The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 3, Spring 2020 | Page 114

The Saber
named Betty Burke, in which she was
able to help the Prince get to the Isle of
Skye from the mainland of Scotland.
Flora’s statement described the escape,
the disguise Charles used, and where
he stayed along the way. 93 On “about
the 21 st of June, O’Neil, or as they call
him Nelson, came to where she stay’d,
& proposed to her, that as he heard she
was going to Skye, that the young Pretender
should go with her.” 94 According
to Allan R. MacDonald, author of The
Truth About Flora MacDonald, the plan
to dress the Prince as a woman, and Flora’s
part in the escape, was her step-father’s
idea, Captain Hugh MacDonald. 95
Forbes confirmed Captain MacDonald’s
role as “the grand contriver in laying
and executing the scheme for the
Prince’s escape in women’s cloaths from
the Long Isle to the Isle of Skye.” 96 The
English captured Flora MacDonald in
Sleat on July 12, 1746, and kept her imprisoned
thereafter until her release in
July 1747. She returned to Skye on August
2. 97
From Skye, Charles boarded a
ship destined to France and safety. Due
to his brother’s position as Cardinal,
in Rome, Charles could not attempt
another invasion. And restraints from
the Catholic church would prevent all
chances for a Stuart restoration. Thus,
his supporters faced exile, imprisonment,
forfeiture of lands, deportation,
and execution. The government outlawed
the Scottish clan system, and the
Scots assimilated to the Act of Union.
Jacobitism ended with the death of
Charles Stuart in 1788, a century after
the Glorious Revolution.
5