Donald Cameron of Lochiel
Donald Cameron of Lochiel (5 April 1835 – 30 November 1905) was a British Conservative politician and diplomat. He was the 24th Chief of Clan Cameron. Lochiel was the eldest son of Donald Cameron, 23rd Lochiel and Lady Vere Catherine Louisa Hobart (1803–1888), of Hampden House, Buckinghamshire. His mother, a sister of the 5th Earl of Buckinghamshire, was the daughter of the Hon. George Vere Hobart by his second wife Janet Maclean, a scion of the Macleans of Coll and Camerons of Glendessary. Lochaber joyously celebrated the birth of Lochiel's heir during the spring of 1835, with commemorative dinners held by Camerons 'from Ballachulish Ferry to the Marches of Knoydart', as well as the lighting of bonfires on Ben Nevis. He was educated at Harrow, and shortly thereafter entered into the Diplomatic service. Entering the Foreign Office in 1852, Cameron was to be employed in diplomatic service in Europe and the Far East. In 1857, he was appointed First Attaché of the Earl of Elgin's special embassy to China during the Second Opium War. He was then at the British embassy in Berlin, where he met with Otto von Bismarck, and was also a paid Attaché at Bern, Copenhagen and Stockholm. He retired from the diplomatic service in 1859. At the 1868 general election Cameron was elected Member of Parliament for Inverness-shire and took his seat in the House of Commons, which he
held until 1885. He was a Justice of the peace and Deputy lieutenant for Inverness-shire and Buckinghamshire, respectively. From 1887, he held the office of Lord Lieutenant of Inverness-shire. From 1874 to 1880, Lochiel served as groom-in-waiting to Queen Victoria, whom he had hosted during a Royal visit to Achnacarry in 1873. Active in sheep farming, Lochiel had to take on the stakes of most of the sheep farms on his estate during the acute depression in the industry. As such, he had an intimate knowledge of the shepherds plight, and that of the related business of deer stalking. He was appointed in 1883 to the Napier Association, to enquire into the grievances of the Crofters, and was later named to the Deer Forest Commission in 1894. He owned 125,000 acres, with 110,000 in Inverness-shire, 16,000 in Argyll and 400 in Buckinghamshire. In 1875, Lochiel married Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott, the second daughter of Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, by his wife Lady Charlotte Thynne, the daughter of Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath. They had four sons.
The 79th New York Infantry Regiment was a military regiment organized on 20 June 1859, in the state of New York. Prior to the American Civil War it was one of the three regiments which formed the Fourth Brigade of the First Division of the New York State Militia. The 79th gained fame during the American Civil War for its service in the Union Army. The 79th New York was established in the fall of 1858 in response to the State of New York requiring the 2nd New York to conform to the new uniform regulations. The Highland Guard/79th New York was created with the help of the St. Andrews and Caledonian societies of New York and wealthy financial backers like Samuel M. Elliot and Roderick W. Cameron. The New York Militia organization had no connection to the 79th Cameron Highlanders of Scotland, but was recruited from British Army veterans of the Scottish Regiments living in the United States. Similarly to the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders, the 79th Regiment wore the Cameron of Erracht tartan kilt as part of their uniforms until midway through their service in the American Civil War. The 79th New York (348 strong Spring 1859) was part of 1st Division, 4th Brigade of the New York Militia, the regiment was designated as light infantry cross trained train as heavy artillery for the defense of Manhattan and also provided parade and guard for dignitaries such as the Prince of Wales and the Japanese
ambassador when they visited Manhattan. The 79th, without knowing it, set themselves up to take part in nearly every major engagement of the civil war and become one of the most known and traveled regiments in the Union Army.
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber, and within their lands lies Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Chief of the clan is customarily referred to as simply "Lochiel". Like with many clans, the origins of Clan Cameron's chiefly family are uncertain and there are several theories, as well as fanciful origin legends. One such legend claims that Lochiel, like the Royal House of Stuart, was descended from Banquo, Thane of Lochaber (specifically the progeny of "his sister Marion who married one Angus"). The first chief may have been called Cameron from his crooked nose (Scottish Gaelic: cam-shròn, cf. Camshron); such nicknames were common in Highland Gaelic culture, and his descendants would have then adopted the name. It has also been suggested that Donald Dubh Cameron (fl. 1410), the first authentic chief, was descended from the medieval family of Cameron/Cambrun of Ballegarno (whose name derived from Cameron, Fife; cam-brun "crooked hill"), who in turn descended from the ancient Scoto-Pictish Mormaers of Fife. Moncreiffe of that Ilk corroborated this theory.
Awards: Sash and star of the Royal Order of Scotland.
