Before I Set out for Scotland,
you may remember, you importuned me to
make Inquiry about Several remarkable
Transactions within a certain memorable
Period of Time, particularly the Case of
John ^X Alexr Fraser; the+ printed Account of which
is looked upon by many in England as
wild &and romantic. In Compliance with your
repeated Desires, I made it my Business
to find out the Truth, and (woe’s me!) I
discovered much more than ever I imagin-
ed to have been done. The printed Account
of John ^Alexr Fraser’s Case is not only literally
true, but likewise there are Several remark-
able Circumstances in his History not yet
known in England. I shall endeavour to
give you a Specimen of my Discoveries,
Such as is consistent with the Bounds of a
Letter; for to give the ^whole Would serve to
make up a Volume.

John ^Alexr Fraser, commonly called MacIver,
an Officer in the Regiment commanded by
the HonbleHonorable the Master of Lovat, was, about
the Beginning of the Action Battle upon
Drummossie-Muir, Shot through the Knee, &and
was carried off in the Heat of the Action to
a Park-Wall pointing towards the House of
Culloden. Some short time after the Bat-tle 1604(1604)
tle, he &and about eighteen other wounded
Officers of the Highland Army (who had
made their Escape towards a Small Plan-
tation of Wood in the Neighbourhood of
the Place where Fraser was lying) were
carried to the Area of Culloden-House,
where they remained two Days in the
utmost Torture, wallowing in their own
Blood, &and without any the Smallest assis-
tance from Physician or Surgeon; but
they met with very kind &and compassionate
Treatment from one of President Forbes’s
Doers, Mr Thomas Stewart, who perform-
ed Acts of Beneficence to the Wound-
ed in &and about the House of Culloden
at the Hazard of his own Life. Upon
the third Day Fraser &and his Companions were
tied with Ropes, &and thrown into Carts, and
then carried to a Park-Wall at Some Small
Distance from Culloden-House. There they
were dragged out of the Carts like Dogs by
the Soldiers, &and ranged in Order close a-
long the Park-Wall. Then the command-
ing Officer of the Party cried to the un-
happy Gentlemen to prepare for Death,
&and those, who had any Use of their Limbs,
fell down upon their Knees, &and began to
pray to God for Mercy to their poor Souls,
but, alas! (horresco referens!) they
were scarce allowed any Time for that
purpose, for in a Minute the Soldiers re-
ceived the word of Command, to levelllevel their (1605)
their pieces &and to give Fire! which was
instantly done; &and as they were posted
at the Distance only of two or three Yards
from the Breasts of the Prisoners, they
could not well fail to perform the Ser-
vice compleatlycompletely. However, that this
Butchery in cold Blood should be per-
formed in the most leisurely Way, and
to make sure Work on’ton it , the Command-
ing Officer gave Orders to the Soldiers
to club their Muskets, &and to dash out the
Brains of such as were not quite dead,
which accordingly was done to the best
of their Observation. Most of them ex-
pired in an Instant, &and needed not a
Knock in the Head; but though Mr Fras-
er had received a Shot, yet he was still
in Life, which one of the Soldiers ob-
serving, he struck Fraser on the Face
with the Butt of his MusquetMusket, broke
the upper part of his Nose &and Cheekbone,
dashed out one of his Eyes, &and left him
for dead. All this Exactness of proce—
dure proved vain &and ineffectual as to Mr
Fraser, who appears to have been pointed
out by Heaven, not to fall a Victim at
his Time to enfuriateinfuriate Rage &and Cruelty, but
to live a Monument of Such a deliberate
Massacre, as would make the remotest Sa-
vages blush at the Infamy. The Slaughter thus (1606)
thus finished, the Soldiery went off, and
left the dead Bodies above Ground.
Lord Boyd, happening to ride out that
Way, &and seeing so many dead Bodies,
turned his Eyes towards them with Some
Attention. One of them he Spied at a Dist
Small Distance from the rest, &and observ-
ing him to be in Life, called out to him,
&and desired to know what he was. The poor
mangled Man answered, that his Name
was John ^AlexrAlexander Fraser, &and that he had been an
Officer in the Master of Lovat’s Regi-
ment. Lord Boyd Said, he was well ac-
quainted with his Colonel, &and made an
Offer of money to him. Mr Fraser
thanked him, &and told him. he had no Use
for money; but begged him, for God’s Sake,
to cause his Servant, either put an End
to his miserable Life, or carry him to a
Cottage at a Small Distance, which
he named. The first part of the Request
was not a little Shocking to this young
Lord; but he ordered his Servant to car-
ry Mr Fraser to the place he had named,
where he lay concealed in the Bottom of
a Kiln for about three Months; in which
Time (under God) with the Assistance of
his compassionate Landlord, he became
so well recovered of his Several Wounds
&and Bruises, as to be able to step about upon Crutches (1607)
Crutches, &and is still a living Object and
Witness of this interesting dismall nar-
rative I now transmit to you.

To render his Case still worse &and worse,
upon returning to his own House, poor Mr
Fraser found his Wife &and Children StriptStripped
of all they had in the World by the Sol-
diery, &and making ready to beg their Bread
from Door to Door! — What Heart is
there to Steel’dSteeled in Wickedness, as not
to drop a Tear? — But, behold, admire
&and adore the wonderful Hand of Provi-
dence, that brings about unexpected
Reliefs in the greatest Extremities of
Distress. While Mr Fraser is Sorrow-
fully viewing the Desolation of his
empty House, &and weeping over the Mise-
ries of his hungry &and starving Family, he
receives a Letter, advising him, that
his Wife’s Brother (a Surgeon by Profes-
sion) had died in France, and, by his
Will in the Hands of Trustees in Lon-
don, had bequeathed to his Sister, Mrs
Fraser, upwards of four hundred Pounds
Sterl:Sterling which Sum Mr Fraser according-
ly received Payment of some time in
the Month of May, 1748, from the Hands
of an Attorney in Edinburgh. A most
providential &and Seasonable Supply indeed!
and which Serves to make out a moderate Subsistence (1608)
Subsistence for him, in his present
miserable State of Body, deprived
of the Use of his Limbs, one of his
Eyes, &and being lame too in one of his
Arms.

Upon Thursday, the Day after the Bat-
tle, a Party was ordered to the Field of
Battle to put to Death all the wounded
they Should find upon it, which ac-
cordingly they performed with the great-
test Dispatch &and the utmost Exactness,
carrying the wounded from the Several
Parts of the Field to two or three
Spots of rising Ground, where they
ranged them in due Order, &and instant-
ly Shot them dead.

Upon the Day following (Friday) Par-
ties were ordered to go &and search for
the Wounded in Houses in the Neigh-
bourhood of the Field, to carry them
to the Field, &and there to kill them, qchwhich
they did, as in the Case of John ^AlexrAlexander Fraser
&and his Fellow-Prisoners. To the Honour
of Some particular officers (whom I
could name) be it remarked, that by
their Clemency Some few of the Wound-
ed were Saved.

John MacLeod of MacLeod junior, Esquire,
has had the Honesty &and Courage to declare
oftener than once, that he himself Saw Seventy (1609)
Seventy two killed in cold Blood.

At a Small Distance from the
Field there was a Hut for Sheltering
Sheep &and Goats in cold &and Stormy Wea-
ther. To this Hut some of the wounded
Men had crawled; but were Soon found
out by the Soldiery, who (immediately
upon the Discovery) made Sure the
Door, &and Set Fire to Several Parts
of the Hut, So that all within it pe-
rished in the Flames to the Number
of between thirty &and forty Persons, among
whom were some Beggars, who had
been Spectators of the Battle in Hopes
of sharing in the Plunder! Many Peo-
ple went, &and viewed the Smothered and
Scorched Bodies among the Rubbish
of the Hut — Sure, the poor Beg-
gars could not be deemed Rebels in
any Sense whatsomever.

In Several Parts of the Highlands
in Scotland the Soldiery Spared neither
Man, Woman, nor Child, particularly
those under the Command of Major
Lockheart, Caroline Scott, &and c. The hoary
Head, the tender Mother &and the weeping
Infant behoved to Share in the general
Wreck, &and to fall Victims to Rage &and Cruel-
ty by the MusquetMusket, the bloody Bayonet, the devouring (1610)
devouring Flame, or, famishing Hunger
&and Cold! In a Word, the Troops Sported with
Cruelty! They marched through Scenes
of Woe, &and marked their Steps with
Blood! — Believe me, Sir, this is far
from exaggerating. It is in my Pow-
er to condescend upon particular
Instances of these more than Neroni-
an Cruelties, which I am ready to do,
when called upon by proper Authori-
ty to bring to Light, not the hidden
Things of Darkness, but monstrous
Transactions, that were deliberately
perpetrated in Face of the Sun by
Gentlemen, and (shall I say it?) Chri-
stians! — In all I have said, I have
omitted one Thing, which is, that even
the yet unborn Babe (I tremble to
narrate it!) felt the Effects of the
Fury of our military Butchers!

I am afraid, I have been too long
upon the Gloom, &and therefore I shall
shift the Scene a little, &and touch upon
Something that is farcical; if I dare
take upon me to call any Thing far-
cical that rubs upon Dignities: But
if Dignities will affront &and insult Dig-
nities, let them answer for it, at whose
Door the Blame lies.

When John Fraser, Esquire, the then
Lord Mayor (in Scotch, Provost) of In-
verness, &and the Alderman (attended by
Mr Hossack, the then late Lord Mayor)
went to pay their Levee to the D:Duke of
Cumberland, the Generals Hawl^ey&and Husk
happened to be deliberating &and making
out Orders, about Slaying the Wounded
upon the Field of Battle, &and c. Mr Hoss-
ack ( a Man of Humanity, &and the Sir
Robert Walpole of Inverness under
the Direction of President Forbes)
could not witness such a prodigy of
intended Wickedness without Saying
Something; &and therefore, making a low
Bow to the Generals, he Spoke thus,
— “As his Majesty’s Troops have
“been happily Successful against the
“Rebels, I hope; your Excellencies will
“be so good as to mingle Mercy with
“judgement.” — Upon this General Haw-
ley bawled out, — “Damn the Puppy!
“Does he pretend to dictate here? Car-
“ry him away.” — Another cried, “Kick
“him out! Kick him out!” — The Orders
were instantly &and literally obeyed; for
good Mr Hossack received Kicks
upon Kicks, &and SrSir Robert Adair had the Ho-
nour to give him the last Kick upon
the Top of the Stair to Such purpose, that Mr (1612)
Mr Hossack never touched a Single SrStair
till he was at the Bottom of the first
Flat; from which he tumbled headlong
down to the Foot of all the Stair, and
then was he discreetly taken up, &and car-
ried to the Provo’sProvost’s Guard! — A nota-
ble Reward for Zeal! in which Mr
Hossack was warm enough, but with
Discretion &and good Nature, as I was
informed.

But this is not all. Mr Mayor him-
self (John Fraser) behoved to have
a Specimen of their good Sense
and genteel Manners; for he was taken
from Dinner at his own Table by an
Officer &and Some MusqueteersMusketeers, with a
Volley of Oaths &and Imprecations, to a
Stable, &and was ordered to clean it in-
stantly upon his Peril! Mr Mayor
said, he never cleaned his own Sta-
ble, &and why should he clean that of
any other Person? After some Debate
upon the dirty Subject, Mr Fraser
was at last indulged the Privilege
to get some Fellows to clean the Sta-
ble. However, he was obliged to Stand
a considerable Time almost to the
AnclesAnkles in Dirt, &and See the dirty Ser-
vice performed! — O notable Treat-
ment of a King’s Lieutenant!

This Singularity of military Conduct
towards MessrsMessers Hossack &and Fraser is
the more amazing, as none in Great
Britain can be more firmly attached
to the present Establis^hment, as set-
tled in the illustrious House of Ha-
nover, than they are; but whether or
not this unaccountable Treatment
has thrown a Dash of Lukewarmness
into their Zeal; I shall not take u-
pon me to determine. Had it been
my Case, I am afraid, my Zeal would
have turned as chill as Ice itself.
The wanton Youngsters in &and about
Inverness distinguish these two Gentle-
men by the Names of the Kick-Provost,
&and of the Muck or Dirt-Provost.
Several others, who were zealous
Friends to the Government, were thrown
into JaylJail at the Same Time with Mr
Hossack. — Liberty &and Property with a
Witness! were empty Sounds without
a Meaning.

In the North of Scotland I happened
to fall in with a venerable old Gentle-
man, an honest Whig, who, looking me se-
riously in the Face, asked, if the D:Duke of
Cumberland was not a Jacobite. — “A Ja-
cobite! Said I. How comes that in your
Head?” — “Sure (replied the old Gen-tleman)(1614)
tleman) “the warmest Zealot in the In-
“terest of the Pr—Prince could not possibly de-
“vise more proper Methods for sowing the
“Seeds of Jacobitism &and Disaffection, than
“the D:Duke of Cumberland did. I wish, I could
“draw a Veil over the Shocking Cruelties
“&and many other illegal Doings commit-
“ted by the Army under his Command.
“These I pass over, as now too well known
“for me to insist upon. But, what do
“you think of the unaccountable Treat-
“ment of MessrsMessers Hossack &and Fraser, &and
“of some other honest Whigs, who could
“have hazarded Life &and all in Sup-
“port of the present Government? A-
“bove all, what do you think of the Re-
“turn the Lord President of the Court
“of Session, the Sagacious Duncan, met
“with for all his remarkable Services?
“Remarkable indeed they were, &and yet
“the utmost Scorn &and Contempt he had
“in Return for them! When his Lordship
“was paying his Levee to the D:Duke of Cum-
“berland at Inverness, he thought fit
“(as it well became his Character &and
“Station) to make Mention of the Laws
“of the Country, &and c. — To which the
“D:Duke of Cumberland was pleased, to
“say, “The Laws of the Country! my
“Lord. I’ll make a Brigade give Laws, by (1615)
“by G-dGod!” — “A plain Indication this
“of a hearty Desire to introduce a mi-
litary Government. He was well (conti-
nued the old Gentleman) “that President
“Forbes escaped a Kicking-Bout, as the
“D:Duke of Cumberland uses his Friends
“with Freedom. For my own part (added
he) “I would not wish to be the Person,
“that had received the Sage Advice
“of the Sagacious Duncan with Deri-
“sion, because it would have been a
“lasting Imputation upon my Judg-
“ment &and Discretion; for certain it is,
“that his Lordship was a Gentleman of
“very extraordinary &and uncommon Parts,
“&and had an extensive Knowledge of
“Men &and Books. It was not beneath the
“Dignity of a crowned Head to listen
“to his Words. He was One of a very
“high Spirit; &and the Usage he met with
“for all his Services, joined with the
“Miseries of his Country, bore so hard
“upon him, that it is indeed a prevail-
“ing Opinion among us in Scotland,
“that he died of Heart-Break.” — Thus
spoke the ^old honest Scotch Whig; &and I must
own, I found my self unable to make
him any Return.

I am quite tired with writing, &and by the
Time you come this Length, I doubt not but (1616)
but you will be tired with reading;
for I know, you are not much in
Conceit with long Letters. However,
I find an Inclination to say still
some few Words more.

Do you think (Sir) that the Wisdom
of the Nation could be better employ-
ed, than in engaging their Attention
to bring about a parliamentary In-
quiry into the uncommon Doings,
that happened to be transacted in
Scotland by our Gentlemen of the
Sword in 1746? Sure I am, there
is much Need for such a Procedure.
Suppose a Man to be a Rebel, a
Murderer of Father &and Mother, the
most flagitious Wretch the Sun e-
ver Shone upon; yet, I hope, even
this very Wretch Should be put to
Death only, by the Laws of the Land,
&and not be knocked in the Head in-
stantly without Trial, without Proof,
without Doom or Law? It is a Max-
im of Wisdom, Better ten guilty e-
scape, than one Innocent Suffer; but
perhaps (through the Degeneracy of
the Times) this is now inverted into
a political Maxim, Better ten inno-
cent suffer, than one Guilty escape! If (1617)
If this be our Case, then every Free-Briton
(falsely so called) has Reason to la-
ment his Condition in SackcloathSackcloth and
Ashes. It is an excellent Proverb, When
our Neighbour’s House is on Fire, it is
high Time to be looking to ourselves.
Many of our Fellow-Subjects in Scot-
land have suffered Death it self in
a most barbarous, illegal Manner, &and
God knows, how soon we in England
may come to feel the same Ef-
fects of military lawless Power.
We have already had a very odd
piece of military Conduct in Shrews-
bury, &and how far the Frenzy may spread,
where is He that can tell? unless
a timely Stop be put to this prevailing
military Madness. Woe’s me! that our
protectors should so far forget themselves
as to become our Cut-throats. ​​— To
make such a parliamentary Inquiry the
more disinterested, &and free of all suspi-
cion of any BiassBias whatsomever on the
Part of the Sufferers, be it humbly pro-
posed, that not a Single Highlander
(those Highlanders only excepted who Served
under the D:Duke of Cumberland) Should be ad-
mitted as an Evidence; but let the whole Affair
be examined into by ^Affidavits of yethe presbyterian persons in &and about Invs of]
the Mayor of Aldermen of
Inverness for the year 1746, of the other Inha-bitants(1618)
bitants in Inverness, whose firm Attach-
ment to the present Establishment can
admit of no Dispute; of the Gentlemen
&and Soldiery that appeared on Drummos-
sie-Muir under the Command of the
D:Duke of Cumberland, &and of the Servants
of the late Lord President Forbes
of Culloden.
I am, Sir,