Donald Cameron of Lochiel (c. 1695 – 26 October 1748), popularly known as the Gentle Lochiel,[4] was a Scottish Jacobite, soldier and hereditary chief of Clan Cameron, traditionally loyal to the exiled House of Stuart. His support for Charles Edward Stuart proved pivotal in the early stages of the 1745 Rising. Lochiel was among the Highlanders defeated at the Battle of Culloden, and thereafter went into hiding before eventually fleeing to France.
Born into an Episcopalian and staunchly Jacobite family, his father was permanently exiled after the 1715 Rising and when his grandfather Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel died in 1719, Donald assumed his duties as Chief ('Lochiel') of the Camerons. The Clan held a strategic importance out of proportion to numbers due to the compact nature of their lands and ability to act as a cohesive unit; in contrast, many of their rivals were scattered across different areas and riven by internal feuds. Despite considerable misgivings in launching the rebellion, Lochiel and his clan played an important role in the course of the rising, being among the most prominent of the Highland chiefs and commanding a regiment which was widely regarded as being the most elite and reliable component of the Jacobite army.
Defeated and wounded at Culloden, Lochiel was forced into hiding in company with Prince Charles and other senior Jacobites. Upon escaping to France in late 1746, he was appointed Colonel of the Régiment d'Albanie, the Scottish Guards, and made a member of the Order of Saint Michael by Louis XV. He was to command his regiment during the War of the Austrian Succession, but died at Bergues, French Flanders on 23 October 1748.
Donald Cameron was born circa 1695, although some sources record 1700,[4][a] the eldest son of John Cameron of Lochiel (1663–1747), a committed Jacobite who participated in the 1708 attempt, the 1715 and 1719 Risings, and was made a Lord of Parliament in Jacobite peerage.[5] As a result, his father spent the rest of his life in exile and when his grandfather Sir Ewen Cameron died in 1719, Donald became acting clan chief and was thereafter known as Lochiel.
Dr. Archibald Cameron was a physician who escaped with Lochiel in 1746, but was arrested when he returned to Scotland in 1753 and became the last Jacobite executed for high treason at Tyburn in June.[8]
In 1729, Lochiel married Anne Campbell (1707–1761), who like his mother came from a Jacobite branch of the Campbell clan.[9] Anne was the daughter of Sir James Campbell, 5th Baronet, a prominent Argyll laird and Chief of Clan Campbell of Auchinbreck; her hand in marriage compelled Lochiel to install extensive gardens and extensions upon the property at Achnacarry Castle.[10] They had three sons and four daughters.[5] He visited his exiled father in Paris and in his youth was undoubtedly instilled with Jacobitism by his father and others.[11] In 1729, Lochiel became the main Jacobite agent in the Highlands for Prince James Francis Edward Stuart; who was termed "the Old Pretender" by Whig partisans, and "The King over the Water" by the Jacobites. Meanwhile, Murray of Broughton had the same role in the Lowlands.[5]
In the decades following the failed 1719 Rising, Highland society and economy became more integrated with the outside world but remained one of the poorest areas of Europe.[12] Poverty was particularly marked in the Western Isles and Lochaber, made worse by fines imposed after the 1715 Rising; this led to abuses such as the secret and illegal sale of clan members into human trafficking and indentured servitude by MacDonald of Sleat and Norman MacLeod.[13]
Highland chiefs traditionally assigned the estate management of clan territory to tacksmen, generally relatives, who both trained and led local clansmen during military service in addition to their rent collecting duties. However, the military aspects of clan system had been in decline for many years, the last significant inter-clan battle being Maol Ruadh in August 1688 which meant paying for a capacity that was rarely used.[14] In 1737, the Duke of Argyll abolished the tacksman role, instead renting clan lands to the highest bidder.[15] Lochiel allegedly wished to do the same but was prevented from doing so by exiled Stuart heir presumptivePrince James Francis Edward Stuart, whose chances of retaking the throne still depended upon Lochiel's military capability.[5]
One lesson learned by the Whig-controlled central government after the failed 1719 Rising was the high risk of continued reliance on Scottish clan chiefs to police the Highlands. To offset this, between 1725 and 1738, George Wade built a network of military roads, connecting garrisons at Fort Augustus, Ruthven Barracks and Fort William, first built by Cromwell in 1654 to control Cameron lands in Lochaber.[16] These reduced the power of Jacobite chiefs like Lochiel, Glengarry, Clanranald, Keppoch and Appin; combined with their dire financial position, by 1743 they were reportedly faced with "selling their land or conforming."[17]
Largely dormant since 1719, the prospects for a Stuart restoration revived in 1740 when the War of the Austrian Succession again pitted Britain against King Louis XV of France, who sought ways to divert as much of the British Army as possible from the key battlefield in Flanders. Lochiel and six colleagues, including his father-in-law Sir James Campbell, formed an association committing to a regime change war aimed at a Stuart restoration, but only with French military backing.[18] In late 1743, Louis XV proposed a landing in England to restore the Stuarts; Prince Charles travelled to Dunkirk to join the invasion force but the plan was abandoned in March 1744 after the French fleet was severely damaged by winter storms.[19] Prince Charles suggested an alternative landing in Scotland; in August, he met Jacobite agent Murray of Broughton in Paris, telling him he was "determined to come ...though with a single footman".[20]
After Murray shared this with the Jacobite Buck Club, Lochiel and others signed a declaration urging Charles not to do so, unless he brought 6,000 French troops, money and weapons.[21] When Charles landed on Eriskay in July, Lochiel refused to meet him but was eventually persuaded, although his brother John Cameron of Fassefern warned emotion would prevail over his judgement. This proved correct and Lochiel's commitment persuaded others, including his cousin Ewen MacPherson of Cluny, who deserted from Loudon's Highlanders before Prestonpans. The process took over three weeks and Lochiel finally did so only when Charles gave him a personal guarantee for "the full value of his estate should the rising prove abortive," and Glengarry provided a written undertaking to raise the Macdonalds.[22]
Lochiel's decision was not a surprise to John Cameron or Duncan Forbes, senior government legal officer in Scotland. This suggests it was largely emotional, although his own account claims he did so 'after fruitless attempts to persuade [Charles] to go back where he came from.'[23] It is often claimed the government forced him into it by ordering his arrest but there is little evidence this was a factor; warrants for Lochiel, Glengarry, Clanranald and others were issued in late June, a month before Charles landed and not executed. The reluctance of the Jacobite chiefs to participate was well-known and preventive detention a commonly used means for providing sympathisers an excuse not to do so.[24]
Promontory of Glenfinnan, whence the rebellion was launched on 19 August 1745
The ability of clan chiefs to quickly mobilise large numbers of men derived from 'regalian rights' giving them wide-ranging powers over their clansmen and Lochiel demanded that his clansmen take up arms. Those who would not were flogged or threatened with eviction, both of which were supervised by Dr. Archibald Cameron and which was allegedly a factor in his later betrayal by fellow Cameron clansmen when he returned to Scotland in March 1753.[25]
The Rebellion was launched at Glenfinnan on 19 August; the initial Jacobite force consisted of 900 to 1,100 men, mostly Camerons and MacDonalds, including Lochiel's nephew, Donald MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart (1705–1746). While Lochiel had no military experience, he proved a competent regimental commander and the Camerons one of the more reliable Jacobite units. His initiative was credited for the bloodless capture of Edinburgh in September, while the Camerons also fought at Prestonpans, a battle lasting less than 15 minutes. It was notable for a furious argument between Charles and Lord George Murray, the senior Scottish commander, whose fractured relationship became increasingly evident as the campaign progressed.[26]
Bonnie Prince Charlie, flanked by Lochiel and Lord Pitsligo, enters the ballroom at Holyroodhouse, painted by John Pettie, c.1892
Lochiel's nickname 'Gentle' came from his insistence that no reprisals be taken against known Whigs after the capture of Edinburgh, a wise approach for anyone seeking to win hearts and minds while fighting for regime change. But similarly to other Highland clan chiefs, Lochiel had very little interest in invading England and was increasingly unconvinced by Prince Charles' promises.[28]
Strategy was determined by the War Council, dominated by the West Highland chiefs who provided the bulk of the Jacobite Army, including Lochiel, Keppoch, Young Clanranald, Glengarry and Stewart of Appin.[29] They agreed to invade England on 31 October but only with great reluctance and only with the condition that Charles' claims to have received assurances of both English and French support were forthcoming.[30] The failure of these to materialise led to a majority of the Council voting, ironically at the same time when King George II was about to flee back to his native Hanover, to retreat back to Scotland from Derby; but the real damage was the admission by Charles that he had been bluffing at Edinburgh. Lochiel remained silent out of deference to the Prince during the meeting but was among the overwhelming majority who approved the decision to retreat.[31]
The army crossed back into Scotland, entering Hamilton on 23 December; an anonymous resident later described the Camerons, Macphersons and MacDonalds as 'an undisciplined, ungovernable army of Highland robbers, who took no notice of their commanders.'[32] On 8 January, the Jacobites besieged Stirling and defeated an attempt by Henry Hawley to relieve the garrison at Falkirk on 17 January. Despite this, on 1 February they abandoned Stirling and retreated north to Inverness, while Lochiel took his regiment to invest Fort William, still held by government troops, at the southern end of the Great Glen. They abandoned the siege to rejoin the main army in time for the Battle of Culloden on 16 April; the Camerons suffered heavy losses attacking the government left, while Lochiel was severely wounded and carried off the field.[33]
The defeat and no quarter given to the Jacobite Army ended the rising; Lochiel later alleged that the Duke of Cumberland offered him and his clansmen terms if they handed in their weapons and surrendered, but, knowing the Duke's duplicity, he rejected them.[5] In late May, he, Lord George Murray, Murray of Broughton, John Roy Stewart and others met near Loch Morar to discuss options but there was little enthusiasm for continuing the fight. Lochiel, Archibald Cameron and Prince Charles were sheltered by Ewan MacPherson of Cluny until they were picked up by a French ship in September.[34]
Lochaber No More – 'Bonnie Prince Charlie and Lochiel leaving Scotland', painting by John Blake MacDonald, 1863
Prior to 1743, few viewed the Stuarts as a useful tool and even those who did saw little value in restoring them to the British throne.[35][b] By 1747, they had become an obstacle to peace negotiations and the French ignored appeals from Charles and Lochiel for another attempt.[5] The unofficial French envoy in Scotland, d’Éguilles, described Lochiel as "virtuous, intelligent and influential" but was so critical of Charles he recommended France consider establishing a Scots Republic instead.[36]
Lochiel was appointed colonel of the Régiment d'Albanie and commander of the Garde Écossaise by Louis XV; he was made a member of the Order of Saint Michael, and was also knighted by Charles.[37] He succeeded his father, who died in Boulogne circa 1747, as Lord Lochiel in the Jacobite peerage (French: Seigneur de Lochiel), but being a title in the Jacobite peerage it was only recognised in continental Europe.[38] Lochiel and his family took up residence at Fontainebleau, where he wrote Memoires d'un Ecossais, an account of his life, and the 1745 campaign from his own perspective, which was presented to King Louis.[39] He never returned to Scotland.
Death
Lochiel died of a stroke[4] on 26 October 1748 at Bergues. He was buried with the burial rites of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the Communal Cemetery of Bergues, where a monument commemorating him was later erected.[40] He was succeeded as Chief by his son John Cameron, 20th of Lochiel, who was allowed home in 1759 but died in 1762; the Clan Cameron estates were ultimately restored in 1784 to Lochiel's grandson, Donald Cameron, 22nd of Lochiel,[41] who remains notorious for both his financial extravagance and, even more so, for evicting his clansmen en masse during the Highland Clearances.[42]
The December 1748 issue of the Scots Magazine lamented Lochiel's death in exile and recorded that 'Good Lochiel was now a Whig in heaven.'[44] However, such an unctuous remark may be confidently dismissed as Lochiel was undoubtedly a Jacobite to the end – and in legacy. Numerous eulogies praising Lochiel were published in the years following his death; 19th-century literature is equally disposed towards him, the likes of Sir Walter Scott, Home, Campbell, and Smibert, placing him a 'Highland hero ... firmly in the Scottish pantheon.'[45][46][4]
'Gentle Lochiel'
The nickname 'Gentle Lochiel' has become commonly associated with Donald Cameron, 19th of Lochiel, but originated after his death. The first use of the expression is recorded in Robert Chambers' popular History of the Rebellion in 1745 and 1746, which was first published between 1827 and 1828.[47] Lochiel was considered by public perception of the 19th century as 'the most amicable and accomplished of the highland heroes ... whose humanity matched his courage and loyalty.'[48] To this day, it is a tradition that whenever the present Lochiel enters on an official visit to Glasgow, the bells of the Tolbooth are rung to commemorate his forebear, the 'Gentle Lochiel', and specifically his action in preventing the city being sacked by Prince Charles's troops in 1746.[49]
This everlasting public perception of Lochiel is curious given that he was instrumental in setting the rising into action by backing Charles at Glenfinnan in August 1745. Indeed, while acknowledged as a man of honour and principle, his tenure proved disastrous for his clan and relatives. The Camerons suffered heavy losses at Culloden, his nephew Donald was killed, his brother, Father Alexander Cameron, died after having been tortured while incarcerated in a prison hulk anchored in the River Thames in 1746. When Archibald Cameron of Lochiel returned in 1753 as part of the Elibank Plot, and to retrieve the 'Loch Arkaig treasure', he was allegedly betrayed by fellow members of Clan Cameron who were 'sickened by his Jacobitism',[50] and later executed. Lochiel's biographer John Gibson quotes a local proverb about the unusually fair-haired Lochiel; 'it will be a sad day for Lochaber when there is next a fair-haired Lochiel.'[5]
Eilean Loch Airceig was the traditional resting place of the Chiefs of Clan CameronLoch Arkaig, Lochaber
Family
Lochiel had married Anne Campbell (1707–c.1748), daughter of Sir James Campbell, 5th Baronet and Janet MacLeod, daughter of Iain Breac MacLeod, 18th Chief of Clan MacLeod (1637–1693).[9] They had three sons and four daughters, as follows:[51]
John Cameron, 20th of Lochiel (1732–1762), succeeded as Chief in 1748, aged 16; died without issue
Capt. James Cameron (1736–1759), officer of the French service; died without issue
Isobel Cameron (1738–?), married Chevalier Morres of the French service
Janet Cameron (1738–?), died unmarried at the Carmelite convent in Paris
Henrietta Cameron (1742–?), married Captain Portin of the French service
D. K. Broster's novel The Flight of the Heron (1925) features Lochiel as a main character and cousin of the fictional protagonist Ewen Cameron of Ardroy. It was also adapted into a six-part television series.[53]
Thomas Campbell's Lochiel's Warning (1814), a narrative-poem in which Lochiel is warned about the uprising by a seer; it is famous for its line 'Coming events cast their shadow before.'[4]
^1695 is more accurate given that his brother John Cameron of Fassiefern's birth was recorded as 1698.
^Summarised in a British intelligence report of 1755; "...'tis not in the interest of France the House of Stuart shoud ever be restored, as it would only unite the three Kingdoms against Them; England would have no exterior [threat] to mind, and [...] prevent any of its Descendants (the Stuarts) attempting anything against the Libertys or Religion of the People."
Blaikie, Walter Biggar (1916). Origins of the 'Forty-Five, and Other Papers Relating to That Rising. T. and A. Constable at the Edinburgh University Press for the Scottish History Society. OCLC2974999.
Black, Jeremy (1998). Britain As A Military Power, 1688–1815 (2016 ed.). Routledge. ISBN978-1138987913.
McLynn, Frank (1980). "An Eighteenth-Century Scots Republic? An Unlikely Project from Absolutist France". The Scottish Historical Review. 59 (168): 177–182.
Murray, John (1898). Bell, Robert Fitzroy (ed.). Memorials of John Murray of Broughton: Sometime Secretary to Prince Charles Edward, 1740–1747. T. and A. Constable at the Edinburgh University Press for the Scottish History Society. OCLC879747289.
Riding, Jacqueline (2016). Jacobites: A New History of the 45 Rebellion. Bloomsbury. ISBN978-1408819128.
Stewart of Ardvorlich, John (1974). The Camerons: A History of Clan Cameron. Clan Cameron Association.
Stewart, James A. Jr. (2001). "Highland Motives in the Jacobite Rising of 1745–46: 'Forcing Out,' Traditional Documentation and Gaelic Poetry". Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium. 20/21: 141–173. ISBN978-0674023833. JSTOR41219594.
Tomasson, Katherine; Buist, Francis (1978). Battles of the Forty-Five. HarperCollins Distribution Services. ISBN978-0713407693.
Zimmerman, Doron (2003). The Jacobite Movement in Scotland and in Exile, 1746-1759. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN978-1403912916.
