When at the same time I indulge
you with an Answer to your Letter Con-
cerning the Particulars you mention there-
in I hope neither you or your ffriendsFriends
who may have seen the Account I am
now to give of these particulars will
impute my Conduct to disaffection to
the Government or out of Resentment
to particular Persons. I assure you the
Case is otherwise I do it to SatisfieSatisfy
your Curiosity and furnish you with
indisputable Facts which I find are great-
ly aggravated in your good Town to the
Disadvantage of Our Army in GenerallGeneral
and to the Reputation of Persons of
Distinction in particular At the same
time every person who wishes well
to Our happy Constitution must with
Regret think the proceedings of Our
Army in this Country SchockingShocking and
unprecedented I think so my selfmyself
And as my Station and EmploymttEmployment
under the Government and my En-
deavours to Support it in the late
times of Danger puts it out of the reach 1372 (1372)
reach of Malice to traduce me in
the modern way with the name of
a Jacobite which Appellation the
wrong heads and Bad hearts never
miss to bestow on those that dare
Speak truth and Differ from them
and give their Dissent to all
that’s Oppressive and I llegallIllegal I
shall therefore proceed and give
you a brief Account of what you
desire to be informed of So far
as Consists with my knowledge
and Shall begin with the Re-
markable✝ Escape of ^^^XAlexrAlexander John Fraser
Commonly called McIver This
Man was an Officer of the Master
of Lovat’s Regiment he was very
early Shottshot through the knee at the
Battle of Culloden he was carried
off in the heat of the Action and
left at a Dike side pointing towards
Culloden house Some hours after
the Defeat of the Highland Army he
with other seventeen wounded Offi-
cers of that Army (who were ei-
ther carried or made their Escape
towards a Little plantation of wood
near to the place where Fraser lay) were 1373 (1373)
were carried to the Closs1 and Office
houses of Culloden where they re-
mained for two Days wallowing in
their blood and in great Torture
without any Aid from a Doctor or
Surgeon tho’though otherwise kindly enter-
tained by Mr Thomas Stewart Cham-
berlain and Chief house keeper
to the late Lord president And
this he did to some at the hazzardhazard
of his Life The Third Day Fraser
and the other Seventeen Wounded
Officers were by a Party of Soldiers
under the Command of a certain
Officer put on Carts tyedtied with
Ropes &and carried a Little Distance
from the house to a park dike and
there planted against the wall
or park dike when the Officer
who commanded the party Ordered
Fraser and the other Prisoners
to prepare for Death and all who
were able bended their knees and
began to pray to God for Mercy to
their Souls; In a Minute the Sol-
diers who Conducted them were
Ordered to fire which they did And
being at the Distance only of two yards 1374 (1374)
yards from their breast of the unhap-
py prisoners most of them all ex-
pired in an Instant but such was
the humanity of the Command-
ing Officer as thinking it right
to put an end to so many mi-
serable lives that he gave Orders
to the Soldiers to Club their
MuskettsMuskets and Dash out the brains
of such of them as he observed
with Life which Accordingly they
did And one of the Soldiers ob-
serving John Fraser to have the
Signs of Life after receiving a
ShottShot he struck him on the face
with the Butt of his MuskettMusket broke
the upper Part of his Nose and
Cheekbone and dashed out one of
his Eyes and left him for dead,
in this miserable Situation a certain
young Nobleman riding out by the
house of Culloden and park dike
he observed some life in Fraser
and calling out to him asked what
he was he told him he was an
Officer in the Master of Lovat’s
Regiment This young Lord offered him 1375 (1375)
him money saying he had been
Acquainted with his CollonelColonel Upon
which Fraser told him he had no
use for money but begged for God’s
sake either to Cause his ServtServant
put an end to his miserable life
or carry him to a Coat house2
which he mentioned at a little
distance, This the young Lord had
the humanity to do and ffraserFraser
being put in a Corn Kilnlogie3
where he remained for three months
and with the Assistance of his
Landlord is so far cured as to be
able to Step upon two Crutches
and is now a Living Object and
Witness of what I here relate
to you. There is Something fur-
ther remarkable in this Man’s Case
Upon his Return to his Country
he found his wife4 and Children
StriptStripped of all their means and
Effects by the Army and preparing
to beg from house to house he re-
ceived a Letter That his wife’s
Brother5 who was a Surgeon to his
trade, in France had dyeddied in France
and by his will which he had left in 1376 (1376)
in the hands of his Trustees at
London He Fraser in Right of
his Wife was entitled to upwards
of four hundred Pounds sterling
as her Share of her Brother’s
Effects and which Sum[] he ac-
cordingly received in the Month
of May 1748 and which you may
easily believe in some measure
Supports him in his present mi-
serable State of Body Deprived
of the use of his Limbs his Arm
and One of his Eyes And with
Respect to what you want to be
Informed of Concerning the Cruel-
tysCruelties used the first and Second days
after the Battle of Culloden on
the field of Battle I find there are
several Things aggravated even
in that particular It is certain
that a resolution was taken That is
was not proper to load or Crowd
this little Town with a Multitude
of wounded and Incurable men of
Our EnemysEnemies and therefore a ✝Party
was XOrdered to the field of Battle
who gathered all the wounded men
from the Different Corners of the field 1377 (1377)
field to One or two parts And there on
a Little rising hillock or ground
properly planted they were finish-
ed with great Dispatch and this
you and every bodyeverybody else must
own was as to them performing
the greatest Act of humanity as
it put an end to many miserable
Lives remaining in the outmost
Torture without any hopes of Re-
lief The house you mention
was no other Than a Little Coat
house6 where Goats or Sheep us-
ed to Shelter in Cold nights and
to this hut which is about a Quar-
ter of a Mile’s Distance from the
field of Battle many of the wound-
ed men Crawled in the Night time
and being there found by the Sol-
diers, the door of the hut was ShuttShut
and a fire put to the Different
Corners of the hut and every
person there to the number of
Thirty two including some beggars
who flocked to the field of Battle
for plunder perished in the flames
I find you have a just Account of
the usage our two provosts mettmet with the One 1378 (1378)
One received ✝Kicks upon Kicks
and the other was forced to exe-
cute the Servile Office of Xmuck-
ing his own Stable for the Con-
veniency of the Dragoon horses
and the WaggsWags of our Town
Distinguish them by the Names
of the Kick the Muck or Dirt
Provosts