The Commando Memorial

Ok, it's been a long time since I wrote about my adventures, so I'm sure my memory is going to be a bit fuzzy.  

One thing I noticed on our tour, is that there are a lot of landmarks commemorating events in Scottish History, or perhaps just left over from civilizations past.  On a historical note, one such landmark is the Commando Monument, located at Spean Bridge.  The monument marks the training ground for an elite group of soldiers during World War II.  Three Commandos stare out across the training ground of Achnecarry toward Ben Nevis, Britian's highest peak.  

A typical day of training might include a run to the peak, a mere 18 miles away.  The weather in Scotland changes rapidly, especially in the Highlands and these men were trained to deal with whatever Mother Nature had to offer, day and night.  Live ammunition was used to better prepare the men for battle like conditions, and officers were trained just as hard as enlisted men.  The battles fought by the Commandos were some of the bloodiest of WWII.

We left Oban, Scotland around 8:30 am on Tuesday, March 11. Our primary destination for the day was the Isle of Skye. While on the bus, Rab entertained us with many stories about the Highlands, the Clans, and wee folk. I will try to pass on some of the stories that I heard.

In a previous post I mentioned that King James VI of Scotland was also known as King James I of England. His heir, James VII (James II) was ousted as King of England, and forced to go into exile in France, through a series of a events much too complicated to go into with this post, but much of which centered around religious ideology, William of Orange of the Netherlands was invited by England to keep the throne warm until things were settled in regards to who the rightful heir was. Through an additional series of events, the Scottish Parliament was forced to accept William of Orange’s reign.

Not everyone in Scotland was thrilled Parliament agreed to this arrangement, particularly Scottish Highlanders, and so an uprising was formed to try and restore James to the throne. The Jacobite uprising did not succeed and the clans made their way back to their homes, but not without some mischief along the way. It seems that the MacLains of Glencoe, part of Clan MacDonald, decided to raid the livestock of Clan Campbell. This forced Robert Campbell, already in financial straits, to accept a commission with the British army.

Meanwhile, a declaration went out granting amnesty to any clan who signed allegiance to William by January 1, 1692. Again, this didn’t go over well with many of the Clans who had sworn allegiance to King James and felt they could not change allegiance with out first asking permission of King James. King James, not wanting to risk the lives of his subjects, finally released them of their duties. Unfortunately, that release didn’t happen until mid-December and the winter conditions were terrible. Still, many chieftains began the trek to the nearest magistrate to sign an oath of allegiance on behalf of their clans. However, the Chief of Glencoe, a MacLain, stubbornly waited until December 31 to make his trek to Fort William to take the oath, but was told that the Governor of Fort William was not authorized to witness the oath, and that MacLain would have to travel to Invarary and take the oath under Sir Colin Campbell....

On his trip, despite having a letter from the Governor ensuring his safety, MacLain was detained in Balcardin Castle by Captain Drummond. MacLain arrived 3 days after departing Fort William, but had to wait 3 more days for Sir Campbell to arrive. After reading the letter from the Governor stating that MacLean had reached Fort William in time, Sir Campbell reluctantly accepted the oath of the Chieftain, and MacLean left believing his duty was fulfilled. The crown to which he swore allegiance, had a different viewpoint and decided to make an example of the MacLeans and Clan McDonald.

In the Highlands there was a code of hospitality upheld by every Clan. Simply put, this unspoken code was that no matter how bad the blood was between 2 clans, if hospitality was needed, then it was granted and no clan would attack the host clan during its stay. If there was a problem during the stay, then the visiting clan would leave, come back and fight with honor. In February, during very bad weather, a company men headed by Captain Robert Campbell, requested the hospitality of Clan McDonald, so that they might go about collecting the taxes for the Scottish Parliament. Hospitality was granted and for a week a grand time was had by all, so much so, it seemed that all was forgotten as to why there was bad blood between the Macdonalds and the Campbells to begin with.

Despite the hospitality, before anyone had risen from bed, and with the blessing of the crown, Captain Campbell attacked the MacDonald Clan killing most of the men. The houses were burned to the ground and women and children were forced to escape out into the very cold night. Many died from exposure to the elements.

There is a category of murder, ”murder under trust”, which is considered the most heinous of crimes under Scots’ law. News of the massacre spread quickly throughout Scotland and an investigation was launched. Unfortunately, very little resulted from the investigation and despite the fact that the orders were signed by the king, he could not be implicated...because he was king.

Perhaps if there had been no Campbells involved, the government might have been held more accountable. Sadly though, the massacre came to be seen as a result of the rivalry between the MacDonalds and Campbells and not the government action that it was. Many stories have There is an inn in Glencoe called Clachaig Inn, which used to have a sign above its door that said “No Hawkers, No English, No Campbells.” Now it just says “No Hawkers and No Campbells.” Apparently, a few years back, a Campbell tried to pay for his meal with a credit card, and was simply told to leave the premises.