Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

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McDonald, Flora 1720-

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.