During the period October 1745 to March 1746 Montrose harbour was a hub for sailing ships coming and going from France.
A reasonably well known example of this activity was the seizure of a British Navy 14 gun Merlin class Sloop HMS Hazard which ran aground in the harbour. The ship was boarded by a group of Jacobite's who rowed out to the ship, under the cover of night, and took the ship's crew prisoners. The ship was renamed Le Prince Charles.
A letter written by an eye witness to this event can be viewed in Room 4 - Gallery of Printed Works within our Virtual Museum (link below).
Shortly after the capture of HMS Hazard, a French Sloop called La Fine came into the harbour to disembark a Regiment of Ecossais troops including Lord John Drummond, the Duke of Perth, to reinforce Prince Charles' forces that, at that, time were marching towards London.
Just after the troops had been disembarked a British Navy ship called Milford caught up with La Fine and launched an attack that resulted in La Fine becoming grounded and breaking it's back.
The Milford also became grounded but due to the crew's experience they managed to extricate the ship.
The wooden purse shown in the images is made from timbers salvaged from the La Fine. The black label reads 'Part of the French Sloop of war sunk in Montrose harbour in November 1745 when landing troops for Prince Charlie'. The lighter picture on the other side of the purse is a faded image of Montrose harbour.
Given that the ship was used to transfer gold coins from France to Scotland, to help pay for the rising, perhaps it is fitting it has ended up as a purse.
Added 8 March 2021