Culloden and the last Clansman

by James Hunter

An armed uprising. A conspiracy. An assassination. A hanging. These events, starting with the crushing of Jacobite rebels at Culloden in 1746 and culminating six years later in the so-called Appin Murder, provided Robert Louis Stevenson with the plot of his enduringly popular novel "Kidnapped". But truth can be every bit as dramatic as fiction. And never more so than in this account of what lay behind the killing of government officer Colin Campbell by a hidden gunman on a May afternoon in 1752. Campbell was on his way to evict rebels from the Ardshiel estate near Appin, and Britain's rulers saw in his murder a terrorist act committed by Jacobite survivors of Culloden. When the alleged killer evaded a Scotland-wide manhunt and escaped abroad, politicians insisted someone had to pay for Campbell's death. The sacrificial lamb was James Stewart, a Culloden veteran who had been organising resistance to Campbell's evictions. James was found guilty in the show trial that followed and was hanged close to the murder scene. His body was left suspended there for years as a grim warning to anyone else thinking of challenging the new order the British state had imposed on the Jacobite Highlands.

Genres: Scotland

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

James Hunter was brought up in North Argyll. He was educated at Duror Primary School, Oban High School and Aberdeen and Edinburgh Universities.

He was the first director of the Scottish Crofters Union which he helped to establish as a highly effective pressure group with a substantial membership right across the crofting areas.

A journalist, broadcaster and writer, Hunter has published a number of books about the Highlands and Islands. He has lectured in Britain and North America on Highland history and on Scottish environmental and land use issues, as well as making many radio and television programmes.

Reviews

[Patricia Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was the most exciting history study I have read. It read like a murder mystery novel and I could not put it down. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in this period of history.

[Duncan Maccoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brillaint tale, well told and brought to life. I especially like the detail about the area in whic the action takes place.