Inculcating loyalty in the Highlands and beyond, c.1745–1784

ABSTRACT

The Jacobite rising of 1745–1746 saw several thousand Scots rebel against the British crown. Yet it also provided opportunities for Scots to demonstrate their loyalty to the crown. After the rising was over, a brutal pacification was accompanied by significant legislative and institutional changes which sought to inculcate long-term loyalty in the Highlands. Once again, numerous Scots participated in the framing and implementation of these changes, which eventually also provided an opportunity for the disloyal to enter the imperial fold. This article examines the roles of loyalist Scots during and after the rising. In doing so it demonstrates understandings of loyalty, neutrality, and disloyalty during this transformative period and illustrates the important role of Scots in inculcating loyalty in the Highlands. It argues that the experiences of Scots, and the British more generally, in this domestic setting influenced the British imperial state's attempts to actively craft loyalty elsewhere in the British Atlantic World, particularly in North America.

KEYWORDS:

• Loyalism
• British imperialism
• independent companies
• militarisation
• Scottish Highlands

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Colley, Britons; Worth, “Transatlantic Scotophobia.” In their participation in the eighteenth-century British Atlantic World, Scots were continuing an engagement that significantly predated union.

2 Pittock, Myth of the Jacobite Clans, 65–81.

3 Plank, Rebellion and Savagery, 22.

4 Bannister and Riordan, ed. Loyal Atlantic, preface.

5 Plank, Rebellion and Savagery, 22.

6 Harris, Politics and the Nation, 150–159.

7 Bannister and Riordan demonstrated that loyalism was a fluid concept throughout the Atlantic world. Bannister and Riordan, “Loyalism and the British Atlantic,” 6 and passim. For a detailed discussion of the fluidity of loyalty within Scotland in the first half of the eighteenth century, see Henshaw, Scotland and the British Army, 87–117.

8 Macdonald and Macdonald, Clan Donald, 88.

9 Black, Campbells of the Ark,192.

10 Layne, “Spines of the Thistle,” 157–159.

11 Dziennik, “Armailt làidir de mhilìsidh,” 171–198.

12 Conway, British Army, 52–57; Brumwell, Redcoats, 112–118; Frey, British Soldier in America, 3–21; Layne, “Spines of the Thistle,” 34–79; Plank, Rebellion and Savagery, 32–33.

13 For a history of the Independent Companies, see Simpson, Independent Highland Companies. See Dziennik, “Armailt làidir de mhilìsidh,” 171–198 for a detailed analysis of the companies during the Forty-Five.

14 Scobie, “Highland Independent Companies,” 5–37 at 5. Posts similar to the lords-lieutenants were used in the Lowlands and England during the Forty-Five for the raising of militia and other volunteer units and the Jacobites created similar positions in the North-East and Perthshire. See Henshaw, Scotland and the British Army, 127–139 and Layne, “Spines of the Thistle,” 90.

15 Scobie, “Highland Independent Companies,” 8.

16 Dziennik, “Armailt làidir de mhilìsidh,” 182–186.

17 Fraser, Sutherland Book, Vol. II, 403; “Earl of Sutherland to Duncan Forbes, 11 September 1745,” in Duff, Culloden Papers, 401.

18 “Forbes to Sutherland, 17 September 1745,” in Duff, Culloden Papers, 406–407; “Sutherland to Forbes, 21 September 1745,” Warrand, More Culloden Papers, Vol. IV, 64–65; “Sutherland to Forbes, 21 October 1745,” More Culloden Papers, Vol IV, 113; “Sutherland to Forbes, 4 November 1745,” Warrand, More Culloden Papers, 125.

19 “Forbes to Marquess of Tweeddale,” 13 November 1745, in Duff, Culloden Papers, 245–249.

20 “Forbes to Sutherland,” 26 October 1745, in Duff, Culloden Papers, 432.

21 Fraser, Sutherland Book, Vol. II, 404.

22 Scobie, “Highland Independent Companies,” 32.

23 Fraser, Sutherland Book, Vol. II, 405–406.

24 Scobie, “Highland Independent Companies,” 26–28.

25 London Evening Post, 10–13 May 1745; Henshaw, “A Reassessment of the British Army in Scotland,” 1–21 at 7.

26 “Sutherland to Forbes, 31 December 1745,” in Duff, Culloden Papers, 467.

27 Royal Archives, CP/Main/14 f.43-43b: Sutherland to Duke of Cumberland, 19 April 1746.

28 Fraser, Sutherland Book, Vol. II, 425. Sutherland’s wife was also rumoured to have Jacobite sympathies. Scobie, “Highland Independent Companies,” 28.

29 Henshaw, Scotland and the British Army, 127.

30 Conway, British Army, 85, 99, 105, 136; Henshaw, Scotland and the British Army, 65.

31 Brumwell, Redcoats, 62.

32 Dziennik, “Armailt làidir de mhilìsidh,” 195.

33 Conway, British Army, 98.

34 Mackillop, More Fruitful, 8, 107. See also Layne, “Spines of the Thistle,”, 163–165.

35 Dziennik, “Armailt làidir de mhilìsidh,” 194–195.

36 Quoted in Henshaw, Scotland and the British Army, 126–127.

37 Ward, A Battle for Quebec, 118–120.

38 Ibid., 117.

39 Conway, British Army, 135.

40 For more specifics on desertion rates on both sides during the rising see Layne, “Spines of the Thistle,” 162–166.

41 Quoted in Layne, “Spines of the Thistle,” 164.

42 Huntington Library (hereafter HL), Loudoun Papers, SCO7644: Earl of Stair to Loudoun, 22 August 1745.

43 It was for this reason that Forbes had been recommending the recruitment of Highland troops for several years, particularly in the wake of the removal of the 43rd Regiment from the region. Henshaw, Scotland and the British Army, 102–106; Dziennik, “Fiscal-Military State,” 161–163.

44 Black, Campbells of the Ark, Vol. I, 186–191; Warrand, More Culloden Papers, Vol. V, 118. The figure includes the eighteen Independent Companies and those recruited to Loudoun’s 64th Regiment.

45 Black, Campbells of the Ark, Vol. I, 189–193. For detail of the negotiations between Forbes and various Highland elites see Warrand, More Culloden Papers, Vol. IV, 55–70 and passim.

46 “Forbes to Tweeddale, 13 November 1745,” Warrand, More Culloden Papers, Vol. V, 119; Simpson, Independent Highland Companies, 157.

47 For more on Loudoun’s understanding of loyalty and subjecthood and the role that played in his command of the Independent Companies during the Forty-Five, see Martin, “Lord Loudoun,” 249–276.

48 British Library (hereafter BL), Hardwicke Papers, Add MS 35889, ff.41–42: Colin MacLaurin to Unknown, 14 November 1745; BL, Hardwicke Papers, Add MS 35889, ff.66–67: MacLaurin to Unknown, 14 December 1745.

49 Duffy, The ’45, 356. For the long negotiations with Lovat, see: Duff, Culloden Papers, 201–261; Mackay, “Unpublished Correspondence,” 1–28.

50 BL, Stowe Manuscripts, MS 254, Extract of Secretary Murray’s examination before the Lord Chancellor, 13 August 1746.

51 HL, Loudoun Papers, SCO7197: Forbes to Loudoun, 30 November 1745.

52 National Library Scotland (hereafter NLS), Campbell Papers, MS 3733/54, ff.108–109: Loudoun to Lord Glenorchy, 23 December 1745.

53 Ibid.

54 ”Proclamation of Wade, 30 October” in Scots Magazine, Vol. 7 (Nov. 1745): 537–538.

55 Layne, “Spines of the Thistle,” 202.

56 Plank, Rebellion and Savagery, 61.

57 NLS, Campbell Papers, MS 3733/54, ff.108–109: Loudoun to Glenorchy, 23 December 1745.

58 Mount Stuart Trust (hereafter MST), Loudoun Papers, LO3/119: Farquharson of Invercauld to Loudoun, 14 January 1748; MST, Loudoun Papers, LO10/48: A Proposal by Lt. Col. George Ogilvie, undated.

59 HL, Loudoun Papers, SCO7636: Stair to Loudoun, 5 October 1745. Stair’s letter suggests Loudoun initially proposed the targeting of Jacobite homes.

60 Black, Culloden and the ’45, 135.

61 HL, Loudoun Papers, SCO9504: Cumberland to Loudoun, 20 March 1746.

62 Plank, Rebellion and Savagery, 62. Plank demonstrated that some Jacobite officers also threatened and implemented military execution against Highlanders when recruiting.

63 NRS, State Papers Scotland, RH2/4/357, f.111: Cumberland to Unknown, 8 May 1746; NRS, State Papers Scotland, RH2/4/356: Cumberland to Newcastle, 27 May 1746; NRS, State Papers Scotland, RH2/4/357, f.112: Cumberland to Unknown, 5 June 1746.

64 HL, Loudoun Papers, SCO9504: Cumberland to Loudoun, 20 March 1746.

65 ”Newcastle to Earl of Chesterfield, 5 March 1746,” in Lodge, Chesterfield, 119.

66 ““Chesterfield to Newcastle, 20 March 1746” in Lodge, Chesterfield, 130.

67 NRS, Campbell of Stonefield Papers, GD14/85: An Account of the Hanging of Three “Rebels”, May 1746.

68 BL, Hardwicke Papers, Add MS 35431, ff.80–81: Glenorchy to Joseph Yorke, 3 May 1746; Macinnes, Clanship, 213; Fergusson, Argyll in the Forty-Five, 117–123, 206–208.

69 HL, Loudoun Papers, SCO11444: John Farquharson to Loudoun, 4 August 1746. For a detailed examination of Loudoun’s response to the rising, see Martin, “Lord Loudoun.”

70 NRS, Campbell of Stonefield Papers, GD14/77: Duke of Argyll to Archibald Campbell, 8 April 1746; NRS, Montrose Muniments, GD220/5/1632: David Graeme to Mungo Graham, 14 June 1746.

71 HL, Loudoun Papers, SCO11909: Janet McDonnell to Loudoun, 28 August 1746; HL, Loudoun Papers, SCO11634: Adam Gordon to Loudoun, 20 November 1746.

72 NRS, State Papers Scotland, RH2/4/356, ff.70–75: Newcastle to Cumberland, 12 May 1746.

73 Layne, “Spines of the Thistle,” 46–51.

74 Brown, “Protestant Dissent in Scotland,” 143.

75 Pittock, Material Culture and Sedition, 10; German, “Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire & Jacobitism,” 181.

76 For previous subjugation attempts see Canny, Making Ireland British; Williamson, “Scots, Indians and Empire”, 46–83.

77 See Macinnes, Clanship, 210–246.

78 Dziennik, Fatal Land, 43.

79 Macinnes, Clanship, 221–228.

80 Tabraham and Grove, Fortress Scotland, 92.

81 Stennis Historical Society, 2020–2022, “Cantonments of the British Army in Scotland, 1745–1756,” Version 2.2, 11/07/2022, https://sites.google.com/stennishs//. Accessed 14 December 2022; Tabraham and Grove, Fortress Scotland, 92, 100–106.

82 Scobie, “Highland Independent Companies,” 32.

83 See: NRS, State Papers Scotland, RH2/4/356, ff.70–75, Newcastle to Cumberland; HL, Loudoun Papers, SCO9337: Alexander Robertson to Cumberland, c.1746; Tabraham and Grove, Fortress Scotland, 93–98.

84 Black, Culloden, 189.

85 Scott, “Erskine, James, Lord Grange (1679–1754).”

86 NRS, Mar and Kellie Papers, GD124/15/1569: Memorial by James Erskine of Grange, October 1746.

87 Zimmerman, Jacobite Movement, 21–47.

88 Tabraham and Grove, Fortress Scotland, 108.

89 Anderson and Fleet, Defending the Nation.

90 Baigent, “Watson, David (1713?–1761).”

91 Anderson and Fleet, Defending the Nation, 118–119. Watson proposed the idea for a military map whilst providing engineering assistance for the roadbuilding works. The proposal was for a map of the Highlands and the decision to extend the survey as a national endeavour was made in 1752. See Baigent, “Watson, David (1713?–1761).”

92 Caffentzis, “Civilising the Highlands,” 175–178.

93 Ibid., 178.

94 NRS, Exchequer Records, Forfeited Estates 1745: Registers of Commissions, E722/1, ff.1–11: Commission Appointing Commissioners for the Annexed Estates under George II, 10 May 1755. Although the decision to annex the estates was taken in 1752, the commissioners were not appointed until 1755. Regarding the annexed estates see: Smith, Jacobite Estates.

95 Meek, “Smith, Turgot and ‘Four Stages’ Theory,” 9–27; Hopfl, “From Savage to Scotsman,” 9–40.

96 NRS, Mar and Kellie Papers, GD124/15/1569: Memorial, October 1746; NRS, State Papers Scotland, RH2/4/366, ff.14552: Andrew Fletcher and Humphrey Bland, Proposals for Civilizing the Barbarous and Rebellious Parts of the Highlands of Scotland, 1747.

97 NRS, State Papers Scotland, RH2/4/360: Fletcher to Newcastle, 15 November 1746.

98 Smith, Jacobite Estates, 38–39.

99 NRS, Exchequer Records, Forfeited Estates 1745: General Management: E730/25/1–10: Papers Concerning Villages and Schools; NRS, State Papers Scotland, RH2/4/367, ff.144–150: Notes Concerning Regulations in the Highlands, 1748.

100 NRS, Exchequer Records, Forfeited Estates 1745: General Management: E730/11/1–9: Various Papers Related to Apprentices, 1763–1774; NRS Exchequer Records, Forfeited Estates 1745: General Management: E730/14/1–3: Various Plans for Supporting Manufactures in Badenoch, Strathspey; NRS, Exchequer Records, Forfeited Estates 1745: General Management: E730/15/1–14: Papers Related to Linen Manufacturing, 1763–1773.

101 Dziennik, “Liberty, Property and the Post-Culloden Acts,” 58–72; Dziennik, “Under ye Lash of ye Law,” 609–631.

102 Quoted in Lenman, Jacobite Risings, 281. Kames was an early proponent of stadial theory and an important enlightenment thinker.

103 NRS, Exchequer Records, Forfeited Estates 1745: Reports to the King and Treasury 1755–1761, E723/1, ff.67–72: Report of the Commissioners and Trustees for Managing the Annexed Forfeited Estates in Scotland, 1758.

104 Millar, ed. A Selection of Scottish Forfeited Estate Papers, 357.

105 Mackillop, More Fruitful, 27–57.

106 Ibid., 41–76.

107 Plank, An Unsettled Conquest, 112–117; Faragher, A Great and Noble Scheme, 245–364.

108 Plank, Rebellion and Savagery, 164.

109 Martin, “The Cultural Paradigms,” 115–116.

110 Murray had played a role in the fire and sword campaign directed by Culloden veteran James Wolfe during the siege of Quebec. See Ward, Battle for Quebec. Britain’s military occupation of Canada under Murray has generally been assessed as mild. See: Neatby, Quebec, 19; Ouellet, “The British Army of Occupation,” 17–54.

111 Murray, Terra Nostra, 41.

112 BL, Hardwicke Papers, Add MS 35913, ff.136–147: Report by James Murray on the Province of Quebec, 5 June 1762.

113 Library and Archives Canada, Murray Papers, Letterbook of General James Murray 1763–1765, Microfilm Reel c-2225, Murray to John Watts, Quebec, 2 November 1763. For a more detailed consideration of the influence of measures tested in Scotland on Murray in Quebec and other British army officers in North America, see Martin, “Cultural Paradigms.”

114 Martin, “Cultural Paradigms,” 162–174; 187–190.

115 Middleton, Pontiac's War, 24–27.

116 The National Archives (hereafter TNA), CO5/65, ff.123-34: Plan for the future management of Indian Affairs.

117 TNA, CO5/65, ff.110-11: Regulations of Trade with the Indian Tribes in the Southern District; TNA, CO5/65, ff.35–38: Regulations for the Indian Trade around the Province of West Florida.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Arts and Humanities Research Council; Eccles Centre at the British Library; European Association of American Studies; Canada-UK Foundation; Royal Historical Society; Society for Army Historical Research.

Notes on contributors

Nicola Martin

Nicola Martin is transatlantic military historian, specialising in eighteenth-century British imperialism and Jacobitism. A Lecturer at the University of the Highlands and Islands since 2019, her research is focused on British army officers throughout the long eighteenth century. She is completing her first monograph on the overarching cultural frameworks, individual circumstances, and local conditions guiding the actions and understandings of British army officers as they waged war, pacified hostile peoples, and attempted to assimilate “other” population groups within the British Empire.