Allan Stewart (Jacobite)
Encyclopedia
Ailean Breac Stiùbhart was an 18th-century soldier and Scottish
Jacobite
resistance figure. He was the centre of a murder case that inspired novels by Walter Scott
and Robert Louis Stevenson
.
customs of the Scottish Clans, Allan Breck Stewart and his brothers grew up under the care of his relative, James Stewart (known as "James of the Glen
") in Appin
, Scotland
. He enlisted in the British Army
of George II in 1745, just prior to the Jacobite rising
of 1745. He fought at the Battle of Prestonpans
, but he either deserted to the Highland Jacobites. He subsequently fought for the Jacobites during the campaign of the 'Forty-Five and at the Battle of Culloden
. After the defeat of the Jacobites at Culloden, Stewart fled to France, accompanying his commander and Clan Captain, Colonel Charles Stewart of Ardshiel. (Ardshiel, however, was not the chief of the Appin Stewarts, but took that command in absence of the true chief.) Joining one of the Scottish regiments serving in the French Army
, he was given the job of returning to Scotland to collect rents for the exiled clan leaders and to recruit soldiers for the French Crown.
On 14 May 1752, Colin Roy Campbell of Glenure, the Royal agent collecting rents from the Ardshiel Stewarts, was killed. As Allan Stewart had previously publicly threatened Campbell and inquired Campbell's schedule for the day in question, a warrant was issued for his arrest. However, he evaded capture, and so he was tried in absentia
and sentenced to death. His foster father, James of the Glen, was also convicted as an accessory to the murder and hanged. This was carried out despite no substantial evidence to prove either Allan or James guilty. Later investigations have indicated that the murderer could not have been Allan Breck at all, but another man altogether.
In the murder of Campbell, the British government saw the potential danger of Jacobite assassinations of their agents in the Highlands
, on the one hand, and also the potential renewal of a Campbell/Stewart feud, on the other. The execution of James of the Glen increased Clan Stewart's discontent, and, locally (and especially after he became "Allan Breck" in fiction), Allan Breck Stewart was portrayed as a romantic figure. There is no record of what happened to Stewart subsequent to the trial. One common story, derived from 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
.
(published in 1817), Sir Walter Scott tells us of the Appin Murder, the description that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write Kidnapped
(1886), and claimed that a friend of his accidentally met the elderly Al(l)an Stewart in Paris in 1789, just before the French Revolution
, in the house of a Scottish Benedictine
priest, where people had gathered to view a procession: "Some civilities in French passed between the old man and my friend, in the course of which they talked of the streets and squares of Paris, till at length the old soldier, for such he seemed, and such he was, said with a sigh, in a sharp Highland accent, "Deil ane o' them a' is worth the Hie Street of Edinburgh!" On enquiry, this admirer of Auld Reekie, which he was never to see again, proved to be Allan Breck Stewart. He lived decently on his little pension, and had, in no subsequent period of his life, shown anything of the savage mood, in which he generally believed to have assassinated the enemy and oppressor, as he supposed him, of his family and clan."
However, readers should be cautious. Scott's friend's description of the elusive Alan Breck in old age: "His eyes were grey. His grizzled hair exhibited marks of having been red, and his complexion was weather-beaten, and remarkably freckled." does not match earlier descriptions of the fugitive who is reported to have had black hair and brown eyes, and his complexion was not freckled, but pitted by smallpox (hence the Gaelic sobriquet 'breac' - 'spotted').
Scott's portrait of the persecution of Jacobites and the allegiances of clan warfare in Rob Roy gives a sense of the popular image of rebels like Stewart, and Robert Louis Stevenson
based his character 'Alan Breck' in his novel Kidnapped
upon the historical Allan Breck Stewart. Henry James
described him as "the most perfect character in English literature", but it was a very flattering portrait, the real Alan Breck had none of the fine qualities that Stevenson attributed to him, and his guardian James of the Glen, who was hanged for the murder as Breck's accomplice, described him as "a desperate foolish fellow".
Walter Scott had got his background information on Rob Roy, the Jacobite Rebellion, and Allan Breck and the Appin Murder from one source. At the age of 15, as a trainee lawyer, Scott had traveled into the Highlands on a pony to meet one of his father's client's, an old Highlander called Alexander Stewart of Invernahyle . This old man had fought with Bonnie Prince Charlie, and had been wounded at Culloden, but it was Alexander's personal experience of the earlier Battle of Prestonpans (where the red-coated Allan Breck fought on the Government side) that Scott used in his first novel Waverley
(1814), and Alexander's remarkable pardon was the model for Scott's hero Waverley's reprieve. Alexander knew Rob Roy personally, but Scott was mistaken when he said that Alexander had beaten Rob Roy in a swordfight, and although living on the southern border of Appin, and a staunch Jacobite, Alexander was also first-cousin to Colin Campbell of Glenure 'The Red Fox' (his near neighbour), the government factor that Alan Breck was accused of killing, so had first-hand experience on this fascinating episode in Scottish history.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
resistance figure. He was the centre of a murder case that inspired novels by Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
and Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
.
Life and the Appin murder
In accordance with the fosterageFosterage
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 the state to care for children with troubled family...
customs of the Scottish Clans, Allan Breck Stewart and his brothers grew up under the care of his relative, James Stewart (known as "James of the Glen
James of the Glen
James Stewart, known as James of the Glens, Seamus a’ Ghlinne and James Stewart of Acharn was a Scotsman famous for being wrongfully accused and hanged for being accessory to the killing of Colin Roy Campbell...
") in Appin
Appin
Appin is a remote coastal district of the Scottish West Highlands bounded west by Loch Linnhe, south by Loch Creran, east by the districts of Benderloch and Lorne, and north by Loch Leven...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He enlisted in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
of George II in 1745, just prior to the Jacobite rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
of 1745. He fought at the Battle of Prestonpans
Battle of Prestonpans
The Battle of Prestonpans was the first significant conflict in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The battle took place at 4 am on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart defeated the government army loyal to the Hanoverian...
, but he either deserted to the Highland Jacobites. He subsequently fought for the Jacobites during the campaign of the 'Forty-Five and at the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
. After the defeat of the Jacobites at Culloden, Stewart fled to France, accompanying his commander and Clan Captain, Colonel Charles Stewart of Ardshiel. (Ardshiel, however, was not the chief of the Appin Stewarts, but took that command in absence of the true chief.) Joining one of the Scottish regiments serving in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
, he was given the job of returning to Scotland to collect rents for the exiled clan leaders and to recruit soldiers for the French Crown.
On 14 May 1752, Colin Roy Campbell of Glenure, the Royal agent collecting rents from the Ardshiel Stewarts, was killed. As Allan Stewart had previously publicly threatened Campbell and inquired Campbell's schedule for the day in question, a warrant was issued for his arrest. However, he evaded capture, and so he was tried in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
and sentenced to death. His foster father, James of the Glen, was also convicted as an accessory to the murder and hanged. This was carried out despite no substantial evidence to prove either Allan or James guilty. Later investigations have indicated that the murderer could not have been Allan Breck at all, but another man altogether.
In the murder of Campbell, the British government saw the potential danger of Jacobite assassinations of their agents in the Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
, on the one hand, and also the potential renewal of a Campbell/Stewart feud, on the other. The execution of James of the Glen increased Clan Stewart's discontent, and, locally (and especially after he became "Allan Breck" in fiction), Allan Breck Stewart was portrayed as a romantic figure. There is no record of what happened to Stewart subsequent to the trial. One common story, derived from 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
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
.
Portrayal in historical fiction
In his Introduction to Rob RoyRob Roy (novel)
Rob Roy is a historical novel by Walter Scott. It is narrated by Frank Osbaldistone, the son of an English merchant who travels first to the North of England, and subsequently to the Scottish Highlands to collect a debt stolen from his father. On the way he encounters the larger-than-life title...
(published in 1817), Sir Walter Scott tells us of the Appin Murder, the description that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write Kidnapped
Kidnapped (novel)
Kidnapped is a historical fiction adventure novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Written as a "boys' novel" and first published in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886, the novel has attracted the praise and admiration of writers as diverse as Henry James, Jorge Luis...
(1886), and claimed that a friend of his accidentally met the elderly Al(l)an Stewart in Paris in 1789, just before the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, in the house of a Scottish Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
priest, where people had gathered to view a procession: "Some civilities in French passed between the old man and my friend, in the course of which they talked of the streets and squares of Paris, till at length the old soldier, for such he seemed, and such he was, said with a sigh, in a sharp Highland accent, "Deil ane o' them a' is worth the Hie Street of Edinburgh!" On enquiry, this admirer of Auld Reekie, which he was never to see again, proved to be Allan Breck Stewart. He lived decently on his little pension, and had, in no subsequent period of his life, shown anything of the savage mood, in which he generally believed to have assassinated the enemy and oppressor, as he supposed him, of his family and clan."
However, readers should be cautious. Scott's friend's description of the elusive Alan Breck in old age: "His eyes were grey. His grizzled hair exhibited marks of having been red, and his complexion was weather-beaten, and remarkably freckled." does not match earlier descriptions of the fugitive who is reported to have had black hair and brown eyes, and his complexion was not freckled, but pitted by smallpox (hence the Gaelic sobriquet 'breac' - 'spotted').
Scott's portrait of the persecution of Jacobites and the allegiances of clan warfare in Rob Roy gives a sense of the popular image of rebels like Stewart, and Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
based his character 'Alan Breck' in his novel Kidnapped
Kidnapped (novel)
Kidnapped is a historical fiction adventure novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Written as a "boys' novel" and first published in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886, the novel has attracted the praise and admiration of writers as diverse as Henry James, Jorge Luis...
upon the historical Allan Breck Stewart. Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
described him as "the most perfect character in English literature", but it was a very flattering portrait, the real Alan Breck had none of the fine qualities that Stevenson attributed to him, and his guardian James of the Glen, who was hanged for the murder as Breck's accomplice, described him as "a desperate foolish fellow".
Walter Scott had got his background information on Rob Roy, the Jacobite Rebellion, and Allan Breck and the Appin Murder from one source. At the age of 15, as a trainee lawyer, Scott had traveled into the Highlands on a pony to meet one of his father's client's, an old Highlander called Alexander Stewart of Invernahyle . This old man had fought with Bonnie Prince Charlie, and had been wounded at Culloden, but it was Alexander's personal experience of the earlier Battle of Prestonpans (where the red-coated Allan Breck fought on the Government side) that Scott used in his first novel Waverley
Waverley (novel)
Waverley is an 1814 historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. Initially published anonymously in 1814 as Scott's first venture into prose fiction, Waverley is often regarded as the first historical novel. It became so popular that Scott's later novels were advertised as being "by the author of...
(1814), and Alexander's remarkable pardon was the model for Scott's hero Waverley's reprieve. Alexander knew Rob Roy personally, but Scott was mistaken when he said that Alexander had beaten Rob Roy in a swordfight, and although living on the southern border of Appin, and a staunch Jacobite, Alexander was also first-cousin to Colin Campbell of Glenure 'The Red Fox' (his near neighbour), the government factor that Alan Breck was accused of killing, so had first-hand experience on this fascinating episode in Scottish history.
Sources
- Nicholson, Eirwen E. C. "Allan Stewart," in Matthew, H.C.G. and Brian Harrison, eds. The Oxford Dictionary of National BiographyDictionary of National BiographyThe Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
. vol. 52, 628. London: OUPOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 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'