DISTINGUISHED HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICAN INTERESTS
The attitude of the Highlanders during the Revolutionary War was not of
such a nature as to bring them prominently into view in the cause of
freedom. Nor was it the policy of the American statesmen to cater to
race distinctions and prejudices. They did not regard their cause to be
a race war. They fought for freedom without regard to their origin,
believing that a just Providence would smile upon their efforts. Many
nationalities were represented in the American army. Men left their
homes in the Old World, purposely to engage in the cause of
Independence, some of whom gained immortal renown, and will be
remembered with honor by generations yet unborn. As has been already
noted, there were natives of the Highlands of Scotland, who had made
America their home and imbibed the principles of political liberty, and
early identified themselves with the cause of their adopted country. The
lives of some of these patriots are herewith imperfectly sketched.
GENERAL ALEXANDER McDOUGALL.
[Illustration: GEN. ALEXANDER MCDOUGALL.]
There are few names in the annals of the American Revolution upon which
one can linger with more satisfaction than that of the gallant and
true-hearted Alexander McDougall. As early as August 20, 1775,
Washington wrote to General Schuyler concerning him: his "zeal is
unquestionable."[178] Writing to General McDougall, May 23, 1777,
Washington says: "I wish every officer in the army could appeal to His
own heart and find the same principles of conduct, that I am persuaded
actuate you."[179] The same writing to Thomas Jefferson, August 1,
1786, lamented the brave "soldier and disinterested patriot," and
exclaimed, "Thus some of the pillars of the revolution fall."[180]
Alexander McDougall was born in the island of Islay in Scotland, in
1731, being the son of Ranald McDougall, who emigrated to the province
of New York in 1735. The father purchased a small farm near the city of
New York, and there peddled milk, in which avocation he was assisted by
his son, who never was ashamed of the employment of his youth. Alexander
was a keen observer of passing events and took great interest in the
game of politics. With vigilance he watched the aggressive steps of the
royal government; and when the Assembly, in the winter of 1769, faltered
in its opposition to the usurpations of the crown and insulted the
people by rejecting a proposition authorizing the vote by ballot, and by
entering on the favorable consideration of a bill of supplies for troops
quartered in the city to overawe the inhabitants, he issued an address,
under the title of "A Son of Liberty to the Betrayed Inhabitants of the
Colony," in which he contrasted the Assembly with the legislative bodies
in other parts of the country, and held up their conduct to unmitigated
and just indignation. The bold and deserved rebuke was laid before the
house by its speaker, and, with the exception of Philip Schuyler, every
member voted that it was "an infamous and seditious libel." A
proclamation for the discovery of the author was issued by the governor,
and it being traced to Alexander McDougall, he was arrested in February,
1770, and refusing to give bail was committed to prison by order of
chief justice Horsmanden. As he was being carried to prison, clearly
reading in the signs about him the future of the country, he exclaimed,
"I rejoice that I am the first sufferer for liberty since the
commencement of our glorious struggle." During the two months of his
confinement he was overrun with visitors. He poured forth continued
appeals to the people, and boldly avowed his revolutionary opinions. In
every circle his case was the subject of impassioned conversation, and
in an especial manner he became the idol of the masses. A packed jury
found an indictment against him, and on December 20th he was arraigned
at the bar of the Assembly on the same charge, on which occasion he was
defended by George Clinton, afterwards the first governor of the State
of New York. In the course of the following month a writ of habeas
corpus was sued out, but without result, and he was not liberated until
March 4, 1771, when the assembly was prorogued. When the Assembly
attempted to extort from him a humiliating recantation, he undauntingly
answered their threat, that "rather than resign my rights and privileges
as a British subject, I would suffer my right hand to be cut off at the
bar of the house." When set at liberty he entered into correspondence
with the master-spirits in all parts of the country; and when the
celebrated meetings in the fields were held, on July 6, 1774,
preparatory to the election of the New York delegates to the First
General Congress, he was called to preside, and resolutions prepared by
him were adopted, pointing out the mode of choosing deputies, inveighing
against the Boston Port Bill, and urging upon the proposed congress the
prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Great Britain. In March
1775, he was a member of the Provincial Convention, and was nominated as
one of the candidates for the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, but
was not elected. In the same year he received a commission as colonel of
the 1st New York regiment, and on August 9, 1776, was created
brigadier-general. On the evening of the 29th of the same month he was
selected by Washington to superintend the embarkation of the troops from
Brooklyn; was actively engaged on Chatterton's Hill and in various
places in New Jersey; and when General William Heath, in the spring of
1777, left Peekskill to assume the command of the eastern department, he
succeeded that officer, but was compelled, by a superior force under Sir
William Howe, to retreat from the town, after destroying a considerable
supply of stores, on March 23rd. After the battle of Germantown, in
which he participated, Washington, writing to the president of Congress,
under date of October 7, 1777, says:
"I cannot however omit this opportunity of recommending General
McDougall to their notice. This gentleman, from the time of his
appointment as brigadier, from his abilities, military knowledge, and
approved bravery, has every claim to promotion."[181]
On the 20th of the same month he was commissioned major-general. On
March 16, 1778, he was directed to assume the command of the different
posts on the Hudson, and, with activity, pursued the construction of the
fortifications in the Highlands, and, after the flight of General
Arnold, was put in command of West Point, October 5, 1780. Near the
close of that year he was called upon by New York to repair to Congress
as one of their representatives. It was a critical moment, and
Washington urged his acceptance of the post; accordingly he took his
seat in the Congress the next January. Congress having organized an
executive department, in 1781, General McDougall was appointed Minister
of Marine. He did not remain long in Philadelphia, for his habits,
friendships, associations and convictions of duty recalled him to the
camp. The confidence felt in his integrity and good judgment by all
classes in the service, was such, that when the army went into winter
quarters at Newburgh, in 1783, he was chosen at the head of the
delegation to Congress to represent their grievances. The same year,
after the close of the war, he was elected to represent the Southern
District in the senate of New York and continued a member of that body
until his death, which occurred in the city of New York June 8, 1786. At
the time of his decease, General McDougall was president of the Bank of
New York. In politics he adhered to the Hamilton party.
GENERAL LACHLAN M'INTOSH.
The history of the emigration of John Mohr McIntosh to Georgia, and the
settlement upon the Alatamaha, where now stands the city of Darien, has
already been recorded. The second son of John Mohr was Lachlan, born
near Raits in Badenoch, Scotland, March 17, 1725, and consequently was
eleven years old at the time he emigrated to America. As has been
already noted John Mohr McIntosh was captured by the Spaniards at Fort
Moosa, carried to Spain, and after several years, returned in broken
health.
Both Lachlan and his elder brother William were placed as cadets in the
regiment by General Oglethorpe. When General Oglethorpe made his final
preparations for his return to England, the two young brothers were
found hid away in the hold of another vessel, for they had heard of the
attempts then being made by prince Charles to regain the throne of his
ancestors, and they hoped to regain something that the family of Borlam
had lost, of which they were members. General Oglethorpe had the two
boys brought to his cabin; he spoke to them of the friendship he had
entertained for their father, of the kindness he had shown to
themselves, of the hopelessness of every attempt of the house of Stuart,
of their own folly in engaging in this wild and desperate struggle, of
his own duty as an officer of the house of Brunswick; but if they would
go ashore, their secret should be his. He received their pledge and they
never saw him again.
[Illustration: GENERAL LACHLAN MCINTOSH.]
At that time the means of education in Georgia were limited, yet under
his mother's care Lachlan McIntosh was well instructed in English,
mathematics and other branches necessary for future military use.
Lachlan sought the promising field of enterprise in Charleston, South
Carolina, where the fame of his father's gallantry and misfortunes
secured to him a kind reception from Henry Laurens, afterwards president
of Congress, and the first minister of the United States to Holland. In
the house of that patriot he remained several years, and contracted
friendships that lasted while he lived, with some of the leading
citizens of the southern colonies. Having adopted the profession of
surveyor, and married, he returned to Georgia, where he acquired a wide
and honorable reputation. On account of his views concerning certain
lands between the Alatamaha and St. Mary's rivers which did not coincide
with those of Governor Wright of Georgia, it afforded the latter a
pretence, for a long and deliberate opposition to the interests of
Lachlan McIntosh, which gradually schooled him for the approaching
conflict between England and her American colonies. When that event
began to dawn upon the people every eye in Georgia was turned to General
McIntosh as the leader of whatever force that province might bring into
the struggle. When, therefore, the revolutionary government was
organized and an order was made for raising a regiment was adopted,
Lachlan McIntosh was made colonel commandant; and when the order was
issued for raising three other regiments, in September, 1776, he was
immediately appointed brigadier-general commandant. About this time
Button Gwinnett was elected governor, who had been an unsuccessful
competitor for the command of the troops. He was a man unrestrained by
any honorable principles, and used his official authority in petty
persecutions of General McIntosh and his family. The general bore all
this patiently until his opponent ceased to be governor, when he
communicated to him the opinion he entertained of his conduct. He
received a challenge, and in a duel wounded him mortally. General
McIntosh now applied, through his friend Colonel Henry Laurens, for a
place in the Continental army, which was granted, and with his staff was
invited to join the commander-in-chief. He soon won the confidence of
Washington, and for a long time was placed in his front, while watching
the superior forces of Sir William Howe in Philadelphia.
While the army was in winter quarters at Valley Forge, the attention of
the government was called to the exposed condition of the western
frontier, upon which the British was constantly exciting the Indians to
the most terrible atrocities. It was determined that General McIntosh
should command an expedition against the Indians on the Ohio. In a
letter to the President of Congress, dated May 12, 1778, Washington
says:
"After much consideration upon the subject, I have appointed General
McIntosh to command at Fort Pitt, and in the western country, for which
he will set out as soon as he can accommodate his affairs. I part with
this gentleman with much reluctance, as I esteem him an officer of great
worth and merit, and as I know his services here are and will be
materially wanted. His firm disposition and equal justice, his assiduity
and good understanding, added to his being a stranger to all parties in
that quarter, pointed him out as a proper person."[182]
With a reinforcement of five hundred men General McIntosh marched to
Fort Pitt, of which he assumed the command, and in a short time he gave
repose to all western Pennsylvania and Virginia. In the spring of 1779,
he completed arrangements for an expedition against Detroit, but in
April was recalled by Washington to take part in the operations proposed
for the south, where his knowledge of the country, added to his stirling
qualities, promised him a useful field. He joined General Lincoln in
Charleston, and every preparation in their power was made for the
invasion of Georgia, then in possession of the British, as soon as the
French fleet under count D'Estaing should arrive on the coast. General
McIntosh marched to Augusta, took command of the advance of the troops,
and proceeding down to Savannah, drove in all the British outposts.
Expecting to be joined by the French, he marched to Beauly, where count
D'Estaing effected a landing on September 12th, 13th, and 14th, and on
the 15th was joined by General Lincoln. General McIntosh pressed for an
immediate attack, but the French admiral refused. In the very midst of
the siege the French fleet put to sea, leaving Generals Lincoln and
McIntosh to retreat to Charleston, where they were besieged by an
overwhelming force under Sir Henry Clinton, to whom the city was
surrendered on May 12, 1780. With this event the military life of
General McIntosh closed. He was long detained a prisoner of war, and
when finally released, retired with his family to Virginia, where he
remained until the British troops were driven from Savannah. Upon his
return to Georgia, he found his personal property wasted and his real
estate much diminished in value. From that time to the close of his
life, in a great measure, he lived in retirement and comparative
poverty until his death, which took place at Savannah, February 20,
1806.
GENERAL ARTHUR ST. CLAIR.
[Illustration: GENERAL ARTHUR ST. CLAIR.]
The life of Major General Arthur St. Clair was a stormy one, full of
disappointments, shattered hopes, and yet honored and revered for the
distinguished and disinterested services he performed. He was a near
relative of the then earl of Roslin, and was born in 1734, in the town
of Thurso, Caithness in Scotland. He inherited the fine personal
appearance and manly traits of the St. Clairs. After graduating at the
University of Edinburgh, he entered upon the study of medicine under the
celebrated Doctor William Hunter of London; but receiving a large sum of
money from his mother's estate in 1757, he changed his purpose and
sought adventures in a military life, and the same year entered the
service of the king of Great Britain, as ensign in the 60th or Royal
American Regiment of Foot. In May of the succeeding year he was with
General Amherst before Louisburg. Gathered there were men soon to become
famous among whom were Wolfe, Montcalm, Murray and Lawrence. For gallant
conduct Arthur St. Clair received a lieutenant's commission, April 17,
1759, and was with General Wolfe in that brilliant struggle before
Quebec, in September of the same year, and soon after was made a
captain. In 1760 he married at Boston, Miss Phoebe Bayard, with a
fortune of £40,000, which added to his own made him a man of wealth. On
April 16. 1762 he resigned his commission in the army, and soon after
led a colony of Scotch settlers to the Ligonier Valley, in
Pennsylvania, where he purchased for himself one thousand acres of land.
Improvements everywhere sprang up under his guiding genius. He held
various offices, among which was member of the Proprietory Council of
Pennsylvania, and colonel of militia. The mutterings which preceded the
American Revolution were early heard in the beautiful valley of the
Ligonier. Colonel St. Clair was not slow to take action, and espoused
the cause of the patriots with all the intensity of his character, and
never, even for a moment, swerved in the cause. He was destined to
receive the enduring friendship of Washington, La Fayette, Hamilton,
Schuyler, Wilson, Reed, and others of the most distinguished patriots of
the Revolution. Early in the year 1776, he resigned his civil offices,
and led the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment in the invasion of Canada, and on
account of the remarkable skill there displayed in saving from capture
the army of General Sullivan, he received the rank of brigadier-general,
August 6, 1776. He claimed to have pointed out the Quaker road to
Washington on the night before the battle of Princeton. On account of
his meritorious services in that battle, he was made a major-general,
February 19, 1777. On the advance of General Burgoyne, who now
threatened the great avenue from the north, General St. Clair was placed
in command of Ticonderoga. Discovering that he could not hold the
position, with great reluctance he ordered the fort evacuated. A great
clamor was raised against him, especially in the New England States, and
on account of this he was suspended, and a court-martial ordered.
Retaining the confidence of Washington he was a volunteer aid to that
commander at the battle of Brandywine. In September 1778, the
court-martial acquitted him of all the charges. He was on the
court-martial that condemned Major John Andre, adjutant-general of the
British army, as a spy, who had been actively implicated in the treason
of Benedict Arnold, and soon after was placed in command of West Point.
He assisted in quelling the mutiny of the Pennsylvania line, and shared
in the crowning glory of the Revolution, the capture of the British army
under lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. Soon afterwards General St. Clair
retired to private life, but his fellow-citizens soon determined
otherwise. In 1783 he was on the board of censors for Pennsylvania, and
afterwards chosen vendue-master of Philadelphia; in 1786 was elected a
member of Congress, and in 1787 was president of that body, which at
that time, was the highest office in America. In 1788 he was elected
governor of the North West Territory, which imposed upon him the duty of
governing, organizing, and bringing order out of chaos, over that region
of country. In 1791, Washington made him commander-in-chief of the army,
and in the autumn, with an ill-appointed force, set out, under the
direct orders from Henry Knox, then Secretary of War, on an expedition
against the Indians, but met with an overwhelming defeat on November
4th. The disaster was investigated by Congress, and the general was
justly exonerated from all blame. He resigned his commission as general
in 1792, but continued in office as governor until 1802, when he was
summarily dismissed by Thomas Jefferson, then president. In poverty he
retired to a log-house which overlooked the valley he had once owned. In
vain he pressed his claims against the government for the expenditures
he had made during the Revolution, in aid of the cause. In 1812 he
published his "Narrative." In 1813 the legislature of Pennsylvania
granted him an annuity of $400, and finally the general government gave
him a pension of $60 per month. He died at Laural Hill, Pennsylvania,
August 31, 1818, from injuries received by being thrown from a wagon.
Years afterwards Judge Burnet wrote, declaring him to have been
"unquestionably a man of superior talents, of extensive information, and
of great uprightness of purpose, as well as suavity of manners. * * * He
had been accustomed from infancy to mingle in the circles of taste and
refinement, and had acquired a polish of manners, and a habitual respect
for the feelings of others, which might be cited as a specimen of
genuine politeness."[183]
In 1870 the State of Ohio purchased the papers of General St. Clair, and
in 1882 these were published in two volumes, containing twelve hundred
and seventy pages.
SERGEANT DONALD M'DONALD
The lives of men who have won a great name on the field of battle throw
a glamor over themselves which is both interesting and fascinating; and
those treading the same path but cut off in their career are forgotten.
However, the American Revolution affords many acts of heroism performed
by those who did not command armies, some of whom performed many acts
worthy of record. Perhaps, among the minor officers none had such a
successful run of brilliant exploits as Sergeant Macdonald, many of
which are sufficiently well authenticated. Unfortunately the essential
particulars relating to him have not been preserved. The warlike deeds
which he exhibited are recorded in the "Life of General Francis Marion"
by General Horry, of Marion's brigade, and Weems. Just how far Weems
romanced may never be known, but in all probability what is related
concerning Sergeant Macdonald is practically true, save the shaping up
of the story.
Sergeant Macdonald is represented to have been a son of General Donald
Macdonald, who headed the Highlanders in North Carolina, and met with an
overwhelming defeat at Moore's Creek Bridge. The son was a remarkably
stout, red-haired young Scotsman, cool under the most trying
difficulties, and brave without a fault. Soon after the defeat and
capture of his father he joined the American troops and served under
General Horry. One day General Horry asked him why he had entered the
service of the patriots. In substance he made the following reply:
"Immediately on the misfortune of my father and his friends at the Great
Bridge, I fell to thinking what could be the cause; and then it struck
me that it must have been owing to their own monstrous ingratitude.
'Here now,' said I to myself, 'is a parcel of people, meaning my poor
father and his friends, who fled from the murderous swords of the
English after the massacre at Culloden. Well, they came to America, with
hardly anything but their poverty and mournful looks. But among this
friendly people that was enough. Every eye that saw us, had pity; and
every hand was reached out to assist. They received us in their houses
as though we had been their own unfortunate brothers. They kindled high
their hospitable fires for us, and spread their feasts, and bid us eat
and drink and banish our sorrows, for that we were in a land of
friends. And so indeed, we found it; for whenever we told of the woeful
battle of Culloden, and how the English gave no quarter to our
unfortunate countrymen, but butchered all they could overtake, these
generous people often gave us their tears, and said, O! that we had been
there to aid with our rifles, then should many of these monsters have
bit the ground.' They received us into the bosoms of their peaceful
forests, and gave us their lands and their beauteous daughters in
marriage, and we became rich. And yet, after all, soon as the English
came to America, to murder this innocent people, merely for refusing to
be their slaves, then my father and friends, forgetting all that the
Americans had done for them, went and joined the British, to assist them
to cut the throats of their best friends! Now,' said I to myself, 'if
ever there was a time for God to stand up to punish ingratitude, this
was the time.' And God did stand up; for he enabled the Americans to
defeat my father and his friends most completely. But, instead of
murdering the prisoners as the English had done at Culloden, they
treated us with their usual generosity. And now these are the people I
love and will fight for as long as I live."
The first notice given of the sergeant was the trick which he played on
a royalist. As soon as he heard that Colonel Tarleton was encamped at
Monk's Corner, he went the next morning to a wealthy old royalist of
that neighborhood, and passing himself for a sergeant in the British
corps, presented Colonel Tarleton's compliments with the request that he
would send him one of his best horses for a charger, and that he should
not lose by the gift.
"Send him one of my finest horses!" cried the old traitor with eyes
sparkling with joy. "Yes, Mr. Sergeant, that I will, by gad! and would
send him one of my finest daughters too, had he but said the word. A
good friend of the king, did he call me, Mr. Sergeant? yes, God save his
sacred majesty, a good friend I am indeed, and a true. And, faith, I am
glad too, Mr. Sergeant, that colonel knows it. Send him a charger to
drive the rebels, hey? Yes, egad will I send him one, and as proper a
one too as ever a soldier straddled. Dick! Dick! I say you Dick!"
"Here, massa, here! here Dick!"
"Oh, you plaguey dog! so I must always split my throat with bawling,
before I can get you to answer hey?"
"High, massa, sure Dick always answer when he hear massa hallo!"
"You do, you villain, do you? Well then run! jump, fly, you rascal, fly
to the stable, and bring me out Selim, my young Selim! do you hear? you
villain, do you hear?"
"Yes, massa, be sure!"
Then turning to the sergeant he went on:
"Well, Mr. Sergeant, you have made me confounded glad this morning, you
may depend. And now suppose you take a glass of peach; of good old
peach, Mr. Sergeant? do you think it would do you any harm?"
"Why, they say it is good of a rainy morning, sir," replied the
sergeant.
"O yes, famous of a rainy morning, Mr. Sergeant! a mighty antifogmatic.
It prevents you the ague, Mr. Sergeant; and clears a man's throat of the
cobwebs, sir."
"God bless your honor!" said the sergeant as he turned off a bumper.
Scarcely had this conversation passed when Dick paraded Selim; a proud,
full-blooded, stately steed, that stepped as though he were too lofty to
walk upon the earth. Here the old man brightening up, broke out again:
"Aye! there, Mr. Sergeant, there is a horse for you! isn't he, my boy?"
"Faith, a noble animal, sir," replied the sergeant.
"Yes, egad! a noble animal indeed; a charger for a king, Mr. Sergeant!
Well, my compliments to Colonel Tarleton; tell him I've sent him a
horse, my young Selim, my grand Turk, do you hear, my son of thunder?
And say to the colonel that I don't grudge him either, for egad! he's
too noble for me, Mr. Sergeant. I've no work that's fit for him, sir; no
sir, if there's any work in all this country that's good enough for him
but just that which he is now going on; the driving the rebels out of
the land."
He had Selim caparisoned with his elegant new saddle and holsters, with
his silver-mounted pistols. Then giving Sergeant Macdonald a warm
breakfast, and loaning him his great coat, he sent him off, with the
promise that he would, the next morning, come and see how Colonel
Tarleton was pleased with Selim. Accordingly he waited on the English
colonel, told him his name with a smiling countenance; but, to his
mortification received no special notice. After partially recovering
from his embarrassment he asked Colonel Tarleton how he liked his
charger.
"Charger, sir?" said the colonel.
"Yes, sir, the elegant horse I sent you yesterday."
"The elegant horse you sent me, sir?"
"Yes, sir, and by your sergeant, sir, as he called himself."
"An elegant horse! and by my sergeant? Why really, sir, I-I-I don't
understand all this."
"Why, my dear, good sir, did you not send a sergeant yesterday with your
compliments to me, and a request that I would send you my very best
horse for a charger, which I did?"
"No, sir, never!" replied the colonel; "I never sent a sergeant on any
such errand. Nor till this moment did I ever know that there existed on
earth such a being as you."
The old man turned black in the face; he shook throughout; and as soon
as he could recover breath and power of speech, he broke out into a
torrent of curses, enough to make one shudder at his blasphemy. Nor was
Colonel Tarleton much behind him when he learned what a valuable animal
had slipped through his hands.
When Sergeant Macdonald was asked how he could reconcile the taking of
the horse he replied:
"Why, sir, as to that matter, people will think differently; but for my
part I hold that all is fair in war; and besides, sir, if I had not
taken him Colonel Tarleton, no doubt, would have got him. And then, with
such a swift strong charger as this he might do us as much harm as I
hope to do to them."
Harm he did with a vengeance; for he had no sense of fear; and for
strength he could easily drive his sword through cap and skull of an
enemy with irresistible force. He was fond of Selim, and kept him to the
top of his metal; Selim was not much his debtor; for, at the first
glimpse of a red-coat, he would paw, and champ his iron bit with rage;
and the moment of command, he was off among them like a thunderbolt. The
gallant Highlander never stopped to count the number, but would dash
into the thickest of the fight, and fall to hewing and cutting down like
an uncontrollable giant.
General Horry, when lamenting the death of his favorite sergeant said
that the first time he saw him fight was when the British held
Georgetown; and with the sergeant the two set out alone to reconnoitre.
The two concealed themselves in a clump of pines near the road, with the
enemy's lines in full view. About sunrise five dragoons left the town
and dashed up the road towards the place where the heroes were
concealed. The face of Sergeant Macdonald kindled up with the joy of
battle. "Zounds, Macdonald," said General Horry, "here's an odds against
us, five to two." "By my soul now captain," he replied, "and let 'em
come on. Three are welcome to the sword of Macdonald." When the dragoons
were fairly opposite, the two, with drawn sabres broke in upon them like
a tornado. The panic was complete; two were immediately overthrown, and
the remaining three wheeled about and dashed for the town, applying the
whip and spur to their steeds. The sergeant mounted upon the
swift-footed Selim out-distanced his companion, and single-handed cut
down two of the foe. The remaining one would have met a like fate had
not the guns of the fort protected him. Although quickly pursued by the
relief, the sergeant had the address to bring off an elegant horse of
one of the dragoons whom he had killed.
A day or two after the victory of General Marion over Colonel Tynes,
near the Black river, General Horry took Captain Baxter, Lieutenant
Postell and Sergeant Macdonald, with thirty privates, to see if some
advantage could not be gained over the enemy near the lines of
Georgetown. While partaking of a meal at the house of a planter, a
British troop attempted to surprise them. The party leaped to their
saddles and were soon in hot pursuit of the foe. While all were
excellently mounted, yet no horse could keep pace with Selim. He was the
hindmost when the race began, but with widespread nostrils, long
extended neck, and glaring eyeballs, he seemed to fly over the course.
Coming up with the enemy Sergeant Macdonald drew his claymore, and
rising on his stirrups, with high-uplifted arm, he waved it three times
in circles over his head, and then with terrific force brought it down
upon the fleeing dragoon. One of the British officers snapped his pistol
at him, but before he could try another the sergeant cut him down.
Immediately after, at a blow apiece, three more dragoons were brought to
the earth by the resistless claymore. Of the twenty-five, not a man
escaped, save one officer, who struck off at right angles, for a swamp,
which he gained, and so cleared himself. So frightened was Captain
Meriot, the British officer, that his hair, from a bright auburn,
before night, had turned gray.
[Illustration: SERGEANT MACDONALD AND COLONEL GAINEY.]
On the following day General Horry encountered one third of Colonel
Gainey's men, and in the encounter the latter lost one half his men who
were in the action. In the conflict, as usual the sergeant performed
prodigies of valor. Later in the day Colonel Gainey's regiment again
commenced the attack, when Sergeant Macdonald made a dash for the
leader, in full confidence of getting a gallant charger. Colonel Gainey
proved to have been well mounted; but the sergeant, regarding but the
one enemy passed all others. He afterwards said he could have slain
several in the charge, but wished for no meaner object than their
leader. Only one, who threw himself in the way, became his victim, whom
he shot down as they went at full speed along the Black river road. When
they reached the corner of Richmond fence, the sergeant had gained so
far upon his enemy, as to be able to plunge his bayonet into his back.
The steel parted from the gun, and, with no time to extricate it,
Colonel Gainey rushed into Georgetown, with the weapon still
conspicuously showing how close and eager had been the charge, and how
narrow the escape. The wound was not fatal.
On another occasion General Marion ordered Captain Withers to take
Sergeant Macdonald, with four volunteers, and search out the intentions
of the enemy in Georgetown. On the way they stopped at a wayside house
and drank too much brandy. Sergeant Macdonald, feeling the effects of
the potion, with a red face, reined up Selim, and drawing his claymore,
began to pitch and prance about, cutting and slashing the empty air, and
cried out, "Huzza, boys! let's charge!" Then clapping spurs to their
steeds these six men, huzzaing and flourishing their swords, charged at
full tilt into a town garrisoned by three hundred British. The enemy
supposing this was the advance guard of General Marion, fled to their
redoubts; but all were not fortunate enough to reach that haven, for
several were overtaken and cut down in the streets, among whom was a
sergeant-major, who fell from a back-handed stroke of a claymore dealt
by Sergeant Macdonald. Out of the town the young men galloped without
receiving any injury.
Not long after the above incident, the sergeant, as usual employing
himself in watching the movements of the British, climbed up into a
bushy tree, and thence, with a musket loaded with pistol bullets, fired
at the guard as they passed by; of whom he killed one man and badly
wounded Lieutenant Torquano; then sliding down the tree, mounted Selim,
and was soon out of harm's was. Repassing the Black river he left his
clothes behind him, which were seized by the enemy. He sent word to
Colonel Watson if he did not immediately send back his clothes, he would
kill eight of his men to compensate for them. He felt it was a point of
honor that he should recover his clothes. Colonel Watson greatly
irritated by a late defeat, was furious at the audacious message. He
contemptuously ordered the messenger to return; but some of his
officers, aware of the character of the sergeant, urged that the
clothes might be returned to the partisan, as he would positively keep
his word. Colonel Watson yielded, and when the messenger returned to the
sergeant, he said, "You may now tell Colonel Watson that I will kill but
four of his men."
The last relation of Sergeant Macdonald, as given by General Peter
Horry, is in reference to Captains Snipes and McCauley, with the
sergeant and forty men, having surprised and cut to pieces a large party
of the enemy near Charleston.
Sergeant Macdonald did not live to reap the fruit of his labors, or even
to see his country free. He was killed at the siege of Fort Motte, May
12, 1781. In this fort was stationed a British garrison of one hundred
and fifty men under Captain McPherson, which had been reinforced by a
small force of dragoons sent from Charleston with dispatches for lord
Rawdon. General Marion, with the assistance of Colonel Henry Lee, laid
siege to the fortress, which was compelled to surrender, owing to the
burning of the mansion in the center of the works. Mrs. Rebecca Motte,
the lady that owned the mansion, furnished the bow and arrows used to
carry the fire to the roof of the building. Nathan Savage, a private in
the ranks of General Marion's men, winged the arrow with the lighted
torch. The British did not lose a man, and General Marion lost two of
his bravest,--Lieutenant Cruger and Sergeant Macdonald. His resting
place is unknown. No monument has been erected to his memory; but his
name will endure so long as men shall pay respect to heroism and
devotion to country.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 178: Spark's Washington's Writings, Vol. III, p. 62.]
[Footnote 179: _Ibid_, Vol. IV, p. 430.]
[Footnote 180: _Ibid_, Vol. IX, p. 186.]
[Footnote 181: _Ibid_, Vol. V, p. 85.]
[Footnote 182: _Ibid_, Vol. V, p. 361.]
[Footnote 183: Notes on the North-Western Territory, p. 378]
APPENDIX.
Since the publication of "Scotch Highlanders in America," I have secured
the following complete list of the officers of the 2nd Battalion of the
84th or Royal Highland Emigrant Regiment, from hon. Aeneas A. MacDonald,
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He also has a complete list of the
enlisted men. The original document is in private hands in St. John,
N.B.
LIST OF OFFICERS OF 2ND BATTALION OF ROYAL HIGHLAND EMIGRANTS.
Muster of January 21st, 1778, at Halifax 2nd Battalion of His Majesty's
Young Royal Highland Regiment of Foot whereof the Honble Lieut. Genl.
Thomas Gage is Colonel in Chief.
_1st Company_, Major Commandant, John Small, Commissioned June 13th,
1715, and April 8th, 1777; Captain Lieutenant, John MacLean,
Commissioned April 9th, 1776; Ensign, Lauchlan McQuarrie, Commissioned
April 9th, 1776; Chaplain, Revd Alexr McKenzie, Commissioned July 12th,
1776, Absent by leave, Revd Doctr Brinston officiating; Adjutant, Hector
MacLean, Commissioned April 25th, 1776; Quarter Master, Angus Macdonald,
Commissioned June 14th, 1775; Surgeon, George Fr. Boyd, Commissioned May
8th, 1776; Surgeon's Mate, Donald Cameron, Commissioned Oct 25th, 1776.
3 Sergeants 3 Corporals 2 Drummers and 46 Privates.
_2nd Company_, Captain, Alexr Macdonald, Commissioned June 14th, 1775:
Lieutenant, Gerald Fitzgerald, Commissioned June 14th, 1775; On
recruiting service in Newfoundland; Ensign, Kenneth Macdonald,
Commissioned June 14th, 1775. 8 non-commissioned officers and 38
Privates.
_3rd Company_, Captain, Duncan Campbell, Commissioned June 14th, 1775;
Lieutenant, Thomas Lunden, Commissioned June 14th, 1775; Ensign, Christr
Seaton, Commissioned April 9th, 1777. 8 non-commissioned officers and 48
Privates.
_4th Company_, Captain, Ronald McKinnon, Commissioned June 14th, 1775;
Lieutenants, Robert Campbell, Commissioned June 14th, 1775, and James
McDonald, Commissioned June 14th, 1775. 8 non-commissioned officers and
50 Privates.
_5th Company_, Captain, Alexr Campbell, Commissioned June 14th, 1775,
Absent on Comr in Chief's leave; Lieutenant, Samuel Bliss, Commissioned
June 14th, 1775; Ensign, Joseph Hawkins, Commissioned Decr 25th, 1775. 8
non-commissioned officers and 50 Privates.
_6th or Grenadier Company_, Captain, Murdoch McLaine, Commissioned June
14th, 1775, Recruiting; Lieutenants, Lauchlin McLaine, Commissioned June
14th, 1775, Charles McDonald, Commissioned May 18th, 1776. 8
non-commissioned officers and 50 Privates.
_7th Company_, Captain, Neil McLean, Commissioned June 14th, 1775,
Serving with the Army in Canada and under orders to join; Lieutenant,
Hugh Frazier, Commissioned Feby 27th, 1776, Prisoner with the Rebels;
Ensign, John Macdonald, Commissioned Octr 7th, 1776. 8 non-commissioned
officers and 32 Privates.
_8th Company_, Captain, Allen Macdonald, Commissioned June 14th, 1775,
Prisoner with Rebels; Lieutenant, Alexr Macdonald, Commissioned June
14th, 1775, Prisoner with Rebels; Ensign, Alexr Maclean, Commissioned
Decr 25th, 1776. 8 non-commissioned officers and 34 Privates.
_9th Company_, Captain, John Macdonald, Commissioned June 14th, 1775;
Lieutenant, Alexr McDonell, Commissioned June 14th, 1775, Prisoner with
the Rebels; Ensign, James Robertson, Commissioned Oct 30th, 1776. 8
non-commissioned officers and 34 Privates.
_10th Company_, Captain, Allan Macdonnell, Commissioned June 14th, 1775,
Prisoner with the Rebels; Lieutenant, John Macdonnell, Major Genl
Massey's leave; Ensign, Hector Maclean, Commissioned June 14th, 1775. 8
non-commissioned officers and 40 Privates.
At this Muster the 3rd or Captain Duncan Campbell's Company and the 5th
or Captain Alexr Campbell's Company could not have been present as the
Muster Rolls of these Companies, while containing the list of Officers
and Men, are not completed and not signed by the officers or by the
Deputy Officer taking the Muster. The 5th Company was in Newfoundland at
the time and the 3rd probably there also.
At a Muster of the Regiment held at Halifax on 2nd of September 1778 the
Regiment appears as His Majesty's Royal Highland Regiment of Emigrants.
APPENDIX.
NOTE A.
FIRST EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
Parties bearing Highland names were in America and the West Indies
during the seventeenth century, none of whom may have been born north of
the Grampians. The records fail to give us the details. It has been
noted that on May 15, 1635, Henri Donaldson left London for Virginia on
the Plaine Joan, the master of which was Richard Buckam. On May 28,
1635, Melaskus McKay was transported from the same port and to the same
place, on board the Speedwell, Jo. Chappell, master. Dowgall Campbell
and his wife Mary were living in Barbadoes, September 1678, as was also
Patric Campel, in August 1679. Malcum Fraser was physician on board the
Betty, that carried seventy-five "convicted rebells," one of whom was a
woman, in 1685, sailed from Port Weymouth for the Barbadoes, and there
sold into slavery. Many persons by name of Morgan also left various
English ports during that century, but as they occur in conjunction with
that of Welsh names it is probable they were from the same country.
NOTE B.
LETTER OF DONALD MACPHERSON.
Communication between the two countries was difficult and uncertain,
which would inevitably, in a short time, stop friendly correspondence.
More or less effort was made to keep up old friendships. The friends in
the New World did not leave behind them their love for the Highlands,
for home, for father and mother. The following curious letter has been
preserved from Donald MacPherson, a young Highland lad, who had been
sent to Virginia with Captain Toline, and was born near the house of
Culloden where his father lived, and addressed to him. It was written
about 1727:
"Portobago in Marilante, 2 June, 17--.
Teer Lofen Kynt Fater:
Dis is te lat ye ken, dat I am in quid healt, plessed be Got for dat,
houpin te here de lyk frae yu, as I am yer nane sin, I wad a bine ill
leart gin I had na latten yu ken tis, be kaptin Rogirs skep dat geangs
te Innernes, per cunnan I dinna ket sika anither apertunti dis towmen
agen. De skep dat I kam in was a lang tym o de see cumin oure heir, but
plissis pi Got for a'ting wi a kepit our heels unco weel, pat Shonie
Magwillivray dat hat ay sair heet. Dere was saxty o's a'kame inte te
quintry hel a lit an lim an nane o's a'dyit pat Shonie Magwillivray an
an otter Ross lad dat kam oure wi's an mai pi dem twa wad a dyit gintey
hed bitten at hame. Pi mi fait I kanna kamplin for kumin te dis quintry,
for mestir Nicols, Lort pliss hem, pat mi till a pra mestir, dey ca him
Shon Bayne, an hi lifes in Marylant in te rifer Potomak, he nifer gart
mi wark ony ting pat fat I lykit mi sel: de meast o a' mi wark is
waterin a pra stennt hors, and pringin wyn an pread ut o de seller te mi
mestir's tebil. Sin efer I kam til him I nefer wantit a pottle o petter
ele nor isi m a' Shon Glass hous, for I ay set toun wi de pairns te
dennir. Mi mestir seys til mi, fan I kon speek lyk de fouk hier dat I
sanna pe pidden di nating pat gar his plackimors wurk, for de fyt fouk
dinna ise te wurk pat te first yeer aftir dey kum in te de quintry. Tey
speek a' lyk de sogers in Inerness. Lofen fater, fan de sarvants hier he
deen wi der mestirs, dey grou unco rich, an its ne wonter for day mak a
hantil o tombako; and des sivites anahels and de sheries an de pires
grou in de wuds wantin tyks apout dem, De Swynes te ducks and durkies
geangs en de wuds wantin mestirs. De tombako grous shust lyk de dockins
en de bak o de lairts yart an de skeps dey kum fra ilka place an bys dem
an gies a hantel o silder an gier for dem. Mi nane mestir kam til de
quintry a sarfant an weil I wot hi's nou wort mony a susan punt. Fait ye
mey pelive mi de pirest plantir hire lifes amost as weil as de lairt o
Collottin. Mai pi fan mi tim is ut I wel kom hem an sie yu pat not for
de fust nor de neest yeir til I gater somtig o mi nane, for I fan I ha
dun wi mi mestir, hi maun gi mi a plantashon te set mi up, its de
quistium hier in dis quintry; an syn I houp te gar yu trink wyn insteat
o tippeni in Innerness. I wis I hat kum our hier twa or tri yiers seener
nor I dit, syn I wad ha kum de seener hame, pat Got bi tanket dat I kam
sa seen as I dit. Gin yu koud sen mi owr be ony o yur Innesness skeps,
ony ting te mi, an it war as muckle clays as mak a quelt it wad, mey pi,
gar mi meistir tink te mere o mi. It's tru I ket clays eneu fe him bat
out ting fe yu wad luck weel an pony, an ant plese Got gin I life, I sal
pey yu pack agen. Lofen fater, de man dat wryts dis letir for mi is van
Shames Macheyne, hi lifes shust a myl fe mi, hi hes pin unko kyn te mi
sin efer I kam te de quintrie. Hi wes porn en Petic an kom our a sarfant
fe Klesgou an hes peen hes nane man twa yeirs, an has sax plockimors
wurkin til hem alrety makin tombako ilka tay. Heil win hem, shortly an
a' te geir dat he hes wun hier an py a lerts kip at hem. Luck dat yu
duina forket te vryt til mi ay, fan yu ket ony occashion: Got Almichte
plis yu Fater an a de leve o de hous, for I hana forkoten nane o yu, nor
dinna yu forket mi, for plise Got I sal kum hem wi gier eneuch te di yu
a' an mi nane sel guid. I weit yu will be veri vokie, fan yu sii yur
nane sins fesh agen, for I heive leirt a hautle hevens sin I sau yu an I
am unco buick leirt.
A tis fe yur lofen an Opetient Sin,
Tonal Mackaferson.
Directed--For Shames Mackaferson neir te Lairt o Collottin's hous, neir
Innerness en de Nort o Skotlan."[184]
NOTE C.
EMIGRATION DURING THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
The emigration from the Highlands to America was so pronounced that the
Scottish papers, notably the "Edinburgh Evening Courant," the
"Caledonian Mercury," and the "Scots Magazine," made frequent reference
and bemoan its prevalence. It was even felt in London, for the
"Gentleman's Magazine" was also forced to record it. While all these
details may not be of great interest, yet to obtain a fair idea of this
movement, some record will be of service.
The "Scots Magazine," for September 1769, records that the ship Molly
sailed from Islay on August 21st of that year full of passengers to
settle in North Carolina; which was the third emigration from Argyle
"since the close of the late war." A subsequent issue of the same paper
states that fifty-four vessels full of emigrants from the Western
Islands and other parts of the Highlands sailed for North Carolina,
between April and July 1770, conveying twelve hundred emigrants. Early
in 1771, according to the "Scots Magazine," there were five hundred
emigrants from Islay, and the adjacent Islands, preparing to sail in the
following summer for America "under the conduct of a gentleman of wealth
and merit whose predecessors resided in Islay for many centuries past."
The paper farther notes that "there is a large colony of the most
wealthy and substantial people in Skye making ready to follow the
example of the Argathelians in going to the fertile and cheap lands on
the other side of the Atlantic ocean. It is to be dreaded that these
migrations will prove hurtful to the mother country; and therefore its
friends ought to use every proper method to prevent them." These Skye
men to the number of three hundred and seventy, in due time left for
America. The September issue states that "several of them are people of
property who intend making purchases of land in America. The late great
rise of the rents in the Western Islands of Scotland is said to be the
reason of this emigration."
The "Scots Magazine" states that the ship Adventure sailed from Loch
Erribol, Sunday August 17, 1772, with upwards of two hundred emigrants
from Sutherlandshire for North Carolina. There were several emigrations
from Sutherlandshire that year. In June eight families arrived in
Greenock, and two other contingents--one of one hundred and the other of
ninety souls--were making their way to the same place en route to
America. The cause of this emigration they assign to be want of the
means of livelihood at home, through the opulent graziers engrossing the
farms, and turning them into pasture. Several contributions have been
made for these poor people in towns through which they passed.
During the year 1773, emigrants from all parts of the Highlands sailed
for America. The "Courant" of April 3, 1773, reports that "the unlucky
spirit of emigration" had not diminished, and that several of the
inhabitants of Skye, Lewis, and other places were preparing to emigrate
to America during the coming summer "and seek for the sustenance abroad
which they allege they cannot find at home." In its issue for July 3,
1773, the same paper states that eight hundred people from Skye were
then preparing to go to North Carolina and that they had engaged a
vessel at Greenock to carry them across the Atlantic. In the issue of
the same paper for September 15th, same year, appears the gloomy
statement that the people of Badenoch and Lochaber were in "a most
pitiful situation for want of meal. They were reduced to live on blood
which they draw from their cattle by repeated bleedings. Need we wonder
to hear of emigrations from such a country." On September 1, 1773,
according to the "Courant," a ship sailed from Fort William for America
with four hundred and twenty-five men, women, and children, all from
Knoydart, Lochaber, Appin, Mamore, and Fort William. "They were the
finest set of fellows in the Highlands. It is allowed they carried at
least £6000 sterling in ready cash with them; so that by this
emigration the country is not only deprived of its men, but likewise of
its wealth. The extravagant rents started by the landlords is the sole
cause given for this spirit of emigration which seems to be only in its
infancy." On September 29, 1773, the "Courant," after stating that there
were from eight to ten vessels chartered to convey Highland emigrants
during that season across the Atlantic, adds: "Eight hundred and forty
people sailed from Lewis in July. Alarmed with this Lord Fortrose, their
master, came down from London about five weeks ago to treat with the
remainder of his tenants. What are the terms they asked of him, think
you? 'The land at the old rents; the augmentation paid for three years
backward to be refunded; and his factor to be immediately dismissed.'"
The "Courant" added that unless these terms were conceded the island of
Lewis would soon be an uninhabited waste. Notwithstanding the visit of
lord Fortrose, emigration went on. The ship Neptune with one hundred and
fifty emigrants from Lewis arrived in New York on August 23, 1773; and,
according to the "Scots Magazine," between seven hundred and eight
hundred emigrants sailed from Stornoway for America on June 23rd, of the
same year.
The "Courant" for September 25, 1773, in a communication from Dornoch,
states that on the 10th of that month there sailed from Dornoch Firth,
the ship Nancy, with two hundred and fifty emigrants from
Sutherlandshire for New York. The freight exceeded 650 guineas. In the
previous year a ship from Sutherlandshire paid a freight of 650 guineas.
In October 1773, three vessels with seven hundred and seventy-five
emigrants from Moray, Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness, sailed from
Stromness for America.
The "Courant" for November 10, 1773, records that fifteen hundred people
had left the county of Sutherland for America within the two preceding
years. The passage money cost £3 10s each, and it was computed that on
an average every emigrant brought £4 with him. "This amounts to £7500,
which exceeds a year's rent of the whole county."
The "Gentleman's Magazine" for June 30, 1775, states that "four vessels,
containing about seven hundred emigrants, have sailed for America from
Port Glasgow and Greenock, in the course of the present month, most of
them from the north Highlands." The same journal for September 23rd,
same year, says, "The ship Jupiter from Dunstaffnage Bay, with two
hundred emigrants on board, chiefly from Argyleshire, set sail for North
Carolina. They declare the oppressions of their landlords are such that
they can no longer submit to them."
The perils of the sea did not deter them. Tales of suffering must have
been heard in the glens. Some idea of these sufferings and what the
emigrants were sometimes called upon to endure may be inferred from the
following:
"In December (1773), a brig from Dornock, in Scotland, arrived at New
York, with about 200 passengers, and lost about 100 on the
passage."[185]
NOTE D.
APPEAL TO THE HIGHLANDERS LATELY ARRIVED FROM SCOTLAND.
Williamsburgh, November 23, 1775.
"FRIENDS AND COUNTRYMEN:--A native of the same island, and on the same
side of the Tweed with yourselves, begs, for a few moments, your serious
attention. A regard for your happiness, and the security of your
posterity, are the only motives that could have induced me to occupy
your time by an epistolary exhortation. How far I may fall short of the
object I have thus in view, becomes me not to surmise. The same claim,
however, has he to praise (though, perhaps, never equally rewarded) who
endeavors to do good, as he who has the happiness to effect his purpose.
I hope, therefore, no views of acquiring popular fame, no partial or
circumstantial motives, will be attributed to me for this attempt. If
this, however, should be the case, I have the consolation to know that I
am not the first, of many thousands, who have been censured unjustly.
I have been lately told that our Provincial Congress have appointed a
Committee to confer with you, respecting the differences which at
present subsist between Great Britain and her American Colonies; that
they wish to make you their friends, and treat with you for that
purpose; to convince you, by facts and argumentation, that it is
necessary that every inhabitant of this Colony should concur in such
measures as may, through the aid of a superintending Providence, remove
those evils under which this Continent is at present depressed.
The substance of the present contest, as far as my abilities serve me to
comprehend it, is, simply, whether the Parliament of Great Britain shall
have the liberty to take away your property without your consent. It
seems clear and obvious to me that it is wrong and dangerous they should
have such a power; and that if they are able to carry this into
execution, no man in this Country has any property which he may safely
call his own. Adding to the absurdity of a people's being taxed by a
body of men at least three thousand miles distant, we need only observe
that their views and sentiments are opposite to ours, their manners of
living so different that nothing but confusion, injustice, and
oppression could possibly attend it. If ever we are justly and
righteously taxed, it must be by a set of men who, living amongst us,
have an interest in the soil, and who are amenable to us for all their
transactions.
It was not to become slaves you forsook your native shores. Nothing
could have buoyed you up against the prepossessions of nature and of
custom, but a desire to fly from tyranny and oppression. Here you found
a Country with open arms ready to receive you; no persecuting landlord
to torment you; none of your property exacted from you to support court
favorites and dependants. Under these circumstances, your virtue and
your interest were equally securities for the uprightness of your
conduct; yet, independent of these motives, inducements are not wanting
to attach you to the cause of liberty. No people are better qualified
than you, to ascertain the value of freedom. They only can know its
intrinsick worth who have had the misery of being deprived of it.
From the clemency of the English Nation you have little to expect; from
the King and his Ministers still less. You and your forefathers have
fatally experienced the malignant barbarity of a despotick court. You
cannot have forgot the wanton acts of unparalleled cruelty committed
during the reign of Charles II. Mercy and justice were then strangers to
your land, and your countrymen found but in the dust a sanctuary from
their distresses. The cries of age, and the concessions of youth, were
uttered but to be disregarded; and equally with and without the
formalities of law, were thousands of the innocent and deserving ushered
to an untimely grave. The cruel and unmerited usage given to the Duke of
Argyle, in that reign, cannot be justified or excused. No language can
paint the horrors of this transaction; description falters on her way,
and, lost in the labyrinth of sympathy and wo, is unable to perform the
duties of her function. This unhappy nobleman had always professed
himself an advocate for the Government under which he lived, and a
friend to the reigning monarch. Whenever he deviated from these
principles, it must have been owing to the strong impulses of honor, and
the regard he bore to the rights of his fellow-creatures. 'It were
endless, as well as shocking, (says an elegant writer,) to enumerate all
the instances of persecution, or, in other words, of absurd tyranny,
which at this time prevailed in Scotland. Even women were thought proper
objects on whom they might exercise their ferocious and wanton
dispositions; and three of that sex, for refusing to sign some test
drawn up by tools of Administration, were devoted, without the solemnity
of a trial, to a lingering and painful death.'
I wish, for the sake of humanity in general and the royal family in
particular, that I could throw a veil over the conduct of the Duke of
Cumberland after the last rebellion. The indiscriminate punishments
which he held out equally to the innocent and the guilty, are facts of
notoriety much to be lamented. The intention may possibly, in some
measure, excuse, though nothing can justify the barbarity of the
measure.
Let us, then, my countrymen, place our chief dependence on our virtue,
and, by opposing the standard of despotism on its first appearance,
secure ourselves against those acts in which a contrary conduct will
undoubtedly plunge us. I will venture to say, that there is no American
so unreasonable as even to wish you to take the field against your
friends from the other side of the Atlantick. All they expect or desire
from you is, to remain neutral, and to contribute your proportion of the
expenses of the war. This will be sufficient testimony of your
attachment to the cause they espouse. As you participate of the
blessings of the soil, it is but reasonable that you should bear a
proportionate part of the disadvantages attending it.
To the virtuous and deserving among the Americans, nothing can be more
disagreeable than national reflections; they are, and must be, in the
eyes of every judicious man, odious and contemptible, and bespeak a
narrowness of soul which the virtuous are strangers to. Let not, then,
any disrespectful epithets which the vulgar and illiterate may throw
out, prejudice you against them; and endeavor to observe this general
rule, dictated at least by humanity, 'that he is a good man who is
engaged in a good cause.'
Your enemies have said you are friends to absolute monarchy and
despotism, and that you have offered yourselves as tools in the hands of
Administration, to rivet the chains forging for your brethren in
America. I hope and think my knowledge of you authorizes the assertion
that you are friends to liberty, and the natural and avowed enemies of
tyranny and usurpation. All of you, I doubt not, came into the Country
with a determined resolution of finishing here your days; nor dare I
doubt but that, fired with the best and noblest species of human
emulation, you would wish to transmit to the rising generation that best
of all patrimonies, the legacy of freedom.
Private views, and offers of immediate reward, can only operate on base
and unmanly minds. That soul in which the love of liberty ever dwelt
must reject, with honest indignation, every idea of preferment, founded
on the ruins of a virtuous and deserving people. I would have you look
up to the Constitution of Britain as the best and surest safeguard to
your liberties. Whenever an attempt is made to violate its fundamental
principles, every effort becomes laudable which may tend to preserve its
natural purity and perfection.
The warmest advocates for Administration have candor sufficient to admit
that the people of Great Britain have no right to tax America. If they
have not, for what are they contending? It will, perhaps, be answered,
for the dignity of Government. Happy would it be for those who advance
this doctrine to consider, that there is more real greatness and genuine
magnanimity in acknowledging an error, than in persisting in it.
Miserable must that state be, whose rulers, rather than give up a little
punctilio, would endanger the lives of thousands of its subjects in a
quarrel, the injustice and impropriety of which is universally
acknowledged. If the Americans wish for anything more than is set forth
in the address of the last Congress to the King and people of Great
Britain--if independence is their aim--by removing their real
grievances, their artificial ones (if any they should avow) will soon
appear, and with them will their cause be deserted by every friend to
limited monarchy, and by every well-wisher to the interests of America.
I have endeavored, in this uncultivated home-spun essay, to avoid
prolixity as much as possibly I could. I have aimed at no flowers of
speech, no touches of rhetorick, which are too often made use of to
amuse, and not to instruct or persuade the understanding. I have no
views but your good, and the credit of the Country from whence you came.
In case Government should prevail, and be able to tax America without
the least show of representation, it would be to me a painful reflection
to think, that the children of the land to which I owe my existence,
should have been the cause of plunging millions into perpetual bondage.
If we cannot be of service to the cause, let us not be an injury to it.
Let us view this Continent as a country marked out by the great God of
nature as a receptacle for distress, and where the industrious and
virtuous may range in the fields of freedom, happy under their own fig
trees, freed from a swarm of petty tyrants, who disgrace countries the
most polished and civilized, and who more particularly infest that
region from whence you
Scotius Americanus."[186]
NOTE E.
INGRATITUDE OF THE HIGHLANDERS.
"Brigadier-General Donald McDonald was in rebellion in the year 1745,
against his lawful sovereign, and headed many of the same clan and name,
who are now his followers. These emigrants, from the charity and
benevolence of the Assembly of North-Carolina, received large pecuniary
contributions, and, to encourage them in making their settlements, were
exempted from the payment of taxes for several years. It is a fact, that
numbers of that ungrateful people, who have been lately in arms, when
they arrived in Carolina, were without the necessaries of life--their
passage even paid by the charitable contributions of the inhabitants.
They have since, under every encouragement that the Province of
North-Carolina could afford them, acquired fortunes very rapidly, and
thus they requite their benefactor.--Virginia Gazette."[187]
NOTE F.
WERE THE HIGHLANDERS FAITHFUL TO THEIR OATH TAKEN BY THE AMERICANS?
General David Stewart, the faithful and admiring historian of the
Highlanders, makes the following strange statements that need
correction, especially in the view that the Highlander had a very high
regard for his oath: After the battle of Guilford Court House "the
British retired southward in the direction of Cross Creek, the Americans
following close in the rear; but nothing of consequence occurred. Cross
Creek, a settlement of emigrant Highlanders, had been remarkable for its
loyalty from the commencement of the war, and they now offered to bring
1,500 men into the field, to be commanded by officers from the line, to
find clothing and subsistence for themselves, and to perform all duties
whether in front, flanks, or rear; and they required nothing but arms
and ammunition. This very reasonable offer was not received, but a
proposition was made to form them into what was called a provincial
corps of the line. This was declined by the emigrant Highlanders, and
after a negotiation of twelve days, they retired to their settlements,
and the army marched for Wilmington, where they expected to find
supplies, of which they now stood in great need.
There was among these settlers a gentleman of the name of Macneil, who
had been an officer in the Seven Years' War. He joined the army with
several followers, but soon took his leave, having been rather sharply
reprimanded for his treatment of a republican family. He was a man of
tall stature, and commanding aspect, and moved, when he walked among his
followers, with all the dignity of a chieftain of old. Retaining his
loyalty, although offended with the reprimand, he offered to surprise
the republican garrison, the governor, and council, assembled at
Willisborough. He had three hundred followers, one-half of them old
country Highlanders, the other half born in America, and the off-spring
of Highlanders. The enterprise was conducted with address, and the
governor, council, and garrison, were secured without bloodshed, and
immediately marched off for Wilmington, Macneil and his party travelling
by night, and concealing themselves in swamps and woods by day. However,
the country was alarmed, and a hostile force collected. He proceeded in
zig-zag directions, for he had a perfect knowledge of the country, but
without any provisions except what chance threw in his way. When he had
advanced two-thirds of the route, he found the enemy occupying a pass
which he must open by the sword, or perish in the swamps for want of
food. At this time he had more prisoners to guard than followers. 'He
did not secure his prisoners by putting them to death;' but, leaving
them under a guard of half his force on whom he could least depend, he
charged with the others sword in hand through the pass, and cleared it
of the enemy, but was unfortunately killed from too great ardor in the
pursuit. The enemy being dispersed, the party continued their march
disconsolate for the loss of their leader; but their opponents again
assembled in force, and the party were obliged to take refuge in the
swamps, still retaining their prisoners. The British commander at
Wilmington, hearing of Macneil's enterprise, marched out to his support,
and kept firing cannon, in expectation the report would reach them in
the swamps. The party heard the reports, and knowing that the Americans
had no artillery, they ventured out of the swamps towards the quarter
whence they heard the guns, and meeting with Major (afterwards Sir
James) Craig, sent out to support them, they delivered over their
prisoners half famished with hunger, and lodged them safely in
Wilmington. Such partizans as these are invaluable in active
warfare."[188]
Dr. James Browne, who follows Stewart very closely, gives[189] the first
paragraph of the above quotation, but makes no reference to the exploit
of Macneil. Keltie who copies almost literally from Dr. Browne, also
gives[190] the first paragraph, but no reference to the second.
General Stewart gives no clue as to the source of his information. If
the number of Highlanders reported to have offered their services under
such favorable conditions was true, lord Cornwallis was not in a
position to refuse. He had been and still was on a very fatiguing
campaign. His army was not only worn down but was greatly decimated by
the fatigues of a long and harrassing march, and the results of two
pitched battles. In his letter to Sir Henry Clinton,[191] already
quoted, not a word of this splendid relief is intimated. From lord
Cornwallis' statement he must have made scarcely a stop at Cross Creek,
in his flight from Guilford Court House to Wilmington. He says that at
Cross Creek "there was not four days' forage within twenty miles"; that
he "determined to move immediately to Wilmington," and that "the
Highlanders have not had so much time as the people of the upper
country, to prove the sincerity of their friendship."[192] This would
amount to positive proof that the Highlanders did not offer their
services. The language of lord Cornwallis to lord George Germain, under
date of Wilmington, North Carolina, April 18th, 1781, is even stronger:
"The principal reasons for undertaking the Winter's Campaign were, the
difficulty of a defensive War in South Carolina, & the hopes that our
friends in North Carolina, who were said to be very numerous, would make
good their promises of assembling & taking an Active part with us, in
endeavouring to re-establish His Majesty's Government. Our experience
has shown that their numbers are not so great as had been represented
and that their friendship was only passive; For we have received little
assistance from them since our arrival in the province, and altho' I
gave the _strongest & most pulick assurances_ that after refitting &
depositing our Sick and Wounded, I _should return to the upper Country_,
not above two hundred have been prevailed upon to follow us either as
Provincials or Militia." Colonel Tarleton, the principal officer under
lord Cornwallis, observes: "Notwithstanding the cruel persecution the
inhabitants of Cross creek had constantly endured for their partiality
to the British, they yet retained great zeal for the interest of the
royal army. All the flour and spirits in the neighborhood were
collected and conveyed to camp, and the wounded officers and soldiers
were supplied with many conveniences highly agreeable and refreshing to
men in their situation. After some expresses were dispatched to lord
Rawdon, to advertise him of the movements of the British and Americans,
and some wagons were loaded with provisions, earl Cornwallis resumed his
march for Wilmington."[193] Not a word is said of the proposed
reinforcement by the Highlanders. Stedman, who was an officer under lord
Cornwallis, and was with him in the expedition, says:[194] "Upon the
arrival of the British commander at Cross Creek, he found himself
disappointed in all his expectations: Provisions were scarce: Four days'
forage not to be procured within twenty miles; and the communication
expected to be opened between Cross Creek and Wilmington, by means of
the river, was found to be impracticable, the river itself being narrow,
its banks high, and the inhabitants, on both sides, for a considerable
distance, inveterately hostile. Nothing therefore now remained to be
done but to proceed with the army to Wilmington, in the vicinity of
which it arrived on the seventh of April. The settlers upon Cross Creek,
although they had undergone a variety of persecutions in consequence of
their previous unfortunate insurrections, still retained a warm
attachment to their mother-country, and during the short stay of the
army amongst them, all the provisions and spirits that could be
collected within a convenient distance, were readily brought in, and the
sick and wounded plentifully supplied with useful and comfortable
refreshments." Again he says (page 348): "Lord Cornwallis was greatly
disappointed in his expectations of being joined by the loyalists. Some
of them indeed came within the lines, but they only remained a few
days." Nothing however occurs concerning Highland enlistments or their
desire so to engage with the army. General Samuel Graham, then an
officer in Fraser's Highlanders, in his "Memoirs," though speaking of
the march to Cross Creek, is silent about Highlanders offering their
services. Nor is it at all likely, that, in the sorry plight the British
army reached Cross Creek in, the Highlanders would unite, especially
when the outlook was gloomy, and the Americans were pressing on the
rear.
As to the exploit of Macneil, beyond all doubt, that is a confused
statement of the capture of Governor Burke, at Hillsboro, by the
notorious Colonel David Fanning. This was in September 1781. His report
states, "We killed 15 of the rebels, and wounded 20; and took upwards of
200 prisoners; amongst them was the Governor, his Council, and part of
the Continental Colonels, several captains and subalterns, and 71
continental soldiers out of a church." Colonel Fanning was a native of
Wake County, North Carolina, and had no special connection with the
Highlanders; but among his followers were some bearing Highland names.
The majority of his followers, who were little better than highway
robbers, had gathered to his standard as the best representative of the
king in North Carolina, after the defeat at Moore's Creek.
There is not and never has been a Willisborough in North Carolina. There
is a Williamsboro in Granville county, but has never been the seat of
government even for a few days. Hillsboro, practically, was the capital
in 1781.
The nearest to an organization of Highlanders, after Moore's Creek, was
Hamilton's Loyal North Carolina regiment; but this was made up of
refugees from over all the state.
It is a fact, according to both history and tradition, that after the
battle of Moore's Creek, the Highlanders as a race were quiet. The blow
at Moore's Creek taught them a needed lesson, and as an organization
gave no more trouble. Whatever numbers, afterwards entered the British
service, must have been small, and of little consequence.
NOTE G.
MARVELLOUS ESCAPE OF CAPTAIN MCARTHUR.