Defiant Unto Death: Richard Cameron

On June 12, 1680 Richard Cameron, the eldest son of Alan Cameron and brother to Micheal Cameron, rode into Sanquhar Town, Scotland with 20 armed men, declared themselves free men and denounced the tyrannical rule of Charles Stuart II and the Papist system. They pronounced Christ their King and Captain of their Salvation, declared war, thus making themselves marked men.

Alan Cameron was a believing merchant in Falkland, Fife. He had three sons, Richard, Michael, and Alexander, whom were all believers. His only daughter, Marion, a sincere Christian woman, was murdered by dragoons.

After graduating from University, Richard became a school master. He did not yet know the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior. In his younger years he had heard the preaching of the gospel, but it wasn't until later in life that he listened unto life and obtained mercy and grace. It was from hence forward that he became on fire for the Lord with little patience for the lukewarm.

One evening in the desert place of Ayrsmoss while bible reading, Cameron and his band were overtaken by dragoons. Looking to his younger brother, he declared, 'Come Micheal, let us fight it out to the last; for this is the day that I have longed for, to die fighting against our Lord's avowed enemies; and this is the day that we shall get the crown.' The dragoons having more numbers and better armaments prevailed. Nine were slain of that poor party met only for the hearing of the gospel.

The dragoons dug a pit and tumbled the dead into it, after they had cut the head and hands off of Richard Cameron's and John Fowler's corpse, mistaking him for Michael. These were put into a sack to take to the Council of Edinburgh. In passing they stopped at Lanark, the dragoons asked Elizabeth Hope if she would like to buy some calves' heads, and shaking the martyrs' heads out of the bag, they kicked them up and down the house like footballs until poor Elizabeth fainted.

On reaching Edinburgh, the dragoons put the heads on halberts with the cry, 'there are the heads of traitors, rebels!' Robert Murray said, 'These are the head and hands that lived praying and preaching, and died praying and fighting.'

Before the hangman set Cameron's head and hands on the Netherbow Port, they were shown to a prisoner. He was Alan Cameron, Richard's Father. They asked him cruelly, 'do you know them?' Kissing them he said 'I know them, I know them. they are my son's, my own dear son's. It is the Lord. Good is the will of the Lord, who cannot wrong me nor mine, but has made goodness and mercy to follow us all of our days.'

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us

To learn more about Richard Cameron and the Scottish Covenanters check out work Fair Sunshine by Jock Purves.