November 22nd 1753

Sergeant Mor

One such was John Du Cameron, who because of his size was commonly called Sergeant Mor. He was doubly damned because he had served in the French army before returning to Scotland and Prince Charles in 1745. He gathered a band of outlaws around him, living mainly in the mountainous district north of Rannoch. On one famous occasion he met with the officer of the garrison at Fort William who was carrying a large sum of money for the troops. Fearing that he had lost his way and might fall into the hands of Sergeant Mor the officer requested assistance. While they walked together they talked much of Sergeant Mor’s feats with the officer characterising him as a robber and a murderer.

This was too much for Cameron and he silenced the officer. “It is true,”  he said, “that he does indeed take the cattle of the Whigs and the Sassenachs, but neither he nor his kearnachs ever shed innocent blood but once when I was unfortunate at Braemar and a man was killed. But I immediately ordered the spoils to be abandoned and left to the owners.”  “You,”  said the officer, “what had you to do with the affair?”  “I am Sergeant Mor,”  said Cameron and he continued, “There, is the road to Inverlochy. You and your money are safe. But tell your Governor to send in future a more wary messenger for his gold. Tell him also that, although an outlaw and forced to live on the public, I am a soldier and would despise taking gold from a defenceless man who confided in me.” 

For some years he and his followers plundered the cattle of those whom they considered to be their enemies and operated a successful protection racket towards those living in the lowland areas bordering the Highlands. Eventually he was captured at Dunan in Rannoch where he had been sheltering in a barn. It is believed that he had been betrayed by a friend and there was some local satisfaction that this man later lost all his property and left the country in extreme poverty.

John Du Cameron was sentenced in Perth for the murder at Braemar and for various thefts of cattle. He died in November 1753 and his body was hung in chains.