The Campbells of the ark : men of Argyll in 1745 Volume 1 : the inner circle

Black, Ronald2016

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Summary

In his long poem An Airce (The Ark), the Jacobite poet Alexander MacDonald shows the Campbells being subjected to trial by water for the part they played in defeating Prince Charles' army in 1745-6. Some will be drowned outright, he says, some just given a good ducking - and some will be honourably treated. He names thirty-nine individuals. Ronald Black puts their lives and deeds under the microscope to see how far they deserved their allotted fate. The result is a well-balanced portrait of the leading men of Argyll in the 18th century and a new perspective on one of the most colourful episodes in Scottish history: the rising of the '45 as seen through the eyes of Highlanders who helped crush it. Volume 1 introduces the poet, the song and the Clan Campbell, followed by biographies of the 31 Campbells mentioned in the song, analysing the poet's verdicts. The star of the show is the elder Mamore, the most underestimated of all the dukes of Argyll. Had he, not Cumberland, been commander-in-chief of Government forces in Scotland, a very different sort of accommodation would have been reached and, to use his own phrase, 'poor Scotland had not bled'. The chapter on Colin Campbell of Glenure, victim of the Appin Murder, identifies his assassins.