Iain mac Mhurchaidh, alias John MacRae (died ), was a Scotland-born bard from Kintail, a member of Clan Macrae, and an early immigrant to the Colony of North Carolina. MacRae has been termed one of the "earliest Scottish Gaelic poets in North America about whom we know anything."
MacRae fought as a Loyalist soldier during the American Revolution at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge and at the Battle of King's Mountain. His many war poems which celebrate the British cause during the Revolutionary War are an important part of Scottish Gaelic literature and remain popular among speakers of Canadian Gaelic.
According to Michael Newton, MacRae the war poet so inspired the Gaels settled along the Cape Fear River to rise up and fight for King George III that American Patriots, "treated him with great severity."
Early life
Iain mac Mhurchaidh was born at Lianag a’ Chùl Doire in Kintail. He was the son of Murdo, who was the son of Farquhar, who was the fourth son of Alasdair MacRae of Inverinate (), a noble in the service of the [[Earl of Seaforth |Earls of Seaforth]].
Through their mutual descent from Alasdair MacRae, 8th of Inverinate, Iain mac Mhurchaidh was the first cousin once removed of fellow Gaelic poet Donnchadh MacRae, 9th of Inverinate, the scribe of the Fernaig manuscript.
The MacRaes of Inverinate were well-known for their loyalty to the Chief () of Clan MacKenzie (). In view of their loyal and effective service to the Mackenzie Chiefs, Clan Macrae of Kintail was known as Clan Mackenzie's "shirt of mail."
Despite the sitting Chief's decision to side with the House of Hanover during the Jacobite rising of 1745, however, Clan Macrae was divided. A number of Macraes are known to have fought for Prince Charles Edward Stuart under George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie. Others joined the government's Independent Highland Companies under Captain Colin Mackenzie In June 1746 the Mackenzie Company at Shiramore in Badenoch had over sixty Macraes, including an Ensign John MacRae.
In interviews with John Lorne Campbell, Barra seanchaidh John The Coddy MacPherson recalled that Clan Macrae of Kintail were famous throughout Scotland for cooking high quality moonshine, or "peatreek" in Scots, from illegal pot stills ().
As a member of the minor Scottish gentry, MacRae lived a very privileged life compared to the vast majority of his fellow Gaels following the Battle of Culloden in 1746. MacRae served Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth and Chief of Clan MacKenzie, as a ground-officer, deer stalker, and forester throughout Kintail and Lochalsh. This was a very comfortable and well-paid position. Furthermore, MacRae's wit made him so popular among both the Scottish nobility () and commons that no formal dress ball or village ceilidh was considered complete without his presence.
Decision to emigrate
Around 1773, MacRae received a letter encouraging him to emigrate from an t-Urr. Iain Beutan (Rev. John Bethune), a native of Glenelg and minister of the Barbeque Presbyterian Church in would later become Harnett County, in the Colony of North Carolina. Although it is not known what Rev. Beutan's letter said, it is considered likely by literary scholars that he mentioned the abundance of wild game in the New World.
In Scottish culture, deer hunting was a traditional pastime for both nobles and warriors and eating fish or seafood was considered a sign a low birth or status. By this time, however, hunting was being increasingly treated as poaching by the Anglo-Scottish landlords. Iain mac Mhurchaidh had already composed a poem complaining that his hunting rights were being restricted and, for this and many other reasons, he decided on taking the minister's advice and emigrating to the Colony of North Carolina.
As news spread of Iain Mac Mhuirchaidh's plans, his friends and relations were reportedly very distressed. Three noblemen with massive holdings in Ross-shire lavishly entertained MacRae at dinner and offered him any farm on their estates he desired, but to no avail.
MacRae, however, had no intention of going alone and composed many Gaelic poems and songs in which he urged his friends and relations to join him. In those poems, like many other Gaelic poets of the era who favored voluntary emigration, MacRae complained that warriors were no longer valued and that greed had come to mean more to the Chiefs and the Tacksmen than family or clan ties. Iain mac Mhurchaidh always concluded his poems by arguing that the Gaels would do well to emigrate to the New World and abandon such a corrupted nobility.
