Caroline Frederick Scott

Captain Caroline Frederick Scott (died 1754) was a Scottish soldier of the British Army who was notorious for carrying out atrocities and reprisals against the Scottish Highlanders in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden in 1746 and during the Jacobite rising of 1745. However, he had previously been regarded by some as a hero for commanding the successful defence during the Siege of Fort William in 1746.

Early life

Scott was the son of George Scott of Bristo in Edinburgh who had been the British Ambassador to the Hanoverian Court during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain before the House of Hanover had succeeded to the British throne.[1] Captain Scott’s godmother, who he was named after, was Princess Caroline of Ansbach who as the wife of George II of Great Britain would become Queen Caroline and the mother of Prince William, Duke of Cumberland.[1][2]

Military career

Scott was commissioned in the Royal North British Dragoons before transferring to the Guise's 6th Regiment in 1741.[2][3] Scott had seen service in Europe where he had served as a military engineer in Gibraltar.[2] He first came to prominence as the commander of Fort William in the Scottish Highlands and his successful defence of the fort during the Siege of Fort William.[1] Inverness Castle (then called Fort George) and Fort Augustus had both recently fallen to the Jacobites with ease and it would have been a public relations disaster if the same had happened with Fort William.[1] The Duke of Cumberland personally appointed Scott as the commander of the fort.[1] Captain Scott kept dairies of his time in the fort and they show that he was an impatient yet efficient man who left no detail to chance and as soon as he arrived at the fort he drafted a malicious plan to withstand the incoming siege.[1] The bombardment of the fort lasted for three weeks but eventually the Jacobites had to admit defeat and pull out of the area.[1]

In the aftermath of the final Jacobite defeat at the Battle of Culloden on 16 April 1746, Scott apparently took pleasure in destruction, harrying and burning his way through the glens around Fort William.[1] The Duke of Cumberland even sent a letter to him telling him that he should not burn anymore houses, but Scott declined to recall the party he had just sent to do that as they were not aware of the orders.[1] Scott had three Highlanders who had surrendered to him at Fort William after the rising was over, drowned by hanging them in a salmon net in a mill flume at Lochoy.[4] However, according one historian this charge against him was based on circumstantial and possibly prejudiced evidence only.[2]

In August 1746, Scott descended on the house of Isabel Haldane, wife of Charles Stewart of Ardshiel who had led the Stewart of Appin regiment at Culloden.[1] His men cut down the fruit trees in the orchard, plundered the meagre food supplies from the house, removed all the timber, doors and wooden paneling from the house, tiles from the roof, and even the nails were straightened out slowly so that it all could be sold later at Fort William.[1] When finished Scott asked a confused Isabel, who was pregnant at the time, for the keys to the house and then told her to leave as the house was no longer hers.[1] However, she later wrote a letter of complaint to General Campbell.[1]

As Scott toured around the Hebrides searching for the Jacobite leader Charles Edward Stuart his men were ordered to plunder the livestock.[5] Scott's men apparently raped a blind woman on the Isle of Rona before targeting two girls on the Isle of Raasay named Kirstie Montgomery and Marion MacLeod, according to the island's laird.[5] The government forces then went about robbing the islanders who were even left without clothes.[5]

On 16 September 1749, Captain Scott who was then 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.[6] Scott 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.[6] The Captain reported again that as of 4 October 1749 the Sergeant was still missing and presumed murdered.[7]

Death

After being promoted to Major, Scott was posted to India where he died of fever in 1754.[8]

Legacy

In 2006, The Scotsman named Scott as one of Scotland's twelve worst baddies.[9] In 2011, Scott was mentioned as one of the officers who would be accused of war crimes under today's terms by a group who were seeking a state apology from the British Government for war crimes committed after the Battle of Culloden.[10] In a 2018 article by The Scotsman, Scott is compared as one of the real life people who the character Captain Jack Black Randall of the Outlander (TV series) is based on.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Craig, Maggie (2011). Bare-Arsed Banditti: The Men of the '45. Random House. p. (no page numbers).
  2. 1 2 3 4 Royle, Trevor (2016). Culloden: Scotland's Last Battle and the Forging of the British Empire. Hachette UK. p. (no page numbers).
  3. ↑ Duffy, Christoper (2007). The '45, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Untold Story of the Jacobite Rising. pp. 452–458. ISBN 978-0-7538-2262-3.
  4. ↑ Duffy, Christoper (2007). The '45, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Untold Story of the Jacobite Rising. p. 529. ISBN 978-0-7538-2262-3.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Campsie, Alison (7 March 2018). "Who was the most notorious 'Redcoat' of the 1745 rebellion?". scotsman.com. The Scotsman. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  6. 1 2 Allardyce, James (1895). Historical papers relating to the Jacobite period, 1699-1750. 2. Aberdeen: Printed for the New Spalding Club. pp. 524–525.
  7. ↑ Allardyce (1895). p. 527.
  8. ↑ Craig, Maggie (2011). Damn' Rebel Bitches: The Women of the '45. Random House. p. (no page numbers).
  9. ↑ "Meet our 12 worst baddies – Scotland depraved". scotsman.com. The Scotsman. 1 January 2006. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  10. ↑ McKenzie, Steven (7 April 2011). "Apology sought for 'war crimes' in Culloden's aftermath". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
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