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Battle of Sheriffmuir

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Battle of Sheriffmuir

Scottish Gaelic: 'Blàr Sliabh an t-Siorraim'

Image right - Battle of Sheriffmuir 1st Day Cover

Arena/War Jacobite rebellion in England and Scotland.

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ROBERT BURNS ON THE BATTLE OF SHERIFFMUIR

‘O cam ye here the fight to shun,
Or herd the sheep Wi’ me man?
Or were ye at the Sherra-Muir, And did the battle see man? I saw the battle, sair and teugh, And reeking-red ran mony a sheugh, My heart, for fear, gae sough for sough, To hear the thuds, and see the cluds, O clans frae woods, in tartan duds, Wha’ glaum’d at Kingdoms three, man

                             oOo

//media.geni.com/p13/d4/88/0f/64/5344483a60cebda3/work-in-progress_small.jpg?hash=86f4dd8ee04630d7ddac0d10ef72727f238f0790080832d82626717e1c0954bf.1716879599 Contributions welcome.

Date:

13 November 1715

Location:

Sheriffmuir, on the slopes of the Ochil Hills in Scotland, near Dunblane, just inside the Perthshire border.
The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009.

Result

Inconclusive although a strategic victory for the British Government. Although it was a battle that no-one won, the Jacobites certainly lost ground and purpose. Their failure to secure victory sank the rebellion’s moral. Mar joined James Stuart, exiled in France, and the Jacobite rebellion went into hibernation until 1719.

Belligerents

British Government Forces

  • Strength 6,000
  • Commanders and leaders

John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
Two thousand of Mar’s army had been sent with William MacKintosh of Borlum to Edinburgh

  • Casualties and losses 663 killed, wounded or captured

Jacobite Rebels

  • Strength 12,000
  • Commanders and leaders

John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar
The middle and right flanks of the Jacobites were commanded by MacDonald of 16th Clanranald, Alastair Dubh Macdonnell, 11th of Glengarry, Lord Macdonnell and Sir Hector MacLean of Duart 21st Clan Chief

  • Casualties and losses 232 killed, wounded or captured

Prelude

On 6 sept. John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar,, who was the standard-bearer for the Jacobite cause in Scotland, mustered Highland chiefs, and declared James Francis Edward Stuart (the "Old Pretender") as King of Scots. Mar advanced on and took Perth with an army of about 12,000 men, commanding much of the northern Highlands. On 10th November following unsuccessful skirmishes against John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll who was based at Stirling, Mar led his full army south. Spies informed Argyll of Mar's actions, and he moved his army of about 4,000 to Sheriffmuir where the two armies met on the battlefield on 13 November.

Overview

Argyll was outnumbered by the Jacobite army. His left wing, commanded by General Whetham, was much shorter than the Jacobites' opposing right. Argyll's right wing managed to drive the Highlanders back, but Whetham's soldiers were overpowered by a much larger force. Both armies were much reduced by evening, and although Mar had an advantage in numbers, he refused to risk his entire army and allowed Argyll to withdraw.
The battle was inconclusive, with both sides claiming victory. In strategic terms Argyll had halted the Jacobite advance. Those government regiments present that were titled 'King's' were awarded the White Horse of Hanover as a badge of battle honour.

Aftermath

The engagement demoralised the Jacobite army who should have won with their superior numbers. Mar's French and Spanish supporters withdrew their forces.
On 23 December, the Old Pretender, who had been exiled in France, landed at Peterhead and met with Mar at Perth. He was unable to rouse the disheartened army. Argyll, reinforced and invigorated, soon advanced north, while the Jacobite army fled to Montrose, and the Pretender returned to France.

Casualties

It is claimed that the number of those killed on the side of the rebels was eight hundred, among them John Lyon, 5th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and the chief of the Clan MacDonald of Clan Ranald. James Maule, 4th Earl of Panmure and Drummond of Logie were among the wounded. The Jacobite army had to withdraw to Perth. Argyll considered himself the victor and struck a medal to commemorate his feat.
The government army suffered more than six hundred killed, wounded or captured. Archibald Douglas, 2nd Earl of Forfar was the only person of note to be killed on that side.

Clans involved

  • Douglas Clan - Archibald Duke of Douglas fought for the Hanoverians at Sheriffmuir in 1715 and he supported the government in the '45 rebellion.
  • Clan MacDonell of Glengarry fought for the Stuart cause at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. When the captain of the Clan Macdonald of Clanranald was killed, Alasdair of Glengarry is said to have rallied the Highlanders by throwing up us bonnet and crying Revenge today and mourning tomorrow. [Ref. Way, George and Squire, Romily. Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pages 214 – 215.] In 1716 Alasdair was raised to the peerage as Lord Macdonell by James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender), but this title was only recognised by the Jacobites.
  • MacDougall

John (Iain) Macdougall, 22nd of Dunollie and of Lorn, and his men fought at the battle at Sheriffmuir. This resulted in the estate of Dunollie being forfeited and the Clan Chief being forced into exile, although he was later pardoned in 1727.

  • The Clan Maclean supported the Jacobite rising of 1715 and their chief, Sir Hector Maclean, was given a Jacobite peerage in 1716. However, the chief was exiled to France, where he founded, and was the first Grand Master of, the Grand Lodge of Freemasons in Paris. Hector returned for the Jacobite rising of 1745 but was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London until 1747. He died in 1750 in Rome.
  • Clan MacRae participated in the Battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715. William MacKenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth led the MacKenzies and the MacRaes in support of King James VIII, with great loss of life and property. He survived the battles and the destruction of Eilean Donan Castle, and died on the Island of Lewis in 1740. See http://www.clan-macrae.org.uk/scotland/sheriffmuir.cfm

Legacy/Memorials

A popular Jacobite song, "Will Ye Go to Sheriffmuir", was written about the battle - the battle presented as a noble victory for the Jacobite army. The song was collected by, and perhaps written by, James Hogg in 1819.
The Battle was also the subject of "The Battle of Sherramuir", one of the most famous songs written by Robert Burns written when Burns toured the Highlands in 1787. It was first published in The Scots Musical Museum, appearing in volume III, 1790.
Burns re-wrote it sometime after 1790. The revised version was published after Burns' death by his editor, James Currie MD in The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns: With Explanatory and Glossarial Notes; And a Life of the Author (1800).
Memorial Cairns One erected in 2002 by the 1745 Association and another erected by Clan MacRae in 1915 stands on the Battlefield.
The Gathering Stone is a fallen standing stone protected by iron hoops. This is said to have been the place where the Jacobite standard was placed at the start of the battle, and where some of the approximately 600 men killed in the battle were buried.

http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/25277/details/gathering+stone+...

"A block of Highland grit, or, according to Hunter "three grey boulders" at the junction of which the standard of the Scottish clans is said to have been placed. Enclosed in an iron cage in 1840, which bears the following inscription: "The Gathering Stone of the Highland army on the day of the memorable battle of Sheriffmuir, fought in November 1715 ..." It is called locally Battle Stone and is said to have been formerly known as the Beltane Stane. Has the appearance, "as far as it can now been seen", of an overthrown standing stone." T Hunter 1883; A F Hutchison 1893.

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