Ranald MacKinnon
| Ranald MacKinnon | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1737 Isle of Skye, Scotland |
| Died | 28 April 1805 Shelburne, Nova Scotia |
| Buried at | Christchurch Anglican Cemetery, Shelburne |
| Allegiance |
 Great Britain
|
| Service/branch | Army |
| Years of service | 1758-1783 |
| Rank | Lieutenant 1758-63; Captain 1775-83; Colonel of Militia 1775-1783 |
| Unit | Montgomerie's Highlanders (77th Reg't.); Royal Highland Emigrants (84th Reg't.) |
| Commands held | Queens County (Nova Scotia) Militia |
| Battles/wars |
French and Indian War American Revolutionary War |
Ranald MacKinnon (sometimes spelled McKinnon) was a soldier and a civil servant of the British Empire from 1758 until his death in 1805.
As a junior officer he served with Montgomerie's Highlanders (77th Regiment of Foot) in the French and Indian War in North America, primarily in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. During the American Revolutionary War he served as a junior officer of the Royal Highland Emigrants (84th Regiment of Foot), and also as colonel of the militia of Queens County, Nova Scotia. He was, in large part, responsible for ensuring that southwestern Nova Scotia remained loyal to the King during the Revolution.
The district now known as the Municipality of the District of Argyle was named by MacKinnon in reference to his homeland in western Scotland.
Ranald MacKinnon was born in the Isle of Skye in 1737. His ancestry can be traced to Lachlan Dhu, chief of the MacKinnon clan in 1580. On September 21, 1758, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 77th Reg't. of Foot. He served with the 77th in several campaigns during the war, including Gen. John Forbes' expedition against Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburgh, PA, in 1758. He was wounded in battle against the Cherokee Nation in North Carolina during the Anglo-Cherokee War in 1760, but recovered to join the expedition to retake St. John's, NL from the French in 1762. At the end of the war in 1763 he went on half-pay, and soon found a job as part of a surveying party in southwest Nova Scotia.
MacKinnon took a liking to an area of southwest NS known by the Mi'qmaw people as Abuptic. With its seacoast islands and rivers it reminded him of his home in the Inner Hebrides. He applied to the Assembly of Nova Scotia for a grant of 2,000 acres, which was given on 1 April 1766. MacKinnon's grant extended to the north of what is now called the Argyle River, including Robert's Island and Ste. Anne du Ruisseau. MacKinnon chose to call this area Argyle, after his native home.
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