Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald
The Stewart dynasty came to an end with the ouster of James II (VII of
Scotland) and the accession of William III (of Orange-Nassau) in 1689. The
reasons for James' unpopularity and the fall of the Stuarts, as the name is
often spelt, were basically two: a) his absolutism, verging on tyranny, in
keeping with the fashion of the age; and b) his conversion to Catholicism
and the attempt to re-establish this religion in Britain. Hence the Battle
of the Boyne episode, where the Stuart cause was espoused by the Irish
catholics, as well as many Scots of that persuasion. James, as is known, was
thoroughly thrashed in that action, the consequences of which continue down
to the present day, specifically in the Northern Ireland conflict.
It would be naive, however, to imagine this was a religious conflict, any
more than the dismemberment of the Knights Templar or even, indeed, the
Reformation were. The latter was ostensibly put in motion for religious
purposes, but the cause was soon taken up for reasons of power, political
and economic. Indeed this was also the case in the establishment of the
Roman church in the days of Emperor Constantine.
Affection, let us so call it, for the Stuarts did not entirely die out in
Scotland. Why this should have been is not easy to understand, when it is
borne in mind how little this seemed to proceed in the opposite direction.
Perhaps what was really taking place was the piecemeal dismemberment of
Scotland as a distinct nation, and the Stuarts were seen as a last resource,
though totally inadequate, to resist this. The Union of Parliaments in 1707
was felt by many Scots to be a sell-out ("...And there's the end of an auld
sang") and this led to the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745, the first
by James VII's son, supposedly James VIII, nicknamed The Old Pretender; the
later one by his son, Prince Charles Edward, called the Young Pretender or,
by his sympathizers, the Young Chevalier.
Prince Charles Edward Louis Philip Casimir Stuart (there is a different
version of his name, but this one seems the more likely) was born in Rome on
December 31, 1720. His father kept a sort of mini shadow-court in Rome, and
it was here that Charles got his education from James Murray, Chevalier
Ramsay, Sir Thomas Sheridan, and the abbé Légoux. His languages were
English, French, and Italian, and he participated, when a boy of 13, in the
siege of Gaeta, alongside his cousin the duke of Liria, acquitting himself
with gallantry.
The Old Pretender hoped to re-install the Stuart monarchy with foreign,
mainly French, aid; and it was with this object in mind that Charles
travelled to Paris in 1744. On February 6th a small fleet set sail from
Brest, and 7000 troops under Marshall Saxe were put in readiness to be
transported to Britain. The plans, however, were upset by adverse weather,
and the invasion was called off. It was at this point that Charles announced
to two Scottish noblemen he had previously met his intention of going to
Scotland, even if it were alone. On July 13, 1745, he started out on the
crossing, during which the two ships in his convoy, the Doutelle and the
Elizabeth, were intercepted by the Lion, a British man-o'-war. Charles was
able to get away from the encounter, and arrived on the Hebridean island of
Eriskay on August 3rd. He did not get a warm welcome there, so he set off
for the mainland, arriving at the bay of Loch-na-nuagh in Inverness-shire. A
number of chieftains, among them MacDonald of Clanranald, tried to point out
how unwise it would be to produce an uprising without outside support; but,
in the face of his refusal to be put off, finally called out the clans,
mustering some 2000 troops within a week. These forces were augmented on
their way southwards, and they soon occupied Perth. They subsequently passed
through Stirling and Linlithgow, and it was not long ere they entered
Edinburgh. Here Charles' father was proclaimed James VIII of Scotland, and
Charles installed himself in Holyrood palace, having previously defeated a
body of dragoons under Col. Gardiner in a fray called the Canter of
Coltbrig. Similarly a body of troops under John Cope met, and was defeated
by, Charles on September 20th at Prestonpans.
Charles then determined to invade England, and in November set out at the
head of 5000 men, still hoping for French assistance. During this march
south his Highland troops gradually began to desert him. Nevertheless they
took Carlisle, and arrived in Manchester, where new reinforcements were
added. On December 4th they reached Derby, 120 miles from London.
Two armies, one under Gen. Wade, the other under William, Duke of
Cumberland, had been despatched to intercept Charles. The Jacobite forces,
knowing themselves greatly outnumbered, retreated to Scotland, and in
mid-January defeated Gen. Hawley at Falkirk, subsequently laying siege to
Stirling Castle. This siege was very soon raised and Charles retreated to
Inverness, after taking forts George and Augustus. Finally his remaining
forces, exhausted and half-starving, met "Butcher" Cumberland's army at
Culloden (Cúl Lodhair) on April 16th, 1746, where they were defeated and
massacred wholesale. To this day, the British army does not count Culloden
among its battle honours, owing to the shameful treatment meted out to the
losers in the aftermath of the battle.
Charles became a fugitive, with a bounty of £30,000 offered for his
capture, which at that time was an enormous amount of money. That no one
thought to capture the Prince and claim the reward speaks eloquently of the
Highlanders' loyalty, and the regard in which Charles was held. Disguised as
a woman, he slowly made his way to South Uist, arriving in Alasaraigh at
midnight on the 20th of August 1746, together with two companions, Capt.
O'Neill, and Neil MacEachainn. It is here that Flora MacDonald comes into
the picture.
Flora MacDonald (in Gaelic Fionghall NicDhomhnuill), born 1722, probably in
Frobost, was the daughter of Ronald MacDonald of South Uist, and Mary, the
daughter of Angus MacDonald, the Minister of the island. When she was two
her father died, and her mother married Hugh MacSorley (Uisdean Cam, i.e.
crooked or crippled Hugh) in Cinnseborg, Skye. The couple returned to Uist,
remaining there till Flora had come of age. Hugh was greatly fond of Flora,
and taught her all he was able to.
Her stepfather, who happened to be commander of the Redcoats at the time
Prince Charles arrived in Uist, secretly sympathized with the Jacobite
cause, and sent friends to warn Charles of the great danger he ran in
remaining in Uist, and to inform him his stepdaughter would take him to
Skye. O'Neill visited Flora in order to enlist her aid, which she at first
hesitated to provide. During this meeting, O'Neill gave a whistle and who
should promptly appear from outside but the Prince himself. He entreated
Flora to help him, which she finally agreed to do. Obtaining the necessary
permits from her stepfather, she set off with the Prince, who passed as an
Irish girl, "Betty Bourke," carrying a letter from her mother in which
"Betty" was recommended as a skillful spinner and weaver. Numerous were
their narrow escapes, but finally they sailed from Benbecula. After a stormy
crossing they arrived in Skye on August 28. There Flora contacted the Laird
of Trondairnis, Alasdair MacDonald. Outside the house, while this meeting
was going on, arrived Alasdair MacLeod, at the head of the Dunvegan troops
that were on the lookout for the Prince. He interrogated Flora, who replied
so convincingly that he had no inkling as to the real purpose of her trip.
Meanwhile, inside the house, Lady MacDonald and others were busy concocting
plans as how best to conceal and protect the Prince. Alasdair MacDonald
himself conducted the Prince to Portree, where they spent the night at the
Laird's own house. From then on, the safety of the Prince was Flora's sole
responsibility. After a month and a half that they had been together,
Charles took his final leave of her, saying, "For all that has happened I
hope we'll still meet some day at St James'," and sailed for France.
A day or two later Flora arrived in Armadale, and the Redcoats were
awaiting her. They put her on a warship, and led her to Gen. Campbell, who
interrogated her. She admitted to him the part she had played in the
Prince's escape. The ship sailed with her aboard via Oban and Leith to
London, where she and other prisoners were sent to the Tower for a year. It
became fashionable among the London gentry to visit her, and it is said that
the very Prince of Wales did much in obtaining her release.
On recovering her freedom she spent the following winter in Edinburgh,
attending a school for further education, and visiting many of Prince
Charlie's friends. Then she began travelling back and forth between
Edinburgh and Skye, which resulted in her marrying Allan, the eldest son of
Alasdair MacDonald of Cinnseborg, on 7th November 1750. The feast was said
to be a truly memorable one, like no other before or since.
For the next nine years they went in for farming, on a rented piece of land
in Flodigarry. It was precisely there too, where twenty-seven years earlier
she had sat at table with the Prince, that she and Allan would entertain
Doctor Johnson and James Boswell during their tour of the Hebrides (1773).
Their affairs did not prosper in Flodigarry, so they decided to try their
luck in America, and accordingly sailed from Kintyre, arriving in North
Carolina in August 1774, to a warm welcome from their country-folk. Once
again they did not do well there. To make matters worse, war broke out (the
war of Independance) and Allan and two of their sons were inducted. Flora
was left to fend for herself, surrounded by enemy soldiers who plundered the
farm and finally left the house in ruins. At the same time Allan and one of
the boys were made prisoners, and Flora fell and dislocated a shoulder while
visiting a friend.
Allan was freed after two years, and went to New York, where he did
everything possible to get Flora out of Carolina. A few months later the
necessary permit was obtained for her to leave the State, and she joined
Allan in 1778. From New York they travelled to Nova Scotia, where they spent
a freezing winter and spring, during which Flora had another fall, this time
breaking her wrist, which forced her to stay in bed for two months.
In October 1779 she boarded the London-bound Lord Dunmore in Halifax, which
halfway across was attacked by a French vessel. During this brief action,
she fell again and broke the shoulder she had dislocated in Carolina.
She spent a few months at a friend's house in London, being too ill to
travel anywhere. It was at this time that she received news of her son
Alasdair's death on the way back from America. This was the bitterest cup
ever for her. Though her health continued to deteriorate, she and Allan
travelled to Edinburgh, and thence to Skye and South Uist, being warmly
welcomed on their arrival. While visiting friends at Pein-an-dùin, Flora was
taken ill with a fever to which she finally succumbed on March 5th, 1790, at
the age of 68.
As for Prince Charlie, he arrived back in France on September 29, 1746,
remaining their until the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle two years later, a
condition of which treaty being that all members of the royal house of
Stuart were to be expelled from France and her dominions. At first he
refused to leave, but was finally apprehended and forced to. He disappeared
from public view, although he is reported to have surfaced in Paris in 1750
and London in 1754, in vain attempts to further his cause. He even abjured
the catholic faith in order to further his ambitions.
Over the next few years he conducted an affair with Clementina Walkinshaw,
whom he had met in Scotland. In general his life took a turn for the worse,
involving immoderate drinking, fits of temper, and profligacy. In 1766,
while visiting Rome upon his father's death, his title to the British Crown
was officially repudiated by all catholic states.
In 1772 a union was arranged between him and Princess Louis of Stolberg: a
childless, violent, and unhappy one, which led to a formal separation in
1784.
Charles, who had by now sunk to a most pitiable condition, called on his
daughter by Clementina Walkinshaw, Charlotte, born in 1753, to minister to
him. This she did until his death in Rome on January 30, 1788, herslf dying
unmarried in the following year.
