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Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-11-27 05:50 pm (UTC)I first read Ladies in Rebellion by Katherine Fusick, a master's thesis on the subject. The first chapter is on women as agents and correspondents, focusing on Anne and Fanny (Frances) Oglethorpe, who according to Wikipedia are sisters of the Oglethorpe you guys know. Their parents were both highly placed in James II's court; the father died in 1702 but their mother lived on and was a favorite of Mary of Modena, though she stayed in England to keep control of the family estates. Their father was Anglican and their mother Catholic; they compromised by sending their four daughters to the Jacobite court to be educated as Catholic and their sons were educated as Anglican. (And your Oglethorpe was not a Jacobite, it seems, since he fought for the Hanoverian side in the '45!)
One of the sisters, Eleanor, made a French marriage, and that's where the sisters stayed when they were in France, after Mary of Modena died. All of them eventually married well except Anne, who remained unmarried; she stayed for long periods of time in England on the family estate which was on the southern coast and also an active smuggling hub. She was close to the earl of Oxford and possibly his lover. Anne and Fanny were both very active as Jacobite agents: they carried correspondence, wrote reports, evaluated potential recruits, approached and recruited people, mediated in conflicts between Jacobites, etc. They could easily travel between England and France on the excuse of visiting family. The fourth sister, Molly, was not as active an agent. Apparently Anne and Fanny were highly trusted agents.
Fanny approached the earl of Ilay (the future Duke of Argyll) for possible recruitment, and he apparently showed interest. In 1717, which obviously surprised me, since the Campbells fought on the Hanoverian side in the '15! But apparently King George saw Argyll’s growing influence over his son and had both brothers removed from all offices held under the crown in 1716. So their fall from favor obviously made them targets of recruitment, especially as Ilay apparently had the reputation of being ideologically flexible and out for his own gain. But he didn't stay recruited, obviously.
Chapter 2 of the thesis is about women and Jacobite material culture, which among other things provided the following amusing essay in the October 1748 issue of the Gentleman's Magazine on the subject of women's garters. It is The Most 18th century, in that it contains military metaphors for het sex and also Latin and Greek quotes. Here's the relevant bit: After having so lavishly spoken in praise of the garter, I cannot but disapprove of it, when it is made the distinguishing badge of a party. It ought to be like the caestus of Venus, so beautifully described in my motto, and not to be daubed with plaid, and crammed with treason. I am credibly informed, that garters of this sort were first introduced in the late rebellion, by some female aide de camps, and whether or not such ladies are to be imitated, is worth the serious consideration of the virtous part of the fair sex.
How dare women dress to express their political opinions, instead of to entice me!
Chapter 3 of the thesis was about women in the actual rising of '45, not much new for me here. Arrgh, I really wish Margaret Ogilvy had left behind a diary! Woe. I did finally find an electronic version of Beppy Byrom's diary about Manchester in the '45! It has a lot of reports on troop movements and what the Jacobites were doing when in town—she is definitely interested in military matters—but then there's also stuff about her "smoothing" (ironing) clothes and having dinner with family friends. Then we also get the head-patting footnotes of the 19th century editor ("How delightful is the fair diarist's unsophisticated enthusiasm!")
Finally, I give you The Female Rebels, an anonymous 1747 pamphlet arguing against the Jacobites, on the basis that so many women embraced their cause. I quote at length from this, because it is HILARIOUS. The bits about lots of women fighting on the battlefield are exaggerations, afaik.
In spite of your beard, sir!
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-11-28 04:30 pm (UTC)This is pure fic research, to better be able to write a female character during the '45.
She will arrive in a stolen time machine from her twenty-third century university! She will convince BPC that if his generals aren't giving him what he wants (stupid generals wanting to turn back at Derby) that having Joan of Arc as a figurehead worked great for Charles VII of France and she is right here! And since the alternative is turning back, he will take her up on this! And--Oh, you said research your female character during the '45. Carry on, then. And well done. :'D
It has a lot of reports on troop movements and what the Jacobites were doing when in town—she is definitely interested in military matters
Good for her!
The bits about lots of women fighting on the battlefield are exaggerations, afaik.
Me: Didn't Jenny Cameron at least--
Wikipedia: As "Jenny Cameron", she became well-known after a number of sensationalised accounts of her life and deeds during the rising were published. The majority were almost entirely fictional and some were intended as anti-Stuart propaganda.
Me: Well, damn. So what did she do?
Wikipedia: Jean Cameron was reported to have been present at Glenfinnan on 19 August when Charles raised his standard; in line with her duties as proxy tacksman, she may have accompanied some of the Cameron levies from Morvern along with her cousin, Alexander Cameron of Dungallon. She may also have subsequently attended the Jacobite court in Edinburgh, but took little further part in the rebellion: a relative later suggested that despite sending some cattle to the Jacobite army she never actually met Charles himself.
Me: Never met Charles! This is not what I learned.
Wikipedia: Despite Cameron's limited involvement, a number of "cruel and apocryphal" accounts were circulated in England portraying Cameron either as an active military leader, an "amazon" marching at the head of her men, or as a "lewd woman" who became Charles's mistress. These were standard tropes of misogynistic satire of the period: the former credited her with military prowess (including being largely responsible for the victory at Prestonpans), unusual courage, physical strength, and often depicted her wearing male clothing. The latter, notably a prurient 1746 "memoir" written by an "Alexander Arbuthnot", described her as having a voracious sexual appetite and claimed she had borne several illegitimate children.
While untrue, such stories were intended to delegitimise the Jacobite cause by identifying it as the party of chaos and by suggesting its male leaders were cowards, morally bankrupt or otherwise inadequate.
Me: Well, of this, the only thing I learned was that she led her clan's troops to Glenfinnan, the rest, no, absolutely not, but now I'm disappointed that she wasn't actually leading the troops even for a short time and as a noncombatant!
(See, this is why I refuse to get sucked back in: I have way better sources now and I know that I could spend years covering the same ground I covered back then, and I don't want to cover the same ground. Same reason you guys haven't seen me doing a deep dive on the tactics of Fritzian battles: Even if I've forgotten the details, I already did that and need to learn new things, like the tactics of Malplaquet.)
in Spite of our Beards and boasted Wisdom!
In spite of your beard, sir!
ROFL! Masculine insecurity is spelled B-E-A-R-D, clearly. :P
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-11-28 04:40 pm (UTC)Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-11-28 08:22 pm (UTC)Heee. Why did she choose to go to that time in particular? Was she just itching to see if it could've worked if they went on from Derby?
It occurs to me that I completely skipped over all the well-known female Jacobites in the '45, because I already know about them--I was concentrating on learning new stuff I didn't already know. I can write up some stuff about the more well-known ones, too, if there's interest (Margaret Ogilvy, "Colonel" Anne Mackintosh, Lady Lude, etc).
And yeah, Jenny Cameron, she raised troops and went to Glenfinnan, but the rest is propaganda. Huh, didn't know that she was a cousin to Dungallon. He was the Prince's standardbearer, but when he surrendered, the government found him "a person who procured very good in intelligence". Quite the opposite of his sister Jean Cameron's husband Archibald Cameron, who was executed in '53 without revealing anything.
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-11-28 08:44 pm (UTC)Ooh, that's a good question that I no longer remember the answer to, 20+ years later.
...Okay, I rummaged around in my memory while washing dishes just now, and I think she was chasing another time traveler, the one who actually invented the time machine, and trying to forestall them from--something, I no longer remember.
And then I think she winged it once she was on the ground in 1745 Scotland with no way back to the future. There was definitely a second time-traveler as the antagonist, though, and they had numerous encounters over the years in the 18th century, while she was on her quest for world dominion.
Wow, past self, lolz. I researched a lot of things, but realism in my protagonist was not one of them! (Come to think of it, I think pure realism would have required my protagonist to be the antagonist and vice versa. See also my love for terrible people as long as they're safely remote, see also how I got into Frederick the Great. :P)
ETA: In my past self's defense, the Doylist reason for why my protagonist went to join the '45 is that how I discovered the 18th century and the Jacobites in the first place, was a Star Trek novel. In that novel, Scotty travels from the twenty-third century back to 1745 and joins Bonnie Prince Charlie (whom I had never before heard of). Four weeks and several avidly consumed encyclopedia entries later, I was writing my own novel with the same "time traveling from the twenty-third century back to 1745 and joining BPC" premise, and a very different outcome. :P
I can write up some stuff about the more well-known ones, too, if there's interest (Margaret Ogilvy, "Colonel" Anne Mackintosh, Lady Lude, etc).
There is always interest in salon!
Oh, speaking of memory-rummaging, I've been rummaging in the last few days about Charles' visit to England, given all the reliable-looking sources that have turned up. I think *maybe* my past self conflated "don't believe the legend that he was at G3's 1760 coronation" with "don't believe the legend that he visited England again in the 1750s and converted to Anglicanism." But I definitely got it stuck in my head that he never set foot on the island after leaving. (Which made sense to me, given the risks and the obstacles!)
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-11-30 09:39 pm (UTC)See also my love for terrible people as long as they're safely remote, see also how I got into Frederick the Great. :P
Whereas I love stories where people are torn between different loyalties, have to choose between their duty and their love, etc. I think you can see the appeal of writing fic set in the '45 to me. : D
All right, I will write up a bit more about the famous Jacobite women when I can. I am now reading a Ph D thesis on Jacobite women and have discovered a very cool woman I didn't know about! More to come.
Also re: Jenny Cameron, if you believe the anti-Jacobite propaganda, she slept around in a French nunnery and also seduced her brother...
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-12-03 06:08 am (UTC)I... kind of regret that the propaganda is propaganda and wish it were true! Because that sounds awesome.
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-12-03 06:07 am (UTC)Oh HUH. Which one? I thought I'd read almost all of them, but I don't remember anything like that. Unless it was one of the later ones -- I read all the ones I could get my hands on up until, hm, probably college or so, and then I didn't read them any more unless they were written by Diane Duane.
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-12-03 03:09 pm (UTC)ETA: The internet tells me it was published in 1990, which means it should have been out when you were reading ST books. Also, haha, I also read all the ones I could get my hands on up until I started college, and then stopped reading them, with only a few scattered exceptions.
The book had several plotlines, only one of which was Scotty, which may be why you don't remember it. That's just the one plotline my brain decided to latch onto (with results ultimately including today's salon!).
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-12-03 02:24 pm (UTC)Ah, okay, that explains it! I'd never even heard the claim that he was at G3:s coronation. Well, it's never a bad thing to hunt down the primary sources anyway...
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-12-03 06:07 am (UTC)Oh, yes please! I see that mildred has already talked you into it :D
Huh, didn't know that she was a cousin to Dungallon. He was the Prince's standardbearer, but when he surrendered, the government found him "a person who procured very good in intelligence". Quite the opposite of his sister Jean Cameron's husband Archibald Cameron, who was executed in '53 without revealing anything.
Aw, man. I mean, I imagine I'd be the type to spill everything I knew, but I enjoy reading about people who are braver than that!
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-11-28 04:45 pm (UTC)He was not, but he did get accused of Jacobite sympathies, which is one reason why he ended up undercover with old time bff James Keith in the Seven Years War. To quote wiki: Oglethorpe was tasked with intercepting retreating Scots before they reached Preston, Lancashire in December 1945. On the 17th, he was initially ordered to engage with the rear of the Scots, led by George Murray, at Shap. The orders were amended to trap the Scots in town early the next morning upon Oglethorpe's intelligence, but the Scots left as the orders were changed. The following day, Oglethorpe travelled to Clifton in Westmorland and took a bridge from the Scots before the Clifton Moor Skirmish that evening. At the skirmish, the British were defeated. Because Oglethorpe had allowed Scots to escape from Shap, he was blamed with the defeat, accused of disobeying orders, and potentially being a Jacobite. The following year, Oglethorpe was court martialled for his actions. After a lengthy defense, he was acquitted by a panel of twelve high-ranking military officials, led by Thomas Wentworth. On 19 September 1747, Oglethorpe was promoted to lieutenant general. However, the Duke of Cumberland, who had been in command at Clifton Moor, 'blacklisted' Oglethorpe from holding command.
And then he went undercover. If his sisters were devoted Jacobites, it probably added to Cumberland and co side-eyeing him.
ETA: Also, thank you for all the intel on the female Jacobites, that is intriguing.
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-11-30 09:46 pm (UTC)More on female Jacobites coming, eventually! Am reading a Ph D thesis on the topic now.
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-12-03 06:07 am (UTC)Anne and Fanny were both very active as Jacobite agents: they carried correspondence, wrote reports, evaluated potential recruits, approached and recruited people, mediated in conflicts between Jacobites, etc.
This is super cool!
How dare women dress to express their political opinions, instead of to entice me!
hahahaha, omg!
("How delightful is the fair diarist's unsophisticated enthusiasm!")
omg! (A small but nevertheless potent contributor to the many many reasons I am amassing as to Why I Would Not Live in the 18th Century No Matter What.
and attack, beside the killing Fire of their Eyes, with Sword and Pistol;
AHAHAHA (I am now envisioning Basilisk!Jacobites)
appeared openly without Head-Pieces
Oh no!! The horror!!
In spite of your beard, sir!
Indeed!
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-12-03 02:32 pm (UTC)Actually the footnotes are 19th century! Although yeah, I too would not like to live in the 18th century...
The thesis has pictures of some of those garters, and one of them says "God bless [unreadable] and down with the Rump", with tartan patterns around it. : D The Rump being G1. The garter is folded, I assume it must say King James or something, but it looks like one word. Hmm. The other one says "Our prince is brave and our cause is just".
More on female Jacobites coming eventually...
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-12-03 03:24 pm (UTC)Huh. Can you elaborate on this? I'm only familiar with Rump in this context as the Rump Parliament that tried and condemned Charles I in the previous century. I guess "rump" could have been later applied to Stuart opponents, now including the Hanovers?
Re: Female Jacobites
Date: 2021-12-03 04:00 pm (UTC)But it does seem that the Rump Parliament also has to do with it...here's a passage about this in a book on 18th century political satire. Rumps seem to have been used in images of people kissing Walpole's arse as he shat golden guineas, and in cartoons of those in power shitting on the people.
Oh, and I've figured out the missing word, I think--I saw another piece of clothing saying "God bless P.C. and down with the Rump". That makes sense with the amount of space on the garter. But since it's about BPC, it doesn't make sense that it would refer to G1 rather than G2. Though the slogan was definitely popular during the '15 as well.
Maybe the "rump" from the Rump Parliament (originally little to do with anatomical rumps) evolved and took on other meanings as well?