Glencoe The Story Of The Massacre

Glencoe is a great book. It helps peel back the legends and expands on references to the massacre of Glencoe for anyone who knows or has an interest in Scottish history. As mentioned, I was under the impression that it was mainly a clan feud. Being a member of Clan Donald I have heard of the Campbells and MacDonalds historical rivalry. Mr. Prebble helps show that it was more, much more. The MacDonalds of Glencoe were no angels for sure but the Highland way of life was very different from Lowland Scotland and England. Mr. Prebble shows us that it was a power play of a lowland government aiding an English cabinet and Dutch King (William III). This was a knee jerk reaction to the Jacobites and the beginning of the end of the Highland way of life. Mr. Prebble shows each character and his involvement in Glencoe and the fallout. We get a great history of the Glen and prior inhabitants and a good view of highland life and that of the Glencoe MacDonalds. We get some background into the primary Campbell's; the Earls of Argyll and Breadalbane and Captain Robert Campbell, laird of the neighboring Glenlyon and common rival to Glencoe. We meet MacIan of Glencoe and his sons. Plus the Master of Stair, Col. John Hill of Fort William and a little of William III. This book helps take out the legend and put in the facts and the many motives and actions that led to the Glencoe tragedy. Mr. Prebble spares no details. He is definitely thorough. A must read.

I recently visited Lochaber and was taken in by Glencoe's beauty. A friend who knew I was interested in the 1692 massacre highly recommended this book. I had read up on the massacre which I thought was simply a blood feud between clans. Prebbles painstakingly debunks that simplistic view and describes the complex web of events that led to the massacre and its aftermath. Drawing from many contemporary sources Prebbles weaves a tale that is dramatic and thought provoking. Along the way the reader is given a copious dose of 17th century Scottish history. The result is a book that tells of intrigue, political maneuvering, the lowlanders contempt of the highlanders, and the residue of the Jacobite movement. Further, Prebbles delves into the issue of personal responsibility without being accusatory. I would have given this book five stars but at times the author goes a bit too much into minutae. This book was a prequel to Prebbles' earlier books on Culloden and The Highland Clearances. I intend to read both.

As a blood member of Clan Campbell I always make every effort to avoid the subject of Glencoe. For some reason though I picked up this book and I am glad that I did. John Prebble has done an excellent job of telling the whole story in this book and I have found that the legends leave a lot of the story out. This is a book that would be of interest to all people with Scottish ancestry, especially to those of Clans Campbell and MacDonald. It seems that King William had become the target of mocking tongues around Europe because he could not control the Highlanders. He and his Secretary for Scotland, the Master of Stair were willing to do anything to solve the problem except spend money. Stair, a Lowlander had the normal Lowlander's hatred for the Highlanders and it was he who was most responsible for the massacre. But there is plenty of blame to go around.The Campbells of course are not blameless for they actually carried out to plan, although they had no idea what they had been sent to Glencoe for until just hours before the deed was to be carried out. There were also very thinly veiled threats against the commander of the expedition if he failed to carry out the orders delivered to him less than twelve hours before the massacre was to commence. Campbell of Glenlyon, the commander of the troops involved, and most of his command had very good reason to despise the MacDonalds of Glencoe and were well chosen for the mission. After the massacre many Campbell troops carried home household items and animals that had been stolen from them by this set of MacDonalds. There was even a kettle in the chief's kitchen that had been stolen from the Campbell commander himself. Still warnings were apparently given to some of the Glencoe families and that along with a blinding snowstorm allowed most of the intended victims to escape. The author makes a very good argument that if Lowland or English troops had been sent instead of Campbells, the slaughter would have been much greater. MacDonald of Glencoe himself must bear part of the blame for he knew full well that he must take the oath of loyalty before his local sheriff but since that officer was a Campbell he showed up at Fort William only twenty-four hours before the deadline hoping to avoid appearing before the Campbell sheriff. The commander of the fort as well as the Sheriff were sympathetic to MacDonald and asked that his late submission be accepted. The Master of Stair again enters the picture, making sure the oath wasn't accepted and ordering the attack. Even James II bears some responsibility as he delayed for an unreasonable time in freeing the clans from their oath to him, thereby putting his most loyal supporters in grave danger for no real reason. Stair had assumed that there would be no repercussions from the raid since no one seemed to be all that fond of the MacDonalds of Glencoe. They had after all stolen from most of their neighbors and Stair figured this was just the group t

In the waning years of the 17th century there was committed an atrocity whose echoes are still reverberating. Angered by the marauding ways of the MacDonalds of Glencoe, the King (William of Orange) and his ministers -- most notably the Master of Stair -- draft orders for their murder. The Argyle regiment is sent to Glencoe and asks to be quartered with the MacDonalds. After two weeks of accepting the sacred hospitality of the highlanders, the troops wait for the signal and butcher their hosts. A wry "coda" describes how all the English and Scots politicos, from the King on down, tried to wriggle out of the responsibility for the massacre. Prebble's Scottish histories are unfortunately out of print now. GLENCOE, as well as CULLODEN and THE HIGHLAND CLEARANCES, are superbly written and a necessity for any tourist visiting Scotland who wants to understand the historical background.