
Ewen MacPherson of Cluny, known as "Cluny Macpherson" (11 February 1706 – 30 January 1764), was the
Chief of
Clan MacPherson
Clan Macpherson ( , ) is a Scottish clan from the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and a member of the Chattan Confederation.
History
Origins
The Scottish Gaelic surname for Macpherson is ''Mac a' Phearsain'' which means ''son of the parson''. ...
during the
Jacobite Rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...
. He took part as a leading supporter of Prince
Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...
. After the rebellion was crushed, he went into hiding and eventually escaped to France. He was the uncle of poet
James Macpherson
James Macpherson ( Gaelic: ''Seumas MacMhuirich'' or ''Seumas Mac a' Phearsain''; 27 October 1736 – 17 February 1796) was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector, and politician. He is known for the Ossian cycle of epic poems, which he ...
, who collected, translated, and adapted the
epic poem
In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...
''
Ossian
Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora (poem), Temora'' (1763), and later c ...
'', based upon the
Fenian Cycle
The Fenian Cycle (), Fianna Cycle or Finn Cycle () is a body of early Irish literature focusing on the exploits of the mythical hero Fionn mac Cumhaill, Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill and his Kóryos, warrior band the Fianna. Sometimes called the ...
of
Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed ...
.
Early life
Cluny MacPherson was born on 11 February 1706. He was the first-born son of Lachlan MacPherson of Nuide (1674-1746). His mother was Jean Cameron, a daughter of Sir
Ewen Cameron of Lochiel
Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel (; February 1629 – February 1719) was a Scottish soldier and the 17th chief of Clan Cameron. He fought during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and was one the principal Jacobite leaders during the 1689 Rising.
...
.
Cluny grew up to be a respected individual. His father-in-law,
Lord Lovat
Lord Lovat () is a title of the rank Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser by summoning him to the Scottish Parliament as Lord Fraser of Lovat, although the holder is referred to simply as Lo ...
, described him as "a thorrow good natur'd, even temper'd, honest gentleman". Physically he was described as "of a low stature, very square, and a dark brown complection".
Clan MacPherson
The territory of the
Clan MacPherson
Clan Macpherson ( , ) is a Scottish clan from the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and a member of the Chattan Confederation.
History
Origins
The Scottish Gaelic surname for Macpherson is ''Mac a' Phearsain'' which means ''son of the parson''. ...
covered
Badenoch
Badenoch (; ) is a district of the Scottish Highlands centred on the upper reaches of the River Spey, above Strathspey. The name Badenoch means the drowned land, with most of the population living close to the River Spey or its tributaries ...
, south-east of Loch Ness, but the Macphersons were also part of a federation of other clans, called the
Chattan Confederation
Clan Chattan ( or ), also sometimes referred to as "Clan Dhugaill" (Quehele) after its progenitor Dougall-Dall, is a unique confederation of Highland clans. This distinctive allied community comprised at its greatest extent seventeen separate ...
(also called Clan Chattan). This alliance, which dated back to the 13th century, included the
Mackintoshes,
MacGillivrays,
Davidsons,
Shaws, and others. A meeting of these allied clans in 1724 established that leadership was with the Mackintoshes.
1742

The year 1742 marked his arrival into the interconnected world of Scottish affairs. On marrying
Lord Lovat
Lord Lovat () is a title of the rank Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser by summoning him to the Scottish Parliament as Lord Fraser of Lovat, although the holder is referred to simply as Lo ...
's daughter Jean (Jenny) in 1742, Cluny took over management of his father's estate. At the request of the Duke of Gordon (the clan's feudal superior), he undertook to protect a wide area of land from cattle thieving.
Also in 1742, he signed a bond of friendship with his father-in-law
Simon Fraser (chief of Clan Fraser) and with his cousin,
Donald Cameron of Lochiel
Donald Cameron of Lochiel ( – 26 October 1748), popularly known as the Gentle Lochiel, was a Scottish Jacobitism, Jacobite, soldier and Scottish clan chief, hereditary chief of Clan Cameron, traditionally loyal to the exiled House of Stuart. ...
(chief of Clan Cameron), "binding themselves and their followers to stand by and support each other". This was an attempt to loosen the tie to the
Mackintoshes, and may have been a factor in his later recruitment to the
Jacobite cause.
The '45
In August 1745, with rumours of a Jacobite uprising circulating, the government offered Cluny command of an independent company in
Lord Loudon's regiment. This required swearing an oath of allegiance to George II. Once
Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...
raised his standard at
Glenfinnan
Glenfinnan ( ) is a hamlet in Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. In 1745 the Jacobite rising of 1745, Jacobite rising began here when Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") raised his House of Stuart ...
in that same month, Cluny was in a bind. His clan had been
Jacobite in 1715, but not all were similarly inclined thirty years later. A historian has noted that he "had no particular reason, economic, political or religious, strong enough to propel him into the Jacobite camp". Moreover, his wife Jenny wanted her husband to remain faithful to the government.
Cluny did remain loyal to the government, to the extent of turning up with his company to assist the government general
John Cope on his march north in August 1745 to head off the Jacobite army. However, as it was understrength, he was sent back by Cope to raise more troops. Then, whilst home in Cluny Castle on the night of 28 August, he was taken prisoner by a Jacobite raiding party composed of Camerons (his mother's family). To some extent, he may have wanted to be taken prisoner. Taken to
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, he emerged within two weeks as a newly minted colonel in the Jacobite army.

He went north to raise troops for the Jacobite cause, but needed to use both persuasion and threats of violence to raise about 300 men. He was present at the
Battle of Prestonpans
The Battle of Prestonpans, also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, was fought on 21 September 1745, near Prestonpans, in East Lothian, the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745.
Jacobitism, Jacobite forces, led by the Stua ...
on 21 September, when Cope's forces were routed in a 15-minute battle. He met Bonnie Prince Charlie at
Holyrood House in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
in late October. In December he took part in an attack on the Duke of Cumberland's cavalry, at the
Clifton Moor Skirmish
The Battle of Clifton Moor took place on the evening of Wednesday 18 December during the Jacobite rising of 1745. Following the decision to retreat from Derby on 6 December, the fast-moving Jacobite army split into three smaller columns; on th ...
, near Penrith. He was also present at the
Battle of Falkirk Muir
The Battle of Falkirk Muir, or Battle of Falkirk, took place near Falkirk, Scotland, on 17 January 1746 during the Jacobite rising of 1745. A narrow Jacobite victory, it had little impact on the campaign.
After their withdrawal from England in ...
in January 1746. By February, with the Jacobite army retreating northwards, Cluny was sent ahead to raise more men, "burning the houses and killing the cattle of any reluctant to serve". Overall, his contribution to the Jacobite cause was described by
Lord George Murray in March as "indefatigable".
He was not present at the
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...
in April, and went on the run after the Jacobite defeat there. His clansman surrendered in June, the same month Cluny House was plundered and burnt. On the last day of June, his elderly father Lachlan died "of a broken heart among the ruins of his son's estate". His father-in-law
Lovat was captured by government forces in this same month, whilst his cousin
Cameron of Lochiel escaped to France in October with the Prince.
In hiding

Cluny spent the next nine years in hiding with a price on his head. In winter he was relatively safe from discovery. In summer, with troops on patrol, he led an itinerant existence. A report by a government officer suggested he "haunts the houses of his kindred and his wife's in the day time, and he has proper places of retirement in the night time, to which he repairs by turns, according to the danger he (fears) he's in, from the different motions of the troops". He had many hiding places, although his most famous one was a small cave on
Ben Alder, known as "the Cage". It was in an area "full of great stones and crevices and some scattered wood interspersed". Luckily, the colour of the rock obscured any smoke.
The Cage was no larger than to contain six or seven persons, four of which number were frequently employed in playing at cards, one idle looking on, one becking (baking), and another firing bread and cooking
It is here he spent a week with
Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...
in September. It is also where the fictional character David Balfour meets Cluny in the novel ''
Kidnapped'' by
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
.
Escape to France
In September 1754,
Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...
(then living incognito in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
) asked Cluny to come, and to bring any effects or money he had left over from the rebellion, "for I hapen to be in great strets". So, still with a price on his head, Cluny travelled through Edinburgh and arrived in London, where he spent several days among Jacobite sympathisers (possibly at the home of his wife's half-brother,
Archibald Fraser). He then went to
Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
and arrived in
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
in May 1755. His prince had moved to
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, at that point, which is where Cluny also went. It was not a happy reunion. The often intoxicated Prince expected Cluny to account for the large sum of money given to him in 1746 to distribute among the disaffected and "to keep up the spirit of
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was a political ideology advocating the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. When James II of England chose exile after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, ...
". This money became known as the
Loch Arkaig Treasure
The treasure of Loch Arkaig, sometimes known as the Jacobite gold, was a large amount of specie provided by Spain to finance the Jacobite rising in Scotland in 1745, and rumoured still to be hidden at Loch Arkaig in Lochaber.
Background
In 1745 ...
, and is rumoured to still be buried there.
Later life
His wife Jenny and daughter Margaret, aged 14, soon joined him in France. His son Duncan (b. 1748) stayed behind to be educated in
Inverness
Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...
. By 1763, he was living in some poverty in
Dunkirk
Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
. After a long ailment, he died there on 30 January 1764. He was buried in the Garden of the Carmelites, with his wife refusing French military honours at his funeral, since they had not supported him financially. (He held a commission in th
Royal Ecossaisregiment but the pay was meagre). His wife returned to
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, where she died the following year.
On 28 January 2024, for the 260th anniversary of his death, the Clan Macpherson with the help of Dunkirk town hall, inaugurated a memorial in his honor. Near the Carmelite garden, the 28th clan chief, James Brodie Macpherson of Cluny, came to inaugurate the memorial alongside the Very Reverend Allan Maclean of Dochgarroch, who blessed the memorial with water from the Cluny estate, with Anthony Rocquet Macpherson who found the location of the last remains of Cluny, and clansmen and clanswomen from Scotland, England, France, Belgium and Germany.
Descendants
His daughter Margaret (1743–1808) married her cousin Duncan Macpherson. All of their children died without issue, three in the service of Britain: John died in India, Simon drowned at sea, Adam died at the
Battle of Cape St Vincent, Ewan in childhood, whilst the youngest Robert died of old age but unmarried.
His son Duncan (1748–1817) continued his education on the continent, and had become a captain in the British army by the time he was 23, eventually serving with the
63rd Regiment of Foot in the
American War of Independence
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. Whilst in North America he joined the
71st Fraser Highlanders as a major in 1776, rising to Lieutenant-Colonel and participating in several battles. On returning to Britain in 1781, he was captured by an American privateer and spent 16 months as a prisoner of war in New England before returning home.
An act of Parliament in 1784 restored Col. Duncan MacPherson to the estates of his father. At the age of 50, he married a second cousin, Catherine Cameron, and they had four sons and four daughters.
References
Bibliography
* Duffy, Christopher (2003) ''The '45. Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Untold Story of the Jacobite Rising''. London: Orion Books. .
* Fraser, Sarah (2012) ''The Last Highlander: Scotland's Most Notorious Clan Chief, Rebel and Double Agent''. London: Harper Press. .
* Horsburgh, Davie (1984) "Macpherson, Ewen, of Cluny", in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biograph''y. (1984) Vol. 35.
* Lenman, Bruce (1984) ''The Jacobite Clans of the Great Glen''. Dalkeith: Scottish Cultural Press. .
* Macpherson, Alan Gibson (1996) ''A Day's March to Ruin: The Badenoch Men in the 'Forty-five and Col. Ewen Macpherson of Cluny''. Newtonmore: Clan MacPherson Association. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cluny, Ewen MacPherson Of
18th-century Scottish people
Clan Macpherson
Scottish Jacobites
Jacobite military personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745
Scottish exiles