John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee

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John Graham of Claverhouse

John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee , known as Bonnie Dundee (* 1648 , † 27. July 1689 ) was a Scottish nobleman of the 17th century , which his fame in Scotland by winning the Battle of Killiecrankie in the Scottish rebellion of 1689 owes .

Life

He was the eldest son and heir of the royalist Sir William Graham from his marriage to Lady Magdalene Carnegie, daughter of John Carnegie, 1st Earl of Northesk . His father was the 6th Laird of Claverhouse near Dundee in the Scottish Lowlands .

He studied at the University of St. Andrews until 1661 . In the Dutch War he served from 1672 as a volunteer under the Duke of Monmouth in the army of Louis XIV of France . After the British left the war in 1674 , he changed sides and now served in the Dutch army as Cornet in the guard of William of Orange , whose life he saved in the battle against the French at the Battle of Seneffe on August 11, 1674. He was promoted to captain, but left in 1676 after the siege of Maastricht . William of Orange recommended him to his uncle, who later became King James II , who was then Duke of York . In Scotland he commanded his own dragoon regiment from 1678 , which was involved in the brutal suppression of the Presbyterians ( Covenanters ) in Dumfries and Galloway . From this side he earned the nickname "Bloody Clavers" (Scottish "Bluidy Clavers").

In the subsequent Covenanter uprising, he was defeated at Drumclog in 1679, retired to Glasgow , which he successfully defended, and won with Monmouth united at Bothwell Bridge . In 1680 he left a very favorable impression on Charles II , whom he wanted to persuade to crack down on the Covenanters, and subsequently made a steady career. His surprising marriage in 1674 to Lady Jean Cochrane, who came from an insurgent Covenanter family and whose mother was a staunch Presbyterian, only briefly damaged his career. In 1686 he became Major General and James VII of Scotland (James II of England), whose loyal follower he was, raised him to the hereditary nobility in 1688 as Viscount of Dundee and Lord Graham of Claverhouse .

Dundee's grave

In the same year that James II went into exile as part of the Glorious Revolution and was replaced by William of Orange, Dundee began organizing the resistance in the Highlands , but was forced to go into hiding from Edinburgh in March 1689 . He died in a battle against General Hugh Mackay in a valley near the Killiecrankie Pass . Dundee rode at the head of the army, holding his sword high as encouragement to his Highlanders, so that his breastplate could slide up and a stray bullet hit him in the ribs and fatally wounded. A little later he bled to death. He was buried in St. Bride, a small church in Blair near the battlefield. The battle against a double superiority of regular English troops (4000 against about 2000), some veterans from the Dutch War of William of Orange (called "Williamites") and thus his former war comrades, he had won. After a failed attack on the "Cameronians" stationed in Dunkeld (former covenanters in English uniform), the uprising, now deprived of its charismatic leader, fell asleep.

Dundee lived on because of its success against the English in the first Jacobite revolt in Scottish songs as "Bonnie Dundee" (according to a poem by Walter Scott ).

His title of nobility initially fell to his only son James Graham, who was born in April 1689 as the 2nd Viscount and who died in December 1689. The title then fell to his brother David Graham († 1700), who had also fought in Killiecrankie. Finally, by decree of June 13, 1690, his title and lands were revoked for high treason and his lands were confiscated.

literature

Web links

Commons : Bonnie Dundee  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ This was the name of Protestants who did not want to submit to the bishops appointed by Charles II. Persecuted with the death penalty under James II, they defended themselves by force of arms
  2. ↑ daughter of William Cochrane, Lord Cochrane († 1679), Heir apparent des William Cochrane, 1st Earl of Dundonald († 1685)
predecessor Office successor
New title created Viscount of Dundee
1688-1689 		James Graham
personal data
SURNAME Graham, John, 1st Viscount of Dundee
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Graham of Claverhouse, John; Bonnie Dundee; Bluidy Clavers
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish Major General
DATE OF BIRTH 1648
DATE OF DEATH July 27, 1689