 Allan MacDonald served in the 114th and 62nd Regiments of Foot during the 1756–1763 Seven Years' War but was a poor businessman.After quarrelling with his clan chief over rent, he and Flora emigrated to Anson County, North Carolina in 1774 where they settled on an estate near Mountain Creek, named 'Killegray'.When the American War of Independence began in 1775, Allan raised the Anson Battalion of the Loyalist North Carolina Militia, a total of around 1,000 men, including his sons Alexander and James.