Roderick Mackenzie was a Jacobite soldier who was killed during 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 ...

while acting as a

body double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes for another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

for the Jacobite leader

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, ...

, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, in July 1746.

Early life

Roderick Mackenzie was the son of an

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 ...

tradesman, possibly a jeweller and goldsmith, named Colin Mackenzie. Initially, Roderick followed his father's trade and became an apprentice jeweller but then moved on to be a merchant at

Fisherrow Fisherrow is a harbour and former fishing village at Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, to the east of Portobello and Joppa, and west of the River Esk. History There has been fishing at Fisherrow and Musselburgh since Roman times, and the p ...

. However, he continued to follow his father's view on politics having been told many stories about the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...

by him and so became a passionate Jacobite.

Jacobite rising of 1745

Roderick's father had died before Bonnie Prince Charlie had arrived in 1745 but when the Prince reached Edinburgh on August 8, 1745, Roderick joined his Jacobite army. Roderick joined

David Wemyss, Lord Elcho David Wemyss, Lord Elcho and ''de jure'' 6th Earl of Wemyss (12 August 172129 April 1787), was a Scottish peer and Jacobite, attainted for his part in the 1745 Rising was deprived of titles and estates. One of the few Jacobites excluded from ...

's Troop of the Prince's Life Guards. It was soon noticed that he looked very similar to the Prince and could therefore act as his body double. Roderick fought 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 ...

on April 16, 1746, where the Jacobites were defeated and where he helped to defend the retreating Jacobites. He then became a fugitive of the law and could not return to his mother and sisters in Edinburgh as this would have put them in danger.

Death in Glenmoriston

In late July 1746, the British Army had received information that Bonnie Prince Charlie was hiding in

Glenmoriston Glenmoriston or Glen Moriston () is a river glen 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 mo ...

and Roderick Mackenzie was also in Glenmoriston. A British Army patrol spotted Roderick and because of his likeness to Prince Charlie, thought that they had found the Prince. There was a £30,000 bounty to capture the Prince dead or alive. Roderick, surrounded by the soldiers, drew his sword and refused to surrender. The soldiers opened fire and he was riddled with a volley of musket bullets. His death gave Prince Charlie time to escape from the glen and the search for him was reduced. Roderick Mackenzie's dying words were:

Aftermath

The soldiers cut off Roderick's head and took it to

Fort Augustus Fort Augustus is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands. The village has a population of around 646 (2001). Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism. History Early histo ...

hoping to receive their reward and where

Prince William, Duke of Cumberland Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (15 April 1721 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S./nowiki> – 31 October 1765) was the third and youngest son of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ire ...

was staying. The captured Jacobite, MacDonald of Kingsburgh, who was also the future father-in-law of

Flora MacDonald Flora MacDonald (1722 – 5 March 1790) is best known for helping Charles Edward Stuart evade government troops after the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. Her family had generally backed the government during the 1745 Rising, and MacDonald l ...

, was asked to identify the head as being the Prince's but he was not able to. Cumberland then took the head to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for other Jacobite prisoners to identify but by this time it had begun to decompose and it was decided that it was not the Prince.

Grave and cairn

In Glenmoriston, both Roderick's grave and a

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

erected in memory of him can be seen where every year in late July a small ceremony is held by the 1745 Association and the

Clan Mackenzie Clan Mackenzie ( ) is a Highland Scottish clan associated with Kintail and Ross-shire. Its chiefs trace their lineage to the 12th century, though the earliest recorded chief is Alexander Mackenzie of Kintail, who died after 1471. The clan suppo ...

Society. The cairn may have been there since Mackenzie's death in 1746 but has had many stones added to it by tourists over the years. Major repairs were made to the cairn in the mid-1950s after an American tourist of Mackenzie descent wrote to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

and a programme was setup for its repair. Permission was subsequently gained from the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

who held overall responsibility for the cairn. On Roderick Mackenzie's grave there is a cross that has been replaced by the

Inverness Field Club Inverness Scientific Society and Field Club is based in Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland to promote interest in natural history, geology, archaeology and local history by way of extensive lecture and excursion programmes. It is a partner or ...

. The inscription on the cairn reads: The stone with the inscription was apparently installed by the Reverend John Anthony Macrae some time before 1914. He was an Oxford graduate who held various charges in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, Edinburgh,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, and

Redgorton Redgorton is a settlement in Gowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies a few miles from the River Tay and the A9 road (Great Britain), A9 road, across the latter from Luncarty. It lies close to the Inveralmond Industrial Estate. Etymology T ...

, and he died in October 1954.

References

External links

* * *{{cite web , url=https://www.ambaile.org.uk/search/?searchQuery=Roderick+Mackenzie%27s+cairn%2C+Ceannacnoc , title=Roderick Mackenzie's cairn, Ceannacnoc , website=ambaile.org.uk , access-date=May 25, 2025 Clan Mackenzie

Mackenzie Mackenzie, Mckenzie, MacKenzie, or McKenzie may refer to: People * Mackenzie (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Mackenzie (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Clan Mackenzie, a Sc ...