The Killin incident of 1749 took place in August 1749 in

Killin Killin (; ) is a village in Perthshire in the central Highlands of Scotland. Situated at the western head of Loch Tay, it is administered by the Stirling Council area. Killin is a historic conservation village and sits within the Loch Lomond ...

in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

in the tumultuous aftermath of 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 ...

. Two men who had been plundering at will in full

Highland dress Highland dress is the traditional, regional dress of the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. It is often characterised by tartan (''plaid'' in North America). Specific designs of shirt, jacket, bodice and headwear may also be worn. On rare occas ...

after the

Dress Act 1746 The Dress Act 1746, also known as the Disclothing Act, was part of the Act of Proscription (19 Geo. 2. c. 39) which came into force on 1 August 1746 and made wearing "the Highland Dress" — including the kilt — by men and boys illegal in Sco ...

had made it illegal to wear it, had been captured by soldiers of the British Army, but a large mob secured their release.

Background

After the

the

was passed by

George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; ; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Em ...

making it illegal, as of 1 August 1747, for any man or boy to wear

. However, there was a lack of cooperation, as the military saw it, of the civilian authorities to bring in offenders. Captain Hughes of Pulteney's Regiment reported from his headquarters at

Loch Rannoch Loch Rannoch () is a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is over long in a west–east direction with an average width of about , and is deepest at its eastern end, reaching a depth of .Tom Weir. ''The Scottish Lochs''. pp. 69-75 ...

in August 1749 that the local sheriff depute had been dismissing individuals taken before him for wearing Highland dress.

The incident

Later that month Captain Hughes reported that a party of fully armed Highlanders had been plundering at Killiecrankie. They were chased as far as Aberfeldy but they escaped because the soldiers could get no help from the local people. However, two of the men were later captured at

, but while the Corporal was conducting the two offenders to Captain Hughes he was met by the sheriff depute and a mob. The sheriff depute ordered the soldiers to release the two prisoners or he would put the soldiers in prison and at the same time "abuse" them for "molesting" people for wearing dress that he thought should be tolerated. The soldiers then released the prisoners.

Aftermath

Captain Hughes reported the incident as ''"the People Insult & Triumph, and while their sheriff depute protects them, make a Jest of Military Power"''. Captain Hughes reported on 1 October 1749 that one of his patrols in Killin had captured one Duncan Campbell on 22 September who had been wearing "Tartan Clothes" and that he was then confined in the prison of Killin. Captain Hughes also reported that they had recently pursued three armed men who had attacked some cattle drovers and stolen their cattle, but that the Highlanders being lighter armed and dressed were able to escape. Similar incidents were reported around the same time in other parts of the Scottish Highlands: On 16 September 1749 a

Captain Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – ) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–04 and the ''Terra Nova'' expedition of 1910–13. ...

of Guise's Regiment who was stationed at Braemar Barracks reported that his men had pursued a Highlander who had appeared armed and in "Highland Dress" but that he had fairly outrun them and that they had opened fire on him as he ran into a wood, but missed him. The same Captain reported on 1 October 1749 that one of his Sergeants was missing, presumed murdered, who had been in pursuit of four men who had appeared armed and in "Highland Garb", and who were presumed to be thieves. The Captain reported again that as of 4 October 1749 the Sergeant was still missing and presumed murdered.Allardyce (1895). p. 527. The ban on wearing Highland dress was repealed in 1782 and the wearing of it returned to civil use. However, it became a fashion for both the English and Scots, and in particular the English aristocracy. The seal of royal approval for wearing both

tartan Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...

and Highland dress came in 1822 when

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

of the United Kingdom made his visit 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 ...

dressed accordingly.

References

{{reflist

External links

The Ban on Highland Dress
. Pulteney’s Regiment. 18thcentury.com