John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee
Encyclopedia
John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee (c. 21 July 1648 - 27 July 1689), known as the 7th Laird of Claverhouse until raised to the viscounty in 1688, was a Scottish
soldier and nobleman, a Tory
and an Episcopalian
. Claverhouse is remembered as a persecutor of the Covenanter
s, when he was responsible for policing south-west Scotland during and after the religious unrest and rebellion of the 1670s and 80s, which led to Presbyterian historians dubbing him "Bluidy Clavers". However, Claverhouse recommended lenient treatment of the Covenanters and married into a prominent Covenanter family. Later, as a general in the Scottish army, Claverhouse remained loyal to King James VII of Scotland (King James II of England)
after the so-called Glorious Revolution
of 1688. He rallied the loyal Highland clans and, although he lost his life in the battle, led them to victory at Killiecrankie
. This first Jacobite rising
was unsuccessful, but Claverhouse became a Jacobite hero, acquiring his second soubriquet "Bonnie Dundee
".
, through his second daughter Princess Mary. John Graham was born of a junior branch of the family, that had acquired the estate of Claverhouse
near Dundee
. He was the elder son of Sir William Graham and Lady Madeline Carnegie, 5th daughter of the Earl of Southesk
. He had a younger brother, David, and two sisters. Both John and David were educated at the University of St Andrews
, graduating in 1661.
William Graham died in around 1652, and the brothers became the responsibility of their uncles and other relatives. In 1660 they were listed as burgesses of Dundee, probably at the instigation of their paternal uncle George Graham. John Graham came of age and inherited the Claverhouse estate in about 1667. The Claverhouse properties included a house in Glen Ogilvie, in the Sidlaw Hills
to the north of Dundee (since demolished), Claypotts Castle
, and a house at Mill of Mains. In 1669 Graham's maternal uncle, David Carnegie, Lord Lour
, obtained him an appointment as a Commissioner of Excise and Justice of the Peace
for Angus
.
. By 1674, Graham was a Cornet in William of Orange
's guards. He was present at the Battle of Seneffe
that year, and rescued the young Prince when his horse fell in marshy ground. As a reward for his actions, Dundee received a Captain’s commission in the same troop. Two years later, following an unsuccessful siege of Maastricht, Graham resigned his commission and returned to Scotland. William wrote a letter to James, Duke of York
(later James VII), who was both his uncle and father-in-law, recommending John Graham as a soldier.
and sent to south-west Scotland in 1678, with orders to suppress conventicles (outdoor Presbyterian meetings) that the king deemed seditious. His reputation for relentless repression of the Covenanter
s, as they are known today, in Dumfries and Galloway
earned the nickname of "Bluidy Clavers". The difficulties of his task, the hostility of the populace, and the nature and extent of the country he was required to watch were too great for the leader of a small body of cavalry, and in spite of his vigorous and energetic action, Graham accomplished little. He conducted his occupation with zest, however, and interpreted consistently the orders he received, acting as both judge and executioner. In 1685 he executed John Brown
for his refusal to swear that he would not take up arms against the king (as he had done before), and to take the Oath of Abjuration: "I do hereby abhor, renounce and disown in the presence of Almighty God, the pretended Declaration of War lately affixed at several parish churches, in so far as it declares war against his sacred Majesty, and asserts that it is lawfull to kill such as serve his Majesty in Church, State, Army or Country, or such as act against the authors of the pretended Declaration now shown to me."
On 1 June 1679 the Covenanters routed him and his company of dragoons at the Battle of Drumclog
, whereupon he fled to Glasgow
, successfully defending it until his party left on 3 June, heading towards Stirling. Later joined by the Duke of Monmouth, the whole of the militia, and two regiments of dragoons, both sides met again at the Battle of Bothwell Brig, on 22 June, and the Covenanters were convincingly routed. In 1680 he was dispatched to London
to influence the king against the indulgent method adopted by the Duke of Monmouth with the extreme Covenanting party. The king seems to have been fascinated by his loyal supporter, and from that moment Graham was destined to rise in rank and honors. Early in 1680 he obtained a royal grant of the barony of the outlawed Macdougal of Freuch, and the grant was after some delay confirmed by subsequent orders upon the exchequer in Scotland.
In January 1681 he was appointed to the sheriffships of Wigtown, Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and Annandale. In December 1682 Graham was appointed colonel of a new regiment raised in Scotland. He had still greater honors in view. In January 1683 the case of the Earl of Lauderdale
was debated in the House of Lords. Lauderdale was proprietor of the lands and lordship of Dundee and Dudhope, and the decree of the Lords against him was in March 1683 issued for the sum of 72,000 pounds. Graham succeeded in having the Castle of Dudhope (part of the property of the defaulter) and Lauderdale's title of Constable of Dundee transferred to him by royal grant in 1684. In May 1683 he was nominated to the privy council
of Scotland.
; but in May he was reinstated, although his commission of justiciary, which had expired, was not renewed. In 1686 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and had added to his position of Constable the dignity of Lord Provost of Dundee. In 1688 he was second in command to General Douglas in the army which had been ordered to England to aid the falling dynasty of the Stuarts. In 1688, however, he was created Viscount Dundee by James VII
while with the Scots army in England.
with regard to holding Edinburgh Castle
for the king. The convention proving hostile, he conceived the idea of forming another convention at Stirling to sit in the name of James VII, but the hesitancy of his associates rendered the design futile, and it was given up. Previous to this, on 18 March, he had left Edinburgh
at the head of a company of fifty dragoons, who were strongly attached to his person. He was not long gone ere the news was brought to the alarmed convention that he had been seen clambering up the castle rock and holding conference with the Duke of Gordon. In excitement and confusion order after order was dispatched in reference to the fugitive. Dundee retired to Dudhope. On 30 March he was publicly denounced as a traitor, and in the latter half of April attempts were made to secure him at Dudhope, and at his residence in Glen Ogilvy. But the secrecy and speed of his movements outwitted his pursuers, and he retreated to the north.
In 1689, after the overthrow of King James, he became a fervent supporter of the Stuart
cause. Viscount Dundee raised his standard on Dundee Law in support of the Jacobite
cause. However, in spite of his subsequent association with Dundee he was to face what the historian of Jacobitism, Bruce Lenman, has described as a 'stony faced' reception from the townsfolk. In reality, Claverhouse's association with Dundee was brief and unpopular and he was seen as the representative of an arbitrary authoritarian monarchy that was eroding the previous self autonomy of the Burgh. Indeed when he returned to Dundee with a Jacobite army (Dundee Law at that time laid outside the Burgh walls) he was to find the gates firmly shut and the walls guarded. For four months he rallied support in the hope that King James would return from Ireland. Modern biographers, particularly Andrew Murray Scott's Bonnie Dundee (1989, 2000) considers that his skill as a diplomat was as great as the inspiration he provided as a leader.
His greatest victory was at the Battle of Killiecrankie
, later that year against much greater Williamite forces led by General Hugh Mackay
. Scott believes that Claverhouse's death in victory as he led the Jacobite charge down the hill at sunset was the final desperate act of a man who was aware that he had been betrayed by Melfort the King's adviser and was trying to overcompensate for their lack of support. The Highlanders were completely victorious, but their leader, in the act of encouraging his men, was pierced beneath the breastplate by a musket ball of the enemy, and fell dying from his horse. Graham reputedly asked a soldier 'How goes the day?' The man replied 'Well for King James, but I am sorry for your lordship.' The dying Graham replied, 'If it goes well for him, it matters the less for me.' A short letter of the engagement to King James was later produced which purports to be from Graham but is now believed to be spurious. The battle, disastrous as it was to the government forces, was in reality the end of the insurrection, for the controlling and commanding genius of the rebellion was no more. The death of Dundee, in the midst and the confusion of a cavalry charge, formed the subject of numerous legends, the best known of which is the long prevalent but of course entirely false tradition that he was invulnerable to lead(due to a deal with the devil) and was killed by a silver button from his own coat. He died on the battlefield and was carried to nearby St Bride's Kirk a few miles away where he was buried. The stone which commemorates him at the crypt there gives his age (erroneously) as 46, though he was actually 41.
The use of "Bonnie Dundee
" (or "Bonny Dundee") as an epithet dates to within a few years of the Viscount's death.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
soldier and nobleman, a Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
and an Episcopalian
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....
. Claverhouse is remembered as a persecutor of the Covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
s, when he was responsible for policing south-west Scotland during and after the religious unrest and rebellion of the 1670s and 80s, which led to Presbyterian historians dubbing him "Bluidy Clavers". However, Claverhouse recommended lenient treatment of the Covenanters and married into a prominent Covenanter family. Later, as a general in the Scottish army, Claverhouse remained loyal to King James VII of Scotland (King James II of England)
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
after the so-called Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688. He rallied the loyal Highland clans and, although he lost his life in the battle, led them to victory at Killiecrankie
Battle of Killiecrankie
-References:*Reid, Stuart, The Battle of Kiellliecrankkie -External links:* *...
. This first Jacobite rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
was unsuccessful, but Claverhouse became a Jacobite hero, acquiring his second soubriquet "Bonnie Dundee
Bonnie Dundee
Bonnie Dundee is a poem and a song about John Graham, 7th Laird of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee who was known by this nickname. The song has been used as a regimental march by several Scottish regiments in the British Army and was adapted by Confederate troops in the American Civil...
".
Early life
The Graham family was descended from King Robert IIIRobert III of Scotland
Robert III was King of Scots from 1390 to his death. His given name was John Stewart, and he was known primarily as the Earl of Carrick before ascending the throne at age 53...
, through his second daughter Princess Mary. John Graham was born of a junior branch of the family, that had acquired the estate of Claverhouse
Claverhouse
Claverhouse is an area of Dundee, Scotland. John Graham of Claverhouse , known to history as "Bonnie Dundee" or "Bluidy Clavers" by his supporters and detractors respectively, was the laird of Claverhouse, although he was born at Glen Ogilvie, near Glamis....
near Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
. He was the elder son of Sir William Graham and Lady Madeline Carnegie, 5th daughter of the Earl of Southesk
David Carnegie, 1st Earl of Southesk
Sir David Carnegie, 1st Earl of Southesk, 1st Baron Carnegie of Kinnaird, 1st Baron Carnegie, of Kinnaird and Leuchards was a Scottish nobleman. He was a member of the Privy Council of Scotland and held the office of Lord of Session...
. He had a younger brother, David, and two sisters. Both John and David were educated at the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
, graduating in 1661.
William Graham died in around 1652, and the brothers became the responsibility of their uncles and other relatives. In 1660 they were listed as burgesses of Dundee, probably at the instigation of their paternal uncle George Graham. John Graham came of age and inherited the Claverhouse estate in about 1667. The Claverhouse properties included a house in Glen Ogilvie, in the Sidlaw Hills
Sidlaw Hills
The Sidlaws are a range of hills of volcanic origin in the counties of Perthshire and Angus in Scotland that extend for 30 miles from Kinnoull Hill, near Perth, northeast to Forfar. Law is a Lowland Scots word of Old English origin meaning a hill which rises sharply from the surrounding land...
to the north of Dundee (since demolished), Claypotts Castle
Claypotts Castle
Claypotts Castle is a medieval castle located in the suburban West Ferry area of Dundee, Scotland.-History:The castle was originally built by John Strachan around the period of 1569 and 1588 according to dates inscribed on stones that make up parts of the castle, which make its construction longer...
, and a house at Mill of Mains. In 1669 Graham's maternal uncle, David Carnegie, Lord Lour
David Carnegie, 2nd Earl of Northesk
David Carnegie, 2nd Earl of Northesk was born the son of John Carnegie, 1st Earl of Northesk and Magdalen Haliburton before 1627. He died on 12 December 1679....
, obtained him an appointment as a Commissioner of Excise and Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
.
Military service abroad
He began his military career in 1672, as a Junior Lieutenant in Sir William Lockhart's Scots Regiment. This regiment was under the command of the Duke of Monmouth, in the service of the French King, Louis XIVLouis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
. By 1674, Graham was a Cornet in William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
's guards. He was present at the Battle of Seneffe
Battle of Seneffe
The Battle of Seneffe was fought on 11 August 1674 and resulted in a draw.The armies were under the command of Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé and the Dutch-German-Spanish army under William III of Orange....
that year, and rescued the young Prince when his horse fell in marshy ground. As a reward for his actions, Dundee received a Captain’s commission in the same troop. Two years later, following an unsuccessful siege of Maastricht, Graham resigned his commission and returned to Scotland. William wrote a letter to James, Duke of York
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
(later James VII), who was both his uncle and father-in-law, recommending John Graham as a soldier.
Military Service in Scotland
After leaving Holland, Graham was appointed captain by Charles IICharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
and sent to south-west Scotland in 1678, with orders to suppress conventicles (outdoor Presbyterian meetings) that the king deemed seditious. His reputation for relentless repression of the Covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
s, as they are known today, in Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...
earned the nickname of "Bluidy Clavers". The difficulties of his task, the hostility of the populace, and the nature and extent of the country he was required to watch were too great for the leader of a small body of cavalry, and in spite of his vigorous and energetic action, Graham accomplished little. He conducted his occupation with zest, however, and interpreted consistently the orders he received, acting as both judge and executioner. In 1685 he executed John Brown
John Brown (Covenanter)
John Brown , also known as the Christian Carrier, was a Protestant Covenanter from Priesthill, a few miles from Muirkirk in Ayrshire, Scotland. He became a Presbyterian martyr in 1685....
for his refusal to swear that he would not take up arms against the king (as he had done before), and to take the Oath of Abjuration: "I do hereby abhor, renounce and disown in the presence of Almighty God, the pretended Declaration of War lately affixed at several parish churches, in so far as it declares war against his sacred Majesty, and asserts that it is lawfull to kill such as serve his Majesty in Church, State, Army or Country, or such as act against the authors of the pretended Declaration now shown to me."
On 1 June 1679 the Covenanters routed him and his company of dragoons at the Battle of Drumclog
Battle of Drumclog
The Battle of Drumclog was fought on 1 June 1679, between a group of Covenanters and the forces of John Graham of Claverhouse, at High Drumclog, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.- The battle :...
, whereupon he fled to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, successfully defending it until his party left on 3 June, heading towards Stirling. Later joined by the Duke of Monmouth, the whole of the militia, and two regiments of dragoons, both sides met again at the Battle of Bothwell Brig, on 22 June, and the Covenanters were convincingly routed. In 1680 he was dispatched to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to influence the king against the indulgent method adopted by the Duke of Monmouth with the extreme Covenanting party. The king seems to have been fascinated by his loyal supporter, and from that moment Graham was destined to rise in rank and honors. Early in 1680 he obtained a royal grant of the barony of the outlawed Macdougal of Freuch, and the grant was after some delay confirmed by subsequent orders upon the exchequer in Scotland.
In January 1681 he was appointed to the sheriffships of Wigtown, Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and Annandale. In December 1682 Graham was appointed colonel of a new regiment raised in Scotland. He had still greater honors in view. In January 1683 the case of the Earl of Lauderdale
Charles Maitland, 3rd Earl of Lauderdale
Charles Maitland, 3rd Earl of Lauderdale , was the second son of John Maitland, 1st Earl of Lauderdale ....
was debated in the House of Lords. Lauderdale was proprietor of the lands and lordship of Dundee and Dudhope, and the decree of the Lords against him was in March 1683 issued for the sum of 72,000 pounds. Graham succeeded in having the Castle of Dudhope (part of the property of the defaulter) and Lauderdale's title of Constable of Dundee transferred to him by royal grant in 1684. In May 1683 he was nominated to the privy council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
of Scotland.
Marriage and Promotion
He married Lady Jean Cochrane, a daughter of a fiercely Covenanting family in 1674. Shortly after the death of Charles II in 1685, Graham incurred a temporary disgrace by his deposition from the office of Privy CouncillorPrivy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
; but in May he was reinstated, although his commission of justiciary, which had expired, was not renewed. In 1686 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and had added to his position of Constable the dignity of Lord Provost of Dundee. In 1688 he was second in command to General Douglas in the army which had been ordered to England to aid the falling dynasty of the Stuarts. In 1688, however, he was created Viscount Dundee by James VII
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
while with the Scots army in England.
Service in the Revolution of 1689
Dundee returned to Scotland in anticipation of the meeting of the convention, and at once exerted himself to confirm the waning resolution of the Duke of GordonGeorge Gordon, 1st Duke of Gordon
George Gordon, 1st Duke of Gordon KT, PC , known as Marquess of Huntly from 1661 to 1684, was a Scottish peer....
with regard to holding Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
for the king. The convention proving hostile, he conceived the idea of forming another convention at Stirling to sit in the name of James VII, but the hesitancy of his associates rendered the design futile, and it was given up. Previous to this, on 18 March, he had left Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
at the head of a company of fifty dragoons, who were strongly attached to his person. He was not long gone ere the news was brought to the alarmed convention that he had been seen clambering up the castle rock and holding conference with the Duke of Gordon. In excitement and confusion order after order was dispatched in reference to the fugitive. Dundee retired to Dudhope. On 30 March he was publicly denounced as a traitor, and in the latter half of April attempts were made to secure him at Dudhope, and at his residence in Glen Ogilvy. But the secrecy and speed of his movements outwitted his pursuers, and he retreated to the north.
In 1689, after the overthrow of King James, he became a fervent supporter of the Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
cause. Viscount Dundee raised his standard on Dundee Law in support of the Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
cause. However, in spite of his subsequent association with Dundee he was to face what the historian of Jacobitism, Bruce Lenman, has described as a 'stony faced' reception from the townsfolk. In reality, Claverhouse's association with Dundee was brief and unpopular and he was seen as the representative of an arbitrary authoritarian monarchy that was eroding the previous self autonomy of the Burgh. Indeed when he returned to Dundee with a Jacobite army (Dundee Law at that time laid outside the Burgh walls) he was to find the gates firmly shut and the walls guarded. For four months he rallied support in the hope that King James would return from Ireland. Modern biographers, particularly Andrew Murray Scott's Bonnie Dundee (1989, 2000) considers that his skill as a diplomat was as great as the inspiration he provided as a leader.
His greatest victory was at the Battle of Killiecrankie
Battle of Killiecrankie
-References:*Reid, Stuart, The Battle of Kiellliecrankkie -External links:* *...
, later that year against much greater Williamite forces led by General Hugh Mackay
Hugh Mackay
Hugh Mackay was a Scottish general best known for his service in the Revolution of 1688.- Early military career :...
. Scott believes that Claverhouse's death in victory as he led the Jacobite charge down the hill at sunset was the final desperate act of a man who was aware that he had been betrayed by Melfort the King's adviser and was trying to overcompensate for their lack of support. The Highlanders were completely victorious, but their leader, in the act of encouraging his men, was pierced beneath the breastplate by a musket ball of the enemy, and fell dying from his horse. Graham reputedly asked a soldier 'How goes the day?' The man replied 'Well for King James, but I am sorry for your lordship.' The dying Graham replied, 'If it goes well for him, it matters the less for me.' A short letter of the engagement to King James was later produced which purports to be from Graham but is now believed to be spurious. The battle, disastrous as it was to the government forces, was in reality the end of the insurrection, for the controlling and commanding genius of the rebellion was no more. The death of Dundee, in the midst and the confusion of a cavalry charge, formed the subject of numerous legends, the best known of which is the long prevalent but of course entirely false tradition that he was invulnerable to lead(due to a deal with the devil) and was killed by a silver button from his own coat. He died on the battlefield and was carried to nearby St Bride's Kirk a few miles away where he was buried. The stone which commemorates him at the crypt there gives his age (erroneously) as 46, though he was actually 41.
The use of "Bonnie Dundee
Bonnie Dundee
Bonnie Dundee is a poem and a song about John Graham, 7th Laird of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee who was known by this nickname. The song has been used as a regimental march by several Scottish regiments in the British Army and was adapted by Confederate troops in the American Civil...
" (or "Bonny Dundee") as an epithet dates to within a few years of the Viscount's death.
In literature
- '"The Grameid", an epic poem in Latin on the Claverhouse campaign of 1689 was written by James Philip of Almerieclos, an Angus laird who was Dundee's kinsman and standard-bearer.
- Claverhouse's campaign is the subject of a poem called "Bonny Dundee" written by Sir Walter Scott in 1830 (later adapted into a song known as Bonnets o' Bonnie Dundee")
- Claverhouse is one of the central characters in Sir Walter Scott's novel, Old MortalityOld MortalityOld Mortality is a novel by Sir Walter Scott set in the period 1679–89 in south west Scotland. It forms, along with The Black Dwarf, the 1st series of Scott's Tales of My Landlord. The two novels were published together in 1816...
. - Claverhouse is the subject of Rosemary SutcliffRosemary SutcliffRosemary Sutcliff CBE was a British novelist, and writer for children, best known as a writer of historical fiction and children's literature. Although she was primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults; Sutcliff herself once commented that she wrote...
's 1983 young adult novel, "Bonnie Dundee". (In exile in Holland, Hugh Herriot recalls the exploits of his youth as a follower of Bonnie Dundee who tried to win back Scotland for the Catholic King James and whose death during a victorious battle proved to be a final blow for the Jacobite cause.) - "The Phoenix and the Laurel" (1954), a historical novel by Jane Lane (author)Jane Lane (author)Jane Lane was the pen name of Elaine Kidner Dakers, a British historical novelist and biographer distantly related to the Jane Lane who aided Charles II after his defeat at Worcester. She is best known for her books about the Stuart period and 18th century Scotland, written from a Catholic and...
also takes the story of Claverhouse as its subject
External links
- Claverhouse, an 1887 biography of John Graham, by Mowbray Morris, from Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...