Clan Cameron and the Jacobites
By 1745, Clan Cameron had a long-standing loyalty to the House of Stuart. When Prince Charles Edward landed in Scotland he summoned Lochiel to ask for his support in gaining the throne for his father, the uncrowned King James VIII. Lochiel, initially doubtful, brought out his Clan for the Prince when he raised the standard at Glenfinnan.
The consequences of the 1745 Rising, which ended in heartbreak at the Battle of Culloden, were devastating for the Highlands, and for Clan Cameron.
The Gentle Lochiel, XIX Chief, died in exile in France in 1748.
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- The Clan Cameron Museum
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- The Cameron Cairn at the Clan Cameron Museum
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- The Jacobite Rose – grown from a cutting of the rose picked by Prince Charles Edward Stuart
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- Sir Ewen Dubh XVII Chief
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- Secret Portrait Ring with image of Prince Charles Edward
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- Old Achnacarry – burnt down by Cumberland’s men after Culloden
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- A Cameron Clansman by R. R. McIan
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- The Cameron Flag – flies at Achnacarry
Early Beginnings
Clan Cameron rose to eminence in Lochaber in the 14th century. The name Cameron probably derives from the Gaelic Cam Shron, meaning ‘crooked nose’.
Clann is Gaelic for ‘children’, and under the Celtic system of Patriarchal Law, the Clan looked to the Chief as to a father, and he in turn looked to the best interests of his followers as he would to his children.
Clan Cameron was formed from an alliance of Lochaber clans including the MacMartins, the MacGillonies, and the MacSorleys.
Lochaber No More
With the disintegration of the Clan system after Culloden, clearances began to take place.
The first evictions to make way for sheep on Cameron lands were carried out by Donald Cameron of Clunes in 1801.
in 1802, Archibald MacMillan of Murlaggan took 400 people from Loch Arkaig to Ontario.
Descendants of those who left now return to Lochaber to visit their ancestral home. The Cameron Cairn at the Clan Cameron Museum is a memorial to them.