Highbridge and the Glengarry Kennedys - the first skirmish in the '45 Jacobite uprising
Copyright © 2007 Iain Kennedy
The following extracts were taken from Stuart MacDonald's 1994 book 'Back to Lochaber' published by Pentland Press.
The opening skirmish of the Jacobite rebellion took place at High Bridge west of Spean Bridge and is described in great detail in the opening chapter of the above book.
"Captain Scott's companies were hurrying south to reinforce Fort William. They never made it. Within minutes of halting at High Bridge those two companies of royals, 85 men in all, were in full flight, chased by just enough highland men to provide a football team and a linesman.
A witness described clansmen running towards the Lochy in their shirts casting off their plaids, probably Camerons whose chief Lochiel was moving to assist Keppoch's men.
The redcoats had marched out of Fort Augustus in the dusk before dawn but no stealth could have avoided the notice of the Glengarry Macdonells and Kennedys who were watching the fort in expectation of the arrival of General Cope with an army for crushing the rising.
... At Laggan Achadrom the retreat ended; a party of Glengarry Kennedys barred the way."
A rather short extract I'm afraid, due to lack of time in the library. Check out the book for more.
There is much reference to these Kennedys in MacDonald's book. As I describe elsewhere, they originally settled at Leanachan (sometimes spelt Linachan or Lenachon etc); later they were cleared off this land and moved to Brackletter (Bracklater).