Appin Murder
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The Appin Murder () was the assassination of Colin Roy Campbell, the
Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( gd, Na Caimbeulaich ) is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...
tacksman A tacksman ( gd, Fear-Taic, meaning "supporting man"; most common Scots spelling: ''takisman'') was a landholder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society. Tenant and landlord Although a tacksman generally paid a yea ...
of Glenure, on 14 May 1752 near
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 north ...
in the west of Scotland. The murder occurred in the aftermath of the
Jacobite Rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...
and led to the execution of
James Stewart 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 ...
s, often characterized as a notorious
miscarriage of justice A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal procedure, criminal or civil procedure, civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they actual innocence, did not commit. Mis ...
. The murder inspired events in
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 ...
's 1886 novel ''
Kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...
''.


Victim

Colin Roy Campbell of Glenure (1708-1752), nicknamed "The Red Fox", was the government-appointed
factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...
to the forfeited lands of the
Clan Stewart of Appin Clan Stewart of Appin is the West Highland branch of the Clan Stewart and have been a distinct clan since their establishment in the 15th century. Their Chiefs are descended from Sir James Stewart of Perston, who was himself the grandson of Al ...
in north
Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
. During the
Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulte ...
, a series of reprisals against Jacobite sympathizers in the aftermath of the
rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took pl ...
, Campbell had ordered several evictions of members of Clan Stewart. On 14 May 1752, Campbell was shot in the back by a
marksman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than-u ...
in the wood of Lettermore near
Duror Duror, ( gd, An Dùrar ) (meaning hard water), occasionally Duror of Appin is a small, remote coastal village that sits at the base of Glen Duror, in district of Appin, in the Scottish West Highlands, within the council area of Argyll and But ...
. Shortly before his murder, Colin Roy Campbell was mentioned by Jacobite poet
Alasdair MacMhaighstir Alasdair Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (c. 1698–1770), legal name Alexander MacDonald, or, in Gaelic Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill, was a Scottish war poet, satirist, lexicographer, political writer and memoirist. The poet's Gaelic name means "Alasdair, so ...
in his Anti- Whig satire '' An Airce''. In the poem, the ghost of a beheaded Jacobite who prophesies that his Campbell clansmen will soon be punished for committing
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 ...
against their lawful king. Colin is one of the few Whigs for whom the ghost confesses a certain respect:


Trial

The search for the killer targeted the Clan Stewart. The chief suspect, Alan Breck Stewart having fled,
James Stewart 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 ...
s, the
tanist Tanistry is a Gaelic system for passing on titles and lands. In this system the Tanist ( ga, Tánaiste; gd, Tànaiste; gv, Tanishtey) is the office of heir-apparent, or second-in-command, among the (royal) Gaelic patrilineal dynasties of Ir ...
of the Stewarts, was arrested for the crime and tried for the murder in a trial dominated by the pro-Hanoverian
Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( gd, Na Caimbeulaich ) is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...
: the chief ( gd, MacCailein Mòr)
Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop o ...
was the presiding judge and the 15-man jury contained Campbell clansmen. Although the trial showed that James was not directly involved in the assassination (he had a solid
alibi An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...
), he was found guilty "in airts and pairts" (as an accessory; or an aider and abetter). James Stewart was hanged on 8 November 1752 on a specially commissioned
gibbet A gibbet is any instrument of public execution (including guillotine, decapitation, executioner's block, Impalement, impalement stake, gallows, hanging gallows, or related Scaffold (execution site), scaffold). Gibbeting is the use of a gallows- ...
above the narrows at Ballachulish, now near the south entrance to the Ballachulish Bridge. He died protesting his innocence, lamenting that people of the ages may think him capable of a horrid and barbarous murder. Before mounting the
scaffold Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely used ...
, he sang the Metrical version of the 35th Psalm in
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 ...
: To this day in the Highlands, it remains known as "The Psalm of James of the Glens". James of the Glens' corpse was left hanging at the south end of the Ballachulish Ferry for eighteen months as a warning to other Clans with rebellious intentions. Over those months, it was beaten and battered by winds and rain. As it deteriorated, the skeletal remains were held together with chains and wire.


Recent scholarship

In ''Walking With Murder: On The Kidnapped Trail'' (2005), Ian Nimmo has addressed the mystery of who shot Colin Campbell, applying modern police methods to the documents in the case, including two post-mortem reports. According to Nimmo, Alan Stewart did not pull the trigger, and the secret of who did has been handed down through the Stewart family for 250 years. Nimmo chose not to reveal it, stating that "it is not mine to give away". In 2001, Anda Penman, an 89-year-old descendant of the
Clan Chief The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard c ...
s of the Stewarts of Appin, alleged the murder had been planned by four young Stewart tacksmen without the sanction of James of the Glens. There was a shooting contest among them and the assassination was committed by the best
marksman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than-u ...
among the four, Donald Stewart of Ballachulish. According to some accounts, Donald desperately wanted to turn himself in rather than allow James to hang and had to be physically held down to prevent this. Several years after James's execution, when the body was finally delivered to the Stewart Clan for burial, Donald Stewart of Ballachulish was responsible for washing the bones before the funeral. In his 2004 examination of the evidence, Lee Holcombe also concluded that Donald Stewart, rather than Allan Breck Stewart, was probably the actual shooter. However, he also concluded that James of the Glens was indeed guilty of ordering the murder of Colin Campbell.


Recent legal developments

There is a movement afoot to gain a
pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
for James of the Glens. In 2008, Glasgow lawyer John Macaulay asked the
Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, established by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (as amended by the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act ...
to reconsider the case on the grounds his study of the trial transcripts shows there was "not a shred of evidence" against Stewart. but was denied due to the case being so old it was not in the interest of justice. As of 2010, the application lies with the Scottish government.


Notes


References

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backup site (page 5)


Further reading

* * * *


See also

*
William Grant, Lord Prestongrange William Grant, Lord Prestongrange (1701 – 23 May 1764), was a Scottish politician and judge. Grant was procurator for the Church of Scotland and Clerk to the General Assembly in 1731. He campaigned against patronage in the Church. He was appo ...
the chief prosecutor. *
Keppoch murders The Keppoch Murders ( gd, Murt na Ceapaich) is the name given to the murders of Alexander MacDonald, 12th of Keppoch and his brother Ranald by rival claimants to the chieftainship of the MacDonalds of Keppoch. The murders took place on September ...


External links

*
Lyrics to "The Red Fox" (Big Country song about the murder)
25 October 2009) {{Kidnapped 1752 in Scotland History of the Scottish Highlands Lochaber Murder in Scotland Political scandals in Scotland Unsolved murders in Scotland