FLORA MACDONALD: HIGHLAND HEROINE
“Sing me a song of a lass that is gone. Say, can that lass be I?” The Skye Boat Song (from the Outlander theme)
The first time I heard of Flora Macdonald was when I visited Scotland with my husband. We were on a two-week long bus trip of Scotland and one of the sites we stopped at was the Battle of Culloden (1746), a British-led combat campaign against the Jacobite’s, Prince Charles Stuart supporters and most things Scottish. To many who visited the war site, it was just a historic note of a devastating conflict but to me, a woman with Jacobite ancestry, it was personal. I imagined that my Scottish ancestors were dying right in front of my eyes. The conflict between the two groups was jarring- a huge British infantry armed to the teeth and clothed for battle fought against a ragtag group of Scottish Highlanders armed with only rakes, clubs and knives and wearing only kilts. It hardly seemed a fair fight but to the Highlanders, it didn’t matter. They were prepared to fight to the death for their country and their freedom.
The Culloden Battle led to the removal of Scottish culture (the British wanted all reminders of a free country with a unique language, customs and tales wiped from the planet). The Culloden Museum (amazingly well done) offered the war from two perspectives (as if historic sites about genocide can be made impartial). Yet it is here within the display cases, films, holograms, graves and audio tapes that I learned of Ms. Macdonald’s existence. She’s remembered for her part in getting Prince Charles Stuart to safety after Culloden. Right under the nose of the British armada, this 24-year-old Scottish woman from the Hebrides Islands, managed to hide Prince Charles until he was able to escape to The Isle of Skye. How could this be true? Certainly there was more to the story.
“Outlander,” one of my favorite online streaming series, found Ms. Macdonald’s tale as intriguing as I did; they even went as far as including her role in the escape of the prince on one of their episodes (See Season 6, Episode 6). Other arts avenues found her enchanting as well. A dance was choreographed about the jig she did on her small boat to distract the British soldiers while they questioned her and searched for stowaways (See Flora Macdonald Fancy Dance). Music offered another interpretation of the escape with the hauntingly gorgeous “The Sky Boat Song” (now the “Outlander” theme song): Merry a soul she sailed on a day, over the sea to Skye.
But it wasn’t until I read an article in the NY Times Book Review; “The Highland Heroine and the Prince” that discussed the publication of the book “Flora Macdonald: Pretty Young Rebel: Her Life and Story by Flora Fraser that I realized this gutsy young women needed to be memorialized in stone. Flora knew the dangers she faced when she absconded with a known enemy of the state, but she did so nonetheless. While she did suffer a small indignity upon her return to shore, however her reputation rebounded and she became a bit of celebrity. So much so, that she was indeed memorialized in stone. She, a young woman, who’d been overlooked as just a simple silly girl, successfully pulled off a covert mission that most men could not have managed. Could you do what Flora did? When faced with a hard choice that effected the lives of others, could you call upon your strength to negotiate with the patriarchy to outrun the autocracy? Could you right an unjust wrong?
The Flora Macdonald monument can be found on Castle Hill in Inverness, Scotland. An inscription reads: The preservation of Prince Charles Edward Stuart will be mentioned in history, in courage, fidelity, and with honors.” I do pause here for a moment to notice that one could interpret this inscription to mean Flora was honored more for her service to the prince than her bravery. But since I wasn’t there, I’m going to give the inscriber and the sculptor the benefit of the doubt.
I consider Flora as a hero as well as my Highland sister. Now is the time for you to find your family heroines. Unleash them from their dark sleep. We need to tap into their strength, ingenuity, intelligence and quiet dignity. Individually we have one voice. Collectively we are loud and powerful and cannot be ignored. Our ancestors knew this. Lest not we forget the power of the matriarchy.
