Some historical notes from the Trial of James Stewart

[regshoe]

I've been digging into some Kidnapped fannish historical detail by reading the records of the trial of James of the Glens for the murder of Colin Campbell of Glenure! These are collected in Cobbett’s Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors, vol. XIX (published 1813), of which there are various PDFs floating about on the internet, mostly of terrible quality; the best I've been able to find is here [updated with link that should now be working].

It is really fascinating reading, and—even without the full knowledge of exactly how much of the evidence was perjured and exactly what the prosecution did to obtain it—stands out as an incredible example of what you might call the disingenuous injustice of official evil. Poor James.

Anyway, I made some notes as I went along of points of particular fannish-historical interest, either in general to Kidnapped and Flight of the Heron or in particular to my WIP. I take a 'take them or leave them' attitude to historical details about the real Allan Breck Stewart vis-a-vis his fictional counterpart (there are at least two certain real details—his height and his father's name—that Stevenson contradicts); I might use some of these in fic if they're ever particularly useful and will happily ignore or contradict them otherwise.

• On his visits to Scotland, Allan Breck Stewart usually goes via Edinburgh and stays with a friend called Hugh Stewart, who's called as a witness in the trial. So, on hypothetical future visits, him going to that area and calling in on Davie in Cramond on the way back to the Highlands is totally plausible!
• Hugh gives the dates of ABS's arrival in and departure from Scotland: 'he went to France in 1747, and returned to Scotland in December 1749; returned to France in May 1751, and came back in February 1752'. The length of time he was spending in Scotland surprised me at first, but I suppose if recruiting in the Highlands was part of his duties for his French regiment, it makes sense.
• Amongst other friends in the Highlands, ABS often stays with Duncan Stewart of Glenbuckie, who's also examined as a witness; this is the Stewart of Glenbuckie with whom Dr Cameron is staying in Gleam in the North, and the connection to ABS pleases me because he also appears in my fic!
• Some of the witnesses recount ABS claiming, before the murder, that he had a grudge against Glenure because Glenure had written to Colonel Crawfurd (commander of Fort William) to inform him that ABS was in Scotland—but in fact this didn't matter to ABS's safety, because he had gone to General Churchill (Commander of the Army in Scotland, and also mentioned in GitN; he's Francis's future father-in-law) and 'made up his peace' with him and 'got his pass'. I'm not sure what the exact significance of this is—certainly ABS still expected to be apprehended as a deserter after the murder—but it seems relevant.
• One of the witnesses examined is an Allan Oig Cameron, resident at Arlarich in Rannoch, who is ABS's uncle; suggesting that ABS's mother was a Cameron?
• Stevenson's description of Alan making a pen and ink at Corrienakiegh—'...searched the wood until he found a quill of a cushat-dove, which he shaped into a pen; made himself a kind of ink with gunpowder from his horn and water from the running stream'—is taken almost verbatim from the bouman John Breck Maccoll's evidence given at the trial. I love these little details!
• The defence suggest that the real murderer might have been one Sergeant More Cameron, who came over from France and apparently spoke of wanting to get revenge on Glenure for his treatment of the tenants of Mamore. Possibly this is the Cameron murderer suggested by Stevenson?
• James of the Glens goes into detail on his journeys to and from Edinburgh (in seeking legal counsel to attempt to stop Glenure's planned eviction of tenants in Appin), which gives useful information on travel times! He takes five days to get to Edinburgh from Appin, going via Glencoe, Innerkenvie, Lanerick, Annat, Newton, St. Ninian's and Touch. On the way back he goes via Glenbuckie, taking four days to get there and another four days to get back to Appin.
• ABS's French outfit sometimes (?the descriptions are not totally consistent) includes tartan hose, and he also wears a tartan waistcoat with the other set of clothes which he gets from JotG and is wearing when the murder takes place. The black short coat belonging to JotG has silver or white buttons, but the blue French coat has yellow buttons—perhaps Stevenson combined them for his memorable silver button?
• In light of past discussions about literacy rates at this time, it's notable that many of the witnesses examined are not able to write (the statements are taken down and paraphrased, but the witness has to sign their name, and a note is made if they can't). James of the Glens and his sons can write, but his wife and daughter can't—evidently a gender gap in education.
• JotG's description of ABS, including his French outfit: 'He is a tall pock-pitted lad, very black hair, and wore a blue coat and metal buttons, an old red vest, and breeches of the same colour.' Other descriptions of the French clothes say the breeches were black. It's interesting to see the use of 'vest' for 'waistcoat', which I now think of as American.
• ABS's regiment when he was in the Hanoverian army is Colonel Lee's.
• Stevenson's portrayal of ABS witnessing the murder and then going to JotG's house afterwards is not accurate. A witness, Katharine Macinnes, describes meeting ABS that evening and telling him the news of the murder (though it's possible, historically, that he was lying about not knowing about it because he was in fact the murderer!), while JotG himself says he never saw ABS again after ABS left his house three days before the murder (but he happily admits to helping ABS by sending him money). On the other hand, ABS travelling through Glencoe and then hiding for several days at Corrynakiegh is historical, and John Breck Maccoll, the 'bouman of Appin's', who helps him get money, is a real person, though Stevenson seems to have simplified the details of who the money came from and how it got to ABS. There's a bit in chapter 19 at JotG's house where 'a lassie came out of the house carrying a pack or bundle', and this proves to be Alan's clothes which James plans to bury; Alan protests and puts them on instead. Historically, where ABS wasn't there, they did bury the clothes (the lassie is the servant Katharine Maccoll, who says Mrs Stewart ordered her to hide them), and dug them up again a few days later to send to ABS at Corrienakiegh.
• The trial took place in September 1752, and there are several references to the change of calendars that had taken place a few weeks earlier. It's interesting to see that as it happened!

Comments

[theseatheseatheopensea]

I take a 'take them or leave them' attitude to historical details about the real Allan Breck Stewart vis-a-vis his fictional counterpart

RLS would be proud! :D

[regshoe]

:D

[sanguinity]

Oh, fascinating! Thank you for writing this up!

It's interesting to see the use of 'vest' for 'waistcoat', which I now think of as American.

Every once in a while I run across something like that -- I think I've seen it in mathematical terminology and accents, too -- where the so-called Americanism is actually an older British style that hung on here but not there. I've never heard anyone connect it to the cultural evolutions of diaspora (where splinter groups tend to conserve cultural elements that have since become archaic in the main group) -- and I'm not even sure how applicable that dynamic is, given that the early U.S. had as strong a desire to distinguish itself from Britain as to hang on to cultural roots. But I do note it with interest whenever I see it.

[regshoe]

Yes, I've come across that before ('gotten' is the first example I think of)—and that is an interesting idea. Hmm.

[muccamukk]

Really cool. I'm so uninformed of that part of history, I really was just guessing what was historical, and what RLS had flat out made up.

[regshoe]

I do enjoy delving into the historical background of books, and it's good fun seeing just how many of the details are historical!

[luzula]

Very late comment, but this is fascinating!

Amongst other friends in the Highlands, ABS often stays with Duncan Stewart of Glenbuckie, who's also examined as a witness; this is the Stewart of Glenbuckie with whom Dr Cameron is staying in Gleam in the North, and the connection to ABS pleases me because he also appears in my fic!
Oh, how satisfying!

but in fact this didn't matter to ABS's safety, because he had gone to General Churchill (Commander of the Army in Scotland, and also mentioned in GitN; he's Francis's future father-in-law) and 'made up his peace' with him and 'got his pass'. I'm not sure what the exact significance of this is—certainly ABS still expected to be apprehended as a deserter after the murder—but it seems relevant.
Huh. One does wonder what this deal with General Churchill was! Was the general bribed? You might potentially have made something of this in your story, if you had wanted. : )

[regshoe]

I don't know—perhaps it was a bribe! And I suppose I could, although it probably wouldn't matter very much after Alan is already wanted for the murder (hmm, I suppose if it's not important now then it wouldn't affect the plot, so I could probably slip in a reference to it, as something that happened in the past, in editing...)