Massacre Of Glencoe Memorial, Glencoe

The Massacre of Glencoe Memorial stands beside the River Coe in Upper Carnoch, a high glen in the Scottish Highlands. A tall granite Celtic cross rises from a rough stone cairn, its carvings modelled on the 10th-century Gosforth Cross. The monument was carved in 1883 by Alexander Macdonald and Company of Aberdeen. It marks the spot where, on 13 February 1692, soldiers under the Campbell of Glenlyon killed members of the MacDonald clan. Each year a wreath is laid to remember those who died. The memorial recalls a turning point in Jacobite history after the rising of 1689–92. Clan chiefs had been offered a pardon if they swore allegiance to William III by 1 January 1692. Alasdair MacIain of Glencoe arrived late and was turned away, then forced to shelter troops who were later ordered to destroy the glen. The monument honours the MacDonalds who perished in the snow and ice of that winter night. Visitors find a simple stone platform beside the river, with the cross casting long shadows across the glen. The surrounding hills rise steep and bare, their slopes still bearing the scars of that February storm. A low fence of rough posts keeps the cairn intact, while the water rushes past below. The place is quiet except for the wind and the river, a stark reminder of the past.