John Du Cameron () (executed 23 November 1753) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Sergeant in the

French Royal Army The French Royal Army () was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude from 1792 to 1814 and another du ...

who came back to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

to fight for 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, ...

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 ...

. When the rebellion failed he took to the hills with a band of renegades and fought on until he was captured and hanged in 1753. He is better known by the name of Sergent Mòr (''Mòr'' the Scottish Gaelic for "largeness of size" or "greatness of character"). He was viewed as a

brigand Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first record ...

, however, by those who opposed him and his victims in the counties in which he operated (Perth, Inverness and Argyle), but a

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythology, mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in Folk music, folk songs, folk tales ...

to those who sympathised with the aims of the rebellion (as shown by the mention of Sergeant Mòr in ''

The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond" (or "Loch Lomond") is a traditional Scotland, Scottish folk song (Roud Folk Song Index, Roud No. 9598).Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a folkloristics, collector of folklore, folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectur ...

Capture

Cameron, having no fixed abode and facing the consequences of having served in the French army, and also of having supported the Jacobite rising, formed a party of ''freebooters'', and took up his residence in the mountains between the counties of Perth, Inverness and

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

. He carried on a system of spoliation by carrying off cattle that belonged to people he called his enemies, and also

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

ing people. He had for a long time slept in a barn on the farm of Dunan in

Rannoch Rannoch ( or , meaning 'bracken') is an area of the Scottish Highlands between the A9 road, to the east, and the A82, to the west. The area is crossed from south to north by the West Highland railway line. Features of the area include Loch R ...

, but he was betrayed and one night while he was asleep in the barn, in the year 1753, he was apprehended by a party of men led by

Hector Munro, 8th laird of Novar General Sir Hector Munro, 8th Laird of Novar, KB ( – 27 December 1805) was a British Army officer and politician who represented Inverness Burghs in the British House of Commons from 1768 to 1802. Early military career in Scotland He was ...

. Cameron was a powerful man and shook off all of the soldiers who had hold of him, and attempted to escape. However, he was overpowered by the remainder of the party, who had stayed outside. Cameron was carried to Perth where he was tried for murder as well as for various acts of theft and cattle stealing. He was found guilty and executed at Perth in 1753. It was generally believed locally that Cameron had been betrayed by the man whose barn he had been sleeping in.

References

Scottish soldiers Year of birth missing Executed Scottish people 1753 deaths Jacobite military personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745 Scottish Jacobites Scottish emigrants to France Scottish outlaws French Army officers People executed by the United Kingdom by hanging

John Du John Forrosuelo Du (born October 18, 1954, in Bantayan, Cebu), is a prelate of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. He is the Archbishop of Palo in Leyte, Philippines. He was appointed to a previously vacant see left with the appointment o ...

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Capture

See also

References