BY JEANNIE CAMPBELL MBE.
The 13th February is the anniversary of the massacre of Glencoe which took place on Friday 13th February 1692 and the piobaireachd commemorating it is also a well known tune.
Glencoe must be one of the best known stories in Scottish history. Everyone has heard how the Campbells went as guests to Glencoe then turned on their hosts the MacDonalds and murdered them. More than three hundred years later this is still the general opinion although some blame is now put on King William and the Master of Stair who planned the massacre, and it is realised that the perpetrators were not Campbell clansmen but soldiers of Argyll’s regiment of the British army.
A closer look at the facts leads to several questions. As a massacre it was considered a failure, with only 38 killed out of a population of over 400. If William’s purpose was to destroy this small clan why did he not march in a regiment of English or Dutch soldiers? He had plenty of experience in warfare and would know how these things were done. Why have a small group of soldiers lodge in the glen for two weeks prior to the massacre? Why did the MacDonalds not fight back? Casualties among the soldiers were negligible. Why did William order a massacre that did him no good politically and gave his opponents a useful propaganda weapon against him?
The choice of Argyll’s regiment was deliberate. As Scots they were expendable but they were still British Soldiers. The regiment had been raised by the Earl of Argyll from among his clansmen and was officered by Campbell gentry. Many of the soldiers had the surname Campbell so enmity between the clans could be stressed. The officer in charge, Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, was a perfect choice. He was a cousin of the Earl of Breadalbane but had been bankrupted by the MacDonald raids on his lands and in order to support his family was forced to take up a career in the army at the age of 59. He was uncle to the wife of the MacDonald Chief’s younger son so would be received as one of the family. A drinker and a gambler, he was of little use to the army alive, but dead would make an excellent martyr.
The soldiers were Presbyterian and Whig, Clan Donald was Jacobite and Catholic although the Glencoe MacDonalds were Episcopalian, which was at the time considered the nearest thing to Catholic. Put the two groups together in overcrowded living conditions in midwinter and trouble should be guaranteed.
The date of the massacre is also significant. It was the third anniversary of the proclamation of William and Mary as King and Queen and this could have provoked the MacDonalds to action.
The timing given in the orders is interesting and vital to the true story. Glenlyon received a letter on the evening of the 12th ordering him to kill the MacDonalds. He was to begin at 5am precisely. He was told Major Duncanson and a stronger party would be with him at that time or shortly after but he was not to wait, but to “fall on at five”.
However Major Duncanson and his men were ordered to be at the “several posts assigned them” by 7am. Thus Glenlyon and his men, outnumbered four to one by the inhabitants, would have had to fight alone for two hours. The Chief, Maclain, was to be one of the first victims so it would be the aim of every MacDonald to get Glenlyon. Add to this the MacDonalds’ reputation as fighters and give them all the advantages of fighting in the dark on their home ground and you have the perfect conditions for a massacre – of the soldiers.
Consider what the story might have been if all had gone according to plan. Fort William is overcrowded so two companies of soldiers are sent to lodge in Glencoe. Two weeks later there is trouble and fighting breaks out. The soldiers are massacred by their hosts but many of the MacDonalds are killed also. Major Duncanson arrives two hours later and kills more; the remaining murderers flee from the glen but are trapped by soldiers blocking the exits and killed. Public opinion is outraged at this murder of innocent British soldiers by Highland Barbarians and King William has the excuse and the backing he needs. The following spring and summer would have seen the complete destruction of the Highlands and the end of the Jacobite threat.
But events did not go according to plan. Surprisingly, the two groups got on well together, with sporting activities during the day and ceilidhs and card games in the evenings. When ordered to kill their hosts the soldiers had little enthusiasm for the task and many of the MacDonalds were warned. The Chief’s son John seemed to have some suspicion of what was planned and realising their only chance of survival was to get away, he led his people out of the glen, not by the regular routes all of which were blocked by soldiers, but by a perilous way to the safety of Appin, a route thought to be impassable in winter.
The MacDonalds could not now be blamed for starting the massacre so another explanation had to be found. The rather lame excuse of Maclain having been late in swearing allegiance was used, but King William also managed to put the blame firmly on the Campbells where it has remained to this day.
John Campbell Earl of Breadalbane was arrested and came near to losing his life for his part in the affair, but after some months of imprisonment he was released on the King’s orders. In 1715 a regiment of Breadalbane men fought at Sheriffmuir on the Jacobite side although the Earl, then aged 80, was not able to lead them in person. Only illness saved him from being arrested again. He died soon after.
Robert Campbell of Glenlyon died in Bruges in 1696, still a pauper and a debtor. His son John led 500 Breadalbane men at the battle of Sheriffmuir where they fought alongside the MacDonalds. John’s son Archie led the Glenlyon men in the Jacobite army in 1745.
Glenlyon’s order from Major Duncanson was not placed with the regimental papers but was kept in the Glenlyon family and later the Breadalbane family, as evidence that he had done no more than obey orders.
If events had gone as planned the MacDonalds would have gone down in history as the Clan who massacred their guests.