The Mad Monarchist: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia 1924-2015

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Tuesday, 26 February 2013

Highland Charge in America

Posted on 22:16 by vikash gupta

It was on this day in 1776 that the battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge was fought near Wilmington, North Carolina. Unfortunately a victory for the republican side, it was nonetheless a display of great courage and heroism on the part of the loyal royalists and, as far as I am aware, the last example of a traditional “highland charge” in North America. The Revolutionary War had still not taken hold completely in the southern colonies prior to the battle and the Royal Governor of North Caroline, Josiah Martin, was, like others, convinced that with only a modest force of Redcoats the loyalists of his colony could be rallied to the cause of King and Country, subdue the rebels and restore the place to loyal obedience; and not only North Carolina but the whole of the south. These expectations proved to be rather overly optimistic as when the two sides met at Widow Moore’s Creek bridge, it was the loyalists who were outnumbered by the equally hastily organized rebel militia by a few hundred men. Perhaps the most memorable thing about the battle, and what our focus today will be, was that the loyalist side was made up almost totally of Scottish highlanders and, it is noteworthy, a great many Jacobites.

Governor Martin
After the glorious disaster known as the ‘45 Jacobite Uprising, many highland Scots had left the rather unpleasant atmosphere of Scotland for the New World and settled in the Piedmont area of North Carolina. Some today would probably not expect these men to have been likely sympathizers with the cause of King George III, however, not long after the troubles in America began, the Scotsman Allan Maclean obtained permission from the King to recruit loyal fellow Scots in North America to fight for the Crown in the Royal Highland Emigrants Regiment. Some of these men were long-time veterans of the British army but others had previously fought against it. For example, in North Carolina, to of the leading officers employed by Maclean in gathering Scotsman for the Royal Emigrants were Donald MacLeod and Donald MacDonald both of whom were veterans of the Battle of Bunker Hill. However, also recruiting for the cause of King George III was Allan MacDonald, a noted loyalist and the husband of the Jacobite heroine Flora MacDonald who had saved the life of “Bonnie Prince Charlie” and aided his escape to Skye. She supported the Crown as well and Allan MacDonald was appointed brigadier-general by the governor and rode himself across the colony from town house to country cabin urging people to take up arms for the King and in opposition to the rebels.

Those who responded had a variety of motivations. Aside from the pull of King and Country, there were local tensions to be considered. Since there settlement more and more people had started to move into the Piedmont area and these people tended to be of the Whig/Patriot persuasion and clashed with the more established residents of the area. Even those Scots not inclined to great adoration for King George III were often willing to fight for his side simply to stop the influx of colonists intruding on what had previously been their exclusive domain. For the Jacobites among them, there was also the memory that they had fought for something more than simply fidelity to the House of Stuart, as fervent as that was and as deeply felt as their personal loyalty to the “King across the water” had always been. Part of what was at the core of all of that was the idea that legitimate authority comes from God and so the idea of a democratic republic was unthinkable and downright wicked. King George III may not have been the monarch they would have most preferred, but better a Hanoverian king than a revolutionary republic and regardless of who was on the throne it was important that the ties between America and Britain (including Scotland) not be broken.

By 1776 Anglo-Scottish tensions had also eased considerably and it is a fact as well that even in the ‘45 at least as many Scots as supported Prince Charles just as fervently supported King George II. For many, it took the outbreak of republicanism in North America to reconcile the two sides in the common defense of the principle of monarchy. When they set out to confront the rebels they expected some assistance from Britain but the expedition intended to reinforce them was delayed by bad weather in Ireland and did not arrive. Neighboring Virginia had also known disaster was a hastily organized loyalist force with little support was overwhelmed by rebel forces and it was to be the same for North Carolina. Donald MacDonald, Donald McLeod and John Campbell led a little over 700 men into the fight at Widow Moore’s Creek where they were met by more than a thousand rebels. It was an awesome sight, coming on as they were in the ‘grand old style’ many in full highland dress and with bagpipes wailing away. At one point, Captain Campbell picked a group to charge across the bridge, which they did brandishing their claymores and shouting “King George and Broadswords!” only to be cut to pieces by withering rebel fire.

The aftermath was pretty bad for the cause of the Crown with loyalists being hunted down and taken prisoner or simply dispatched out of hand but, of course, it was only the beginning of the revolutionary war in the south and by no means the end. Today, however, I would suggest that monarchists take inspiration from those highland Scots who charged the rebel lines at Widow Moore’s Creek and the Jacobites in particular. Certainly it is an example of great bravery but from a somewhat unexpected quarter. Therefore it can also serve as something of a lesson for monarchists today, particularly those die-hard Jacobites who linger about the on-line world of theoretical monarchism. Far from sitting comfortably from a safe distance, pouring scorn on the existing authorities of the time, some of these men had actually suffered at the hands of Hanoverian troops, men who had shed blood and had their own blood shed in the cause of the House of Stuart and yet they put that past aside, never forgetting it and never ceasing to honor it, but in order to come together for the cause of kingship and traditional authority in opposition to revolutionary republicanism. That is an example that we would all do well to emulate.
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to Facebook
Posted in america, Great Britain, jacobite, north carolina, Revolutionary War, Scotland | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • The Colonial Empire of Japan
    It seems strange that the Empire of Japan, despite being only a minor colonial power and that only for a few decades, is often more controve...
  • The Teutonic Knights
    When one thinks of the old-fashioned image of a knight, one probably first thinks of the Knights Templar or other Crusaders fighting in the ...
  • Royal Profile: Prince Victor Emmanuel, Count of Turin
    Prince Victor Emmanuel, Count of Turin was born in Turin on November 24, 1870 to Prince Amadeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta and Maria Victoria al...
  • A Self-Hating World
    I have commented before about the extent to which the European peoples have been depopulating and I have recently also ranted on about my an...
  • Monarchist Profile: General Niklaus Franz von Bachmann
    One of the most famous Swiss soldiers in history, Niklaus Franz von Bachmann was a notable monarchist, all the more so for coming from a cou...
  • Monarchist Profile: Field Marshal Joseph Graf Radetzky von Radetz
    One of the most celebrated Austrian soldiers and a staunch defender of the Hapsburg monarchy in the revolutions of 1848 was Graf Radetzky. J...
  • A Happy Birthday
    The Mad Monarchist wishes HM Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and etc a very happy birthday today, which happily is on a date which ...
  • Monarch Profile: Queen Victoria of Great Britain
    In the history of the British and previously English monarchy there are several great names that stand out, just as in the royal annals of a...
  • International Monarchist Conspiracy Against Texas?
    It sounds absurd to be sure and, in this case, it certainly was. However, it says something about how paranoid early Americans were about mo...
  • Video: Su Majestad el Rey jura la Constitución y es proclamado Rey de España

Categories

  • 2013
  • 2014
  • abdication
  • abortion
  • ad
  • afghanistan
  • Africa
  • aga khan
  • Akihito
  • america
  • anniversary
  • argentina
  • armenia
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Austria-Hungary
  • Baden
  • Bavaria
  • Belgium
  • Bhutan
  • birth
  • Birthday
  • blog
  • blog policy
  • bonaparte
  • bosnia
  • Bourbon
  • Brazil
  • British Empire
  • brunei
  • bulgaria
  • bullfighting
  • burma
  • cambridge
  • Canada
  • cardinal
  • caribbean
  • Carlism
  • Carlists
  • castile
  • Catholic
  • Catholic Church
  • Charles I
  • children
  • China
  • Christ the King
  • christianity
  • christmas
  • clash
  • colony
  • communism
  • Congo
  • consort
  • coronation
  • croatia
  • crusades
  • czech
  • czechoslovakia
  • death
  • democracy
  • Denmark
  • dominican republic
  • Easter
  • Economic crisis
  • egypt
  • Elizabeth II
  • Emperor
  • emperor of austria
  • emperor of vietnam
  • empire series
  • England
  • eternal rest
  • Ethiopia
  • fascism
  • fashion
  • favorites
  • film
  • Finland
  • flag
  • France
  • French Revolution
  • gay marriage
  • Germany
  • golden horde
  • government
  • Grace Kelly
  • Great Britain
  • Greece
  • Grimaldi
  • guadeloupe
  • guest
  • halloween
  • Hanover
  • Hapsburg
  • Harald V
  • Hesse
  • History
  • hohenzollern
  • holiday
  • Holland
  • Holy Roman Empire
  • Hungary
  • images
  • immigration
  • incoherent ramble
  • independence
  • India
  • indonesia
  • Iran
  • Ireland
  • Islam
  • italy
  • jacobite
  • jamaica
  • Japan
  • Jerusalem
  • Jordan
  • Juan Carlos
  • judaism
  • July 4
  • kent
  • knighthood
  • Korea
  • libertarianism
  • Liechtenstein
  • luxembourg
  • mad rant
  • madagascar
  • mail
  • malaysia
  • malta
  • Manchu
  • manchukuo
  • Margrethe II
  • marriage
  • Maximilian
  • Mexico
  • Middle East
  • military
  • ming dynasty
  • mini
  • Monaco
  • monarch
  • monarchism
  • Monarchist
  • monarchists
  • monarchy
  • money
  • Mongolia
  • mongols
  • montenegro
  • movie review
  • mussolini
  • mythology
  • Nam Phuong
  • Napoleon
  • Napoleon III
  • nazi
  • netherlands
  • New Sweden
  • new year
  • news
  • Nguyen
  • Nguyen Dynasty
  • nigeria
  • normans
  • north carolina
  • Norway
  • Obama
  • obeisance
  • opinion
  • Orange
  • Orleans
  • Ottoman Empire
  • Our Lady of Guadalupe
  • Pahlavi
  • pan-monarchism
  • Papal Profile
  • Persia
  • personal
  • piedmont-sardinia
  • plantaganet
  • politics
  • Pope
  • portraits
  • Portugal
  • president
  • pretender
  • prince william
  • prophecy
  • Prussia
  • Q&A
  • qatar
  • Qing
  • Qing Dynasty
  • qing emperors
  • questions
  • quote
  • radical islam
  • Rama IX
  • refuting republicanism
  • regalia
  • regent
  • religion
  • remedios
  • republicanism
  • Revolutionary War
  • Risorgimento
  • Romania
  • Romanov
  • Rome
  • royal
  • royal saint
  • Russia
  • sacred heart
  • saudi arabia
  • savoy
  • saxe-coburg-gotha
  • saxony
  • scandinavia
  • Scotland
  • scripture
  • selangor
  • serbia
  • Siam
  • Sicily
  • slovakia
  • slovenia
  • socialism
  • South Africa
  • Spain
  • st patrick
  • story
  • stuart
  • succession
  • sudan
  • swaziland
  • Sweden
  • switzerland
  • syria
  • taxes tea party USA
  • ted kennedy
  • templars
  • texas
  • texas friends
  • Thailand
  • the Netherlands
  • thirty years war
  • thurn und taxis
  • Tibet
  • trebizond
  • Tudor
  • Turkey
  • Two Sicilies
  • UAE
  • ukraine
  • Ungern-Sternberg
  • US President
  • USA
  • Vatican
  • viceroy
  • Victoria
  • video
  • Vietnam
  • vision
  • Wales
  • wettin
  • white russians
  • Willem-Alexander
  • windsor
  • Word War I
  • World War I
  • World War II
  • yugoslavia

Blog Archive

  • ►  2015 (6)
    • ►  January (6)
  • ►  2014 (211)
    • ►  December (4)
    • ►  November (11)
    • ►  October (15)
    • ►  September (12)
    • ►  July (24)
    • ►  June (29)
    • ►  May (24)
    • ►  April (26)
    • ►  March (22)
    • ►  February (21)
    • ►  January (23)
  • ▼  2013 (283)
    • ►  December (21)
    • ►  November (24)
    • ►  October (23)
    • ►  September (25)
    • ►  August (32)
    • ►  July (34)
    • ►  June (30)
    • ►  May (28)
    • ►  April (31)
    • ►  March (25)
    • ▼  February (10)
      • Downfall of the Monarchy of Madagascar
      • Highland Charge in America
      • Favorite Royal Images: An English Duchess
      • Monarch Profile: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
      • MM Sunday Scripture
      • Royal News Roundup
      • Struggle for Monarchy on the U.S.-Mexican Border
      • Happy Birthday King Harald
      • Electing a Pope
      • Consort Profile: Princess Antoinette de Merode-Wes...
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

vikash gupta
View my complete profile