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- Col. James Steuart was born about 1652 in Annat, Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland, as the son of Capt. John Stewart, 2nd of Annat, a Stewart loyalist. James eventually took up service in the Hanovarian army and was appointed Deputy Governor of Edinburgh Castle. He was later accused of being a Jacobite spy.
Duncan Stewart (1739) says, "John of Annat had likewise by his second wife, 4 James Stewart, Lieutenant-Colonel to the Scots Regiment of Horse Guards and Deputy Governor of the Castle of Edinburgh, who had issue," His descendants are currently unknown.
In the spring of 1680, Steuart was serving as a Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Grenadier Company and was sent to Tangiers to fight against the Moors. In the course of the combat, Lt. Steuart lost his leg.
In1703, he was raised to the rank of Lt. Col. and appointed Dep. Gov. of Edinburgh Castle.
On the night of September 8, 1715, the Jacobite army had recently formed in the northeast of Scotland under the Earl of Mar. James Drummond, 3rd Duke of Perth, was leading a secret expedition 80 to 100+ Jacobites into the city of Edinburgh with the intent of capturing the castle by scaling its walls with ropes and ladders and opening the postern gate to admit the Jacobites. They had help on the inside waiting for them.
Lt. Col. James Steuart was in charge of the castle that night, on behalf of the Hanoverian government. He came from a strongly Jacobite family (the Stewarts of Annat) and his loyalties were doubted. He received word by letter that an attempt was going to be made to take the castle that night. He "made slyght of" the letter and dismissed it as nothing to worry about because Edinburgh Castle was too strong. He did not increase the guards and did nothing to prepare the castle for possible breach. Lt. Col. Steuart's aid, Lieutenant Lindsey became concerned and worried by Col. Steuart's lax response to the intelligence. Lindsey went to inspect the guards around the castle. He found only one guard on duty near the postern gate and that guard was in possession of scaling equipment. Lt. Lindsey then sounded the alarm and the party of Jacobites outside the castle walls were discovered and captured. Four of them were imprisoned in the Tollbooth and tried. One was hanged.
Lt. Col. Steuart was accused of aiding the Jacobites by doing nothing to prepare the castle's defenses for possible attack, but there was insufficient evidence to say one way or the other. He was deemed unfit to be in charge of the castle, was dismissed from his position, and was sent back to his former unit as a half-pay officer for the remainder of his life
He died in 1722..
(For details of Col. Stewart's career, see Mr. K. A. Moody-Stuart's article in the Scottish Historical Review, Vol. CCI, No. 81, Oct. 1923.)
He is described as "sleepy or crafty" in his defence of Edinburgh Castle against the Jacobites in 1715 when they sought to take Edinburgh "by surprise and treachery."
"It was September 8th at night and nynth in the morning that the atempt was designd at the postern gait. Our Ensign Arthur quho had a comand formerly as ensign in the Castle and was in reput for a whigg carryd it on and was principaly in the plott and a brother of his a doctor of medecin. These brothers had access at will to the garison on haveing been ane officer and the other by that means gott ane intimacy with all the officers there this they improvd and corrupted three common sentinals viz. Thomson, Angly and Holland that they showld assist them from the wall at quhat tyme they showld appoynt. There had at severall times a party of my Lord Drummond's men come over and I am persueded not under 100 were hid in and about the town by the Jacobit party besyds qubat Jacobits were prive to it here. They had prepared their scalding lethers with horells to kep them of the wall the syds of robpes and timber steps they ar to be seen in the laich parte of the Parliament howse and on the nynth of September all was in readyness, but my Lord Justice Clerk was apprisd of their design by a letter the night befor quhich he communicat to Cornell Stwart (Col. James Stewart, son of John Stewart of Annat) deputy governowr, and Liftenant Lindsie. Cornell Stewart made slight of it whither out of knavrie or that he thowght it impracticable I can not tell but he has been judged and outed of his post as gwiltie of the former and certainly he was to officiows with the Jacobite partie in the end of the Q[ueen's] reign, and had it not been for Lindsie, quho contrair to the Colonel's advise was very vigilant, the Castle had that night ben surprisd. He went about industriowsly all that night vewing carefully all the centry posts. He observed that there was a sentry wanting at that post next but one fo the postern gate he fownd him in confusion quhick mad him examin more neerly and under his feet he fownd the rops and cleeks of the scalding lethers and so he gave the alarme. The Com[p]onys that now ar cald the associat Volunteers were then a forming and the most active parte of them had been togither from the beginning of the King's reigne but especialy the first constitution was in the end of Queen Ann's reing but I shall afford yow ther story altogither and hope yowl pardon this degretion. Some of these gentlemen with Major Aikeman their leader and a party of the town gwaird were in readyness upon the Justice Clerk's advertisment and salied out at the West Port upon the alarme from the Castle but quhat loss it was the garison and they were not in consorte, for they before the sentries wowld...[original text is incomplete.]"
(News Letters of 1715-16, edited by A. Francis Steuart, Advocate, W&R Chambers, Edinburgh, 1910, pp. ix, 32-34)
"In Edinburgh Castle, the government stored arms for up to 10,000 men and £100,000 paid to Scotland when she entered the Union with England. Lord Drummond [James Drummond, 3rd Duke of Perth], with 80 Jacobites, tried under the cover of night to take the Castle, using a ladder. However, the ladder proved to be too short," leaving them stranded until morning, at which point they were discovered and arrested. (O’Neill, Emma (23 September 2015). "10 facts you may not know about Edinburgh Castle". The Scotsman. Retrieved 26 May 2022. c/o Wikipedia)
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Abt 1652 - 1722 (~ 70 years)
