Sir William Munro, XII of Foulis

1455 - 1505  (50 years)

• Name	William Munro  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
  Prefix	Sir
  Suffix	XII of Foulis
  Born	1455	, , Ross and Cromarty, Scotland   [7]
  	Fowlis
  Gender	Male
  Died	1505	Achnaselach, Lochaber, , Scotland   [2, 3, 4]
  Person ID	I15	Munro
  Last Modified	26 Apr 2011

  
  

  Father	John Munro, XI of Foulis,   b. Abt 1437,   d. 1490, Katewell, , , Scotland  (Age ~ 53 years)
  Mother	Finvola Calder,   b. 1433, , , Ross and Cromarty, Scotland ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F1549	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Anne McLean,   b. 1460,   d. 1495  (Age 35 years)
  Married	1479	, , , Scotland
  	Fowlis
  Children	+ 1. Hector Munro, XIII of Foulis,   b. 1480,   d. 8 Mar 1541, Kincardine, , Ross and Cromarty, Scotland  (Age 61 years)   2. William Munro,   b. Est 1482,   d. Abt 1566  (Age ~ 84 years) + 3. Margaret Munro,   b. Est 1500, , , , Scotland ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	8 Nov 2009
  Family ID	F1548	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  William may have been named after his maternal grandfather. He is the only Munro Chief named William. He may have been knighted by King James IV for his faithful services to the Crown. He appears as Sir William in a local document of 1503, but not in later national records. He was appointed Justiciar within the sheriffdom of Inverness during the early part of the reign of King James IV, and was present at a Court held at Inverness on 11 Feb 1499. In the execution of his duties as Justiciar, Sir William came into collision with Hector Roy Mackenzie of Gairloch, resulting in the disastrous battle of Druim-a-chait. Kenneth Mackenzie of Kintail married Margaret, daughter of Macdonald of Isla, by whom he had a son Kenneth. In consequence of a quarrel with her relatives, he sent her away and took as his second wife, Agnes, daughter of Lord Lovat, by whom he had four sons and two daughters. There was no regular marriage ceremony between the two, and had there been, it would have made no difference, as Margaret of Isla, from whom he had not been lawfully divorced was still alive. Kenneth, the younger, succeeded his father in 1491, but was killed in 1497 in the Torwood by the Laird of Buchanan. He died unmarried and was succeeded by his half-brother, John, eldest son of his father by Agnes Fraser. The great body of the clan, knowing that Agnes was not regularly married, did not look upon John as the legitimate heir. His uncle, Hector Roy Mackenzie, of Gairloch, also objected to John's succession on the ground that he was the illegitimate sone of Lord Lovat's daughter, "with whom his father Kenneth at first did so irregularly and unlawfully cohabit." Hugh Lord Lovat took up the cause of his nephew, John, and procured from James Stewart, Duke of Ross and Archbishop of St. Andrews, a precept of clare constat in favor of John as heir to the estates. The document is dated "the last day of April, 1500." However, Hector Roy kept possession of the estates and treated them as his own. Sir William Munro of Foulis, the Duke of Ross' lieutenant for the forfeited Earldom of Ross, was dissatisfied with Hector Roy's conduct and in 1501, resolved to punish him. Sir William was in the habit of doing things with a high hand, and on this occasion, during Hector's absence from home, he and his Sheriff, Alexander Vass, went to Kinellan, where Hector usually resided, held a court at the place, and as a fine, took away the couples of one of Hector's barns to show his power. When Hector Roy discovered what had taken place during his absence, he became furious and sent a message to Sir William to the effect that if he were a man of courage he would come and take away the couples of the other barn when their owner was at home. Sir William, highly incensed at this message, determined to accept the challenge. He promptly collected 900 of his followers, including the Dingwalls and the MacCullochs, who were then his dependents. With this force, he set out for Kinellan, where he arrived much sooner than expected by Hector Roy, who hurriedly collected all the men he could in the neighborhood. Mackenzie had no time to advise his Kintail men, nor those at a distance from Kinellan, and was consequently unable to muster more than a hundred and forty men. With this small force, Hector wisely deemed it imprudent to venture on a regular battle, but decided on a different stratagem. Having supplied his little but resolute band with provisions for twenty hours, he led them secretly during the night to the top of Knock Farrel, a place where Sir William must pass in his march to and from Kinellan. Early the next morning, Foulis marched past, quite ignorant of Hector's position, as he expected him to be waiting at Kinellan. Sir William was allowed to pass unmolested. On arriving at Kinellan he found the place deserted, and, supposing Hector had fled, he proceeded to demolish the barn, ordered its couples to be carried away, broke all the utensils about the place, and drove away all the cattle as trophies of his visit. In the evening, he returned, as Hector had conjectured, carring the plunder in front of his party, accompanied by a strong guard, while he placed the rest of his picked men in the rear, fearing that Hector might pursue him, little imagining that he was waiting ahead. Hector Roy, from the top of the hill, watched them as they rounded the curve where the highway touched the shoulder of the hill. He allowed them to pass him until the rear was within musket shot. He then ordered his men to charge, which they did with such impetuosity that most of the enemy were cut to pieces before they were fully aware of what was happening. The groans of the dying in the twilight, the uncertainty as well as the unexpectedness of the attack, frightened the survivors so much that they fled in confusion, in spite of every attempt on the part of Sir William, who was in front in charge of the spoil and its guard, to stop them. Those flying in disorder from the rear soon confused those in front, and the result was a complete rout. Hector Mackenzie's men followed the fugitives, killing everyone they overtook, for it was ordered that no quarter should be given to such a number, who might turn around, attack and defeat their pursuers. In the retreat almost all the men of the Clans Dingwall and MacCulloch, were slain as well as many Munros. A large number of men were killed at one spot on the edge of the hill where Hector Roy's men were armed with claymores and battle axes. Many heads of the slain tumbled down the hill and into a well, where nineteen heads were later counted. For many decades, the well was called "Tobar nan Ceann," or the Fountain of the heads. This conflict, which was fought in 1501, became known as the Battle of Druim-a-Chait, or the Battle of Cat Ridge. Sir William is said to have been killed in the prime of life, in 1505, at a place called Achnashellach or Achnaskellach, in Lochaber, by Ewen "MacAlein Mhic Dhomh'uill Duibh" of Lochiel. The raid is described in "Lochiel's Memoirs" as follows: "Besides the other wars wherein Lochiel was engaged, he had also a ruffle with the Baron of Reay, Chief of the Mackays, a people living many miles north of Lochaber. What the quarrel was I know not, but it drew on an invasion from the Camerons, and that an engagement wherein the Mackays were defeated and the Laird of Fowlis, Chief of the Munros, who assisted them, was killed upon the spot." In 1502, a Royal commission had been given to the Earl of Huntly, Thomas fourth Lord Lovat, and Sir William Munro of Foulis to "proceed to Lochaber and let the King's lands of Lochaber and Mamore for the space of five years to true men." This is what probably led to the raid and the collision with the Camerons in which Sir William was slain. ********** The following is from «u»The Monroe Book«/u» p. 6: «i»He «/i»[John Munro, XI of Foulis] «i»died in 1490 and was succeeded by Sir William, knighted by James IV, who is said to have married Anna MacLean (Anna, daughter of Laird of McLean) and to have been killed in 1505 in a raid assisting the Chief of the MacKays. He had also been in the unfortunate battle of Druim-a-chat in 1501. «/i»********** Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA [2]

  
  

• Sources

  [S743] Family of Adam, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, (https://new.familysearch.org/en/action/unsec/welcome : copyright 2008), accessed 26 Apr 2011), KG7V-TPZ (Reliability: 3). [S686] The Munro Tree (1734), R. W. Munro, (Privately published in Edinburgh, Scotland (1978)), p. 14 (O) (Reliability: 3). [S247] History of the Munros of Fowlis, Alexander Mackenzie, M.J.L., (Published in Inverness, Scotland by A & W Mackenzie (1898)), p. 28-34 (Reliability: 3). [S645] Clan Munro files - Boggs, Elizabeth Monroe, Elizabeth Monroe Boggs, Pedigree of the Munro Family - undated (Reliability: 3). [S726] Clan Munro files - Lynch, John Samuel, Jr., John Samuel Lynch, Jr., Membership application for John Lynch, Jr. - 9 Apr 2009 (Reliability: 3). [S727] The Monroe Book, Dr. Joan S. Guilford, (Franklin, North Carolina: Genealogy Publishing Service, 1993.), p. 6, 8. (Reliability: 3). [S700] Clan Munro files - Monroe, Paula Dawn, Paula Dawn Monroe, Membership application for Paula Monroe - 3 Jan 2009 (Reliability: 3).