A SCOTTISH author is out to spark a war of words with BBC history presenter Neil Oliver claiming the Blood of the Clans episode shown in midweek “slandered” Jacobite heroine Lady Anne Mackintosh.
Euan Macpherson, author of The Last Jacobite Heroine about Lady Anne, has taken issue with the BBC Documentary Unit’s portrayal of the Mackintoshes in The Last Rebels, the third part of the Blood of the Clans series presented by Oliver.
Macpherson told The National: “Anne Mackintosh is portrayed as someone who engaged in ‘double-dealing’ with her husband to ensure that they would emerge on the winning side during the 1745 Jacobite Rising.They kept referring to the ‘double game’ being played by Angus Mackintosh, 22nd chief of Clan Mackintosh, who fought with the British Army while Anne raised a regiment of 500 men and fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie.
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“Whatever the outcome, the family would have a member who fought on the winning side, and several families did indeed split down the middle during the 1745 rising. But this superficial analysis makes no effort to understand how people lived in 18th century Scotland.
“Angus Mackintosh was a serving officer with the British Army who had fought in North America. This involved taking an oath of loyalty to serve King George. When war broke out, he had already given his word to serve King George.
“Today we live in a secular age where many people do not believe in the existence of God. This was not so in 18th century Scotland where attendance at church was very high and the minister was an important part of the community. To take an oath before God was something that could not be reneged on.
“When war broke out, Angus Mackintosh found himself trapped by his oath. He rode off to fight for King George. But, tellingly, he did not ask anyone else to fight with him and he certainly did not raise his clan for the House of Hanover.
“At first, his wife Anne stayed at home. The important point that the programme glossed over was that it was only when she learned that Bonnie Prince Charlie was losing the war that she decided to fight – she sent out the fiery cross and raised a regiment of 500 men.
“Anne’s regiment fought in two battles: the victory at Falkirk and the disaster at Culloden. As the episode showed she herself saved Prince Charlie’s life by rousing her servant and attacking 2000 soldiers who were marching towards her house with orders to arrest the prince. The redcoats turned on their tails and marched back to Inverness.”
It’s the implication that Lady Anne, sometimes known as Colonel Anne, set out to be a double dealer that upsets Macpherson.
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He said: “Opportunists join the winning side in a war. They do not join the losing side.
“Anne’s decision helped the Jacobites win the Battle of Falkirk but also resulted in her men lining up for battle on Culloden Moor where their ranks were decimated.
“Anne is Scotland’s forgotten heroine. She lies in an unmarked grave in Leith. This remarkable woman took up the sword for king and country knowing she was doing so in defiance of her husband: she and her clansmen suffered enormously during the brutal aftermath. She has largely been ignored by historians except for the slanderous misrepresentation in a BBC documentary.”
The BBC said: “Blood of the Clans is a documentary series which examines a turbulent and significant era of Scottish history. Among the themes in the final episode was the shifting allegiances of clan members during the period. It’s a fair and accurate representation and includes contributions from several experts on the subject.”
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