his stand in England, and fight rather than flee from the invader. At last James announced his resolve to go to France, promising that he would send Dundee a commission to command the troops in Scotland.
Dundee returned to Scotland in anticipation of the meeting of the convention, and at once exerted himself to confirm the waning resolution of the duke of Gordon with regard to holding Edinburgh Castle for the king. The convention proving hostile (March 16th, 1688), he conceived the idea of forming another convention at Stirling to sit in the name of James II., but the hesitancy of his associates rendered the design futile, and it was given up. Previous to this, on the 18th of March, he had left Edinburgh at the head of a company of fifty dragoons, who were strongly attached to his person. He was not long gone ere the news was brought to the alarmed convention that he had been seen clambering up the castle rock and holding conference with the duke of Gordon. In excitement and confusion order after order was despatched in reference to the fugitive. Dundee retired to Dudhope. On the 30th of March he was publicly denounced as a traitor, and in the latter half of April attempts were made to secure him at Dudhope, and at his residence in Glen Ogilvy. But the secrecy and speed of his movements outwitted his pursuers, and he retreated to the north.
In the few years which had elapsed since 1678 he had risen, despite the opposition of his superiors in rank, from the post of captain and the social status of a small Scottish laird to positions as a soldier and statesman and the favourite of his sovereigns, of the greatest dignity, influence and wealth. In this period he had, justly or unjustly, earned the reputation of being a cruel and ruthless oppressor. When the ruling dynasty changed, and he had himself become an outlaw and a rebel, he supported the cause of his exiled monarch with such skill and valour that his name and death are recorded as heroic.
In the Highlands his diplomatic skill was used with effect amongst the chieftains. General Hugh Mackay was now in the field against him, and a Highland chase began. The campaign resembled those of Montrose forty years earlier. The regular troops were at a great disadvantage in the wild Highland country, and Dundee, like Montrose, invariably anticipated his enemy. But, as usual, the army of the clans required the most careful management. After the first few weeks of operations, Dundee’s army melted away, and Mackay, unable to follow his opponent, retired also.
Throughout the whole of the campaign Dundee was indefatigable in his exertions with the Highland chiefs and his communications with his exiled king. To the day of his death he believed that formidable succour for his cause was about to arrive from Ireland and France. He justly considered himself at the head of the Stewart interest in Scotland, and his despatches form a record of the little incidents of the campaign, strangely combined with a revelation of the designs of the statesman. It mattered little to him that on the 24th of July a price of £20,000 had been placed upon his head. The clans had begun to reassemble; he was now in command of a considerable force, and in July both sides took the field again. A contest for the castle of Blair forced on the decision. Mackay, in his march towards that place, entered the pass of Killiecrankie, the battleground selected by Dundee and his officers. Here, on the 17th-27th of July 1689, was fought the battle of Killiecrankie (q.v.). The Highlanders were completely victorious, but their leader, in the act of encouraging his men, was pierced beneath the breastplate by a bullet of the enemy, and fell dying from his horse. Dundee asked “How goes the day?” of a soldier, who replied, “Well for King James, but I am sorry for your lordship.” The dying general replied, “If it goes well for him, it matters the less for me.” Dundee was conveyed to the castle of Blair, where he died on the night of the battle. Within an hour or two of his death he wrote a short account of the engagement to King James. The battle, disastrous as it was to the government forces, was in reality the end of the insurrection, for the controlling and commanding genius of the rebellion was no more. The death of Dundee, in the mist and the confusion of a cavalry charge, formed the subject of numerous legends, the best known of which is the long prevalent tradition that he was invulnerable to all bullets and was killed by a silver button from his own coat.
See Mark Napier, Memorials and Letters of Graham of Claverhouse (1859–1862); Bannatyne Club, Letters of the Viscount Dundee (1826); C. S. Terry, John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee; and authorities quoted in Dict. Nat. Biogr., s.v. “Graham of Claverhouse.”
DUNDEE, a royal, municipal and police burgh, county of a city, and seaport of Forfarshire, Scotland. Pop. (1891) 153,587; (1901) 161,173. It lies on the north shore of the Firth of Tay, 5914 m. N. by E. of Edinburgh by the North British railway via the Forth and Tay bridges. The Caledonian railway finds access to the city by way of Perth, which is distant about 22 m. W. by S. The general disposition of the town is from east to west, with a frontage on the water of 4 m. The area northwards that has already been built over varies in depth from half a mile to nearly 212 m. (from Esplanade Station to King’s Cross). The city rises gradually from the river to Dundee Law and Balgay Hill. Since the estuary to the E. of Tay bridge is 112 m. wide, and the commodious docks—in immediate contact with the river at all stages of the tide—are within 12 m. of the sea, the position of the city eminently adapts it to be the emporium of a vast trade by land and sea. But its prosperity is due in a far greater measure to its manufactures of jute and linen—of which it is the chief seat in the United Kingdom—than to its shipping.
Public Buildings.—The town-hall, built in 1734 from the designs of Robert Adam, stands in High Street. It is surmounted by a steeple 140 ft. high, carrying a good peal of bells, and beneath it is a piazza. The old Town Cross, a shaft 15 ft. high, bearing a unicorn with the date of 1586, once stood in High Street also, but was re-erected within the enclosure on the S.W. of Town Churches (see below). Albert Square, with statues of Robert Burns, George Kinloch, the first member for Dundee in the Reform Parliament (both by Sir John Steell), and James Carmichael (1776–1853), inventor of the fan-blast (by John Hutchison, R.S.A.), contains several good buildings, among them the Royal Exchange in Flemish Pointed (erected in 1853–1856), the Eastern Club-house, and the Albert Institute, founded in memory of the prince consort. The last, built mainly from designs by Sir Gilbert Scott, is one of the most important edifices in the city, since it embraces the art gallery, free library, reference library, museum and several halls. On the north side of the building is the seated figure, in bronze, of Queen Victoria, on a polished red granite pedestal containing bas-reliefs of episodes in Her Majesty’s life, the work of Harry Bates, A.R.A. The custom house, near the docks, is in Classical style and dates from 1843. The Sheriff Court buildings and Police Chambers, a structure of Grecian design, with a bold portico, was erected in 1864–1865. The halls used for great public meetings are the Volunteer Drill Hall in Parker Square, and Kinnaird Hall in Bank Street. Of the newer streets, Commercial, Reform, Whitehall, Bank and Lindsay contain many buildings of good design and the principal shops. In Bank Street are the offices of the Dundee Advertiser, the leading newspaper in the north-east of Scotland; and in Lindsay Street the headquarters of the Dundee Courier. In Dock Street stands the Royal Arch, an effective structure, erected to commemorate the visit of Queen Victoria in 1844. Among places of amusement are the Theatre Royal, the People’s Palace theatre, the Music Hall, the Circus and the Gymnasium. The cattle market and slaughter-houses, both on an extensive scale, are in the east end of the city, not far from Camperdown Dock. Dudhope Castle, once the seat of the Scrymgeours, hereditary constables of the burgh—one of whom (Sir Alexander) was a companion-in-arms of Wallace,—was granted by James II. to John Graham of Claverhouse. On his death it reverted to the crown, and at a later date was converted into barracks. When the new barracks at Dudhope Park were occupied, the Castle was transformed into an industrial museum. Though Dundee was once a walled town, the only relic of its walls is the East Port, the preservation of which was due to the tradition that George
