His famed father had been one of the first to join Glencairn's rising for King Charles II, by whose favour he was knighted in 1681.

[2][3] As acting chief of the clan, Cameron joined the Earl of Mar's forces in the 1715 Rising.

At the Battle of Sheriffmuir, he displayed inept military leadership which saw the Camerons routed.

[4] He was attainted and forced into exile in France, but nonetheless, on 27 January 1717, was made a Lord of Parliament in Jacobite peerage by the Old Pretender "James III and VIII".

[1] His eldest son and successor was Donald Cameron of Lochiel (1695–1748), who played an important role in the Jacobite rising of 1745.