Camerons--Macleans of Dowart, Lochbuy, Coll, Ardgour, Torloisk,
Kinlochaline, Ardtornish, Drimnin, Tapul, Scallasdale, Muck,
Borrera, Treshinish, Pennycross--Macnaughton--Mackenricks
--Macknights--Macnayers--Macbraynes--Maceols--Siol O’Cain
--Munroes--Macmillans.
CAMERON.
[Illustration: BADGE--Oak (or, according to others, Crowberry).]
Another clan belonging to the district comprehended under the old
Maormordom of Moray, is that of the Camerons or clan Chameron.
According to John Major,[202] the clan Cameron and the clan Chattan
had a common origin, and for a certain time followed one chief; but
for this statement there appears to be no foundation. Allan, surnamed
MacOchtry, or the son of Uchtred, is mentioned by tradition as the
chief of the Camerons in the reign of Robert II.; and, according to
the same authority, the clan Cameron and the clan Chattan were the
two hostile tribes between whose champions, thirty against thirty,
was fought the celebrated combat at Perth, in the year 1396,
before King Robert III. with his nobility and court. The Camerons,
says a manuscript history of the clan, have an old tradition amongst
them that they were originally descended from a younger son of the
royal family of Denmark, who assisted at the restoration of Fergus
II. in 404; and that their progenitor was called Cameron from his
crooked nose, a name which was afterwards adopted by his descendants.
“But it is more probable,” adds the chronicler, “that they are the
aborigines of the ancient Scots or Caledonians that first planted the
country;” a statement which proves that the writer of the history
understood neither the meaning of the language he employed, nor the
subject in regard to which he pronounced an opinion.
As far back as can distinctly be traced, this tribe had its seat in
Lochaber, and appears to have been first connected with the house of
Isla in the reign of Robert Bruce, from whom, as formerly stated,
Angus Og received a grant of Lochaber. Their more modern possessions
of Lochiel and Locharkaig,[203] situated upon the western side of
the Lochy, were originally granted by the Lord of the Isles to the
founder of the clan Ranald, from whose descendants they passed to
the Camerons. This clan originally consisted of three septs,--the
Camerons or MacMartins of Letterfinlay, the Camerons or MacGillonies
of Strone, and the Camerons or MacSorlies of Glennevis; and from
the genealogy of one of these septs, which is to be found in the
manuscript of 1450, it has been inferred that the Lochiel family
belonged to the second, or Camerons of Strone, and that being thus
the oldest cadets, they assumed the title of Captain of the clan
Cameron.[204] Mr Skene conjectures that, after the victory at Perth,
the MacMartins, or oldest branch, adhered to the successful party,
whilst the great body of the clan, headed by the Lochiel family,
declared themselves independent; and that in this way the latter
were placed in that position which they have ever since retained.
But however this may be, Donald Dhu, who was probably the grandson
of Allan MacOchtry, headed the clan at the battle of Harlaw, in
1411, and afterwards united with the captain of the clan Chattan
in supporting James I. when that king was employed in reducing to
obedience Alexander, Lord of the Isles. Yet these rival clans, though
agreed in this matter, continued to pursue their private quarrels
without intermission; and the same year in which they deserted
the Lord of the Isles, and joined the royal banner, viz. 1429, a
desperate encounter took place, in which both suffered severely, more
especially the Camerons. Donald Dhu, however, was present with the
royal forces at the battle of Inverlochy, in the year 1431, where
victory declared in favour of the Islanders, under Donald Balloch;
and immediately afterwards his lands were ravaged by the victorious
chief, in revenge for his desertion of the Lord of the Isles, and
he was himself obliged to retire to Ireland, whilst the rest of the
clan were glad to take refuge in the inaccessible fastnesses of the
mountains. It is probably from this Donald Dhu that the Camerons
derived their patronymic appellation of MacDhonuill Duibh, otherwise
MacConnel Duy, “son of Black Donald.”
But their misfortunes did not terminate here. The Lord of the Isles,
on his return from captivity, resolved to humble a clan which he
conceived had so basely deserted him; and with this view, he bestowed
the lands of the Camerons on John Garbh Maclean of Coll, who had
remained faithful to him in every vicissitude of fortune. This grant,
however, did not prove effectual. The clan Cameron, being the actual
occupants of the soil, offered a sturdy resistance to the intruder;
John Maclean, the second laird of Coll, who had held the estate
for some time by force, was at length slain by them in Lochaber;
and Allan, the son of Donald Dhu, having acknowledged himself a
vassal of the Lord of Lochalsh, received in return a promise of
support against all who pretended to dispute his right, and was
thus enabled to acquire the estates of Locharkaig and Lochiel, from
the latter of which his descendants have taken their territorial
denomination. By a lady of the family of Keppoch, this Allan, who
was surnamed MacCoilduy, had a son, named Ewen, who was captain of
the clan Cameron in 1493, and afterwards became a chief of mark and
distinction. Allan, however, was the most renowned of all the chiefs
of the Camerons, excepting, perhaps, his descendant Sir Ewen. He had
the character of being one of the bravest leaders of his time, and he
is stated to have made no less than thirty-five expeditions into the
territories of his enemies. But his life was too adventurous to last
long. In the thirty-second year of his age he was slain in one of the
numerous conflicts with the Mackintoshes, and was succeeded by his
son Ewen, who acquired almost the whole estates which had belonged to
the chief of clan Ranald; and to the lands of Lochiel, Glenluy, and
Locharkaig, added those of Glennevis, Mamore, and others in Lochaber.
After the forfeiture of the last Lord of the Isles, he also obtained
a feudal title to all his possessions, as well those which he had
inherited from his father, as those which he had wrested from the
neighbouring clans; and from this period the Camerons were enabled to
assume that station among the Highland tribes which they have ever
since maintained.
The Camerons having, as already stated, acquired nearly all the
lands of the clan Ranald, Ewen Allanson, who was then at their head,
supported John Moydertach, in his usurpation of the chiefship, and
thus brought upon himself the resentment of the Earl of Huntly, who
was at that time all-powerful in the north. Huntly, assisted by
Fraser of Lovat, marched to dispossess the usurper by force, and
when their object was effected they retired, each taking a different
route. Profiting by this imprudence, the Camerons and Macdonalds
pursued Lovat, against whom their vengeance was chiefly directed, and
having overtaken him near Kinloch-lochy, they attacked and slew him,
together with his son and about three hundred of his clan. Huntly,
on learning the defeat and death of his ally, immediately returned
to Lochaber, and with the assistance of William Mackintosh, captain
of the clan Chattan, seized Ewen Allanson of Lochiel, captain of the
clan Cameron, and Ranald Macdonald Glas of Keppoch, whom he carried
to the castle of Ruthven in Badenoch. Here they were detained for
some time in prison; but being soon afterwards removed to Elgin,
they were there tried for high treason, and being found guilty by
a jury of landed gentlemen, were beheaded, whilst several of their
followers, who had been apprehended along with them, were hanged.
This event, which took place in the year 1546, appears to have had a
salutary effect in disposing the turbulent Highlanders to submission,
the decapitation of a chief being an act of energy for which they
were by no means prepared.
The subsequent history of the clan Chameron, until we come to the
time of Sir Ewen, the hero of the race, is only diversified by the
feuds in which they were engaged with other clans, particularly
the Mackintoshes, and by those incidents peculiar to the times and
the state of society in the Highlands. Towards the end of Queen
Mary’s reign, a violent dispute having broken out amongst the clan
themselves, the chief, Donald Dhu, patronymically styled Macdonald
Mhic Ewen, was murdered by some of his own kinsmen; and, during the
minority of his successor, the Mackintoshes, taking advantage of the
dissensions which prevailed in the clan, invaded their territories,
and forced the grand-uncles of the young chief, who ruled in his
name, to conclude a treaty respecting the disputed lands of Glenluy
and Locharkaig. But this arrangement being resented by the clan,
proved ineffectual; no surrender was made of the lands in question;
and the inheritance of the chief was preserved undiminished by the
patriotic devotion of his clansmen. Early in 1621, Allan Cameron of
Lochiel, and his son John, were outlawed for not appearing to give
security for their future obedience, and a commission was issued to
Lord Gordon against him and his clan; but this commission was not
rigorously acted on, and served rather to protect Lochiel against the
interference of Mackintosh and others, who were very much disposed to
push matters to extremity against the clan Chameron. The following
year, however, Lochiel was induced to submit his disputes with the
family of Mackintosh to the decision of mutual friends; and by these
arbitrators, the lands of Glenluy and Locharkaig were adjudged to
belong to Mackintosh, who, however, was ordained to pay certain
sums of money by way of compensation to Lochiel. But, as usually
happens in similar cases, this decision satisfied neither party.
Lochiel, however, pretended to acquiesce, but delayed the completion
of the transaction in such a way that the dispute was not finally
settled until the time of his grandson, the celebrated Sir Ewen
Cameron. About the year 1664, the latter, having made a satisfactory
arrangement of the long-standing feud with the Mackintoshes, was at
length left in undisputed possession of the lands of Glenluy and
Locharkaig; and, with some trifling exceptions, the various branches
of the Camerons still enjoy their ancient inheritances. The family of
Lochiel, like many others, was constrained to hold its lands of the
Marquis of Argyll and his successors.
Sir Ewen Cameron, commonly called Ewan Dhu of Lochiel, was a chief
alike distinguished for his chivalrous character, his intrepid
loyalty, his undaunted courage, and the ability as well as heroism
with which he conducted himself in circumstances of uncommon
difficulty and peril. This remarkable man was born in the year 1629,
and educated at Inverary Castle, under the guardianship of his
kinsman the Marquis of Argyll, who, having taken charge of him in
his tenth year, endeavoured to instil into his mind the political
principles of the Covenanters and the Puritans, and to induce the boy
to attach himself to that party. But the spirit of the youthful chief
was not attempered by nature to receive the impressions of a morose
fanaticism. At the age of eighteen, he broke loose from Argyll, with
the declared intention of joining the Marquis of Montrose, a hero
more congenial to his own character. He was too late, however, to be
of service to that brave but unfortunate leader, whose reverses had
commenced before Cameron left Inverary. But though the royal cause
seemed lost he was not disheartened, and having kept his men in arms,
completely protected his estate from the incursions of Cromwell’s
troops. In the year 1652, he joined the Earl of Glencairn, who had
raised the royal standard in the Highlands, and greatly distinguished
himself in a series of encounters with General Lilburne, Colonel
Morgan, and others. In a sharp skirmish which took place between
Glencairn and Lilburne, at Braemar, Lochiel, intrusted with the
defence of a pass, maintained it gallantly until the royal army had
retired, when Lilburne, making a detour, attacked him in flank.
Lochiel kept his ground for some time; until at last finding himself
unable to repel the enemy, who now brought up an additional force
against him, he retreated slowly up the hill showing a front to the
assailants, who durst not continue to follow him, the ground being
steep and covered with snow. This vigorous stand saved Glencairn’s
army, which was, at that time, in a disorganised state; owing
principally to the conflicting pretensions of a number of independent
chiefs and gentlemen, who, in their anxiety to command, forgot the
duty of obedience. Lochiel, however, kept clear of these cabals, and
stationing himself at the outposts, harassed the enemy with continual
skirmishes, in which he was commonly successful. How his services
were appreciated by Glencairn we learn from a letter of Charles II.
to Lochiel, dated at Chantilly, the 3d of November, 1653, in which
the exiled king says, “We are informed by the Earl of Glencairn with
what courage, success, and affection to us, you have behaved yourself
in this time of trial, when the honour and liberty of your country
are at stake; and therefore we cannot but express our hearty sense
of this your courage, and return you our thanks for the same.” The
letter concludes with an assurance that “we are ready, as soon as we
are able, signally to reward your service, and to repair the losses
you shall undergo for our service.”
Acting in the same loyal spirit, Lochiel kept his men constantly
on the alert, and ready to move wherever their service might be
required. In 1654, he joined Glencairn with a strong body, to oppose
Generals Monk and Morgan, who had marched into the Highlands. Lochiel
being opposed to Morgan, a brave and enterprising officer, was often
hard pressed, and sometimes nearly overpowered; but his courage and
presence of mind, which never forsook him, enabled the intrepid chief
to extricate himself from all difficulties. Monk tried several times
to negotiate, and made the most favourable proposals to Lochiel
on the part of Cromwell; but these were uniformly rejected with
contempt. At length, finding it equally impossible to subdue or to
treat with him, Monk established a garrison at Inverlochy, raising
a small fort, as a temporary defence against the musketry, swords,
and arrows of the Highlanders. Details as to the tactics of Lochiel,
as well as a portrait of the brave chief, will be found at p. 296 of
vol. i.
General Middleton, who had been unsuccessful in a skirmish with
General Morgan, invited Lochiel to come to his assistance. Upwards
of 300 Camerons were immediately assembled, and he marched to join
Middleton, who had retreated to Braemar. In this expedition, Lochiel
had several encounters with Morgan; and, notwithstanding all the
ability and enterprise of the latter, the judgment and promptitude
with which the chief availed himself of the accidents of the ground,
the activity of his men, and the consequent celerity of their
movements, gave him a decided advantage in this _guerre de chicane_.
With trifling loss to himself, he slew a considerable number of the
enemy, who were often attacked both in flank and rear when they had
no suspicion that an enemy was within many miles of them. An instance
of this occurred at Lochgarry in August 1653, when Lochiel, in
passing northwards, was joined by about sixty or seventy Athole-men,
who went to accompany him through the hills. Anxious to revenge the
defeat which his friends had, a short time previously, sustained upon
the same spot, he planned and executed a surprise of two regiments of
Cromwell’s troops, which, on their way southward, had encamped upon
the plain of Dalnaspidal; and although it would have been the height
of folly to risk a mere handful of men, however brave, in close
combat with so superior a force, yet he killed a number of the enemy,
carried off several who had got entangled in the morass of Lochgarry,
and completely effected the object of the enterprise.
But all his exertions proved unavailing. Middleton, being destitute
of money and provisions, was at length obliged to submit, and the
war was thus ended, excepting with Lochiel himself, who, firm in his
allegiance, still held out, and continued to resist the encroachments
of the garrison quartered in his neighbourhood. He surprised and
cut off a foraging party, which, under the pretence of hunting, had
set out to make a sweep of his cattle and goats; and he succeeded
in making prisoners of a number of Scotch and English officers,
with their attendants, who had been sent to survey the estates of
several loyalists in Argyleshire, with the intention of building
forts there to keep down the king’s friends. This last affair was
planned with great skill, and, like almost all his enterprises,
proved completely successful. But the termination of his resistance
was now approaching. He treated his prisoners with the greatest
kindness, and this brought on an intimacy, which ultimately led
to a proposal of negotiation. Lochiel was naturally enough very
anxious for an honourable treaty. His country was impoverished and
his people were nearly ruined; the cause which he had so long and
bravely supported seemed desperate; and all prospect of relief or
assistance had by this time completely vanished. Yet the gallant
chief resisted several attempts to induce him to yield, protesting
that, rather than disarm himself and his clan, abjure his king, and
take the oaths to an usurper, he would live as an outlaw, without
regard to the consequences. To this it was answered, that, if he only
evinced an inclination to submit, no oath would be required, and
that he should have his own terms. Accordingly, General Monk, then
commander-in-chief in Scotland, drew up certain conditions which he
sent to Lochiel, and which, with some slight alterations, the latter
accepted and returned by one of the prisoners lately taken, whom he
released upon parole. And proudly might he accept the terms offered
to him. No oath was required of Lochiel to Cromwell, but his word of
honour to live in peace. He and his clan were allowed to keep their
arms as before the war broke out, they behaving peaceably. Reparation
was to be made to Lochiel for the wood cut by the garrison of
Inverlochy. A full indemnity was granted for all acts of depredation,
and crimes committed by his men. Reparation was to be made to his
tenants for all the losses they had sustained from the troops. All
tithes, cess, and public burdens which had not been paid, were to be
remitted. This was in June 1654.
Lochiel with his brave Camerons lived in peace till the Restoration,
and during the two succeeding reigns he remained in tranquil
possession of his property. But in 1689, he joined the standard
of King James, which had been raised by Viscount Dundee. General
Mackay had, by orders of King William, offered him a title and
a considerable sum of money, apparently on the condition of his
remaining neutral. The offer, however, was rejected with disdain; and
at the battle of Killiecrankie, Sir Ewen had a conspicuous share in
the success of the day. Before the battle, he spoke to each of his
men, individually, and took their promise that they would conquer or
die. At the commencement of the action, when General Mackay’s army
raised a kind of shout, Lochiel exclaimed, “Gentlemen, the day is
our own; I am the oldest commander in the army, and I have always
observed something ominous or fatal in such a dull, heavy, feeble
noise as that which the enemy has just made in their shout.” These
words spread like wildfire through the ranks of the Highlanders.
Electrified by the prognostication of the veteran chief, they
rushed like furies on the enemy, and in half an hour the battle
was finished. But Viscount Dundee had fallen early in the fight,
and Lochiel, disgusted with the incapacity of Colonel Cannon, who
succeeded him, retired to Lochaber, leaving the command of his men
to his eldest son.[205] This heroic and chivalrous chief survived
till the year 1719, when he died at the age of ninety, leaving a name
distinguished for bravery, honour, consistency, and disinterested
devotion to the cause which he so long and ably supported.[206]
The character of Sir Ewen Cameron was worthily upheld by his
grandson, the “gentle Lochiel,” though with less auspicious fortune.
The share which that gallant chief had in the ill-fated insurrection
of 1745-1746 has already been fully told, and his conduct throughout
was such as to gain him the esteem and admiration of all.[207]
The estates of Lochiel were of course included in the numerous
forfeitures which followed the suppression of the insurrection;
however, Charles Cameron, son of the Lochiel of the ’45, was allowed
to return to Britain, and lent his influence to the raising of the
Lochiel men for the service of government. His son, Donald, was
restored to his estates under the general act of amnesty of 1784.
The eldest son of the latter, also named Donald, born 25th September
1796, obtained a commission in the Guards in 1814, and fought at
Waterloo. He retired from the army in 1832, and died 14th December
1858, leaving two sons and four daughters. His eldest son, Donald,
succeeded as chief of the clan Cameron.
The family of CAMERON of FASSIFERN, in Argyleshire, possesses a
baronetcy of the United Kingdom, conferred in 1817 on Ewen Cameron
of Fassifern, the father of Colonel John Cameron, of the 92d
Highlanders, slain at the battle of Quatre Bras,[208] 16th June 1815,
while bravely leading on his men, for that officer’s distinguished
military services; at the same time, two Highlanders were added
as supporters to his armorial bearings, and several heraldic
distinctions indicating the particular services of Colonel Cameron.
On the death of Sir Ewen in 1828, his second son, Sir Duncan,
succeeded to the baronetcy.
MACLEAN.
The clan GILLEAN or the MACLEANS is another clan included by Mr
Skene under the head of Moray. The origin of the clan has been very
much disputed; according to Buchanan and other authorities it is of
Norman or Italian origin, descended from the Fitzgeralds of Ireland.
“Speed and other English historians derive the genealogy of the
Fitzgeralds from Seignior Giraldo, a principal officer under William
the Conqueror.” Their progenitor, however, according to Celtic
tradition, was one Gillean or Gill-còin, a name signifying the young
man, or the servant or follower of John, who lived so early as the
beginning of the 5th century. He was called _Gillean-na-Tuaidhe_,
_i.e._ Gillean with the axe, from the dexterous manner in which he
wielded that weapon in battle, and his descendants bear a battle-axe
in their crest. According to a history of the clan Maclean published
in 1838 by “a Sennachie,” the clan is traced up to Fergus I. of
Scotland, and from him back to an Aonghus Turmhi Teamhrach, “an
ancient monarch of Ireland.” As to which of these accounts of the
origin of the clan is correct, we shall not pretend to decide. The
clan can have no reason to be ashamed of either.
MACLEAN.
[Illustration: BADGE--Blackberry Heath.]
The Macleans have been located in Mull since the 14th century.
According to Mr Skene, they appear originally to have belonged to
Moray. He says,--“The two oldest genealogies of the Macleans, of
which one is the production of the Beatons, who were hereditary
sennachies of the family, concur in deriving the clan Gille-eon from
the same race from whom the clans belonging to the great Moray tribe
are brought by the MS. of 1450. Of this clan the oldest seat seems to
have been the district of Lorn, as they first appear in subjection
to the lords of Lorn; and their situation being thus between the
Camerons and Macnachtans, who were undisputed branches of the Moray
tribe, there can be little doubt that the Macleans belonged to that
tribe also. As their oldest seat was thus in Argyle, while they are
unquestionably a part of the tribe of Moray, we may infer that they
were one of those clans transplanted from North Moray by Malcolm
IV., and it is not unlikely that Glen Urquhart was their original
residence, as that district is said to have been in the possession of
the Macleans when the Bissets came in.”
The first of the name on record, Gillean, lived in the reign of
Alexander III. (1249-1286), and fought against the Norsemen at the
battle of Largs. In the Ragman’s Roll we find Gilliemore Macilean
described as del Counte de Perth, among those who swore fealty to
Edward I. in 1296. As the county of Perth at that period included
Lorn, it is probable that he was the son of the above Gillean. In the
reign of Robert the Bruce mention is made of three brothers, John,
Nigel, and Dofuall, termed Macgillean or filii Gillean, who appear to
have been sons of Gilliemore, for we find John afterwards designated
Macgilliemore. The latter fought under Bruce at Bannockburn. A
dispute having arisen with the Lord of Lorn, the brothers left him
and took refuge in the Isles. Between them and the Mackinnons, upon
whose lands they appear to have encroached, a bitter feud took
place, which led to a most daring act on the part of the chief of
the Macleans. When following, with the chief of the Mackinnons, the
galley of the Lord of the Isles, he attacked the former and slew
him, and immediately after, afraid of his vengeance, he seized the
Macdonald himself, and carried him prisoner to Icolmkill, where
Maclean detained him until he agreed to vow friendship to the
Macleans, “upon certain stones where men were used to make solemn
vows in those superstitious times,” and granted them the lands in
Mull which they have ever since possessed. John Gilliemore, surnamed
Dhu from his dark complexion, appears to have settled in Mull about
the year 1330. He died in the reign of Robert II., leaving two sons,
Lachlan Lubanach, ancestor of the Macleans of Dowart, and Eachann or
Hector Reganach, of the Macleans of Lochbuy.
Lachlan, the elder son, married in 1366, Margaret, daughter of
John I., Lord of the Isles, by his wife, the princess Margaret
Stewart, and had a son Hector, which became a favourite name
among the Macleans, as Kenneth was among the Mackenzies, Evan
among the Camerons, and Hugh among the Mackays. Both Lachlan and
his son, Hector, received extensive grants of land from John, the
father-in-law of the former, and his successor, Donald. Altogether,
their possession consisted of the isles of Mull, Tiree, and Coll,
with Morvern on the mainland, Kingerloch and Ardgour; and the clan
Gillean became one of the most important and powerful of the vassal
tribes of the lords of the Isles.
Lachlan’s son, Hector, called _Eachann Ruadh nan Cath_, that is,
Red Hector of the Battles, commanded as lieutenant-general under
his uncle, Donald, at the battle of Harlaw in 1411, when he and
Sir Alexander Irving of Drum, seeking out each other by their
armorial bearings, encountered hand to hand and slew each other; in
commemoration of which circumstance, we are told, the Dowart and Drum
families were long accustomed to exchange swords. Red Hector of the
Battles married a daughter of the Earl of Douglas. His eldest son was
taken prisoner at the battle of Harlaw, and detained in captivity a
long time by the Earl of Mar. His brother, John, at the head of the
Macleans, was in the expedition of Donald Balloch, cousin of the Lord
of the Isles, in 1431, when the Islesmen ravaged Lochaber, and were
encountered at Inverlochy, near Fortwilliam, by the royal forces
under the Earls of Caithness and Mar, whom they defeated. In the
dissensions which arose between John, the last Lord of the Isles, and
his turbulent son, Angus, who, with the island chiefs descended from
the original family, complained that his father had made improvident
grants of lands to the Macleans and other tribes, Hector Maclean,
chief of the clan, and great-grandson of Red Hector of the Battles,
took part with the former, and commanded his fleet at the battle of
Bloody Bay in 1480, where he was taken prisoner. This Hector was
chief of his tribe at the date of the forfeiture of the lordship of
the Isles in 1493, when the clan Gillean, or ClanLean as it came to
be called, was divided into four independent branches, viz., the
Macleans of Dowart, the Macleans of Lochbuy, the Macleans of Coll,
and the Macleans of Ardgour. Lachlan Maclean was chief of Dowart in
1502, and he and his kinsman, Maclean of Lochbuy, were among the
leading men of the Western Isles whom that energetic monarch, James
IV., entered into correspondence with, for the purpose of breaking
up the confederacy of the Islanders. Nevertheless, on the breaking
out of the insurrection under Donald Dubh, in 1503, they were both
implicated in it. Lachlan Maclean was forfeited with Cameron of
Lochiel, while Maclean of Lochbuy and several others were summoned
before the parliament, to answer for their treasonable support given
to the rebels. In 1505 Maclean of Dowart abandoned the cause of
Donald Dubh and submitted to the government; his example was followed
by Maclean of Lochbuy and other chiefs; and this had the effect, soon
after, of putting an end to the rebellion.
Lachlan Maclean of Dowart was killed at Flodden. His successor, of
the same name, was one of the principal supporters of Sir Donald
Macdonald of Lochalsh, when, in November 1513, he brought forward
his claims to the lordship of the Isles. In 1523 a feud of a
most implacable character broke out between the Macleans and the
Campbells, arising out of an occurrence connected with the “lady’s
cock,” mentioned in our account of the Campbells. In 1529, however,
the Macleans joined the Clandonald of Isla against the Earl of
Argyll, and ravaged with fire and sword the lands of Roseneath,
Craignish, and others belonging to the Campbells, killing many of
the inhabitants. The Campbells, on their part, retaliated by laying
waste great portion of the isles of Mull and Tiree and the lands of
Morvern, belonging to the Macleans. In May 1530, Maclean of Dowart
and Alexander of Isla made their personal submission to the sovereign
at Stirling, and, with the other rebel island chiefs who followed
their example, were pardoned, upon giving security for their after
obedience.
In 1545, Maclean of Dowart acted a very prominent part in the
intrigues with England, in furtherance of the project of Henry VIII.,
to force the Scottish nation to consent to a marriage between Prince
Edward and the young Queen Mary. He and Maclean of Lochbuy were
among the barons of the Isles who accompanied Donald Dubh to Ireland,
and at the command of the Earl of Lennox, claiming to be regent of
Scotland, swore allegiance to the king of England.
The subsequent clan history consists chiefly of a record of feuds
in which the Dowart Macleans were engaged with the Macleans of
Coll, and the Macdonalds of Kintyre. The dispute with the former
arose from Dowart, who was generally recognised as the head of the
ClanLean, insisting on being followed as chief by Maclean of Coll,
and the latter, who held his lands direct from the crown, declining
to acknowledge him as such, on the ground that being a free baron,
he owed no service but to his sovereign as his feudal superior. In
consequence of this refusal, Dowart, in the year 1561, caused Coll’s
lands to be ravaged, and his tenants to be imprisoned. With some
difficulty, and after the lapse of several years, Coll succeeded
in bringing his case before the privy council, who ordered Dowart
to make reparation to him for the injury done to his property and
tenants, and likewise to refrain from molesting him in future. But
on a renewal of the feud some years after, the Macleans of Coll were
expelled from that island by the young laird of Dowart.
The quarrel between the Macleans and the Macdonalds of Isla and
Kintyre was, at the outset, merely a dispute as to the right of
occupancy of the crown lands called the Rhinns of Isla, but it soon
involved these tribes in a long and bloody feud, and eventually led
to the destruction nearly of them both. The Macleans, who were in
possession, claimed to hold the lands in dispute as tenants of the
crown, but the privy council decided that Macdonald of Isla was
really the crown tenant. Lachlan Maclean of Dowart, called Lachlan
Mor, was chief of the Macleans in 1578. Under him the feud with the
Macdonalds assumed a most sanguinary and relentless character. Full
details of this feud will be found in the former part of this work.
The mutual ravages committed by the hostile clans, in which the
kindred and vassal tribes on both sides were involved, and the
effects of which were felt throughout the whole of the Hebrides,
attracted, in 1589, the serious attention of the king and council,
and for the purpose of putting an end to them, the rival chiefs,
with Macdonald of Sleat, on receiving remission, under the privy
seal, for all the crimes committed by them, were induced to proceed
to Edinburgh. On their arrival, they were committed prisoners to
the castle, and, after some time, Maclean and Angus Macdonald were
brought to trial, in spite of the remissions granted to them; one of
the principal charges against them being their treasonable hiring of
Spanish and English soldiers to fight in their private quarrels. Both
chiefs submitted themselves to the king’s mercy, and placed their
lives and lands at his disposal. On payment each of a small fine
they were allowed to return to the Isles, Macdonald of Sleat being
released at the same time. Besides certain conditions being imposed
upon them, they were taken bound to return to their confinement in
the castle of Edinburgh, whenever they should be summoned, on twenty
days’ warning. Not fulfilling the conditions, they were, on 14th July
1593, cited to appear before the privy council, and as they disobeyed
the summons, both Lachlan Mòr and Angus Macdonald were, in 1594,
forfeited by parliament.
At the battle of Glenlivat, in that year, fought between the Catholic
Earls of Huntly, Angus, and Errol, on the one side, and the king’s
forces, under the Earl of Argyll, on the other, Lachlan Mòr, at the
head of the Macleans, particularly distinguished himself. Argyll
lost the battle, but, says Mr Gregory,[209] “the conduct of Lachlan
Maclean of Dowart, who was one of Argyll’s officers, in this action,
would, if imitated by the other leaders, have converted the defeat
into a victory.”
In 1596 Lachlan Mòr repaired to court, and on making his submission
to the king, the act of forfeiture was removed. He also received
from the crown a lease of the Rhinns of Isla, so long in dispute
between him and Macdonald of Dunyveg. While thus at the head of
favour, however, his unjust and oppressive conduct to the family of
the Macleans of Coll, whose castle and island he had seized some
years before, on the death of Hector Maclean, proprietor thereof, was
brought before the privy council by Lachlan Maclean, then of Coll,
Hector’s son, and the same year he was ordered to deliver up not
only the castle of Coll, but all his own castles and strongholds, to
the lieutenant of the Isles, on twenty-four hours’ warning, also,
to restore to Coll, within thirty days, all the lands of which he
had deprived him, under a penalty of 10,000 merks. In 1598, Lachlan
Mòr, with the view of expelling the Macdonalds from Isla, levied
his vassals and proceeded to that island, and after an ineffectual
attempt at an adjustment of their differences, was encountered, on
5th August, at the head of Lochgreinord, by Sir James Macdonald, son
of Angus, at the head of his clan, when the Macleans were defeated,
and their chief killed, with 80 of his principal men and 200 common
soldiers. Lachlan Barrach Maclean, a son of Sir Lachlan, was
dangerously wounded, but escaped.
Hector Maclean, the son and successor of Sir Lachlan, at the head of
a numerous force, afterwards invaded Isla, and attacked and defeated
the Macdonalds at a place called Bern Bige, and then ravaged the
whole island. In the conditions imposed upon the chiefs for the
pacification of the Isles in 1616, we find that Maclean of Dowart
was not to use in his house more than four tun of wine, and Coll and
Lochbuy one tun each.
Sir Lachlan Maclean of Morvern, a younger brother of Hector Maclean
of Dowart, was in 1631 created a baronet of Nova Scotia by Charles
I., and on the death of his elder brother he succeeded to the
estate of Dowart. In the civil wars the Macleans took arms under
Montrose, and fought valiantly for the royal cause. At the battle
of Inverlochy, 2d February 1615, Sir Lachlan commanded his clan. He
engaged in the subsequent battles of the royalist general. Sir Hector
Maclean, his son, with 800 of his followers, was at the battle of
Inverkeithing, 20th July 1651, when the royalists were opposed to the
troops of Oliver Cromwell. On this occasion an instance of devoted
attachment to the chief was shown on the part of the Macleans. In the
heat of the battle, Sir Hector was covered from the enemy’s attacks
by seven brothers of his clan, all whom successively sacrificed their
lives in his defence. Each brother, as he fell, exclaimed, “_Fear
eile air son Eachainn_,” ‘Another for Eachann,’ or Hector, and a
fresh one stepping in, answered, “_Bàs air son Eachainn_,” ‘Death for
Eachann.’ The former phrase, says General Stewart, has continued ever
since to be a proverb or watchword, when a man encounters any sudden
danger that requires instant succour. Sir Hector, however, was left
among the slain, with about 500 of his followers.
The Dowart estates had become deeply involved in debt, and the
Marquis of Argyll, by purchasing them up, had acquired a claim
against the lands of Maclean, which ultimately led to the greater
portion of them becoming the property of that accumulating family.
In 1674, after the execution of the marquis, payment was insisted
upon by his son, the earl. The tutor of Maclean, the chief, his
nephew, being a minor, evaded the demand for a considerable time,
and at length showed a disposition to resist it by force. Argyll
had recourse to legal proceedings, and supported by a body of 2,000
Campbells, he crossed into Mull, where he took possession of the
castle of Dowart, and placed a garrison in it. The Macleans, however,
refused to pay their rents to the earl, and in consequence he
prepared for a second invasion of Mull. To resist it, the Macdonalds
came to the aid of the Macleans, but Argyll’s ships were driven back
by a storm, when he applied to government, and even went to London,
to ask assistance from the king. Lord Macdonald and other friends of
the Macleans followed him, and laid a statement of the dispute before
Charles, who, in February 1676, remitted the matter to three lords
of the Scottish privy council. No decision, however, was come to by
them, and Argyll was allowed to take possession of the island of Mull
without resistance in 1680. At the battle of Killiecrankie, Sir John
Maclean, with his regiment, was placed on Dundee’s right, and among
the troops on his left was a battalion under Sir Alexander Maclean.
The Macleans were amongst the Highlanders surprised and defeated
at Cromdale in 1690. In the rebellion of 1715, the Macleans ranged
themselves under the standard of the Earl of Mar, and were present at
the battle of Sheriffmuir. For his share in the insurrection Sir John
Maclean, the chief, was forfeited, but the estates were afterwards
restored to the family, On the breaking out of the rebellion of
1745, Sir John’s son, Sir Hector Maclean, the fifth baronet, was
apprehended, with his servant, at Edinburgh, and conveyed to London.
He was set at liberty in June 1747. At Culloden, however, 500 of his
clan fought for Prince Charles, under Maclean of Drimnin, who was
slain while leading them on. Sir Hector died, unmarried, at Paris, in
1750, when the title devolved upon his third cousin, the remainder
being to heirs male whatsover. This third cousin, Sir Allan Maclean,
was great-grandson of Donald Maclean of Brolas, eldest son, by his
second marriage, of Hector Maclean of Dowart, the father of the
first baronet. Sir Allan married Anne, daughter of Hector Maclean
of Coll, and had three daughters, the eldest of whom, Maria, became
the wife of Maclean of Kinlochaline, and the second, Sibella, of
Maclean of Inverscadell. In 1773, when Johnson and Boswell visited
the Hebrides, Sir Allan was chief of the clan. He resided at that
time on Inchkenneth, one of his smaller islands, in the district of
Mull, where he entertained his visitors very hospitably. From the
following anecdote told by Boswell, it would appear that the feeling
of devotion to the chief had survived the abolition act of 1747. “The
MacInnises are said to be a branch of the clan of Maclean. Sir Allan
had been told that one of the name had refused to send him some rum,
at which the knight was in great indignation. ‘You rascal!’ said he,
‘don’t you know that I can hang you, if I please? Refuse to send rum
to me, you rascal! Don’t you know that if I order you to go and cut a
man’s throat, you are to do it?’ ‘Yes, an’t please your honour, and
my own too, and hang myself too!’ The poor fellow denied that he had
refused to send the rum. His making these professions was not merely
a pretence in presence of his chief, for, after he and I were out of
Sir Allan’s hearing, he told me, ‘Had he sent his dog for the rum, I
would have given it: I would cut my bones for him.’ Sir Allan, by the
way of upbraiding the fellow, said, ‘I believe you are a _Campbell_!’”
[Illustration:
Sir Allan Maclean. From the original painting in possession of John
Maclean Mackenzie Grieves, Esq. of Hutton Hall, Berwickshire.]
Dying without male issue in 1783, Sir Allan was succeeded by his
kinsman, Sir Hector, 7th baronet; on whose death, Nov. 2, 1818,
his brother, Lieut.-General Sir Fitzroy Jefferies Grafton Maclean,
became the 8th baronet. He died July 5, 1847, leaving two sons, Sir
Charles Fitzroy Grafton Maclean of Morvern, and Donald Maclean, of
the chancery bar. Sir Charles, 9th baronet, married a daughter of
the Hon. and Rev. Jacob Marsham, uncle of the Earl of Romney, and
has issue, a son, Fitzroy Donald, major 13th dragoons, and four
daughters, one of whom, Louisa, became the wife of Hon. Ralph Pelham
Neville, son of the Earl of Abergavenny.
The first of the LOCHBUY branch of the Macleans was Hector Reganach,
brother of Lachlan Lubanach above mentioned. He had a son named
John, or Murchard, whose great-grandson, John Og Maclean of Lochbuy,
received from King James IV. several charters of the lands and
baronies which had been held by his progenitors. He was killed, with
his two elder sons, in a family feud with the Macleans of Dowart.
His only surviving son, Murdoch, was obliged, in consequence of
the same feud, to retire to Ireland, where he married a daughter
of the Earl of Antrim. By the mediation of his father-in-law, his
differences with Dowart were satisfactorily adjusted, and he returned
to the isles, where he spent his latter years in peace. The house
of Lochbuy has always maintained that of the two brothers, Lachlan
Lubanach and Hector Reganach, the latter was the senior, and that,
consequently, the chiefship of the Macleans is vested in its head;
“but this,” says Mr Gregory, “is a point on which there is no certain
evidence.” The whole clan, at different periods, have followed the
head of both families to the field, and fought under their command.
The Lochbuy family now spells its name Maclaine.
The COLL branch of the Macleans, like that of Dowart, descended from
Lachlan Lubanach, said to have been grandfather of the fourth laird
of Dowart and first laird of Coll, who were brothers. John Maclean,
surnamed Garbh, son of Lachlan of Dowart, obtained the isle of Coll
and the lands of Quinish in Mull from Alexander, Earl of Ross and
Lord of the Isles, and afterwards, on the forfeiture of Cameron,
the lands of Lochiel. The latter grant engendered, as we have seen,
a deadly feud between the Camerons and the Macleans. At one time
the son and successor of John Garbh occupied Lochiel by force, but
was killed in a conflict with the Camerons at Corpach, in the reign
of James III. His infant son would also have been put to death,
had the boy not been saved by the Macgillonies or Macalonichs, a
tribe of Lochaber that generally followed the clan Cameron. This
youth, subsequently known as John Abrach Maclean of Coll, was the
representative of the family in 1493, and from him was adopted the
patronymic appellation of Maclean Abrach, by which the lairds of Coll
were ever after distinguished.
The tradition concerning this heir of Coll is thus related by Dr
Johnson, in his _Tour to the Hebrides_:--“On the wall of old Coll
Castle was, not long ago, a stone with an inscription, importing,
‘That if any man of the clan of Macalonich shall appear before this
castle, though he come at midnight with a man’s head in his hand,
he shall there find safety and protection against all but the king.’
This is an old Highland treaty made upon a memorable occasion.
Maclean, the son of John Garbh, had obtained, it is said, from James
II., a grant of the lands of Lochiel. Forfeited estates were not
in those days quietly resigned: Maclean, therefore, went with an
armed force to seize his new possessions, and, I know not for what
reason, took his wife with him. The Camerons rose in defence of their
chief, and a battle was fought at the head of Lochness, near the
place where Fort Augustus now stands, in which Lochiel obtained the
victory, and Maclean, with his followers, was defeated and destroyed.
The lady fell into the hands of the conquerors, and being pregnant,
was placed in the custody of Macalonich, one of a tribe or family
branched from Cameron, with orders, if she brought a boy, to destroy
him, if a girl, to spare her. Macalonich’s wife had a girl about the
same time at which Lady M’Lean brought a boy; and Macalonich, with
more generosity to his captive than fidelity to his trust, contrived
that the children should be changed. Maclean in time recovered his
original patrimony, and in gratitude to his friend, made his castle
a place of refuge to any of the clan that should think himself in
danger; and Maclean took upon himself and his posterity the care of
educating the heir of Macalonich. The power of protection subsists no
longer; but Maclean of Coll now educates the heir of Macalonich.”
The account of the conversion of the simple islanders of Coll from
Popery to Protestantism is curious. The laird had imbibed the
principles of the Reformation, but found his people reluctant to
abandon the religion of their fathers. To compel them to do so,
he took his station one Sunday in the path which led to the Roman
Catholic church, and as his clansmen approached he drove them back
with his cane. They at once made their way to the Protestant place
of worship, and from this persuasive mode of conversion his vassals
ever after called it the religion of the gold-headed stick. Lachlan,
the seventh proprietor of Coll, went over to Holland with some of his
own men, in the reign of Charles II., and obtained the command of a
company in General Mackay’s regiment, in the service of the Prince of
Orange. He afterwards returned to Scotland, and was drowned in the
water of Lochy, in Lochaber, in 1687.
Colonel Hugh Maclean, London, the last laird of Coll, of that name,
was the 15th in regular descent from John Garbh, son of Lauchlan
Lubanach.
The ARDGOUR branch of the Macleans, which held its lands directly
from the Lord of the Isles, is descended from Donald, another son
of Lachlan, third laird of Dowart. The estate of Ardgour, which is
in Argyleshire, had previously belonged to a different tribe (the
Macmasters), but it was conferred upon Donald, either by Alexander,
Earl of Ross, or by his son and successor, John. In 1463, Ewen or
Eugene, son of Donald, held the office of seneschal of the household
to the latter earl; and in 1493, Lachlan Macewen Maclean was laird of
Ardgour. Alexander Maclean, Esq., the present laird of Ardgour, is
the 14th from father to son.
During the 17th and 18th centuries the Macleans of Lochbuy, Coll, and
Ardgour, more fortunate than the Dowart branch of the clan, contrived
to preserve their estates nearly entire, although compelled by the
Marquis of Argyll to renounce their holdings _in capite_ of the
crown, and to become vassals of that nobleman. They continued zealous
partizans of the Stuarts, in whose cause they suffered severely.
From Lachlan Og Maclean, a younger son of Lachlan Mòr of Dowart,
sprung the family of TORLOISK in Mull.
Of the numerous flourishing cadets of the different branches, the
principal were the Macleans of KINLOCHALINE, ARDTORNISH, and DRIMNIN,
descended from the family of Dowart; of TAPUL and SCALLASDALE, in
the island of Mull, from that of Lochbuy; of ISLE OF MUCK, from
that of Coll; and of BORRERA, in North Uist and TRESHINISH, from
that of Ardgour. The family of Borrera are represented by Donald
Maclean, Esq., and General Archibald Maclean. From the Isle of Muck
and Treshinish Macleans is descended A. C. Maclean, Esq. of Haremere
Hall, Sussex.
The Macleans of PENNYCROSS, island of Mull, represented by Alexander
Maclean, Esq., derives from John Dubh, the first Maclean of Morvern.
General Allan Maclean of Pennycross, colonel of the 13th light
dragoons, charged with them at Waterloo.
The force of the Macleans was at one time 800; in 1745 it was 500.
MACNAUGHTON.
[Illustration: BADGE--Heath.]
Another clan, supposed by Mr Skene to have originally belonged to
Moray, is the clan Nachtan or Macnaughton.
The MS. of 1450 deduces the descent of the heads of this clan from
Nachtan Mor, who is supposed to have lived in the 10th century. The
Gaelic name Neachtain is the same as the Pictish Nectan, celebrated
in the _Pictish Chronicle_ as one of the great Celtic divisions in
Scotland, and the appellation is among the most ancient in the north
of Ireland, the original seat of the Cruithen Picts. According to
Buchanan of Auchmar,[210] the heads of this clan were for ages thanes
of Loch Tay, and possessed all the country between the south side
of Loch-Fyne and Lochawe, parts of which were Glenira, Glenshira,
Glenfine, and other places, while their principal seat was Dunderraw
on Loch-Fyne.
[Illustration: MACNAUGHTON. (Tartan)]
In the reign of Robert III., Maurice or Morice Macnaughton had a
charter from Colin Campbell of Lochow of sundry lands in Over Lochow,
but their first settlement in Argyleshire, in the central parts of
which their lands latterly wholly lay, took place long before this.
When Malcolm the Maiden attempted to civilise the ancient province
of Moray, by introducing Norman and Saxon families, such as the
Bissets, the Comyns, &c., in the place of the rude Celtic natives
whom he had expatriated to the south, he gave lands in or near
Strathtay or Strathspey, to Nachtan of Moray, for those he had held
in that province. He had there a residence called Dunnachtan castle.
Nesbit[211] describes this Nachtan as “an eminent man in the time of
Malcolm IV.,” and says that he “was in great esteem with the family
of Lochawe, to whom he was very assistant in them wars with the
Macdougals, for which he was rewarded with sundry lands.” The family
of Lochawe here mentioned were the Campbells.
The Macnaughtons appear to have been fairly and finally settled in
Argyleshire previous to the reign of Alexander III., as Gilchrist
Macnaughton, styled of that ilk, was by that monarch appointed,
in 1287, heritable keeper of his castle and island of Frechelan
(Fraoch Ellan) on Lochawe, on condition that he should be properly
entertained when he should pass that way; whence a castle embattled
was assumed as the crest of the family.
This Gilchrist was father or grandfather of Donald Macnaughton of
that ilk, who, being nearly connected with the Macdougals of Lorn,
joined that powerful chief with his clan against Robert the Bruce,
and fought against the latter at the battle of Dalree in 1306,
in consequence of which he lost a great part of his estates. In
Abercromby’s _Martial Achievements_,[212] it is related that the
extraordinary courage shown by the king in having, in a narrow pass,
slain with his own hand several of his pursuers, and amongst the
rest three brothers, so greatly excited the admiration of the chief
of the Macnaughtons that he became thenceforth one of his firmest
adherents.[213]
His son and successor, Duncan Macnaughton of that ilk, was a steady
and loyal subject to King David II., who, as a reward for his
fidelity, conferred on his son, Alexander, lands in the island of
Lewis, a portion of the forfeited possessions of John of the Isles,
which the chiefs of the clan Naughton held for a time. The ruins of
their castle of Macnaughton are still pointed out on that island.
Donald Macnaughton, a younger son of the family, was, in 1436,
elected bishop of Dunkeld, in the reign of James I.
Alexander Macnaughton of that ilk, who lived in the beginning of
the 16th century, was knighted by James IV., whom he accompanied to
the disastrous field of Flodden, where he was slain, with nearly
the whole chivalry of Scotland. His son, John, was succeeded by his
second son, Malcolm Macnaughton of Glenshira, his eldest son having
predeceased him. Malcolm died in the end of the reign of James VI.,
and was succeeded by his eldest son, Alexander.
John, the second son of Malcolm, being of a handsome appearance,
attracted the notice of King James VI., who appointed him one of
his pages of honour, on his accession to the English crown. He
became rich, and purchased lands in Kintyre. His elder brother,
Alexander Macnaughton of that ilk, adhered firmly to the cause of
Charles I., and in his service sustained many severe losses. At the
Restoration, as some sort of compensation, he was knighted by Charles
II., and, unlike many others, received from that monarch a liberal
pension for life. Sir Alexander Macnaughton spent his later days in
London, where he died. His son and successor, John Macnaughton of
that ilk, succeeded to an estate greatly burdened with debt, but
did not hesitate in his adherence to the fallen fortunes of the
Stuarts. At the head of a considerable body of his own clan, he
joined Viscount Dundee, and was with him at Killiecrankie. James VII.
signed a deed in his favour, restoring to his family all its old
lands and hereditary rights, but, as it never passed the seals in
Scotland, it was of no value. His lands were taken from him, not by
forfeiture, but “the estate,” says Buchanan of Auchmar, “was evicted
by creditors for sums noways equivalent to its value, and, there
being no diligence used for relief thereof, it went out of the hands
of the family.” His son, Alexander, a captain in Queen Anne’s guards,
was killed in the expedition to Vigo in 1702. His brother, John,
at the beginning of the last century was for many years collector
of customs at Anstruther in Fife, and subsequently was appointed
inspector-general in the same department. The direct male line of the
Macnaughton chiefs became extinct at his death.
“The Mackenricks are ascribed to the Macnaughton line, as also
families of Macknights (or Macneits), Macnayers, Macbraynes, and
Maceols.” The present head of the Macbraynes is John Burns Macbrayne,
Esq. of Glenbranter, Cowel, Argyleshire, grandson of Donald
Macbrayne, merchant in Glasgow, who was great-grandson, on the female
side, of Alexander Macnaughton of that ilk, and heir of line of
John Macnaughton, inspector-general of customs in Scotland. On this
account the present representative of the Macbraynes is entitled to
quarter his arms with those of the Macnaughtons.
There are still in Athole families of the Macnaughton name, proving
so far what has been stated respecting their early possession of
lands in that district. Stewart of Garth makes most honourable
mention of one of the sept, who was in the service of Menzies of
Culdares in the year 1745. That gentleman had been “out” in 1715,
and was pardoned. Grateful so far, he did not join Prince Charles,
but sent a fine charger to him as he entered England. The servant,
Macnaughton, who conveyed the present, was taken and tried at
Carlisle. The errand on which he had come was clearly proved, and
he was offered pardon and life if he would reveal the name of the
sender of the horse. He asked with indignation if they supposed
that he could be such a villain. They repeated the offer to him on
the scaffold, but he died firm to his notion of fidelity. His life
was nothing to that of his master, he said. The brother of this
Macnaughton was known to Garth, and was one of the Gael who always
carried a weapon about him to his dying day.[214]
* * * * *
Under the subordinate head of Siol O’Cain, other two clans are
included in the Maormordom of Moray, viz., clan Roich or Munro, and
clan Gillemhaol or Macmillan.
MUNRO.
The possessions of the clan Monro or Munro, situated on the north
side of Cromarty Firth, were generally known in the Highlands by
the name of Fearrann Donull or Donald’s country, being so called,
it is said, from the progenitor of the clan, Donald the son of
O’Ceann, who lived in the time of Macbeth. The Munroes were vassals
of the Earls of Ross, and may be regarded as a portion of the
native Scottish Gael. According to Sir George Mackenzie, they came
originally from the north of Ireland with the Macdonalds, on which
great clan “they had constantly a depending.” Their name he states
to have been derived from “a mount on the river Roe,” county Derry.
Clan tradition, probably not more to be relied upon than tradition
generally, holds that they formed a branch of the natives of Scotland
who, about 357, being driven out by the Romans, and forced to take
refuge in Ireland, were located for several centuries on the stream
of the Roe, and among the adjacent mountains. In the time of Malcolm
II., or beginning of the 11th century, the ancestors of the Munroes
are said to have come over to Scotland to aid in expelling the Danes,
under the above named Donald, son of O’Ceann, who, for his services,
received the lands of East Dingwall in Ross-shire. These lands,
erected into a barony, were denominated Foulis, from Loch Foyle in
Ireland, and the chief of the clan was designated of Foulis, his
residence in the parish of Kiltearn, near the mountain called Ben
Uaish or Ben Wyvis. So says tradition.
MUNRO OF FOULIS.
[Illustration: BADGE--According to some, Eagle’s Feathers, others,
Common Club Moss.]
Another conjecture as to the origin of the name of Munro is that,
from having acted as bailiffs or stewards to the Lords of the Isles
in the earldom of Ross, they were called “Munrosses.” Skene, as we
have said, ranks the clan as members of a great family called the
Siol O’Cain, and makes them out to be a branch of the clan Chattan,
by ingeniously converting O’Cain into O’Cathan, and thus forming
Chattan. Sir George Mackenzie says the name originally was Bunroe.
Hugh Munro, the first of the family authentically designated of
Foulis, died in 1126. He seems to have been the grandson of Donald,
the son of O’Ceann above mentioned. Robert, reckoned the second
baron of Foulis, was actively engaged in the wars of David I. and
Malcolm IV. Donald, heir of Robert, built the old tower of Foulis.
His successor, Robert, married a daughter of the Earl of Sutherland.
George, fifth baron of Foulis, obtained charters from Alexander II.
Soon after the accession of Alexander III., an insurrection broke out
against the Earl of Ross, the feudal superior of the Munroes, by the
clans Ivor, Talvigh, and Laiwe, and other people of the province.
The earl having apprehended their leader, and imprisoned him at
Dingwall, the insurgents seized upon his second son at Balnagowan,
and detained him as a hostage till their leader should be released.
The Munroes and the Dingwalls immediately took up arms, and setting
off in pursuit, overtook the insurgents at Bealligh-ne-Broig, between
Ferrandonald and Loch Broom, where a sanguinary conflict took place.
“The clan Iver, clan Talvigh, and clan Laiwe,” says Sir Robert
Gordon, “wer almost uterlie extinguished and slain.” The earl’s son
was rescued, and to requite the service performed he made various
grants of land to the Munroes and Dingwalls.
Sir Robert Munro, the sixth of his house, fought in the army of Bruce
at the battle of Bannockburn. His only son, George, fell there,
leaving an heir, who succeeded his grandfather. This George Munro of
Foulis was slain at Halidonhill in 1333. The same year, according
to Sir Robert Gordon, although Shaw makes the date 1454, occurred
the remarkable event which led to a feud between the Munroes and
Mackintoshes, and of which an account is given under the former date
in the General History.
Robert, the eighth baron of Foulis, married a niece of Eupheme,
daughter of the Earl of Ross, and queen of Robert II. He was killed
in an obscure skirmish in 1369, and was succeeded by his son, Hugh,
ninth baron of Foulis, who joined Donald, second Lord of the Isles,
when he claimed the earldom of Ross in right of his wife.
The forfeiture of the earldom of Ross in 1476, made the Munroes and
other vassal families independent of any superior but the crown. In
the charters which the family of Foulis obtained from the Scottish
kings, at various times, they were declared to hold their lands on
the singular tenure of furnishing a ball of snow at Midsummer if
required, which the hollows in their mountain property could at
all times supply; and it is said that when the Duke of Cumberland
proceeded north against the Pretender in 1746, the Munroes actually
sent him some snow to cool his wines. In one charter, the addendum
was a pair of white gloves or three pennies.
Robert, the 14th baron, fell at the battle of Pinkie in 1547. Robert
More Munro, the 15th chief, was a faithful friend of Mary, queen of
Scots. Buchanan states, that when that unfortunate princess went
to Inverness in 1562, “as soon as they heard of their sovereign’s
danger, a great number of the most eminent Scots poured in around
her, especially the Frasers and Munroes, who were esteemed the most
valiant of the clans inhabiting those countries.” These two clans
took for the Queen Inverness castle, which had refused her admission.
With the Mackenzies the Munroes were often at feud, and Andrew Munro
of Milntown defended, for three years, the castle of the canonry of
Ross, which he had received from the Regent Moray in 1569, against
the clan Kenzie, at the expense of many lives on both sides. It was,
however, afterwards delivered up to the Mackenzies under the act of
pacification.
The chief, Robert More Munro, became a Protestant at an early period
of the Scottish Reformation. He died in 1588. His son, Robert,
sixteenth baron of Foulis, died without issue in July 1589, and was
succeeded by his brother, Hector Munro, seventeenth baron of Foulis.
The latter died 14th November 1603.
Hector’s eldest son, Robert Munro, eighteenth chief of Foulis, styled
“the Black Baron,” was the first of his house who engaged in the
religious wars of Gustavus Adolphus, in the 17th century. In 1626 he
went over with the Scottish corps of Sir Donald Mackay, first Lord
Reay, accompanied by six other officers of his name and near kindred.
Doddridge says of him, that “the worthy Scottish gentleman was so
struck with a regard to the common cause, in which he himself had no
concern but what piety and virtue gave him, that he joined Gustavus
with a great number of his friends who bore his own name. Many of
them gained great reputation in this war, and that of Robert, their
leader, was so eminent that he was made colonel of two regiments at
the same time, the one of horse, the other of foot in that service.”
In 1629 the laird of Foulis raised a reinforcement of 700 men on
his own lands, and at a later period joined Gustavus with them. The
officers of Mackay’s and Munro’s Highland regiments who served under
Gustavus Adolphus, in addition to rich buttons, wore a gold chain
round their necks, to secure the owner, in case of being wounded or
taken prisoner, good treatment, or payment for future ransom. In the
service of Gustavus, there were at one time not less than “three
generals, eight colonels, five lieutenant-colonels, eleven majors,
and above thirty captains, all of the name of Munro, besides a great
number of subalterns.”
The “Black Baron” died at Ulm, from a wound in his foot, in the year
1633, and leaving no male issue, he was succeeded by his brother,
Hector Munro, nineteenth baron of Foulis, who had also distinguished
himself in the German wars, and who, on his return to Britain, was
created by Charles I. a baronet of Nova Scotia, 7th June 1634. He
married Mary, daughter of Hugh Mackay of Farr, and dying in 1635, in
Germany, was succeeded by his only son, Sir Hector, second baronet,
who died, unmarried, in 1651, at the age of 17. The title and
property devolved on his cousin, Robert Munro of Opisdale, grandson
of George, third son of the fifteenth baron of Foulis.
During the civil wars at home, when Charles I. called to his aid
some of the veteran officers who had served in Germany, this Colonel
Robert Munro was one of them. He was employed chiefly in Ireland from
1641 to 1645, when he was surprised and taken prisoner personally by
General Monk. He was subsequently lieutenant-general of the royalist
troops in Scotland, when he fought a duel with the Earl of Glencairn.
Afterwards he joined Charles II. in Holland. After the Revolution he
was appointed commander-in-chief of the forces in Scotland.
Sir Robert Munro, third baronet of Foulis, died in 1688, and was
succeeded by his eldest son, Sir John, fourth baronet, who, in
the Scottish convention of estates, proved himself to be a firm
supporter of the Revolution. He was such a strenuous advocate of
Presbyterianism, that, being a man of large frame, he was usually
called “the Presbyterian mortar-piece.” In the Stuart persecutions,
previous to his succession to the title, he had, for his adherence
to the covenant, been both fined and imprisoned by the tyrannical
government that then ruled in Scotland. He died in 1696. His son, Sir
Robert, fifth baronet, though blind, was appointed by George I. high
sheriff of Ross, by commission, under the great seal, dated 9th June
1725. He married Jean, daughter of John Forbes of Culloden, and died
in 1729.
His eldest son, Sir Robert, twenty-seventh baron and sixth baronet
of Foulis, a gallant military officer, was the companion in arms of
Colonel Gardiner, and fell at the battle of Falkirk, 17th January
1746.
In May 1740, when the Independent companies were formed into the 43d
Highland regiment (now the 42d Royal Highlanders), Sir Robert Munro
was appointed lieutenant-colonel, John Earl of Crawford and Lindsay
being its colonel. Among the captains were his next brother, George
Munro of Culcairn, and John Munro, promoted to be lieutenant-colonel
in 1745. The surgeon of the regiment was his youngest brother, Dr
James Munro.[215]
The fate of Sir Robert’s other brother, Captain George Munro of
Culcairn, was peculiar. He was shot on the shores of Loch Arkaig
among the wild rocks of Lochaber, on Sunday, 31st August 1746, by
one of the rebels named Dugald Roy Cameron, or, as he is styled in
tradition, Du Rhu. After the Rebellion, an order was issued to the
Highlanders to deliver up their arms. Dugald, accordingly, sent his
son to Fort-William with his arms to be delivered up. When proceeding
down Loch Arkaig, the young man was met by an officer of the name
of Grant, who was conducting a party of soldiers into Knoydart, and
being immediately seized, was shot on the spot. His father swore
to be revenged, and learning that the officer rode a white horse,
he watched behind a rock for his return, on a height above Loch
Arkaig. Captain Munro had unfortunately borrowed the white horse on
which Grant rode, and he met the fate intended for Grant. Dugald Roy
escaped, and afterwards became a soldier in the British service.
Sir Robert left a son, Sir Harry Munro, seventh baronet and
twenty-fifth baron of Foulis, an eminent scholar and a M.P.
His son, Sir Hugh, eighth baronet, had an only daughter, Mary Seymour
Munro, who died January 12, 1849. On his decease. May 2, 1848, his
kinsman, Sir Charles, became ninth baronet and twenty-seventh baron
of Foulis. He was eldest son of George Munro, Esq. of Culrain,
Ross-shire (who died in 1845), and lineal male descendant of
Lieut.-General Sir George Munro, next brother to the third baronet of
this family. He married--1st, in 1817, Amelia, daughter of Frederick
Browne, Esq., 14th dragoons; issue, five sons and two daughters; 2d,
in 1853, Harriette, daughter of Robert Midgely, Esq. of Essington,
Yorkshire. Charles, the eldest son, was born in 1824, married in
1847, with issue.
The military strength of the Munroes in 1715 was 400, and in 1745,
500 men. The clan slogan or battle cry was “Caisteal Foulis na
theine”--Castle Foulis in flames.
MACMILLAN.
Of the origin and history of the Macmillans, little seems to be
known. According to Buchanan of Auchmar, they are descended from
the second son of Aurelan, seventh laird of Buchanan. According to
Mr Skene, the earliest seat of the Macmillans appears to have been
on both sides of Loch Arkaig, and he thinks this confirmatory of a
clan tradition, that they are connected with the clan Chattan. The
Macmillans were at one time dependent on the Lords of the Isles, but
when Loch Arkaig came into possession of the Camerons, they became
dependent on the latter. “Another branch of this clan,” says Skene,
“possessed the greater part of southern Knapdale, where their chief
was known under the title of Macmillan of Knap; and although the
family is now extinct, many records of their former power are to be
found in that district.” We take the liberty of quoting further from
Mr Skene as to the history of the Macmillans.
“One of the towers of that fine ancient edifice, Castle Sweyn, bears
the name of Macmillan’s Tower, and there is a stone cross in the old
churchyard of Kilmoray Knap, upwards of twelve feet high, richly
sculptured, which has upon one side the representation of an Highland
chief engaged in hunting the deer, having the following inscription
in ancient Saxon characters underneath the figure:--Hæc est crux
Alexandri Macmillan.’ Although the Macmillans were at a very early
period in Knapdale, they probably obtained the greater part of their
possessions there by marriage with the heiress of the chief of the
Macneills, in the 16th century. Tradition asserts that these Knapdale
Macmillans came originally from Lochtay-side, and that they formerly
possessed Lawers, on the north side of that loch, from which they
were driven by Chalmers of Lawers, in the reign of David II.
“As there is little reason to doubt the accuracy of the tradition,
it would appear that this branch of the Macmillans had been removed
by Malcolm IV. from North Moray, and placed in the crown lands of
Strathtay. Macmillan is said to have had the charter of his lands in
Knapdale engraved in the Gaelic language and character upon a rock at
the extremity of his estate; and tradition reports that the last of
the name, in order to prevent the prostitution of his wife, butchered
her admirer, and was obliged in consequence to abscond. On the
extinction of the family of the chief, the next branch, Macmillan of
Dunmore, assumed the title of Macmillan of Macmillan, but that family
is now also extinct.
“Although the Macmillans appear at one time to have been a clan of
considerable importance, yet as latterly they became mere dependants
upon their more powerful neighbours, who possessed the superiority
of their lands, and as their principal families are now extinct, no
records of their history have come down to us, nor do we know what
share they took in the various great events of Highland history.
Their property, upon the extinction of the family of the chief, was
contended for by the Campbells and Macneills, the latter of whom
were a powerful clan in North Knapdale, but the contest was, by
compromise, decided in favour of the former. It continued in the
same family till the year 1775, when, after the death of the tenth
possessor, the estate was purchased by Sir Archibald Campbell of
Inverniel.”
There have been a considerable number of Macmillans long settled
in Galloway, and the tradition is that they are descendants of an
offshoot from the northern Macmillans, that went south about the time
the Knapdale branch migrated from Lochtay side. These Macmillans
are famous in the annals of the Covenanters, and are mentioned by
Wodrow as having acted a prominent part during the times of the
religious persecution in Scotland. Indeed, we believe that formerly,
if not indeed even unto this day, the modern representatives of
the Covenanters in Galloway are as often called “Macmillanites” as
“Cameronians.”
FOOTNOTES:
[202] Gregory’s _Highlands and Isles of Scotland_, p. 75.
[203] A view of Locharkaig will be found at p. 709, vol. i.
[204] As to Mr Skene’s theory of the captainship of a clan, see the
account of clan Chattan.
[205] Although Sir Ewen, with his clan, had joined Lord Dundee
in the service of the abdicated king, yet his second son was a
captain in the Scots Fusileers, and served with Mackay on the
side of the government. As the general was observing the Highland
army drawn up on the face of a hill to the westward of the great
pass, he turned round to young Cameron, who stood near him, and
pointing to his clansmen, said, “There is your father with his wild
savages; how would you like to be with him?” “It signifies little,”
replied Cameron, “what I would like; but I recommend it to you
to be prepared, or perhaps my father and his wild savages may be
nearer to you before night than you would like.” And so indeed it
happened.--Stewart’s _Sketches_, vol. i. p. 66.
[206] For the foregoing account of the achievements of Sir Ewen
Cameron we have been chiefly indebted to General Stewart’s valuable
work on the Highlanders and Highland Regiments.
[207] The portrait of the “gentle Lochiel” will be found at p. 519,
vol. i.
[208] For details, see account of the 92d Regiment.
[209] _Highlands and Isles of Scotland_, p. 259.
[210] _History of the Origin of the Clans_, p. 84.
[211] _Heraldry_, vol. i. p. 419.
[212] Vol. i. p. 577.
[213] See account of the Macdougals.
[214] Smibert’s _Clans_.
[215] See the History of the 42d Regiment, in Part Third.