Battle of Mulroy
Battle of Mulroy | |||||||
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Part of the Scottish clan wars | |||||||
Cairn at roadside near Maol Ruadh, site of the Battle of Mulroy | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Rebels: Clan MacDonald of Keppoch Clan Cameron |
Clan Mackintosh Government Independent Highland Company | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Coll Macdonald, 16th of Keppoch |
Lachlan MacKintosh of Mackintosh Kenneth Mackenzie of Suddie †[3] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
According to Alexander Mackenzie: half the number that Mackintosh had. According to Mackintosh-Shaw: more than the number that Mackintosh had. |
According to Alexander Mackenzie: 1000 men. According to Alexander Mackintosh-Shaw: 1000 men. | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Many of Mackintosh's followers were slain, including Mackenzie of Suddie. Great numbers were also taken prisoner. | ||||||
Registered battlefield | |||||||
Official name | Battle of Mulroy | ||||||
Designated | 30 November 2011 | ||||||
Reference no. | BTL26 |
The Battle of Mulroy (Blàr a' Mhaoil Ruaidh in Scottish Gaelic) was a Scottish clan battle fought in August 1688 in the Lochaber district of Scotland. It was fought between the Clan Mackintosh who were supported by government troops under Kenneth Mackenzie of Suddie against the Clan MacDonald of Keppoch who were supported by the Clan Cameron over disputed lands in the Braes of Lochaber.[1][4] The battlefield has been inventoried and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009.[5]
Background
In the 15th century the chief of Clan Mackintosh had been granted a
For a few years both sides remained quiet, but in 1688 matters came to a crisis with the Privy Council having renewed to Mackintosh the commission he had originally received in 1681.[8] The chief of Clan Mackintosh having received a commission of "fire and sword" was determined to invade the lands of the Clan MacDonald of Keppoch and eject them for not paying rents that Mackintosh claimed from them as the superior of their lands. Ewen Cameron of Lochiel attempted to arrange matters between them, but failed and proceeded immediately to Edinburgh. While he was away the MacMartin-Camerons (a sept of his clan) who were closely related to the MacDonalds of Keppoch through frequent inter-marriages, finding that Lochiel had left home without leaving them any instruction as to what to do, offered their services to MacDonald of Keppoch.[9][10]
Clan Macpherson and Clan Grant, who had been ordered to aid Mackintosh in the commission, did not support him[11] but Mackintosh, with about one thousand of his own men, and a company of the king's troops under Mackenzie of Suddie (an Independent Highland Company) marched to Lochaber by order of the Privy Council.[9]
In 1685, Mackenzie of Suddie's Independent Highland Company had received instructions from the Privy Council to take more aggressive and punitive action against the caterans and broken men and had been so successful in this task that it was recommended that another Independent Highland Company should be set up to help keep the peace in the south.[12] In 1688, the Privy Council ordered Mackenzie of Suddie and his company to support Mackintosh against MacDonald of Keppoch.[10]
The battle
According to
Aftermath
Before releasing Mackintosh, MacDonald of Keppoch compelled him to renounce his claims and titles to the lands that were in dispute.[9] However, according to Skene, the reason that MacDonald released Mackintosh was because the Macphersons, who were a member of the confederation of Clan Chattan of which Mackintosh was chief, suddenly appeared to assail the victors. MacDonald of Keppoch, although victorious, was in no condition to renew the fight with a fresh party and therefore surrendered Mackintosh to the Macphersons.[13]
Cameron of Lochiel was held responsible by the Privy Council for the conduct of his vassals and was accused as the principal author of the bloodshed. A majority of the Lordships decided that he should be arrested and put on trial. However, with the help of George Mackenzie, Viscount Tarbat who was a relative of Lochiel's and also a member of the Privy Council,[10] he managed to escape back to his friends in Lochaber.[9] Mackenzie of Suddie's Independent Highland Company suffered very heavy losses against the MacDonalds of Keppoch at Mulroy.[14]
According to the Clan Donald account, in the aftermath of the battle of Mulroy, Mackintosh did not want to risk a repetition of his defeat which gave MacDonald of Keppoch an opportunity: in April 1689, MacDonald at the head of just under one thousand men, marched through Mackintosh's lands causing severe loss of property and halted on the outskirts of Inverness. The townspeople there had assisted Mackintosh on his expedition into Lochaber which had resulted in the battle at Mulroy, and MacDonald had other scores to settle with them. He entered the town with no opposition and threatened to burn it down unless he was paid 4000 merks. The town remained in a state of terror for three days until the arrival of Lord Dundee who acted as a mediator. Dundee arranged for the town to pay MacDonald 2000 dollars but was not able to recover cattle that had been taken from Mackintosh.[15]
Pipe music
The famous pipe tune MacDonald took the Brae on them highlighted the advantage the Highlanders had by initiating the attack from the high ground.[3][16]
The last clan battle
The Battle of Mulroy is sometimes described as being the last of the private clan battles fought between
References
- ^ a b "The Battle of Mulroy". clan-cameron.org. Clan Cameron Association. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ "Site Record for Maol Ruadh". canmore.rcahms.gov.uk. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ ISBN 0-85976-432-X.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-923482-0.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Battle of Mulroy (BTL26)". Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ Mackintosh-Shaw, Alexander (1880). "XI". Historical Memoirs of the House and Clan of Mackintosh and of the Clan Chattan. London: printed for the author by R. Clay, sons, and Taylor. pp. 388–389. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ^ Mackintosh-Shaw, Alexander (1880). pp. 390-393.
- ^ Mackintosh-Shaw, Alexander (1880). pp. 394.
- ^ a b c d e f Mackenzie, Alexander (1884). History of the Camerons, with genealogies of the principal families of the name. Inverness: A. & W. Mackenzie. pp. 180–183. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d Drummond, John; Macknight, James (1842). Memoirs of Sir Ewen Cameron of Locheill, Chief of the Clan Cameron : with an introductory account of the history and antiquities of that family and of the neighbouring clans. Edinburgh: Printed for the Maitland Club. pp. 229–230. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ a b c Mackintosh-Shaw, Alexander (1880). pp. 395-398.
- ^ Simpson (1996). pp. 70-71.
- ^ a b Skene, William Forbes; Macbain, Alexander (1902). The Highlanders of Scotland. Stirling: E. Mackay. pp. 295–296. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ a b Simpson (1996). pp. 154-155.
- ^ Macdonald, Angus; Macdonald, Archibald (1900). The Clan Donald. Vol. 2. Inverness: The Northern Counties Publishing Company, Ltd. p. 647.
- ^ Scott, Sir Walter (1830). The Prose Works of Sir Walter Scott: Chronicles of the Canongate, Anne of Geierstein, Tales of a Grandfather. Vol. 7. Galignani. p. 686.
- ISBN 9781870325608.
- ISBN 9780313335372.