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ACCORDING to our best
information, a party of the Clans, consisting of Sir Donald M'Donald's,
Clanranald's, Lochiell's, Appin's, M'Clean's, Glengerry's, and Kepoch's men,
commanded by Clanranald, brother to him who was killed att Dunbiain, to the
number of five or six hundred, marched from Perth, Tuesday, the 24th of
January, 1716, about nine of the clock at night, and tho' the night was
exceeding stormy and the snow lying very deep on the ground, they came to
Auchterarder, a country town lying almost straight west from Perth ten
miles, and on the road betwixt Stirling and it, at four in the morning,
Wednesday, the 25th of the said moneth. After they had lodged themselves in
that place, about nine of the clock in the forenoon of the said day they
detached a party of betwixt two and three hundred foot and some few horsemen
towards Blackfoord, ane other countrey town, lying as aforsaid on the road
betwixt Stirling and Perth, two miles to the westward of Auchterarder and
about eight miles from Stirling.
This party had not marched
much more than half a mile from Auchterarder, when by a violent blowing and
exceeding deepness of the snow they found themselves oblidged to force a
guide, tho' they had William Maitland, son to James Maitland, innkeeper at
Blackfoord, alongst with them, who knew that countrey perfectly well, and as
both he and his father were bigotted Jacobites and Rebells, was both
instrumental! in the ruine and burning of the countrey.
The guide's name was John
Rebron, farmer of a countrey place called Greerwalls, where several of those
clans had quartered before and some dayes after the battle of Dumblain, and,
as he informed, they came with no small difficulty to the said James
Maitland's house at Blackfoord betwixt twelve and one. When they came, one
of the horsemen told James of the order they had from the Pretender for
burning of the countrey, and desired him if he had any friends in that place
he would acquaint them with it, that they might save their cattle and throw
their household plenishing (or furniture) out of doors.
When they came to that part
of the road which is about half a mile to the northward of Gleneagles, some
of the clans who had quartered there about the time of the battle of
Dumblain, proposed to go to it, but the storm blew so strong and the snow
was so deep that the rest did not agree to it; so they went on their way to
Blackfoord.
When they came to James
Maitland's house, they halted, fed their horses, and then they sent out
parties to all the houses of this town or village A considerable party of
them, with one or two of the horsemen at their head, went to the house of
Jane Edie, a widow woman, which lyes in the middle of that town, and is one
of the largest in it. She seeing them a-coming shut her door and called to
see what they wanted, telling them that if they would not plunder and
destroy what she had, she would willingly allow them to come in. To this
they gave her no return, but threatened to shoot in at the windowes, and
fell a breaking of the door, and very soon forced it open, and immediately
after takeing what was most valuable and portable, sett the house on fire by
sheaves of corn brought from the barn-yard, and being a lofted house and
much wood in it, was very soon reduced to ashes. While this was a-doing,
they sent about 100 men to the west end of the town to the house of James
Brice, one of the men of most distinction of this place, and who had from
the very beginning of the Rebellion stayed with the King's Army at Stirling.
His wife, tho' at that time very tender and sickly, seeing them a-comeing,
left the house, and, by the help of ane of her servants, made the best of
her way towards the mountains throw the snow, that was exceeding deep. When
they came into the house they caused put on a very great fire, pretending
they were cold, and two or three of the horsemen rode round the house and
yard, which, as it is the westmost of that town, lyes nearest to Stirling,
and one of them was heard say, "What a pity that such a bonny farm and
houses should be destroyed, as it is really by much the best in that place";
however, they sett all immediately on fire, and burnt down houses, corns,
and everything to the ground.
There was a poor widow woman
called Isobell Brice, who had a little house hard by, and some young
children with her; she not believing they would be so cruel as to sett fire
to her house whilst she and the poor children were in it, kept her door
shutt, but to that they had no regard, but sett fire to it, so that when the
flames reacht her she and the children had much to do to get out.
At the same time they sett
fire to the house of David Holmes, and all the other houses of the town that
they intended to burn.
When they were a-burning the
house of Alexr. Gibsone, mertt, one of the horsemen came up and said, "I
perceive this is a merchant's house, save his shop"; but to this the
Highlanders gave no ear. They beat himself, rob'd him of what money was
about him, took what was usefull for them in the shop, and burnt the rest.
His wife seeing the bad usage of her husband fell down in a swoon, and the
horseman who had called to save the shop, seeing a little child weltering in
the snow, took it up and carryed it before him on the horse's neck to James
Maitland's, to whose house, when they saw all the houses and corns quite
burnt down, the whole party returned. We do not know who that horseman was.
but he was heard to say that for no king in Christendom would he ever have a
hand or be concerned in executing so cruell and barbarous ane order. And so
great ane effect had the sight of the children's lying upon the snow and the
women's crying and tearing themselves, that some even of the barbarous
Highlanders were seen to weep.
When they came to James
Maitland's, tho' he had been told in the beginning that his house was not to
be burnt, yet, to save appearances, they caused his own son, William
Maitland, sett fire to one of his corn stacks, a little outhouse or byre at
a little distance from the rest of his house, and caused burn a great deal
of straw; so that when they left James's house it appeared to all the
country to be on fire, but as soon as they were gone, his son William, with
the help of some of his Jacobite neighbours, got it extinguished, and stayed
in his father's house all the night after. They dealt much after the same
manner by James Davidsone, officer or bayliff to a gentleman concerned in
the Rebellion; they putt a smoke of straw in his house and left him to
extinguish it, which he did
But at their return towards
Auchterarder they came to the house of Helen Edie, one of the most
considerable inns on that road, and lyes at the east end of the town nearest
to Auchterarder, and burnt it down with all that was in it to the ground; so
that before they left Blackfoord, they believed all the houses, corns, hay,
and everything else to be burnt, except the two houses above mentioned.
The minister's house lyes at
half a mile's distance to the westward of this town. He had stayed at home,
preached and prayed for King George and success to his arms, till he was
threatened, and parties sent to seize him from the garrisons of Tullibardine
and Bracko upon which he was forced to retire and shelter himself with some
of his well affected friends.
His wife seeing the flames at
Blackfoord, and being informed, by some of the poor miserable people who
came running to her, of the tragedy that was acted there, called for a
trusty servant and, by the force of money and promises, prevailed with him
to go to Stirling, which is within seven miles of that place, to give ane
account to the Generall and other officers there of what was done and acted
at Blackfoord, and of the state of the countrey in generall. This seemed so
extraordinary and incredible that there they rather looked on the messenger
as a madman than gave any credit to what he related, so that they remained
in a sort of suspense till next day, that they had expresses and messengers
from all the severall parts of the countrey, giving accounts of the same
fatall tragedies being acted in all the other parts of it.
Wee must still make this
remark, that tho' the countrey on the south side of the road betwixt
Blackfoord and Auchteiarder is very populous, and a great many countrey
houses in it, yet none of them was burnt or destroyed, because they for the
most part belonged to persons and landlords that were in the Rebellion.
It would be endless to give
account of all the hardships and acts of barbarous cruelty done. It may be
easily imagined, considering the season of the year, the vast load of snow
that lay then on the ground, the poor people, man wife and child, without
the shelter of a house, without cloalhs, meat, drink, or anything to support
them, and little or no hopes of relief, for within a day or two after, when
they saw with their own eyes, from the high grounds to which they were
retired for shelter, a second burning at Auchterarder, they were reduced to
the utmost degree of distraction and despair. |
