Many people assume
that it was only the great men and women we read about in our history books or
see, brought to life in television or big screen films, who make history.
William wouldn't have conquered England in 1066 without the ordinary French
soldiers, mainly peasants, who made up his army and did most of the fighting.
Have you ever thought how Robert the Bruce would have fared against the English
armies of Edward II if he had only a spider for support at Bannockburn, or how
Nelson would have been made famous at Trafalgar, if his ships hadn't been filled
with sailors taken from English ports by press-gangs.
The truth is that History always remembers the great men and women, the kings and queens, the generals and admirals, the poets and writers, pimps and prostitutes but rarely ordinary people. The '45 and all that followed may have been bad for those involved, but it was the making of North America.
The descendants of those emigrants who left these shores, often two or more centuries ago, may seek to establish their roots, but they can do so much more, they can help us here in Scotland re-discover our own. Was your ancestor at Culloden, did he welcome the chance to enter a new world, full of hope rather than leave the existing one at the end of a rope in Edinburgh Castle or on Tyburn Hill. The answer may just be waiting there for you to discover.
In September 1745, Alexander 4th Lord Forbes of Pitsligo formed a small party of men into a cavalry regiment which not surprisingly was called Pitsligo's Horse. He recruited many of his friends and kin among the Aberdeenshire gentry and among them was Major Andrew Hay, son of the Laird of Rannes. Andrew was accompanied by his servant James Donaldson, who served with him throughout the campaign and was probably at his side when he led the Jacobite army into Manchester. By the time of Culloden the proud regiment had already reduced to a rag tag, most of the horses having perished in the foul winter march north from Derby, but James was there, with his master, at the rear of the army on 16th April 1746, as the driving sleet cut into their faces, only hours before the Hanoverian grapeshot did the same, but with more devastating results! Andrew Hay escaped the carnage, probably with the help of his faithful servant and lived another 43 years. James Donaldson wasn't so lucky. He was taken prisoner and transported.
One Clan who did much to bolster the attempt by Charles Edward Stewart to regain his father's throne was Clan Donald. The MacDonell of Glengarry Regiment had over 1200 men serving on the right of the front line at the Battle of Falkirk, but having been split into two regiments, was carrying out different functions at the time of Culloden. One man who was standing on Culloden Moor was John McDonald from Dongin. A simple cowherd, this 40 year old man had followed his chief wherever he was told, his chief being his chief. He was either very lucky or very skillful, but his kinsmen and friends around him were cut down in large numbers, standing on the left of the Front line, waiting it seemed for ever, for the Prince to finally order the Highland Charge, which normally put so much fear into any enemy. John McDonald was captured and transported.
James Donaldson came from the fertile rolling hills of Aberdeenshire, John McDonald from the less fertile and harsher landscape of the mountains and lochs of Inverness-shire. Both were simple men and before the '45 had probably never ventured more than a few miles from their homes in their lives. On that cold April morning, the odds are that they had never met, never spoken to one another or shared their life experiences, but within a few short hours their lives were to be completely turned upside down. They were among the "lucky" ones. They were captured and rather than hang from a rope, were transported. Their story was shared by hundreds of other highland men, many of whom never took up arms or fought for the Prince, but they shared a fate and helped make the United States of America the country it is today. Their sons fought on both sides during the Wars of Independence, many thereafter settling in the Southern States or moving up to Canada. Their great grandsons fought to remain independant from the rest of the United States, but like them, they saw a war in which father fought son and brother fought brother.
You may live in Alabama, Illinois or Texas, British Columbia or Nova Scotia, Darwin or Sydney, Auckland or Wellington, Cape Town or Madras, but if you have a Highland surname, you have a Highland Family Heritage and I may just be able to help you.