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Clan Munro USA
Genealogy Pages
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 Abt 1594 - 1673 (~ 79 years)
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| Name |
John Munro [1, 2] |
| Prefix |
Colonel |
| Suffix |
II of Limlair |
| Born |
Abt 1594 |
Of, Limlaire, Scotland  |
- Estimate: This birth date is an estimate based on the birth dates of nearest relatives or contemporaries, or based on other clues such as christening date, marriage date, birth order, etc.
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| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
1671-1673 |
| Person ID |
I10656 |
Munro |
| Last Modified |
29 Apr 2011 |
| Father |
Andrew Munro, of Daan, b. Abt 1569, Of, Daan, Edderton Par., Scotland , d. 17 Sep 1607, Of, Limlair, Scotland (Age ~ 38 years) |
| Mother |
Christian Munro, b. Abt 1571, d. Of, Balblair, Creich, Scotland |
| Family ID |
F4517 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Janet Gray, b. Abt 1596, d. Yes, date unknown |
| Children |
| + | 1. George Munro, Of Limlair, b. Abt 1619, Of, Limlair, Scotland , d. Yes, date unknown |
| | 2. Andrew Munro, b. Abt 1621, d. 1651, Stirling, , Stirling, Scotland (Age ~ 30 years) |
| + | 3. Capt. Robert Munro, Of Limlair, b. Abt 1623, Of, Limlair, Scotland , d. Jul 1695 (Age ~ 72 years) |
| | 4. Christian Munro, b. Abt 1627, d. Yes, date unknown |
| + | 5. Janet Munro, b. Abt 1629, d. Yes, date unknown |
| | 6. Catherine Munro, b. Abt 1631, d. Yes, date unknown |
| | 7. Florence Munro, b. Est 1633, d. Yes, date unknown |
| | 8. Isobell Munro, b. Est 1635, d. Yes, date unknown |
| + | 9. Elizabeth Munro, b. Est 1637, Of, Limlaire, Scotland , d. Yes, date unknown |
| + | 10. John Munro, b. Abt 1640, d. Yes, date unknown |
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| Last Modified |
20 Jan 2009 |
| Family ID |
F4521 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Notes |
- On 4 Jun 1616, John was a member of the assize held in the Tolbooth, Inverness when John, 17th Earl of Sutherland was served heir to his father. Later in 1630, he was a member of the assize held at the same place when the same Earl John was declared lawful heir to his three predecessors in that earldom.
In 1617, he was one of the arbiters chosen to settle a boundary dispute which arose between John, Earl of Sutherland and Sir Donald Mackay of Farr, Lord Reay.
John received the lands of Achnagullan in the Forestry of Fairwatter through a sasine dated 2 Jan 1635, and on 28 Apr 1637, there is sasine on a charter by John Munro of Limlair to David Ross of Balnagowan of the same lands of Achnagullan.
Sir Alexander Gordon of Navidale, writing from Dornoch to his brother, Sir Robert Gordon, on the 23rd of May, 1636, adds the following postscript:--
"The Earl of Sutherland, my Lord Reay, and I, with other friends, convened at Tain, the tenth of this month, for settling the Laird of Fowlis his estate, wherein the government of the estate was in question betwixt Obsdale and Limlair; which all friends in one voice offered to Obsdale with Limlair's consent, yet Obsdale refused the same. So we all in one voice found Limlair so reasonable in all things that we have laid the burden of all upon Limlair until it please God the child be fourteen years of age. So I beseech you, whatever you hear about Limlair to the contrary, do not believe it, seeing Limlair has given contentment to all the friends for the weal of the House of Fowlis." (The Sutherland Book, vol. ii, pp. 164-65.)
He commanded a division of the Covenanting army, 4000 strong, which, under George 2nd Earl of Seaforth, marched in May 1639 to Morayshire for the purpose of opposing the advance of the Royalists to the North Highlands. they camped at Speyside, to keep the Gordons and their friends from entering into Moray, and remained there until the pacification which was signed on 20 Jun 1639. Both Colonel John Munro and the Earl of Seaforth, following the example of Montrose, soon after severed their connection with the Covenanters and joined the other side.
On 5 Feb 1649, Charles II was proclaimed King of Scotland at the Market Cross of Edinburgh. Charles declined the humiliating terms offered to him by the Scottish faction and it was decided by Charles and his friends in exile that Montrose should make another attempt to recover the kingdom. Meanwhile, John had switched sides a second time to coordinate a rising in the north under Thomas Mackenzie of Pluscardine, Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty, Colonel Hugh Fraser of Lovat and himself, Colonel John Munro of Limlair.
On 22 Feb they entered Inverness, expelled the troops from the garrison and demolished the walls and fortifications. On 26 Feb, John was a member of a Council of War which resolved to take the whole customs and excise of the six northern counties of Scotland into their own hands. General Leslie was sent North against them and on his aproach, they retired to the mountains of Ross-shire and Leslie proceeded to Fortrose and placed a garrison in Chanonry Castle.
Leslie succeeded in arranging satisfactory terms with Colonel Munro, Urquhart of Cromarty, and Colonel Hugh Fraser, but Mackenzie of Pluscardine refused to listen and when General Leslie returned south, Mackenzie descended from his mountain fastness and retook the castle.
It became known that Montrose had recently landed in Caithness, so preparations were made to send a force north to meet him, and Lieutenant Colonel Strachan was sent with a few troops of horse. On his arrival in Ross-shire, Strachan was joined by about 500 men under Colonel John Munro of Limlair, David Ross of Balnagowan, and the Earl of Sutherland. They assembled at Tain, while the Royalists were encamped at Culrain, Kincardine Parish. Montrose did not have the faintest idea that the enemy was so near him.
Colonel Strachan called a Council of War, at which it was decided that the Earl of Sutherland should immediately, by a circuitous movement, attack the rear of Montrose's position, to prevent him from joining with his natural brother, Henry Graham, who he had left behind him in Caithness to raise ment to join the King's standard.
At the same time, it was resolved that Colonel Strachan, the Munros and Rosses with five troops of horse under Colonel John Munro and Ross of Balnagowan, should march forward to Culrain and attack Montrose in the level country before he could get to the hills in his rear. It was believed that Montrose wanted to move into the hills as soon as General Leslie approached with his 4000 horse and foot.
On 27 Apr 1650, Colonel Strachan's force marched from Tain to Mid-Fearn, within a few miles of the enemy. That evening, Colonel Strachan and his officers, Munro, Ross, Kerr, Hacket, and Montgomery, were deliberating whether they should immediately move forward or wait until Monday, to avoid fighting on the Lord's Day, when they received word that Montrose had already advanced to Kerbester, (later named Carbisdale), a movement which brought him six miles nearer to their position. Because of this they began making arrangements to attack him at once.
Colonel Strachan hid his men among the broom on the moor and sent out a party of scouts under Captain Andrew Munro, Limlair's second son, to reconnoiter. The Captain soon returned and reported that Montrose had sent out a body of forty horse to ascertain Strachan's movements. In order to deceive Montrose's scouts, one troop of horse was ordered out of the broom. This was the only force observed by the enemy scouts and they returned to report what they had seen. This intelligence threw Montrose completely off guard, since he thought that the whole strength of his opponents consisted of a single troop of horse, and he made no special preparations for defending himself.
Strachan formed his men into four divisions. He led the first which consisted of about a hundred horsemen. The second had over eighty and was commanded by General Hacket. The third division was commanded by Captain Hutcheson and contained about forty. The forth division, let by Colonel John Munro, Ross of Balnagowan and Quarter-Master Shaw, consisted of the Munros, Rosses and musketeers.
Strachan advanced with his single division in order to make it appear that Montrose was being attacked by the entire force. He then brought up the other three divisions in rapid succession with the goal of creating a panic among the enemy who would believe that they were about to engage a large army.
The strategy worked brilliantly. Montrose, alarmed at the sudden appearance of successive waves of cavalry, ordered his men to retire to a wood upon a craggy hill a short distance to his rear, but before they could reach the wood, Strachan's troopers overtook them and charged them furiously.
The Danish troops at first received the charge with firmness, but after discharging a volley among the advancing horse, they fled into the wood. Most of the Orcadians, however, threw down their arms in terror and begged for their lives. Colonel Munro and Balnagowan, with their clansmen, rushed after the Danes into the wood and killed a great number of them, while no fewer than two hundred of them were drowned while attempting to cross the Oykel.
For some time, Montrose made strenuous efforts to rally his men, and personally fought with his accutomed bravery, but all in vain. He had his horse shot under him, and seeing that the day was irretrievably lost, he mounted Lord Fendraught's horse, which that young nobleman offered him, and galloped off the field.
As soon as he got out of the enemy's reach, he dismounted, threw away his sword, removed his military cloak decorated with the Star of the Garter, swam across the Oykel, changed clothes with an ordinary Highland soldier, and directed the flight up Strath-Oykel. In the engagement, he lost ten officers and 386 men killed, while Colonel Strachan had only two men wounded and one trooper drowned. The victors returned to Tain with 31 captured officers and 400 other prisoners.
The prisoners were kept at Tain until General Leslie came and gave orders to send them south to Edinburgh to the estates of Scotland.
Montrose accompanied by the Earl of Kinnoul and six or seven others, continued his weary flight for three days up Strath-Oykel in the directin of Assynt, almost perishing of anxiety, hunger, and fatigue. Colonel John Munro's daughter, Christian, was married to Neil Macleod of Assynt, who was instructed to apprehend any fugitives who might enter the boundaries of his estate. He was especially warned to watch for Montrose.
Macleod sent out parties to look for the Marquis and finally captured him. Montrose offered a large sum of money if Macleod would release him, but Macleod refused. Montrose and Major Sinclair were sent as prisoners to Ardvreack Castle, and Macleod wrote to General Leslie informing him of the capture. Major General Holborn was dispatched to bring the captive south.
The spot where the battle took place has ever since been known among the natives as "Creag-na-Caoineadh", or the Rock of Lamentation.
References:
(1) "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Edinburgh (1978) - L/79, R/24,
R/25
(2) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p.
86-87, 485-494
Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA
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| Sources |
- [S247] History of the Munros of Fowlis, Alexander Mackenzie, M.J.L., (Published in Inverness, Scotland by A & W Mackenzie (1898)), p. 546 (Reliability: 3).
- [S668] RW Munro's Genealogy Database, Robert William Munro, (The collected genealogy notes of RW Munro, Hon. Historian of Clan Munro (Association) edited by Dr. Jean Munro, transcribed by Charles C. Munroe, III and others. Transcription completed Jan 2009. Original card file is kept at the "Storehouse of Foulis" near Foulis Castle in Scotland.), card 376 (Reliability: 3).
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