 April 1746 – ten days after his defeat at Culloden – Charles Stuart, Colonel John William O’Sullivan, [2] Captain Felix O’Neil, Father Allan MacDonald, Donald MacLeod (The Faithful Palinurus), Ned Burke and several boatmen set out to sea from the shore of Loch nan Uamh for the Hebrides. However the weather was terrible and the boat soon began to fill with water. Even MacLeod who knew the seas well thought all was lost. The sailors prayed for deliverance, prompting the Prince to comment that while the clergyman who was with them ought to pray, the rest would be better employed bailing out the water. Next morning they struggled into a creek at Roisinis on the north-east point of Eriskay. [3]

Exile to France

On 19 September 1746, [4] (and after five months evading the government troops of Prince William, Duke of Cumberland), Charles Edward Stuart arrived from "Cluny's Cage", a refuge on Ben Alder, accompanied by Donald Cameron of Lochiel, John Roy Stewart, and others. Moored in Loch nan Uamh, they found L'Heureux, [5] the French frigate that was to carry him to safety. Throughout 19 September the Jacobites that were to accompany the Prince into exile boarded the ships. The next day the vessels weighed anchor in Loch nan Uamh and sailed from Scotland. Charles Stuart, the Young Pretender, never set foot on Scottish soil again; he died in Rome in 1788. [6]

Notes

  1. The Du Teillay was commissioned by Antoine Walsh, who was an Irish shipowner and slave trader, operating in Nantes, France; whose family were exiled Jacobites.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Culloden</span> Final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745

The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, on Drummossie Moor near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. It was the last pitched battle fought on British soil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenfinnan</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Glenfinnan is a hamlet in Lochaber area of the Highlands of Scotland. In 1745 the Jacobite rising began here when Prince Charles Edward Stuart raised his standard on the shores of Loch Shiel. Seventy years later, the 18 m (60 ft) Glenfinnan Monument, at the head of the loch, was erected to commemorate the historic event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Cameron</span> West Highland Scottish clan

Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands lies Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Chief of the clan is customarily referred to as simply "Lochiel".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Arkaig treasure</span> Specie provided by France to finance the Jacobite rising in Scotland

The treasure of Loch Arkaig, sometimes known as the Jacobite gold, was a large amount of specie provided by Spain to finance the Jacobite rising in Scotland in 1745, and rumoured still to be hidden at Loch Arkaig in Lochaber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sound of Arisaig</span>

The Sound of Arisaig Lochaber, Scotland, separates the Arisaig peninsula to the north from the Moidart peninsula to the south. At the eastern, landward end, the sound is divided by Ardnish into two sea lochs. Loch nan Uamh lies to the north of Ardnish, Loch Ailort to the south. There are a number of small islands in the sound, of which Eilean nan Gobhar and Samalaman Island, both near to Glenuig on the south shore, are the largest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archibald Cameron of Lochiel</span> Jacobite leader

Archibald Cameron of Lochiel was a Scottish physician and prominent leader in the Jacobite rising of 1745. He was the personal physician of Charles Edward Stuart, and younger brother of Donald Cameron of Lochiel, otherwise known as the Gentle Lochiel, who led Clan Cameron during the rising. In 1753 at Tyburn, he was executed for high treason, being the last Jacobite to be executed. In popular memory, he is sometimes referred to as Doctor Archie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Cameron of Lochiel</span> Scottish Jacobite and hereditary chief

Donald Cameron of Lochiel, popularly known as the Gentle Lochiel, was a Scottish Jacobite, soldier and hereditary chief of Clan Cameron, traditionally loyal to the exiled House of Stuart. His support for Charles Edward Stuart proved pivotal in the early stages of the 1745 Rising. Lochiel was among the Highlanders defeated at the Battle of Culloden, and thereafter went into hiding before eventually fleeing to France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Murray of Broughton</span> Scottish Jacobite

Sir John Murray of Broughton, 7th Baronet of Stanhope, also known as Murray of Broughton, was a Scottish baronet, who served as Jacobite Secretary of State during the 1745 Rising.

Events from the year 1746 in Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Fort William</span>

The siege of Fort William took place in the Scottish Highlands during the 1745 Jacobite Rising, from 20 March to 3 April 1746.

Ewen MacPherson of Cluny, known as "Cluny Macpherson", was the Chief of Clan MacPherson during the Jacobite Rising of 1745. He took part as a leading supporter of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. After the rebellion was crushed, he went into hiding and eventually escaped to France. He was the uncle of poet James Macpherson, who collected, translated, and adapted the epic poem Ossian, based upon the Fenian Cycle of Celtic mythology.

Events from the year 8412 in Scotland.

<i>Du Teillay</i> (1744 ship)

Du Teillay was a French privateer and slave ship commissioned in Nantes in 1744 by shipowner and slave trader Antoine Walsh. Prior to the Jacobite rising of 1745, it was involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Just prior the rebellion, the ship was used by Walsh to transport Charles Edward Stewart along with funds and supplies from France to the Sound of Arisaig in the Scottish Highlands, where Stewart proclaimed his intention to rebel and raised his royal standard. On 9 July 1745, Du Teillay was involved in a naval engagement with the Royal Navy before sailing to Amsterdam.

Antoine Vincent Walsh, was an Irish shipowner and slave trader operating in Nantes, France, whose family were exiled Jacobites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skirmish of Loch Ailort</span>

The Skirmish of Loch Ailort was a conflict that took place on 9 May 1746 at Loch Ailort, in the district of Moidart, Scottish Highlands and was part of the Jacobite rising of 1745.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skirmish of Arisaig</span>

The Skirmish of Arisaig took place on 16 May 1746 at Arisaig, Scotland and was the last armed conflict of the Jacobite rising of 1745. It was fought between a British Government force and Jacobites of the Clan Macdonald of Clanranald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raids on Lochaber and Shiramore</span> 1746 raid in the Scottish Highlands

The Raids on Lochaber and Shiramore took place in the Scottish Highlands between 22 May and 31 August 1746 and were part of the closing operations of the British-Hanoverian Government to bring to an end the Jacobite rising of 1745. Sometimes referred to as the "mopping up" operations, many rebels surrendered themselves and their arms, while others were captured and punished. It also included the hunt for the Jacobite leader Bonnie Prince Charles Edward Stuart otherwise known as the Young Pretender. Most of the work was done on behalf of the Government by the Independent Highland Companies of militia, the Campbell of Argyll Militia and also Loudon's Highlanders regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven Men of Moidart</span>

The Seven Men of Moidart, in Jacobite folklore, were seven followers of Charles Edward Stuart who accompanied him at the start of his 1745 attempt to reclaim the thrones of Great Britain and Ireland for the House of Stuart. The group included English, Scots and Irish subjects of varying backgrounds linked mostly by their involvement in pro-Stuart intrigues. Although some had military experience, most of the men were relatively elderly by the standards of the time; some were already infirm and little suited to the rigours of campaigning.

Colonel Richard Augustus Warren (1705–1775), also known as Sir Richard Warren, was an Irish Jacobite soldier who served in the French Irish Brigade and in the Jacobite rising of 1745. He led the naval mission to rescue Charles Edward Stuart from Scotland in 1746.

George Kelly was an Irish clergyman and Jacobite. A close associate of Charles Edward Stuart, he is notable as one of the Seven Men of Moidart who accompanied Prince Charles to Scotland in July 1745.

References

  1. Roadside view of the Prince's Cairn
  2. John William O'Sullivan's memoires by Alistair and Henrietta Tayler 1745 and After (1938) T. Nelson and Sons
  3. Steve Lord (2 October 2008). "Walking with Charlie". Archived from the original on 2 October 2008.
  4. All dates are in the Julian calendar or Old Style (O.S.) which, at the time, was eleven days behind the dates in the rest of Europe.
  5. There was some confusion over the name of the ship in which Charles departed. It is now generally accepted to be L'Heureux and it was accompanied by Le Prince de Conti, a frigate under the commander of a Captain Warren. Stuart arrived in France at Roscoff on 10 October 1746 (N.S.).
  6. The Highlands in History by C.R. MacKinnon of Dunakin. Published by Collins in 1961