DISTINGUISHED HIGHLANDERS WHO SERVED IN AMERICA IN THE INTERESTS OF
GREAT BRITAIN.
If the list of distinguished Highlanders who served in America in the
interests of Great Britain was confined to those who rose to eminence
while engaged in said service, it certainly would be a short one. If
amplified to those who performed feats of valor or rendered valuable
service, then the list would be long. The measure of distinction is too
largely given to those who have held prominent positions, or else
advanced in military rank. In all probability the names of some have
been overlooked, although care has been taken in finding out even those
who became distinguished after the American Revolution. The following
biographical sketches are limited to those who were born in the
Highlands of Scotland:
GENERAL SIR ALAN CAMERON, K.C.B.
Sir Alan Cameron of the Camerons of Fassifern, known in the Highlands as
Ailean an Earrachd, almost a veritable giant, was born in Glen Loy,
Lochaber, about the year 1745. In early manhood, having fought a duel
with a fellow clansman, he fled to the residence of his mother's
brother, Maclean of Drimnim, who, in order to elude his pursuers, turned
him over to Maclean of Pennycross. Having oscillated between Morvern and
Mull for a period of two years, he learned that another relative of his
mother's, Colonel Allan Maclean of Torloisk, was about to raise a
regiment for the American war. He embarked for America, and was kindly
received by his relative who made him an officer in the 84th or Highland
Emigrant regiment. During the siege of Quebec, he was taken prisoner and
sent to Philadelphia, where he was kept for two years, but finally
effected his escape, and returned to his regiment. Being unfit for
service, in 1780, he returned to England on sick leave. In London he
courted the only heir of Nathaniel Philips, and eloping with her they
were married at Gretna Green. Soon after he received an appointment on
the militia staff of one of the English counties. In 1782 he was elected
a member of the Highland Society of London. In August 1793 Alan was
appointed major-commandant, and preceded to Lochaber to raise a
regiment, which afterwards was embodied as the 79th, or Cameron
Highlanders. Not unmindful of his brother-officers of the Royal Highland
Emigrant Regiment, he named two of his own, and five officers of the
Clan Maclean. The regiment in January 1794 numbered one thousand, which
advanced Alan to the lieutenant-colonelcy. The regiment was then
embarked for Flanders to reinforce the British and Austrians against the
French. It was in the disastrous retreat to Westphalia, and lost two
hundred men. From thence it was sent to the Isle of Wight, and Colonel
Cameron was ordered to recruit his regiment to the extent of its losses
in Flanders. The regiment was sent to the island of Martinique, and in
less than two years, from the unhealthy location, it was reduced to less
than three hundred men. But few of the men ever returned to Scotland.
Colonel Cameron having been ordered to recruit for eight hundred men,
fixed his headquarters at Inverness. Within less than nine months after
his return from Martinique he produced a fresh body of seven hundred and
eighty men. In 1798 he was ordered with his regiment to occupy the
Channel Islands. He was severely wounded at Alkmaar. Colonel Cameron was
sent to help drive the French out of Egypt. From Egypt he was
transferred to Minorca and from there to England. He took part in the
capture of the Danish fleet--a neutral power--and entered Copenhagen.
Soon after the battle of Vimiera, Alan was made a brigadier and
commandant of Lisbon. He was in command of a brigade at Oporto when that
city was besieged. He was twice wounded at the battle of Talavera. After
a military career covering a period of thirty-six years, on account of
ill-health, he resigned his position in the army, and for several years
was not able to meet his friends. He died at Fulham, April 9, 1828.
GENERAL SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, K.B.
[Illustration: GENERAL SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL.]
Sir Archibald Campbell second son of James Campbell of Inverneil was
born at Inverneil on August 21, 1739. By special recommendation of Mr.
Pitt he received, in 1757, a captain's commission in Fraser's
Highlanders, and served throughout the campaign in North America, and
was wounded at the taking of Quebec in 1758. On the conclusion of the
war he was transferred to the 29th regiment, and afterwards major and
lieutenant-colonel in the 42nd or Royal Highlanders, with which he
served in India until 1773, when he returned to Scotland, and was
elected to Parliament for the Stirling burgs in 1774. In 1775 he was
selected as lieutenant-colonel of the 2nd battalion of Fraser's
Highlanders. He was captured on board the George transport, in Boston
Harbor June 17, 1776, and remained a prisoner until May 5, 1778, when he
was exchanged for Colonel Ethan Allen. He was then placed in command of
an expedition against the State of Georgia, which was successful. He was
superseded the following year by General Augustine Prevost. Disagreeing
with the policy adopted by that officer in regard to the royalist
militia, Colonel Campbell returned to England, on leave. In 1779 he
married Amelia, daughter of Allan Ramsay, the artist. November 20, 1782,
he was promoted major-general, and the following month commissioned
governor of Jamaica. His vigilance warded off attacks from the French,
besides doing all in his power in sending information, supplies and
reinforcements to the British forces in America. For his services, on
his return to England, he was invested a knight of the Bath, on
September 30, 1785. The same year he was appointed governor and
commander-in-chief at Madras. On October 12, 1787, he was appointed
colonel of the 74th Highlanders, which had been raised especially for
service in India. In 1789 General Campbell returned to England, and at
once was re-elected to Parliament for the Stirling burghs. He died March
31, 1791, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
JOHN CAMPBELL OF STRACHUR.
John Campbell was appointed lieutenant in Loudon's Highlanders in June
1745; served throughout the Rising of 1745-6; made the campaign in
Flanders in 1747, in which year he became a captain; and at the peace of
1748 went on half pay. In 1756 he was called into active service and
joined the 42nd. He was wounded at Ticonderoga, and on his recovery was
appointed major of the 17th foot. February 1762, he became a
lieutenant-colonel in the army, and commanded his regiment in the
expedition against Martinico and Havanna. He became lieutenant-colonel
of the 57th foot, May 1, 1773, and returned to America on the breaking
out of the Revolution. On February 19, 1779 he was appointed
major-general; colonel of his regiment November 2, 1780, and commanded
the British forces in West Florida, where he surrendered Pensacola to
the Spaniards, May 10, 1781; became lieutenant-general in 1787, and
general January 26, 1797. General Campbell died August 28, 1806.
LORD WILLIAM CAMPBELL.
Lord William Campbell was the youngest son of the 4th duke of Argyle. He
entered the navy, and became a captain August 20, 1762, when he was put
in command of the Nightingale, of twenty guns. In May 1763, he married
Sarah, daughter of Ralph Izard, of Charleston, South Carolina, and in
1764, was elected to represent Argyleshire in parliament. On November
27, 1766 he became governor of Nova Scotia, whose affairs he
administered until 1773, when he was transferred to the government of
South Carolina, in which province he arrived in June 1775, during the
sitting of the first Provincial Congress, which presented him a
congratulatory address, but he refused to acknowledge that body. For
three months after his arrival he was undisturbed, though indefatigable
in fomenting opposition to the popular measures; but in September,
distrustful of his personal safety, and leaving his family behind, he
retired on board the Tamar sloop-of-war, where he remained, although
invited to return to Charleston. Lady Campbell was treated with great
respect, but finally went on board the vessel, and was landed at
Jamaica. In the attack on the city of Charleston, in June 1776, under
Sir Henry Clinton, lord Campbell served as a volunteer on board the
Bristol, on which occasion he received a wound that ultimately proved
mortal. Presumably he returned with the fleet and died September 5,
1778.
GENERAL SIMON FRASER
Brigadier Simon Fraser was the tenth son of Alexander Fraser, second of
Balnain. The lands of Balnain had been acquired from Hugh, tenth lord of
Lovat, by Big Hugh, grandfather of Simon. Alexander was in possession
of the lands as early as 1730, and for his first wife had Jane, daughter
of William Fraser, eighth of Foyers, by whom he had issue six sons and
one daughter. In 1716 he married Jean, daughter of Angus, tenth
Mackintosh of Kyllachy, by whom he had issue five sons and three
daughters, Simon being the fourth son, and born May 26th, 1729.
[Illustration: GENL FRASER.]
In all probability it would be a difficult task to determine the date of
General Fraser's first commission in the British army owing to the fact
that no less than eight Simon Frasers appear in the Army List of 1757,
six of whom belonged to Fraser's Highlanders. The subsequent commissions
may positively be traced as follows: In the 78th Foot, lieutenant
January 5, 1757, captain-lieutenant September 27, 1758, captain April
22, 1759; major in the army March 15, 1761; in the 24th Foot, major
February 8, 1762, and lieutenant-colonel July 14, 1768. January 10,
1776, General Carleton appointed him to act as a brigadier till the
king's pleasure could be known, which in due time was confirmed. His
last commission was that of colonel in the army, being gazetted July 22,
1777. He served in the Scots Regiment in the Dutch service and was
wounded at Bergen ap-Zoon in 1747. He was with his regiment in the
expedition against Louisburg in 1758 and accompanied General Wolfe to
Quebec in 1759, and was the officer who answered the hail of the enemy's
sentry in French and made him believe that the troops who surprised the
Heights of Abraham were the Regiment de la Rhine.
After the fall of Quebec, for a few years he did garrison duty at
Gibraltar. Through the interest of the marquis of Townshend, who
appointed him his aide-de-camp in Ireland, he was selected as
quartermaster-general to the troops then stationed in that country.
While in Ireland he was selected by General Burgoyne as one of his
commanders for his expedition against the Americans. On April 5, 1776,
he embarked with the 24th Foot, and arrived in Quebec on the 28th of the
following May. He commanded the light brigade on General Burgoyne's
campaign, and was thus ever in advance, rendering throughout the most
efficient services, and had the singular good fortune to increase his
reputation. He assisted in driving the Americans out of Canada, and
defeated them in the battle of Three Rivers, followed by that of
Hubbardton, July 7, 1777. Had his views prevailed, the blunder of
sending heavy German dismounted dragoons to Bennington, and the
consequent disaster would never have been committed.
The career of this dauntless hero now rapidly drew near to its close. Up
to the battle of Bennington almost unexampled success had attended the
expedition of Burgoyne. The turning point had come. The battle of
Bennington infused the Americans with a new and indomitable spirit; the
murder, by savages, of the beautiful Miss Jane MacRae aroused the
passions of war; the failure of Sir Henry Clinton to co-operate with
General Burgoyne; the rush of the militia to the aid of General Gates,
and the detachment of Colonel Morgan's riflemen by Washington from his
own army to the assistance of the imperiled north, all conspired to turn
the tide of success, and invite the victorious army to a disaster,
rendered famous in the annals of history.
On September 13, the British army crossed the Hudson, by a bridge of
rafts with the design of forming a junction with Sir Henry Clinton at
Albany. The army was in excellent order and in the highest spirits, and
the perils of the expedition seemed practically over. The army marched a
short distance along the western bank of the Hudson, and on the 14th
encamped on the heights of Saratoga, distant about sixteen miles from
Albany. On the 19th a battle was fought between the British right wing
and a strong body of Americans. In this action the right column was led
by General Fraser, who, on the first onset, wheeled his troops and
forced Colonel Morgan to give way. Colonel Morgan was speedily
re-enforced, when the action became general. When the battle appeared to
be in the grasp of the British, and just as General Fraser and Colonel
Breymann were preparing to follow up the advantage, they were recalled
by General Burgoyne and reluctantly forced to retreat. Both Generals
Fraser and Riedesel (commander of the Brunswick contingent) bitterly
criticised the order, and in plain terms informed General Burgoyne that
he did not know how to avail himself of his advantage. The next day
General Burgoyne devoted himself to the laying out of a fortified camp.
The right wing was placed under the command of General Fraser. The
situation now began to grow critical. Provisions became scarce. October
5th a council of war was held, and the advice of both Generals Fraser
and Riedesel was to fall back immediately to their old position beyond
the Batten Kil. General Burgoyne finally determined on a reconnaissance
in force. So, on the morning of October 7th, with fifteen hundred men,
accompanied by Generals Fraser, Riedesel and Phillips, the division
advanced in three columns towards the left wing of the American
position. In advance of the right wing, General Fraser had command of
five hundred picked men. The Americans fell upon the British advance
with fury, and soon a general battle was engaged in. Colonel Morgan
poured down like a torrent from the ridge that skirted the flanking
party of General Fraser, and forced the latter back; and then by a
rapid movement to the left fell upon the flank of the British right with
such impetuosity that it wavered. General Fraser noticing the critical
situation of the center hurried to its succor the 24th Regiment. Dressed
in full uniform, General Fraser was conspicuously mounted on an iron
grey horse. He was all activity and vigilance, riding from one part of
the division to another, and animated the troops by his example. At a
critical point, Colonel Morgan, who, with his riflemen was immediately
opposite to General Fraser's corps, perceiving that the fate of the day
rested upon that officer, called a few of his sharpshooters aside, among
whom was the famous marksman, Timothy Murphy, men on whose precision of
aim he could rely, and said to them, "That gallant officer yonder is
General Fraser; I admire and respect him, but it is necessary for our
good that he should die. Take you station in that cluster of bushes and
do your duty." A few moments later, a rifle ball cut the crouper of
General Fraser's horse, and another passed through the horse's mane.
General Fraser's aid, calling attention to this, said: "It is evident
that you are marked out for particular aim; would it not be prudent for
you to retire from this place?" General Fraser replied, "My duty forbids
me to fly from danger." The next moment he fell wounded by a ball from
the rifle of Timothy Murphy, and was carried off the field by two
grenadiers. After he was wounded General Fraser told his friends "that
he saw the man who shot him, and that he was a rifleman posted in a
tree." From this it would appear that after Colonel Morgan had given his
orders Timothy Murphy climbed into the forks of a neighboring tree.
General Burgoyne's surgeons were reported to have said had not General
Fraser's stomach been distended by a hearty breakfast he had eaten just
before going into action he would doubtless have recovered from his
wound.
Upon the fall of General Fraser, dismay seized the British. A retreat
took place exactly fifty-two minutes after the first shot was fired.
General Burgoyne left the cannon on the field, except two howitzers,
besides sustaining a loss of more than four hundred men, and among them
the flower of his officers. Contemporary military writers affirmed that
had General Fraser lived the British would have made good their retreat
into Canada. It is claimed that he would have given such advice as would
have caused General Burgoyne to have avoided the blunders which finally
resulted in his surrender.
The closing scene of General Fraser's life has been graphically
described by Madame Riedesel, wife of the German general. It has been
oft quoted, and need not be here repeated. General Burgoyne has
described the burial scene with his usual felicity of expression and
eloquence.
Burgoyne was not unmindful of the wounded general. He was directing the
progress of the battle, and it was not until late in the evening that he
came to visit the dying man. A tender scene took place between him and
General Fraser. The latter was the idol of the army and upon him General
Burgoyne placed most reliance. The spot where General Fraser lies buried
is on an elevated piece of ground commanding an extensive view of the
Hudson, and a great length of the interval on either side. The grave is
marked by a tablet placed there by an American lady.
The American reader has a very pleasant regard for the character of
General Fraser. His kindly disposition attracted men towards him. As an
illustration of the humane disposition the following incident, taken
from a rare work, may be cited: "Two American officers taken at
Hubbardstown, relate the following anecdote of him. He saw that they
were in distress, as their continental paper would not pass with the
English; and offered to loan them as much as they wished for their
present convenience. They took three guineas each. He remarked to
them--Gentlemen take what you wish--give me your due bills and when we
reach Albany, I trust to your honor to take them up; for we shall
doubtless overrun the country, and I shall, probably, have an
opportunity of seeing you again.'" As General Fraser fell in battle,
"the notes were consequently never paid; but the signers of them could
not refrain from shedding tears at the fate of this gallant and generous
enemy."[176]
GENERAL SIMON FRASER OF LOVAT.
General Simon Fraser, thirteenth of Lovat, born October 19, 1726, was
the son of the notorious Simon, twelfth lord Lovat, who was executed in
1747. With six hundred of his father's vassals he joined prince Charles
before the battle of Falkirk, January 17, 1746, and was one of the
forty-three persons included in the act of attainder of June 4, 1746.
Having surrendered to the government he was confined in Edinburgh Castle
from November,
[Illustration: GENERAL SIMON FRASER OF LOVAT.]
1746, to August 15, 1747, when he was allowed to reside in Glasgow
during the king's pleasure. He received a full pardon in 1750, and two
years later entered as an advocate. At the commencement of the seven
years' war, by his influence with his clan, without the aid of land or
money he raised eight hundred recruits in a few weeks, in which as many
more were shortly added. His commission as colonel was dated January 5,
1757. Under his command Fraser's Highlanders went to America, where he
was at the siege of Louisburg in 1758, and in the expedition under
General Wolfe against Quebec, where he was wounded at Montmorenci. He
was again wounded at Sillery, April 28, 1760. In 1762 he was a
brigadier-general in the British force sent to Portugal; in the
Portuguese army he held the temporary rank of major-general, and in 1768
a lieutenant-general. In 1771 he was a major-general in the British
army. By an act of parliament, on the payment of £20,983, all his
forfeited lands, lordships, &c., were restored to him, on account of the
military services he had rendered the country. On the outbreak of the
American Revolution General Fraser raised another regiment of two
battalions, known as Fraser's Highlanders or 71st, but did not accompany
the regiment. When, in Canada, in 1761, he was returned to parliament,
and thrice re-elected, representing the constituency of the county of
Inverness until his death, which occurred in Downing Street, London,
February 8, 1782.
GENERAL SIMON FRASER.
Lieutenant-General Simon Fraser, son of a tacksman, born in 1738, was
senior of the Simon Frasers serving as subalterns in Fraser's
Highlanders in the campaign in Canada in 1759-1761. He was wounded at
the battle of Sillery, April 28, 1760, and three years later was placed
on half-pay as a lieutenant. In 1775 he raised a company for the 71st or
Fraser's Highlanders; became senior captain and afterwards major of the
regiment, with which he served in America in the campaigns of 1778-1781.
In 1793 he raised a Highland regiment which was numbered 133rd foot or
Fraser's Highlanders, which after a brief existence, was broken up and
drafted into other corps. He became a major-general in 1795, commanded a
British force in Portugal in 1797-1800. In 1802 he became
lieutenant-general, and for several years second in command in Scotland,
in which country he died March 21, 1813.
GENERAL JAMES GRANT OF BALLINDALLOCH.
General James Grant was born in 1720, and after studying law obtained a
commission in the army in 1741, and became captain in the Royal Scots,
October 24, 1744. General Grant served with his regiment in Flanders and
in Ireland, and became major in Montgomery's Highlanders, with which he
went to America in 1757. In the following year he was surprised before
Fort Duquesne, and lost a third of his command in killed, wounded and
missing, besides being captured himself with nineteen of his officers.
He became lieutenant-colonel of the 40th foot in 1760, and governor of
East Florida. In May, 1761, he led an expedition against the Cherokee
Indians, and defeated them in the battle of Etchoe. On the death of his
nephew he succeeded to the family estate; became brevet-colonel in 1772;
in 1773 was returned to parliament for Wick burghs, and the year after
for Sutherlandshire; and in 1775 was appointed colonel of the 55th
foot. As a brigadier, in 1776, he went to America with the reinforcement
under Sir William Howe; commanded two brigades at the battle of Long
Island, Brandywine and Germantown. In May, 1778, was unsuccessful in his
attempt to cut off the marquis de Lafayette on the Schuylkill. In
December, 1778, he captured St. Lucia, in the West Indies. In 1777, he
became major-general, in 1782 lieutenant-general, and in 1796 general;
and, in succession became governor of Dumbarton and Stirling Castles. In
1787, 1790, 1796, and 1801, he was again returned to parliament for
Sutherlandshire. He was noted for his love of good living, and in his
latter years was immensely corpulent. He died at Ballindalloch April 13,
1806.
GENERAL ALLAN MACLEAN OF TORLOISK.
General Allan Maclean, son of Torloisk, Island of Mull, was born there
in 1725, and began his military career in the service of Holland, in the
Scots brigade. At the siege of Bergen-op-Zoom, in 1747, a portion of the
brigade cut its way with great loss through the French. Lieutenants
Allan and Francis Maclean, having been taken prisoners, were carried
before General Lowendahl, who thus addressed them: "Gentlemen, consider
yourselves on parole. If all had conducted themselves as your brave
corps have done, I should not now be master of Bergen-op-Zoom." January
8, 1756, Allan became lieutenant in the 62nd regiment, and on July 8,
1758, was severely wounded at Ticonderoga. He became captain of an
independent company, January 16, 1759, and was present at the surrender
of Niagara, where he was again dangerously wounded. Returning to Great
Britain, he raised the 114th foot or Royal Highland Volunteers, of which
he was appointed major commandant October 18, 1761. The regiment being
reduced in 1763, Major Maclean went on half-pay. He became
lieutenant-colonel May 25, 1772, and early in 1775 devised a
colonization scheme which brought him to America, landing in New York of
that year. At the outbreak of the Revolution he identified himself with
the British king; was arrested in New York; was released by denying he
was taking a part in the dispute; thence went to the Mohawk, and on to
Canada, where he began to set about organizing a corps, which became the
nucleus of the Royal Highland Emigrants. Of this regiment Major Allan
was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the first battalion which he had
raised. On the evidence of American prisoners taken at Quebec, Colonel
Maclean resorted to questionable means to recruit his regiment. All
those of British birth who had been captured were given permission to
join the regiment or else be carried to England and tried for treason.
But these enforced enlistments proved of no value. Quebec unquestionably
would have fallen into the hands of General Arnold had not Colonel
Maclean suddenly precipitated himself with a part of his corps into the
beleaguered city. Had Quebec fallen, Canada would have become a part of
the United States. To Colonel Allan Maclean Great Britain owes the
possession of Canada. During the prolonged siege Colonel Maclean
suffered an injury to his leg, whereby he partially lost the use of it
during the remainder of his life. On May 11, 1776, Colonel Maclean was
appointed adjutant-general of the army, which he held until June 6,
1777, when he became brigadier-general, and placed in command at
Montreal. As dangers thickened around General Burgoyne, General Maclean
was ordered, October 20th, with the 31st and his battalion of the Royal
Highland Emigrants, to Chimney Point, but the following month was
ordered to Quebec. He left Quebec July 27, 1776, for England, in order
to obtain rank and establishment for his regiment which had been
promised. He returned to Canada, arriving in Quebec May 28, 1777. In
1778 he again went to England and made a personal appeal to the king in
behalf of his regiment, which proved successful. May 1, 1779, he sailed
from Spithead and arrived at Quebec on August 16th. He became colonel in
the army November 17, 1780, and in the winter of 1782 had command from
the ports at Oswegatchie to Michilimackinac. Soon after the peace of
1783, General Maclean retired from the service. He married Janet,
daughter of Donald Maclean of Brolass, and died without issue, in
London, in March, 1797. From the contents of many letters directed to
John Maclean of Lochbuie, it is to be inferred that he died in
comparative poverty. His correspondence during his command of the
Highland Emigrants is among the Haldimand MSS, in the British Museum.
[Illustration: SIR ALLAN MACLEAN, BART.]
General Allan Maclean of Torloisk has been confused by some
writers--notably by General Stewart in his "Sketches of the Highlands"
and Dr. James Brown in his "History of the Highlands and Highland
Clans"--with Sir Allan Maclean, twenty-second chief of his clan. Sir
Allan served in different parts of the globe. The first notice of his
military career is as a captain under the earl of Drumlanrig in the
service of Holland. July 16, 1757, he became a captain in Montgomery's
Highlanders, and June 25, 1762, major in the 119th foot or the Prince's
Own. He obtained the rank of lieutenant-colonel May 25, 1772, and died
on Inch Kenneth, December 10, 1783. He married Anna, daughter of Hector
Maclean of Coll. Dr. Samuel Johnson visited him during his tour of the
Hebrides, and was so delighted with the baronet and his amiable
daughters that he broke out into a Latin sonnet.
GENERAL FRANCIS MACLEAN.
General Francis Maclean, of the family of Blaich, as soon as he was able
to bear arms, obtained a commission in the same regiment with his
father; was at the defence of Bergen-op Zoom in 1747, and was detained
prisoner in France for some time; was appointed captain in the 2nd
battalion of the 42nd Highlanders on its being raised in October, 1758.
At the capture of the island of Guadaloupe, he was severely wounded, but
owing to his gallant conduct was promoted to the rank of major, and
appointed governor of the island of Marie Galante. In January, 1761, he
exchanged into the 97th regiment, and April 13, 1762, was appointed
lieutenant-colonel in the army. In the war in Canada, he commanded a
body of troops under General Wolfe, and participated in the capture of
Montreal. He was sent, in 1762, to aid the Portuguese against the
combined attack of France and Spain, and was made commander of Almeida,
a fortified town on the Spanish frontier, which he held for several
years; and on being promoted to the rank of major-general, was nominated
to the government of Estremadura and the city of Lisbon. On leaving
Portugal in 1778, the king presented him with a handsomely mounted
sword, and the queen gave him a valuable diamond ring. On his return to
England--having been gazetted colonel of the 82nd foot, December 16,
1777--he was immediately dispatched with a corps of the army for
America, and appointed to the government of Halifax in Nova Scotia,
where he held the rank of brigadier-general. During the month of June,
1779, with a part of his army, General Maclean repaired to the
Penobscot, and there proceeded to erect defenses. The American army
under General Lovell, from Boston, appeared in the bay on July 28th, and
began to erect batteries for a siege. Commodore Sir George Collier,
August 13th, entered the bay with a fleet and raised the siege. General
Maclean returned to Halifax, where he died, May 4, 1781, in the
sixty-fourth year of his age, and unmarried.
GENERAL JOHN SMALL.
General John Small was born in Strathardale in Athole, in the year 1726,
and entered the army early in life, his first commission being in the
Scotch Brigade. He obtained an ensigncy in 1747, and was on half-pay in
1756, when appointed lieutenant in the 42nd Highlanders on the eve of
its departure for America. He accompanied the regiment in 1759 in the
expedition to northern New York, and in 1760 went down from Oswego to
Montreal. In 1762 he served in the expedition to the West Indies, and on
August 6th of the same year was promoted to a company. On the reduction
of the regiment in 1763, Captain Small went on half-pay until April,
1765, when he was appointed to a company in the 21st or Royal North
British Fusileers, which soon after was sent to America. With this
regiment he continued until 1775, when he received a commission to raise
a corps of Highlanders in Nova Scotia. Having raised the 2nd battalion
of the Royal Highland Emigrants, he was appointed major commandant, with
a portion of which he joined the army with Sir Henry Clinton at New York
in 1779, and in 1780, became lieutenant-colonel of the regiment. In 1782
he was quartered on Long Island. November 18, 1790, he was appointed
colonel in the army, and in 1794, lieutenant-governor of the island of
Guernsey; he was promoted to the rank of major-general October 3, 1794,
and died at Guernsey on March 17, 1796, in the seventieth year of his
age.
FLORA MACDONALD.
No name in the Scottish Highlands bears such a charm as that of Flora
Macdonald. Her praise is frequently sung, sketches of her life
published, and her portrait adorns thousands of homes. While her
distinction mainly rests on her efforts in behalf of the luckless prince
Charles, after the disastrous battle of Culloden; yet, in reality, her
character was strong, and she was a noble type of womanhood in her
native isle.
[Illustration: FLORA MACDONALD.]
Flora Macdonald--or "Flory," as she always wrote her name, even in her
marriage contract--born in 1722, was a daughter of Ranald Macdonald,
tacksman of Milton, in South Uist, an island of the Hebrides. Her father
died when she was about two years old, and when six years old she was
deprived of the care of her mother, who was abducted and married by Hugh
Macdonald of Armadale in Skye. Flora remained in Milton with her brother
Angus till her thirteenth year, when she was taken into the mansion of
the Clanranalds, where she became an accomplished player on the spinet.
In 1739 she went to Edinburgh to complete her studies where, until 1745,
she resided in the family of Sir Alexander Macdonald of the Isles.
While on a visit to the Clanranalds in Benbecula, prince Charles Edward
arrived there after the battle of Culloden in 1746. She enabled the
prince to escape to Skye. For this she was arrested and thrown into the
Tower of London. On receiving her liberty, in 1747, she stayed for a
time in the house of Lady Primrose, where she was visited by many
persons of distinction. Before leaving London she was presented with
£1500. On her return to Scotland she was entertained at Monkstadt in
Skye, at a banquet, to which the principal families were invited.
November 6, 1750, she married Allan Macdonald, younger of Kingsburgh. At
first they resided at Flodigarry; but on the death of her father-in-law
they went in 1772 to Kingsburgh. Here she was visited, in 1773, by the
celebrated Samuel Johnson. Her husband, oppressed by debts, was caught
in that great wave of emigration from the Highlands to America. In the
month of August, 1774, leaving her two youngest children with friends at
home, Flora, her husband and older children, sailed in the ship Baliol,
from Campbelton, Kintyre, for North Carolina. Flora's fame had preceded
her to that distant country, and her departure from Scotland having
become known to her countrymen in Carolina, she was anxiously expected
and joyfully received on her arrival. Demonstrations on a large scale
were made to welcome her to America. Soon after her landing, a largely
attended ball was given in her honor at Wilmington. On her arrival at
Cross Creek she received a truly Highland welcome from her old neighbors
and kinsfolk, who had crossed the Atlantic years before her. The strains
of the Piobaireachd, and the martial airs of her native land, greeted
her on her approach to the capital of the Scottish settlement. Many
families of distinction pressed upon her to make their dwellings her
home, but she respectfully declined, preferring a settled place of her
own. As the laird of Kingsburgh intended to become a planter, he left
his family in Cross Creek until he could decide upon a location. The
house in which they lived during this period was built immediately on
the brink of the creek, and for many years afterwards was known as
"Flora Macdonald's house." Northwest of Cross Creek, a distance of
twenty miles, is a hill about six hundred feet in height, now called
Cameron's hill, but then named Mount Pleasant. Around and about this
hill, in 1775, many members of the Clan Macdonald had settled, all of
whom were of near kin to the laird and lady of Kingsburgh. Hard by are
the sources of Barbeque Creek, and not many miles down that stream stood
the old kirk, where the clansmen worshipped, and where Flora inscribed
her name on the membership roll.
Mount Pleasant stands in the very midst of the pinery region, and from
it in every direction stretches the great pine forest. Near this center
Allan Macdonald of Kingsburgh purchased of Caleb Touchstone a plantation
embracing five hundred and fifty acres on which were a dwelling house
and outhouses which were more pretentious than was then customary among
Highland settlers. The sum paid, as set forth in the deed, was four
hundred and sixty pounds. Here Flora established herself, that with her
family she might spend the rest of her days in peace and quiet. But the
times were not propitious. There was commotion which soon ended in a
long and bitter war. Even this need not have materially disturbed the
family had not Kingsburgh precipitated himself into the conflict,
needlessly and recklessly. With blind fatuity he took the wrong side in
the controversy; and even then by the exercise of patience might have
overcome the effects of his folly. Before Flora and her family were
settled in America the storm gave its ominous rumble. When Governor
Martin, who had deserted his post and fled to an armed cruiser in the
mouth of the Cape Fear river, issued his proclamation, Allan Macdonald
was among the first to respond. The war spirit of Flora was stirred
within her, and she partook of the enthusiasm of her husband. According
to tradition, when the Highlanders gathered around the standard Flora
made them an address in their own Gaelic tongue that excited them to the
highest pitch of warlike enthusiasm. With the due devotion of an
affectionate wife, Flora followed her husband for several days, and
encamped one night with him in a dangerous place, on the brow of
Haymount, near the American forces. For a time she refused to listen to
her husband's entreaties to return home, for he thought his life was
enough to be in jeopardy. Finally when the army took up its march with
banners flying and martial music, she deemed it time to retrace her
steps, and affectionately embraced her husband, her eyes dimmed with
tears as she breathed an earnest prayer to heaven for his safe and
speedy return to his family and home. But alas! she never saw him again
in America.
The rebellion of the Highlanders in North Carolina, which ended in a
fiasco, has already been narrated. Flora was soon aroused to the fact
that the battle was against them, and her husband and one son were
confined in Halifax jail. It appears that even she was brought before
the Committee of Safety, where she exhibited a "spirited behavior."[177]
Sorrows, indeed, had accumulated rapidly upon her: a severe typhus fever
attacked the younger members of the family and two of her children died,
a boy and a girl aged respectively eleven and thirteen, and her
daughter, Fanny, was still in precarious health, from the dregs of a
recent fever. By the advice of her imprisoned husband she resolved to
return to her native country. Fortunately for her she secured the favor
and good offices of Captain Ingram, an American officer, who promised to
assist her. He furnished her with a passport to Wilmington, and from
thence she found her way to Charleston, from which port she sailed to
her native land, in 1779. In this step she was partly governed by the
state of health of her daughter Fanny. Crossing the Atlantic with none
of her family but Fanny--her five sons and son-in-law actively engaged
in the war--the Scottish heroine met with the last of her adventures.
The vessel in which she sailed engaged a French privateer, and during
the conflict her left arm was broken. So, in after years, she truthfully
said that she had served both the House of Stuart and the House of
Hanover, but had been worsted in the cause of each. For some time she
resided at Milton, where her brother built her a cottage: but on the
return of her husband they again settled at Kingsburgh, where she died
March 5, 1790.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 176: Memoir General Stark, 1831, p. 252.]
[Footnote 177: Captain Alexander McDonald's Letter-Book, p. 387.]