Duncan Campbell was a Scots nobleman who died on 18 July 1758 as a result of wounds received in an unsuccessful frontal attack against French forces at Fort Carillon (renamed

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in northern New York. It was constructed between October 1755 and 1757 by French-Canadian ...

when the British took the fort a year later). The legend associated with Campbell is that a number of years prior—while still living in Scotland—Campbell gave shelter to a stranger who turned out to have killed Duncan's cousin. Faced with the conflict between betraying a guest or taking vengeance for the death of his cousin, Campbell compromised by allowing the killer to hide out in a cave. The ghost of Campbell's cousin is claimed to have appeared to Campbell in a dream and promised to meet him again at ''Ticonderoga'', a place that Duncan surely had never heard of previously. This story was published in the poem "Ticonderoga a Legend of the West Highlands" 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 ...

in ''Scribner's Magazine'' December 1887. Campbell's

42nd Regiment of Foot The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment in the British Army also known as the Black Watch. Originally titled Crawford's Highlanders or the Highland Regiment (mustered 1739) and numbered 43rd in the line, in 17 ...

Highlanders took many casualties in the ill-fated attack on Fort Carillon. Legend has it that the battle was replicated in the clouds over

Inveraray Castle Inveraray Castle (pronounced or ; Scottish Gaelic ''Caisteal Inbhir Aora'' ) is a country house near Inveraray in the county of Argyll, in western Scotland, on the shore of Loch Fyne, Scotland's longest sea loch. It is one of the earliest ex ...

in Scotland on the afternoon of the attack. The story of the ghostly prediction and the apparition in the clouds over Inverawe has been repeated a number of times in magazines, song, and used several times in television scripts. His remains are interred at the Union Cemetery in Fort Edward, NY alongside Jane McCrea and her cousin Sara McNeil.

Songs

Inspired by the history and legend, Rich Nardin wrote (circa 1980) the song "Piper's Refrain", about the end of Campbell's story. The song was first released on Nardin's 1983 album, and has been recorded by multiple artists since. The song is in the folk tradition and may be thought by some to be a traditional ballad when sung by others. The story further inspired Margaret MacArthur to write "The Legend of Duncan Campbell" as an accompanying song which explores the beginning of the tale in Scotland. * (1983) by Rich Nardin at Mudcat Café * (1989) by Margaret MacArthur at Mudcat Café

Sources

1758 deaths 42nd Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the French and Indian War Year of birth unknown Place of birth missing British military personnel killed in the Seven Years' War {{UK-army-bio-stub