the last clansman!!

in a wood not far from here
a shot rang out, both loud and clear
a man lay dieing on the ground
he'd never heard that final sound
a musket ball had pierced his chest
that sent him to his final rest
but this was not just any man
for he was from the Campbell clan
and so they had to make amend
and called upon a local "friend"
one named stewart ,from ardsheal
and said to him ,now here's the deal
our kin was slain upon your land
this cannot be ,you understand.
for this act we'll make a stance
at the end of a rope ,someone must dance
now stewart him being a cunning man
thought it through and made a plan
the one you seek and NO other
is Seamus a' gleann , my own stepbrother!


the year was 1752 and scotland,especially in the highlands, was in turmoil. just a few years after a failed attempt to gain the crown of britain for the stewarts, beaten so bitterly on culloden moor . the prince eventually made it to france and left chaos behind . most of the people in the west were jacobites and as well as a rent to the crown ,the house of hanover,they paid a rent to their king ,overseas .

one of the government 's collectors was Colin Campbell of Glen Ure , known as the red fox and on one of his sortys had came to his mother's place of Callart ,a. small community on the north shore of Loch Leven . he felt uneasy there ,as he feared for his life,as did many of his clan when they were away from their homeland.

returning across the loch he thought that he was safe as he was only a days ride from home ,this howver was not to be . his party were making their way south from the ferry at Ballachulish to Acharn ,hopefully to spend the night with his one time friend seamus stewart , seamus a' gleann , when at Lettermore he was fataly shot.

when word got out that a Campbell had been killed the district of Apinn was in shock ,because no matter what happenned next,some one would have to pay for it ,the question was who.

the Campbells saw this, as an ideal chance to get rid off a few thorns in their sides ,and with the help of the wife of stewart of Ardsheal ,who also saw this as a way to clear a few skeletons in her cupboard , accused two men ,seamus a' gleann and Allen Breac Stewart , who was a rent collector for Charlse Edward Stewart ,the prince overseas.

when all attempts failed to capture Allen Breac ,their attenttion was drawn to an easier target ,Seamus a' gleann. his arrest was imminent and ,under guard ,he was taken to the toolbooth in Edinburgh then to Inverary for trial . it was here that in front of a jury of 12 Campbells he was sentenced to death .

seamus was taken to a small knoll ,just above the old ferry at Ballachulish and hanged . two soldiers stood guard over his body for several months until there were nothing left but bones, but the Campbells wired them together as a reminder not to cross them ever again . in a way it did work as ,Appin and eventually the rest of highland scotland came into line with the government.
Seamus 's remains was recovered and the gibbet thrown into the sea ,his last resting place is in Kiel churchyard ,not far from where he was born and lived . who acctually fired the shot was never found ,in later life ,when Allen Breac was safe in france he maintained to his death it wasn't him . was Seamus protecting some one .on the day he was hanged ,Carlos Stewart "fell" to his death from a window in Ballachulish House ,did he know anything about it ? all i know that Seamus a' Gleann was innocent of any crime ,and after his death the highlands were lost never to be free again , he was indeed ...the last clansman .