Battle of Craibstone

Contributors welcome - but please do not copy and paste Wiki!!

Date: 20 November 1571

Location: Craibstone croft, Aberdeenshire

Belligerents

Clan Gordon

Clan Irvine joined forces with the Clan Gordon in their feud against the Clan Forbes, as did The Clan Leslie and Clan Seton.

• Strength: 800
  
• Losses/Casualties: 60/200
  

Clan Forbes

Clan Keith, Clan Fraser and Clan Crichton joined forces with the Clan Forbes.

• Strength: 900
  
• Losses/Casualties: 60/300:
  

Causes

Related to a long-running feud between the Forbes and Gordon families. Forbes were experiencing food shortages according to Bannatyne's Memorials of Transactions in Scotland from 1569 to 1573. The feud culminated with two full scale battles - first The Battle of Tillieangus and the Battle of Craibstone. The 6th Lord Forbes’s youngest son known as Black Aurther Forbes was killed at the Battle of Tillieangus. Legend has it that “he stooped down to quench his thirst and one of the Gordons gave him his death blow through an open joint in his armour“.

Commanders and leaders

Clan Gordon

• Adam Gordon of Auchindoun
• Captain Ker

Clan Forbes

• Master of Forbes
• Captain Chisholm
• Captain Wedderburn
• Alexander Campbell Chisholm and Wedderburn commanded two bands of musketeers called "hagbutters."

Overview

Part of the Marian civil war in which the Clan Forbes supported the King and Clan Gordon supported the Queen.

Result

Gordon victory. The Forbes fought with Adam's men for an hour at Craibstone. The Forbes retreated, Chisholm and 300 men were killed, and the Master of Forbes and 200 men were captured. Two hundred Gordons were killed.

Aftermath

Casualties and losses

• Alexander, 2nd Lord Forbes of Pitsligo
• Captain Chisholm

Notable connections

Captives

• The son of Lord Forbes, Alexander Master of Forbes, was imprisoned at Huntly Castle

Getting Involved

Feel free to follow, request to collaborate

To join the project use the request link under "actions" at the top right of the page.

Visit

Geni's Project Plaza

Working with Projects

Wicked Wiki

Geni Wikitext, Unicode and images which gives a great deal of assistance.

See the discussion Project Help: How to add Text to a Project - Starter Kit to get you going!

References, Sources and Further Reading

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Craibstone
• http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/20119/details/aberdeen+crabe+s...
• Scotland - The History of a Nation by Magnus Magnusson

this project is in History Link