Laclan MacKinnon, 28th Chief
1 - In 1651, 3rd Sept. at the battle of Worcester, 'Colonel Lachlan mor Machinnon' is supposed to have saved Charles the Second's life.
2 - In 1651 made Knight Banneret by CHARLES II, on the field of Worcester.
The new chief, Lachlan Mor, succeeded at 13, and was sent to Inveraray Castle for safety where Archibald 8th Earl and 1st Marquis of Argyle, who commanded the Covenanters against Montrose, sheltered him. Oddly enough, although the young chief sheltered with Argyle, the clan was out with Montrose! In 1649 Lachlan attained his majority and to his youthful shame let it be recorded that, having married a daughter of MacLean of Duart, he sided with his father-in-law against Argyle. MacKinnon is said to have 200 clansman at his back, and in the rout which followed, the justly outraged Argyle ordered no quarter for the easily recognizable MacKinnons. The slaughter was felt by the clan for 100 years afterwards.
During Lachlan's minority which lasted till 1649, the clan, as already stated, declared for the Crown and joined the standard of Montrose. They fought at Inverlochy, 2nd February 1645, and at Auldearn, 5th May, 1645. It is related that at Auldearn Ranald MacKinnon of Mull was keeping some pikemen at bay when he was pierced through the cheeks by an arrow. Badly wounded by pike thrusts he reached the entrance of a garden defended by Alasdair MacDonald, Colkitto. He was hotly pursued and as the first enemy thrust his head under the gate, Colkitto swept it off with one blow of his claymore. The head fell against Ranald's thighs. MacDonald cut away the arrow and Ranald's speech was restored.
Returning to Lachlan MacKinnon, whom we left unwisely harassing Argyle, his powerful former benefactor, we find him in 1650 as colonel of a regiment raised by Act of Leavie dated 23rd December 1650 for the Royal Cause. He fought at Worcester on the fateful 3rd of September, 1651, and saved the life of the King, Charles II, who created him a knight banneret on the field of battle - a rare honor and, if true, the last record of a soldier being royally knighted on the field. Some however claim that John Smith who was knighted at Edgehill in 1642 was the last authentic case, and infer from that the story of Lachlan is a myth.
By this time the clan had lost so many men that one wonders that there were any males left. Two generations' respite was given to them to breed the men who took part in the final a glorious struggle to place the Stuarts on the British throne.
During this period of respite, in 1671, another bond of manrent or friendship was entered into between Lachlan Mor and James MacGregor of that ilk, which mentions that they "are descended lawfully fra two breethren of auld descent." Presumably this refers to Doungallus and Findanus, grandson and great-grandson of King Alpin.
This is another instance of two of the clans of the Siol Alpin entering into bonds hundreds of years after their beginnings and firmly setting down their common descent; the earlier being between MacKinnon and MacNab in 1606. Another piece of evidence concerning the common ancestry of the Siol Alpin is mentioned by James Alan Rennie in his book "In the Steps of the Clansmen." In it he says that a Gaelic manuscript of 1450 preserves the genealogy of the MacPhies and shows their origin to coincide with that of the MacGregors and the MacKinnons.
2 - In 1651 made Knight Banneret by CHARLES II, on the field of Worcester.
The new chief, Lachlan Mor, succeeded at 13, and was sent to Inveraray Castle for safety where Archibald 8th Earl and 1st Marquis of Argyle, who commanded the Covenanters against Montrose, sheltered him. Oddly enough, although the young chief sheltered with Argyle, the clan was out with Montrose! In 1649 Lachlan attained his majority and to his youthful shame let it be recorded that, having married a daughter of MacLean of Duart, he sided with his father-in-law against Argyle. MacKinnon is said to have 200 clansman at his back, and in the rout which followed, the justly outraged Argyle ordered no quarter for the easily recognizable MacKinnons. The slaughter was felt by the clan for 100 years afterwards.
During Lachlan's minority which lasted till 1649, the clan, as already stated, declared for the Crown and joined the standard of Montrose. They fought at Inverlochy, 2nd February 1645, and at Auldearn, 5th May, 1645. It is related that at Auldearn Ranald MacKinnon of Mull was keeping some pikemen at bay when he was pierced through the cheeks by an arrow. Badly wounded by pike thrusts he reached the entrance of a garden defended by Alasdair MacDonald, Colkitto. He was hotly pursued and as the first enemy thrust his head under the gate, Colkitto swept it off with one blow of his claymore. The head fell against Ranald's thighs. MacDonald cut away the arrow and Ranald's speech was restored.
Returning to Lachlan MacKinnon, whom we left unwisely harassing Argyle, his powerful former benefactor, we find him in 1650 as colonel of a regiment raised by Act of Leavie dated 23rd December 1650 for the Royal Cause. He fought at Worcester on the fateful 3rd of September, 1651, and saved the life of the King, Charles II, who created him a knight banneret on the field of battle - a rare honor and, if true, the last record of a soldier being royally knighted on the field. Some however claim that John Smith who was knighted at Edgehill in 1642 was the last authentic case, and infer from that the story of Lachlan is a myth.
By this time the clan had lost so many men that one wonders that there were any males left. Two generations' respite was given to them to breed the men who took part in the final a glorious struggle to place the Stuarts on the British throne.
During this period of respite, in 1671, another bond of manrent or friendship was entered into between Lachlan Mor and James MacGregor of that ilk, which mentions that they "are descended lawfully fra two breethren of auld descent." Presumably this refers to Doungallus and Findanus, grandson and great-grandson of King Alpin.
This is another instance of two of the clans of the Siol Alpin entering into bonds hundreds of years after their beginnings and firmly setting down their common descent; the earlier being between MacKinnon and MacNab in 1606. Another piece of evidence concerning the common ancestry of the Siol Alpin is mentioned by James Alan Rennie in his book "In the Steps of the Clansmen." In it he says that a Gaelic manuscript of 1450 preserves the genealogy of the MacPhies and shows their origin to coincide with that of the MacGregors and the MacKinnons.