The truth about state-sponsored massacre in the snow of Glencoe

It was on February 13, 1692, that soldiers sent by the then Government of Scotland attempted to commit genocide by killing an entire clan, the MacDonalds of Glencoe.

There has probably been more disinformation about the Massacre than any other single event of Scottish history, especially the notion put about by the Unionist historian Thomas Macaulay that it was merely a clan feud between Clan Donald and Clan Campbell. Macaulay’s main intention was to exonerate King William and Queen Mary from any blame, but as we shall see, William of Orange most certainly was responsible.

Unlike many events in Scottish history there is ample evidence of what actually occurred prior to, during, and after the Massacre because an inquiry was held three years later. The problem is one of interpretation, but once you know the main facts it is difficult to conclude that the Massacre was anything other than state-sponsored mass murder.

To understand how it came about, a brief explanation of the undisputed facts needs to be given.

Following the collapse of the Jacobite Rising of 1689-90, and their victory at the Battles of the Boyne and Aughrim in Ireland, William and Mary and their loyalists moved to consolidate their rule over the Highlands and islands of Scotland which were very much controlled by clan chiefs. They introduced a loyal oath which all chiefs had to sign by January 1, 1692, or else face terrible consequences. Sign it and they would enjoy amnesty for all previous “sins” against the monarchs.

In exile in France, King James VII dithered about what to do before sending word that those many chiefs loyal to him could sign the oath before a magistrate. One chief, Alasdair Ruadh MacIain MacDonald of Glencoe, went to Fort William on Hogmanay to sign, only to be told by its commander, Colonel John Hill, that he had come to the wrong place and should have been before the magistrate at Inveraray. MacIain hurried south but was delayed by bad weather and the absence of the magistrate, Sir Colin Campbell, so that he signed the oath five days late.

The King’s Scottish Secretary John Dalrymple, the Master of Stair, intervened at this point. He chose to ignore that MacIain had signed the oath and concentrated on the fact that he did so too late, again ignoring the extenuating circumstances as laid out by Colonel Hill and Colin Campbell.

Dalrymple was out to make an example of one clan, and though other chiefs had not signed in time, his wrath fell upon Glencoe. That they were “papists” – his word – and he was a leading Presbyterian may have contributed to Dalrymple’s hatred.

Dalrymple went to King William who duly signed, in duplicate, the orders put in front of him. He would later say he hadn’t fully read the documents, so why sign an order for the “extirpation” of the clan?

The Earl of Argyll’s Regiment was chosen for the task. This was a regiment founded by the chief of Clan Campbell, with Campbell officers and men who, though their names may not have been Campbell – only eight of that name were on the roll – were nevertheless connected to the clan whose great and often deadly rivals were Clan Donald. One of the captains, an ageing drunk, Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, was hardly likely to be unbiased – though his niece was married to MacIain’s son, he had seen his cattle stolen and property damaged by the Glencoe MacDonalds.

For 12 days, two companies of the regiment, about 120 officers and men in all, were billeted in Glencoe, scattered among the clachans of the MacDonalds. Then secret orders were delivered to Campbell of Glenlyon from the military commander, Major Robert Duncanson.

“You are hereby ordered to fall upon the Rebels, the MacDonalds of Glencoe, and put all to the sword under 70. You are to have especial care, that the Old Fox and his Sons do upon no account escape your Hands, you are to secure all the avenues that no man can escape: this you are to put in Execution at five a Clock in the Morning precisely.”

An overnight blizzard took place. There are stories that some of the redcoats hinted to their hosts to escape, but at 5am, the Massacre began.

The clan chief MacIain was one of the first to die, shot twice through the head. His wife was stripped, her rings bitten off her fingers, and she died in the snow. Their sons escaped, largely because the weather had stopped a force of redcoats from being able to access the glen.

Incidents of foul and bloody murder took place across the glen. Nine men bound together were shot one by one. At least two women and two children were either shot or stabbed. One soldier held back from killing a boy only for an officer to step in with his sword. Men were shot by firing squads. In the confusion, some families fled into the darkness, but many of them died.

The exact death toll is disputed, but from the accounts of surviving MacDonalds, more than 30 people died in the initial barbarous assault and the same number or more died in their trek to safety in neighbouring glens.

News of the Massacre spread quickly and there was general revulsion at what had happened. A Commission of Inquiry found that officials and officers had exceeded their orders. The Master of Stair had to step down from his Government post but John Dalrymple later became an earl and negotiated the Act of Union.

No one was ever prosecuted, far less convicted, for the state’s attempt at genocide in Glencoe, 330 years ago.