Editing Flora MacDonald

{{Short description|Scottish Jacobite}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Flora MacDonald
| image              = Floramacdonald2.jpg
| alt                = Portrait of Flora Macdonald by the artist Allan Ramsay
| caption            = Flora Macdonald by [[Allan Ramsay (artist)|Allan Ramsay]] c. 1749–1750; the roses are a Jacobite symbol. [[Ashmolean Museum]], Oxford.
| birth_date         = {{birth year|1722}}
| birth_place        = [[Milton (Outer Hebrides)|Milton]], [[South Uist]], [[Scotland]]
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1790|3|5|1722|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Kingsburgh, Skye]]
|nationality         = Scottish
| known_for          = assisting the escape of [[Charles Edward Stuart]] 
| signature          = Appletons' McDonald Flora signature.png
}}
'''Flora MacDonald'''{{efn|{{langx|gd|'''Fionnghal nic Dhòmhnaill'''}}}} (1722 – 5 March 1790) is best known for helping [[Charles Edward Stuart]] evade government troops after the [[Battle of Culloden]] in April 1746. Her family had generally backed the government during the [[Jacobite rising of 1745|1745 Rising]], and MacDonald later claimed to have assisted Charles out of sympathy for his situation.

Arrested and held in the [[Tower of London]], she was released under a general amnesty in June 1747. She later married Allan MacDonald and the couple emigrated to [[North Carolina]] in 1773. Their support for the British government during the [[American War of Independence]] meant the loss of their American estates and they returned to Scotland, where she died in 1790.

==Early life==
Flora MacDonald was born in 1722 at [[Milton (South Uist)|Milton]] on [[South Uist]] in the [[Outer Hebrides]], third and last child of Ranald MacDonald (d. 1723) and his second wife, Marion. Her father was a member of the minor gentry of [[Clan MacDonald of Clanranald]], being [[tacksman]] and [[Leasehold estate|leaseholder]] of Milton and [[Balivanich]]. She had two brothers, Angus, who later inherited the Milton tack, and Ronald, who died young.{{sfn|Douglas|2004}} 

[[File:Sunset, South Uist - geograph.org.uk - 603223.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Sunset on [[South Uist]], where MacDonald was born in 1722]]

Particularly in the [[Hebrides]], elements of the [[Clan Donald]] remained faithful, despite [[religious persecution]], to the [[Catholic Church in Scotland|Catholic Church]], but Flora came from South Uist's [[Protestant]] minority. According to [[Scottish Episcopal Church]] Bishop [[Robert Forbes (bishop)|Robert Forbes]], "Miss MacDonald is Protestant, and is descended from the family of Clanranald by her father, and of an [[Anglican clergyman|Episcopal clergyman]] by her mother."<ref> Robert Forbes (1895), ''The Lyon in Mourning: Or a Collection of Speeches, Letters, Journals Etc., Relative to the Affairs of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. Volume I'', Printed at the University Press by T. and A. Constable for the Scottish History Society. Page 114.</ref>

Through her uncle Maighstir Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill, [[Scottish Episcopal Church|Episcopalian]] [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|Rector]] of [[Kilchoan]] and a Clanranald tacksman of [[Dalilea]], [[Moidart]], she was first cousin to [[Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair]]. Along with [[Sorley MacLean]], the latter is considered one of the two most important figures in [[Scottish Gaelic literature]].{{Sfn|Thomson|1983|p=184}}

Her father died soon after her birth and in 1728 her mother married again, this time to Hugh MacDonald, [[Tacksman]] of [[Armadale, Isle of Skye]]. MacDonald was brought up by her father's cousin, Sir Alexander MacDonald, [[Scottish clan chief|Chief]] of [[Clan Macdonald of Sleat]]. Suggestions she was educated in [[Edinburgh]] cannot be confirmed.{{sfn|Douglas|2004}}

On 6 November 1750, she married Allan MacDonald, a captain in the [[British Army]] whose father was Sir Alexander's steward, and tacksman of [[Kingsburgh, Skye]].{{sfn|MacInnes|1899|pp=15-24}} They had seven surviving children, two daughters and five sons, two of whom were lost at sea in 1781 and 1782; a third son John made his fortune in India, enabling his parents to spend their last years in some comfort.{{sfn|Douglas|2004}}

==The escape of Prince Charles Edward Stuart==
MacDonald was visiting [[Benbecula]] in the Outer Hebrides when [[Charles Edward Stuart|Prince Charles]] and a small group of aides took refuge there after the [[Battle of Culloden]] in June 1746. One of his companions, {{ill|Félix O'Neille y O'Neille|es|Félix O'Neille y O'Neille}},<ref> [https://www.dib.ie/biography/oneill-felix-a6922 Felix O'Neil], [[Dictionary of Irish Biography]]</ref> was a distant relative of MacDonald, who asked for her help. Benbecula was controlled by an pro-government [[Independent Highland Companies|Independent Highland Company]] commanded by MacDonald's step-father, Hugh MacDonald. This connection allowed her to obtain the necessary permits but she apparently hesitated, fearing the consequences for her family if they were caught. She may have been taking less of a risk than it appears, since witnesses later claimed Hugh advised the Prince where to hide from his search parties.{{sfn|Riding|2016|pp=465-467}}

[[File:Isle of Skye UK relief location map labels.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|Islands of [[Skye]] and [[Raasay]], [[Portree]] mid-left]]

Passes were issued allowing passage to the mainland for Flora MacDonald, and a party of eight, including Charles disguised as an Irish maid called Betty Burke. On 27 June, they landed near Sir Alexander's house at Monkstadt, near [[Kilbride, Skye]]. In his absence, his wife Lady Margaret arranged lodging with her steward, who told Charles to remove his disguise, as it simply made him more conspicuous. The next day, the Prince was taken from [[Portree]] to the island of [[Raasay]], while MacDonald remained on Skye.{{sfn|Riding|2016|pp=467-468}}

MacDonald was subsequently arrested and imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]]. After Lady Margaret interceded on her behalf with the chief Scottish legal officer, [[Duncan Forbes, Lord Culloden|Duncan Forbes]], she was allowed to live outside the Tower under the supervision of a "King's Messenger", and released after the June 1747 [[Act of Indemnity 1747|Act of Indemnity]].{{sfn|Riding|2016|pp=468-469}} Aristocratic sympathisers collected over £1,500 for her, one of the contributors being [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]. She allegedly told Frederick she helped Charles out of charity, and would have done the same for him.{{sfn|MacLeod|1985|p=90}}

==Emigration to North Carolina==
Following their marriage in 1750, Flora and her husband Allan MacDonald lived at [[Flodigarry]] on Skye. Allan served in the [[114th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highlander Volunteers)|114th]] and [[62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot|62nd Regiments of Foot]] during the 1756 to 1763 [[Seven Years' War]], and inherited Kingsburgh when his father died in 1772. The couple was visited here by poet, [[essayist]], and [[lexicographer]] [[Dr. Johnson]] in 1773,{{efn|Johnson, who claimed to have Jacobite sympathies, asked to meet Flora, and described her as "a woman of soft features, gentle manners, kind soul and elegant presence"}} whose words were later inscribed on her memorial at [[Kilmuir, Skye|Kilmuir]]: "a name that will be mentioned in history, and if courage and fidelity be virtues, mentioned with honour".{{sfn|Bate|1955|p=463}}

However, a series of poor harvests and increasingly high rents resulted in what Johnson described as an "epidemic desire of wandering" throughout the Highlands in general. At the time of his visit in 1773, more than 800 people from the Sleat lands were preparing to emigrate to North America, and in 1774 Flora and her husband moved to [[Anson County, North Carolina]].{{sfn|Fraser|2022|pp=123-124}} Along with other [[Clan Donald]] transplants, they settled near what is now Cameron Hill, on a plantation named "Killegray".{{sfn|Quynn|1941|p=246}} 

When the [[American Revolutionary War]] began in 1775, Allan raised the Anson Battalion of the Loyalist North Carolina Militia, a total of around 1,000 men, including their sons Alexander and James.{{Sfn|McConnell|2014}} They then set off for the coast to link up with some 2,000 British reinforcements commanded by General [[Henry Clinton (1730–1795)|Henry Clinton]], who in reality had only just left [[Cork (city)|Cork]] in [[Ireland]]. Early on the morning of 27 February, they were ambushed at [[Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge|Moore's Creek Bridge]] by [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] [[Minutemen|militia]] led by [[Richard Caswell]] and along with his troops, Allan MacDonald was taken prisoner.{{Sfn|McConnell|2014}} 

After the battle, Flora MacDonald was interrogated by the local [[Committee of Safety (American Revolution)|Committee of Safety]]. In April 1777, all Loyalist-owned property was confiscated and the MacDonalds were evicted from Killegray, losing all their possessions.{{Sfn|Meyer|1963|p=75}} After 18 months in captivity, Allan was released as part of a [[prisoner exchange]] in September 1777 and posted to [[Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)|Fort Edward, Nova Scotia]] as commander of the [[84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)|84th Regiment of Foot]]. He was joined here by his wife in August 1778.{{sfn|Quynn|1941|pp=249–251}}

==Return to Skye==
[[File:Flora Macdonald&#039;s Grave and Monument - geograph.org.uk - 636148.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.0|Flora's grave in [[Kilmuir, Skye|Kilmuir]] Cemetery, Skye]] 

After a harsh winter in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], in September 1779 MacDonald took passage for London in the ''Dunmore,'' a British [[privateer]]; during the voyage, she broke her arm and ill-health delayed her return to Scotland until spring 1780.{{sfn|Quynn|1941|pp=251–252}} She spent the next few years living with various family members, including [[Dunvegan]] home of her son-in-law Major General Alexander MacLeod, the largest landowner in Skye after the MacDonalds.{{sfn|MacGregor|2009|p=134}} 

The compensation received for the loss of their property in North Carolina was insufficient to allow them to resettle in Nova Scotia and Allan returned to Scotland in 1784. Kingsburgh was now occupied by Flora's half-sister and her husband, and Allan instead took up [[tenant farming]] in nearby Penduin.{{sfn|Quynn|1941|pp=252–253}} She died in 1790 at the age of 68 and was buried in [[Kilmuir, Skye|Kilmuir]] Cemetery, followed by her husband in September 1792.{{sfn|Douglas|2004}}

==Legacy==
[[File:Statue of Flora MacDonald - geograph.org.uk - 741250.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|1896 statue, [[Inverness Castle]]]]

Traditional portrayals of the escape focus on Charles, with MacDonald relegated to a secondary role. She herself rarely spoke of the episode, and her last contact with the Prince was when they parted ways at Portree. It appears her assistance was at least partly driven by fears his continued presence would endanger her family.{{sfn|Riding|2016|p=465}}

Michael Newton, a modern scholar of [[Scottish Gaelic literature]], argues English-language versions fail to recognise that not only is her husband the celebrated iconic hero in the Gaelic [[oral tradition]], but that, "Flora was only one of many people who risked their lives to protect" the Prince during his flight after Culloden.{{Sfn|Newton|2001|p=39}}{{efn|MacDonald herself rarely referred to the episode in later life, and made no attempt to highlight her own role}} Her cousin, Gaelic poet Niall mac Eachainn, criticised her in verse for trying to win favour from both Stuarts and Hanoverians, while contrasting his own continuing loyalty to the Jacobite cause.{{Sfn|Newton|2001|pp=39-41}}

MacDonald was painted several times by Scottish portrait artist [[Allan Ramsay (artist)|Allan Ramsay]] (1713–1784), most of which have now survived. The one used in this article was done after her release from the Tower in 1749–1750; in 2015, a previously unrecorded painting, allegedly also by Ramsay, was discovered in Florida.<ref>{{cite news |title='Flora MacDonald portrait' found in Florida |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-32129099 |access-date=22 July 2018 |agency=BBC News |date=31 March 2015}}</ref>

Inspired by the novels of Sir [[Walter Scott]], the [[Victorian era]] created a Scottish cultural identity that co-opted "romantic" icons like [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] and Prince Charles.{{sfn|Morris|1992|pp=37-39}} In 1878, MacDonald joined this list with the publication of an alleged "Autobiography". [[Ghostwriter|Ghostwritten]] by her granddaughter Lady Flora Frances Wylde, it contains so many mistakes that it could not have been written by her.{{sfn|Douglas|2004}} These errors were repeated by Charles Ewald in his 1886 book ''The Life and Times of Prince Charles Edward'', which remains the basis for many popular perspectives on her life and motivations.{{sfn|Douglas|2004}}

This was soon followed by the first performance of the [[Scottish highland dance]] known as "Flora MacDonald's Fancy", while a bronze statue was erected at [[Inverness Castle]] in 1896, with her dog Flossie by her side.<ref>{{Canmore |num=13434 |desc=Inverness, Castle Wynd, Statue Of Flora Macdonald |access-date=26 January 2015}}</ref> 

The [[Flora MacDonald College|Flora MacDonald Academy]], formerly Flora MacDonald College, in [[Red Springs, North Carolina]] is named for her. Two of her children are interred on the campus. Until 2009, it was also the site of the Flora Macdonald [[Highland Games]].{{cn|date=October 2023}}

==In popular culture==
===English literature===
* [[Inglis Fletcher]], ''The Scotswoman'' (1954); a novel based on Flora MacDonald's life in North Carolina during the [[American War of Independence]].

===Film and television===
* In the 1948 film ''[[Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948 film)|Bonnie Prince Charlie]]'', Flora MacDonald is portrayed by [[Margaret Leighton]], with [[David Niven]] as Prince Charles. Niven later recalled the film as "...one of those huge, florid extravaganzas that reek of disaster from the start."
* Flora MacDonald was played by Shauna Macdonald in the [[Outlander (TV series)|''Outlander'' television series]], season six, episode five.

===Music===
* In 1884, [[Sir Harold Boulton, 2nd Baronet|Sir Harold Boulton]] composed English lyrics to ''Cuachag nan Craobh''{{efn|"Cuckoo of the Trees"}}, a lament written by 18th-century Gaelic poet [[William Ross (poet)|William Ross]] about his [[unrequited love]] for noblewoman Marion Ross.<ref>[https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/16968?l=en Cuachag nan Craobh], [[Tobar an Dualchais]]</ref> Under the title ''[[The Skye Boat Song]]'', Boulton's lyrics focus instead upon Prince Charles' escape to Skye, and proved extremely popular. 
* The Flask, a Dutch folkband, released the song [https://open.spotify.com/track/2Wh7n7GKZf0mD4rRqC1PnP?si=TtP_XDF4R2C8ml_vV_wgOQ Flora MacDonald] in 2021, telling her story from saving Prince Charlie until her death.

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last1=Bate |first1=W Jackson |title=The Achievement of Samuel Johnson |date=1955 |publisher=OUP |isbn=978-0195004762}}
* {{cite odnb|last1=Douglas |first1=Hugh |title=Flora MacDonald |id=17432|year=2004}}
* {{cite book|last=Fraser|first=Flora|title=Pretty Young Rebel: The Life of Flora Macdonald|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2022|isbn=978-1408879825}} 
* {{cite book | first=John | last=MacInnes | title=The Brave Sons of Skye; Containing the Military Records (compiled From Authentic Sources) of the Leading Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and private soldiers whom "Eilean a' Cheo" has produced |year=1899|publisher=Eyre and Spottiswood}}
* {{cite book |last1=MacLeod |first1=Ruairidh |title=Flora MacDonald: The Jacobite Heroine in Scotland and North America |date=1985 |publisher=Shepheard-Walwyn |isbn=978-0856831478 }}
* {{cite book | first=Alexander | last=MacGregor | title=The life of Flora Macdonald, and her adventures with Prince Charles | edition   = [[Print On Demand]] | publisher=[[Nabu Press]] |date=December 2009}}
* {{cite web |last1=McConnell |first1=Brian |date=30 November 2014 |title=A Highlander & Loyalist – Alan MacDonald |url=http://www.uelac.org/Loyalist-Info/extras/MacDonald-Allan/Allan-MacDonald-by-Brian-McConnell.pdf |website=UE.org |access-date=2 August 2018}}
* {{cite book |last1=Meyer |first1=Duane |title=The Highland Scots of North Carolina |url=https://archive.org/details/highlandscotsofn1963meye |date=1963 |publisher=Raleigh, N.C.: Carolina Charter Tercentenary Commission}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Morris|first1=RJ|title=Victorian Values in Scotland & England|journal=Proceedings of the British Academy|date=1992|issue=78}} 
* {{cite book|last=Newton|first=Michael|title= We're Indians Sure Enough: The Legacy of the Scottish Highlanders in the United States|year=2001|publisher=Saorsa Media}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Quynn |first1=Dorothy Mackay |title=Flora MacDonald in History |journal=The North Carolina Historical Review |date=July 1941 |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=236–258 |jstor=23516055}}
* {{cite book|last1=Riding|first1=Jacqueline|title=Jacobites; A New History of the 45 Rebellion|date=2016|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-1408819128}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Thomson|editor-first=Derek|title=The Companion to Gaelic Scotland|publisher=Blackwell|year=1983|isbn=9780631155782}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Douglas|first=Hugh|title=Flora MacDonald: The Most Loyal Rebel|publisher=Sutton Publishing|year=1993|isbn=978-0750903486}} 

==External links==
* {{cite news |title='Flora MacDonald portrait' found in Florida |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-32129099 |access-date=22 July 2018 |agency=BBC News |date=31 March 2015}}
* {{Canmore |num=13434 |desc=Inverness, Castle Wynd, Statue Of Flora Macdonald |access-date=26 January 2015}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Flora}}
[[Category:1722 births]]
[[Category:1790 deaths]]
[[Category:Scottish Jacobites]]
[[Category:People from Uist]]
[[Category:Loyalists in the American Revolution from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Outlander (franchise)]]
[[Category:Prisoners in the Tower of London]]
[[Category:Women in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:Women in Scotland]]
[[Category:Scottish-American culture in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Protestant Jacobites]]