Lord Robert Kerr (died 16 April 1746) was a Scottish nobleman of the Clan Kerr and the second son of William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian.[1] His family's surname at the time he lived was often also spelt as 'Ker'.

He is thought to have gone on a grand tour of Europe between 1732 and 1739, on which he acquired the only surviving score of the Il Gran Mogul concerto by Vivaldi[2] – he played the flute himself.

He was commissioned into the army in 1739 and fought at the Battle of Culloden on 16 April 1746 as Captain of the Grenadiers in Barrell's Regiment. He is reported to have received the leading Highlander on the point of his spontoon,[3] but then a second cut him through the head to chin, making him the only high-ranking Government soldier to be killed in the battle.[4][5][6] Many accounts of Culloden cite Major Gillies MacBean of Lady Anne Mackintosh's regiment as the man who killed Lord Robert Kerr at Culloden, and this remains in the traditional historical memory of Clan MacBean.[7][8][9]

His Great Uncle, General Lord Mark Kerr's regiment – 'Kerr's (11th) Dragoons' were also at Culloden.

References

  1. ^ "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com.
  2. ^ Carrell, Severin; correspondent, Scotland (7 October 2010). "Vivaldi flute concerto discovered" – via www.theguardian.com.
  3. ^ John Home Esq – 'The History of the Rebellion in the Year 1745 (published 1802, London, printed by A. Strahan, New-street Square, for T. Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies in the Strand); page 237-238: Lord Robert Ker (second son of the Marquis of Lothian), Captain of grenadiers in Burrel's regiment.... when the Highlanders broke into Burrel's, he received (it is said) the foremost man upon his spontoon, and was killed instantly, with many wounds
  4. ^ History of the Transactions in Scotland in the years 1715–16, and 1745–46, by George Charles (Printed at Stirling by j. Fisher & Co., 1816). Volume 1 (of 2). Page 300, Battle of Culloden – Return of the names of the Officers, and numbers of Non-commissioned Officers, Private Men, and Horses, killed and wounded: Barrel's. – Captain Lord Robert Ker, and 16 men, killed....
  5. ^ The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford, Vol. II 1744–1753 (1840 pub. Richard Bentley), page 136 & footnote, Letter to Sir Horace Mann, 1 August 1746: ..the Marquis of Lothian in weepers for his son who fell at Culloden... Footnote: William Ker, third Marquis of Lothian. Lord Robert Kerr, who was killed at Culloden, was his second son. – D.
  6. ^ The History of the Rebellion in Scotland in 1745 by John Home Esq (Edinburgh 1822, Printed for Peter Brown, 37, Nicolson Street; and Ogle, Duncan, & Co. London). Chapter XI, page 171: The Person of the greatest distinction who fell that memorable day was Lord Robert Ker, second son of the Marquis of Lothian, captain of grenadiers in Burrel's [sic] regiment.
  7. ^ James Logan, The Clans of the Scottish Highlands (Ackermann & Co., Strand, 1847)
  8. ^ Arthur Llewellyn Griffiths, Wild Scottish Clans and Bonnie Prince Charlie (1875), page 85
  9. ^ Culloden Tales: Stories from Scotland's Most Famous Battlefield, by Hugh G. Allison (Penguin Random House, 2007). Page 128: The Clan Chattan Regiment charged the government's left flank, where an eyewitness account describes the fall of Captain Lord Robert Kerr of Barrell's Regiment, 'his head being cleft from crown to collarbone' by Major Gillies MacBean
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