If you listen to all the legends about the Jacobite Rising of 1745-6, there are two main answers to the question – firstly because they were driven purely by loyalty to the House of Stewart, which was a Scottish royal house, or secondly that Prince Charles was so incredibly charismatic that after landing in Scotland in July 1745, he managed to single-handedly persuade all the clan chiefs to bring their clansmen out for him.
Either way, the image conjured up is of hordes of kilted clansmen descending on Glenfinnan from all over the Highlands, armed to the teeth and eager to fight for the Bonnie Prince and for his father James, the rightful king of Great Britain.
As a writer of historical fiction with a romance at its heart I would like nothing more than for this to be the unadulterated truth. Sadly, although there is an element of truth in the image, the actual truth is far more complex and less romantic, and although I have indulged somewhat in the romance of the Highlanders when writing the Jacobite Chronicles, I’ve explained a number of the other reasons why the Jacobite clans fought for him. In this blog I want to elaborate a little on that.
It’s certainly true that some of the great Jacobite leaders did rise purely out of loyalty to James and his son, and their belief in the divine right of the Stuarts to rule. Among these are Lord George Murray, Lord Balmerino, Perth, Pitsligo, Gordon of Glenbucket.
Lord George Murray
But this was not the case for most of the clans. For one thing, a lot of them stayed at home. Some of them came out for King George, and fought on the Hanoverian side. These include the Campbells, Munros, Mackays, Rosses, and Sutherlands among others.
Of the others, some chiefs who claimed to be Jacobite did not in fact fight for Charles when it came down to it. Among these were the two great Skye chiefs Norman Macleod and Alexander MacDonald of Sleat. Both of them said this was because the prince had not brought the promised French troops with him. They would not yield to persuasion, which was a great blow for the prince, who had counted on their support. The MacDougalls and Sinclairs, also Jacobite clans, also failed to come out. Some of their reluctance was due to the behind-the-scenes work of Duncan Forbes of Culloden, who used all his influence to persuade the wavering chiefs to stay at home.
Duncan Forbes of Culloden
On to those who did rise for the prince. One of the most notable of these, and one who features in the Jacobite Chronicles, is Donald Cameron of Lochiel, who committed his clansmen and as a result effectively enabled the rising to start. The Camerons had long been a Jacobite clan; Lochiel’s grandfather had fought with Viscount Dundee at Killiecrankie, in the first battle after the so-called Glorious Revolution, and the Camerons had been at the ’15 and the ’19. But even Lochiel was initially unwilling to rise, mainly because of the lack of French support, and it took considerable persuading for him to do so. Although he was undoubtedly an honourable man and a Jacobite, he did have reasons other than blind loyalty for supporting the Stuarts – he had no clear title to his lands, which bordered those of the rapacious Campbells. Prince Charles also agreed to indemnify him for any losses he would suffer as a result of the rising, which made the advantages seem to far outweigh the disadvantages of committing to him.
MacDonald of Keppoch also had no legal title to his lands, and held his clansmen to him by sheer force of personality. The opportunity to gain a legal foothold certainly would have influenced his decision to rise for Charles.
In addition there were several clans whose motive for joining the rising had a good deal to do with a hatred of the rapacious Campbells. Among these were MacDonald of Glencoe and the MacGregors, the latter of whom had not only been dispossessed of their lands by the Campbells, but also of their name.
In fact many of the clan chiefs did not come out in person to fight for the Stuart cause. Those who did include Cameron of Lochiel, Cluny MacPherson, MacDonald of Glencoe, and Mackinnon of Mackinnon, who saw his chance to escape from the shadow of the Skye chiefs. The vast majority, however, decided to hedge their bets to some extent, many of them staying at home themselves, but sending out a son with a contingent of clansmen. In this way, if the Jacobites won, they could say their clan had risen with their blessing; if the Hanoverians won they could say that their son had gone against their wishes in raising the clan.
The most famous of these prevaricators was Lord Lovat, the Fraser chief. He had spent years playing the Hanoverians off against the Jacobites whilst sitting very firmly on the fence. In August 1745 he sent a message of support to Prince Charles, but even so failed to send his clan out until December, when it seemed the Jacobites were going to be victorious. Even then he did not lead the clan himself, instead sending his son, the Master of Lovat, while he stayed at home.
Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat
At first hand it might not seem to be important whether the chief or a son led his clan to fight for Charles; surely as long as the men were there and fighting, all was well? No, not really, because the clansmen owed their allegiance to the father of the clan – the chief. It was much harder for a proxy to keep the discipline needed to prevent desertion and disorder.
Another popular misconception is that the clans rose for the Stuarts because they wanted a Roman Catholic king on the throne. This is almost completely false. Most of the clans who came out in the rising were in fact Protestants; only a few clans were Roman Catholic, including the Glengarry and Clanranald MacDonalds, and some of my own clan, the Gordons (who fought on both sides in the ’45, Lord Lewis Gordon heading the Jacobite contingent). The number of Catholics in the Jacobite Army, and indeed in Scotland, was a small minority of the whole.
The ruins of Glenbuchat Castle, home of the Gordons of Glenbuchat. Gordon of Glenbuchat (Glenbucket) came out for Charles.
Another reason which provoked many of the clans to come out was hatred of the union of 1707, when Scotland and England had united, not just in terms of monarchy, but in political terms too. A political union between the two countries had been debated for over a hundred years prior to 1707, in fact since James I and VI had united the crowns, but had never been agreed on, not least because Scotland feared that in doing so it would lose its identity and become assimilated into England, as Wales had been some 400 years previously. However, following the disastrous failure of the Darien venture, which almost bankrupted Scotland, many of the prominent Scottish nobles and politicians became more amenable to a deal with England, and following a number of bribes and debates, the Act was passed, in spite of widespread protest and dissatisfaction (which still endures today). The Highlands in particular saw little or no benefit as a result of the union, and in rising for the Stuarts many of them hoped to break the political union, and not a few hoped to break the royal union too, by leaving George in possession of England and proclaiming James King of Scotland alone.
James Francis Stuart, de jure King James III and VIII
Overall, although loyalty to the Stuarts DID form part of the reason for the clans who did rise for Charles coming out for him, it was only a small part of the reason in many of the chief’s minds. Unromantic and pragmatic it might sound, but in fact having practical, selfish reasons for following a leader ensured a far stronger commitment to the prince than purely emotional ones might have done. The benefits, had they won (and they came within an ace of doing so) could have been huge.
The probable consequences of failure, based on previous risings, seemed well worth the risk.
Nobody could have envisaged the horrific retribution and wholesale dismantling of the clan system which was visited on the Highlanders following the failure of the rising, and it is unfair of those who have the benefit of hindsight to deride them for stupidly and romantically following a dream which could not possibly come true.
The late Georgians and Victorians turned the Highlands and its inhabitants into a romantic fiction, a wild mountainous land filled with fierce but poetic exotically dressed warriors, who risked all and died for a hopeless cause, due to outdated notions of chivalry and loyalty to a charismatic, tragic hero.
At the risk of pouring cold water on romantic notions, I hope I have shown that this was far from the case.
15 Comments
History is not pretty
Freedom was far from the clans of Scotland.
It really was a sad time in their history. So many died needlessly…
It was. And unfortunately war seems to be a constant theme in human history…
Great write up and it has altered the way I thought the Scots felt about the uprising…..thank you.
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it and found it helpful!
Thank you Julia, this is a highly accurate and insightful account of the whole sad episode, you have your finger on the pulse. There were far more Episcopalians fought on the Jacobite side than Catholics and they suffered sorely for it. My ancestors were recruited into old Gordon of Glenbuchat’s regiment and had their crofts in Strathavon fired by Government troops as they passed through days after the battle hunting down rebel survivors. But finding only women, old men, and bairns.
I’m sorry to hear that. My ancestors were Gordons too, and it was while I was trying to discover more about their lives that I started researching the ’45 and became hooked. It was a terrible, tragic episode in British history.
An excellent, measured and balanced, summing up of the whole situation.
Thank you! That’s lovely to hear. I’m glad you found it informative.
Thanks for the truth, and information on the lack of real support on behalf of many of the Scottish Highlander clans.
My Grandmothers Clan fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie, but her clan is not mentioned, ever. It was the Oliphant Clan who also fought and held Sterling bridge allowing the Scottish forces to overcome the British decades before Culloden.
If Charlie had chosen better ground than Culloden, and with more artillery ammunition, plus waiting for some of the other clans, who were on their way to assist him, the Highlanders might have had another Kalkirk, or another victory.
In conclusion, Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that most of our actions here on planet earth are nothing but vanity, vanity, vanity. However, he reminds us to fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man! And here’s a little comfort for you brothers and sister who have, during this period of GRACE, accepted Christ Jesus as your Redeemer and Savior; read Ist Thessalonians, chapter 4, verses 14-17, those FACTS will support your faith in order for you to share the Good News of our Savior Christ Jesus.
My best,
Charles “Chuck” Pineda, Jr.
Parole Board Judge, California, Ret.
Designer and 1st Director of the California Youth Authority’s Gang Violence Reduction Program. See our work on U-tube: Working to end gang violence in East Los Angeles. Barrio Gang Consultants and CYA Parole Agents, working together, to bring peace to a Los Angeles County community.
Julia, Thanks. It’s now the 4th of July here in the USA, and 1:17 a.m.
My best,
Chuck
Thank you. I’m glad you found my blog post interesting. I think there are a number of clans who fought for Charles who are not especially named, especially if the entire clan didn’t rise, or if nothing exceptional happened to them (fighting and being killed or exiled sadly not counting in this case). There’s no accounting for who catches the public imagination and lives on in popular memory!
I went to Culloden purely by chance on my trip to Scotland. As a Canadian I knew little of the history. Reading one of the historical plaques it said more of the Mackintosh clan were killed here than any other.
It changed my view and started my interest in learning more about my roots. Thank you for adding to my knowledge of that event.
My pleasure! I’m really glad I could help in some way to help you appreciate the history behind Culloden. All the very best with tracing your ancestors!
Thank you. I grew up in Scotland and came to America in 1965.
I thank you for all the information on clan support — and some chiefs “straddling” of their support by sending a son to lead members of their clan in the uprising.
I have always been interested in the uprising — and never an admirer of “The Bonnie Prince”. He did not ensure the French support — and he would not listen to the advice he received for his “commanders” to abandon his plan to fight at Culloden. He survived — and so many highlanders died.
Won’t say more now. I get on a soap box and go on an on😊.
But, again, my thanks for making my mind “kick into gear.”