Heroine; born in
Milton, South Vist, Hebrides, in 1720; rescued
Charles Edward Stuart, the “Pretender,” from his pursuers in 1746; married
Allan McDonald in 1750; came to
America in 1773, and settled among other Scotch families at
Cross Creek (now
Fayetteville), N. C. When the
Revolutionary War broke out, she and her husband, like most of the Scotch people, espoused the cause of the crown.
Her husband was a captain of the
Loyal Highlanders in
North Carolina, and was among the defeated at
Moore's Creek Bridge After experiencing various trials because of their political position.
Flora and her family returned to
Scotland before the close of the war, in which two of their sons were loyalist officers.
One of them, John, became a distinguished man, and a fellow of the Royal Society.
On her voyage to
Scotland from
America the ship was attacked by an enemy, and
Flora, though nearly sixty years of age, bravely engaged in the fight and had her arm broken.
The stirring events of her early life, in connection with the “Pretender,” were woven into a charming romance by
Sir Walter Scott.