Coire Gabhail by members of Clan Macdonald to hide cattle and other livestock, whether their own or stolen from others. Like other clans in the area, cattle were the mainstay of their economy, both herding and raiding: young men boastfully sang of getting cows from the Mearns. The wide flat glen is well suited for this purpose since from Glen Coe it appears to be a normal v-shaped glen approached only by a steep narrow gorge. The Macdonalds commonly had feuds with Clan Campbell. This culminated tragically in the 1692 massacre of Glencoe when Campbell soldiers turned on Macdonald clansfolk who fled
Siege of Namur (1692) 30 June before capitulating, bringing an end to the 36-day siege. Concerned that King William III planned to recapture the stronghold, King Louis XIV subsequently ordered his commander-in-chief, the duc de Luxembourg, to join battle with the Allies in the field, resulting in the bloody Battle of Steenkerque on 3 August. As in 1691, five large armies were created for the five major fronts of the war: Flanders, the Moselle, the Rhine, Piedmont, and Roussillon. To these was added a further force in Flanders to attack what was to be France’s major goal for 1692, the important Sambre–Meuse fortress of