Flora MacDonald

Flora MacDonald: The Jacobite Heroine in... Scotland and North America. Drawing on previously unpublished material from Scotland and North America, this is a biography of Flora Macdonald, one of the most romantic figures in Scottish history. Flora was not a shy young girl, but a resolute woman of 24 who played a courageous part in rescuing the Prince from his enemies. When arrested, she did all she could to protect others who helped the Prince escape, and displayed a maturity that astonished her admirers and won her many friends. She was imprisoned on a ship for five months, taken to London and placed under house arrest. She was never brought to trial and, on her release, her admirers subscribed over #1500 for her. Freed in July 1747, Flora returned to Edinburgh and travelled widely in Scotland, returning twice to London, before settling in Skye and marrying Allan MacDonald of Kingsburgh. Allan was not a good businessman and was ruined by his cattle dealing. Antagonistic towards his clan chief, he decided to emigrate. In 1774, Allan and Flora crossed the Atlantic and purchased a plantation in Anson, now Montgomery County in an area surrounded by relations and friends. When the American Revolution broke out, Allan remained loyal to King George and raised a regiment of Highlanders. Flora actively participated in recruiting the men, displaying once more resolute courage. The Loyalists were defeated at Moore's Creek and Allan was captured. His plantation was ravaged and Flora spent two miserable years in hiding. Allan was exchanged in 1777, and Flora was brought out of North Carolina, having lost all her possessions. They lived in New York and then moved to Nova Scotia, where Allan served with the Royal Highland Emigrants for five years. Flora, weakened by sickness, could bear the cold winters no longer and returned to Skye where she lived with her daughter at Dunvegan Castle. Four of her sons and a son-in-law fought for King George. In 1784, Allan followed her. She died on Skye in 1790.

Flora MacDonald: The Most Loyal Rebel Flora MacDonald's voyage over the sea to Skye with the fugitive Bonnie Prince Charlie dressed as her maid made her into an instant heroine and the subject of legend and song. The world admired her bravery, but after she returned to Skye, she and her new husband, Allan, met with evby and financial disaster. They emigrated to Carolina, but hardly settled there when the American War of Independence broke out - and again they found themselves on the losing side. Allan was taken prisoner and Flora had to defend herself alone against a hostile community. On Allan's release, he and Flora were reunited in New York and made their way to Nova Scotia where they survived a bitter winter before returning to Scotland. This biography, based on research in Scotland, North Carolina and Nova Scotia, and from other sources aims to offer a rounded picture of this indomitable woman who was much more than the young woman who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie "over the sea to Skye".

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