Battle of Lochaber
Battle of Lochaber | |||||||
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Part of the Scottish clan wars | |||||||
Historic district of Lochaber | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Scotland | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
King James I[1] |
Alexander MacDonald Donald Cameron | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The Battle of Lochaber was fought in 1429, in the Scottish Highlands, between the forces of Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross, Lord of the Isles and chief of Clan Donald against the Royalist army of King James I of Scotland.
It is known as the Battle of Split Allegiances among the Camerons. This is explained either by the fact that they deserted Alexander when faced with the prospect of supporting him as their feudal lord against their king, or that different factions in the clan lined up on both sides.
Background
Lochaber was part of Princess Margaret's dowry when she married John Macdonald (John of Islay), Lord of the Isles, in the mid 14th century. In turn their eldest son, Donald Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, gave the lordship of Lochaber to his younger brother, Alexander. Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, enemy of the Macdonalds, took effective control of the north of Scotland towards the end of the reign of his father Robert II, in the absence of the young King James I, who was a prisoner of England's kings (first Richard II, then King Henry IV and then King Henry V).
Albany's power increased during the reign (1390–1406) of his ineffective elder brother
Throughout the 15th century the
Mariota ignored the transfer and claimed that she had inherited the title on Euphemia's death in 1424, whilst Buchan's death the same year gave his first cousin King James a "highly dubious claim"[3] to the title. However, in 1424 James confirmed Mariota as Countess of Ross.[1] In 1437, King James was murdered. After the king’s death, Alexander was recognized as the Earl of Ross, possibly as a result of action by the Regents appointed for the young King James II (then age 6). The lands of Buchan, too, fell to Alexander at this time. In 1440, Alexander's mother Mariota died and her son Alexander, Lord of the Isles officially inherited the title.
In August of 1428, following King James' general council at Perth, he traveled to Inverness with a large royal entourage, calling for a "parliament" at Inverness Castle
Campaign
This leads to the suggestion that John Mor's son Donald Balloch wanted revenge for his father's murder by the king.[3] Alexander, too, would have wanted revenge for the king's treachery and the killing of his kin at Inverness. His great-nephew's Raid on Ross in 1491 provides a possible template – capture the garrison at Inverness, then head north to ravage the lands of royalist sympathizers in Ross.
In the spring of 1429, Alexander led an army of "upwards of 10,000 men".
Battle
The Royalists appear to have caught the clansmen by surprise on a moor
Faced by the Royalist forces, the Camerons under Donald Dubh defected from their feudal overlord to the Crown.[10] Another theory is that the MacMartin Camerons went over to the King but not the Camerons of Lochiel, hence the Camerons know this battle as the "Battle of Split Allegiances".[11] The Mackintoshes also switched sides.[10] History does not record whether these changes of mind required inducements from James. However, soon afterwards the king gave the Mackintoshes lands in Lochaber belonging to Alexander's uncle, Alexander of Lochalsh.[1]
After this loss of manpower, Alexander escaped to the Isles but the king remained in the area, taking Dingwall Castle and Urquhart Castle, Macdonald strongholds.[12]
Aftermath
Alexander escaped to the islands
He was released in November 1431, after the collapse of Donald Balloch's rebellion in that year.[15] After the death of the Earl of Mar in 1435, James accepted Alexander's position as Earl of Ross and allowed him control of Inverness.[3]
One theory holds that the battle of Lochaber was a defining moment in the early history of the Clan Cameron, at that time it was more a confederation than a homogenous clan and the MacMartins' defection reflected this. In this view of history, the MacMartins were punished for their treachery by the Camerons of Lochiel, such that the MacMartin chiefs were driven into exile and the Lochiel faction took control of the clan. Donald Dubh appears to have supported James in his defeat at the Battle of Inverlochy in 1431[16] and the Cameron lands were ravaged afterwards. When Alexander was released, he took further vengeance on the clan he viewed as traitors, driving Donald Dubh into exile and giving the Cameron lands in Lochiel to John Garve Maclean of Coll.[16]
Notes and references
- ^ ISBN 9781417980765) with a foreword by Thomas Innes
- ^ a b c d e Henry, Robert; Laing, Malcolm (1814), The history of Great Britain: from the first invasion by the Romans under Julius Caesar. Written on a new plan (5 ed.), Cadell and Davies, pp. 312–6
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-58602-3
- ^ Michael Brown, Jamed I, pp. 96-97
- ^ Brown, K.M.; et al., eds. (2007–2009), The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 A1428/8/1, University of St Andrews, retrieved 19 April 2009
- ^ Brown, M. (1994), James I, Edinburgh University Press, pp. 97–101 – cited by Barrell (2000), who notes that the traditional timeline has John Mor dead by 1427.
- ^ Anderson, John; Fraser Lovat, Simon (1825), Historical account of the family of Frisel or Fraser, enemy of the Macdonalds, particularly Fraser of Lovat: embracing various notices, illustrative of national customs and manners, with original correspondence of Simon, lord Lovat, &c, Edinburgh: W. Blackwood, p. 59
- ^ a b c Fraser-Mackintosh, Charles (1875), Invernessiana, contributions towards a history of the town and parish of Inverness from 1150 to 1699, p. 106 And see, Michael Brown, James I, 2015, at p. 102
- ^ Michael Brown, James I, 2015, at. p. 102.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5
- ^ "The Battle of Split Allegiances". Clan Cameron Association. Archived from the original on 2 May 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
- ^ Michael Brown, James I, 2015, at. p. 103
- ^ a b Clarke, Benjamin (1852), The British gazetteer, political, commercial, ecclesiastical, and historical: showing the distances of each place from London and Derby—gentlemen's seats—populations ... &c. : illustrated by a full set of county maps, with all the railways accurately laid down v2, H.G. Collins, p. 315
- ISBN 978-0-582-77293-9
- ISBN 978-0-415-18583-7
- ^ a b Gregory, Donald (1836), History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, from A.D. 1493 to A.D. 1625: With a Brief Introductory Sketch, from A.D. 80 to A.D. 1493, W. Tait, pp. 75–6