Latest / The Story of Scotland: Clans, Crowns, and the Fight for Identity — Fexingo History / The Jacobites: Bonnie Dundee and the First Jacobite Rising
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the Bruce, the Declaration of Arbroath, the Union of the Crowns — but one of the most explosive moments in Scottish history happened just a few years after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. I'm talking about the first Jacobite rising, and the man who nearly pulled it off: John Graham of Claverhouse, better known as Bonnie Dundee. Luna: Bonnie Dundee — I've heard that name, but I always thought Jacobitism was an eighteenth-century thing, all about Bonnie Prince Charlie. Lucas: Right, that's the popular image — but the first rising came decades earlier, in 1689. Claverhouse was a professional soldier, a cavalry commander who had served the Stuart kings for years. He was also deeply loyal to the deposed James VII. When James fled to France and William of Orange took the throne, Claverhouse saw it as a betrayal of divine right. So he rode north to Dundee, raised the royal standard on Dundee Law, and called the Highland clans to war. Lucas: Now, the clans weren't all united behind the Stuarts. Many Lowland Scots, especially Presbyterians, actually welcomed William — he was a Protestant, and they saw James as a crypto-Catholic tyrant. But in the Highlands, loyalty was personal. Claverhouse had a reputation from his earlier years as a persecutor of Covenanters — they called him 'Bluidy Clavers' — but among the Jacobite clans, he was a hero. Luna: So he was a polarising figure even then. What made him such an effective leader? Lucas: He was charismatic, ruthless, and a master of cavalry tactics. But more than that, he understood the Highland way of war. The clans fought with the broadsword and targe, the small round shield, and they charged in a terrifying wave — the Highland charge. Claverhouse knew that to win, he had to use that charge at the right moment. And he got his chance at the Pass of Killiecrankie, on July 27, 1689. Lucas: Killiecrankie is a narrow gorge in Perthshire. The government commander, General Hugh Mackay, had about 4,000 men, mostly Lowland infantry with modern muskets and bayonets. Claverhouse had roughly 2,500 Highlanders. Mackay lined up his men on a hillside, expecting a set-piece battle. But the Highlanders didn't oblige. They advanced, dropped their plaids, and then — as the sun set — they charged downhill, firing one volley before closing with the sword. Luna: That's the classic Highland charge. But it worked? Lucas: It worked spectacularly. The government line broke within minutes. Mackay lost over half his army, killed or wounded. The Jacobites lost only about 600 men. But here's the tragedy — in the moment of victory, Claverhouse was shot. A musket ball hit him under the arm, where his armour didn't cover. He died almost instantly. And with him died any chance of a coordinated Jacobite campaign. As the old saying goes: 'Bonnie Dundee was buried on the field of Killiecrankie, and with him the hope of the Stuart cause — for that year, at least.' Luna: If today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small thing that makes a big difference. So back to the story: after Killiecrankie, the Jacobite command passed to Colonel Alexander Cannon, a less inspiring leader. He decided to march south into the Lowlands, hoping to spark a general rising. But instead, he ran into a very different kind of enemy at Dunkeld. Luna: Dunkeld — that's the cathedral town, right? Lucas: Exactly. And the defenders were the Cameronians — a regiment of strict Presbyterians named after the Covenanter leader Richard Cameron. These were men who had been persecuted by Claverhouse just a few years earlier. They were fanatically loyal to William and hated the Stuarts. Cannon's Highlanders surrounded them in the ruins of Dunkeld Cathedral and the town itself. Lucas: The battle of Dunkeld, on August 21, 1689, was brutal house to house fighting. The Cameronians were outnumbered, but they had discipline and desperation. They held out for sixteen hours, firing from windows, setting houses on fire to deny cover to the Highlanders. At one point, their commander, Lieutenant Colonel William Cleland, was killed — but the regiment kept fighting. Finally, the Highlanders ran out of ammunition and withdrew. It was a government victory, but a costly one. Luna: So the rising fizzled out after that? Lucas: Pretty much. Without Claverhouse, the Jacobites couldn't sustain momentum. The clans went home for the winter, and by the next year, government forces had reasserted control. But the bitterness didn't fade. In fact, one of the most infamous atrocities in Scottish history happened as a direct consequence of this rising: the Massacre of Glencoe, in 1692. Luna: Oh, that's a dark story. The MacDonalds of Glencoe? Lucas: Yes. The government, wanting to pacify the Highlands, demanded all clan chiefs swear allegiance to William by a deadline. The MacDonalds of Glencoe were late — partly because their chief, MacIain, had to travel to Fort William, then to Inveraray, and was delayed by weather. He finally took the oath on January 6, 1692 — six days late. The government used that technicality to make an example of them. Lucas: On the night of February 13, 1692, government soldiers — who had been hosted by the MacDonalds for two weeks, sharing their food and drink — turned on their hosts. They murdered about 38 men, women, and children, while many more fled into a blizzard and died of exposure. It was a massacre, and the orders came from the top — from John Dalrymple, the Master of Stair, who wanted to 'root out' the MacDonalds. Luna: That's horrifying. And it shows how the first Jacobite rising set the stage for so much later conflict. Lucas: Exactly. The pattern was set: Highland loyalty to the Stuarts, government suspicion of the clans, brutal reprisals. And the Jacobite cause would rise again — in 1715, in 1719, and finally in 1745 with Bonnie Prince Charlie. But it all started with Bonnie Dundee, a man who almost changed history on a summer evening at Killiecrankie. Luna: What happened to Claverhouse's body? Lucas: He was buried in the old church of Blair Castle, but his grave was later disturbed. There's a story that his skull was taken as a trophy and eventually ended up in a museum. But the real legacy is the song — 'Bonnie Dundee' by Walter Scott, which romanticised him as a dashing hero. The truth is more complex: a brilliant soldier, a ruthless persecutor, and a man whose death left a cause leaderless. Luna: It's a reminder that history is rarely black and white. Thanks, Lucas — I feel like I finally understand the roots of Jacobitism. Lucas: Exactly. And next time, we'll pick up the thread with the 'Fifteen' — the second Jacobite rising, and how it changed Scotland yet again.