Simon Fraser of Lovat (19 October 1726 – 8 February 1782) was a son of a notorious Jacobite clan chief, but he went on to serve with distinction in the British army.

However, confronted with a second line of Hanoverian troops, their impetus was lost and they retreated in some disorder, leaving many dead and wounded behind.

One traditional story is that, as the first of the Jacobites fleeing from Culloden approached Inverness, they were met by a battalion of Frasers led by the Master of Lovat.

[5] In a third account, recounted in The Last Highlander by Sarah Fraser, he intended to continue on to the fight at Culloden moor but was scolded at the bridge by another Jacobite by the name of Evan Baillie: 'Fighting, by God, Master!

[6] Following the Battle of Culloden, after several weeks on the run, Simon surrendered to the Crown and was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle from November 1746 to August 1747.

He burnished his establishment credentials by acting in 1752 as a counsel for the widow of Colin Roy Campbell against James Stewart in a notorious case known as the Appin Murder.

[9] In 1753, he offered himself as a candidate for the forthcoming general election for Inverness-shire (which had a total of about 26 electors) but the Archibald Campbell, worried this might reignite feelings of clanship, persuaded Fraser not to stand.

An eagle's or hawk's feather was worn in their bonnets by the officers, while the soldiers ornamented theirs with a bunch of the distinguishing mark of the clan or district to which they severally belonged.

Here, Fraser fended off an attempt by his superiors to make the soldiers wear clothing thought more appropriate for the severe winters and hot summers of the continent.

[14] They fought with distinction against the French at the siege of Louisbourg in 1758 (under the command of General Wolfe), at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759, and at the capture of Montreal a year later.

In 1762, Fraser left his regiment to serve in Portugal, where he reached the temporary rank of major-general in command of Portuguese forces against the Spanish.

The next month, Fraser was elected unopposed to the House of Commons seat of Inverness-shire, one day after his return from North America.