Who ordered the Glencoe Massacre - and why?

He is known as the 'Curse of Scotland' for his role in the Glencoe Massacre, the government minister whose exploits went largely unpunished following the infamous murders which took place 325 years ago this week.

Detail from James Hamilton's Massacre of Glencoe. PIC Contributed.

The killing of 38 members of the MacDonald clan on February 13 1692 by Campbell-led government troops is one of the darkest episodes in the turbulent history of the Highlands.

The victims were killed at daybreak on a freezing winter’s morning by soldiers who had enjoyed 12 nights of MacDonald generosity in the glen.

Glencoe. PIC John McSporran/Flickr/Creative Commons.

It was deemed an outrageous affront to both the rule of law as well as the Highland code of hospitality and caused uproar across the country.

But the multiple deaths - a further 40 perished in the snow after their homes were set on fire - were the result of far more than the inter-clan warfare of the Campbells and the MacDonalds.

The attack had been planned at the very highest level of the state.

Central to the plot was John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair, a shrewd political operator who helped secure the ascension King William II and his wife Mary to the Scottish throne.

John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair. PIC Wikicommons

Dalrymple’s family crest is said to resemble the nine of diamonds playing card, with the card sometimes called the Curse of Scotland. Dalrymple’s role in Glencoe helped forge the bitter association.

He was appointed Secretary of State of Scotland during the reign of William II and had virtual control of his affairs north of the border.

Dalrymple, of Ayrshire, a former Lord Advocate, quickly acted upon his disdain for the Highland clans who broadly retained support for deposed Stuart king of James VII, the brother-in-law of the new king.

Glencoe. PIC John McSporran/Flickr/Creative Commons.

Rebel clan chiefs were called to a summit at the ruins of Achallader Castle in June 1691 with the Earl of Breadlebane, Lord Treasurer of Scotland, who was also a member of Clan Campbell, leading negotiations.

Breadlebane, known as “Slippery John” for his double dealings, promised a royal pardon and £12,000 to the clan chiefs involved in the recent Jacobite win at Killiecrankie in return of an oath of allegiance to King William - to be signed by January 1 1692.

The Highland Jacobites sought counsel from France and a form of peace briefly settled as clansmen waited a response.

However, Dalrymple took issue with the pace of progress and King William issued a proclamation to the clan leaders - pledge your allegiance of be answerable to your “highest peril.”

John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair. PIC Wikicommons

On December 30, Alistair McIain of Glencoe - head of a sept of Clan Donald - was crossing the north in deep wintry conditions in order to sign the pledge.

Mistakenly, he went to Fort William and then was sent on to Inverary, a Campbell stronghold three days away ,to pledge his allegiance to the King via the sheriff.

He missed the deadline by six days.

Despite assurances at Fort William that McIain would be protected, word was delivered to Dalrymple at his office in Kensington Palace by Archibald, 10th Earl of Argyll, Chief of Clan Campbell, that MacIain’s certificate was void.

Some believe that Archibald’s cousin, the Earl of Breadlebane - or Slippery John - encouraged the line that MacIain’s pledge was irregular given the opportunity for his Clan Campbell to seek revenge on the MacDonalds. Other historians have disregarded this.

Whoever was pulling the strings, Dalrymple had found his target - and could barely contain his delight.

He added in to the letter he had been writing at the time: “Just now, my Lord Argyll tells me that Glencoe hath not taken the oaths, at which I rejoice.

“It’s a great work of charity to be exact in rooting out the damnable sept, the worst in all the Highlands.’’

The massacre was launched on February 13 1692 after the King ordered Captain Robert Campbell of Glen Lyon to attack his hosts and “put all to the sword under seventy”.

Instructing that the attack be carried out at 5am, the order added: “This is by the Kings special command, for the good & safety of the Country, that these miscreants be cutt off root and branch.”

The Campbell’s have long been vilified for their role in the massacre.

But accounts exist that a number of Campbell’s tried to warn the MacDonald’s of an impending horror, urging the MacDonald’s to flee. Fugitives were helped at Castle Stalker, a safe place for Clan Campbell, according to tradition.

Muster rolls also show that Campbells made up a minority the government-backed troops dispatched to Glencoe.

Public outcry led to a parliamentary commission. It found events to be a “murder under trust” and Dalrymple was forced to resign

But it wasn’t long before he was back in government. By 1700 his reputation had been rehabilitated, however, and he was appointed as a member of the Privy Council of Scotland and he lobbied hard for the Act of Union in 1707.

It was from around that time, that people started to refer to a new name for the nine of diamonds.

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