Glencoe Massacre
The Massacre of Glencoe was a politically motivated massacre against the Clan of the MacDonalds of Glencoe in Scotland on 13. February 1692 .
background
In 1688 the English parliament revolted against King James II (who was also King of Scotland as James VII) and offered the English crown to William of Orange , who accepted it (see: Glorious Revolution ). The Scottish Parliament, however, hesitated and initially entered into correspondence with both of them, but eventually accepted Wilhelm as king. The Scottish highlanders, under the leadership of John Graham of Claverhouse , known as Bonnie Dundee, rebelled against this decision. Dundee fell at the Battle of Killiecrankie .
On the way back from the Battle of Dunkeld , in which the Jacobites were defeated by the Orange, the MacDonalds (more precisely: MacIains) of Glencoe, together with their cousins from Glengarry, plundered the lands of Robert Campbell of Glenlyon and stole his cattle. Robert Campbell's financial situation, which had already been battered by gambling debts, became so critical that he had to take over an army command to support his family. By the way, from his (unsuccessful) claim for damages it appears that he believed the people of Glengarry to be responsible. There is no mention of those from Glencoe.
On May 1, 1690, the Scottish Jacobites were defeated at the Battle of Cromdale , and Jacob's defeat in Ireland at the Battle of the Boyne ended the uprising. On August 27, 1691, Wilhelm offered the highland clans an amnesty for their participation in the uprising. The condition was that they had to take an oath of loyalty to him by January 1, 1692.
The heads of the clans got in touch with Jacob, who was meanwhile in exile in France, and wanted to get permission from him. Jacob initially delayed a decision as he still planned to return to Britain. When it became clear that this would not be possible anytime soon, he allowed the clan chiefs to take the oath. She received the answer in mid-December, a few weeks before the deadline.
Some clans took the oath immediately, while others refused to do it. Alastair MacDonald , 12th Chief of Glencoe, waited until the last day before setting out to take the oath. On December 31, 1691, he traveled to Fort William and asked Commander Colonel Hill if he could take the oath. Hill told him that he was not responsible for taking the oath and that MacDonald had to travel quickly to Inveraray . There he could take the oath before Sir Colin Campbell , the sheriff of Argyll . Hill gave MacDonald a letter of protection and a letter for Sir Colin Campbell confirming that MacDonald had been in Fort William in time to take the oath. Hill also assured that no action would be taken against MacDonald in the meantime without the latter being able to justify himself to the king or a court. It took MacDonald three days to Inveraray, not least because of the winter travel conditions. When he arrived, Sir Colin Campbell was absent and MacDonald had to wait three more days for him. Then Sir Colin took the oath.
While MacDonald believed that by taking the oath he had complied with all regulations and that no further action would be taken against him, some people in the government saw this delay as a welcome opportunity to take action against the MacDonalds and eliminate some of their opponents in the process.
The massacre
A conspiracy began involving the royal prosecutor and secretary to the king, John Dalrymple , the commander of the armed forces in Scotland, Sir Thomas Livingston , and even, because he eventually signed the orders, King William.
In late January or early February 1692, the 1st and 2nd companies of the Earl of Argyll's Regiment under the command of Robert Campbell of Glenlyon , about 120 soldiers, were billeted with the MacDonalds clan in Glencoe. They entertained them, as was traditional in the highlands. Most of the regiment were recruits from the Argyll lands, but only a minority were named Campbell. The officers came mainly from the Scottish lowlands. Captain Campbell was related to old MacDonald through his marriage, so he was billeted in the house of the clan chief. Every morning for about 14 days, Captain Campbell visited the home of Alexander MacDonald, Alastair MacDonald's youngest son, who was married to Campbell's niece. She was the sister of Robert Roy MacGregor . It's not clear if Campbell knew what to do at the time.
On February 12th, a Captain Drummond arrived in Glencoe. Due to some disputes between MacDonald and Drummond over the taking of the oath, Drummond was not a welcome guest. Although Drummond was higher in rank than Campbell as captain of the 1st Grenadier Regiment, he did not take command. He merely carried the following orders for Robert Campbell, issued by a Major Duncanson.
"Sir You are hereby ordered to fall upon the rebels, the McDonalds of Glenco, and put all to the sword under seventy. you are to have a speciall care that the old Fox and his sons doe upon no account escape your hands, you are to secure all the avenues that no man escape. This you are to putt in execution att fyve of the clock precisely; and by that time, or very shortly after it, I'll strive to be att you with a stronger party: if I doe not come to you att fyve, you are not to tarry for me, but to fall on. This is by the Kings speciall command, for the good & safety of the country, that these miscreants be cut off root and branch. See that this be putt in execution without feud or favor, else you may expect to be dealt with as one not true to King nor Government, nor a man fitt to carry Commissione in the Kings service. Expecting you will not faill in the full-filling hereof, as you love your selfe, I subscribe these with my hand att Balicholis Feb: 12, 1692
(signed) R. Duncanson
For their Majesties service
To Capt. Robert Campbell of Glenlyon ”
“Sir, you are here assigned to ambush the rebels, the MacDonalds of Glencoe, and execute anyone under the age of 70. You are specifically instructed to be careful that there is no way the old fox and his sons can escape you. You have to secure all roads and paths so that no man can escape. You need to run this command at exactly 5 a.m. I will join you with a strong force at this hour or soon after. If I don't come at 5 a.m., you don't have to wait for me, but keep going. This order comes directly from the king as a special order, for the welfare and security of the country, so that the roots of these creatures are cut off. Make sure that this order is followed impartially, otherwise you will be considered an enemy of the king and the government and incapable of being in royal command. In anticipation that you will be successful in your own interests, I will personally
sign this. Signed Robert Duncanson
On Her Majesty's Service
To Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon "
Drummond spent the evening playing cards with his unsuspecting victims and accepted an invitation to dinner the following day with clan chief MacDonald before he went to sleep.
Alastair MacDonald was killed trying to get up in the morning, but his sons were able to escape, as was his wife at first. A total of 38 men were murdered in their homes or while escaping into the hills. Another 40 women and children died as they were exposed to the winter weather unprotected after their houses were burned down. Elsewhere, some soldiers had warned their hosts, others, like Lieutenant Francis Farquhar and Gilbert Kennedy, preferred to break their sabers rather than carry out the order. They were arrested and detained, but later released for testifying against their commanding officers as witnesses for the prosecution.
In addition to the soldiers who were in Glencoe, two other detachments, each with 400 men, stood by that night and blocked the escape routes. However, both departments reached their positions too late, not least because of the snowstorm that made the path over the Devil's Staircase near Kinlochleven impassable. It is also possible that they did not want to arrive in time to avoid participating in the crime.
Investigation of the Incidents
In 1695 a commission was set up to investigate the incidents. Scottish law has an aggravating provision, “murder under abuse of trust”. The Glencoe massacre clearly fit that category.
The aim of the indictment was to hold those responsible for the orders accountable. There were some difficulties with this. The king who signed the orders should not be held accountable. The Argyll Regiment had meanwhile been transferred to France and surrendered to the French in Flanders. Because of this, Campbell, Drummond and Duncanson were not available to Scottish jurisdiction.
The final report of the commission confirmed the innocence of the king and blamed all the blame on Secretary of State John Dalrymple. After taking note of the Commission's report, the Scottish Parliament declared the execution of the MacDonalds a murder and instructed the Kingdom Security Committee to approach the king to punish those responsible for the massacre and those who survived MacDonalds should compensate. Nobody was held accountable for the massacre.
Final consideration
The Glencoe massacre was used to gain sympathy for the Jacobite movement, which rose again a generation later, in 1745. In Victorian times, interest in the massacre revived and was presented in a romanticized way in art and literature, for example in Sir Walter Scott's novel "The Highland Widow". Because of the involvement of the Argyll Regiment under Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, the massacre was not viewed as a government action, but as part of the long-standing feud between the MacDonald and Campbell clans.
Another explanation for the massacre is that the Argyll Regiment, which was clearly assigned to the Campbells, was commissioned to re-stir the centuries-old dispute between the Highland clans. Secretary of State Dalrymple was known for being the Lowlander who viewed the people of the highlands as barbarians and hated them. In Glencoe his hatred took murderous forms. The memory of the massacre and the feud between the two clans still exists today. By the end of the 20th century, the Clachaig Inn in Glencoe, popular with mountaineers, had the notice on the front door “No entry for peddlers and campbells”. Generations of Scottish children are still learning "never trust a Campbell" today.
Every year on February 13th, the Clan Donald Society of Edinburgh lays a wreath at the memorial of the massacre in Glencoe. Members of the Donald clan also travel from all over the world.
The massacre shocked less because of the comparatively small number of victims than because of the blatant abuse of hospitality by the Campbells. The deed is still regarded by many Scots as an eyesore in their clan history.
literature
- Christian Koller : Glencoe 1692: A massacre as a complex place of memory . In: Historical magazine 296/1 (2013). Pp. 1-28.
Web links
- BBC website on the subject
- Order for the massacre of Glen Coe , National Library of Scotland at Flickr