The Tale of John Campbell and the French
When
King Charles the Second was under banishment and Oliver
Cromwell was Protector, a French frigate pirated in
these seas and captured many British vessels. The frigate
fell in with a sloop belonging to Orkney and chased
her into the harbour of Scalpay. The frigate dared not
enter the harbour, so the captain sent in his first
lieutenant in a longboat, well manned and armed, to
bring out the sloop.
By this time, the crew of the Orkney vessel had abandoned
her and had landed at Scalpay House, where they met
the landlord, John Campbell, who was Forester to MacLeod
of Harris and a most courageous man. Campbell advised
the Orkney men to stand by him and he would furnish
them with arms and ammunition to attack the French,
should they attempt to sink or burn their ship. But
the Orkney men all ran away to the hills and John Campbell
and one of his tenants - having sent away their wives
and children by boats - hid themselves in a narrow pass.
Soon Campbell saw a party of the French landing, consisting
of two officers and a number of marines, and advancing
towards his house. They had to go through the narrow
pass to get there. Campbell shot the Captain of Marines
dead and mortally wounded another. The wind was from
the South, which bore away the smoke so that for some
time the Frenchmen could not tell from whence the shots
came. However, they formed in line and fired volleys
but did not harm Campbell or his companion.
Campbell kept his man always loading the guns while
he discharged them at the poor Frenchmen until he had
killed sixteen of them. At last, it was discovered where
Campbell was posted and the French dislodged him, but
Campbell took to his boat and the French pursued him
to the other side of the island; Campbell however, faced
about and killed six or seven of them there. He now
went to the mainland of Harris, and the French, thinking
he had gone for reinforcements, embarked all their killed
and wounded and made off. Nor was the vessel seen any
more in these seas. When the ship returned to France,
an account was published of the warm reception they
had met in Scalpay, but they could not tell the name
of the warrior who had given them so fatal a repulse.
