History
Glencoe, What's in the Name? (2)
Secretary of State John Dalrymple was not ready to accept the late oath and moved to finish his diabolical plan. The orders were explicit: the MacDonalds were to be slaughtered - "cut off root and branch". Due to bad weather, of the three regiments sent to punish the clan, only one arrived in time. Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, a desperate man who had lost most of his possessions through gambling, headed the one that made it to Glen Coe.
A map of the area.
The soldiers arrived 12 days before the massacre and even received shelter and food from their hosts, the MacDonalds, honoring the famous Highland hospitality code. Neither the MacDonalds nor the common soldiers of the regiment knew what lay ahead. On February 13, a blizzard had covered Glen Coe with snow. The soldiers received their orders, and set about killing everybody they could. Thirty eight people were killed instantly, many more dying while escaping in the severe weather conditions.
It seems certain that some of the Campbell soldiers, disagreeing with their inhumane orders, warned the families in advance to give them time to escape. But even though the whole incident was arranged by the British government to punish the Highlanders, and was only carried out by one particularly merciless Campbell commander, the massacre of Glencoe soon became associated with the Campbells. From then on, the name of Campbell became part of this atrocity and even today the old Clachaig Inn at Glencoe carries the sign on its door, 'No Campbells'.
As for the MacDonalds, they recovered nicely. Relying on their strengths in cattle rustling and (arguably) hospitality, they went on to conquer the world with a successful fast-food chain. But that is a whole other story.
by Hanns-Peter Nagel
