John Campbell of Cloichombie Esqr.
Inveraray,
North Brittain.
(edge of letter torn off--hence gaps) (J.F.C.)
The letter bears the Inverawe arms on seal and is endorsed,
probably by the addressee “14th March 1758, from Inveraw concerning
his familie and affairs and Lieut. Collonel Dugd. Campbell’s Bill.”
This letter will bear reading and re-reading. The first and to the
writer the most important part of the letter was some financial
and family problem. Unfortunately his guarded and cryptic message
caused by the fear that the letter might be opened by another than
the addressee will perhaps leave it always an unsolved mystery. It
would be interesting to know what success attended the planting
of the two barrels of timber seed. His guess that the Black
Watch might be used in the Ticonderoga campaign rather than the
Lewisburgh as planned, proved correct. It would be interesting
to know what the malady of the previous winter was, to prevent a
relapse of which it had been necessary to travel to the Southard.
The letter closes with another financial problem. If he means that
he was allowed ten or fifteen dollars per man for the thousand men
in the Regiment, that would be a very sizable income for those days
and the bill must have been a large one. The allowance, however,
might have been for recruits secured or some other regimental
activity. But aside from the interesting contents of this letter
its real value is that it gives an opportunity to learn something
of the character of its writer. One can read between the lines that
Duncan of Inverawe was a reserved man of a strong but a quiet,
kindly nature, he would suffer loss himself rather than make
trouble for others, and after having done his best was willing to
take whatever came without complaint. It quite matches the Inverawe
of the ghost story who promised to protect a fugitive and then
stood by his oath even though the refugee was the murderer of
his cousin. The reader of this letter can not help but feel drawn
towards its writer.
[Illustration: The Black Watch of Canada at the dedication of the
Black Watch Memorial Tablet July 8, 1925, the inscription of which
reads:
A. D. 1925. The Saint Andrews Society of Glens Falls, N. Y.,
erected this tablet to commemorate the heroic gallantry of the
42nd Regiment of Foot, better known as “The Royal Highlanders” or
“THE BLACK WATCH” who on July 8, 1758, lost here in killed and
wounded over six hundred of the thousand men engaged. Mortally
wounded on that day was their Major, DUNCAN CAMPBELL OF INVERAWE,
the hero of one of the most noted ghost stories of Scottish
history and of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, “Ticonderoga.”]
Now what was the immediate family and what was the background of
our hero. One version of the ghost story was that he made his will
the night before the battle, but no sensible man waits until death
is at the door for this very important transaction and we find the
following in Vol. XV, Abstract of Entry in Sheriff Court Books of
Argyll at Inveraray.
“Disposition by Major Duncan Campbell of Inverawe to Lieut.
Dugald Campbell, his eldest son procreated between him and Mrs.
Jean Campbell, his wife, whom, failing, to Lieut. Alexander
Campbell, his second son, whom failing, Duncan Campbell, his
third and youngest son, whom failing, to any other sons he may
lawfully have, and the heirs male of their bodies in succession,
whom failing, to Janet Campbell, his only daughter now in life
procreated between him and the said Mrs. Jean Campbell, of his
whole lands and estate of Inverawe and others, under certain
reservations; dated at Glasgow 17th April, 1756; witnesses, John
Campbell of Cloichombie, Alexander Campbell in Achalion, and
others.”
This establishes Inverawe’s family and we will see what became of
them. Dugald was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the 21st or Royal
North British Fuziliers, December 28, 1755, joined his Regiment at
Gibraltar in 1756, died and was succeeded by John Wallace, March
1st, 1758.
Alexander was appointed Lieutenant in the Black Watch Jan. 28,
1756, was wounded at Ticonderoga and invalided to Glasgow where he
was promoted to a Captaincy in the Argyllshire Regiment of Fencible
men, July 21, 1759, died unmarried Feb. 8, 1760 and was buried in
Grey Friers Burying Ground. A powder horn said to have belonged
to Lt. Alexander and bearing the coat-of-arms of the Campbells of
Inverawe is at the McCord Museum of McGill University in Montreal.
Duncan, third son of Inverawe, is still a mystery but the fact that
Janet was proven heir to Inverawe February 5, 1762 would seem to
show that he had died without issue before that date.
Major Duncan, born Nov. 22, 1702, married March 20, 1732 Jean,
daughter of Col. Alexander Campbell of Finab. She died at
Edinburgh August 20, 1761. When Janet succeeded to Inverawe in
1762 therefore her father, her mother and three brothers had all
predeceased her--a tragic mortality in six short years. There is
a family tradition that Major Duncan mortgaged Inverawe to his
brother-in-law, Col. Robert Campbell of Finab and Monzie and that
according to old Scottish law the property was handed over to
the man who advanced the money until the rental had paid off the
debt, and that this arrangement was called a wadset. Whether Col.
Campbell of Finab and Monzie acquired the property by wadset or
purchase, it passed into his hands soon after Janet proved her
title and it is said that when she left the estate she washed her
hands in a bottle of wine at the border, which we were told was an
old Highland custom. The owner of Inverawe in 1910 was a descendant
of Col. Robert Campbell of Finab and Monzie, a Mrs. Campbell of
Dunstaffnage. Since then we are informed it was purchased by the
late Mr. James Currie and is now for sale to settle his estate.
Janet who married Capt. William Pitman, had only one daughter,
Susan, who died unmarried. So with her the descendants of Major
Duncan Campbell of Inverawe are at an end.
There is a very interesting tale about an Inverawe cup. It seems
that in 1714 the three brothers, Archibald of Inverawe, Dugald of
Shirvan, and Alexander of Kilmartin, each got a silver cup. The
Kilmartins always kept their cup but both those of Inverawe and
Shirvan were lost. This was such a grief to the Inverawes that
the fact was often mentioned. On one occasion a friend who had
heard of this cup was hunting in Ireland and stopped at a wretched
little inn to get a drink for himself and his horse. The place was
so disreputable looking that he would not go in but had his drink
brought out to him. It came in a battered old metal cup and on the
chance that it might be of value, he bought it from the landlord.
To his great pleasure he found on having it cleaned that it was the
long lost Inverawe cup. He had an inscription put on it, recording
the finding, and sent it to Archibald Campbell of Blackhouse, a
nephew of Major Duncan, and the representative at that time of
the Inverawe family. The cup is still a treasured possession of
the descendants of this Archibald, the Campbells of Arduaine,
Lochgilphead.
[Illustration: --From “Auchindarroch Miscellany”