The Reeves Family and the Ewing Family Genealogies

The Jacobite Rebellion

The Jacobite Rebellion lasted almost sixty years.  It was an on-again, off-again conflict fought over succession and religion. The Jacobites were Roman Catholics who supported the exiled Stuart dynasty against the Presbyterian system that was in control of England , Scotland and Ireland .

Towards the mid-point of this rebellion, in 1714, Queen Anne, the last of Protestant Stuart monarchs died. In her place, King George I came into power. George was a foreigner who did not even speak English.  Many people were very dissatisfied with this arrangement, including the Earl of Mar, who was rebuffed when he went to meet with the new monarch.

He responded by leading the latest rebellion of the Jacobite cause.  By the end of September, most of the Highlands were in his control and his army numbered about 5,000, including George and his family.

All this was done without even bothering to notify the King they were supporting, the "Old Pretender", King James III, who was in exile in Spain and not aware of the situation. Word was sent to him and he went to try to assume his throne.  The Earl and his army moved to Perth and established his base there after taking the city.

The Jacobite forces were, however, mismanaged and split. The southern army marched south to raise Lancashire instead of turning on the Duke of Argyll's flank, while a much smaller force under the Duke defeated the larger northern army of the Jacobites at Sherrrifmuir on November 13th. The southern army was also met and defeated at Preston by other government forces in England . The Jacobites were forced to retreat to Perth , while still waiting for their leader to arrive.

King James III was again forced to retreat after spending a dismal six weeks in Scotland .

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Copyright Brian Reeves, 2005 — 2007.