This regiment was commanded by Colonel Alexander
Macgregor Murray. As the clan of Macgregor are supposed to be
descendants of the ancient Alpine kings, who, for so many
centuries, ruled the mountains of Scotland, the "Clan Alpine" was an
appropriate name for a corps commanded by a Macgregor, and having a
great proportion both of officers and men who bore that name. The
history of this unfortunate clan is pretty generally known, as well as
the acts of Parliament passed for suppressing the name; and the
proscriptions and oppressions they suffered in consequence, form a part,
and not an uninstructive part, of the history of Scotland. If
"oppression maketh a wise man mad," no wonder that the relentless
ferocity, with which this unfortunate race were for so many ages
pursued, should have rendered them desperate. Even the patient
inoffensive steer may be driven to madness by frequent goading; and as
the descendants of this race of ancient Albion are not supposed to have
had more patience than was necessary, under their sufferings, the law of
retaliation was not forgotten, and being a brave and warlike race, with
arms in their hands, and with hearts not afraid to use them, they were
not slow in taking their revenge. It has been said by friends of the
clan, that many of their misfortunes originated from the circumstance of
their being surrounded by powerful and ambitious neighbours, not always
over scrupulous about the means by which they accomplished their
purposes, or increased their property; and hence the encroachments which
rendered the Macgregors desperate, and led to those acts of violence
which caused the interference of the legislature, and the suppression of
the name. In turbulent times, when law sometimes confirmed what the
sword had acquired, it acted as an encouragement to spoliations, and to
the hopes of obtaining permanent possession of a neighbour's property;
but it should be observed, that there were many other clans and families
similarly situated with the Macgregors, possessing estates in the heart
of the territories of powerful neighbours, who yet neither suffered from
their oppressions nor from legal proscriptions, but retained their
estates entire through a succession of centuries sufficiently turbulent.
Thus the family of Stewart of Appin preserved their estate entire for
four centuries, although nearly surrounded on all sides by the lands of
the great Clan Campbell.
[In this case there was more than common incitement
to rivalry. The first Laird of Appin was a natural son of Lord Lorn, the
last of the name of Stewart who possessed that title and estate. Lord
Lorn having no legitimate son, his estate went to his three daughters,
as coheiresses. The eldest daughter married the Earl of Argyle, who by
her got the lordship and estate of Lorn. The second daughter married Sir
Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, uncle to Argyle, and ancestor of the
Breadalbane family, who by her got the lands on the north side of
Lochowe, and part of Nether Lorn. The third married Camp-bell of Ottar,
and dying without children, her share of the Stewarts' estate went to
the children of her sister, the Countess of Argyle.
It was said that Lord Lorn intended to marry the
mother of his son, and thus legitimate him, but the marriage was
prevented by his sudden death; not without suspicions that it was
hurried to prevent the proposed marriage. The son, seeing his hopes
destroyed, seized on a portion of his father's estate, and, as disputes
were not in those times often referred to legal decisions, he resorted
to the law of the sword, and being supported by some of his father's
tenants, sent for assistance to his mother's friends. She was of the
Maclarens, a tribe at that time numerous in Balquhidder, in Perthshire.
They joined Stewart their kinsman in Argyllshire, and in a pitched
battle beat off the forces of his brothers-in-law, and thus established
his right by the sword to the lands he claimed, and settled them on his
posterity, who kept possession of them till sold by the last Laird of
Appin, in the year 1765. Tradition says that the Maclarens lost 130 men
killed in this battle, besides the loss among Stewart's own men. It was
fought at the foot of Bendouran, at a short distance from the present
high road passing through Glenorchy.]
The Clans of Maclachlan and
Macnaughton, also, quite in the neighbourhood of Inveraray, suffered
nothing from feudal turbulence and rapacity. In the same manner the Clan
Macnab have preserved what remained of their estates since the reign of
Robert Bruce, although completely surrounded by the lands of the
Campbells of Glenorchy, to whom the Macnab estates would have been a
great and tempting acquisition; but the thing was never tried.
[The estates of this family were greatly reduced from
another cause. The Macnabs joined the party of John Baliol against
Robert Bruce, and were with Macdougal of Lorn when he fought and
vanquished Robert Bruce at Dalree, in Breadalbane, in 1306. Having thus
supported the views of Edward the First, who wished to usurp the crown
of Scotland, it is rather matter of surprise that either Macdougal or
Macnab should have been allowed to retain any part of
their lands, and that the whole were not forfeited as after the
Rebellions of 1715 and 1745. In the retreat from Dalree, the king was
hotly pursued by one of the Macdougals, who got hold of his cloak, or
plaid, which was fixed across his breast by a large brooch. The king
turned round and killed the man with his battle-axe, but in his haste
left the mantle and brooch, which were torn off by the dying grasp of
Macdougal. This highly-prized trophy was preserved till destroyed when
the castle of Dunolly, the family residence, was burnt in the
seventeenth century. But a remarkable piece of antiquity still remains.
This is a small bronze equestrian figure of a Chief of Macdougal. It is
of elegant workmanship, and both figures, particularly the horse, are
executed with great spirit and taste; and, if the tradition be correct
as to the period, with skill altogether extraordinary. The Chief is
called by the country people Ian Bachach, or John the Lame. He is
represented in the statue as affected with a remarkable degree of
lameness, his leg and thigh being apparently without bones, or
locomotive power, and instead of hanging down the horse's side, are laid
across, and fixed on the pommel of the saddle. The exact period when
this Chief lived cannot now be ascertained, as the family papers, and
all the ancient records and documents, were destroyed by fire. This
figure being of bronze, and lying in a small press, or recess in the
wall, was not injured. Tradition gives a period of 325 years, or
thirteen generations, at the rate of twenty-five years for each, for the
age of this equestrian figure. In these traditionary calculations the
Highlanders reckon a generation twenty-five years, and in this manner
calculate the dates of past events with tolerable accuracy.]
From these and many other instances
which might be adduced, it is clear that those smaller proprietors
suffered no material in-jury from the spoliations or conquests (if I may
so call them) of their more powerful neighbours, and, therefore, it may
be supposed, that there must have been some pre-existing cause—some
violence on the part of the Macgregors - in
short, although they were not perhaps so fierce as their enemies
represented them, they must yet have been guilty of frequent violations
of, and encroachments on, the peace property, and persons of their
neighbours,—practices greatly too common in those turbulent times. But
whatever may have been the actions or character of this proscribed clan,
an ample punishment was inflicted on them. As early as 1563, the
Parliament of Scotland passed an act of attainder and forfeiture against
the Laird of Macgregor, then in possession of the estate of Glenstrae,
in Glenorchy. Other severe enactments succeeded the first, and in 1633
an act was passed, declaring it unlawful for any man to bear the name of
Macgregor; that no signature bearing that name, no act or agreement
entered into with a Macgregor, was legal; that to take the life of a man
of that clan was not an act of felony, or any way punishable; and that
no minister or preacher should at any time baptize or christen any male
child of the Macgregors : And, to facilitate their extirpation, they
were hunted with blood-hounds, taught to follow on the tract, and thus
discover the haunts and hiding-places of the unfortunate clan.
[Blood or slough-hounds were not in
that age confined to the Macgregors. In a commission dated the 29th of
November 1619, granted by Sir Wilfred Lawson and Sir William Hutton;
knights, two of the commissioners for the middle marches, to John
Musgrave, Provost Marshal, he is directed to provide slough-hounds as a
protection against the lawless Scotch, the number of dogs for each
parish being stated, and an assessment on the inhabitants ordered for
their expenses.]
But this species of Algerine law, with
all its severities, did not destroy, or apparently influence in any
manner, that spirit of loyalty so characteristic of the Highlanders,
which the Macgregors evinced in the great rebellion. All of them who
could carry arras joined Montrose (although under other names), and
through his whole campaigns proved themselves loyal and true; always
ready to bear a part in the execution of his most daring attempts; and,
after the establishment of the Commonwealth, they would not submit, and
were ever annoying the troops stationed in the country to keep down the
people. Of the value of their services to himself and his father,
Charles II. was fully sensible; and one of the
first acts of Parliament, after his restoration, was passed to repeal
that of 1633, and re-establish the name of Macgregor, with all its
natural and legal rights; "considering," as the act expresses, "that
those who were formerly designed by the name of Macgregor had, during
the troubles, carried themselves with such loyalty and affection to his
Majesty, as might justly wipe off all memory of their former
miscarriages, and take off all mark of reproach put upon them for the
same."
But this relief was not permanent; for, in King
Wil-liam's reign (in 1693), the original act was renewed, and the
Macgregors placed in the same state as in 1633 and the following years 5
and this law, although not enforced was allowed to remain on the
statute-books till the year 1775. [In the
session of 1774-5, a bill was brought into Parliament by William Adam,
Esq., now Chief Commissioner of the Jury Court, for restoring the name,
rights, and immunities of the clan Macgregor. The bill, founded, as is
stated in this act, "on the humble petition of Gregor Drummond, Esq. and
many others," passed, as might be expected, without a dissenting voice,
and the clan were placed in the same situation as the rest of his
Majesty's subjects. I have already had occasion to mention this
gentleman as being the handsomest Highlander in a corps said to have
been composed of very handsome men, and as such presented to George
II. in 1743.] But however calamitous
the state to which they were reduced, we still find the Macgregors a
numerous clan. The law itself was so savage, that it was not strictly
enforced. The persecuted clan found protection and friendship among
their countrymen; and though few remained in Glenorchy, where, as we
have just stated, the last Laird of Macgregor's estate of Glenstrae lay,
there are many of the name in Breadalbane, Glenlyon, Monteith, and other
parts of Perthshire and the neighbouring counties. They are now reviving
and increasing in numbers and respectability. Much of this prosperity is
owing to the fostering and zealous friendship of Sir John Macgregor
Murray, the elder brother of the respectable officer who was placed at
the head of the Clan Alpine regiment.
In December 1798, Colonel Alexander Macgregor Murray
received Letters of Service for raising a regiment of Fencible
Highlanders; and in May 1799 the men, amounting to 765, were assembled
at Stirling, and inspected by Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby,
who expressed in handsome terms his approbation of the appearance of the
men, and of the exertions of the officers.
This regiment was raised on terms of service
extending to any part of Europe, and, like other corps of the same
description, one of the field-officers was to have permanent and
progressive army rank. Captain Alexander Macgregor Murray of the 90th
regiment (son of the Colonel, and Major-General in 1825), was appointed
Major, with the permanent step of promotion. To the soldiers, also,
their service jn this corps was to count as if in the regular army,
should they afterwards enter it; thus, if a soldier did duty in the Clan
Alpines for three years, and at any future period enlisted in a regiment
of the line, and served there fourteen, seventeen, or twenty years, the
three he had been in the Fencibles strengthened his claim to a pension.
This regiment was ordered for Ireland, and quartered
there in the usual manner, occupying different stations; and, in 1800,
Colonel Macgregor Murray received instructions to augment the strength
of the corps to 1050 men. To accomplish this was no easy undertaking, at
a period when so many men had been raised, particularly in the
Highlands, and required no small share of zeal and address. It would
seem that both were, in this instance, successfully exerted. But two
considerable detachments having volunteered into the regular regiments,
it was necessary to recruit again. This was also successful, and thus
there were, in all, 1230 men in the ranks of this regiment. Of these,
about 780 were Highlanders, 30 English and Irish, and the others Lowland
Scotch; a lesser proportion of Highlanders than might have been expected
in an Alpine regiment, had it been raised in other years than 1799 and
1800, when there had been such a drain from the Highland population for
the army; [In 1799 and 1800 were raised
north of the Forth (three-fourths being from the north of the Tay), the
Clan Alpines, the Regiment of the Isles, the Lochaber, Banffshire,
Argyle, the 93d, or Sutherland Highlanders, Ross and Cromarty Rangers,
Macleod Fencibles. In 1798 had been embodied the Fife, Perth, Stirling,
Argyle, Inverness, and Aberdeen regiments of militia.] as also to
supply the great and unprecedented demand for labourers in the Lowlands,
exclusive of an extensive emigration; but still recruiting, when
conducted with address, was successful, as we find in the case of
Colonel Macgregor Murray, and his officers.
As there was a considerable difference in the
character and habits of the one portion of this regiment compared with
the other, the commanding officer made a judicious distinction in his
preventives and punishments. Those men who had little sense of shame
(and they were few), and to whom personal fear, or the dread of painful
punishments, was the only check, he kept in restraint by an endeavour to
deprive them of the means and opportunity of committing crimes; but when
no preventive was sufficient, he then punished with exemplary severity.
There was another small portion in the regiment whose character was not
absolutely bad. Among them several misdemeanours of a slight description
occurred; and although these were not of a very criminal nature, checks
were necessary. After a short confinement, these men were generally
given in charge to their comrades, who, under certain conditions, were
to become answerable for them. While such was the system established for
two sorts of character in the corps, there was a third, and fortunately
the most numerous class, for it composed nearly nine-tenths of the
whole, for whom there was hardly any check necessary beyond admonition
and a representation of the disgrace they would bring on themselves and
their kindred, by discreditable conduct. In this easy manner, punishing
with severity, however, when necessary, the duty of this regiment was
carried on: the officers were respected, and the men contented, and
prepared to show themselves good soldiers if called to meet an enemy.
But this was not their fortune; and however desirous a true soldier may
be to distinguish himself in the field, happily for this country, our
internal defence corps have never had that duty to perform. War having
been long at a distance, its miseries were only known by report. To keep
war at a distance from our own doors, and to know of its miseries only
through the reports of others, an army of such men as the Clan Alpines,
when weeded by the volunteering of supernumeraries into other regiments,
is not a bad, if it be not one of the best and most certain securities.
Among these volunteers were included the bad and suspicious characters,
leaving the regiment with 850 men of good moral habits, efficient,
obedient, and attached to their officers. Respectful to their superiors,
they were prepared to be loyal and devoted to their King and country's
service.
When officers and men were thus united by mutual
confidence, the former might always calculate on the support of the
latter, and that in the day of trial they would not fail. In their days
of trial no men had more occasion for support than the old chiefs and
chieftains of the Macgregors. From their own people they always found
it; and although at last overpowered by oppression and persecution, they
were always true to each other. Had the chieftains and gentlemen of the
clan kept at a distance from their people, and assumed the cold distant
manner towards the lower orders, which is called the habits of civilized
life, it may be doubtful if they could have so well secured the
attachment and support of their adherents, nor could they have expected
the same fidelity as was exhibited towards the "Captain of Clan Chattan,"
after an inroad of that clan into the Lowlands of Moray. This happened
in the reign of James V., and was accompanied
by the usual ravages and pillage of the times. The Earl of Moray,
exasperated at the frequency of these forays, immediately raised his
people and followed the freebooters, who, incumbered with their spoil,
were overtaken, and a desperate conflict ensued. The Clan Chattan (the
Mackintoshes and Macphersons) were overpowered, and 200 prisoners taken.
The number of prisoners was a remarkable occurrence among the
light-footed Highlanders; but in this case they made a longer stand to
enable their chief, who was said to be aged and corpulent, to
get to a place of safety, which had been named as the rendezvous
after the battle. Lord Moray, with a view of striking terror into his
troublesome and lawless neighbours, determined to take a terrible
revenge, and ordered 130 of the prisoners to be hanged on the spot; but,
anxious to discover the chief's hiding-place, he directed that the
Highlanders should be taken out singly for execution, and when at the
foot of the gallows, to be told that, if they would disclose the secret
of their chief's retreat, their lives would be saved. All refused life
on such; terms, and declared that no reward or punishment should induce
or force them to be unfaithful to a man to whom they all owed so much.
Some denied all knowledge of the chief's retreat, but added, that, if
they did know, they would rather sacrifice their own lives than bring
that of their chief into danger. The whole were executed.
Fearful lest I should have already given too many
anecdotes of incorruptible fidelity, I have ventured on this as the
last, out of a great many more I could give of the same nature. This
anecdote is noticed by Leslie, in his book "De Origine, Moribus, &c.
Scotorum," with little variation from the traditional account of the
country. He states the prisoners and those executed to have been more
numerous than is given in the traditional account which I have in this
instance followed.
The Highlanders are now in a rapid progress to a
state of civilization, with which such feelings and principles as guided
them formerly are said to be incompatible. How high-minded principles,
incorruptible fidelity, and a sense of honour, so strong as to make
death preferable to a breach of faith or of trust, can be incompatible
with civilization and a state of society, in which education and
knowledge among the people are so much encouraged, is a point which must
be decided by philosophers and political economists. As a plain soldier,
I must acknowledge a preference of old feelings and dispositions; and,
as I said in speaking of the superstitions of the Highlanders, I fear I
must be accused of improper prejudices, when I lament the extinction or
dormancy of those ancient feelings, and of that confidence, those
conciliating manners, and that mutual support which subsisted between
the higher and lower orders; even although my countrymen may be better
educated, and what is called more enlightened than in former days. This
enlightening of the people, as practised in the Highlands, instead of
improving and preserving their principles, (the best parts of them
required no improvement), appears to have a perfectly different effect.
Old principles are getting obsolete and forgotten, attachment to
superiors, chivalrous fidelity to honour and to each other, which laid
an admirable foundation for good morals, are derided as the remains of
feudal manners; ridiculed often by Highland gentlemen, who may yet
suffer severely from that change in the character of their people, for
which they seem so anxious; and who, from too eager a desire to appear
enlightened and liberal-minded, and to introduce the more approved
habits of the South, overlook the necessary discrimination, and instead
of an attempt to preserve the better part of ancient habits and
character, make a clean sweep of the whole, trusting to chance, to the
introduction of strangers, and their example for the adoption of new
manners, more becoming a civilized state of society; although it may be
asked, what state of civilization has produced better traits of
character, than have been found among the ancient habits, superstitions,
and mental recollections of the Highlanders, even in their uncultivated
state? To prepare the Highlanders for this change, and to cure the evils
of superstition, I hope better means will be adopted than that of the
Lancasterian system, which teaches to read by rote, and neglects the
religious and moral principles on which all education ought to be
founded. The simple art of reading does not prove, by experience, to be
effectual in the Highlands. If the number of schoolmasters were
increased, the number of scholars in each school lessened, and the
teachers directed to instruct their pupils in good morals and religious
duties, as well as in the mechanical art of reading, the blessings of
education would be full and complete, and a few traits of the
old-fashioned Highland feeling might be preserved along with the
improved education.
Perhaps such observations as these may be considered
as out of place, in giving an account of the service of a fencible
regiment; I shall therefore only observe farther, that, as human nature
is the same now as when the Highlanders were true to their word,
faithful to their superiors, contented with their lot, and loyal to
their King, (for the ebullitions of 1715 and 1745 were in the very
spirit of loyalty), may I not ask whether the same condescending and
conciliating manners on the part of the higher orders, a kindly regard
to the interest of the lower class, (although they may not possess a
capital equal to others more fortunate, or skill equal to those who have
had better opportunities), would not meet with a corresponding and
kindred return of fidelity and support in the day of need? And as the
day of need may come, perhaps, such considerations as these may occupy a
Highland chief and landlord's spare time as much to his ultimate profit,
and with more true happiness and honour, than in consultations with
land-agents and doers, on the best means of augmenting a
rent-roll.
I now return to the Clan Alpine. As the Macgregors
were of old a warlike race, it is unfortunate that this regiment had not
an opportunity of meeting an enemy, and of maintaining that character
for courage which had so long distinguished their ancestors. In 1802 the
regiment was ordered from Ireland, and on the 24th of July reduced at
Stirling.
