Here is the text for my first big paper!00:49 Sep 04 2007
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Paper for Crosscurrents Conference
7 –9 September 2007
The Scottish Civil Wars and the Dukes of Atholl, 1689 -1746
Cheryl Garrett, PhD Candidate, History
University of Aberdeen
What is Jacobitism?
Jacobitism is defined as the era of time during which groups mainly in Scotland, Ireland and England remained loyal to the deposed King James II, brother of Charles II who had died in 1685 after being restored to the throne at the conclusion of the Cromwellian era. James II lost the throne of England to his son in law, William of Orange, “a devious and unscrupulous man ” as James was intractable and further, he was an avowed Catholic in a time when many of his subjects found the faith reprehensible. Despite Scotland in essence being forced to follow England in accepting the rule of William and his wife, Mary, there were many, especially in the Highlands, who resisted their reign and felt the rightful king h ad been unjustly overthrown. Already, they had endured the deposition of a Stuart king in the previous generation with the beheading of Charles I.
The word Jacobite comes from the Latin word for James - Jacobus. Jacobites then are the people who remained dynastically loyal to the unseated monarch. At times their motivations for support have been suspect as they may have been more financially based than Empirically established and many a person who called himself a ‘Jacobite’ only participated in the early uprisings. A first attempt at restoration known as the Glorious Revolution began in 1689 primarily in Scotland and Ireland. The definitive Jacobite defeat most probably occurred at Killekrankie. Although winning the day, they lost their most adept leader, Graham of Claverhouse – Viscount Dundee. This loss was a disaster for the coordination and spirit of the cause. The actual defeat of the Jacobites in this first rebellion transpired in Ireland at the Battle of the Boyne on July 1, 1690. William successfully ousted James who retreated to France to contemplate another attempt. Long years of civil war in Scotland commenced.
Civil War and the Murrays of Atholl
Little has been written about the effect of the years of Jacobite conflict on any specific family. One noble and caring lineage divided by the Jacobite wars was the Murrays of Atholl, descendants of a patrician Scottish house since mediaeval times. Born in 1662 Lord John Murray, son of the 2nd Earl of Atholl matured as an Episcopalian under the Restoration of the Stuarts. He became the first Duke of Atholl in 1703, when Queen Anne rewarded him for loyalty and service to the crown. The former Cavalier Scottish Secretary of State to King William was by no means an avowed Jacobite. During the rebellion in 1689 he blockaded Blair-Atholl Castle effectively keeping the Athollmen from joining with Dundee. Despite being vigorously anti-Union, John represented Scotland to England in earnest of maintaining good relations and assisting to improve the fortunes of Scots. John worked tirelessly throughout his life to improve the lot of the Scottish people. Historian Bruce Lenman writes, “Athol was potentially the most powerful man in Scotland…able to put 6000 men in the field.” His principal religion after his marriage to the Duke of Hamilton’s daughter, Katherine was Presbyterian yet he was the representative of the Aberdeen Episcopalian Diocese to King William . He truly seems to be a man who was able to put aside personal predilections in favour of the greater good.
In spite of the Duke’s monarchical loyalty, such was not the case with some of his family. Three of his older sons, Lord William, Marques of Tullibardine, Lord Charles and Lord George and his brother (William Murray, Lord Nairne) fought for the Jacobites in 1715. A letter from Duke John to his mother-in-law, Lady Hamilton suggests his astonishment at the Jacobite sympathies of his heir, Lord William. The Duke states that after asking William of his intentions he was answered, “I am come by King James orders and his friends”. The Duke went on to write, “I was perfectly struck with surprise at such an answer, but after I recovered myself I said do you know that I have taken the oath of loyalty to King George and that I will venture all my worth with him in opposition to a Popish King. William …”chooses the Jacobite cause out of principle and a belief in the rightness of the cause”. This represents the sectarianism that divided this family as the Duke was a devout Presbyterian and Tullibardine had switched his allegiance to the Episcopalian church. That faction of religious thought had more in common with Catholicism, the faith of James, the “Old Pretender.” Obviously the principal disagreement between father and son was primarily along religious grounds, not political ones although the Duke had been firmly anti-Union. Rather, the Duke had become alarmed at allegations of treason made against him in the previous decade contributing to the near loss of his title and freedom. Another letter from the Duke to his second son Lord James in the Blair Castle archives indicates that while home at this time, William refused to enter the Presbyterian Church with his family and worshipped instead with an exiled Episcopal minister , which is a clear indication of his Jacobite persuasion.
When William joined the uprising of 1715 he united with the Earl of Mar and roused over 1400 Athollmen despite his father’s admonishments. “If you continue in your disobedience to your Father, you will neither prosper in this world nor be happy in the next, and your days will be short.” Duke John foresaw that the actions of his rebellious children and brother against the might of England were folly and that they were committing their future to a cause, which many recognized as lost before it began. Those who fought in the ‘15 were not necessarily of the same conviction as their predecessors in the Glorious Revolution. In fact, of the tenantry from the Atholl estates, many of the men roused to come out in the ’15 were forced, and of “those who went willingly, many would have been tenants of Jacobite vassals, considering themselves duty bound to follow their lords”. To most the dynastic issue and right of succession were not as motivating as was the economic disparity between Scotland and England in the new Union. Regarding the Murray brothers Lenman notes, “Tullibardine, Charles and George had simply had enough of the post-1707 British establishment and its ways.” As for the Atholl tenants – Leah Leneman remarks: “…many of the tenants on the Atholl lands continued to hold Jacobite convictions at this time. Those who felt strongly about it could rally under Tullibardine’s banner; those who were more passive could simply refuse to fight. ” It seems probable that even some who held Jacobite convictions at the time were not easily swayed to forcible action against the over-a-century-old conjoined crowns and recently minted Union.
Following the battle of Preston in November 1715, the Duke’s third son, Lord Charles Murray, was held prisoner with four other officers when the Jacobites surrendered. He was court-martialled and found guilty of mutiny as he still held a British Army commission. Through his father's influence he alone escaped execution. Notwithstanding the Duke’s machinations, Charles remained incarcerated until the Act of Grace and Free Pardon in 1717, which provided him with an official emancipation for his part in the ‘15. However his health was broken by the lengthy detention and he died in 1720. Lord George and Lord William escaped and made their way to Brittany in 1716. For his part in the rebellion, William, Marques of Tullibardine was attained on February 17, 1716 losing all rights to the hereditary titles of his ancestors and was alienated from his family and Britain. Lord George remained in exile, returning to Scotland in 1724 and was pardoned the following year. Truly, these sons of a great Scottish peer paid a severe penalty for their support of the Jacobite cause. The Duke worked assiduously to alleviate consequences to his three recalcitrant sons; he was broken hearted over the loss of his children. Once more the stigma of civil war demonstrates how it tore apart a family as a consequence of the anguish of Duke John and those who betrayed the moral and spiritual foundations he established for them.
Lord William remained an active agent of Stuart restoration appearing in the enduring Jacobite campaigns. After the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 and the death of Louis XIV in 1715 the French were effectively out of the Jacobite plots for the next twenty years. In fact, the Stuarts had been banished from France to a court in Rome receiving succour from only the Pope. In 1717 Tullibardine was made commander in chief of Scotland by the exiled monarch for a proposed invasion with Sweden, which never materialized. A better attempt was made in 1719 when with the aid of Spain another sortie was launched. It is known that during the 1719 plot Tullibardine shared command with Earl Marischal and eluding the British Navy, they managed to meet up with Spanish ships near the Isle of Lewis. But as noted by Lenman, “at this point the [venture] began to make its predictable contribution in the shape of divided counsels, quarrels over seniority in command, and that general air of mistrust and damaged pride which seems to be typical of bands of political brothers” . Not only was weather and bad planning against them but also the attempted invasion was hampered by reports that the Duke of Ormonde would not be joining them as planned. This news acted as a general deterrent among most Highland clans although Lord Seaforth, Rob Roy McGregor and Lord George Murray were able to produce about a thousand men to fight. As they were swept back by the British forces the Highland clans dispersed into the hills leaving the Spanish infantry to surrender. Lord William wrote a depressed narrative to his old friend Mar, which ended with the statement “we came with hardly anything that was really necessary for such an undertaking”. Despite a reward of £2000 for his capture, Lord William again succeeded in making his escape, sailing from Harris for the Loire on 1 March 1720. “As far as Scotland was concerned, the attempt was of no substance”.
To the exiled James VIII, a son, Prince Charles Edward who was later known as ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ was born in 1720, allowing the hopes of the Jacobites to remain alive for another generation. As the prince matured many things transformed in Scotland. In 1725 the Highlands had been nominally disarmed and the British General George Wade constructed over 250 miles of road through the Highlands with the aid of friendly inhabitants. In 1725 six companies of loyal clans formed into the legendary “Black Watch”. These men deterred raiding, fighting and assisted in enforcing law in the Highlands. In Italy, James VIII tiny court was rocked with squabbles and political intrigues, and only the Pope recognized him as king. George II had succeeded his father without incident in 1727, and France and England remained at peace.
“Bonnie Prince Charlie” determined it was his destiny to make an attempt to restore his father to what some believed was still his rightful throne; and at age 23 he pawned jewels, borrowed money, acquired some arms and munitions and with only seven followers including Tullibardine, set forth from France on this quest – with out his father’s knowledge or blessing. These few men landed at Borrodale on July 25, 1745 and the young Chevalier unfurled his father’s standard at Glenfinnan on August 19. Author Murray Pittock comments, “Despite a gout problem, which rendered (Tullibardine) unable to walk on the day of the landing and other signs of premature ageing, he played an active part in the rising that followed”. Lord James Murray, now Duke of Atholl fled to London before his older brother’s advance and William re-took Blair Castle. Tullibardine was made commander in chief of Prince Charles Edward’s forces in Scotland and Lord George Murray rejoined the cause as the Prince’s commanding general. The Jacobite army took Edinburgh with ease in late September. However, Tullibardine was not as successful at raising men as was hoped. Throughout October 1745 Lord George implored his brother, now called Duke William, to muster men. Initially, the latter was to have gathered together a force from the northern central highlands, but once it was clear that in spite of Duke William’s efforts this was not going to prove possible, Lord George asked him to just bring the Athollmen as swiftly as he could. Despite initial successes and the help of Scottish gentry such as Cameron of Lochiel, Lochgarry, Glencoe and the Macdonalds of Clanranald, the effort was doomed to failure when once again bad timing and advice were followed. The Prince and his ‘advisers’ were wrongly suspicious of Lord George although the general had served the Prince’s father well and was a most capable military adviser. Invasion of England failed due to little support from the English Jacobites, the ambivalent French and other European powers, the Jacobites retreated to Scotland with Lord George commanding the rear. This proved difficult considering the closeness of hostiles and the Prince’s refusal to entertain his general’s counsel. Another Jacobite success occurred at Falkirk, but resources were running low and the little money that France tried to send to support the effort was intercepted. As the Jacobites fled towards Inverness the Prince determined to make a final stand at Culloden. Lord George, always a capable and shrewd military leader advised against this; but headstrong Charles had to have his way. The move was disastrous and cost the Jacobite army over 1000 dead. Following Culloden, Murray led the remnants of the Jacobite army to Ruthven with a mind to organize further opposition. Lord George, however, was issued a letter from the Prince releasing him from service. His answer reputed Charles for his suspicions and carelessness. Out of money and out of luck the Prince fled into the heather and made his escape from Scotland to end his days in drink and disillusionment.
Lord George Murray escaped and settled in Holland where his beloved wife, Amelia, joined him, dying in 1760. His son, Lord John Murray, succeeded his uncle, Lord James and became the 3rd Duke of Atholl in 1764. Tullibardine, already in ill health fled south to the Buchanan's near Loch Lomond. Despite being a cousin by marriage, Buchanan’s son betrayed William “to the garrison at Dumbarton Castle, whence the marques was sent by way of Edinburgh to the Tower of London, where he died, purportedly childless, on July 9, 1746, worn out by years of exile and privation”. In spite of Lord William’s carelessness with money, his misplaced allegiance and his errors in judgment he was remarkably faithful to the Jacobite cause. “He was a man dedicated more than most of his, or any other, class to a single task: the restoration of his royal master to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. For this he died an early death, without which the scaffold would have claimed him.” The Murrays of Atholl are but one example of many families, who were alienated, confounded and castigated for their faith in the Jacobite cause. The long years of civil war that divided the Scots, Irish and English as they entwined under the Act of Union would be tarnished by this legacy.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
1 Letter from George Seaton of Aberdeen to Lord John Murray, July 1696, Blair-Atholl Castle Archives
2 Letter from John, Duke of Atholl to Lady Hamilton; August 22, 1715. Blair-Atholl Castle Archives
3 Letter from John, Duke of Atholl to Lord James Murray, August 23, 1715. Blair-Atholl Castle Archives
4 Letter from John, Duke of Atholl to Lord William Murray, August 24, 1715. Blair-Atholl Castle Archives
5 Letter from William Murray, Marques of Tullibardine to Earl of Mar, June 19, 1719. The Jacobite Attempt of 1719, Scottish History Society, vol. 19, Edinburgh, 1895.
Secondary Sources
Leneman, Leah, ‘Living in Atholl’, Edinburgh University Press, 1986
Lenman, Bruce, ‘The Jacobite Risings in Britain 1689-1746’, Meuthen London Ltd, 1980
Maclean, Fitzroy, ‘A Concise History of Scotland’, Thames & Hudson, Inc. London, 1970
Mackie, J.D., ‘A History of Scotland’, Penguin Books Ltd, London, 1964
Pittock, Murray G. H., ‘Murray, William, Styled Second Duke of Atholl and Marques of Tullibardine (1689–1746)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/19654, accessed 10 May 2007)
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