The Glencoe Massacre, 1692: Murder Under Trust

Each major claim carries one of three labels. established means supported by primary records, official bodies or several independent reliable sources. shared means the core fact is sound but sources disagree on details, dates or interpretation. traditional means widely repeated but not traceable to a primary or independent source.

The written orders survive, as does the report of the 1695 commission, so responsibility is unusually well documented. Later accounts, especially Jacobite and Victorian ones, added romantic detail and recast the event as a clan feud. This card relies on the documents and labels the legends.

The oath

established After the Jacobite rising of 1689, William's government wanted the Highland clans to submit. In August 1691 it offered a pardon to every chief who swore allegiance before a sheriff by 1 January 1692. Many delayed while waiting for permission from the exiled James VII, which arrived only in December.

established Alasdair MacIain, the elderly chief of the MacDonalds of Glencoe, went to Fort William on 31 December 1691, but Colonel John Hill, the governor, was not a sheriff and sent him on to Inveraray with a letter asking that he be received. Delayed by snow, and then by the absence of the sheriff, Sir Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas, MacIain took the oath a few days after the deadline. The sheriff accepted it, but the oath was later struck from the list submitted to the Privy Council.

The plan

established John Dalrymple, Master of Stair, the Secretary of State for Scotland, saw a chance to make an example of a small and troublesome Catholic clan. In January 1692 instructions were issued, signed and countersigned by King William, to "extirpate that sept of thieves". Dalrymple's letters show his determination that the action be thorough and carried out in winter, when the glen could not be escaped.

The billeting

established On 1 February 1692 about 120 soldiers of the Earl of Argyll's Regiment of Foot, under Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, arrived in Glencoe. They said they needed quarters because the garrison at Fort William was full. Following Highland custom, the MacDonalds took them in and fed them for nearly two weeks. Glenlyon was related to MacIain by marriage, and played cards with his hosts.

13 February 1692

established On 12 February Major Robert Duncanson sent Glenlyon written orders "to fall upon the rebels, the McDonalds of Glencoe, and putt all to the sword under seventy" at five o'clock the next morning, adding that the old fox and his sons must not escape. Before dawn on 13 February the soldiers attacked the settlements where they were billeted. MacIain was shot as he rose from his bed. In all, 38 MacDonalds were killed. Others escaped into the snow, where about 40, mostly women and children, died of exposure after their homes were burned. A larger force that was meant to block the glen's exits arrived late, which allowed most of the clan to escape.

traditional Tradition holds that two lieutenants broke their swords rather than obey, and that some soldiers warned their hosts in veiled terms. These stories may contain truth but are hard to verify.

Murder under trust

established Killing in war was one thing; killing those who had given you hospitality was another. Scots law since 1587 had treated "slaughter under trust" as an aggravated form of murder, comparable to treason. When news of the massacre spread, it caused outrage. A commission of inquiry reported in 1695, and the Scottish Parliament declared the killings murder. It blamed Dalrymple, who resigned, and recommended prosecution of Glenlyon, Duncanson and others, but by then the regiment was serving abroad, beyond the reach of Scots law, and no one was punished. The commission avoided blaming the king, though he had signed the orders.

Not just a clan feud

shared The massacre is often told as an episode in a long feud between the Campbells and MacDonalds, and the troops were indeed commanded by a Campbell in a Campbell regiment. But many of the soldiers were not Campbells, the orders came from Edinburgh and London, and the real architects were government officials. Historians see it as state policy, an attempt to terrorise the Highlands into submission. The famous "No Campbells" sign once displayed at the Clachaig Inn in Glencoe was a piece of humour that kept the feud story alive.

Memory

established The massacre became powerful Jacobite propaganda and helped turn Highland opinion against William's government. A memorial cross stands in the glen at Carnoch, and a wreath is laid there every 13 February. The National Trust for Scotland, which owns much of Glen Coe, interprets the massacre at its visitor centre.

• MacIain missed the oath deadline by only a few days, delayed by snow.
• The soldiers lived with their victims for nearly two weeks before the massacre.
• The written order to kill everyone under 70 still survives.
• King William signed the instructions but escaped blame.
• Scots law already treated "slaughter under trust" as aggravated murder.
• A wreath is laid in the glen every 13 February.

• Myth: Glencoe was just a Campbell and MacDonald clan feud. The commander was a Campbell in a Campbell regiment, but many of the soldiers were not Campbells and the orders came from Edinburgh and London. Historians see it as state policy, an attempt to terrorise the Highlands into submission.
• Myth: MacIain refused to take the oath. He went to Fort William on 31 December 1691, was sent on to Inveraray, and took the oath a few days late after delays caused by snow and the sheriff's absence.
• Disputed: How many people died. Thirty-eight MacDonalds were killed in the attack. About 40 more, mostly women and children, are said to have died of exposure afterwards. The two figures should not be run together.
• Disputed: The sword-breaking story. Tradition says two lieutenants broke their swords rather than obey, and that some soldiers warned their hosts. These stories may contain truth but are hard to verify.