Statue of Alan Breck and David Balfour - geograph

Alan Breck Stewart (

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

: ''Ailean Breac Stiùbhart''; c. 1711 – c. 1791) was a Scottish soldier and Jacobite. He was also a central figure in a murder case that inspired novels by

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

and

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

Life and the Appin murder

In accordance with the

fosterage Fosterage, the practice of a family bringing up a child not their own, differs from adoption in that the child's parents, not the foster-parents, remain the acknowledged parents. In many modern western societies foster care can be organised by th ...

customs of the Highland clans, Alan Stewart and his brothers grew up under the care of their relative

James of the Glen James Stewart of the Glen, (Gaelic: ''Seumas a' Ghlinne''; c. 1698 - 8 November 1752) also known as James of the Glens, was a leader of the Scottish Clan Stewart of Appin. He was wrongfully accused and hanged as an accessory to the Appin Murder, t ...

Appin Appin ( gd, An Apainn) is a coastal district of the Scottish West Highlands bounded to the west by Loch Linnhe, to the south by Loch Creran, to the east by the districts of Benderloch and Lorne, and to the north by Loch Leven. It lies northe ...

. His nickname, Breck, came from the Gaelic for "spotted", as his face bore scars from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. Stewart enlisted in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) * ...

in 1745, just before the

Jacobite rising , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

of that year. He fought at the

Battle of Prestonpans The Battle of Prestonpans, also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, was fought on 21 September 1745, near Prestonpans, in East Lothian, the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Jacobite forces, led by the Stuart exile C ...

, but deserted to the Highland Jacobites. He subsequently fought for the Jacobites, but after they were defeated at the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...

, he fled to France, accompanying his commander and clan captain, Colonel Charles Stewart of Ardshiel (Ardshiel was not the chief of the Appin Stewarts, but took command in the absence of the chief). After joining one of the Scottish regiments serving in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

, Stewart was sent back to Scotland to collect rents for the exiled clan leaders and to recruit soldiers for the French crown. On 14 May 1752, Colin Campbell of Glenure, the royal agent collecting rents from the Ardshiel Stewarts, was murdered. As Alan Stewart had previously publicly threatened Glenure and had enquired about his schedule for the day in question, a warrant was issued for his arrest. However, he evaded capture. He was ''

tried in absentia Trial in absentia is a criminal proceeding in a court of law in which the person who is subject to it is not physically present at those proceedings. is Latin for "in (the) absence". Its meaning varies by jurisdiction and legal system. In comm ...

'' and sentenced to death. His foster father, James, was convicted as an accessory to the murder and hanged. Later investigations suggest that the murderer could not have been Stewart. In the murder of Glenure, the British government saw the potential danger of Jacobite assassinations of their agents in the Highlands, on the one hand, and also a potential renewal of a Campbell/Stewart feud, on the other. The execution of James of the Glen increased the Stewarts' discontent. Locally, especially after he was immortalised in fiction, Alan Breck Stewart was portrayed as a romantic figure. There is no record of what happened to Stewart after the trial. One common story, derived from Sir Walter Scott, is that he returned to military service for the French crown and served against the British in North America during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. Another tale, passed down through the Stewart family, is that he fled to Ireland and set up a farm. There are now many Stewart descendants living in Ireland.

The Alan Breck's Prestonpans Volunteer Regiment

Founded in 2007, the Alan Breck's Prestonpans Volunteer Regiment is a living history and battle re-enactment society focusing on the 1745 Rising and associated histories. Half of the society portray redcoat soldiers and half Jacobites, in recognition of Stewart's service on both sides of the conflict, and is accordingly named after him. The society is based in Prestonpans, East Lothian, but performs at events around the country and has members from across Scotland.

References

Sources

*Nicholson, Eirwen E. C. "Allan Stewart", in Matthew, H.C.G. and Brian Harrison, eds. ''

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

.'' vol. 52, 628. London:

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004. *Nimmo, Ian (2005). ''Walking with Murder: On the Kidnapped Trail''. Birlinn Ltd. Paperback. *Gibson, Rosemary. "The Appin Murder: In Their Own Words" ''History Scotland.'' Vol.3 No.1 January/February 2003 *MacArthur, Lt. Gen. Sir William: 'The Appin Murder and the Trial of James Stewart' (1960) JMP Publishing. *Hunter, Professor James.'Culloden and the Last Clansman'

External links

''The Scotsman'' article on James of the Glen's deathThe Appin Murder in Pictures, from the BBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Allan British Army soldiers People convicted of murder by Scotland Jacobite military personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745 People sentenced to death in absentia Prisoners sentenced to death by Scotland Scottish Jacobites Scottish military personnel Scottish people convicted of murder Scottish prisoners sentenced to death Year of birth uncertain Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown