March 10, 2024, column from the Amarillo Globe-News:

Scottish woman remembered with much respect

By Mike Haynes

                A fierce battle in Scotland in 1746 sometimes is called “the Scottish Alamo” because of the overwhelming victory of British Redcoats against an under-equipped band of tartan-wearing Highlanders.

                It was the Battle of Culloden (pronounced “kul-ODD-in”), and it effectively ended many of the Highland traditions such as wearing kilts and speaking Gaelic, at least for a few decades. It put the British government in London in firm control of Scotland.

                I suspect that Scots would be likely to call our revered Alamo massacre “the Texas Culloden,” because their bitter fight on a moor near Inverness is as much a key part of Scottish history as the Alamo is for us. It was the last full-scale battle on British soil, and the site has been preserved along with a modern museum. The Alamo is just now catching up on its presentation for visitors.

 

Flora MacDonald

               The key figure in the battle and surrounding events was 25-year-old Charles Edward Stuart, known as “Bonnie (Pretty) Prince Charlie.” He had recruited Highlander clans to rebel against British King George II in an attempt to put a Stuart, his father James, back on the throne of England and Scotland. His supporters were called Jacobites (“JACK-o-bites”), using the Latin word for James.

                “Bonnie Prince Charlie” led his rebel army successfully for a few months before meeting his “Waterloo” at Culloden. Until then, the attractive prince had stirred the imaginations of many Scots who thought he would lead them to victory over the oppressive government.

                But he is known more for his flight to avoid capture after Culloden than for the admiration he had before the battle. And surpassing him in fame and respect is a young woman who didn’t ask for recognition but who is more celebrated in the British world than the prince.

                Flora MacDonald was a 24-year-old woman living on a farm on one of the Hebrides islands west of the Scottish mainland when the bonnie prince and a few protectors took refuge there as they fled to avoid capture after Culloden. Flora helped sew a disguise for Charles and continued with him and his entourage. The prince dressed as Flora’s Irish maid with the name Betty Burke.

                The most famous, dramatic and romantic part of Flora’s involvement was a boat ride to the Isle of Skye, where the prince hid before eventually boarding a ship and escaping to France. Despite rumors, there was no romance between Flora and Charles. She and others eventually were arrested. She was held on a prison ship, then in London and finally was released. But the legend of Flora and “Bonnie Prince Charlie” already had been born.

                Many have heard versions of the “Skye Boat Song”:

                “Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing, Onward! the sailors cry; Carry the lad that’s born to be king Over the sea to Skye.”

                Flora was hailed not so much for her faithfulness to a cause but because in a moment of crisis, she had done what seemed right to her.

                Author Flora Fraser follows the Scottish heroine for which she is named from birth to her death on the Isle of Skye in her 2022 book, “Flora MacDonald: Pretty Young Rebel.” Fraser describes the “in between,” when the woman who had saved the prince moved with her husband to North Carolina, supported the British in the American Revolution and ultimately sailed back to her homeland.

                The book details how Flora MacDonald became a celebrity in her lifetime and remains in the British consciousness today with her picture on sewing kits, jewelry and tins of Walker’s Shortbread cookies. A statue of her stands in front of Inverness Castle.

                Admired as a strong, clever woman who affected history, Flora even is remembered in North Carolina, where Flora MacDonald College for young girls operated for a few years and she is mentioned on historical markers.

                Her grave on the Isle of Skye features a tall, Celtic cross monument with the words, “Flora MacDonald – Preserver of Prince Charles Edward Stuart – Her Name Will Be Mentioned in History – And If Courage and Fidelity be Virtues – Mentioned with Honour.”

                So the majestic, flamboyant man with royal blood was defeated, escaped and lived an uneventful life in Europe while the ordinary, practical, woman who helped him briefly is remembered with much respect.

                I can’t help but think of the Jewish people 2,000 years ago who prayed for a messiah who would arrive, a royal prince possibly leading an army against Roman oppression and bringing them peace and prosperity.

                Instead, Jesus came as an humble baby, grew up as a carpenter’s son, traveled by foot with his followers and died a criminal’s death.

                Sometimes the best in life comes from unexpected faces.