The Elusive "Colonel Cameron"

[Thomas Cameron]

Greetings,

It's been very quiet here in the Message Center, and I'm hoping to get things going once again with a good question. There are numerous mentions of a Colonel Cameron, who seems to have taken the young Sir Ewen under his wing, when he returned from his mentoring/forced confinement with Argyll. Does anyone have even the most remote quess as to whom Colonel Cameron was? I recall his being mentioned as a veteran of numerous conflicts, prior to Ewen's return to Lochaber.

[SherbrookeJacobite]

Hi Tom,
I'm afraid I'm not able to shed much light on the unknown Colonel Cameron, aside from the fact that he apparently served under the great Montrose, and in that service he commanded the Cameron clansmen, who made up part of Montrose' largely Highland army.

John Drummond of Balhaldy, in his "Memoirs of Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiell" says of the Colonel "That gentleman was in no small reputation for the gallantry of his behaviour".

Due to the fact that he had bravely and loyally served his King, and suffered wounds in that service - Lochiel was able to procure for the Colonel a pension from King Charles II, which he would receive for the rest of his life.

That Lochiel would go to such extraordinary lengths for this man speaks to the esteem he must have held him in. Given the Colonel's history with Montrose, and his observance of that great man and military strategist, his mentoring of young Ewen undoubtedly had a significant impact on Lochiel's later military successes, and unshakeable resolve.

Ewen, in later conflicts and battles, overcame what seemed like impossible odds, through a combination of courage, and cunning, which reflected the earlier successes of Montrose. We know that Lochiel was inspired by Montrose, and it may well be that through this Colonel Cameron, he may have actually learned some of his tactics.

Having said all that, I have no theories on who the man may have been. I will dig out some information I have on Montrose and his army and see if there is mention of a leader of the Camerons among them.

Slainte,

John

[SherbrookeJacobite]

The only reference I can find naming a Cameron in my Montrose material refers to Allan Cameron, the then Lochiel.

Hopefully someone else can enlighten us!

[SherbrookeJacobite]

I have a theory about the identity of the elusive "Colonel Cameron". The fact that he was a "Colonel" indicates that he was of high rank in the Clan. Also, the fact that he led the Cameron contingent in the ranks of James Graham's army, also leads us to someone who was close to Lochiel.

The clues lead me to the conclusion that a very likely candidate is 'Donald na Cuire' (Donald of the Knife), brother to Allan Cameron of Lochiel, and Uncle of the young Ewen. Donald na Cuire was the progenitor of the Camerons of Glendessary. He is described by John Stewart of Ardvorlich as "tutor" to his nephew, Ewen Dubh. Presumably this relationship was subsequent to Ewen Dubh's time with his Uncle Argyll. Even if it was prior to this time, it speaks to a relationship between the two.

A further clue is also found in John Stewart's Clan Cameron history when he states "On the outbreak of Civil War Donald joined Argyll with a body of Cameron clansmen, and formed part of the 'uncanny trewsmen' who went to the Convention at Perth in 1639, which was also attended by Montrose".

This may appear confusing to those who will recall that the Camerons fought with Montrose againstArgyll, one of the great villians of that time. The reality was that initially Montrose was part of the Covenant, and was one of the signatories to the original document signed to present to King Charles. As we know, James Graham was not willing to take up arms against his King, and soon realized that Argyll had designs that were motivated by personal ambition and self interest, and these interests were not in concert with the ideals envisaged by those who signed the original Covenant.

Given the fact that Montrose soon broke with Argyll and the Covenanters, and the fact that Clan Cameron formed an important part of his army, it follows that Donald na Cuire led his Camerons in support of the Graham and King Charles I. It also follows that a brother of Lochiel would be a senior officer. Given his relationship to Ewen Dubh, and his role of tutor, it is natural that he would have taken Young Ewen "under his wing" following Ewen's mentoring/confinement with the Campbell.

His leadership of the Clan during Montrose's largely successful campaign would also explain his being a veteran of numerous conflicts - presumably including the great victory over the Campbells at Inverlochy.

Donald was also an astute businessman, and lent Aryll a considerable sum of money (around 1650), in return for a warranty over the lands of Ardnamurchan, Sunart, and Morvern, which woiuld have greatly expanded his nephew and his Clan's lands. The warranty was voided by the execution of the traitorous Argyll in 1685, and although King James promised to grant Ewen a Charter for the lands - this promise was invalidated by more traitorous acts, which led to the usurpation of King James' throne by William of Orange and his supporters.

That is my theory, and I think it a plausible one. What do others think?

Slainte,

John