Major Duncan Campbell Black Watch of the Ghost story 1758 gets new headstone

[georgeetta]

Major Campbell and his 2 ..fellow ..neighbors Mrs MacNeil and ..poor Jeannie MacRae ..killed prior to Battle of Saratoga near Fort Edward ..have all receieved new headstones ..I was kind of shicked nobody was really looking after ..Duncan's they were lying in the gargage of groundskeeper ..luckily he sent them to local museum .

close call .

th
d

[Hiburnicus]

I can sense the bones of a good story here, about Major Duncan and also the headstones...Can you elaborate a bit? Elucidate? Unmuddy the waters? Where could I find out more?

[Downunder Kilt]

Here is a bit of the back story re the death of the Major, http://www.bletherskite.net/2009/10/...f-his-brother/ There are many references on the ole google search. As for the headstones, I have yet to look. Cheers


Also found this book in the internet archive The Black Watch at Ticonderoga and Major Duncan Campbell of Inverawe https://archive.org/details/blackwatchattico00richiala

[Dughlas mor]

It`s a pretty good ghost story. Fitzroy MacLean gives a good telling in his book, West Highland Tales.

[georgeetta]

Major Duncan Campbell Laird of Inverawe was the subject of the famous ghost story of RL Stevenson AND ..was the cousin of the Campbell shot in ..stevenson's .."kidnapped" ..in the "appin murder" ..cousin Colin Roy Campbell of GLENURE gets assasinated accompanied by nephew or cousin young ..Mungo Campbell (who becomes British officer falls fighting at Fort Montgomery near West Point in Revolution) ..James of the Glen -an Appin Stewart : brother of Ardshiel 'I think a sept of Appin Stewarts or branch of ....in exile ..gets eyed up ..by ..Duncan's brother FOSTER OR WHATEVER [see:campbell of BARCALDINE] ..who was ..a family investigator ..I am sure ..this is not text perfect -you can read up yer'sel..

The underlying movement was ..the government was to ..deploy break up clan lands who were ..Jacobites and resettle in checkerboard fashion breaking the ..clan trouble form re-emerging ..

in the "new book ..about the appin murder" ..a young Appin Stewart was the shooter ..there was an allan breac who had shadowed ..after colin roy ..who apparently had started jacobite then ..turned back to Government thru ..I think family connections . some go so far as to say allan breac served in fr ind war ..and wrote a signed letter stating he was not the killer though he let it be thought he was ..to draw off the heat ..being abroad ..check your French archives ..

SO James unfortunately gets hung , a lingering supposedly Appin other occurrence comes up and Duncan's foster brother ..or cousin or kinsman is also murdered in "RL Stevenson poem Ticonderoga" they talk of "camerons" ..but makes more sense of "appin stewarts" being involved at least in Stevenson -on back of kidnapped story and local tales and ..family name was Donald I thought it was called Dougall as well I've known about this since I was a kid ..in "classics illustrated" ..from the barber shop ! it gEts worse my uncle grew up IN Ft Ti his family lived in gate house his dad died ..so he had run of the woods ..and knew the owners ..

the story says ..the victor (the stewart) having killed fair or foul ..Donald or Dougall ..goes to Inverawe I assume it being a great house will have ..someone willing to listen to his side ..Duncan gives him the highland shelter ..later ..kinsman come he finds it is his own kin ..and ghost of the murdered Donald ..returns several times not to shield the murderer .. (hard to believe ..revenge from the grave) ..so Duncan finally goes after him the guy has left ..and ghost says they'll meet at Ticonderoga ..a Mohawk word for ..stream at rock y point I think ..meant nothing in highlands ..so ..he goes on for years about this Ti- place ..nobody knows ..

he get appointment John of Loudon happened to be a cousin ..I think ..head of all King's forces in N America in French Indian war 1755 ..before he gets replaced by Abercrombie ..for poor start ..Braddocks defeat ..Fort Necessity ..Washington's "confession" ..raids on British in North NY ..

Duncan becomes #2 man in Black Watch is seen on horseback in painting ..while ranks fire at Greenock ??
his 2 sons come along ..1 is painted JOHN a Capt ..he dies yr later at Chelsea hospital I assume from the ..French wall guns shooting shards fo broke glass and nails ..so ..blood poisoning or ..tetanus ..in those days ..

supposedly brother officers found about Ticonderoga and hids it ..but he said he saw the ghost and this was it ..

The Black Watch lost about half in field fighting at the NW corner of the FRENCH lines ..3500 French agst 12000 or so ..British ..July 27th ? 1758 ..complete bungle ..

MONTCALM ..french commander (who led previous yr destruction of Fort William Henry other end of Lake George in NY -see "last of the Mohicans") had his men dig ..ditches (still there) say 5 ft deep ..sometimes 2..and cut trees for like 600-800 ft ..and made a log wall near 9' tall ..I assume with a parapet ..the top log notched hid the shooter ..bottom of ditch to top of wall was now 13' tall ..arriving at begin of clear cut ..british troops stopped ..a recon by an engineer ..said it was not much to look at ..the troops advanced then ..as they got nearer they got more hung on the branches piled up like barbed wire ..anybody going thru a clear cut slash will tell you that barring being shot at ..the Black Watch rallied at least 3x even got over the wall ..they were accord to "Mr Ian MacCulloch's Sons of the Mtns" book 5'2" average then ..carrying a LONG pattern Brown Bess issued ..as they got to top they were shot bayonetted or taken prisoner ..I think I heard maybe 30-40 breeched ..

Duncan, aged about 55.. got an arm wound and was carried off ..he lingered for 9 days or so finally died ..was buried in Fort Edward later moved to ..Hudson Falls ..sits next to Jeannie MacRae ..who was family of the 1738 ARGYLL Washington County NY settlers denied title ..and Sarah MacNeil who claimed she was related to General Fraser killed at Saratoga/Bemis Heights ..Jeannie was killed tho a tory maybe by friendly fire but blamed on the Indians who scaled her anyway and her sweetheart David Jones was in Burgoyne's camp as a scout ..and saw the locks ..and fell apart never regaining himself ..her brothers were pro American and officer moved to south of Ballston Spa MacRae hill and John the older could never talk about her without falling apart his house form where Jean left ..still stands ..

it was famous in black watch ..their papers were lost as regt came back after revolution ..it was claimed to be a well known story amongst them ..

I was at Saratoga yesterday nice fall day and Fort Edward and Ticonderoga the previous weekend ..they just finished a new bldg. on east side .

there is a book ..connected to black watch ..writ yrs ago ..and the ghost story ..as best known .
son of the mountains does great job describing the action on the field fyi ..there is no where worse than a hot Ti day ..it's a giant stone oven ..thousands died there .. they had a hatchet with 42 stamped on blade they had dumped their claymores or clay begs ..nice collection of Scottish pistols ..and swords ..there and a few living artisans to watch ..shoemaker and dressmaker ..it got more ..like ..this old house or some tool show as you watched and they talked !!

there is a 1774 map showing the settling of Lake Champlain lots known as Hampshire Grants which the Vermonter fought over ..with the Scottish Highland soldiers come to take their lots ..a Robt Campbell settled ..Crown Point village area a ..Alex' MacKenzie settled south of Port Henry ..I think some got tarred n feathered over by ..Vergennes area ..that was what the green mtn boys were organized for ..! They also took Ti- in the Revolution while Arnold ..had to play 2nd fiddle to Ethan Allan ..this was Allan's show ..

"up " the lake Whitehall Arnold also made America's first Navy fought at Valcour Island and turned the British back for another year which became Saratoga battle ..when Jeannie was killed or found scalped ..that became a rally for all militias to jump the state line ..previously not done before .. Arnold's boat was scuttled ..pieces were at museum .

there were rumours of Campbell's ghost and brother ..but I am sure ..that's drama ..I have heard same in the Campbell castles though ..so look up there ..sites ..for there ..also it was said ..the the Ti- battles was seen in the clouds and folk saw their neighbors ..in the battle trying to climb the wall ..

Fort Edward also has nice visitors center ..guys doing the Frasers were there ..

I enjoy John Prebble books ..my prof in college turned me onto
Mackies Hist fo Scotland .
tartan tomahawk article in ..highlander magazine .
see George Neumanns book on blades of revolution ..swords etc dirks ..
there's a nice Rob Roy book out ..
I had the Black Watch Duncan book ..somewhere ..

about it ..

th
d

whew

[Hiburnicus]

Here is a bit of the back story re the death of the Major, http://www.bletherskite.net/2009/10/...f-his-brother/ There are many references on the ole google search. As for the headstones, I have yet to look. Cheers


Also found this book in the internet archive The Black Watch at Ticonderoga and Major Duncan Campbell of Inverawe https://archive.org/details/blackwatchattico00richiala

Thanks for the link! I have read a version of this story before! I remember now, a comic book I had when I was 10 or 12 or so ( close to 30 years ago!) that had this ghost story and a couple others in it... How weird!

[georgeetta]

shoot don't have my bag with me ..I can't find a direct link between a Laird of Barcaldine named ..DONALD ..John was the Laird at time till 1775 about

Patrick father of JOHN OF BARCALDINE ..had 2 wives don't; look to me like they were related ..

Duncan's ma was a MacLean
John's "Barc" had a Campbell and another ..not MacLean .

Duncan was Larid of Inverawe and eldeset son in Inverawe line ..his father was ..Archibald ..

Barcaldine's line father was ..Patrick

LOOK UP BARCALDINE AND INVERAWE .

but I thought I saw a strange thing under Patrick's children ..for Duncan ..it may have said ..Inverawe !?!? ..all others were ..Barcaldine ..odd ..check me .

I found NO Donald being killed pre 1755 ..

No Donald appeared to be Laird of Barcaldine ..

I found nobody listed as murdered under Barcaldine .

so if any Campbell folk have links to ..geneologists ..let us know ..

th
dave


Duncan had 4 children
1 died in hospital after Ti
other at ..Spain or like military

2 daughters 1 succeeded him and they sold the lands ..

th
d

[creagdhubh]

Thanks for the links, Mike!