Clan MacKintosh

Clan MacKintosh is a Scottish clan from Inverness with strong Jacobite ties. The clan has a common history with the Chattan Confederation.

History

Shaw, son of Duncan Macduff, accompanied King Malcolm IV of Scotland to Morayshire to suppress rebellion in 1160. In 1163 he was granted land in the Findhorn valley and made constable of Inverness Castle. Upon Shaw's death in 1179, his son, Shaw the second became chief and was confirmed by William I of Scotland, the Lion.

In 1291, Angus, sixth chief of MacKintoch, married Eve, the heiress of Clan Chattan. This marriage brought the Chattan lands of Glenloy and Loch Arkaig under MacKintosh control. Since this time, the Clan Chattan has been led by the MacKintoshes, although this has been challenged unsuccessfully by the MacPhersons. Angus later supported Robert I of Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence.

Probably the earliest authentic history of MacKintosh is traceable to Shaw or Seach MACDUFF, a Cadet son of the third Earl of Fife. The son of MACDUFF, for his support of Malcolm IV, was awarded the lands of Petty and Breachley in Invernesshire and was appointed Constable of the Castle thereto. Assuming the name "Mac-an-Toisch", which means "Son of the Thane or Chief", he began his own Clan. The Clan support of James I in 1429 resulted in large tracts of land being settled on the MacKintoshes. Clan MacKintosh was involved in the "Battle of the Thirty", a mass trial by combat, which was held under the judicial control of the King in 1396 on the North Inch of Perth, in which Clan MacKintosh regained all lands taken from the Shaws.

It was this support for Bruce that led to a feud with Clan Comyn. In 1424, the Comyns took control of the MacKintosh lands of Meikle Geddes and Rait. The MacKintosh retaliated by killing several prominent Comyns. A feast of reconciliation was to be held in the Comyn castle at Rait. However, according to legend, a Comyn youth, who was in love with a MacKintosh girl, told this MacKintosh girl that the Comyns had planned an attack upon the MacKintoshes at the feast. Supposedly, as a black bull's head was brought into the feast, the Comyns were to attack their guests. As the bull's head appeared at the feast, however, it was the Comyns who were attacked and slaughtered by their MacKintosh guests.

Clan MacKintosh supported the King in the revolt of 1688, but in 1715, The MacKintosh gave its support to the Jacobite Rebellion. At the "45 Rising", Angus, who held a commission in the Black Watch, could not, in honor, raise the Clan for Prince Charles Edward. His wife, Lady Ann (Colonel Anne), raised the MacKintosh Battalions for Clan Chattan in support of "Bonnie Prince Charlie." The Chattan Regiment distinguised itself at the Battle of Culloden under the leadership of the Chief of the MacGillivray's and was one of only two Jacobite Regiments which did not lose their colors. Earlier, following "Colonel Anne's" tactics, five MacKintoshes, under the leadership of Fraser, the Blacksmith, had routed 1500 of Lord Louden's Troops who were approaching Moy Hall in attempt to capture Bonnie Prince Charlie.

During the 1745 Jacobite Rising the chief of MacKintosh was Angus, a captain in the Black Watch Regiment. In his absence, his wife, Lady Anne, daughter of Farquharson of Invercauld rallied the men for Charles Edward Stuart. The MacKintosh clan, and their Chattan Confederation allies suffered terribly at the Battle of Culloden.

In 1938, Vice Admiral Lachlan MacKintosh of MacKintosh became chief of Clan MacKintosh, however, after a complicated decision by the Lyon Court in 1942, the leadership of Clan Chattan passed to the MacKintosh of Torcastle line.

Moy Castle, the old seat of clan
MacKintosh, on an island on Loch Moy

Moy Hall the current seat of Clan
MacKintosh

Clan Wars

Clan Mackintosh were involved in many clan battles mostly against Clan Cameron with whom they had an extensive feud.

• The Clan MacKintosh fought at the Battle of Largs in 1263 against King Haakon of Norway. Sadly the fifth Chief of the Clan MacKintosh was killed that day, he was called Farquhar MacKintosh. Other Accounts state that he was killed in a duel in 1265 leaving his infant son Angus as Chief of the clan.

• The Battle of Drumlui 1337, A dispute between the clan Mackintosh and Clan Cameron over land at Glenlui and Loch Arkaig. The lands had previously been undisputidly owned by the Camerons for many years until they were demanded by William Mackintosh, son of Angus, 6th Chief of Clan Mackintosh. The Mackintoshes appealed to the sword and a battle was fought at Drumlui. The Camerons were defeated under the leadership of Donald Alin Mhic Evin Mhic Evin. This battle led to a very long lasting feud with the two clans constantly attacking each other.

• The Battle of Invernahoven 1370 or 1387. The Camerons numbering approximately 400 men were returning home with the booty they had acquired after a raid at Badenoch. They were overtaken at Invernahavon by a body of Chattan Confederation led by Lachlan, Laird of Macintosh. The Chattan Confederation forces consisted of the Mackintoshes, Davidsons and Macphersons. As a result of a disagreement as to whether the Davidsons or Macphersons would occupy the right wing which was the post of honour, the Macphersons withdrew in disgust from the army. The combined numbers of the Clan Chatten confederation had outnumberd the Camerons but with the loss of the Macphersons the Camerons now had a greater number. The battle resulted in a defeat for the Clan Chatton confederation (Mackintosh and Davidson). It is said that an allie of Cameron known as Charles MacGilony led the clan into battle and is believed to have changed the outcome of the day with his uncanny ability as an archer. At this point, possibly the next morning the Macphersons changed their minds and decided to rejoin the Chatton confederation attacking the Camerons with such vigor that they changed the victory into defeat, and put the Camerons "to flight" towards Drumouchter, skirting the end of Loch Ericht, and then westwards in the direction of the River Treig. The Mackintoshes later claimed that the Macphersons were coaxed into the battle by a man from clan Mackintosh who turned up at Macphersons camp pretending to be from Clan Cameron and calling the Macphersons cowards. The Macphersons then attacked the Camerons camp making a dreadful slaughter of them, even killing the Cameron's uncanny archer Charles MacGilony at a place now called Charles's Valley, or in Gailic Coire Thearlaich.

• Battle of The North Inch 1396, In the aftermarth of the battle of Invernahoven the Camerons did not wait long to take their revenge on the MacKintoshes and their Clan Chattan Confederation. The feud betwwen them had become so fierce and bloody that the King Robert III was made aware of it. The King sent two of his Generals to the Highlands to try and resolve the problem, they found it would not be possible to execute the King's orders without loss of the King's own men. The King brought the two rival Chiefs of Clan Cameron and Clan MacKintosh together and decided it would be resolved by the sword. The king orderd part of the river near the City of Perth to be enclosed with a deep ditch in the form of an amphitheatre with seats and benches for the spectators. His majesty himself sitting as the judge on the field. Crowds and combatants appeared. The clans chose thirty of their best warriors each to take part. A battle was fought that was so bloody and horrible that the crowds and even the King himself were seized with an inexpressible horror. Four of the MacKintoshes survived the battle but they were all fatally or mortally wounded. One Cameron survived and escaped by swimming across the River Tay. The battle had been orchistrated by the King to end the feud bettween these two rival clans but it did nothing but make it worse and more battles between them were fought.

• Feud with the Clan Comyn; It was in the time of this chief that the Mackintoshes finished their feud with the Comyns. During the lawless times under Murdoch, Duke of Albany, Alexander Comyn is said to have seized and hanged certain young men of the Mackintoshes on a hillock near the castle of Rait. Mackintosh replied by surprising and slaying a number of the Comyns in the castle of Nairn. Next the Comyns invaded the Mackintosh country, besieged the chief and his followers in their castle in Loch Moy, and proceeded to raise the waters of the loch by means of a dam, in order to drown out the garrison. One of the latter, however, in the night-time managed to break the dam, when the waters rushed out, and swept away a large part of Comyn’s besieging force encamped in the hollow below. Thus foiled, the Comyns planned a more crafty revenge. Pretending a desire for peace, they invited the chief men of the Mackintoshes to a feast at Rait Castle. The tradition is that the Comyn chief made each of his followers swear secrecy as to his design. It happened, however, that his own daughter had a Mackintosh lover, and she took the opportunity to tell the plot to a certain grey stone, when she knew her lover was waiting for her on the other side of it. As a result the Mackintoshes came to the feast, where each one found himself seated with a Comyn on his right hand. All went well till the moment for the murderous attack by the Comyns was all but reached, when Mackintosh suddenly took the initiative, and gave his own signal, whereupon each Mackintosh at the board drew his dirk and stabbed the Comyn next him to the heart. The Comyn chief, it is said, escaped from the table, and, guessing that the secret had been revealed by his daughter, rushed, weapon in hand, to her apartment. The girl sought escape by the window, but, as she hung from the sill, her father appeared above, and with a sweep of his sword severed her hands, whereupon she fell into the arms of her Mackintosh lover below. Whatever were the details of the final overthrow of the Comyns, the Mackintosh chief in 1442 established his right to the lands of which his family had so long been deprived, and secured a charter of them from Alexander de Seton, Lord of Gordon.

• 1411, The Clan MacKintosh fought at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411, along with the other clans of the Chattan Confederation who fought under the standard of 'MacKintosh' as the MacKintosh Chief was captain of the Chattan Confederation.

• The Battle of Split Allegiances 1429, This conflict was between forces led by Alexander MacDonald, 3rd Lord of the Isles, who was in pursuance of his claim to the Earldom of Ross and the Royalist army of King James I. It is believed is that Donald Dubh, XI Captain and Chief of Clan Cameron, rose in support of the Lord of the Isles, and that Cameron clansmen joined a "large force" (recorded as being 10,000 men) in sacking the town of Inverness and surrounding crown lands. On the return of their army to Lochaber they were intercepted by King James I with his large army. Donald Dubh, finding himself opposed to his Sovereign, led his men in deserting the Lord of the Isles and joined forces with the King. The Clan MacKintosh is also said to have done likewise and the Lord of the Isles army was defeated/sued for peace, with Alexander submitting to the King and being imprisoned afterwards.

• Battle of Palm Sunday, 1429; On this day which is traditionally reserved for Christian worship, an incident took place in Lochaber that lives on in infamy. The Chattan Confederation, including the Clan MacKintosh, attacked the Clan Cameron, which was assembled in a church, to which they set fire "and nearly destroyed the whole clan." The incident probably took place between those members of Clan Cameron and Clan Chattan which separated from the Lord of the Isles, or perhaps just a portion of the clan as a whole. This conflict, which might be referred to as "The Massacre of Palm Sunday" is not the focus of this narrative. Many accounts make mention of a battle which was also fought on this date, between these same clans. While it is unknown whether this action took place in the near vicinity of the church massacre, it is probable. History relates that during the engagement most of the Mackintoshes and almost the whole tribe of Camerons were "cut to pieces." It is unclear exactly which tribe of Clan Cameron this would have been. This feud between the two clans seems to date back to 1336, when the rights to the lands of Glenlui and Locharkaig, in Lochaber, were contested. Some authorities believe that these disputed lands at one time made up the official demesne of the "Old Toisech," or head of the tribe which controlled early Lochaber.

• The Battle of Craig Cailloch 1441, Clan Mackintosh, at the instigation of Alexander, Lord of the Isles, began to invade and raid the Clan Cameron lands. A sanguinary conflict took place in this year at Craig Cailloch between Clan Cameron and the Mackintoshes in which MacKintosh's second son, Lachlan "Badenoch" was wounded and Gillichallum, his brother, killed.

Clanchnaharry Monument destroyed by lightning

• Clachnaharry 1454, John Munro tutor of Foulis, took the Clan Munro on a private raid into Perthshire, MacKenzie country. On their way home with their captured cattle the Munros had to pass through Mackintosh country and an amount of 'road collop' or passage money was demanded as was the custom. There was a dispute over the amount and the Munros refused to pay anything. The Munros sent their spoils on ahead hotly pursued by the Mackintoshes who overtook them at Clachnaharry. Some accounts say John Munro orderd the spoils on ahead with 50 men while the remaining 300 Munros stayed behind to fight. In the ensuing fight the clan Chief of MacKintosh was killed along with most of his company. Also John Munro was left for dead on the battlefield. He is said to have been found by an old woman after the battle and nursed back to health before being handed over to Lord Lovat who returned him to his own people. The Clachnaharry Monument built in 1820 was 50ft tall but was destroyed in a lightning storm in 1951, there are plans to rebuild it.

• Raid on Ross-shire 1491, Ewen Cameron XIII Chief of Clan Cameron and a large body of Camerons, joined by Alexander of Lochalsh, Clan Ranald of Garmoran and Lochaber and Clan Chattan - who they must have made peace with on a raid into the county of Ross-shire. During the raid they clashed with the Clan MacKenzie of Kintail. They then advanced from Lochaber to Badennoch where they were even joined by the Clan MacKintosh. They then proceeded to Inverness where they stormed the Royal Castle and MacKintosh placed a garrison in it. The Lords of Lochalsh appear at this time to have had strong claims upon the Camerons to follow them in the field. They were superiors under the Lord of the Isles of the lands of Lochiel in Lochaber, in addition to the claims of a close marriage alliance (Ewen married a daughter of Celestine of Lochalsh). This would serve to explain the quite unusual mutual participation under a common banner between the Camerons and Mackintoshes in this raid.

• The Battle of Bun Garbhain 1570, Donald Dubh Cameron, XV Chief of Clan Cameron, had died, leaving an infant son at the head of the clan. The Chief of Clan MacKintosh, at the head of 200 men, invaded the Cameron lands near Loch Arkaig. The Mackintoshes had approached by Lochielside where, meeting no resistance, they made camp for the night. The following day MacKintosh led his men past Beinn an t-sneachda and approached Loch Arkaig from the south. Baring their way, with a strong position on a hillside, were the men of Clan Cameron. A bloody battle ensued. Though outnumbered, the Camerons had the high ground and soon the field was littered with Macintoshes both dead and injured. The remainder of their army was put to flight. Mackintosh led his men in retreat around the head of Loch Eil to the Ardgour shore and rallied his men. The Camerons were in swift pursuit and a second engagement took place, with similar results as the first. In the midst of this action the Chief of Mackintosh is believed to have been killed when a fearsome Lochaber axe felled him to the ground. His followers took their stricken chief and fell back to Bun Garbhain (Bun Garvan). Both sides met once again for an indeterminate time, before disengaging for the night. The Mackintoshes made camp in a small hollow called Cuil nan Cuileag, and thought that they were safe. However, the Camerons were not done with his mortal enemies, stormed the encampment and fell upon them. Not a single Mackintosh would leave that hollow and the Cameron victory was absolute. Interestingly the mother of the infant chief of Clan Cameron was in fact a MacKintosh. After the battle she was banished from Lochaber forever.

• Battle of Glenlivet 1594, XVI Chief of Clan Cameron called Allen Cameron led the clan when they fought and defeated the Clan MacKintosh. The Camerons took the side of the Earl of Huntly whose forces included Clan Gordon, Comyn/Cumming and others. The MacKintoshes took the side of the Earl of Argyll whose forces included the Clan Campbell, Atholl and others from the Chattan Confederation such as Clan Forbes. The Camerons pursued their enimies with great eagerness. The Chattan Confederation of Forbes and the MacKintosh and Argyll and Atholl, were soundly defeated.

• Standoff at the Fords of Arkaig 1665, the Clan Chiefs of Clan MacKintosh and Clan Cameron were orderd by the Privy Court to end the dispute over the lands near Loch Arkaig once and for all. While MacKintosh was declared to have the legal right Cameron was declared to be the owner. Cameron was orderd to pay MacKintosh a large sum of money for the land but MacKintosh refused this. soon after Clan MacKinosh along with the Chattan Confederation assembeled an army of 1500 men. Camerons had raised a force of approximately 1000 men who took up a defensive stance at Achnacarry. Camerons biographer records that there were 900 men armed with guns and broadswords and a further 300 men armed with bows. It seemed the battle to end all battles between these two ancient adversaries was about to commence. However just as Clan Cameron comenced their attack the powerful Clan Campbell and Chief appeared on the scene. John Campbell, Chief of Campbells brought with him 300 men and declared that he would fight against whichever side initiated the impending battle. The Cameron Chief Ewen soon withdraw all his troops. As a result one of the bloodiest feuds in Scottish history came to an end after 360 years. On September 20th 1665 a contract was signed by both Chiefs of Cameron and MacKintosh with Cameron agreeing to buy the lands from MacKintosh. Then at a place called Clunes around 24 men from each side met face to face and shook hands for the first time in generations. Here they exchanged swords as a token of reconciliation and drank together.

• The Battle of Mulroy 1668, Clan Cameron and Clan MacKintosh were at peace and Cameron Chief Sir Ewen was responsable for keeping the peace between his men and their former enemies. However when the Chief Sir Ewen Cameron was away in London a feud broker out between Clan MacDonald and their enemies Clan MacKintosh and Clan MacKenzie. As the Cameron Chief was away he was not able to hold back his clan and the combined forces of Cameron and MacDonald defeated the MacKintoshes and MacKenzies.

• Battle of Sherrifmuir 1715, Clan MacKintosh fought as Jacobites at the Battle of Sherrifmuir on 6th September 1715.

Clan Location

Jacobite Uprisings

Clan MacKintosh supported the Jacobites and fought against the British Army at the Battle of Culloden (1746). Despite the MacKintosh Chief being a commander in the British Black Watch regiment while he was away on duty his wife rallied together the MacKintosh Clan and ensured that they fought on the side of the Jacobites.

Gaelic names & Origin of name

• Gaelic Name: Mac-an-Toiseach
• Origin: Gaelic 'Toiseach' - leader, chief or captain. According to clan historians, the first chief of the clan was Shaw, second son of Duncan MacDuff, Earl of Fife, Royal house of Dalriada. The name therefore has been thought to mean 'son of the chief'.

Chief

Since 1995, John MacKintosh of MacKintosh.

Crest & Motto

• Crest: A cat-a-mountain salient guardant Proper
• Mottos: Touch not the Cat bot a Glove ("Touch not the cat without a glove") & Loch Moigh - Rallying Cry

Standard

• The Arms in the hoist and of two tracts Or and Gules, upon which is depicted the Crest in the first compartment, and a sprig of red whortleberry in the second and third compartments, along with the Slughorn ‘Loch Moigh’ in letters Or upon two transverse bands Azur

Septs of Clan MacKintosh

Adamson, Ayson, Clark, Combie, Crerar, Dallas, Doles, Elder, Esson, Glen, Glennie, Hardie, Hardy, MacAndrew, MacAy, MacCardney, MacCombie, MacCombe, MacComie, M'Conchy, Macglashan, Machardie, Machardy, MacHay, Mackeggie, M'Killican, MacNiven, MacOmie, Macritchie, MacThomas, Niven, Noble, Paul, Ritchie, Seawright, Siveright, Shaw, Tarrill, Tosh, Toshach.

Clan MacKintosh today

• Approximate numbers in various countries: Unknown
• Prominent members: Unknown
• Ancestral lands: Moy Hall remains the seat of Clan MacKintosh, as it has for over 600 years. It features a bed slept in by Bonnie Prince Charlie.

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