Appin Murder
54°53′42″N 2°56′02″W / 54.895°N 2.934°W
Appin Murder | |||||||
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Part of the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745 | |||||||
Memorial to James Stewart of the Glens who was wrongly convicted and executed for the Appin murder | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
British Government | Jacobites | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Colin Roy Campbell of Glenure |
Allan Breck Stewart | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Colin Roy Campbell of Glenure killed |
James Stewart executed Allan Stewart exiled |
The Appin Murder (
Victim
While fictional versions of the Appin Murder have Campbell accompanied by a body of regular soldiers, contemporary accounts refer only to three mounted companions. One of these was his nephew Mungo Campbell, a lawyer. While a single shot was heard by these witnesses two wounds were reportedly found in Colin Campbell's body. Slouching on his horse Colin Campbell cried out "Oh, I am dead - take care of yourselves". Mungo Campbell close by the victim, sighted a figure on a hill at some distance, in dark clothing and carrying a musket.
Shortly before his murder, Colin Roy Campbell was mentioned by Jacobite poet
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Trial
The search for the killer targeted the Clan Stewart. The chief suspect,
James Stewart was hanged on 8 November 1752 on a specially commissioned
False witnesses rose; to my charge things I not knew they laid. They, to the spoiling of my soul, me ill for good repaid. ~Psalm 35
To this day in the Highlands, it remains known as "The Psalm of James of the Glens".
Similarly to the usual practice after the hanging of pirates, James of the Glens' corpse was left hanging at what is now the south end of the Ballachulish Ferry for eighteen months as a warning to other Clans with rebellious intentions. Over those months, it was beaten and battered by winds and rain. As it deteriorated, his skeletal remains were held together with chains and wire.[6][7][8]
Recent scholarship
In Walking With Murder: On The Kidnapped Trail (2005), Ian Nimmo has addressed the mystery of who shot Colin Campbell, applying modern police methods to the documents in the case, including two post-mortem reports. According to Nimmo, Alan Stewart did not pull the trigger, and the secret of who did has been handed down through the Stewart family for 250 years. Nimmo chose not to reveal it, stating that "it is not mine to give away".[9]
In 2001, Amanda Penman, an 89-year-old descendant of the
In his 2004 examination of the evidence, Lee Holcombe also concluded that Donald Stewart of Ballachulish, rather than Allan Breck Stewart, is far more likely to have been the actual shooter.[6][10] However, he also concluded that James of the Glens, despite his eloquent denials, was indeed guilty of ordering the murder of Colin Campbell.[11]
Recent legal developments
There was an attempt to gain a pardon for James of the Glens. In 2008, Glasgow lawyer John Macaulay asked the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission to reconsider the case on the grounds his study of the trial transcripts shows there was "not a shred of evidence" against Stewart.[2] but was denied due to the case being so old it was not in the interest of justice.[12] In 2015, the Scottish government said it would not proceed with a pardon.[13]
Notes
- OCLC 944312200.
- ^ a b c d e f Auslan Cramb (14 November 2008). "18th Century murder conviction 'should be quashed'". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Hunter, James; Kennedy, Kate (3 September 2013). "The Appin Murder – Historical Context" (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. The Royal Society of Edinburgh 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ MacDonald, Rev. A (1924). The Poems of Alexander MacDonald (Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair). Inverness: Northern Counties Newspaper and Print and Pub. Co. pp. 258–261.
- ^ a b c d Lundy 2005.
- ^ "Scotland: Murder in Appin". The Independent. 2 June 2002. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ "The Appin Murder 1752". thesonsofscotland.co.uk. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ Boztas 2005.
- ^ a b McMee 2004.
- ^ Holcombe 2004.
- ^ Commission rules against 18th century murder review, The Journal of the Law Society of Scotland 9 December 2008
- ^ Ross, David (18 August 2015). "'Appin Murder' campaigners told no pardon in historic miscarriage of justice case". The Herald, Scotland.
References
- Boztas, Senay (27 August 2005), "New Appin murder investigation reveals Jacobites plotted to kill", Sunday Herald
- Holcombe, Lee (2004). Ancient Animosity, The Appin Murder and the End of Scottish Rebellion. Bloomington, IN: Author House. ISBN 978-1-4184-2828-0.
- Lundy, Ian (3 October 2005). "The Appin murder: who killed Red Fox?". The Scotsman. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- McMee, Elizabeth (25 January 2004), "Bloody Scots whodunit is 'solved' by US academic", Sunday Herald, archived from the original on 5 May 2013, retrieved 9 December 2011 (backup site (page 5))
Further reading
- JSTOR 25519353.
- Nicholson, Eirwen E. C. (2004). "Stewart, Allan (fl. 1745–1752)". .
- Nimmo, Ian (2005). Walking with Murder: On the Kidnapped Trail. Birlinn Ltd.
- Gibson, Rosemary (January–February 2003). "The Appin Murder". History Scotland. 3 (1).
See also
- William Grant, Lord Prestongrange the chief prosecutor.
- Keppoch murders
External links
- "In pictures: The Appin Murder". BBC. 8 November 2002.
- Lyrics to "The Red Fox" (Big Country song about the murder) (Archived 25 October 2009)