Richard Cameron (religious leader)

Richard Cameron
Cameron depicted in a Covenanter history published in 1901
Born	1648 Falkland, Fife
Died	22 July 1680 Falkland, Fife
Nationality	Scottish
Education	St Salvator's College, St Andrews
Occupation	religious leader
Known for	Covenanters

Richard Cameron (1648? – 22 July 1680) was a leader of the militant Presbyterians, known as Covenanters, who resisted attempts by the Stuart monarchs to control the affairs of the Church of Scotland, acting through bishops. While attempting to revive the flagging fortunes of the Covenanting cause in 1680, he was tracked down by the authorities and killed in a clash of arms at Airds Moss in Ayrshire. His followers took his name as the Cameronians and ultimately formed the nucleus of the later Scottish regiment of the same name, the Cameronians. The regiment was disbanded in 1968.

Cameron was born at Falkland, Fife in 1647, or 1648, the son of Allan and Margaret Cameron who farmed the estate of Fordell, near Leuchars.St Salvator's College of St Andrews University has a record of his enrolment in the Arts faculty there on 5 March 1662. After graduation he returned to Falkland where he found employment as the parish school teacher and precentor in late 1669 or early 1670. It was some time after this that he began to attend conventicles. On 16 April 1675 he, his brother Michael and his parents were summoned to appear at the local court, charged with "keeping conventicles at the house of John Geddie in Falkland" and "withdrawing from the parish church". The outcome of the case is not known, but it is likely that the accused were fined; and it is known that the entire family moved shortly thereafter to Edinburgh where Michael had married into the family of a burgess. Here Cameron came under the spiritual guidance of an itinerant field-preacher, John Welwood. After a brief period employed as private chaplain to the wife of Sir William Scott of Harden in 1675, Cameron was dismissed from service for refusing to attend the parish church on the Sabbath. With Welwood's encouragement Cameron became increasingly religiously active and was eventually licensed as a field preacher in 1678.