Brigadier William Mackintosh of Borlum (1658–1743), often referred to simply as Mackintosh of Borlum, was a leader of the
Jacobite rising of 1715
The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ;
or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts
The House of Stuart, ori ...
.
Ancestry
William Mackintosh, 4th of Borlum was the head the
Mackintosh of Borlum cadet branch of the
Clan Mackintosh
Clan Mackintosh (''Clann Mhic an Tòisich'') is a Scottish clan from Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The chiefs of the clan are the Mackintoshes of Mackintosh. Another branch of the clan, the Mackintoshes of Torcastle, are the chiefs of Cl ...
, a
Scottish clan
A Scottish clan (from Goidelic languages, Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official ...
of the
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
. He was the son of William Mackintosh, 3rd of Borlum and Mary, daughter of Duncan the Baillie of Duncean.
Their seat was at Borlum Castle which was near
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
.
Jacobite rising of 1715
William Mackintosh, 4th of Borlum had achieved some distinction in French service. When the
Jacobite rising of 1715
The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ;
or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts
The House of Stuart, ori ...
broke out in favour of
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from ...
, the chief of the Clan Mackintosh along with Mackintosh of Borlum marched into the town of Inverness to proclaim King James. Mackintosh of Borlum intercepted post that granted a
commission from the Government for
Munro of Foulis to be made commandant of Inverness. The leader of the Jacobite rising was
John Erskine, Earl of Mar who dispatched a force of 2500 men under the command of Brigadier Mackintosh of Borlum. They crossed the
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.
Name
''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...
in boats on 11 and 12 October 1715, but only about 1500 of them made it across, including the whole of the Mackintosh regiment. Mackintosh of Borlum came close to capturing
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
but it was too well defended and so he instead took possession of
Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
, where he entrenched himself in a fort that had been built by
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
. The
Duke of Argyll
Duke of Argyll ( gd, Diùc Earraghàidheil) is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful ...
who supported the Government made an approach on the fort but withdrew after seeing that an assault would be useless without cannons and that the occupants were defiant.
Brigadier Mackintosh of Borlum then moved to
Seton House which was the seat of
Lord Winton. While he was there he received orders on the 18th from Mar to march into
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and join forces with
Lord Kenmure and the English Jacobite,
Thomas Forster. However, the Jacobite march into England was disastrous. Mackintosh of Borlum had been against the move, wanting instead to meet up with the Jacobite clans under
General Gordon and this move would have at least secured
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
for the Jacobites. Instead the Jacobite army, now under the command of Forster, was defeated at the
Battle of Preston in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
. During the battle the attack on Brigadier Mackintosh of Borlum's barrier had been repeatedly repulsed with heavy losses inflicted on the attackers. However, with the Jacobite defeat Brigadier Mackintosh of Borlum was taken prisoner and kept as a hostage. He was imprisoned in
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...
in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
. On 14 April 1716, along with Forster he was attained for
High treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
and examined before a
Commission. They pleaded not guilty and had three weeks to prepare for trial on 5 May 1716. Forster escaped from the prison at about 11 o'clock on 4 May and Mackintosh along with about fifteen others overpowered the guards and rushed out. Seven were recaptured in the maze of London but the rest, including Brigadier Mackintosh of Borlum, managed to escape. The Government offered a £1000 reward for his capture.
John Prebble
John Edward Curtis Prebble, FRSL, OBE, (23 June 1915 – 30 January 2001) was an English journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. He is known for his studies of Scottish history.
Early life
He was born in Edmonton, Middlesex, England, but in 1921 ...
considers that Mackintosh of Borlum should really have led the rising instead of Mar.
Jacobite rising of 1719
Brigadier William Mackintosh, 4th of Borlum escaped abroad and his father, the 3rd of Borlum, died the same year. Brigadier William Mackintosh, 4th of Borlum returned with a small force of 6000 Scots and Spaniards during the
Jacobite rising of 1719
The Jacobite Rising of 1719 was a failed attempt to restore the exiled James Francis Edward Stuart to the throne of Great Britain. Part of a series of Jacobite risings between 1689 to 1745, it was the only one to be supported by Spain, then at wa ...
who had landed on the
Isle of Lewis
The Isle of Lewis ( gd, Eilean Leòdhais) or simply Lewis ( gd, Leòdhas, ) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as ...
under the command of
William Murray, Marquess of Tullibardine
William Murray, Marquess of Tullibardine (14 April 1689 – 9 July 1746) was a Scottish nobleman and Jacobite who took part in the rebellions of 1715, 1719, and 1745.
Attainted for his role in 1715, his younger brother James succeeded as ...
but who were subsequently defeated at the
Battle of Glen Shiel
The Battle of Glen Shiel ( gd, Blàr Ghleann Seile) took place on 10 June 1719 in the West Scottish Highlands, during the 1719 Jacobite Rising. A Jacobite army composed of Highland levies and Spanish marines, was defeated by British troops, rei ...
. Mackintosh of Borlum lingered for sometime in Scotland without detection but was ultimately apprehended and imprisoned in
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...
. He spent the rest of his life in prison. After being kept in captivity for nearly a quarter of a century he died on 7 January 1743, true to his Jacobite principals, aged 80. During his time in captivity he had published a "treatise on agriculture" and the year before he died, "a scheme for curbing depredation in the Highlands" - which was apparently being used with success thirty years later.
Family
William Mackintosh, 4th of Borlum had married Mary Reade, and they had two sons Lachlan and Shaw who both emigrated to the
Colony of Georgia
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
with the Highland Rangers, a regiment in the British Army that was recruited by
James Oglethorpe
James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to re ...
. Both Lachlan and Shaw fought in the
War of Jenkins' Ear
The War of Jenkins' Ear, or , was a conflict lasting from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and the Spanish Empire. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It is con ...
.
He was succeeded by his eldest son.
Bagpipe music
There is a
bagpipe
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...
tune called "Mackintosh of Borlum's Salute" that was written in honour of Brigadier William Mackintosh, 4th of Borlum.
Ballads
Alluding to Mackintosh of Borlum's escape from Newgate Prison was the following London ballad:
Brave Derwentwater
Derwentwater, or Derwent Water, is one of the principal bodies of water in the Lake District National Park in north west England. It lies wholly within the Borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria.
The lake occupies part of Borrowda ...
he is dead,
From his fair body they took his head;
But Mackintosh and his friends are fled,
And they'll set the hat on another head.
But whether they're gone beyond the sea,
Or if they abide in this countree,
Though our king would give ten thousand pounds,
Old Mackintosh will scorn be found.
Angus Mackintosh who was an editor of the ''Celtic Monthly'' also quotes a
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
ballad which relates to the death of Mackintosh of Borlum and which translates in English as:
Fare-thee-well thou gallant Borlum,
That the Stuarts never failed;
Ere thou reached the peaceful haven,
Rough the seas o'er which thou sailed.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackintosh of Borlum, William
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
Escapees from England and Wales detention
People of the Jacobite rising of 1715
People of the Jacobite rising of 1719
Scottish Jacobites
Scottish rebels
Scottish soldiers
1658 births
1743 deaths