Battle of Skibo and Strathfleet

Battle of Skibo and Strathfleet
	Part of the Scottish clan wars
	; Sands of Loch Fleet looking towards Strathfleet.
Date	c.1455
Location	Around Dornoch, Sutherland Skibo : N7389 ; Strathfleet : NH7797 Coordinates: 57°57′N4°4′W / 57.950°N 4.067°W
Result	Sutherland victory
Belligerents
Clan Sutherland	Clan Donald ; and allies
Commanders and leaders
Robert Sutherland ; Neil Murray	John of Islay
Strength
500-600	Unknown
Casualties and losses
>50 killed	Unknown

Last updated May 12, 2023

The Battle of Skibo and Strathfleet was prompted by Clan Donald's invasion of the area around Dornoch in northern Scotland in 1480. Two attacks were repulsed by the local clans of Clan Sutherland and the Murrays of Aberscross.

Background

In 1455, John MacDonald of Islay, Earl of Ross had entered into a secret treaty, in which he agreed to become a vassal of Edward IV of England in return for help in conquering northern Scotland. When James III of Scotland discovered this agreement in 1476, he stripped John of his possessions on the mainland. John spent the next few years trying to reclaim the land he thought was his. When he lent most of his forces to his kinsman Donald Balloch of Islay to ravage the West Coast, John took 500-600 men around the north of Scotland to the Dornoch Firth on the east coast.^[2] It's not clear what his intention was,^[2] but he landed a few miles from Dunrobin Castle, home to Clan Sutherland who controlled much of the far north of Scotland.

Battles

At first the MacDonalds camped in front of Skibo Castle,^[2] a possession of the Bishop of Caithness. John Sutherland, 7th Earl of Sutherland sent a force under Neill Murray to watch the islanders.^[2] MacDonald began to ravage the country, so Murray attacked, driving off the invaders who lost a captain named Donald Dubh-na-Soirn, and 50 men.^[2]

In response to this defeat, MacDonald sent some of his men and "a company of men from Ross"^[2] up the coast to Loch Fleet, just south of Dunrobin. Sutherland sent his brother Robert and some men to meet the attackers "on the sands of Strathfleet".^[2] After a "fierce and bloody struggle",^[2] the island men and their allies were defeated "with great slaughter"^[2] and the survivors pursued as far as Bonar.

Aftermath

This was to be the final conflict between the MacDonalds and Sutherlands,^[2] as Sutherland married MacDonald's sister Margaret soon afterwards, sealing an alliance. However this heavy defeat may have been a factor in the conflict between John MacDonald and his son Angus Og, which resulted in the Battle of Bloody Bay in 1480 or 1483.

Related Research Articles

Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald, is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of coats of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, recognises under Scottish law the High Chief of Clan Donald. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs also held the title of Earl of Ross until 1476.

Clan Sutherland also known as House of Sutherland is a Highland Scottish clan whose traditional territory is the shire of Sutherland in the far north of Scotland. The chief of the clan was also the powerful Earl of Sutherland, however in the early 16th century this title passed through marriage to a younger son of the chief of Clan Gordon. The current chief is Alistair Sutherland who holds the title Earl of Sutherland.

John of Islay (1434–1503), Earl of Ross, fourth Lord of the Isles, and Mac Domhnaill, was a pivotal figure in late medieval Scotland: specifically in the struggle for power with James Stewart, James III of Scotland, in the remoter formerly Norse-dominated regions of the kingdom. His defeat in this conflict led to rebellion against John by his illegitimate son Angus Óg, resulting in the defeat of John's fleet at the Battle of Bloody Bay in the early 1480s. Thereafter and until his death in 1503 John remained an inconsequential figure while, until his murder in 1490, Angus continued to dominate the affairs of Clan Donald. In 1493 James IV brought the Lordship of the Isles to an end.

The Battle of Bloody Bay, or Blàr Bàgh na Fala in Scottish Gaelic, was a naval battle fought near Tobermory, Scotland. It was fought on the coast of Mull 2 miles north of Tobermory, between John MacDonald of Islay, the Lord of the Isles and chief of Clan Donald; and his son, Angus Og Macdonald. The precise date of the battle varies in sources, from 1480 to 1483. After the battle, in which Angus Og Macdonald emerged victorious, the latter seized power from his father, and held it for the rest of the decade. However, Angus's victory would prove pyrrhic. Many clansmen had died in the battle and nearly half the clan's fleet had been sunk, as a result of which the power of the Lords of the Isles was henceforth greatly diminished. Angus, last of the independent Lords of the Isles, would himself be murdered in 1490.

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References

↑ Gordon, Robert (1813) [Printed from original manuscript 1580 – 1656]. A Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland. Edinburgh: Printed by George Ramsay and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company Edinburgh; and White, Cochrance and Co. London. p. 73-74. Retrieved 30 January 2021. "About this tyme" (p. 74) and "The yeir of God 1455" (p. 73)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Browne, James (1849). A History of the Highlands and of the Highland Clans. Vol. I. Edinburgh: A. Fullarton. pp. 170–1. Retrieved 30 January 2021.

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[Gordon1-1] Gordon, Robert (1813) [Printed from original manuscript 1580 – 1656]. A Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland. Edinburgh: Printed by George Ramsay and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company Edinburgh; and White, Cochrance and Co. London. p. 73-74. Retrieved 30 January 2021. "About this tyme" (p. 74) and "The yeir of God 1455" (p. 73)

[Browne-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Browne, James (1849). A History of the Highlands and of the Highland Clans. Vol. I. Edinburgh: A. Fullarton. pp. 170–1. Retrieved 30 January 2021.

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