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The Golden Falcon |
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Chapter XV/4 - Cockade |
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In the summer of 1745 Charles stayed with his uncle the Duc de Bouillon (married to Clementina's sister) in Navarre but could get no access to the French court. He sailed from Belle Isle on 12.7.1745 with the "Seven Men of Moidart": William Murray, 2nd duke of Atholl, Sir Thomas Sheriden, Francis Strickland, Aeneas Macdonald, Sir John Macdonnel, Rev. George Kelly and John William O'Sullivan, landing at Lochnan Uamh between Moidart and Arisaig on 25.7.1745. He raised his standard at Glenfinan near Loch Shiel on 19.8.1745. His army consisted of Lochiel's Camerons, the MacDonalds of Clanranald & Keppoch and many other Scottish clans who marched on Edinburgh where he was proclaimed king. He defeated the English at Prestonpans and marched to London, Carlisle surrendering on 14.11.1745, then through Lancaster to Preston and Manchester (where the crowds wearing the white cockade eagerly welcomed him) and occupied Derby on 4.12.1745. At the peak of his success he was prevented from taking London by his council including Lord George Murray (fifth son of the duke of Atholl) whom Charles always blamed for the failure of the '45. The Jacobites retreated from Derby, taking a route through Kelso, Jedburgh, Liddlesdale in Northumberland and Carlisle in Cumberland. On 16.4.1746 the Jacobites were defeated and massacred at Culloden by George II's second son, William Augustus of Hanover, the "Butcher" duke of Cumberland. 3,470 Jacobites were taken prisoner and sent to jails in England and Scotland and on transport ships at Inverness and Tilbury. Some had been captured for the most trifling reasons - for drinking the Pretender's health, for having wished the rebels success and one case for having sung a treasonable song. Only 120 were executed, 38 of them were deserters from the Hanoverian army and 4 were Scottish peers who were beheaded, 120 were hanged at Kennington Common, Tyburn, Tower Hill, York, Carlisle, Bampton and Penrith in Cumberland including the 38 deserters, 2 spies, 24 officers and men from the Manchester regiment, 40 soldiers from the clans and 12 unclassified. Their heads were displayed on the gates of the cities where they were executed and some of their skulls remained there for 30 years. 684 prisoners were unaccounted for, 88 died in prison from wounds, fever, starvation and neglect, 58 escaped, 76 were conditionally pardoned, 1,287 were released or exchanged. Others were killed in the glens or died of hunger and exposure in the harsh winter of 1746-7. While the Highlander begged for guts and hides of slaughtered cattle to cut into pieces and boil for food, the soldiers shot them for bets and just for fun. 936 were transported to the colonies and 222 were banished. After
Cumberland left the Highlands, he was replaced as Commander-in-in-Chief of
the King's Army in Scotland by the 44-year-old William Anne Keppel, 2nd
earl of Albemarle, son of William III's Page of Honour Arnold Joost van
Keppel and Geertruid Johanna Quirina van der Duyn.
Albermarle believed of the Highlanders that "Nothing
but fire and sword can cure their cursed, vicious ways of thinking,
therefore, for God Almighty's sake, don't spare those whom you have in
your power." His task was to pacify Scotland, flushing out all the remaining Jacobites from the countryside and small detachments of soldiers were sent to hunt the rebels in the heather. His son George Keppel, Viscount Bury, a friend of Horace Walpole, was nearly hit by the Jacobite cannon and escaped assassination by a captive clansman. Charles became a fugitive in the heather with a price of £30,000 on his head. After managing to cross over to Skye in the Hebrides he escaped to France, landing on 1.10.1746 at Roscoff in Brittany. At the height of romantic Jacobitism in the late 1800s Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a still very popular song, "Over the Sea to Skye" or the "Skye Boat Song" to commemorate the event. "Mull
was a-stern, Rum on the Port, Eigg on the starboard bow Glory
of youth glowed in his soul, Where is the glory now? Give
me again, all that was there, give me the sun that shone Give
me the eyes. give me the soul, give me the lad that's gone. Billow
and breeze, in lands and seas, mountains of rain and sun, All
that was good, all that was fair, all that was me is gone. Chorus:
Sing me a son of a lad that is gone, say, could that lad be I? Merry
of soul he sailed on a day, Over the seas to Skye". James
Boswell (son of Alexander Boswell, Lord Auchinleck) and Dr. Samuel
Johnson's friend wrote in his "Journey
to the Hebrides": "Sunday
12th September 1773:
We were resolved to pay a visit at Kingsburgh and see the
celebrated Miss Flora Macdonald, who is married to the present Mr
Macdonald of Kingsburgh." Skie,
September 14th 1773:
"Kingsburgh had his tartan plaid thrown about him, a large
blue bonnet with a knot of black ribband like a cockade, a brown short
coat of a kind of duffel, a tartan waistcoat with gold buttons and gold
buttons-holes, a bluish philibeg and tartan hose.
He had jet black hair tied behind and was a large staetly man with
a steady sensible countenance. The
celebrated Miss Flora Macdonald was a little woman of a genteel appearance
and uncommonly mild and well-bred. Monday
13th September
- The room where we lay was a celebrated one.
Dr. Johnson's bed was the very bed in which the grandson of the
unfortunate King James II lay, on one of the nights after the failure of
his rash attempt in 1745-6 while he was eluding the pursuit of the
emissaries of government which had offered £30,000 as a reward for
apprehending him. Dr
Johnson spoke of Prince Charles being here and asked Mrs Macdonald
"Who was with him?
We were told., madam, in England, there was one Miss Flora
Macdonald with him." She
said "They
were very right" and
perceiving Dr. Johnson's curiosity, though he had delicacy enough not to
question her, very obliging entertained him with a recital of the
particulars which she knew of that escape.
From what she told me and from what I was told by others personally
concerned and from a paper of information which Raasay was so good to send
me, at my desire, I have compiled the following abstract. Prince
Charles Edward after the battle of Culloden, was conveyed to Long Island
where he lay for some time concealed.
But intelligence having been obtained where he was, a number of
troops having come in quest of him, it became absolutely necessary for him
to quit that country without delay. Miss Flora Macdonald, then a young lady, animated by what she
thought the sacred principal of loyalty, offered, with the magnanimity of
a heroine, to accompany
him in an open boat to Skye though the coast they were to quit was guarded
by ships. He
dressed himself in women's clothes and passed as her supposed maid, by the
name of Betty Bourke, an Irish girl.
They got off undiscovered, through several shots were fired to
bring them to and landed at Mugstot, the seat of Sir Alexander Macdonald.
Sir Alexander was then at Fort Augustus, with the Duke of
Cumberland, but his lady was at home.
Prince Charles took his post upon a hill near the house, Flora
Macdonald waited on Lady Margaret and acquainted her of the enterprise in
which she was engaged. Her ladyship showed a perfect presence of mind and readiness
of invention and at once settled that Prince Charles should be conducted
to old Raasay, who was himself concealed with some select friends.
The plan was instantly communicated to Kingsburgh who was
despatched to the hill to inform the Wanderer and carry him refreshments.
When Kingsburgh approached, he started up and advanced,
holding
a large knotted stick and in appearance ready to knock him down, till he
said "I am Macdonald of
Kingsburgh, come to serve your highness".
The
Wanderer answered "It
is well" and
was satisfied with the plan. Flora
MacDonald dined with Lady Margaret. at whose table there sat an officer of
the army, stationed here with a party of soldiers, to watch for Prince
Charles in case of his flying to the Isle of Sky.
She afterwards often laughed in good humour with this gentleman, on
her having so well deceived him. After
dinner Flora Macdonald on horseback and her supposed maid and Kingsburgh
with a servant carrying some linen, all on foot, proceeded towards that
gentleman's house. Upon the
road was a small rivulet which they were obliged to cross.
The Wanderer, forgetting his assumed sex, that his clothes might
not be wet, held them up a great deal too high.
Kingsburgh mentioned this to him, observing, it might make a
discovery. He said he would
be more careful for the future. He
was as good as his word; for the next brook they crossed, he did not hold
up his clothes at all, but let them float upon the water.
He was very awkward in his female dress.
His size was so large and his strides so great, that some women
whom they met reported that they had seen a very big woman, who looked
like a man in women's clothes and that perhaps it was the Prince, after
whom so much search was making. At
Kingsburgh he met with a most cordial reception; seemed gay at supper and
after it indulged himself in a cheerful glass with his worthy host.
As he had not had his clothes off for some time, the comfort of a
good bed was highly relished by him and he slept soundly till next day at
one o'clock. The
mistress of Corriatachin in the forenoon went into her father's room, who
was also in bed, and suggested to him her apprehension that a party of the
military might come up and that his guest and he had better not remain
here too long. Her father
said "Let
the poor man repose himself after his fatigues; and as for me, I care not,
though they take off this old grey head ten or eleven years sooner than I
should die in the course of nature."
He
then wrapped himself in the bed-clothes and again fell fast asleep. On
the afternoon of that day, the Wanderer, still in the same dress, set out
for Portree, with Flora MacDonald and a man servant.
His shoes being very bad, Kingsburgh provided him with a new pair,
and taking up the old ones, said
"I will faithfully keep
them till you are safely settled in St. James's.
I will then introduce myself by shaking them at you, to put you in
mind of your night's entertainment and protection under my roof"
He smiled and said "Be
as good as your word!"
Kingsburgh
kept the shoes as long as he lived. After
his death, a zealous Jacobite gentleman gave twenty guineas for them. Old
Mrs MacDonald after her guest had left the house, took the sheets in which
he had lain, folded them carefully, and charged her daughter that they
should be kept unwashed, and that, when she died, her body should be
wrapped in them as a winding sheet. Her
will was religiously observed. Upon
the road to Portree, Prince Charles changed his dress and put on man's
clothes against, a tartan short coat and waistcoat, with philibeg and
short hose, a plaid and a wig and bonnet. Mr
Donald M'Donald, called Donald Roy, had been sent express to the present
Raasay, then the young laird, who was at the time at his sister's house,
about three miles from Portree, attending his brother, Dr. M'Leod who was
recovering of a wound he had received at the battle of Culloden.
Mr M'Donald communicated to young Raasay the plan of conveying the
Wanderer to where old Raasay was; but was told that old Raasay had fled to
Knoidart, a part of Glengarry's estate.
There was then a dilemma what should be done.
Donald Roy proposed that he should conduct the Wanderer to the main
land; but young Raasay though it too dangerous at that time and said it
would be better to conceal him in the island of Raasay, till old Raasay
could be informed where he was and give his advice what was best.
But the difficulty was how to get him to Raasay.
They could not trust a Portree crew and all the Raasay boats had
been destroyed or carried off by the military, except two belonging to
Malcolm M'Leod, which he had concealed somewhere. Dr
Macleod being informed of this difficulty, said he would risk his life
once more for Prince Charles and it having occurred, that there was a
little boat upon a fresh water lake in the neighbourhood, young Raasay and
Dr Macleod, with the help of some women, brought it to the sea, by
extraordinary exertion, across a Highland mile of land, one half of which
was bog, and the other a steep precipice. These
gallant brothers, with the assistance of one little boy, rowed the small
boat to Raasay, where they were to endeavour to find Captain M'Leod, as
Malcolm was then called, and get one of his good boats, with which they
might return to Portree, and receive the Wanderer; or, in case of not
finding him, they were to make the small boat serve, though the danger was
considerable. Fortunately,
on their first landing, they found their cousin Malcolm, who, with the
utmost alacrity, got ready one of his boats two strong men, John M'Kenzie
and Donald M'Friar. Malcolm,
being the older man and most cautious, said, that as young Raasay had not
hitherto appeared in the unfortunate business, he ought not to run any
risk; but that Dr. Macleod and himself, who were already publickly
engaged, should to on this expedition.
Young Raasay answered, with an oath, that he would go, at the risk
of his life and fortune.
"In
God's name then",
said
Malcolm, "let
us proceed."
The two boatmen however now stopped short, till they should be
informed of their destination and M'Kenzie declared he would not move an
oar till he know where they were going.
Upon which they were both sworn to secrecy; and the business being
imparted to them. They were eager to put off to sea without loss of time.
The boat soon landed about half a mile from the inn at Portree. All
his was negotiated before the Wanderer got foreward to Portree.
Malcolm Mcleod and M'Friar were dispatched to look for him.
In a short time he appeared and went into the publick house.
Here Donald Roy whom he had seen at Mugstot, received him and
informed him of what had been concerted.
He wanted silver for a guinea, but the landlord had only thirteen
shillings. He was going to
accept of this for his guinea; but Donald Roy very judiciously observed,
that it would discover him to be some great man, so he desisted.
He slipped out of the house, leaving his fair protectress, whom he
never again saw; and Malcolm Macleod, was presented to him by Donald Roy,
as a captain in his army. Young Raasay and Dr Macleod had waited, in impatient anxiety,
in the boat. When he came,
their names were announced
to him. He would not permit
the usual ceremonies of respect but saluted them as his equals. Donald
Roy staid in Sky, to be in readiness to get intelligence and give an
alarm, in case the troops should discover the retreat to Raasay; and
Prince Charles was then conveyed in a boat to that island in the night.
He slept a little upon the passage and they landed about daybreak.
There was some difficulty in accommodating him with a lodging, as
almost all the houses in the island had been burnt by the soldiery.
They repaired to a little hut, which some shepherds had lately
built and having prepared it as well as they could, and made a bed of
heath for the stranger, they kindled a fire and partook of some provisions
which had been sent with him from Kingsburgh.
It was observed that he would not taste wheat bread or brandy while
oat bread and whisky lasted
"For
these" said
he "are my own country bread
and drink".
This was very engaging to the Highlanders. Young
Raasay being the only person of the company that durst appear with safety,
he went in quest of something fresh for them to eat, but though he was
amidst his own cows, sheep and goats, he could not venture to take any of
them for fear of a discovery but was obliged to supply himself by stealth.
He therefore caught a kid and brought it to the hut in his plaid
and it was killed and dressed and furnished them a meal which they
relished much. The distressed
Wanderer, whose health was now a good deal impaired by hunger, fatigue and
watching, slept a long time, but seemed to be frequently disturbed.
He would start from broken slumbers and speak to himself in
different languages, French, Italian and English., one of his expressions
in English was "O
God, poor Scotland!". While they were in the hut, M'Kenzie and M'Friar, the two boatman, were placed as sentinels upon different eminences. There was a man wandering about the island, selling tobacco. Nobody knew him and he was suspected to be a spy. M'Kenzie came running to the hut and told that this suspected person was approaching. Upon which the three gentleman, young Raasay, Dr Macleod and Malcolm held a council of war upon him and were unanimously of opinion that he should instantly be put to death. Prince Charles at once assuming a grave and even severe countenance said "God forbid that we should take away a man's life who may be innocent, while we can preserve our own". The gentleman however persisted in their resolution, while he as strenuously continued to take the merciful side. John M'Kenzie, who sat watching at the door of the hut and overheard the debate, said in Erse "Well, well, he must be shot, you are the king but we are Parliament and will do what we choose." Prince Charles seeing the gentlemen smile, asked what the man had said and being told it in English, he observed that he was a clever fellow and notwithstanding the perilous situation in which he was, laughed loud and heartily. Luckily the unknown person did not perceive that there were people in the hut, at least did not come to it, but walked on past it, unknown of his risk., It was afterwards found out that he was one of the Highland army, who was himself in danger. Had he come to them, they were resolved to dispatch him; for, as Malcolm said "We could not keep him with us and we durst not let him go. In such a situation, I would have shot my brother if I had not been sure of him." The
conversation then turning on the times., the Wanderer said, that, to be
sure, the life he had led of late was a very hard one, but he would rather
live in the way he now did for ten years, than fall into the hands of his
enemies. The gentlemen asked
him, what he thought his enemies would do with him should he have the
misfortune to fall into their hands.
He said he did not believe they would dare to take his life
publickly, but he dreaded being privately destroyed by poison or
assassination. He
was very particular in his inquiries about the wound which Dr. Macleod had
received at the battle of Culloden, from a ball which entered at one
shoulder and went cross to the other. The doctor happened still have on the coat which he wore on
that occasion. He mentioned
that he himself had his horse shot under him a Culloden; that the ball hit
the horse about two inches from his knee and made him so unruly that he
was obliged to change him for another. He told his conductors, he did not think it advisable to remain long in any one place and that he expected a French ship to come for him to Lochbroom amongst the Mackenzies. It was then proposed to carry him in one of Malcolm's boats to Lochbroom, though the distance was fifteen leagues coastwise. But he thought this would be too dangerous and desired that at any rate, they might first endeavour to obtain intelligence. Upon which young Raasay wrote to his friend, Mr M'Kenzie of Applecross but received an answer that there was no appearance of any French ship. It
was therefore resolved that they should return to Sky, which they did, and
landed in Strath, where they reposed in a cow-house belonging to Mr
Niccolson of Scotbreck. The
sea was very rough and the boat took in a good deal of water.
The Wanderer asked if there was danger, as he was not used to such
a vessel. Upon being told
there was not, he sung an Erse song with much vivacity.
He had by this time acquired a good deal of the Erse language. Young
Raasay was now dispatched to where Donald Roy was, that they might get all
the intelligence they could; and the Wanderer, with much earnestness,
charged Dr. Macleod to have a boat ready at a certain place about seven
miles off as he said he intended it should carry him upon a matter of
great consequence; and gave the doctor a case, containing a silver spoon,
knife and fork, saying "Keep you that till I see
you"
which
the doctor understood to be two days from that time.
But all these orders were only blinds for he had another plan in
his head, but wisely thought it safest to trust his secrets to no more
persons than was absolutely necessary.
Having then desired Malcolm to walk with him a little way from the
house, he soon opened his mind saying "I
deliver myself to you. Conduct
me to the Laird of M'Kinnon's country".
Malcolm
objected that it was very dangerous as so many parties of soldier were in
motion. He answered
"There
is nothing now to be done without danger."
He then said, that Malcolm must be the master and he the servant;
so he took the bag in which his linen was put up and carried on his
shoulder; and observing that his waistcoat, which was of scarlet tartan,
with a gold twist button, was finer than Malcolm's, which was of a plain
ordinary tartan, he put on Malcolm's waistcoat and gave him his; remarking
at the same time, that it did not look well that the servant should be
better dressed than the master. Malcolm,
though an excellent walker, found himself excelled by Prince Charles, who
told him, he should not much mind that parties that were looking for him,
were he once but a musquet shot form them; but that he was somewhat afraid
of the Highlanders who were against him.
He was well used to walking in Italy, in pursuit of game; and he
was even now so keen a sportsmen, that, having observed some partridges,
he was going to take a shot; but Malcolm cautioned him against it,
observing that the firing might be heard by the tenders who were hovering
upon the coast. As
they proceeded through the mountains, taking many a circuit to avoid any
houses. Malcolm, to try his resolution asked him what they should do
should they fall in with a party of soldiers; he answered
"Fight
to be sure."
Having
asked Malcolm if he should be known in his present dress and Malcolm
having replied he would, he said
"Than I'll blacken my face
with powder" "That"
said
Malcolm
"would discover you at once!"
"Then"
said
he "I must be put in the
greatest dishabille possible".
So he pulled off his wig, tied a handkerchief round his head and
put his nightcap over it, tore the ruffles from his shirt, took the
buckles out of his shoes and made Malcolm fasten them with strings; but
sitll Malcolm thought he would be known. "I
have so odd a face"
said
he "that
no man ever saw me but he would know me again." He
seemed unwilling to give credit to the horrid narrative of men being
massacred in cold blood after victory had declared for the army commanded
by the Duke of Cumberland. He
could not allow himself to think that at a general could be so barbarous. When
they came within two miles of M'Kinnon's house, Malcolm asked if he chose
to see the laird. "No,"
said
he "by no means.
I know M'Kinnon to be as good and so honest a man as any in the
world, but he is not fit for my purpose at present.
You must conduct me to some other house; but let it be a
gentleman's house."
Malcolm then determined that they should go to the house of his
brother-in-law, Mr John M'Kinnon, and from thence be conveyed to the main
land of Scotland and claim the assistance of MacDonald of Scothouse.
The Wanderer at first objected to this, because Scothouse was
cousin to a person of whom he had suspicion.
But he acquiesced in Malcolm's opinion. When
they were near Mr John M'Kinnon's house, they met a man of the name of
Ross who had been a private soldier in the Highland army.
He fixed his eyes steadily on the Wanderer in his disguise, and
having at once recognised him, he clapped his hands and exclaimed,
"Alas!
is this the case?"
Finding
that there was now a discovery, Malcolm asked
"What's
to be
done?" "Swear
him to secrecy" answered
Prince Charles, Upon which Malcolm drew his dirk and on the naked blade,
made him take a solemn oath that he would say nothing of his having seen
the Wanderer, till his escape should be made publick. Malcolm's
sister whose house they reached pretty early in the morning, asked him who
the person was that was along with him.
He said it was one Lewis Caw from Crieff, who being a fugitive like
himself, for the same reason, he had engaged him as his servant, but that
he had fallen sick.
"Poor
man" said she, "I pity him.
At the same time my heart warms to a man of his appearance."
Her husband was gone a little way from home; but was expected every
minute to return. She set
down to her brother a plentiful Highland breakfast.
Prince Charles acted the servant very well, sitting at a respectful
distance with his bonnet off. Malcolm
then said to him "Mr
Caw, you have as much need of this as I have, there is enough for us both;
you had better draw nearer and share with me."
Upon this there came in an old woman, who, after the mode of
ancient hospitality, brought warm water and washed Malcolm's feet.
He desired her to wash the feet of the poor man who attended him.
She at first seemed averse to this, from pride, as thinking him
beneath her and in the periphrastick language of the Highlanders and the
Irish said warmly "Though
I wash your father's son's feet, why should I wash his father's son's
feet?" She
was however persuaded to do it. They
then went to bed and slept for some time; and when Malcolm awaked, he was
told that Mr John M'Kinnon his brother-in-law, was in sight.
He sprang out to talk to him before he should see Prince Charles.
After saluting him, Malcolm, pointing to the sea said
"What,
John, if the prince should be a prisoner on board one of those
tenders?" "God
forbid!" replied
John;. "What if we had him here?" said
Malcolm. "I wish we had" answered
John "we
should take care of him." "Well,
John" said
Malcolm "he
is in your house."
John in a transport of joy would to run directly in and pay his
obeisance, but Malcolm stopped him, saying "Now is your time to
behave well and do nothing that can discover him".
John composed himself and having sent away all his servants upon
different errands, he was introduced into the presence of his guest and
was then desired to go and get ready a boat lying near his house, which,
though but a small leaky one, they resolved to take, rather than go to the
Laird of M'Kinnon. John
M'Kinnon, however, thought otherwise; and upon his return, told them that
his Chief and lady M'Kinnon were coming in the laird's boat.
Prince Charles said to his trusty Maldcolm "I am sorry for this, but
must make the best of it."
M'Kinnon
then walked up from the shore and did homage to the Wanderer.
His lady waited in a cave to which they all repaired and were
entertained with cold meat and wine. Mr
Malcolm MacLeod being now superseded by the Laird of M'Kinnon, desired
leave to return, which was granted him, and Prince Charles wrote a short
note which he subscribed James Thompson, informing his friends that he had
got away from Sky, and thanking them for their kindness; and he desired
this might be speedily conveyed to young Raasay and Dr Mcleod, that
they might not wait longer in expectation of seeing him again.
He made a cordial adieu to Malcolm and insisted on his accepting of
a silver stock buckle and ten guineas from his purse, though it did not
appear to contain above forty. Malcolm
at first begged to be excused, saying that he had a few guineas at his
service, but Prince Charles answered
"You
will have need of money. I
shall get enough when I come upon the mainland." The
Laird of M'Kinnon then conveyed him to the opposite coast of Knoidart.
Old Raasay, to whom intelligence had been sent, was crossing at the
same time to Sky but as they did not know of each other, and each had
apprehensions, the two boats kept aloof. He
was often in imminent danger. The troops traced him from the Long Island, across Sky to
Portree but there lost him. The gallant Malcolm was apprehended in about ten days after they separated, put on aboard a ship and carried prisoner to London. He had the good fortune not to be thrown into jail, but was confined to the house of a messenger, of the name of Dick. To his astonishment, only one witness could be found against him, though he had so openly engaged; and therefore, for want of sufficient evidence, he was set at liberty. Miss Flora MacDonald, being then also in London, under the protection of Lady Primrose, that lady provided a postchaise to convey her to Scotland and desired she might choose any friend she pleased to accompany her. She chose Malcolm." Charles did not go back to Rome but stayed on at the French Court but by the provisions of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle which ended the War of the Austrian Succession, France was forced to recognise Hanoverian right to the throne and to banish Charles. He was ordered to leave but refused to go, was arrested, kept a prisoner at Vincennes, then taken to the borders of Savoy under escort and then to Avignon from where he was asked to leave so on 28.2.1749 Charles and Henry Goring began their wanderings incognito in Europe about which nothing is known. He secretly visited London in October 1750 arriving unexpectedly at Lady Primrose's House at Essex Street, saying he had started negotiations for an arms deal in Antwerp, had 26,000 muskets and planned to capture the Tower. Charles Noel Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort (1709-1756) leader of the Jacobites in 1749, publicly supported the rebellion and in 1750 was present at a supper-party at Pall Mall when the Charles paid a 6-day visit to London. He maintained he had changed his religion at a church in the Strand but there is no record of his conversion at St. Martins, Mary le-Strand or St. Clement Danes. James
Boswell wrote in his "Tour of
the Hebrides":
"Mr
Macleod of Muiravenside, whom we saw at Raasay, assured us that Prince
Charles was in London in 1759 and that there was then a plan in agitation
for restoring his family. Dr.
Johnson could scarcely credit this story and said "There
could be no probable plan at that time.
Such an attempt could not have succeeded unless the King of Prussia
had stopped the army in Germany; for both the army and the fleet, would
even without orders, have fought for the King to whom they had engaged
themselves." The result of his visit was the abortive Elibank Plot of 1749-52 by Alexander Murray, brother of Lord Elibank, who planned to capture St. James Palace and kidnap or assassinate the royal family while Archibald Cameron and others would stir up the Highlands. Cameron arrested and executed 1752. Charles lived with his mistress the 33-year-old Clementina Walkinshaw, whom he met in 1752. She was the youngest of the 10 daughters of John Walkinshaw of Camlachie and Barrowfield, Lanark by his third wife Katherine, daughter of Sir Hugh Paterson of Bannockburn. John Walkinshaw, knighted in 1717 by James III, was the Jacobite agent at Vienna, appointed envoy to the court of Vienna on 6.11.1716 and again in January 1717 and helped Charles Wogan in the preliminary arrangements to rescue Clementina Sobieska from Innsbruck. The Walkinshaws, who also had a house called Shawfield in Glasgow, were a traditionally Jacobite family, openly wearing the white cockade. Clementina Walkinshaw was born in Rome and christened there, being named after her godmother, the Queen. Charles may have met her in Glasgow or Bannockburn where they were guests in her uncle Sir Hugh Paterson's house. He asked her to come and join him in 1753 and they probably lived at Ghent. Charles's boon companion Henry Goring objected to her as her sister was lady-in-waiting to the Hanoverian Princess of Wales. They did not get on well and were involved in drunken brawls in taverns. Her sister Katherine was at Hanoverian court and Charles's boon companion, Henry Goring, disapproved of Clementina as a result. In October 1753 she gave birth to a daughter Charlotte and left Charles on 22.7.1760, taking refuge in a convent in Paris. On 9.3.1767 Clementina signed a document to say she and Charles had never married. She died at Fribourg, Switzerland in November 1809. According to a MSS of Sir John Coxe Hippesley (in possession of his descendant Mr Horner of Mells Park): "I
visited the Countess Alberstroff (she had been created a Countess of the
Empire by the Emperor Francis) at Paris in a convent, accompanied by Mr
Andrew Stewart, a few days after the demolition of the Bastille, 1789.
She then produced many
letters of Prince Charles, evidently denoting their connections as man and
wife. She died in
Switzerland. Lady Hippesley's
mother, Lady Stewart of Allanbank, was cousin-german of the Countess
Alberstroff. The late Emperor
offered to create the daughter (the late Duchess of Albany) a Countess of
the Empire as he had previously conferred that rank on her mother but her
father declined accepting this boon, himself designating her Duchess of
Albany." [All that is needed to marry in Scotland is a mutual declaration by the contracting parties before witnesses. No licences, banns nor priest are necessary - hence Gretna Green marriages or handfasting celebrated over the blacksmith’s anvil] Charlotte Stuart, illegitimate daughter of Charles III by Clementina, Countess of Alberstroff, was born and baptised in Liege in the parish church of La Bienheureuse Vierge Marie des Fonts (Our Lady of the Fountains) on 29.10.1753 and educated at the Abbey of Notre Dame de Meaux in Brie. She was created Duchess of Albany by her father on or before 23/24.3.1783 and legitimated on 30.3.1783 by a deed recorded in the Parliament of Paris on 6.9.1787. She joined her father in Florence in October 1784 and on St. Andrew's Day was invested with the Green Ribbon of the Knight of the Thistle . She remained with him for the rest of her life and died unmarried at Bologna on 14.11.1789 after falling from her horse - she had been had been suffering from a liver complaint. Robert Burns wrote a poem to Charlotte in 1878 which began: "This
lovely maid's of noble blood That
ruled Albion's kingdoms three, But
oh! alas! for her bonnie face They
wranged the lass of Albanie!" George
II died 25.10.1760 and was succeeded by his grandson George III.
James III died on 1.1.1766 and was. buried at St. Peter's, Rome. Charles returned to Rome on 23.1.1766. Colonel Edmund Ryan, an Irish colonel in the French service was sent as Charles's agent in the marriage negotiations for the hand of Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern, descended from the families of Bruce of Scotland, Montgomery and Crequis of France, Orsini and Gonzagas of Italy and Medinas of Spain. They married on 17.4.1772 at Macerata, but had no children although there was a persistent rumour that they had a son in 1775 in Leghorn (Livorno) or Siena. Napoleon asked Henry, Cardinal York about this child but he denied it. However the attempts at assassination by the English could have driven the last Stuarts to conceal the birth of a child. Clementina was in a convent for 2 years and so was Louise. Louise left Charles for an Italian poet and dramatist, Count Vittorio Alfieri, aged 27 whom she met in 1777 in the Palazzo Guadigni (later called the San Clemente) which Charles had bought (it has a weather vane erected by him with the initials CR and the year 1777). Louise took another lover after Alfieri, an Irishman Gehegan. She appealed to Pope and Henry, Cardinal York who believed her - she went to Rome with her two lovers as coachman. Alfieri had an affairs with a married woman in Holland, wife of Lieutenant General Sir John Ligonier (later Lord Ligonier who fought on the Hanoverian side after Prestonpans) resulting in divorce and a duel. The Ligoniers came from Brabant and some served in the Royal Army. François Ligonier commanded the Hanoverian dragoons at the Battle of Falkirk (1745-6) which was a Jacobite victory although not recognised as one at the time. He died of a quinsy after getting soaked during the battle. Ligonier was another form of the surname Lethieullier, Letholeer, Ligoneer, Lefevre and Lefeever etc. The Lethiuellier family, lords of the manor of Barking who came from Brabant, Belgium in the 17th century, built their chapel at East Ham - Sir John (1630) and his father Christopher Lethieullier were sheriffs of London. In 1750 a member of their family sold Swakeleys House, Ickenham, Middlesex, formerly the property of Sir Robert Viner to whom it was sold in 1665 and who alienated it to the Lethiuelliers. Benjamin Lethieullier sold Acton Lodge to John Strange Winter in 1795. Alfieri was forced to leave London after this affair and returned to Turin in 1772 when he had an affair with the Marchese Turinette di Prie. He then went to Florence where he met Louise. Alfieri is buried in the Church of Santa Croce in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. After his failure to regain the British throne Charles became an embarrassment to the French king and was sent to Avignon until he was banished. In 1774 he moved to Florence which, with Arezzo, Grosetto, Leghorn (Livorno), Massa-Carrara, Pisa and Siena formed Tuscany which had been ruled (except for the Lucca, Pisa and Sienna) by the Medicis, the last of whom died in 1737. Under a treaty of 1735, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany became part of the Austrian Empire under Francis of Lorraine (afterwards Francis I of Austria) whose court was a hotbed of Freemasonry (introduced into Europe by the Stuarts). Tuscany remained in Austrian hands until 1799 when the French expelled the Lorrainers. On the Bourbon restoration in 1814, it was returned to Austria until 1858. Charles
then went to Rome to the Palazzo Muti (previously the Palazzo Savorelli)
in the Piazza Sanctissimi Apostoli, the last Jacobite Court where there is
an inscription Italian "Abito
questo palazzo Enrico Duca poi Cardinale di York che figlio superstitie di
Giacomo III d'Inghilterra prese il nome d'Enrico IX in lui nell' anno
MDCCCVIII s'estinse la dinastia de Stuardi."
("There
lived in this building Henry, Duke later Cardinal of York, surviving son
of James III of England who took the name of Henry IX.
In him in the year 1807 the Stuart dynasty became extinct").
Charles had dropsy, shortness of breath and a running sore
on his leg and died a reputed alcoholic, officially on 30.1.1788, but
tradition has it on the 31st, the anniversary of his great grandfather's
execution. Another ballad also called the White Cockade ("An Suaithness Ban") was written by William Rose on the death of Charles Edward in1788. Bonnie Prince Charlie's younger brother Henry decided to become a cardinal, received the tonsure on 30.6.1748 and was ordained on 1.9.1748 for which Charles never forgave him. He was created Cardinal York on 3.7.1747, Bishop of Frascati on 13.7.1761, Cardinal Bishop and finally Camerlengo (organiser of the Conclave which elects the Pope). He lived in Frascati till the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1792. Frascati, about 15 miles from Rome and approximately 985 ft above sea, is situated on the slopes of the Alban mountains overlooking the Campagna. In the main piazza of the town is the Cathedral of San Pietro built in 1700 during the Papacy of Innocent XII where, to the left of the high altar, is a tablet to Charles Edward, the Young Pretender (d. 1788) first buried at Frascati and afterwards in St. Peters, Rome. The cathedral of St. Peter's has a relief of the delivery of Vienna by King John Sobieski and a monument to Maria Clementina Sobieska (d. 1735 at Rome). Under the arch to the right over the door which leads to the dome, is a tomb to the left upon which are busts of James II and his sons Charles Edward and Henry, Cardinal York. The
inscription reads: "Maria
Clementina, Magna Britann. Franc. et Hibern. Regina"
("Maria
Clementina Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland) and "Jacobi III, Jacobi II Magnae Brit. Regis filin, Karolo Edvardo et
Henrico Decano Patrium Cardinalium Jacobii II fillis, Regiae stirpis
Stuardi postremis Anno M.DCC.XIX" (James
III, son of King James II of Great Britain, Charles Edward and Henry, Dean
of the Cardinal Fathers, sons of James II, the last of the Royal house of
Stuart 1819). Henry went to Naples in 1798 when the French occupied Rome and met the English ambassador Lord Hamilton, his wife Emma and her lover Nelson who entertained the cardinal aboard his ship. He then went to Messina Sicily, Corfu and Venice. He was granted a pension of £5,000 by the British Government and returned to Frascati in June 1800 where he died on 13.7.1807. After Charles died, two brothers John and Charles Edward Sobieski Stuart claimed to be his grandsons. Fig.
138
- Sobieski Stuart Admiral
John Carter Allen > Thomas Allen, adopted son >: a.
John Sobieski Stolberg Stuart (1795-1872) b.
Charles Edward Sobieski Stuart (1799-1880) > descendant Alfred Edward
von Platt
living in 1932. Northumberland
on the Scottish border, had a history of Catholic uprisings since the
reign of Henry VIII, traditionally supported the Stuarts and was strongly
Jacobite. During the Civil
War, the Royalists mustered near the abbey fight for Charles I.
Tyne keelmen who operated barges from ships to creeks and inlets on
the Tyne were Non-Jurant Protestants i.e. those who had refused to swear
allegiance to William and Mary maintaining they had already done so to
James II. The
Jacobite Charles Radcliffe, earl of Derwentwater was brought up in
Northumberland although his brother Charles, born in London, was sent to
France when he was 3 years old. Both
were descended from James II and executed after the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite
rebellions respectively. Robert Talbot, described as an Irishman and Papist, sailed from London to Newcastle to spread the word of the rising "upon this news, they had a full meeting" at Dilston and at Greenrig, north of Hexham. Because of Scottish raids, Northumberland had "more castles, fortalices, peles, bastles and barmekens than any other county in England." Peel towers can be found scattered over a wide are of the county, some ruined, other have been incorporated into houses, such as the Elsdon vicarage. Elsdon, meaning "Elli's Dene" or valley, has many Pele Towers or fortified farmsteads; there is a pele at Whitlees near Elsdon, Raw Pele and Hole Pele in the same area and the green at Elsdon is near the Vicar's Pele. Peel or Juliet towers were circular or octagonal towers surrounded by a barmiken or wall and were fortified buildings where cattle could be driven into the ground floor rooms to protect them from the notorious and traditional Northumberland reivers and moss-troopers (cattle thieves and sheep raiders) who rode the foray from October till spring and were still "lifting" sheep and cattle long after the Act of Union. This was a time-honoured Celtic past-time (which also took place in Wales) mentioned by Strabo when writing about the Celts in Spain. The Croziers, a band of moss troopers or reivers murdered Parcy Reed and were subjected to Jethart or Jedburgh justice which meant hanging first and asking questions afterwards. Elsdon and Morpeth in Northumberland on the Scottish border were involved in the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite uprisings. Elsdon, situated 12 miles southwest of Rothbury, 29 miles northwest from Newcastle and 7 from Knowlesgate station, was at the centre of the drove roads which led to Hexham and other places in Northumberland. Tom Forster, the Jacobite leader rode through Morpeth using the drove roads during the 1715 rebellion. Elsdon has the remains of gallows known as "Winter's Gibbet" or "Winter's Stob" on a hill known as Steng Cross, an ancient boundary stone near Harwood Head, by the side of the road leading to Scots Gap. From Steng Cross, 1,040 ft above sea level, can be seen Redesdale coming down the Cheviot Hills, the bluff of Carter Fell under which the road passes into Scotland and Harwood Forest. Three miles north of Esldon, at a place called the Raw, are the ruins of Haws Pele, where Margaret Crozier kept a smallshop to sell drapery and other goods. There are two unual carvings on this bastel house; one depicts a woman wearing a bowl-shaped hat, the other could be a drawbridge, a gateway, a pulpit or a heraldic device; the upper part is a rosette. These may have been the canting arms of the Crozier family; a crozier or crosier is a pastoral staff or crook carried by a bishop or abbot and the pulpit may have been used as a symbol for a clergyman; the bowl-shaped hat is like that used by pilgrims and priests in the Middle Ages. The house was formerly 3 storeys high but the top storey was removed possibly in the 19th century, the lower is barrel vaulted. The original entrance in the south wall has grooves for sharpening arrows beside it. Thinking she was wealthy, William Winter, "a desperate character but recently returned from transportation" and two femals faws (vendors of crockery and tinwork) Jane and Eleanor Clark, who had been treated kindly by Margaret Crozier, broke into the lone Pale at night on 29.8.1791 and murdered her, loading her goods on their long cart, drawn by an ass. According to evidence given by a shepherd boy (which helped to capture the murderers) they had stopped to rest and eat at sheep fold on Whiskershields Common overlooking the Raw. He had noticed the type and number of nails in the soles of Winter's shoes and the butcher's knife called a gully which he used to eat his food. The body of William Winter (whose father and brother had in previous been hanged at Morpeth fo sheep stealing) hung in chains on this gallows after he had been hanged at the Westgate, Newcastle on 10.9.1792. His limbs and chest, bound with iron straps, were fastened to a swivel attached to the arms of the gibbet and the stench from his rotting body was so foul that horses had to be whipped past along the nearby track. When the bones loosened, they were hung up in a sack, tarred on the inside and outside to withstand the weather. When this tarred sack finally rotted, the whitened bones fell and were buried around the gibbet by shepherds. A wooden effigy replaced the sack and years later, this was replaced by a wooden block. In 1859 the upright still remained, covered with the large spike nails inserted to prevent the removal of the body and lengths of chain dangled from it. By 1883 the entire gibbet had been replaced and a wooden head hung from the crossbar. |