Clan Tour

History will always differ...depending on who you ask. Just like the old adage: There are three sides to every story...yours, mine...and the truth. And as Napoleon once asked, “WHAT is history, but a fable agreed upon?” We may never know really what happened…

 

"The Battle of Glen Fruin, the last purely clan battle fought in Scotland. The tragedy opened as a minor incident in the early winter of 1602. Two MacGregors, traveling from Glasgow to their home at Dunan near the head of Loch Rannoch, were benighted while passing through Colquhoun’s land by Loch Lomond. Cold and hungry, they asked food and shelter at Luss and were refused. At this breach of Highland hospitality they took shelter in an empty hut, killed a sheep, and ate. Next day, Sir Alexander Colquhoun had them seized and some say he executed them and others say there is no evidence. It has been said, there was no proscription against Clan Gregor was at that time in force."

 

"A report on the judicial executions went to the chief, Alasdair of Glenstrae, who lived on the north side of Loch Rannoch, where he held land under Menzies of Weem. He felt bound to act. It was a merit of the clan system that while every man gave his chief the respect due to a father by his family, and found there his first duty, the chief in turn was responsible for the life of every member. An injury to one was a hurt to all, and unless a chief understood how profoundly true that was it led him to feuding. The close-knit Clan Gregor were in present circumstances the least likely to let the Luss injury pass, and Colquhoun should have known it. Alasdair was a man of mettle and gave the punitive order."

 

"On December 7, 1602, a MacGregor raiding party of eighty men came down Glen Finlas in the hills above Colquhoun’s old castle of Rossdhu by Loch Lomond. They killed two men and stole three hundred cows and more than double that number of sheep, goats, and horses, which they drove into Argyll (MacCailein Mor was at feud with Colquhoun), and reset the stock at Kinlochgoil, Ardkinglas, Strachur, and Appin."

 

"A stratagem for revenge occurred to Colquhoun. He led about sixty ‘widows’ of Luss, mounted on palfreys, before King James VI at Stirling.[1] James was known to be squeamish at the sight of blood, so to gain the desired effect each widow carried her man’s ‘bludie sark’ (bloody shirt) on the end of a pointed pole. The story goes that not all the women were widows and that the shirts had been dipped in sheep’s blood to give a desired effect. Horrified by the sight, James responded by granting Colquhoun “Letters of Fire and Sword.” Letters of Fire and Sword meant that if a criminal resisted the law and refused to answer his citation, it was accounted treason in the Scottish courts; and “letters of fire and sword” were sent to the sheriff, authorizing him to use either or both these instruments to apprehend the contumacious party."

 

"You can imagine that since the MacGregors were recording this 'history' that they were enraged by the deceit of the Stirling exhibition, by the exaggerated, one-sided report, and at royal condemnation without a hearing. Alasdair of Glenstrae now had MacCailein Mor’s assurance of moral support and advice to take vengeance. Blinded by the moment’s passion he failed to see that his clan were being hounded out against Campbell’s enemy at the most ill-chosen moment. The king must feel it a personal affront. No one could profit except MacCailein Mor."

 

"The MacGregors, however, were reputed to possess "the sight," and are said to have been able to foretell the future. (A seer had urged the Gregors on, saying he saw shrouds of the dead wrapped round their opponents) Whether "the sight" played a role in the events that afternoon is anyone's guess. However, Alastair MacGregor most certainly had a premonition of impending trouble and, prior to the attack, divided his 300 men into two groups. It is also believed that the MacFarlane Clan joined with the Gregors. Alasdair led his men to Loch Longside, where he cut back south-east to the head of Glen Fruin, which ran down into Colquhoun’s best farmland. Colquhoun had early warning and gathered in three hundred mounted men and five hundred foot. They met at the head of the glen on 7 February 1603. The MacGregors’ courage in attacking such greatly superior force was justified by Alasdair’s generalship. The party traveling through the valley floor was not alone. Concealed along the ridge above, the second group watched the mayhem below. While Alastair maintained combat with his own group on the valley floor, his brother's men made the circuit of the hill and attacked the unsuspecting assailants from the rear. The Colquhoun force was bogged down in the marsh of the glen and was routed. The Chief of the Colquhouns had his horse killed under him. The Colquhoun chief and others fled for their lives and were pursued to the gates of Rossdhu, (Other accounts say he fled to the castle of Bannachra in the lower part of Glen Fruin - but it would have been in ruins from the attack and burning some 10 years earlier) while 600 cows were stolen and 800 sheep and goats, and many horses. As before, these were taken to Argyll’s land, by Loch Fyne and Loch Goil. The Register of the Privy Council reported that eighty Colquhouns were cut down – another account says 140 and other accounts say as many as 2-300. While traditional accounts suggest that only two died on the MacGregor side."

 

"A tradition grew that a group of about forty clerical students and others from the town of Dumbarton, who had assembled to watch the battle, were slaughtered by the MacGregors during the rout of the Colquhouns. It is noted by historians that this alleged slaughter was not part of the indictment against the chief of the MacGregors."

 

"Though the event seems to have been entwined in lore of the surrounding area and also part of MacGregor lore. The location of the deed is marked by "Leac a' Mhinisteir" (Scottish Gaelic), Minister or Clerk's Flag-stone."

 

"According to MacGregor tradition, the man who committed the deed was Dugald Ciar Mhor, (Dugald the great, mouse colored), a foster brother of the chief, who was renowned for his great size and strength. It was amidst the battle that the chief entrusted the youths to Dugald's protection, with directions to keep them fleeing. For reasons unknown, possibly for fear of their escape or of some injustice to him or his clan, Dugald slaughtered the defenseless students after locking them in a barn. When the chief, Alasdair, asked where the students were, Dugald drew his bloody dirk saying in gaelic "Ask that, and God save me!"

 

"Legends also recount that for some 150 years after the Battle, the murder of the student scholars was commemorated annually by a special procession at Dumbarton Academy. One boy, the leader of the school, wrapped in a shroud, would be carried shoulder-high on a casket stand to the nearby graveyard, where a mock burial would take place."

 

"only two days before leaving to take possession of the English throne, An angry King James VI gave his order to ‘extirpate (root out and destroy) Clan Gregor and to ruit oot their posteritie and name’. On 3 April 1603, an Act of the Privy Council proscribed the use of the names Gregor or MacGregor, and prohibited those who had borne the names from carrying arms with the exception of a pointless knife to eat their meat. The sheltering of one of the clan was made a crime punishable by death. The execution of the Act was entrusted to commissioners who were men of power, chiefly to Campbell in the west and Murray of Atholl in the east. It was to be 150 years before the use of the name MacGregor was once again permitted to be used."

 

"While his men were hunted with dogs along the hills, the chief, Alastair MacGregor was persuaded across the border by what he thought was a friend, Argyll. He had given the chieftain his word that he would be safe in England, but once across the border, Argyll had him arrested and returned to Edinburgh to stand trial. He, along with eleven members of his clan, were tried, condemned and hanged at Edinburgh’s Mercat Cross on January 20, 1604. (Other accounts mention it was just four of his henchmen rather than eleven.) He was hanged higher than his kinsmen to distinguish his rank. Thereafter their bodies to be quartered and put on public display, and their lands and property to be forfeit. Dumbarton was allocated the heads of Alastair MacGregor and Patrick Aldoch MacGregor for display on the town’s Tolbooth (main municipal building). These were only the first of many MacGregor clansmen that were tried and put to death for their participation in the battle."

 

If you visit Edinburgh you can see the place where the Mercat Cross stood just east of Saint Giles Cathedral on High Street which is just a few blocks east of the Castle.

 

"Original spot of the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh. The current Mercat Cross is of Victorian origin, but was built close to the site occupied by the original. The Cross is first mentioned in a charter of 1365 which indicates that it stood about 45 feet from the east end of Saint Giles'. In 1617 it was moved to a position a few yards down the High Street now marked by "an octagonal arrangement of cobble stones."

​

​

The MacGregor "Cleansing"

“The severity of the laws under which the MacGregors were at this time suffering, is unparalleled,” wrote R.R McIan in The Clans of the Scottish Highlands.

​

A royal warrant was signed by James VI on February 24, 1603, accusing the MacGregors of attacking members of Clan Colquhoun at Glen Fruin “without pitie or compassion” or regard for young or old.

​

Their deeds were “barbarous and horrible” with this “wicked and unhappy” race to be “exterminat and ruttit out”.

​

Less than two months later, around April 3, James VI ruled the name MacGregor should be “altogether abolished” and that all people of the clan should renounce their name and take another, under the pain of death.

​

Aliases, including Grant, Stewart and Ramsay were used. Around a year later, Alastair of Glenstrae and 11 leading clan figures were hung at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh, with the leader hoisted above his men before being drawn and quartered. The leaders were only the first of many MacGregor clansmen that were tried and put to death for their participation in the battle. Alastair of Glenstrae was accused “...of having killed about one hundred and forty of Sir Alexander’s men, most of them in cold blood, after they were made their prisoners; of having carried off eighty horses, six hundred cows, and eight hundred sheep; and of burning houses, corn-yards, etc.”

 

Those clansmen who escaped who became known as “Children of the Mist” as they retreated to the remotest spots. Warrants for their extermination were put on public sale as though they were game to be killed for sport. Their women were branded on the cheek, their homes burned, their livestock and possessions carried off, their families left destitute. It was noted that a person who killed a MacGregor was entitled to his possessions.

 

A statute was passed in 1633 dictating that no minister should baptize a MacGregor child or a clerk or notary subscribe a bond or other security to those of that name.

​

The MacGregor name was restored in 1661 by Charles II but disallowed once more in 1693 by William of Orange. However, in May 1695, Evan MacGregor, a merchant of Leith, sought a review of the ban, claiming it would cause great confusion in business affairs should he not be allowed to use his name. Parliamentary records show he was granted leave to use the surname for the remainder of his life, but was ordered to choose another for his children. His children eventually took the name of ‘Evanson’.

 

It was not till 1784 that the MacGregors were allowed to resume the use of their own name, and were restored to all the rights and privileges of British citizens.

 

Some have seen this today as an MacGregor ethnic cleansing. Thus was before Texas the lesson learned is - Don't Mess with the Colquhouns!

​

The most famous MacGregor was Rob Roy MacGregor, born in 1671. He had Jacobite sympathies, and plundered and robbed at will. His story is romanticised in Sir Walter Scott’s novel Rob Roy, which turned him into a folk hero. Rob Roy MacGregor died in 1734 and is buried in Balquhidder churchyard in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

 

Post script and Memorial Marker: 

Early on...
About 1810, on an invitation from Sir James and Lady Colquhoun, Sir John Murray Macgregor and Lady Macgregor came to visit Rossdhu. The two baronets took a visit to Glen Fruin. They were accompanied by Lady Colquhoun and Misses Helen and Catherine Colquhoun. After the battlefield had been carefully inspected by the descendants of the combatants, Sir J.M. Macgregor insisted on shaking hands with Sir James Colquhoun and the whole party. They also ascended Ben Lomond, which dominates so grandly over Loch Lomond. “On the summit of this lofty mountain, Sir John M. Macgregor danced a Highland reel with Miss Catherine Colquhoun."

The Cairn or Memorial Marker...
Most interested in the Colquhoun Clan have either seen in person or a photo of the memorial of the Battle of Glen Fruin. What many may not know is how the marker came to be placed at Strone Hill. It might surprise some when the learn it was erected by two English soldiers in 1968. A Colonel Foster detailed the events that lead to Lieutenant John Duquemin, from Guernsey, to erect the commemorative monument:
“The lieutenant’s problem was a shortage of tradesmen, almost all of whom were at work in the highlands and islands. He called on Lance Corporal Brian Jolliffe, of Nelson, Lancashire, who was acting as post non-commissioned officer at headquarters, and Lance Corporal Roger Beasley, Royal Signals, of Ockley, Surrey. Lance Corporal Beasley, a radio technician attached to 38 Engineer Regiment, was operating the telephone exchange, and was ‘bored to tears’. The trio went up on the moor with a tractor, shovels and sledgehammers, and set to work to build the cairn." (The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn. Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes, from prehistoric times to the present. In modern times, cairns are often erected as landmarks, a use they have had since ancient times.)

"On top of a huge boulder brought there by glacial action, they placed a smooth-faced granite boulder from the bed of the River Fruin. The local stonemason is to carve an appropriate inscription on it."

"In fairness to the raiding clan — the McGregors —James Kirkpatrick, a timber merchant, decided that the cairn must include stones from their territory. He travelled the 70 miles to Balquhidder, Perthshire, gathered them himself, and brought them back to be cemented in place. It was a particularly generous and forgiving gesture by him, since Kirkpatrick is descended from the Colquhouns, who were the ones attacked."

"This romantic, colorful and moving ceremony, at the feet of Strone Hill, Auchenvennel Ben, and Chaorach (Sheep Hill), will, of course, be attended by the three young neutrals who have made it possible — Lieutenant Duquemin, Lance Corporal Jolliffe, and Lance Corporal Beasley.” In fact, they were not there. Roger said: “I would have like to have attended the ceremony but service life in those days didn’t lend itself to that sort of commitment.”

The Restoration...
In 1997, the monument was restored by Helensburgh Heritage Trust all with the help of the Friends of Loch Lomond and Clan Gregor. An impressive unveiling ceremony took place that October with representatives of the McGregors and the Colquhouns and others, many in Highland dress — including the Honorary President of the Trust.

The cairn was covered by a battered and faded flag of Scotland which consists of a white saltire defacing a blue field. When the flag was removed and, to the accompaniment of a lone bag piper, the senior representatives of the McGregors and the Colquhouns shook hands as a symbol of the end of the feud (again).

The Latest Improvements...
More recently, in June of 2018, some welcome improvements were made around the cairn. Representatives of the Colquhoun and MacGregor clans met again at the site, this time to mark the installation of a new path, seat and information board and a general clearing of undergrowth.

In his remarks, Sir Malcolm Colquhoun expressed appreciation of the works carried out and spoke of acquiring a symbolic hatchet to be buried with the MacGregors, 415 years after the battle. (Future archeologists might find a ton of buried symbolic hatchets in the area – this was at least the third time)

 

Burial Place

​

When the “Traditional” burial place (see below) was proved to be wrong there are many that look to this Burial Ground as the place of rest for those that Died at the Battle of Glen Fruin. Others believe this to be the burial place of illegitimate children born at a “time of intolerance.” It has been pointed out that it may be  more probable that family members of the clan that perished probably took them back to their family plots or farms for burial.

 

Glen Fruin Battle site just south of the Auchengaich Farm

​

"Traditional (for three centuries) Burial Mound – on mound near Fruin Water on the Auchengaich Farm. In the 1960s excavation was done and it was actually found to be a burial mound from the Bronze Age - 2500-800 BC. "

 

Admiralty Research Laboratory Military Installation, Training Camp and Scientific Research (20th Century) This is located just before the Glen Fruin Marker if driving up the glen.

 

Strone House overlooking the Battle of Glen Fruin

​

This fascinating house, an authentic 16th-century detached farmhouse, sits in an idyllic position at the head of Glen Fruin, in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. The inner walls of the home dates to the 16th Century and so it is possible that some form of this farmhouse was probably here during the battle. It is currently rented out to the public.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​