A MemoriallMemorial of David Taylor Wright
in Inverness his usage and Confine-
ment, after the BatleBattle of ColodenCulloden, be-
ing the 16th AprileApril 1746 When many
were kill’dkilled in Cold Blood, And attat
three or four Miles Distance from the
ffieldfield , besides many beggars they met
on the High wayHighway And Next Morning
they kill’dkilled all the wounded that lay in
the ffieldfield . This I was told by Ballfinnlay who []
Robert Forbes, A: M: 1584 (1584)
who was providencialyprovidentially Saved by anean
officer who came by when two Soul-
diers were disputing the one for
Saving and the other for killing
him this Officer took a Cordial
out of his poketpocket and gave him, and
hadehad him carryedcarried to the Next Hous-
es; and next day to a HospitallHospital , and
as the SouldiersSoldiers were rude to him Doc-
tor Adare hadehad him and Mr Nairn
CarryedCarried to a privatprivate place where
he ordredordered care to be taken of
theretheir wounds And Some good Gen-
tle Women took care to get all ne-
cessaries Conveyed to them— The
eaveningevening of the BatleBattle they settset a
litlelittle Town on fire where they burnt
a great Many Wounded Whose bodies
were a Most MelanchollyMelancholy Sight next
day: And on the frydayFriday being the
third day after the BatleBattle , they ga-
thered all the wounded they found in
the Houses, and other wheres about
ColodenCulloden, and CarryedCarried them to the
ffieldfield where they SettSet them in
Rank and ShottShot them
The Next Morning after the BatleBattle
Robert Mathies Servant to GovrGovernor Caul-
Field came with ^a partieparty and planted one SentrieSentry within 1585 (1585)
within my House, anean other without,
and one at my shopeshop door, ordering
them to let nothing out, Where they
Continued for two Months About
ten ao’ clock in the morning of the
day after the BatleBattle five of GenllGeneral
BlackneysBlackney’s Officers took possession
of my House, Where they meass’dmessed
for two Months, When their fol-
lowers lock and demollisheddemolished what
they pleas’dpleased . And when they left
the house, They carryedcarried be way
of Borrowing all the furniturfurniture they
thought usfulluseful for themselves, but
never return’dreturned any —
On the 27th AprileApril I was taken up
by anean officer and put into the Tol-
booth, which was full of wounded and
Dead men, and all the RoomeRoom that
twentietwenty five of us hadehad was a litlelittle
pleaceplace call’dcalled the justice of peace
LoaftLoft . And no person durstdared come
to give any support to these Wound-
ed for nine days untilluntil the judge
AdvocatAdvocate came and caus’dcaused carry a-
way the Dead, And ordredordered a pdpound of
MeallMeal a day to each Prisoner —

On the 2d of May fortieforty five of us
were GaurdedGuarded down to the Harbour, and Ship’dShipped 1586 (1586)
Ship’dShipped aboordaboard of a Small Sloup, And
as the SailersSailors look’dlooked on us from the
quarter DakeDeck the Carpenter Call’dCalled
me, and told me that their HouldHold
was alreadiealready full of prisoners
and that how Soon they came to
the Road we were to be Divided be-
twixt four other Ships and only
four of us to be keeptkept , And that
they made Choice of me and de-
sired that I should pick out other
three, and they would do their best
for us; I Humbly thanked them and
told them I would — How Soon
we came to the Road it happened
as they Said, and in this Sloup I
was most CivilyCivilly us’dused, the MastersMaster’s
name was Thomas Nicle of Alaway
he was verievery good to the prisoners
in Generallgeneral , And as theirthere was no
officer on board but a SerjeantsSergeants
Command I gottgot the favour of a
Dozen of prisoners on [] Dake attat
once till they came all by turns
from morning till eavenevening, for they
were in a Most Miserable Condition
in the HouldHold, besodes he gave them
a pdpound of meallmeal a day when Walker
Ship master of Leith gave them but half 1587 (1587)
^half a pdpound a day and hadehad near to three
hunderhundred Prisoners that were Sick —

On the 30th May we Sail’dSailed down to
Cromerlie Road where I was Libe-
ratliberated by Mr Bruce judge Advocate,
And after comeingcoming home I was
taken up by CaptCaptain Massie one of
the Officers that Meass’dMessed in my
House, on a Second Sign’dSigned Infor-
mation given in to GenllGeneral Blaikney
one of these Signers was Forsyth
Merchant in Cromertie a man
that knew nothing of me — Then
I was put up in to the Clerks
Chamber in the Town House, with
Mrs Halden and Irvin two young
Gentlemen who dyeddied of their wounds
The last of June McNull of Barra,
Glenbuicket younger, Doctor John
McDonald a Brother of Kenloach-
muidert’s and I were put up to a
a higher RoomeRoom by the judge Ad-
vocat. And at the end of July or-
ders came to Ship offof all the re-
maining Prisoners, that were then
in Goalejail, when Orders came to stop
me from being ShiptShipped — After the
prisons, were Clean’dCleaned out I was
brought over to the TolboothTollbooth and some wounded 1588 (1588)
wounded that were CarryedCarried on
blankets. After this came on my
greatest hardships and Misery, the
number of prisoners dayliedaily in-
creas’d, and new hardships always
put on us, no access to us no pen
Ink or paper alow’dallowed — The midlemiddle
of SeptrSeptember My Wife my two Children
fell into ffeversfevers and great Sick-
ness of which my Wife dyeddied ; When
SeverallSeveral strong petitions were given
to GenlGeneral Blaickney and Strong Solici-
tations made to him and any se-
curitie he could ask, for to alow-
me goego under a Guard to see my
dying Spouse; but his CruellCruel heart
would not alowallow me: Tho’Though a Mini-
ster offered to secure his person
in my pleaceplace untilluntil my return, and
likwayslikewise offered him any SecuritieSecurity
the Magistrates or Town could give,
but nothing would do with him, he
told I was most Active in the Re-
bellion, and if I had a hunderhundred
Wives dying that he would not
alowallow me go to See them without
orders from Lord Albarnarle. AttAt
this time and still after we are un-der1589(1589)
der the greatest hardships, a great
Number of Sentries within and
without, Two officers (Lieuten-
nant Jo: Ward in Ballero’s C 2
Lieut:Lieutenant Hugh Fraser in BleckneysBlackney’s
RegementRegiment ) Confined and suspended
for allowing two poor Women come
in to the Prison - -

The last two days of October and
first of November was my TryallTrial
before the ShirieffSheriff , when a great
Number of Witnesses were exa-
mined, When I was brought these
three diferentdifferent days to the Town
House under a Strong Guard And
a Vast Number of Witnesses were
examined in my absence. CaptCaptain
Dunlop of Blaikney RegtRegiment a Scots
man was my principallprincipal persecuterpersecutor
as a LawierLawyer ; And did not alowallow
the SherriefSherrif to ask one QuerieQuery ,
he interuptedinterrupted me in every word
I Spoke, telling me I was too much
indulged when I hadehad libertieliberty to be
present at the examination of
a witness, and at last he told me
he would Send for a drumstick to
gagggag me. This CaptCaptain Dunlop has put the 1590 (1590)
the prisoners under all the hard-
ships possible he could in DecrDecember
he ordredordered his SerjeantSergeant to put out
and take away all our Candles.

And had it put in orders next day
that no fire or Candle Should be
alowedallowed into Goale. In this dark
Condition were we in, untilluntil CaptCaptain
UrquhartsUrquhart’s turn came to be CaptCaptain of
the Guard, who sent his SerjeantSergeant
to ask if we wanted to light our
Candles; this most be thought ve-
rie Comfortable to distress’d priso-
ners who were in the dark in this
Season of the year — I hadehad al-
most forgot Colquahoun Fort Ajitant
who sattsat the whole time of my pre-
cognition Starting a great many New
Articles not LybelledLabeled , but nonnone of
the Witnesses could say but they
were all pointedly paydpaid their wages,
nor was theirthere a Shilling to be ask-
ed by any Workman or labourer, or
for MateriallsMaterials of any kind within
the Town of Inverness as far as
I could find out, before the Prince
and his ArmieArmy went to the ffieldfield.

On the 23d of AprileApril 1747 I was SettSet
at Libertieliberty by the return of a Petition
sent to my Lord justice Clerk upon
giveinggiving a Thousand Merk Beall
SeverallSeveral Ladies Gentlewomen,
and others in this Town were verievery
kind to the Prisoners, Some both
Cloath’dClothed and fed the poorer sort,
And SeverallSeveral Contributions of money
were sent the Gentlemen, And theirthere
would have been a great many More
good deeds of this kind done them
hadehad it not been the Terror that
Dunlop and those of his Disposition
put them under ———————