The Last Highland Charge, by Peter R. Johnston
Reviewed by Peter W. Johnson, UE
The author’s name is close to my own, so there may be a moment of confusion here. Nevertheless, don’t blame me for this latest pro-Rebel piece in Military History.
As Loyalist Gazette readers will recall, there is a long history of reviewing Military History Revolutionary War articles in our publication and, with very few exceptions, their authors take a pro-Rebel stance, even though they tend to be even-handed when studying other wars.
This article is not free from that bias, but I have seen worse. It deals with the short battle at Moore’s Creek, North Carolina, in 1776, where the fledgling (Highlander) Loyalist movement was defeated by well-organized Rebels. The author questions why the Highlanders were loyal to Britain, when they had fought in the Jacobite troubles a generation earlier. Perhaps the answer is not so complicated. They had always been pro-Royalty. They had never intended to dismantle the Monarchy, but had wished to replace the earlier King George with Bonnie Prince Charlie. Loyalty to a Sovereign was natural for them. The author suggests that, had they been in America longer, they might have seen the light and joined the Rebel cause. I am not so sure. By the way, the most famous Highlander NC was Flora MacDonald.
Author Peter Johnston is apparently writing a history of the Revolution in North Carolina and his magazine article gives a hint of what to expect.
In the same issue there is also an article on The Corps of Canadian Voyageurs who fought for Britain in the War of 1812. It is worth a look.
Author: Peter R. Johnston
Title: The Last Highland Charge
from Military History [magazine], Jan-Feb 2006.