| Siege of Culloden House | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Jacobite rising of 1715 | |||||||
 Old Culloden House, Duncan Forbes | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Great Britain |  Jacobites from Clan Chattan | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Lady Forbes of Culloden Hugh Fraser | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 700 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | Unknown | ||||||
  Culloden House | |||||||
The siege of Culloden House was part of the Jacobite rising of 1715 in Scotland.
After the Jacobites had seized Inverness, some of them marched to Culloden House which was held by the Forbes family who supported the British Government and laid siege to it. They were told by the laird's wife that if they approached within gun-shot of the house that she would show them that she had both the arms and ammunition to support the right and title of George I of Great Britain. The house was besieged for seven weeks before it was relieved. [1] Lady Forbes of Culloden and her servants managed to hold off a force of armed men. [2] They were relieved with the assistance of Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat who dispersed the force from Clan Chattan who controlled the area which in turn enabled him to gain the support of John Gordon, 16th Earl of Sutherland and John Forbes to give him freedom from arrest for treason. [3] The men of the Clan Chattan having given up the siege joined the main Jacobite army under John Erskine, Earl of Mar at Perth on 5 October with 700 men. [4] According to one source, during the siege a cannon shot had hit a tree and the falling timber killed one of the Jacobie rebels, with the tree subsequently being covered in a huge growth of ivy. [5]
During the siege of 1715, Culloden House was defended by Hugh Fraser whose brother, James Fraser of Foyers, laid siege to the house during the Jacobite rising of 1745. [6]
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, nicknamed the Fox, was a Scottish Jacobite and Chief of Clan Fraser of Lovat, known for his feuding and changes of allegiance. In 1715, he had been a supporter of the House of Hanover, but in 1745 he changed sides and supported the Stuart claim on the crown of Great Britain. Lovat was among the Highlanders defeated at the Battle of Culloden and convicted of treason against the Crown, following which he was sentenced to death and subsequently beheaded.
Clan Mackenzie is a Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional genealogies trace the ancestors of the Mackenzie chiefs to the 12th century. However, the earliest Mackenzie chief recorded by contemporary evidence is Alexander Mackenzie of Kintail who died some time after 1471. Traditionally, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Mackenzies supported Robert the Bruce, but feuded with the Earls of Ross in the latter part of the 14th century. During the 15th and 16th-centuries the Mackenzies feuded with the neighboring clans of Munro and MacDonald. In the 17th century the Mackenzie chief was made Earl of Seaforth in the peerage of Scotland. During the Scottish Civil War of the 17th century the Mackenzies largely supported the Royalists. During the Jacobite rising of 1715 the chief and clan of Mackenzie supported the Jacobite cause. However, during the Jacobite rising of 1745 the clan was divided with the chief, Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose, supporting the British-Hanoverian Government and his relative, George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie, supporting the Jacobites.
Clan Farquharson is a Highland Scottish clan based at Invercauld and Braemar, Aberdeenshire, and is a member of the Chattan Confederation.
Clan Mackintosh is a Scottish clan from Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The chiefs of the clan are the Mackintoshes of Mackintosh. Another branch of the clan, the Mackintoshes of Torcastle, are the chiefs of Clan Chattan, a historic confederation of clans.
Clan Macpherson is a Highland Scottish clan and a member of the Chattan Confederation.
Clan Grant is a Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch, Grant of Grant, and several cadet branches, such as Grant of Glenmoriston.
Anne Mackintosh (1723–1784) was a Scottish Jacobite leader, who was the wife of Angus Mackintosh, Chief of the Clan Mackintosh. She was one of very few (apparent) female military leaders during the Jacobite rising of 1745 and the first female to hold the rank of colonel in Scotland.
Clan Fraser of Lovat is a Highland Scottish clan and the principal branch of Clan Fraser. The Frasers of Lovat are strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan's founder gained lands there in the 13th century.
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands lies Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Chief of the clan is customarily referred to as simply "Lochiel".
Simon Fraser of Lovat was a son of a notorious Jacobite clan chief, but he went on to serve with distinction in the British army. He also raised forces which served in the Seven Years' War against the French in Quebec, as well as the American War of Independence. Simon was the 19th Chief of the Clan Fraser of Lovat.
Sir Robert Munro, 5th Baronet of Foulis was also 23rd Baron and 26th chief of the Clan Munro. He became blind and was known as the Blind Baron.
Norman MacLeod of MacLeod (1705–1772), also known as The Wicked Man, was an 18th-century Scottish politician and the 22nd Chief of Clan MacLeod.
The siege of Inverness that took place in November 1715 was part of the Jacobite rising of 1715. The town of Inverness and Inverness Castle were being held by the Clan Mackenzie, led by Sir John Mackenzie of Coul who supported the rebel Jacobite cause. Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, chief of the Clan Fraser of Lovat besieged them, supported by men of the Clan Rose and Clan Forbes.
The Skirmish of Alness was a conflict that took place in October 1715 in Alness, in the county of Ross in the Scottish Highlands. It was part of the Jacobite rising of 1715 and pitted Highlanders loyal to the British-Hanoverian Government of George I of Great Britain against Highlanders loyal to the Jacobite House of Stuart.
The siege of Brahan took place in Scotland in November 1715 and was part of the Jacobite rising of 1715. Highlanders loyal to the British-Hanoverian government of George I of Great Britain laid siege to Brahan Castle, seat of William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth, who was a staunch Jacobite, loyal to the House of Stuart.
The Independent Highland Companies were irregular militia raised from the Scottish clans of the Scottish Highlands by order of the British government between 1603 and 1760 in order to help keep the peace and enforce the law in the Highlands and were recognized as such by the government. The officers of the Independent Highland Companies were commissioned as officers of the British Army but the Independent Companies were not recognized as official regiments of the line of the army. The Independent Highland Companies were the progenitors of the Highland Regiments of the British Army that began when ten Independent Highland Companies were embodied to form the Earl of Crawford's Highland Regiment that was numbered the 43rd Regiment of Foot in 1739.
The Battle of Dornoch took place on 20 March 1746 and was part of the Jacobite rising of 1745 in Scotland. However, although recorded in history as a "battle" there was no actual fighting between the two sides. Instead a large rebel Jacobite force advanced on a position held by a force loyal to the British-Hanoverian Government who were taken by surprise and forced into a retreat. The Jacobite advance was coordinated by James Drummond, 3rd Duke of Perth at Dornoch, Sutherland.
George Mackay, 3rd Lord Reay (1678–1748), was a Scottish noble and chief of the Clan Mackay, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. During his life the Glorious Revolution took place which directly affected his family and estate, and during his chiefdom he served the British-Hanoverian Government during the Jacobite rising of 1715 and the Jacobite rising of 1745.
The siege of Culloden House took place on the night of 15/16 October 1745 and was part of the Jacobite rising of 1745. 200 men of the Jacobite Clan Fraser of Lovat attempted to capture Duncan Forbes, Lord Culloden who was the Lord President of the Court of Session, the most senior legal officer in Scotland.
Duncan Forbes of Culloden was a Scottish lawyer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1737. As Lord President and senior Scottish legal officer, he played a major role in helping the government suppress the 1745 Jacobite Rising.