Portrait of a gentleman, traditionally identified as Major Robert Duncanson, three-quarter-length, in armour, his right hand resting on a helmet

On 13th Febuary 1692, a detachment of Government soldiers led by Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon marched into Glencoe. Two weeks later, on the orders of Major Robert Duncanson, Campbell's soldiers butchered 38 of the MacDonald clan. The massacre followed a proclamation issued in August 1691, requiring the chiefs of the Scottish clans to take an oath of allegiance to King William III before the end of the year. Alasdair MacDonald of Glencoe missed the deadline, providing the authorities with an opportunity to crush his clan. This led to one of the most infamous episodes in Scottish history, not least because the perpetrators had enjoyed the traditional Highland hospitality, a fortnight before.