by R. W. Hughes
It was at this time that Riavach arrived with eight more Highlanders and the drummer and piper that had been heard by the French soldiers, which had encouraged them to surrender. Hugh MacKay, in the meantime following George’s instructions, had taken a group of Highlanders and escorted the French officers back down the path away from the ship from which they had recently discharged and out of sight of from their own troops.
‘Douglas!’ he said taking his friend to one side. ‘Yonder chest on the cart I think it is the item mentioned in the French messenger’s letters. I think it would be prudent if you took this under your wing while everyone else is occupied, and deliver it to the safe keeping of Reverend Monroe at Tongue House, until we can inspect its contents; oh, and spread the word that it is lead shot! Also, those long cases the soldiers were carrying contain French muskets, take charge of those also until we can decide the best home for such a large amount of armament. Together, with those weapons we have taken from the soldiers, they will swell our armoury hopefully sufficient to see us through to the end of this conflict’.
Douglas nodded and winked at George then calling several of his own clansmen made his way to the wooden brass bound chest sitting on the hand-drawn two-wheeled cart. George watched and smiled as his friend first struggled to lift the obviously heavy chest with the intention of placing it somehow on his horse, but realising this would cause a problem, he indicated to his two companions to push the handcart and he would lead their ponies, and allocated four men apiece to push the other handcarts with the many wooden packing cases containing the French muskets and several casks of gunpowder.
It was as George was organising the guard over the French soldiers that he was surprised to see Hugh MacKay returning with his men. Each of the returning Highlanders not only had their own musket slung over their shoulder, but several had the butts of fancy pistols taken from the French officers sticking from their belts, as well as the odd silk neckerchief or handkerchief projecting from various pockets.
‘I handed over the officers to a Navy Lieutenant from the English frigate HMS Sheerness. He had landed from his longboats farther around the cove, and he had followed the sound of shooting but arrived with his troops after the battle. Apparently, they have been chasing the Frenchie up the East coast from when they first made contact in the Moray Firth. The soldiers were mostly Irish volunteers from the French Regiment Berwick, and many of the officers are exiled Scotts from the French Garde Eccosois and Spanish services. ’
George feigned surprise as it would be prudent not to disclose that he was withholding information from his cousin. ‘They obviously thought they were landing on friendly shores when they entered the bay,’ replied George. ‘Their miscalculation has cost them dearly. There are twenty-four dead, eight seriously wounded who I doubt will recover and ten with minor flesh wounds. We have also taken a total of one hundred and fifty-six prisoners, with only slight minor injuries in return.’
‘Very impressive, George,’ replied Hugh. ‘The Navy Lieutenant has commandeered and placed a guard of Marines on the French ship under the instructions of the English ship’s Captain O’Brian, which is a pity as there would be many pickings from such a fine vessel.’
‘Yes, that is true, cousin, but we cannot complain as all our men have acquired a spare musket as well as no doubt obtaining some form of personal keep-sake from the French soldiers. Our bonus is we achieved all this and received no fatal casualties in return.’
‘Aye, George, the skirmish went well for us, and for that you must take the credit. Without your planning, we could well have taken a mauling, and it may well have turned out a different story. If you do not require me or my men’s services any more, we will return to the Kyle of Tongue. I will post a lookout to observe the grounded French vessel and keep you informed of any further developments.’
He raised his arm in acknowledgement as Hugh MacKay and his followers departed and then continued leading the prisoners towards the beach in the bay.
When he reached the beach, he made himself known to the Navy Lieutenant and handed over his French prisoners, before disbanding the men raised in the muster to return to their crofts, before making his way back to Tongue with the remaining high-spirited Highlanders who were billeted in the hamlet.
Douglas had not opened the wooden chest, and Riavach had told the men who had complained of its weight that it just contained lead shot for the French muskets that they had also brought in the wooden cases. This, as George had foreseen, would help stop any rumours that might be circulated over a strange chest that weighed so heavy. On his arrival back at Tongue, he disbanded his men who made their way back to their billets, and after he had placed his horse in the care of Sithig at the stables, he helped Douglas carry the chest up the winding stairs to the Reverend’s study, placing it on the floor in the centre of the room. Douglas had brought a bar from the blacksmith and the men gathered around as he forced the lock on the chest.
It was the Reverend that took the first hessian bag and emptied its contents on the floor; the men stared in silence at the gold coins that tumbled out of the bag, making a dull clinking noise on the wooden floor boards.
‘If all those bags are filled with these coins then this chest does indeed contain a king’s ransom,’ exclaimed Douglas, running his fingers through the pile of shiny new coins. ‘Good fortune was indeed looking over us when we joined the coach at Dunbar.’
‘Yes, Douglas!’ replied George. ‘It is indeed a king’s fortune, and Prince Charles will surely miss this gold to swell his funds, and the loss of the muskets and French soldiers is another major blow to the Jacobites’ cause.’
‘What do we do with this treasure?’ voiced the Reverend putting into words what all the rest of the men in the room were thinking. There was a silence as each was waiting for the other to give a point of view. It was Riavach who barley said a word at the meetings who surprised everybody by breaking the silence.
‘I say we keep it for ourselves and the good of the clan. There is no proof that The Prince Charles was carrying any gold, and the English Navy has thwarted a delivery of troops, and as we also left them the bulk of the cases containing muskets, they will be more than happy with the outcome.’
There was another long silence as the men absorbed what Riavach had said.
‘I agree about keeping the gold,’ said Douglas, ‘and I would prefer to keep the muskets we have also; they are indeed fine weapons.’
‘I agree with Riavach about the gold,’ said George which he followed with a comforting glance in the direction of his brother. ‘Only we in this room know for certain that the ship would be carrying such treasure. I also think we should not surrender to O’Brian the captain of the English frigate the cases of muskets at present stored in our barn; we do not need them—our men already have in their possession the muskets and pistols taken from the soldiers and officers of the French, and the surplus we have taken to our armoury—they are a valuable commodity which will fetch a good price, and it goes without saying we will be certain that they are only made available and sold to Royalist sympathisers.
Everyone had their say except the Reverend. The other men waited patiently as he was sat in deep thought with the fingers of his hands touching and his eyes closed; he stayed contemplating like that for several minutes before he eventually spoke.
‘The fact mentioned by George—that only we in this room were aware of the gold being carried by the French ship is quite true—and I think that situation should remain. It would be unlikely that the common French and Irish volunteer soldiers would be aware of that cargo or even most of the officers. The senior officer in charge would certainly have known, but he was killed in the skirmish. But we must not underestimate the Earl of Sutherland and his henchmen. He has deep suspicions that something of great value was being delivered and he knew the approximate date and place through the informant translator, Magnus Duncan. He may well think it was only
the musket powder, shot and the French troops being delivered, but I doubt that. He would have also been informed and is aware by the guards he had placed at the passes that you were near Inverness on the delivery date. All this will add to his fertile mind and help to confirm his suspicions; I am afraid we have not heard or seen the last of the Earl of Sutherland or his nephew, the assassin, Nicolas Duncan.’
The last few words the mention of Nicolas Duncan was spat out with venom that the other three men had never heard from the Reverend Monroe before.
‘I think we should keep the muskets and not enlighten the English captain. Our involvement in taking the French troops prisoner will help to alleviate the suspicions of the authorities in London of where our loyalties lie in this conflict.
And to further cement relations with the English Navy, I suggest we invite the officers to a dinner here at Tongue House to celebrate our victory over the French, and we will find out soon enough if they were aware of the treasure the French ship was carrying.’
There was several minutes silence as the men absorbed the Reverend’s statement.
‘I think Reverend you have persuaded us with your logic of the course of action we need to take, and,’ Douglas said looking at Riavach who nodded to him in confirmation, ‘we agree to your and George’s plan of action.’
‘That settled, said George, ‘we keep this information to ourselves and leave the gold in the care of our uncle. Tomorrow we visit Captain O’Brian on the English navy’s frigate, Sheerness, and as some light entertainment for the ladies and a change from the dull routine of village living, we will ask the ship’s officers to dinner at Tongue House before they depart the bay with their prisoners.
When George arrived at the ship, he was met by the officer on duty a lieutenant who he had handed over the French prisoners to the previous day. After exchanging the usual pleasantries, he passed over the invitation to the naval officer who was full of enthusiasm and promised to deliver it to the captain immediately, indicating that he was sure the captain would accept, as it would be a welcome break from their constant patrolling of the coast of Scotland.
The arrival of the British naval and infantry officers at Tongue House being accompanied by the captured French officers surprised George, but he was assured that they had given their word as gentlemen to abide by the conditions of surrender which helped somewhat to alleviate his fears. Also the Scots officers and the ship’s captain a George Talbot were being kept under guard on the Sheerness, as the temptation for them to abscond may well be too great, as they would be well aware of their uncertain future.
George and Fiona had positioned themselves at the front entrance of Tongue House as Captain O’Brian introduced his and the French officers one by one. It was when they arrived at a slim built officer, introduced as acting second Lieutenant James Grey of the 6th Regiment of foot, that George could not contain a gasp, and Fiona standing beside him nearly collapsed and had to be supported by him and helped to a nearby chair.
‘My wife is with child,’ he exclaimed as a form of explanation to the concerned Captain O’Brian and the nearby officers.
It was several minutes later when they were alone and Fiona had recovered slightly that she whispered to him. ‘That officer is Hannah, Hannah Snell, my former maid!’
‘Yes, you are right, Fiona; I, too, was lost for words.’
Both looked at the slender form of Fiona’s ex maid, now in the uniform of an infantry officer who disengaged herself from her companions and made her way across the room towards George and Fiona. Standing in front of them smiling as she observed the confusion that was registered on their faces.
‘First of all, I must thank you both for not revealing my real identity. I have had many adventures and also many mishaps since I left your employ, madam,’ she said as she addressed the two still very confused couple. ‘I took the name of my brother-in-law, James Grey, and enlisted in John Guise’s Regiment of Foot, feeling I had more chance of seeing the world in the King’s Army acting as a man, which placed me on the frigate Sheerness.’
‘Well you can certainly play the part, Lieutenant, and good luck to you,’ voiced George.
‘Yes, and I endorse what my husband says, but you certainly gave me a shock,’ said Fiona with a laugh.
During the evening George could not help the occasional glance in the direction of his wife’s ex maid, who seemed completely at ease with the rest of the ship’s officers and his uncle as she laughed and joked amongst them.
If only my uncle knew the true story. He thought.
But he was also relieved that during the dinner that there was no mention by Captain O’Brian or any of the officers present of any shipment of gold, or the large number of muskets and powder they had retrieved, which saved him from attempting to answer any embarrassing questions.
But the main conversation of the naval officers was only about the bounty they and their crew would share off the Admiralty for taking the enemy ship practically undamaged. There was no mention of any reward that would be forthcoming for the Clan MacKay, which to George removed any guilt he may have previously felt for what they had already taken.
The English sailors were fortunate that the weather stayed reasonably calm which gave them the opportunity of lightening the Prince Charles by removing its ballast and cannons along with the entire spare tackle, loose goods and supplies. These were transported to the Sheerness in the longboats. It was the same longboats with the sailors heaving on the oars, and an offshore wind with the Prince Charles rigged with a full set of sails that at high tide the ship was slowly pulled off the sand bank into deeper water. This was much to the disappointment of the onlookers on the cliffs who saw the opportunity of some free booty sailing away from them. Amongst all the inhabitants of Tongue and surrounding area on the cliff, there were also George and Fiona sitting in a small trap alongside Douglas and Ailie on the large horses, and their cousin Hugh beside them on a smaller pony.
‘An interesting episode Hugh,’ he shouted to his cousin as everyone slowly departed from the cliff edge and made their way back to their various homes. Hugh MacKay just laughed in reply and held aloft a finely engraved musket obviously taken from one of the French officers, before turning his pony and heading back in the direction of his farm.
‘Well your ex-maid has certainly got the thirst for adventure to disguise herself as a man. I wonder how long it will be before she is discovered, in those cramped conditions on board the frigate, being as there is little room for privacy,’ he said to Fiona as they made their way back to Tongue House.
‘I think Hanna may well surprise you, George. I always found her to be a very capable and strong-willed individual,’ she replied as a smile crossed her face.
Nineteen
It was several weeks later on the twelfth of April that a rider on horseback arrived at Tongue House and delivered a message to the Reverend Monroe.
‘The man insults us, George,’ said the Reverend as he handed his nephew the parchment that had been sealed with the wax crest of the Earl of Sutherland.
‘He addresses the letter to me, when common courtesy dictated it should have been addressed to you as Lord Reay, the Leader of the Clan MacKay.’
George quickly read the text on the parchment. ‘He has the audacity to order us to muster our men immediately, to help his forces obstruct the passage of the Earl of Cromartie and a large force of the Clan MacGregor and the Mackinnons who intend joining the Jacobite forces at Inverness.
If we ignore this information—which he no doubt hopes we may as he has phrased it as you say to insult us, and to sound as if he is the superior clan and crown administrator for the area, —he would most certainly use this incident to blacken our name in the eyes of the English authorities, by simply saying he was not strong enough on his own to obstruct such a large force and we refused to assist him.
Also, he would not then antagonise the Jacobit
es, and if they were successful in any major battle with the English, he would be free to swing in their favour.’
‘Yes, I think you too have seen through his scheme, George. He is sitting on the fence, and I think at this point you should take the initiative and act on your own.’
‘I will call Douglas and Riavach and raise a muster immediately, after the last success I imagine the men will be eager to try out their new French muskets,’ he replied with a wry smile at his uncle.
The following day at noon at the head of a well-armed force of eighty Highlanders, with scouts going on ahead to collect more men on route, George led the force from Tongue towards the clan lands of the Mackenzie. It was on the outskirts of the town of Lairg that John McKay, who had been scouting ahead of the column, came racing back on his pony to stop in a slithering halt in front of George.
‘George, Mackenzie the 3rd Earl of Cromartie has stormed the Sutherland stronghold, Dunrobin Castle, and the Earl of Sutherland was fortunate to narrowly escape them through a back door of the castle,’ he gasped breathlessly.
‘And where is Sutherland now?’ queried George.
‘His followers were scattered and dispersed in the surrounding hills,’ replied John McKay.
‘And what of Cromartie and his men?’ asked Douglas who had reined in his horse beside the two men.
‘Cromartie and his officers are still in Dunrobin Castle; his men are billeted outside in the castle grounds.’
‘Move the men out Douglas as quickly as possible. We have a battle to fight, if they stay at the castle till the morrow, we may well reach the ferry before them and that is the place that would suit us to do battle.’
The forced march that followed brought the MacKay men to the ferry shortly before the troops of Cromartie, who could be seen in the distance ambling slowly along the lane heading in their direction towards the ferry at Bonar Bridge.