Clan Graham

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Clan Graham
crest
Ne Oublie (Never Forget)
Ne Oublie (Never Forget)
Motto Ne Oublie (Never forget)
Origins Scottish
Gaelic name(s) Graham possibly originated from Graeme or Gramus
Sept(s) Airth, Allardyce, Auchinloick, Ballewen, Blair, Bonar, Bonnar, Bonner, Bontein, Bontine, Buchlyrie, Buntain, Bunting, Buntyn, Conyers, Drumaguhassle, Duchray, Dugalston, Esbank, Glenny, Graeme, Grahame, Grim, Grimes, Hadden, Haldane, Kilpatrich, Lingo, MacGibbon, MacGilvern, MacGilvernock, MacIlvern, MacShille, Menteith, Monteith, Monzie, Orchille, Pitcairn, Pyatt, Pye, Pyott, Rednock, Sirowan, Sterling.
Arms
Tartans
Plant badge Spurge Laurel
Chieftain (s) Graham Duke of Montrose & Graham of Gartmore
Seat(s) Mugdock Castle , Stirlingshire & Inchtalla Castle , Lake of Menteith
Website: Official Clan Graham Website

Clan Graham is a Scottish clan who had territories in both the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Origins of the Clan

There is a legend that says the Roman Antonine Wall was broken by Graeme, a great Caledonian chief, as he drove the Roman legions out of his country. This, unfortunately, might never be proven although there are references to Grame or Gryme, a thane or chieftain, right back into Roman times.

From the records available, the first Graham known in Scotland was Sir William de Graham (or De Graeme), a knight who accompanied David I, England’s premier baron, on his journey north to claim the Scottish crown in 1128.[1] William De Graeme personally witnessed the signing of the charter founding the Abbey of Holyrood in the same year 1128. From this line descended the Montrose line of Grahams, one of the most distinguished families of Scotland. This knight might have originated from a place listed as "Graeg Ham" in the Doomsday Book of William the Conqueror in 10th Century in England - now the town of Grantham.

The early history of the Grahams in Scotland is not easily understood. One theory is that there were similar names from the Celtic "Greamach" (grim) or the Saxon "Gram" (fierce). There is a tradition in Scotland that the daughter of a Gryme married a King of the Scots, Fergus II. The Celts and Saxons disappeared or were swallowed up by the descendants of "Lez Grames" of Norman origin. Some say that the original Grahams in Scotland were Picts, established long before the Normans came into Scotland. Solid information has established the Norman descent of the Grahams. These Normans were originally of Viking descent and thus a Graham lineage goes back into Scandinavia.

[edit] Grahams of Great Ability

In John Stewart's book, The Grahams, he states that "Most Scottish Clans would be proud to have one great hero. The Grahams have three." He refers to Sir John Graham (see below), James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose and John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee. There were, of course, many more besides these three towering figures.[2]

Stewart also wrote,

It is remarkable that the early Grahams were one and all exceedingly capable men. In an age when the reputation of many great public figures, alas, that of most of the Scottish nobility, were sullied by deeds of violence, and often deeds of blackest treachery, it is refreshing to find that the Grahams stand out as loyal and true to the causes they espoused. Their story is not one of rapid rise to power through royal favor, or even at the expense of their peers, but rather a gradual steady rise based on their undoubted ability and worthiness which seems to have endured from one generation to another.

[edit] Wars of Scottish Independence

Twice the Montrose Grahams married into the royal family. From these came some notable men. First among them was Sir John Graham, right hand man to the Great William Wallace, killed during the Wars of Scottish Independence at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298. The Clan Graham also fought at the Battle of Dunbar in 1296 where Sir Patrick Graham of Kincardine was the only man not to retreat and instead fought to the death. The Clan Graham also fought against the English at the Battle of Durham in 1346, in support of Robert the Bruce.

[edit] Sir John Graham

Clan Graham territory in the Scottish Highlands
Clan Graham territory in the Scottish Highlands

Sir John the Graham, hero of the Wars of Independence, rescued Wallace at Queensberry and was killed in 1298 at the battle of Falkirk, where his name is still perpetuated in the district of Grahamston. The grave of this hero in Falkirk churchyard is still to be seen, with table stones of three successive periods above it. As an evidence of the honour in which his memory was held, it is recalled that, after the second battle of Falkirk in 1746, the Jacobites wished to do special honour to one of their opponents, Col. Sir Robert Munro, chief of the Clan Munro. Robert Munro, who supported the British government had been rewarded the command of an English regiment. He had been fighting at the front at the second battle of Falkirk in 1746, when the English troops he was in command of ran away. He was attacked by six Jacobites, he killed at least two with his pike before being shot by a Jacobite commander. The Jacobites opened the grave of Sir John de Graham and buried Sir Robert Munro beside the dust of the hero. One great two-handed sword of Sir John the Graham is preserved at Buchanan Castle by the Duke of Montrose; another was long in possession of the Grahams of Orchil, and is now treasured by the Free Mason Lodge at Auchterarder.

[edit] James III v James IV

The Clan Graham fought at the Battle of Sauchieburn which was fought on June 11, 1488, at the side of Sauchie Burn, a brook about two miles south of Stirling, Scotland. The battle was fought between as many as 30,000 troops of King James III and some 18,000 troops raised by Scottish nobles who favored the King's then-15-year-old son, Prince James who would become King James IV.

[edit] 16th Century & Anglo-Scottish Wars

In 1504 Lord Graham, on account of his gallantry was made Earl of Montrose. He would go on to lead part of the Scottish Vanguard against the English at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513, part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars where he was slain. The Clan Graham were among the clans who fought against the English at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh 1547, where the eldest son of the second Earl, Robert, Lord Graham was slain.

[edit] 17th Century & Civil War

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose

A second notable Graham was James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose poet, but above all, the most distinguished soldier of his time. He was martyred in Edinburgh in 1650. He played a massive part during the Civil War in Scotland.

  • James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose is victorious at the Battle of Tippermuir on 1st September 1644. Graham was fighting in support of King Charles I. Graham was also supported at this battle by the Clan Robertson and the Clan Murray led by the Earl of Atholl. It was the first battle James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose fought for the king during the Scottish Civil War. The main objective of the battle was the reclamation of Perth. Montrose had joined forces with Alaster M'Coll Keitach (known as Alasdair MacColla McDonald) and his Irish soldiers. Nevertheless, he was greatly outnumbered by the Covenanters: Montrose's Highlanders and the Irish together made up no more than 2000 men, Lord Elcho on the other side had 7,000 infantry and 700 horse. Yet Montrose's men were more experienced and better motivated, a fact that would count to their advantage during the battle. [3][4]
  • James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose is victorious at the Battle of Aberdeen on 13th September 1644. Again commanding forces loyal to King Charles I. Graham was supported at the battle by the Clan Robertson. After defeating Lord Elcho's forces at the Battle of Tippermuir, outside Perth, Montrose's forces had captured a large cache of weapons and munitions, but had not captured Perth, and had suffered the desertion of the highland forces under his command, leaving a force of around 1000 Irish infantry under Alasdair MacColla and 44 horse from the Earl of Newcastle. Montrose led these men on a rapid advance on Aberdeen, the main Covenanter sea port in Scotland, picking up a force of around 500 highlanders on the way. After a diversion to avoid being forced to take a fortified bridge over the River Dee, they reached Aberdeen on the 12th of September. The battle took place the following day on the 13th.[5]
  • In 1645 James Graham at the head of his Royalist forces took the opportunity to lay waste to the lands of the Arbuthnott family; this was because the Arbuthnotts who had previously been loyal to the Royalist cause had become sympethetic to the Covenanters.
  • James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose is victorious at the Battle of Inverlochy (1645). Commanding forces loyal to King Charles I. Graham was supported by clans including the Clan MacDonald, Clan Robertson, Clan Cameron, Clan MacKinnon, Clan Ogilvy and Clan MacLean. Their enemy was an army of Scottish Covenantors commanded by Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck whose forces mostly consisted of the Clan Campbell. It was one of the most complete victories of the whole royalist campaign; but it was also a battle that-if it had been left to Montrose alone-might never have been fought. It is important to remember that Montrose's whole campaign in northern Scotland was based on two distinct elements that could not always be reconciled-a war for King Charles and a war against Clan Campbell. For Alasdair MacColla, the royalist second-in-command, and for many of the ordinary Highland and Irish soldiers the cause of King Charles came a distant second to the destruction of an ancient enemy. MacColla was fighting primarily for the interests of Clan Donald, and against the Campbells, who had taken much land from the MacDonalds, driven them from MacColla's home in the Western Isles and were holding his own father hostage.[6][7]
  • James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose is victorious at the Battle of Alford on 2nd July 1645. Again commanding forces loyal to King Charles I. Graham was also supported by the Clan Robertson and Clan MacLachlan at this battle. Having defeated Colonel Hurry at Auldearn, the Marquis of Montrose continued his raiding campaign in the Highlands. Fearing that Montrose intended to attack Aberdeen again, Major-General William Baillie led the Covenanter army to cut him off but was defeated by Grahams forces. [9]
  • James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose is victorious at the Battle of Kilsyth on 15th August 1645. Again commanding forces loyal to King Charles I. Here Graham was supported by the forces of the Clan Robertson, Clan MacNab and Clan Ogilvy. Despite the numerical disadvantage, the battle was another victory for Royalist forces over the Covenanters, and marked the end of William Baillie's pursuit of the Royalists.[10][11]
  • James Graham, 1st Marquees of Montrose is defeated when he led an army of German and Danish soldiers at the Battle of Carbisdale (1650). James Graham had landed an amry of foreigners in Rosshire and at the head of them he was defeated at the Battle of Carbisdale. James Graham had always been loyal to the Royalist cause. [15]

John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee

A third notable Graham was John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee also known as John Graham of Claverhouse "Bonnie Dundee".

  • John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee is victorious at the Battle of Bothwell Brig where he put down a rebellion by the Covenantors. The battle was fought on the 22nd June 1679 in Lanarkshire.

[edit] 18th Century & Jacobite Uprisings

The Clan Graham took no side in the Jacobite Uprisings and remained neutral throughout. Highlanders can thank the James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose, for the repeal in 1782 of the Act of 1747 prohibiting the wearing of highland dress. He persuaded Parliament to remove the law forbidding Scots to wear their tartan.[1]

[edit] Castles

[edit] Clan Chief and Titles

The current chief of the Clan Graham is James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose. A full list of the Chiefs of Clan Graham who held the position as Lords, Earls, Marquesses and Dukes of Montrose is on the Duke of Montrose page.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Bain, Robert (1959). in Margaret O. MacDougall (ed.): Clans & Tartans of Scotland (revised), P.E. Stewart-Blacker (heralidic advisor), forward by The R. Hon. Countess of Erroll, William Collins Sons & Co., Ltd., 108. 

[edit] External links

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