Across the Sea Beyond Skye — Elizabeth Rodger

At the Battle of Culloden, fought in 1746 near Inverness, Scotland, a superior force led by William, Duke of Cumberland, and younger son of George II, routed a Highland army supporting the pretender to the throne, Bonnie Prince Charlie. Ordered by London to ‘give no quarter', the Duke showed little mercy in the destruction of the Highland culture as his troops scoured the glens burning homes, destroying crops, appropriating livestock, resulting in the ethnic cleansing of the region.
The foreword explains why the Battle occurred by following the line of succession through the House of Stuart, and the determination by the House of Hanover to retain the throne of Britain.
The story followed the tribulations of Donald and Morag MacKenzie and their children after the torching of their home. Enduring a winter of hardship in a remote area of the coastline, emigration to the New World seemed the only hope of survival. After a harrowing passage on a disease-ridden schooner, the loss of the youngest daughter to dysentery, they arrived at Yorktown where Donald was sold into slavery on a tobacco plantation, indentured for a portion of the fares. Since the location of the plantation was in the vicinity of Williamsburg, Morag and the children traveled there and were sheltered on a small farm owned by an old Scots woman, Missiemac. Morag and the eldest son, Robbie, assumed the heavy chores on the farm while pursuing employment in town, hoping to save enough from their meager incomes to purchase the release of Donald. A loving relationship grew between Robbie and the crusty old Scot who came to look upon him as a son. She encouraged him to learn hunting skills from an old Indian, Netab. This proficiency enabled him to secure a supply of meat for the survival of the family during the first winter. During one of his hunting trips, he met and befriended a boy of his age, Jonathon Drysdale, whose father in his capacity as a school master encouraged Robbie academically. Meanwhile, Donald dealt with the obsessive quest for wealth by the plantation owner, Colonel George Pennington, pressuring his foremen to gain top productivity, the security of their positions relative to the level of viciousness inflicted on the slaves.