CLAN HISTORY
A chlanna nan coin, thigibh an seo 's gheibh sibh feòil! - Sons of the Hounds, come Hither and get yourselves Flesh!
(Traditional Clan War Cry)
EARLY CLAN HISTORY
Clan Cameron, a confederation consisting of the MacGillonies of Strone, the MarcMartins of Letterfinlay and the MacSorlies of Glennevis, emerged from the mists of antiquity under their first authenticated Chief, Donald Dubh Cameron. He married a MacMartin heiress and through this, or his own prowess, assumed the leadership of the tribes which later became known as the Clan Cameron.
From Donald Dubh, the Gaelic patronymic Mac Dhòmhnaill Dhuibh (son of dark haired or swarthy Donald) derived and this was adopted by all subsequent chiefs. The main seat of the clan was situated on Eilean nan Craobh (the island of trees), a small islet at the northern end of Loch Linnhe.
For a time the Camerons were associated with the Lords of the Isles and they fought alongside them at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411. Ewen MacAllan (Allanson), Donald Dubh’s grandson, received from James V, in 1527/8, a charter of the lands of Glenloy, Locharkaig, Locheil and the Ross-shire lands of Kishorn, Lochalsh and Lochcarron. With these lands being united into the free barony of Lochiel, the title of the Captain of Clan Cameron became registered as ‘of Locheill’.
Further lands of Lochaber were granted to Ewen MacAllan and it was following this later grant that the seat was moved to Torcastle, once the home of Banquo, Thane of Lochaber, who suffered at the hands of MacBeth. It is thought that Banquo’s sister Marion married Angus Camshron (Cameron) the first unauthenticated Chief of Clan Cameron. The fortunes of the clan came through a maze of troubles in the following years which welded them into a considerable fighting force leading to the description as ‘fiercer than fierceness itself’.
THE MODERN CLAN
Clan Cameron members have the social benefits of meeting together and longstanding collaboration with other groups. Our main meetings each year include the Culloden anniversary, in April, the Glenfinnan Gathering, in August and the AGM, which is in October. This website is one of our main contact points. For the newsletter, please could you make sure we have your email address up to date.
We are proud to uphold the name of Cameron and its septs. Membership is greater than historical romance in Cameron connections to past events, or connections to regimental and commando achievements. Our links to Lochaber continue to the present day and we have an active network which extends around the world. An informal military link is maintained with 4 Scots and 45 Commando.
THE CHIEFS OF CLAN CAMERON
Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, who was born in 1629, became known as the ‘Hercules of the Highlands’. His first experience of war was at the great Battle of Inverlochy in 1645. He was a strong supporter of the Sturt Dynasty and led the clan during the dissolution of the monarchy by Cromwell (at which time Sir Ewen moved the seat of the clan to Achnacarry) and the restoration under Charles II. He also helped to resolve the nearly continuous 360-year-old Cameron/Macintosh feud in 1665 and was knighted by James, Duke of York and Albany, in 1682.
When William and Mary supplanted James VII, the Camerons joined with ‘Bonnie Dundee’ at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689. When too old to partake in military campaigns, Sir Ewen sent the clan under his son John to assist the Earl of Mar in the failed 1715 attempt to return the Stuarts to the throne.
Sir Ewen’s grandson Donald, known as the ‘Gentle Lochiel’, raised the clan along with others in loyal support of ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ in the uprising of 1745. Although spectacular successes were achieved by the Jacobite army initially, they suffered a heavy defeat on Culloden Field on 16 April 1746 at the hands of the Duke of Cumberland. The Hanoverian forces razed Achnacarry to the ground and the estates were forfeited. (This purge and subsequent economic changes resulted in many Cameron families seeking new lives abroad.)
Under the General Act of Amnesty of 1784, the estates were restored to the 22nd Chief, Donald Cameron, grandson of the ‘Gentle Lochiel’. In 1837, the 23rd Chief, Donald Cameron, arranged to have the new Achnacarry, started by his father in 1802, completed.
In 1858, Donald Cameron of Lochiel, MP, 24th Chief, made Achnacarry the family seat gain. He attended the inaugural gathering of the Clan Cameron Association in 1891 and this has developed into a world-wide organisation. He was succeeded in 1905 by his son Sir Donald Walter Cameron of Lochiel, KT, 25th Chief, a professional soldier in the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders and also Aide-de-Camp to George V. In 1934 he was created a Knight of the Thistle. Sir Donald Hamish Cameron of Lochiel, KT, CVO, TD, 26th Chief, upon his father’s death in 1951, moved to Achnacarry. He too became a Knight of the Thistle in 1973. He was well liked and with his wife Lady Margaret hosted several International Clan Gatherings at Achnacarry.
The 27th Chief, Donald Angus Cameron of Lochiel, CVO, succeeded his father in 2004. He was the fourth Chief to have been Lord-Lieutenant for Inverness. In turn Donald Andrew John Cameron succeeded on his father’s death in 2023, becoming the 28th Chief. In 2024 he was created a Life Peer with the title Lord Cameron of Lochiel. His heir is his eldest son, Donald Fergus Cameron.
THE CLAN SEAT
Achnacarry (Scottish Gaelic: Achadh na Cairidh; 'field of the weir')
Achnacarry is the family seat of Donald Angus Cameron of Lochiel, XXVII Chief and Captain of Clan Cameron. The building itself replaces the original wooden building destroyed during the 1745 uprising. It sits on a very pleasant plain by the river Arkaig, near Spean Bridge. Near the house is the famous line of beech trees heeled in by the Gentle Lochiel - a job he was undertaking when he heard that Prince Charles Edward had landed at Glenfinnan. Not far away, near the entrance to Loch Arkaig is the Dark Mile made famous in D K Broster's Jacobite trilogy.
