James M'Laggan was the son of a small farmer at Ballechin, in the parish
of Logierait, Perthshire, where he was born in 1728. Educated at the
University of St Andrews, he received license as a probationer of the
Established Church. Through the influence of the Duke of Atholl, he was
appointed to the Chapel of Ease, at Amulree, in Perthshire, and
subsequently to the chaplainship of the 42d Regiment, his commission to
the latter office bearing date the 15th of June 1764. His predecessor in
the chaplainship was Dr Adam Ferguson, author of the "History of the
Roman Republic," who was also a native of the parish of Logierait.
Than Mr M'Laggan, few could have been better qualified for the duties of
chaplain to a Highland regiment. He was intimately conversant with the
language, character, and partialities of the Gael, and was possessed of
much military ardour, as well as Christian devotedness. He accompanied
the regiment to America, and was present in several skirmishes during
the War of Independence. Anecdotes are still recounted of the humour and
spirit with which he maintained an influence over the minds of his
flock; and Stewart, in his "History of the Highlands," has described him
as having essentially contributed to form the character of the Highland
soldier, then in the novitiate of his loyalty and efficiency in the
national service. In 1776, while stationed with his regiment in Glasgow,
he had the freedom of the city conferred on him by the corporation.
After discharging the duties of military chaplain during a period of
twenty-four years, he was in 1788 presented by the Duke of Atholl to the
parish of Blair-Athole, Perthshire. He died in 1805, in the
seventy-seventh year of his age.
A pious and exemplary clergyman, Mr M'Laggan is still kindly remembered
in the scene of his parochial ministrations. An accomplished Gaelic
scholar, and with a strong admiration of the poetry of the Gael, he
recovered, from the recitation of many aged persons, large portions of
the poetry of Ossian, prior to the publication of the collections of
Macpherson.[51] He composed some spirited Gaelic lyrics during the
period of his connexion with the army, but the greater portion of his
poetry still remains in MS. A collection of Gaelic songs under his
editorial superintendence was published anonymously.
Mr M'Laggan was of fair and ruddy complexion, and was under the middle
stature. He was fond of humour, and his dispositions were singularly
benevolent. In youth, he was remarkable for his skill in athletic
exercises. He married a daughter of the Rev. James Stewart, minister of
Killin, the originator of the translation of the Scriptures into the
Gaelic language. Of a family of four sons and three daughters, one son
and two daughters still survive; his eldest son, the Rev. James
M'Laggan, D.D., was successively minister of the parishes of
Auchtergaven and Kinfauns, in Perthshire, and ultimately Free Church
Professor of Divinity in Aberdeen.
[51] Macpherson afterwards consulted Mr M'Laggan's "Collection of
Ossianic Remains" (see report on Ossian, App. 153).