Stewart Carmichael, of Bonnington

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File received 3 Aug 2009 from: Robert Smyly Stewart Carmichael of Bonnyhaugh Probably son of David Carmichael, 9th of Balmedie and Anna daughter of Thomas Graham of Balgowan. (See later) He married in 1752 Catharine daughter of Bishop Robert Keith and Isobel daughter of Rev. John Cameron. In October 1753 they had a son, whom they named Robert. (see below) He died in his infancy. They had one daughter, Stewartina Catherine Carmichael, born on 4th January 1756, who married William Douglas, a merchant in Leith. From them are descended our Douglas ancestors as far as Catherine Carmichael Scot Douglas who married Thomas Pilkington. Scottish National Archives ref CH12/23/830 Letter from Bishop Robert Keith to The Right Reverend Bishop Alexander at Alloa This is a strange letter which appears to be partly in code? He complains of being half blind and being hardly able to write. So adieu A separate note is inserted dated Oct 25 ‘53 ‘Sunday last my Dau. was delivered of a son, named Robert. Be so good as thank your nephew in my name for a service he lately did me at Glasgow and pray him also to thank Mr Graeme for me. R.K.’

Stewart Carmichael was an ardent Jacobite and there follows an account of his experiences in the ’45.

From: The Lyon in Mourning or a Collection of speeches, letters, journals. etc. relative to the affairs of Prince Charles Edward Stuart by The Rev’d Robert Forbes A.M. Bishop of Ross and Caithness: Preface xii

On hearing of the advent of Prince Charles Edward in the West Highlands, Mr. Forbes, with two Episcopalian clergymen and some other gentlemen, started off with the intention of sharing his fortunes, but all were arrested on suspicion at St. Ninians, near Stirling, and imprisoned. He notes the fact in the Baptismal Register of his congregation, as follows : ' A great interruption has happened by my misfortune of being taken prisoner at St. Ninian's, in company with the Rev. Messrs. Thomas Drummond and John Willox, Mr. Stewart Carmichael and Mr. Robert Clark, and James Mackay and James Carmichael, servants, upon Saturday, the seventh day of September 1745, and confined in Stirling Castle till February 4th, 1746, and in Edinburgh Castle till May 29th of said year. We were seven in number, taken upon the seventh day of the week, the seventh day of the month, and the seventh month of the year, reckoning from March.'l An incident of the roping of these prisoners at their removal from Stirling to Edinburgh is narrated by the author.

From: The Lyon in Mourning Vol 2 P.132 4th Feb. 1746 4 Tuesday. This day some prisoners in the Castle of Stirling were, by Cumberland's orders, sent off under a command to the Castle of Edinburgh. They were taken out of the Castle of Stirling at nine o'clock in the morning, and kept standing on the street of Stirling till betwixt 2 and 3 in the afternoon, as so many spectacles to be gazed at, though not one of them had been taken upon or near a field of battle. Lord Albemarle, coming up to Captain Hamilton of Hamilton's dragoons, who commanded the party, asked him who these were that were placed behind the front ranks ? The Captain answered they were prisoners. Then Albemarle, with a volley of oaths, asked why they were not tied with ropes. The Captain replied they were gentlemen. ' Gentlemen,' said Albemarle, ' damn them for rebels. Get ropes, and rope them immediately.' Captain Hamilton begged leave to inform him that they were taken up only upon suspicion, and added he could venture to say there was not anything to be laid to their charge. Albemarle still cried to have them roped, and swore if one of them should happen to escape Captain Hamilton should pay dear for him. Accordingly they were tied two and two by the arms, the gentlemen laughing at the farce, and excusing Captain Hamilton, who declared his being ashamed of such a piece of duty. While Albemarle was bullying and roaring, one of the gentlemen spoke these words: 'It is exceedingly like a Dutchman.' Cornet Forth (one of the command) said he was persuaded it was orders. How soon the gentlemen were out of Stirling, Captain Hamilton desired them to throw away the ropes !

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx From: Prisoners of the ‘45 According to his prison record, Stewart Carmichael of Bonnyhaugh was captured on suspicion on 7th September 1745 at St Ninians and transferred to Stirling castle. He was transferred to Edinburgh Castle on 4th February 1746.

The Rev’d Forbes was confined there until 29th May 1746 but Stewart Carmichael must have been released earlier (or escaped) because he was at Burray in Orkney by May 25th 1746 staying with his brother in law Sir James Stewart of Burray.

The following describes the second capture of Stewart Carmichael. The background to the story starts a little earlier in Orkney. Captain James Moodie was a distinguished sailor in the Navy, having joined at the age of 16. In his early seventies he inherited the family estate of Melsetter from his nephew. His wife and his two sons had died by 1723 and despite being aged 75 or older he married again. His bride was Christian Crawford of Kerse in Ayrshire, not only an heiress and a widow, but young, beautiful and extremely attractive. As David Scott wrote ‘She had an aphrodisiac effect on men. She was well aware of this and never hesitated to practice her techniques – even after she married!’ One of her numerous lovers was 26 year old Alexander Stewart, youngest brother of Sir James Stewart of Burray. On one occasion, Captain Moodie returned home and caught Alexander in a compromising situation with his wife. He threw him to the ground and threshed him on the bare skin with a piece of tangle from the beach. (Not bad for an 80 year old against a 26 year old!) When he let him go, the furious Alexander challenged the gallant Captain to a duel, which he contemptuously declined, leaving Alexander to return to Burray half naked. This started a feud between the two families which came to a head in October 1725. One afternoon Captain Moodie was walking up the street in Kirkwall in the company of Robert Honeyman, the Steward and Sheriff-depute of Orkney, and his clerk, and various servants and others to hold a Justice of the Peace Court, when they met Sir James, his brother Alexander, two servants and various friends. Alexander hit the Captain with a stick and started a fight. Sir James and Alexander drew their swords, but were restrained by the others. Then two Stewart servants returned with cocked pistols which were fired. Captain Moodie’s servant, who was restraining Alexander, was hit in the arm and Honeyman’s son Peter had a flesh wound to his belly. Captain Moodie was unhurt and bent down to pick up his hat which had fallen. As he straightened up, he was hit in the back by one or two shots. He staggered into a house and received treatment but died a week later. The Stewarts escaped over the churchyard wall and later fled the Country. In 1731 Sir James was pardoned and returned to Burray. Eighteen people witnessed the attack, but none of the assailants were ever brought to court. Captain Moodie’s widow took an action in 1726 against Honeyman for being an accomplice in the murder and for being negligent in allowing the murderers to escape. The verdict was ‘non proven’.

The Stewarts of Burray were hereditary Jacobites and descended from King Robert II. They fought for Charles I, Montrose and Charles II. Their mansion, The Bu’ of Burray, was one the finest in Orkney. Sir James Stewart of Burray married Anne, daughter of David Carmichael, 9th of Balmedie another staunch Jacobite. Sir James had another enemy in The Earl of Morton, who was proprietor of the old Orkney Earldom after lending Charles I £30,000, and, on visiting Orkney in 1733, was pursued by Sir James in his boat, and one of his party was wounded by a musket shot from the Stewart boat. Sir James was fined and imprisoned as a result. This may have been another reason for what happened in 1746.

Captain Moodie left everything to his only son Benjamin. The Moodies were on the side of the Hanoverians and Benjamin became a Lieutenant of Foot in the English army. During the ’45, a party of Jacobites raided Melsetter and looted the mansion. So it was understandable that he accepted a commission to travel North with a force to search for and apprehend all rebels in Orkney and the Western Isles. Orkney was alive with the false rumour that twelve chiefs of the rebel army had been seen dressed as sailors and wearing masks. They travelled in four men-of-war, and their first command was to destroy by fire the house of James Fea of Clestrain, who was known to have sent a shipment of arms to the rebel army.

Between 1746 and 1775 Bishop Robert Forbes collected everything that he could relative to the ’45. The collection was published as ‘The Lyon in Mourning’. Bishop Forbes wrote to Rev’d James Taylor in 1748 and asked him to write a detailed account of his experiences during the ’45. The following is an excerpt.

The Lyon in Mourning Vol 3 P.24 onwards COPY of the forementioned true and circumstantial Account, etc., taken from the handwriting of the said Revd. Mr. JAMES TAYLOR, in 23 pages 8vo. April Some days after the people of Caithness had got certain accounts of the action at Culloden, on the 16th of April, in the year One thousand seven hundred forty and six, Daniel Gilchrist, son to Master James Gilchrist, the famous Presbyterian minister in Thurso, came from Inverness, accompanied by one David Forbes, a mean fellow of a very obnoxious character (who had serv'd in Captain Alexander Mackay's Company, and been made prisoner at the battle of Gladsmuir, and confin'd in the Abbey of Holyrood, with many others of his way, who shar'd very remarkably in the Prince's clemency and beneficence, notwithstanding which they, contrary to their engagements to him, rejoin'd their respective corps how soon they dar'd make any appearance, as did the most of their worthy and honourable officers—brave men of the sword !), and by what means they and their discrete advisers must best know, brought with them a sort of warrant from the puissant Earl of Sutherland (who had no authority for that end), directed to the Laird of Ulbster, then sheriff of Caithness, or his deputy, to apprehend the Reverend Mr. James Taylor, Episcopal minister in Thurso, and to burn his meeting house (the usual way of reformation observ'd by the followers of Core), though he could be charg'd with no crime, unless his being a nonjuror be deemed one. This unwarrantable warrant was delivered to Mr. James Campbell, sheriff clerk of Caithness, then Ulbster's deputy, whereof Mr. Taylor was advis'd about two hours after by a friend of his from the Gerth, the residence of the said Mr. Campbell. This and the many uncommon monstrous barbarities acted by the orders of a certain great officer at Inverness, etc., upon the persons, etc., of those were called, or supposed to be Jacobites, whereof he had daily accounts, made Mr. Taylor judge it would be prudent to retire from his own house to lodge with some friends in the country, to prevent being insulted by the two above-named fellows, and other furious zealots, who April might have join'd with them to distress him. For in these times of prevailing iniquity the saints believd they had a just right for promoting the interest of the good old cause to seize upon or destroy the effects, and banish and butcher the persons of all who oppos'd their novel tenets in Church or State. Mr. Taylor continued for a few weeks after this in Caithness in as private a manner as he thought consistent with his safety and health, till he received two letters from Sir James Stuart of Burray, and one from his lady, earnestly entreating him to go to Burray (as he had us'd to do several summers before), to read prayers and administer to them the holy supper of our Lord. To which he made answer, that he would most readily comply with their request if they thought it safe for him to be in their bounds, after such a warrant had been sent to the deputy sheriff of Caithness against him. Accordingly, about three of the clock in the morning of the seventeenth day of May, he received another letter from Sir James, urging him to come to Burray with a boat he had sent to bring him over the frith, assuring him of all the security his interest was capable to afford. Upon which he took boat at Scrabster Rings, and got to Flottay in the afternoon, and arrived at Burray the next day, where as usually he met with the kindest reception. About two days thereafter Sir James was informed that Master Moodie of Melsater, then a lieutenant of foot in the British service, had accepted a commission to come north, in company with some ships of war design'd for the Orknays and Western Islands, in order to search for and apprehend his person, and to burn his house, etc. And on Friday the 23d of said month Sir James was again warned by a gentleman of integrity that if Moodie was not already in Orknay, he was certainly hovering near its coast, and earnestly press'd him to provide for his own and ladie's security. The next day, in the forenoon, several ships appear'd and made to Holm Sound, where some of them anchor'd, and others held on their course to Stromness. About eight of the clock at night two or three big ships past by Burray the same way. About ten o'clock Sir James commanded to send a boat to Holm Sound for intelligence, which was detain'd by Mr. Moodie; and this might have convinc'd Sir James that it was high time to shift for himself. But neither this nor any other warnings could prevail with him to leave his own house and avoid the impending danger, which proceeded (perhaps) from a consciousness of his innocence, though some people believ'd it to be the effect of another cause. For had he duly considered the unwearied malice which the numerous party that follow'd the Earl of Morton in that country (who had for several years gone all lengths heedless fury was capable to drive them, to blacken his character and ruin his interest) continued still to bear against him, he would have certainly retired to some other country, and remain'd till the heat of the prosecutions had somewhat abated. Between three and four of the morning on Sunday the 25th, Mr. Taylor was alarm'd in his bedroom by one of the servants, who begg'd him immediately to get up and shift for himself, for Mr. Moodie, with a great number of redcoats, had landed in the island, and were hastening towards Burray to burn the house, etc. Upon which Mr. Taylor made ready to get from the house, and when he had gone out of the close, saw Sir James and his brother in law, Mr. Carmichael, running towards the old barnyards, but had not got a furlong from the house, when Moodie with his party surpriz'd them, and apprehended Sir James, but Mr. Carmichael got off by speed of foot. Mr. Taylor and William Watt, merchant in Kirkwall, made all the haste they could towards the Little Ferry, but on their way thither they were advis'd that some of Moodie's people, detach'd for that end, had broke the boats lying near the store house, which made them turn towards the east end of the Island, and on their way applied to one of Sir James's tenants to carry them about Burrayhead to South Ronaldsay in a boat which was lying near to the kirk, promising him a very large reward. But he stifly refused to gratify them, tho' he might have done it with all ease and safety, being a consummate coward and traitor, as the bulk of his neighbours commonly are. This necessitate them to proceed further eastward to the rocks within the East park where they might have probably lien conceal'd till the redcoats had withdrawn from the Isle. But Mr. Taylor being confident of his having acted all along in so cautious and irreprehensible a manner that he could neither be apprehended nor imprison'd by any British law in being, left the rocks and walked westward, and within a few minutes Mr. Watt and he were surprized by two of Mr. Moodie's men arm'd with musquets, pistols and swords, who, with many others, were now traversing the whole Isle in quest of Mr. Carmichael, who was lurking in a tenant's house, but basely betray'd and catch'd by the pursuers, and carried to the house of Burray,. where Master Taylor and Watt were confin'd under a guard some time before. Sir James was, immediately after being apprehended, hurried away under a guard of soldiers to a boat, and carried to a tender anchor'd in Holm Sound, to which Messieurs Carmichael, Taylor, and Watt were caried some few hours thereafter. While on board this cutter, Mr. Taylor saw a letter which he had wrote from Thurso to Sir James, containing some accounts of the action at Culloden, which was taken out of Sir James's pocket, and by his uncommon penetration, Moodie believ'd it contain'd some very exceptionable expressions, and communicated it to Mr. Andrew Ross, the then deputy sheriff of the Orkneys, who being of Master Taylor's acquaintance, he expected might befriend him, and therefore wrote him twice from the cutter, but was favour'd with no answer. This and his mild and Christian behaviour to many others in these days of confusion and scene of inhumanity, is well known to many, but highly detested by all Christianly dispos'd and honest men, and must fix indelible slur on his character while time lasts. Copies of this letter were sent to the captain of every ship on board whereof Mr. Taylor was confin'd, and the original, as he was inform'd, was at length sent to the Duke of Newcastle's office in London, where it was judged quite irreprehensible. Sir James and his three fellow captives continu'd on the cutter till 'twas determin'd by Messieurs Moodie and Ross to have them carried to the Tolbooth of Kirkwall, in pursuance of which resolve they were landed after seven at night, and oblig'd to travel to the burgh aforesaid, guarded by all Moodie's command, who, with Mr. Ross, strutted before them all the way like two bashaws after some remarkable victory. When they enter'd the town they were met by the train'd bands of Kirkwall, who made no small and martial an appearance, and were kept for some time in the streets to display the glories of the young hero's triumph and to gratify the malice of the Mortonian faction, who, like heedless asses, implicitly followed the subverter of their interest and liberties, and, indeed, mortally hated Sir James, yea, and all that oppos'd their follies or tender'd the good of their country without a cause. After this parade they were carried into the town house and guards plac'd within, and around it without, where they were lodg'd till about four of the clock the next afternoon, when they were taken out and carried in triumph through the streets and led on their way for Stromness, which lies about twelve miles from the burgh. Some of the poor redcoats who had slept very little for two days before, and had drunk somewhat too much, which had rendered them incapable to march on foot, were soundly drub'd by Moodie with his feet and pike till he broke the last over one of their heads. Fine discipline this for brave military men ! And he forgot not to add weight to the correction by loud magnanimous curses and horrid imprecations. The prisoners came to Alexander Graham's house in Stromness about ten at night, and were allow'd to take a small refreshment. During which time a poor man, of the name of Johnstone, had come in to see Sir James Steuart, and was mournfully condoling his present confinement, which, Mr. Moodie hearing, enter'd the room in a hideous fury, curs'd and unmercifully beat him with his feet, till the poor old man fell to the floor. And immediately the four captives were hurried to a boat and carried to the Shark sloop of war, commanded by Mr. Middleton, then lying of Stromness. This gentleman is famous for his faithful services done to some English merchants by whom he had been employed some years before to find out the north-west passage. And here they were confin'd under many hardships and indignities till the llth or 12th of June, when they were turn'd over to the Old Loo man of war, commanded by an English gentleman, Captain Noreberry, who us'd them with the greatest humanity and kindness. Some days thereafter, the Loo, with some other ships of war, were order'd to sail for the west Highlands to prevent any ships that might come from France their landing in that country,. They cruis'd several days off the Long Island, St Kilda, Skie, etc., and to the westward of Barrahead. While on this cruise the four prisoners had frequently very melancholy news concerning the narrow searches were made to find out Prince Charles and his followers, and the monstrous barbarities exercis'd by the D—— of C——d, and many of the savages under his command upon the persons of many poor gentlemen and others who had the bad luck to come in their way, and of the incredible havock of many innocent people's effects, to the utter ruin of them and their families. Simon, Lord Lovat, MacNeil of Barra, John Gordon, younger, of Glenbucket, were by this time apprehended, as were great numbers of inferior persons, severals of whom were treated most cruelly by some of the officers, specially by Captain Ferguson, a fellow of very low extract, born in the county of Aberdeen, who, being naturally of a furious, savage disposition, thought he could never enough harass, misrepresent and maltreat every one whom he knew, or suppos'd to be an enemy to the goodly cause he himself was embarked in. On the first day of July Sir James Steuart and his three fellow-prisoners were turn'd over from the Old Loo to the Terror sloop, commanded by Mr. Duff, son to Patrick Duff, sometime Laird of Craigstown in Buchan. Good Captain Noreberry sent his first lieutenant, Mr. Manwaring, along with them, desiring him to inform Mr. Duff how they had been treat by him while on board the Loo, and to tell him that whatever civilities he should show to them he would resent as done to himself. To which the haughty Duff paid very small regard. Within some hours after they came to this sloop, they were, by the great indulgence of their new captain, coop'd up in an ugly hole of about six foot long and somewhat less in breadth, where they suffer'd extremely for many weeks; nor could a Turkish bashaw have born himself higher towards these prisoners than the young officer did towards them while under his command. This sloop loos'd from the Island of Barra on the third of July, where the crew had done all the mischief they could, and within three days was on the coast of Buchan opposite to Rosantie, and the next day was opposite to Banff, where the brave captain went ashore to visit some of his near relations. That afternoon she made for Cromarty Road where she anchor'd and continu'd for some days, whence she was order'd to the road of Inverness, and there lay at anchor till the first of August, when she sail'd as a convoy to the Pamela of Barrowstownness, then a transport in the Government's service, on board of which were several scores of prisoners who (poor men!) had each of them the allowance of half a pound oat meal, such as it was, a day, and a chopin of water. On the seventh they anchor'd on the Thames opposite to Woolwich, and the ninth, Sir James was carried by a messenger to New-prison, where he was clapt in irons, soon after fever'd, and died within a week or two. It is well known how much this honest gentleman had been abus'd and oppress'd by the present Earl of Morton and his brainsick underlings in the Orknays, and the scandalous injustice he met with before a certain court held some years ago in Edinburgh, whose judges had, by his lordship's influence receiv'd peremptory orders from the then prime minister, etc., to pass sentence at all hazards against Sir James, which was accordingly done in plain opposition to common law and national practice. And during his confinement, yea, and after his death, the scurrilous Court scribblers were not ashamed, perhaps from the honest accounts they receiv'd from the Orknays, to publish the most arrant falshoods that Hell could invent; such as : That Sir James had been one of the Young Chevalier's chief officers, and had been frequently with him in some of his adventures, tho' the writter hereof can faithfully declare he never saw that prince in his life. Calumniare audaciter, etc. And they added that Sir James had been at the head of three hundred men in Orknay, whereby he had cruelly harass'd the Earl's partizans and the valuable fautors of the good old cause there; which was as real a truth as that Presbyterianism is the only government should obtain in the Christian Church, or that usurpation is no breach of our civil constitution. After Sir James was carried from the Terror, the three remaining prisoners were more harshly us'd than ever before. For tho' the hold to which they were confin'd had neither air nor light but from the door, and very little of either that way, their humane countryman, the tender hearted Captain, commanded the door to be shut and padlock'd upon them about eighth at night, and not to be opened till after eighth in the morning. And besides, two centinels were plac'd at the door with swords and pistols for the more security. In this situation Master Taylor was often necessitate to suck in air through the chinks of the door to prevent being stifled. Some days being spent under these new hardships, they were turn'd over to the formention'd Pamela, where many of the poor prisoners had died, and their bodies were thrown into the river. But the dead after this were interr'd at the charge of the inhabitants of Woolwich. Many were still heavily sick, and it was dangerous to be shut up in the hold with them. Here the three foresaid. captives met with MacNeil of Barra and Young Glenbucket, who had been brought prisoners on the Pamela from Inverness. On the 24th, the Pamela was order'd down the river to anchor between Gravesend and Tilburry Fort, where some other transports were lying with prisoners, which was no convenient station for people so confin'd, for the country on each side the river is very wet and marshy, which occasions frequent unwholesome fogs, and all the grand necessaries of life sell there at a much higher rate than in many places in England. At length by the indulgence of the Court every prisoner was allow'd half a pound weight of bread a day, and an quarter of an pound weight of cheese or butter for breakfast, and on the flesh days half an pound boil'd beef for dinner, but no ale or beer. But by the avarice and villainy of the victualler, one Bonny, a broken taylor, they seldom or never receiv'd above three-fourths of the said weights, and sometimes not so much. Besides, it was the opinion of many that the fleshes were none of the wholesomest kind, (#1) as being purchased from butchers who were suspected to deal in diseased cattle. But they were oblig'd to use such victuals or starve. And even such of the prisoners as had money were greatly straitned to obtain healthy provisions by the boundless avarice of the soldiers and backwardness of the sailors to bring them honestly from Gravesend. Upon the night of of September, Master Carmichael made his escape by getting out at the cabbin window, falling into the river, by which he was born up by four bladders which, it seems, he prepared for that end, and was carried to the Southwark side whence he got safe to London, and there remain'd in the safest way he could till after the Act of Indemnity was publish'd in Summer 1747. This elopement occasion'd no small confusion among the guard and shipmen, and the following night, Mr. Taylor, upon a mere suspicion that he must have been privy to and favour'd his escape, because they had slept together on the same bed, was after a long and strict examination by the commanding officer, Lieutenant Laurence (tho' otherwise a discrete and very sympathising man), forc'd down to the hold, among the throng of the prisoners, many of whom were now sick of fevers, fluxes, and other distempers ; and here (notwithstanding all his caution to prevent it) he fever'd within three or four days, and continued very bad for the space of two weeks; and had he not been most tenderly car'd for during his sickness by Mr. John MacDonald, a brother of Kinloch-moidarts, who had been bred a surgeon, and was one of the prisoners, he had good reason to apprehend it would have been fatal. How soon he began, by God's blessing, to recover he much desir'd to be above decks for the benefit of the open air, but was denied that freedom, especially when the foresaid officer was on board. And thus was he treated for the space of six weeks till Mr. Laurence was advis'd that his guard was to be very soon reliev'd by another party, and then he condescended to converse with and use Mr. Taylor more friendly; from his being convinc'd that he had no concern in Mr. Carmichael's elopement, and the day he was remov'd recommended him most warmly to the officer that was to succeed him, and to the sympathy of Thomas Grindly, master of the Ship. But this last was as void of this Christian quality as a Libyan tyger; and Barker, the new officer, was a rank atheist of a most scandalous life and lost character; who had not the least tincture of the social virtues and a very shame to human nature itself. Cruelty was one of his darling qualities, and had he not been restricted by his commission, he would probably have sacrificed all the poor prisoners to gratifie his impotent fury and madness. He catch'd some letters which Master Taylor had directed to some of his well-wishers in London and elsewhere, acquainting them with the state of his case and the hardship he had felt and yet fear'd (tho' they contain'd nothing reprensible, and sent them to the Secretary's office). But his malicious design was (to his regret) fairly disappointed. He oblig'd honest Mr. MacNeil of Barra and Mr. Gordon, younger, of Glenbucket, who was almost blind, to sleep in the hold, and put all the hardships he was capable of inventing upon them and all the captives there. On the first day of November, Barra and Mr. Gordon, in company with the Laird of Clanranald, Boysedale, etc., were carried by Mr. Dick, a messenger, to his house in London, where they were confin'd till Summer 1747. After this Mr. Taylor made application to Grindly for the benefit of the cabin now and then to get the use of the fire during the cold winter season, which he sometimes allow'd, and as often denied. But this harsh treatment did not in the least surprise Mr. Taylor, for Grindly is an ignorant, irreligious, intolerably forward, avaritious and self-conceited Whig, who possesses no greater share of sympathy toward his fellow creatures in distress than he does of good manners and common sense. He had been guide to the party that apprehended Sir Alexander Dalmahoy. About the beginning of December Mr. Kirk, a surgeon, who was appointed by the Court to attend the sick on board the transports and those confin'd in Tilbury Fort, seem'd much dissatisfied with Grindly's neglecting to wait of him with his ship's boat so punctually as he desir'd, and as 'twas said, complain'd thereof to the Admiralty, from which, on the 25th, there came an order to discharge the Pamela from the Government's service, and to bestow the prisoners in other transports lying off the said Fort. Accordingly Mr. Taylor, with other three prisoners, were carried on board the James and Mary, an English. transport, where they met with a great number of prisoners, among whom were four gentlemen who had been allow'd, for some time before, to sleep on a platform above the hold, to whom Mr. Taylor join'd himself. But a few days thereafter, upon the change of the guard, these poor gentlemen were order'd to the common hold which had not been clean'd from the horse's dung and piss, which were sometime before brought over in it from Holland. And here they were confin'd in a sad enough condition long beyond the time when Mr. Taylor was made to look for his liberation. For he was advis'd on the first day of the preceding October by a worthy friend, who had his intelligence from those who managed the then prosecutions against those who were called rebels or disaffected persons, that there had been no legal information entered against him, and that therefore he was judged entirely innocent. This gave him ground to expect he would, within a few days, be set at liberty. But either by the hurry of business the gentlemen at the helm of affairs were then really in, or by their indifference about relieving the poor innocents from their misery and distress, he obtained not his freedom till the thirteenth of February 1747. On the 15th he came to London and found by his long confinement and bad entertainment he was hardly able to walk the streets without great uneasiness, and had he not receiv'd assistance from some well dispos'd people there, especially from a worthy, right reverend nonjurant clergyman, his sufferings would have proved next to intolerable. Master Taylor had expected, from the time of his imprisonment, that when his innocence should have been examin'd into and discover'd, and his liberation obtain'd, the ministers in the administration would allow him a reasonable consideration for the losses he had sustain'd by so tedious a confinement, and for bearing his charges to Thurso. But after he had receiv'd his pass by the Duke of Newcastle's orders from Mr. Larpent, one of his clerks, he was by him advis'd to go to Captain Eyrs of Battera's regiment who had receiv'd some cash to be distributed to several prisoners (who were liberate at the same time with Mr. Taylor) from whom he got the liberal allowance of a guinea and an half, a sum very equal to the expenses he must be necessarily oblig'd to, considering his character and the valetudinary state he was reduc'd to by his undergoing so many hardships. This is a convincing proof of the justice and compassionate disposition of the celebrated administration to give such a trifle to a clergyman for his dammages and to support him from London to John of Groat's House, a distance of 515 miles.

(#1) Culloden by John Prebble Only one man succeeded in escaping from the Tilbury transports, at least only one is so recorded. Stewart Carmichael of Bonnyhaugh had been captured in September 1745 while on his way to join the Prince. He was brought to the Thames and transferred to the Pamela. The prisoners on board this ship were fed with the offal of diseased cattle and hogs supplied by speculators in Gravesend, and while most prisoners ate what they could of this Carmichael had the wit to see a further use for it. He saved the pigs’ bladders until he had four that could be inflated. One night he forced open a port, slipped over the side into the river, and, with the bladders beneath his arms, paddled his way to the Kent shore. He remained hidden in London until the Act of Indemnity.

Benjamin Moodie after delivering his captives to the Shark in Stromness Bay, he went back to harrying the Northern Isles and burning and plundering mansions until the Act of Indemnity. Lady Stewart was arrested at the end of August 1746 and shipped South, along with Lady Mackinnon of Skye and other ladies involved in the Prince’s cause, on a sloop called ‘The Hound’. She said that during the trip she had ‘been deprived of almost all the necessaries of life and otherwise suffered hardships very uncommon for the most guilty of her sex’. When she arrived at Tilbury, she was transferred to the Royal Sovereign and given a cabin, but had to sleep on the floor. Eventually due to the help of a friend who put up a surety of £1500, she was transferred to the custody of a Messenger, Mr Money in Southwark. The house was filthy, cold and overcrowded, Lady Mackinnon of Skye and Lady Clanranald, who had made the Betty Burke costume for the prince, were also there. Lady Stewart was freed in July 1747 under the Amnesty and went to live in Quality Street in Leith, close to Stewart Carmichael. Leith was a hotbed of Jacobites, centred on old Lady Bruce and Rev’d Robert Forbes. She petitioned hard to clear her dead husband’s name but to no avail. Burray was inherited by his nearest kinsman The Earl of Galloway. Lady Stewart lived in Leith until her death in 1779. She left just a few hundred pounds.

Stewart Carmichael had a linen printing business at Bonnington Mill in Leith, close to Edinburgh. On his return from London, he printed an exact copy of the material from which the dress, which Prince Charles had worn while escaping with Flora Macdonald, was made. He supplied it to many Jacobite ladies and the demand was so great that they could not keep up with it. The following are excerpts from ‘The Lyon in Mourning’ ……………… The Lyon in Mourning: Preface xviii First, there is a piece of the Prince's garters, which, says Bishop Forbes, 'were French, of blue velvet, covered upon one side with white silk, and fastened with buckles.'2 Next there is a piece of the gown worn by the Prince as Betty Burke, which was sent to Bishop Forbes by Mrs. MacDonald of Kingsburgh. It was a print dress, and from this or other pieces sent the pattern was obtained, and a considerable quantity of print similar to it made by Mr. Stewart Carmichael, already mentioned. Dresses made from this print were largely worn by Jacobite ladies, both in Scotland and England, for a time. Thirdly, there is a piece of tape, once part of the string of the apron which the Prince wore as part of his female attire. Bishop Forbes secured this relic from the hands of Flora MacDonald herself, who brought the veritable apron to Edinburgh, and gave the Bishop the pleasure of girding it on him.

The Lyon in Mourning: Vol 1 P.81 ' All the female rags and bucklings,' said Kingsburgh and his lady, ' that were left in the heart of the bush, were taken up and carried to our house in order to be carefully preserved. But when we had got notice that the troops had such exact intelligence about the Prince that they particularized the several bucklings of women's cloathes he had upon him, even to the nicety of specifying colours, etc., (and Kingsburgh and Miss MacDonald being by this time made prisoners) word was sent to Mrs. MacDonald and her daughter to throw all the female dress into the flames to prevent any discovery in case of a search.' When the rags were a destroying the daughter insisted upon preserving the gown (which was stamped linen with a purple sprig), saying that 'They might easily keep it safe, and give out that it belonged to one of the family.' The gown was accordingly preserved, and Kingsburgh and his lady promised to send a swatch of it to Mr. Stewart Carmichael at Bonnyhaugh as a pattern to stamp other gowns from.

The Lyon in Mourning: Vol 2 P.62-4 Letter from Dr John Burton to Bishop Forbes. March 24 1748 Pray give my compliments to Mr. Carmichael, and tell him if he has got any of Betty Burk's gowns ready he may send me 6, and I shall remit the money by some safe hand to him.

COPY of a RETURN to the preceding LETTER. Mr. Carmichael remembers you kindly, and bids me inform you that the gowns cannot be ready till about the end of May or the beginning of June, but that your commission is to be minded first.

The Lyon in Mourning: Vol 2 P.105 25 May 1748 from Bishop Forbes COPY of a LETTER to Dr. JOHN BURTON at his house in York.1 DEAR SIR,—To your kind letter of March 24th, I made a return of April 18th, which, I hope reached you in due course. This now serves to cover the letter of my friend Mr. Stewart Carmichael, who takes this opportunity of sending you (according to your commission) the printed cloath, which, I hope, will please the worthy ladies for whose use it is done. I can assure you it is done exactly according to the original, there being not one ace of difference in the figure. My best wishes attend you and all your concerns. I shall be glad to hear of your welfare and ever am, Dear Sir, Your affectionate friend and humble servant, ROBERT FORBES. Citadel of Leith, May 25th, 1748.

P.181 Letter from Dr John Burton to Bishop Forbes. 5th July 1748 I have never heard directly from Miss Flora MacDonald; but I have heard frequently of her. In crossing a ferry to Argyleshire she had almost been drown'd, the boat having struck upon a rock; but (under God) a clever Highlander saved her. Miss reached the Isle of Sky about the beginning of July, and waited upon her mother and the worthy Armadale, I believe she may be in Edinburgh some time this month, when 5 July I shall take an opportunity of informing her of your kind and affectionate remembrance of her. ……………. Mr. Carmichael is exceedingly pleased to hear that the gowns are so much liked, and remembers you with much kindness and gratitude.

P.318 COPY of a LETTER from Dr. BURTON at York, to me, ROBERT FORBES. 17 Sep 1748 . DEAR SIR,—The favour of yours by our friend R.C.1 came safe to hand, for which I think myself obliged to you. I am sorry I should be out of town the night our friend arrived, by which I lost the pleasure of his company, except a little in the evening before he went, when he did me the favour to sit about an hour with me at my house; and we were to have met next morning, which I fancy he forgot, and by this means was deprived of that opportunity of sending Mr. Carmichael the money for the gowns. I went to seek him, but he was just gone. I am sorry I lost that opportunity, because Mr. Carmichael will think me negligent; but shall take the first opportunity, or shall send to desire a person at Edinburgh to pay him. I have an order for three more of the finer sort; but they must each contain seven yards, which please desire him to send as soon as possible with the charge, which I shall faithfully remit with the other.

P.320 COPY of a RETURN to the preceding LETTER. 5th November 1748 DEAR SIR,—Your kind letter of September 17th I gladly received, and would have writ you a return before this time, but that I don't chuse to correspond with any one by post, as a practice prevails of opening letters in post-offices, and therefore I beg not to receive letters by post. Mr. Carmichael's gowns were all sold off before your letter came to hand, and the season being gone he had not time to answer your commission, which he is sorry for. However, if the ladies will have patience till next summer he will provide them. He desires to know if the ladies will have them next season.

Bonnyhaugh The first record of Bonnyhaugh is in 1621 when the Edinburgh Town Council imported a Dutchman, Jeromias Vanderheill, to help establish cloth making at Bonnington in Leith. They built the house and a fulling and dyeing house and let them to him 5 acres of bleaching greens. In 1723 these were purchased by Gilbert Stewart, the younger brother of John Stewart of Stenton. He died 30.11.1742 (Testament and Inventory registered 29/06/1744) leaving everything to his nephew, John Stewart of Stenton, another keen Jacobite. Stewart Carmichael, merchant in Edinburgh, was one of his executors. The property was not mentioned in Gilbert Stewart’s Testament and Inventory. It was purchased (presumably) by Stewart Carmichael (probably early in the 1740’s) but I have not found the contract. The Book of The Old Edinburgh Club vol.19 1933 refers to him as William Stuart Carmichael* and says ‘He purchased it from the heirs of Gilbert Stewart, linen manufacturer, Bonnington, just before his marriage in 1752 with Katherine, only daughter of Bishop Keith. After the marriage the Bishop and his wife removed from the Cannongate and resided at Bonnyhaugh….until he died here in 1757. All authorities, including the Dictionary of National Biography, erroneously assert that Bonnyhaugh was the Bishop’s property. From Stuart Carmichael’s marriage contract, preserved in The Register House, we learn that he was to invest five hundred pounds in the purchase of land to assure his wife an annual income should she survive him. Bishop Keith, on the other hand, gave his daughter a dowry of four hundred pounds. With these two sums Stuart Carmichael purchased the house and lands at Bonnyhaugh’. I think this must be incorrect as Stewart Carmichael owned at least some of Bonnyhaugh in 1747. I think the mistake comes from the fact that many Scottish legal documents were not registered until several years after they were written. There is a tack (lease) dated 4/08/1747 (registered 28.07.1752) granted by ‘Stewart Carmichael, merchant in Edinburgh, heritable proprietor of lands of Bonnyhaugh to William Wemyss, stiffner and his father Alex Wemyss, weaver in Perth, of that house at Bonnyhaugh high and drigh called the Cross House together with that other house called The Mount and the Eastmost boiling house. The term was 21 years from Whitsunday 1748’. Bonnyhaugh was eventually inherited by Stewart and Katherine’s daughter Stewartina who married William Douglas. She, on William’s advice sold it in 1786 to the Selby family, who purchased Bonnington Mills and some adjacent lands at the same time.

∑ This is the only reference to William Stuart Carmichael that I have found and am not sure where it came from.

Glasgow – by Thomas Martin Divine and Gordon Jackson Vol.1 P.83 In the 1730’s there was a spate of bleachers and printers such as the Pollockshaws Printing Field Company. In about 1743, with a truly modern approach to business, they offered to bleach free of charge cottons to be printed for more than ten pence per yard. However the Glasgow printing industry was so little developed that it was worthwhile for Stewart Carmichael & Company of Edinburgh to advertise a similar offer and a discount for quantity!

The first mention that I have found of Stewart Carmichael was October 14th 1736 when he was a witness, with Mrs Stewart and Miss Peggie Stewart, to the baptism by Revd Forbes of Janet daughter of William Pearson, dyster to Gilbert Stewart at Bonnyton Milns. There are lots of references to the Carmichaels in the records of the Episcopal Church of Leith. Robert Forbes was the Minister and remained so even after he was made Bishop of Ross and Caithness in 1762. We find Stewart Carmichael and or his wife as witnesses to the baptisms at Bonnyhaugh between 1744 and 1763 of ten children of James Wilsson, linen printer, and at various other weddings and confirmations. Other witnesses included Lady Stewart (of Burray), Lady Dysart and Mrs Forbes.

Stewart Carmichael died on 2nd July 1755 at Bonnington, Edinburgh. His daughter, Stewartina Catherina was born after his death .She was christened by the Rev. Robert Forbes on January 4th 1756 at Bonnyhaugh. The Godparents were Bishop Keith and his wife (her grandparents) and Mrs Forbes. Robert Forbes also confirmed her on April 15th 1767, with the chrism. She married William Douglas, merchant of Leith in 1775. (see William Douglas 1759 – 1814)

Who was Stewart Carmichael? The Rev ‘d James Taylor, Episcopal minister in Thurso, in his account of his sufferings between April 16th 1746 and April 16th 1747 included with his letter dated 8th March 1750 to Rev’d Robert Forbes A.M. Bishop of Ross and Caithness, stated that Stewart Carmichael was brother in law to Sir James Stewart of Burray, 3rd Bart. Sir James was married to Anne Carmichael daughter of David Carmichael, 9th of Balmedie and his wife Anne daughter of Thomas Graham of Balgowan. Rev’d Taylor was in a position to know this, having been a frequent visitor to Sir James and Lady Stewart and was staying with them, along with Stewart Carmichael, when Benjamin Moodie arrived.. Sir Bruce Gordon Seton Bt. and Jean Gordon Arnot in their book ‘The Prisoners of the ‘45’ refer to him as ‘being captured with his brother in law Sir James Stewart of Burray’. David Scott of Kirkwall wrote an article for the Orcadian in 1970 entitled ‘Moodie’s Revenge’ which is printed in ‘The Watt line’ by Flora Euphemia Watt. In it he refers to ‘Stewart Carmichael of Bonnyhaugh, the Jacobite brother of Lady Stewart’.

The fact that Stuart Carmichael went to stay with the Stewarts on Burray as soon as he was released from Edinburgh in May 1746 suggests a very close relationship. Anne Stewart after being released from imprisonment in July 1747 under the general amnesty, went to live in Quality Street in Leith, very close to Stewart Carmichael at Bonnyhaugh. Stewart Carmichael himself lived in Quality Street before he purchased Bonnyhaugh. Perhaps she went to live in his house.

Anne’s eldest brother, David Carmichael, rose in 1745 in support of Prince Charles Edward, was heavily fined and had to alienate the family estates in Scotland. Anne was an ardent Jacobite and so was Stewart Carmichael.

Burke’s Landed Gentry of Scotland 2001 does not list a son called Stewart to David Carmichael, 9th of Balmedie and Anna Graham. However it states that he ‘had with other issue’ Anne b.1697 who married Sir James Stewart of Burray Bt, David b.1701 who rose in the ’45, Thomas M.D. b.1702, John b.1705, Robert b.1707, James b.1710, Cecilia b. 1710, d. 1776, and William W.S. b.1711 and, I have found in addition, Euphem b. 1704 and Elizabeth b.1708. Anna died in 1729 and David had a second wife called Agnes Murray. There is an IGI Record from the Church of LDS which has a William Carmichael being born about 1703 at Balmedie, Aberdeen. (our Balmedie is in Fife!) The record was submitted after 1991 by a member of the church and there is no other reference. The other William was born in 1711.

It was not unusual for a younger son of the landed gentry to become a merchant. In fact, David, the eldest son of David Carmichael 9th of Balmedie, was apprenticed to James Blair, merchant in Edinburgh on 5th August 1719. James Blair was a Director of the Bank of Scotland in 1726, as was Gilbert Stewart. After the’45, David sold the family estates and later became a Burgess and Gild-brother of Edinburgh in right of his wife.

Intriguingly, Rebecca Carmichael, (the daughter of James Carmichael, the painter who studied under Gainsborough and son of John Carmichael, (the presumed brother to Stewart Carmichael), published a book of poems in Edinburgh in 1790. I have downloaded a copy from Google and the poems are rather good. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aVQCAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover... Amongst the subscribers was Mrs Stewart Douglas (Stewartina was known as Stewart, as is written in William Douglas’s will). The Douglas family bought more copies than most, which suggests a close relationship. Rebecca married John Hay in the Canongate, Edinburgh in 1793 but her husband died young, leaving her entirely destitute. Her son, David Ramsay Hay became a well known decorative artist and writer on art (see DNB)

Strangely according to Burke’s Landed Gentry and other books, Thomas Graham 4th of Balgowan had nine sons and seven daughters, amongst whom there was a daughter named Anna who married Robert Stewart 5th of Ardvorlich, who died in 1751 without issue. They also say that a daughter named Anna married David Carmichael 9th of Balmedie in 1698. He died in 1761. She mentions this in her will. So unless there was divorce there must have been two daughters named Anna.

Burke’s Landed Gentry erroneously suggests that Stewart Carmichael of Bonnyhaugh might have been the Stewart Carmichael, 3rd son of Dr Robert Carmichael of Balmblae, and great grandson of David Carmichael, 7th of Balmedie. This cannot be so as this Stewart Carmichael was alive in Jamaica in 1801, when he inherited his family estate of Balmblae at the age of 90. Our Stewart Carmichael of Bonnyhaugh died in 1755.

Portraits Portraits of Stewart Carmichael and his wife were passed down the Douglas family, together with other portraits including Prince Charlie, Bishop Keith, Field Marshall Keith, William Douglas (who married Stewartina Carmichael) and many documents. They were inherited by Charles Francis Hugh Keith-Douglas in 1918 who emigrated to Canada. Unfortunately their present location is not known. The Field Marshall’s dispatch box, which was one item in the collection, was presented to the Marischal Museum in Aberdeen in 1958 by Miss Helen Keith-Douglas.