treachery of his son, Lord Lewis Gordon, Montrose was surprised by
General Middleton, but he promptly crossed the river Ness in face
of a regiment of cavalry, under Major Bromley, who crossed the
river by a ford above the town, while another detachment crossed
lower down towards the sea with a view to cut off his retreat. These
he succeeded in beating back with a trifling loss on either side,
whereupon he marched unmolested to Kinmylies, and the following
morning he went round by Beauly and halted at Fairley, where slight
marks of field works are still to be seen; and now, for the first
time, he found himself in the territories of the Mackenzies,
accompanied by Seaforth in person. Montrose, here finding himself
in a level country, with an army mainly composed of raw levies
newly raised by Seaforth among his own people, and taught by their
chief's vacillating conduct and example to have little interest or
enthusiasm in either cause, did not consider it prudent to engage
Middleton, who pursued him with a disciplined force, including
a considerable following of cavalry, ready to fight with every
advantage on his side in a level country. He therefore moved rapidly
up through the valley of Strathglass, crossed to Loch-Ness, and
passed through Stratherrick in the direction of the river Spey.
Meanwhile Middleton advanced to Fortrose and laid siege to the
castle, which was at the time under the charge of Lady Seaforth.
She surrendered after a siege of four days; and having removed
a considerable quantity of stores and ammunition, sent by Queen
Henrietta for the use of Montrose on his arrival there, Middleton
gave the Countess, whom he treated with the greatest civility and
respect, possession of the stronghold.
The Committee on Public Affairs, which, throughout the contest,
acted in opposition to the Royal authority, and held sederunts
at Aberdeen and Dundee as well as at Edinburgh, gratified their
malignity, after Montrose gave up the fight in 1646, by fining
the loyalists in enormous amounts of money, and decerning them to
"lend" to the committee such sums - in many cases exorbitant - as
they thought proper. Sir Robert Farquhar, formerly a Bailie of
Aberdeen, was treasurer, and in the sederunt held in that city,
the committee threw a comprehensive net over the clan Mackenzie.
Sixteen of the name were decerned to lend the large sum of L28,666
13s 4d Scots; but from the other side of the balance sheet it is
found that they declined to lend a penny; and Sir Robert credits
himself as treasurer thus: "Item of the loan moneys above set
down there is yet resting unpaid, and wherefore no payment can
be gotten, as follows - viz. - Be the name of Mackenzie, sixteen
persons, the sum of L28,666 13s 4d Scots." The following are the
names and sums decerned against each of them: Thomas Mackenzie
of Pluscardine, L2000; Alexander Mackenzie of Kilcoy, L2000;
Roderick Mackenzie of Redcastle, L2000; Alexander Mackenzie of
Coul, L6000; Kenneth Mackenzie of Gairloch, L3333 6s 8d; Hector
Mackenzie of Scotsburn, L2000; Roderick Mackenzie of Davochmaluag,
L1333 6s 8d; John Mackenzie of Dawach-Cairn, L1333 6s 8d; William
Mackenzie of Multavie, L1000; Kenneth Mackenzie of Scatwell, L2000;
Thomas Mackenzie of Inverlael, L1333 6s 8d; Colin Mackenzie of
Mullochie, L666 13s 4d; Donald Mackenzie of Logie, L666 13s 4d;
Kenneth Mackenzie of Assint, L1000; Colin Mackenzie of Kincraig,
L1000; Alexander Mackenzie of Suddie, L1000. Among the other
sums decerned is one of L6666 13s 4d against "William Robertson in
Kindeace, and his son Gilbert Robertson," and in Inverness and
Ross the loan amounted to the respectable sum of L44,783 6s 8d, of
which the treasurer was allowed to retain L15,000 in his own hands.
The sum, with large amounts of disbursements by the committee,
show that they were more fortunate with others than with the Clan
Mackenzie. ["Antiquarian Notes," pp. 307-308-309.]
The Earl of Seaforth taking advantage of being on opposite sides
to the Earl of Sutherland, now asserted some old claims against
Donald Ban Mor Macleod, IX. of Assynt, a follower of the house of
Sutherland, who afterwards became notorious as the captor of the
great Montrose himself. In May, 1646, Mackenzie laid siege to
his castle, on the Isle of Assynt.
A document written by a friend of the family of Assynt, in 1738,
for Norman Macleod, XIX. of Macleod, who, in that year, in virtue
of a disposition of all his estates made by Neil Macleod of Assynt
to John Breac Macleod, XVI. of Macleod, dated the 24th of November,
1681, commenced a process against Mackenzie, gives a most interesting
account of the proceedings, from the Macleod point of view, by
which Seaforth obtained possession of the lands of Assynt. This
document or "Information" came into the possession of Simon Lord
Lovat, with whose papers it found its way to the Rev. Donald
Fraser, minister of Killearnan, and is now the property of that
gentleman's grandson, the Rev. Hector Fraser, Halkirk. It was
read by Mr William Mackay, solicitor, Inverness, before the Gaelic
Society there on the 19th of March, 1890, and is published at
length in their Transactions for that year, vol. XVI. pp. 197-207.
According to the writer of this paper, Neil Macleod was in
possession of Assynt from 1650 to 1672, when in the latter year
"he was violently dispossessed by Seaforth," and was from 1672
to 1692, when be obtained a "Decree of Spulzie" against Seaforth,
endeavouring to recover his right, but without avail. He says that
from the time Seaforth got a right, "such as it was," to the Island
of Lewis for a payment of ten thousand merks, "and afterwards,
in lieu of that, for a mile of the wood of Letterew," he and his
family had it in view to make themselves masters of the estate of
Macleod of Assynt, who, he erroneously states, "was lineal heir to
the estates of Lewis." In order to give effect to this intention
Seaforth purchased several old claims, "some of them very unjust,"
against Assynt, which were made over to Thomas Mackenzie of
Plus-cardine, Seaforth's brother. In 1637 the two Mackenzies, in
virtue of these claims and the titles founded upon them, gave a
wadset of the lands of Assynt to Kenneth Mackenzie of Scatwell in
security for forty thousand merks. In 1640 "the Legal of those
claims and apprisings being expired, Seaforth did, with his friends
and clan, to the number of 1000 men, invade Assynt, and did there
commit great outrages. He being for this pursued at law, was
decerned in 40,000 pounds Scots of damages," which paid a great
part of his claim upon the estate, and it is maintained that the
remainder was afterwards paid by the means, which are set forth
in the same document, along with somewhat intricate statements,
which would occupy too much space here. The "Information" proceeds
with the following interesting details, which we give, with very
slight alteration, in his own words.
He says that in 1646 Seaforth having joined Montrose at Inverness,
where were likewise 100 men of Assynt under his Superior's (Seaforth)
command, and Neil of Assynt himself, then a minor, being a friend,
in Seaforth's house at Brahan, Seaforth ordered his men in the
Highlands to fall upon Assynt's estate, where they made fearful
havoc, carried away, as Neil represents, 3000 cows, 2000 horses,
7000 sheep and goats, and burnt the habitations of 180 families.
When complaint was made of this in the South, Seaforth was bought
off by the interest of General Middleton, and by virtue of a
capitulation which he had with Seaforth when in the North.
In the year 1654 Seaforth led a body of his own men, with a part
of the broken army under the command of Middleton, to Assynt and
made great depredations, destroyed a very great quantity of wine
and brandy, which the Laird of Assynt had bought, besides other
commodities, in all to the value of 50,000 merks, out of a ship
then on that coast, carrying off 2400 cows, 1500 horses, about 6000
sheep and goats, besides burning and destroying many families.
Assynt was not liable in law to any such usage from them, having
receipts from Seaforth and Lord Reay for his proportion of the
levy appointed at that time for the King's service. When Middleton
came to that country he declared that he had given no warrant for
what Seaforth had done, and that in presence of Lord Macdonald and
Sir George Munro, etc. When Assynt pursued Seaforth before the
English judges of the time, Seaforth defeated his process by proving
that Neil had been in arms against the English, and did then allege
no cause for the injuries done by him to Assynt, except a private
quarrel. But when Macleod afterwards, at the Restoration, pursued
Seaforth, he alleged in defence that he had acted by a warrant from
Middleton, who was then commissioner for the Parliament. But Neil
says, if there was any such warrant it was certainly given after the
injuries had been done to him. However, things stood then in such a
way that Neil was not likely to procure any justice.
There was another claim which seems to have brought matters to a
crisis. Macleod had become a party to a bond of caution granted
by Ross of Little Tarrel in the sum of L150 sterling, for which,
in 1656, an apprising was laid upon the estate of Assynt, at the
instance of Sinclair of Mey, in Caithness, who subsequently assigned
his claim to Sir George Mackenzie of Tarbat and John Mackenzie,
second son of Kenneth Mor, third Earl of Seaforth, afterwards known
as the Hon. John Mackenzie of Assynt. The matter was contested
for a time, but "in the year 1668 or 1669 or 1670, the legal
apprising being expired, decree of mails and duties was obtained
upon the claim against the estate of Assynt and ejection against
himself. Upon pursuing this ejection in 1671, several illegal
steps were alleged against Assynt, particularly holding out the
Castle of Ard-Bhreac against the King, and his otherwise violently
opposing the ejection; whereupon Neil of Assynt, who it seems
had been negligent in defending himself against the foresaid
accusations, was denounced rebel, and a commission of fire and
sword was obtained in July, 1672, against him and his people,"
granted to Lord Strathnaver, Lord Lovat, Munro of Fowlis, and
others, who at once invaded his territories with a force of 2300
men "and committed the most horrid barbarities," until all the
country of Assynt was destroyed.
After this raid Neil, "under the benefit of a protection," went to
consult Seaforth, who gave him a certificate of having obeyed the
King's laws, and fifteen days to consider a proposition which his
lordship made to him to dispose of his estates to himself on certain
conditions, and so settle the dispute between them for ever. But
Macleod, considering that it was not safe for him to return to
his own country, resolved to proceed to Edinburgh by sea, and to
carry his charter chest along with him. "Seaforth being apprehensive,
it seems, of the con-sequences of Assynt's going to Edinburgh,
immediately entered into correspondence and concert about the matter
with the Laird of Mey, in Caithness. The consequence was: Assynt
being driven by unfavourable winds to the Orkneys the Laird of Mey,
with a body of men, seized him there, to be sure under the notion of
an outlaw, and, by commission from Seaforth, stripped him to his shirt,
robbed him of everything, particularly of his charter chest, and of all
the writs and evidents belonging to his family and estates, carried
them to the castle of Mey; where he was kept prisoner in a vault. From
thence he was carried prisoner, under a strong guard, to Tam, and at
last to Brahan, Seaforth's house. In Brahan (to which place the
charter chest was brought, as was afterwards proved in the Process
of Spoilzie) Neil was many months detained prisoner in a vault, in
most miserable circumstances, still threatened with worse usage if
he would not agree to subscribe a blank paper, probably designed
for a disposition of his estates, which was, it seems, the great
thing designed to be procured from him by all this bad usage. At
last Neil was brought south to Edinburgh, where he arrived after
being in thirteen or fourteen prisons, and in the end he obtained
the remission formerly mentioned," for the offence of defending
the Castle of Assynt, and all the other crimes that were alleged
against him.
His apologist makes out a strong case for him, if half his allegations
are true. In any case it is but fair to state them. Neil was in
prison, according to the "Information," when the ejection proceedings
were carried out against him. He was ignorant of the legal steps
taken against him until it was too late, and, in consequence of
his great distance from Edinburgh, he was unable to correspond with
his legal advisers there in time for his defence. His messengers,
carrying his correspondence, were more than once seized, on their
way south, and imprisoned at Chanonry. When in the south, the
contributions of his friends towards his support and the expenses
of his defence were intercepted, and his people at home were put
to great hardships by their new master, the Hon. John Mackenzie,
"for any inclination to succour him in his distress." "By all
these means, the unfortunate gentleman was reduced to great poverty
and misery, and was disabled from procuring the interest or
affording the expense needful in order to obtain justice against
such potent adversaries." And "it was easy for them (the
Mackenzies), being now possessed of his estate, to get in old unjust
patched claims from such as had them, and being possessed of his
charter chest and the retired vouchers of debts therein contained, by
all these means, to make additional titles to the estate of Assynt,
while he, poor gentleman, besides his other misfortunes, was deprived
of his writs and of all his evidences needful to be produced in his
defence against the claims of his adversaries." If a tithe of all
this is true poor Neil deserves to be pitied indeed. But after
giving such a long catalogue of charges, involving the most cruel and
deceitful acts against the Mackenzies, the author of them is himself
doubtful about their accuracy, for he says that, although the
Mackenzies, after possessing the estates, had all the advantages and
means for doing the unjust things which he alleges against them of
inventing new claims and additional titles, "it is not pretended to
be now told what additional titles they made" - an admission which
largely discounts and disposes of the other charges made by Macleod's
apologist. And, notwithstanding all his disadvantages and
difficulties, Neil made another effort "towards obtaining justice
to himself and his family"; and to that end, in 1679 and 1680,
he commenced a new process against Seaforth and all others "whom
he knew to have or pretended to have" claims against him or his
estate. It was, however, objected (1) that he had no title in
his own person to the lands of Assynt, and (2) that he was at the
horn and had no personam standi in judices. Neil made "very
pertinent" answers to these objections in 1682, but he was wisely
advised to stop the proceedings of reduction, and to commence a
Process of Spulzie against the Earl Sinclair, of Mey, the Laird of
Dunbeath, and others. Seaforth having died while these proceedings
were pending, there appears in process an Oath by his successor,
"who swears that he not then nor formerly had the charter chest, nor
knew what was become of it; and as he was not charged with having a
hand in the Spulzie he was freed thereof and of the consequences of
it, by their Lordships. Neil having given in an inventory of the
writs contained in his chest, his oath in litem was taken thereanent,
and he referred his expenses and damages to the judgment of the
Lords," with the result that, in 1692, they decerned in his favour
for the sum of two thousand pounds Scots, in name of damages and
expenses, to be paid to him by the defenders, and at the same time
superseding his further claim until he should give in more
particulars regarding it. He assigned this decree to his nephew,
Captain Donald Macleod of Geanies, and it remained as the basis of
the process which was raised by Norman Macleod, XIX. of Macleod, in
1738, already referred to "for what thereof is unpaid." But Neil,
"being unable by unparalleled bad usage, trouble, and poverty, and at
length by old age, it does not appear that lie went any further
towards obtaining of justice for himself than what is above narrated
in relation to the process of reduction and Spulzie"; and that his
friends failed in their subsequent efforts to punish Mackenzie
or re-possess themselves of the Assynt estates is sufficiently
well-known. [For Neil's connection with the Betrayal of Montrose
see Mackenzie's "History of the Macleods," pp. 410-419.]
In 1648 Seaforth again raised a body of 4000 men in the Western
Islands and Ross-shire, whom he led south, to aid the King's cause,
but after joining in a few skirmishes under Lanark, they returned
home to "cut their corn which was now ready for their sickles."
During the whole of this period Seaforth's fidelity to the Royal
cause was open to considerable suspicion, and when Charles I.
threw himself into the hands of the Scots at Newark, and ordered
Montrose to disband his forces, Earl George, always trying to be
on the winning side, came in to Middleton, and made terms with the
Committee of Estates; but the Church, by whom he had previously
been excommunicated, continued implacable, and would only agree to
be satisfied by a public penance in sackcloth within the High Church
of Edinburgh. The proud Earl consented, underwent this ignominious
and degrading ceremonial, and his sentence of excommunication
was then removed. Notwithstanding this public humiliation, after
the death of the ill-fated and despotic Charles I., Seaforth, in
1649, went over to Holland, and joined Charles II., by whom he
was made Principal Secretary of State for Scotland, the duties of
which, however, he never had the opportunity of performing.
Charles was proclaimed King on the 5th of February, 1649, in
Edinburgh, and it was decided by him and his friends in exile that
Montrose should make a second attempt to recover Scotland; for, on
the advice of his friends, Charles declined the humiliating terms
offered him by the Scottish faction, and, in connection with the
plans of Montrose, a rising took place in the North, under Thomas
Mackenzie of Pluscardine, brother to the Earl of Seaforth, Sir
Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty, Colonel John Munro of Lemlair, and
Colonel Hugh Fraser. On the 22d February they entered Inverness,
expelled the troops from the garrison, and afterwards demolished
the walls and fortifications. On the 26th of February a Council
of War was held, present - Thomas Mackenzie of Pluscardine,
Preses, Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty, H. Fraser of Belladrum,
Jo. Cuthbert of Castlehill, R. Mackenzie, of Davochmaluak; Kenneth
Mackenzie of Gairloch, R. Mackenzie of Redcastle, John Munro of
Lumlair, Simon Fraser of Craighouse, and Alex. Mackenzie of Suddie.
This Committee made certain enactments, by which they took the
customs and excise of the six northern counties entirely into their
own hands. The Provost of Inverness was made accountable "for all
the money which, under the name of excise, has been taken up in
any of the foresaid shires since his intromissions with the office
of excise taking." Another item is that Duncan Forbes be pleased to
advance money "upon the security which the Committee will grant to
him," to be repaid out of the readiest of the "maintaince and
excise." Cromarty House was ordered to be put in a position of
defence, for which it was "requisite that some faill be cast and
led," and all Sir James Fraser's tenants within the parishes of
Cromarty and Cullicudden, together with those of the laird of
Findrassie, within the parish of Rosemarkie, were ordered "to afford
from six hours in the morning to six hours at night, and one horse
out of every oxengait daily for the space of four days, to lead the
same faill to the House of Cromarty." By the tenth enactment the
Committee find it expedient for their safety that the works and
forts of Inverness be demolished and levelled to the ground, and they
ordain that each person appointed to this work shall complete his
proportion thereof before the 4th day of March following "under pain
of being quartered upon, aud until the said task be performed." They
further enact that a garrison be placed in Culloden House, "which the
Committee is not desirous of for any intention of harm towards the
disturbance of the owner, but merely because of the security of the
garrison of Calder, which, if not kept in good order, is like to
infest all the well-affected of the country circumjacent." [For these
minutes see "Antiquarian Notes," pp. 157-8.] General Leslie having
been sent against them, they retired to the mountains of Ross, when
Leslie advanced to Fortrose and placed a garrison in the castle. He
made terms with all the other leaders except Pluscardine, who would
not listen to any accommodation, and who, immediately on Leslie's
return south, descended from his mountain fastnesses, attacked
and re-took the Castle of Chanonry.
Pluscardine was then joined by his nephew, Lord Reay, at the head
of three hundred men, which increased his force to eight or nine
hundred. General Middleton and Lord Ogilvie, having brought up
their forces, Mackenzie advanced into Badenoch, with the view of
raising the people in that and the neighbouring districts, where
he was joined by the Marquis of Huntly, formerly Lord Lewis Gordon,
and they at once attacked and took the Castle of Ruthven. After
this they were pressed closely by Leslie, and fell down from
Badenoch to Balvenny Castle, whence they sent General Middleton
and Mackenzie to treat with Leslie, but before they reached their
destination, Carr, Halket, and Strachan, who had been in the North,
made a rapid march from Fortrose, and on the 8th of May surprised
Lord Reay with his nine hundred followers at Balvenny, with
considerable loss on both sides. Eighty Royalists fell in the
defence of the castle. Carr at once dismissed the Highlanders
to their homes on giving their oath never again to take up arms
against the Parliament, but he detained Lord Reay and some of his
kinsmen, Mackenzie of Redcastle, and a few leaders of that name,
and sent them prisoners to Edinburgh. Having there given security
to keep the peace in future, Lord Reay, Ogilvy, Huntly, and Middleton
were forgiven, and allowed to return home, Roderick Mackenzie of
Redcastle, being the only one kept in prison, until he was some
time after released, through the influence of Argyll, on payment
of a fine of seven thousand merks Scots.
Carr now returned to Ross and laid siege to Redcastle, the only
stronghold in the North which still held out for the Royal cause.
The officer in charge recklessly exposed himself on the ramparts,
and was pulled down by a well-directed shot from the enemy. The
castle was set on fire by the exasperated soldiers. Leslie then
placed a garrison in Brahan and Chanonry Castles, and returned south.
The garrisons were then expelled, some of the men hanged, the
walls demolished, and the fortifications razed to the ground. Thus
ended an insurrection which probably would have had a very different
result had it been delayed until the arrival of Montrose. The
same year General Leslie himself came to Fortrose with nine troops
of horse, and forwarded detachments to Cromarty and "Seaforth's
strongest hold" of Ellandonnan Castle.