The Story of Colonel Anne Mackintosh – La Belle Rebelle

Anne was the daughter of the Chief of Clan Farquharson and followed closely in his footsteps by strongly supporting the Stuart monarchy when the Jacobite Rising began. The complicated part is that she was married to the Chief of Clan Mackintosh who was already commissioned in the government army.

Regardless of her marital loyalties, at the age of just 22, she rode around her lands, rallying hundreds of clansmen, both Farquharson and Mackintosh, to fight for the Jacobite cause. She wasn’t allowed to personally ride into battle, so her men were led by Alexander MacGillivray but still known as Lady Mackintosh’s Regiment. 

Her unofficial rank was respected, with most people referring to her as Colonel Anne, however Bonnie Prince Charlie gave her the nickname La Belle Rebelle – the beautiful rebel. She would soon repay the Prince’s compliment by saving his life.

Colonel Anne’s most heroic story took place while Charles was visiting her home in Moy Hall, not far south of Inverness. Government forces soon learned that the Jacobite leader was vulnerable, away from his forces with only a small guard. Around 1500 soldiers marched to capture the Prince, but news of their approach reached Moy Hall first.

Charles and his guards disappeared into the dark countryside, while Anne prepared her handful of servants to defeat an army. They were ordered to hide beside the road, down amongst the peat stacks, with all the weapons that they could carry.

Just as the soldiers approached, the hidden defenders fired every pistol and musket, banging old swords against pans. Darting amongst the piles of peat, they yelled as many clan battle cries as they could remember at the top of their lungs.

The government force was in disarray; they had expected a few guards, not the whole Jacobite army! Only their piper, Donald MacCrimmon, was killed, but the rest quickly retreated and Colonel Anne’s servants had won a famous victory that became known as The Rout of Moy. 

Her husband would soon be captured by the Jacobites and placed into Anne’s custody. She greeted him with, "your servant, Captain" and he replied, "your servant, Colonel", happily acknowledging that his wife outranked him. 

The roles would soon be reversed with Colonel Anne captured after the Jacobites were defeated at the Battle of Culloden. Imprisoned in Inverness, one government officer wanted her hanged but fortunately she was spared where so many others weren’t, possibly due to her husband’s position. 

It’s said that years later, at a ball in London, the Duke of Cumberland, who had led the government army at Culloden, invited her to dance. Anne would only agree if Cumberland would dance to a Jacobite tune. She was clearly still very much a rebel at heart!