Donald "The Pilot" McLean from Tiree
1746 Pilot of Bonnie Prince Charlie
[Tiree Gatherings Home] [The Pilot's Story] [Pilot's Ancestry] [Pilot's Family Chart]
  [Pilot's Descendants Summary] [The Pilot's Tree on Rootsweb]

© The “Donald the Pilot” Project

Coordinator & Editor:  Louise MacDougall
webmaster@tireegathering.com

“Point House” in Ruaig, Tiree -- view from Gott Bay
Photo © Mary McLean, 2009
This heritage home stands on the original McLean
acreage formerly held by Donald “The Pilot” McLean.

LINKS for Donald "The Pilot of the Prince" McLean:

1. To view and print Summaries of The Pilot's ancestors and descendants, go to his database (pilotoftiree) at www.Rootsweb.com  or Click Here

2. For a quick view of The Pilot's Ancestry - Click Here

3. For a quick view of The Pilot's Descendants - Click Here

4. To see a simple Chart of the Pilot's Family - Click Here

5. To view The Pilot's Descendants in Detail - Click Here

6. To Contact the Editor if you have further information to add to these pages - Click Here

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The Story of Donald "the Pilot" McLean from Tiree

© Louise MacDougall, Feb. 2, 2010

For an expanded version of this story - Click Here.

Donald Mclean, a young man from Tiree, achieved local fame as a Jacobite hero in the autumn of 1746 when he was kidnapped by a French ship to serve as the navigator in their risky rescue of Bonnie Prince Charlie who was then a hunted man with a price of 30,000 pounds on his head. 

Donald agreed to act as their pilot to get them to their secret rendezvous with the Prince on the mainland under the condition that they would return him home to Tiree. 

The skill of Donald’s seamanship was quickly proven by the fact the Prince, with a retinue of 130 loyal followers, did indeed set sail from Loch nan Uamh on the mainland in the dark early hours of September 20, with Donald and his kidnapped companion, Neil McFadyen, on board.   

But when Donald realized that the Prince’s course was set, not for Tiree, but directly for France, he & Neil jumped ship under gunfire and managed to escape by boat to the Isle of Coll.  By the time Donald arrived back on Tiree, it was clear that he himself was now a hunted man guilty of treason for which the penalty could be death. 

Donald avoided capture by hiding in a cave for nine long months, while the authorities harassed his father at home hoping to apprehend “the traitor” by surprise.  The rigors of Donald’s fugitive life eventually took their toll, and as his health and spirits failed, his father finally convinced him to come home and then took him to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull to surrender. 

Though a pardon had just been announced, “The Pilot” was still forced to serve two years in the government militia before his release was arranged by a compassionate relative.  Donald was quick to return to Tiree where he soon married Effie McNeill and began raising a family of eight.