Siege of Inverness (1649)

Last updated

Siege of Inverness (1649)
Part of Wars of the Three Kingdoms (Scottish Civil War)
Inverness Castle 8.JPG
Inverness Castle in modern times. Some of the old curtain wall can be seen in the foreground, while the castle building itself was rebuilt in 1836
Date22 February 1649
Location
Result Royalist victory
Belligerents

Royal Standard of Scotland.svg Royalists

Scottish Covenanter Flag.svg Covenanters
Commanders and leaders
Royal Standard of Scotland.svg Col. Hugh Fraser
Royal Standard of Scotland.svg John Munro
Royal Standard of Scotland.svg Thomas Mackenzie
Royal Standard of Scotland.svg Sir Thomas Urquhart
Scottish Covenanter Flag.svg Lord Newark
Strength
unknown unknown
Casualties and losses
unknown unknown

The siege of Inverness took place in 1649 as part of the 17th-century Scottish Civil War that was, in turn, part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

On 5 February 1649, Charles II had been proclaimed king after his father's execution. It was decided that Charles and his allies who were in exile should again try to recover the kingdom, in connection with the plans of the exiled James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose. As a result a rising took place in the north of Scotland under Colonel Hugh Fraser, who was joined by John Munro of Lemlair, Thomas Mackenzie of Pluscarden and Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty. [1]

On 22 February they entered Inverness, where they expelled the garrison of Inverness Castle and afterwards demolished the walls and fortifications. On 26 February a council of war was held. Here they framed certain enactments by which they took the customs and excise of the six northern counties of Scotland into their own hands. Soon afterwards General David Leslie, Lord Newark was sent north to attack them. The clans then retreated from Inverness back into Ross-shire. Leslie placed a garrison in the Castle Chanonry of Ross, and terms of surrender were made between him and all of the clans except for the Mackenzies. As soon as Leslie left for the south, the Mackenzies attacked and retook the Castle Chanonry of Ross. [1]

According to R.W Munro who was the Clan Munro Association's historian, Leslie's diplomatic approach did not have any difficulty in detaching the Munros and Rosses from the Mackenzies, and their involvement in the rising of 1649 was most likely from a defensive point of view because it was rumoured that Parliament was gong to arrest their leaders and not because of support for Montrose. The Munros and the Rosses then fully defected to the side of the Covenanters, whom they supported at the Battle of Carbisdale in 1650 against Montrose. The Mackenzies did not support Montrose at Carbisdale but did communicate with him both before the battle and after the battle when he was in captivity. [2]

According to Alfred John Lawrence, the Presbytery acting as the court against breaches of the Covenant Oath took up the cases of Alexander and John Bane of Knockbain, Alexander Bane of Tulloch, Captain Bane of Brahan and Alexander Bane of Tarradale, who had confessed that they had followed Lord Reay and Thomas Mackenzie of Pluscarden in support of King Charles when they helped to capture Inverness and demolish the town's walls. It was accepted that they had been coerced or misled and they were dismissed on giving oath not take up arms again against Parliament. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Ross</span> Scottish clan

Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Mackenzie</span> Scottish clan

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Graham</span> Scottish clan

Clan Graham is a Scottish clan who had territories in both the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands, with one main branch Montrose, and various cadet branches. The chief of the clan rose to become the Marquess and later Duke of Montrose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Carbisdale</span> Scottish civil war battle (1650)

The Battle of Carbisdale took place close to the village of Culrain, Sutherland, Scotland on 27 April 1650 and was part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It was fought by the Royalist leader James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, against the Scottish Government of the time, dominated by Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll and a grouping of radical Covenanters, known as the Kirk Party. The Covenanters decisively defeated the Royalists. The battlefield has been inventoried and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009. Although Carbisdale is the name of the nearest farm to the site of the battle, Culrain is the nearest village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chanonry of Ross</span>

Castle Chanonry of Ross, also known as Seaforth Castle, was located in the town of Fortrose, to the north-east of Inverness, on the peninsula known as the Black Isle, Highland, Scotland. Nothing now remains of the castle. The castle was also known as Canonry or Chanonrie of Ross, the former county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strome Castle</span>

Strome Castle is a ruined castle on the shore of Loch Carron in Stromemore, 3.5 miles south-west of the village of Lochcarron, on the headland between Loch Carron and Loch Kishorn, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands.

The Munros of Milntown were a family cadet branch of the Highland Clan Munro. As the earliest recorded cadet branch of the Munro chiefs, the Munros of Milntown were the 'senior' cadet branch of the clan, and spawned many cadet branches. They were frequently recorded as 'Monro' as well as Munro. The Munros of Milntown are notable for being involved in events concerning the history of the late Middle Ages in the Scottish Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Munro, 1st of Newmore</span> Scottish soldier and member of parliament

Sir George Munro, 1st of Newmore (1602–1693) was a 17th-century Scottish soldier and member of parliament from the Clan Munro, Ross-shire, Scotland. He was seated at Newmore Castle. Between 1629 and 1634 Munro held command in the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War, and from 1642 in the Scottish Covenanter army during the Irish Confederate Wars before changing his allegiance to the Royalist cause of Charles I in 1648 during the Scottish Civil War and Irish Confederate Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Bealach nam Broig</span> Battle in Highland, Scotland, UK

The Battle of Bealach nam Broig was a battle fought between Scottish clans from the lands of north-west Ross, against north-eastern clans of Ross who supported the Earl of Ross. The actual date of the battle is debated, it probably occurred in 1452 but the Conflicts of the Clans suggests a date as early as 1299.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Drumchatt (1497)</span> Scottish clan battle that took place in 1497

The Battle of Drumchatt was a Scottish clan battle that took place in 1497. The Clan Mackenzie and possibly the Clan Munro defeated the Clan MacDonald of Lochalsh at Drumchatt (Druimchat) or "the Cat's Back", a ridge to the southeast of Strathpeffer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Logiebride</span>

The Battle of Logiebride or Logie-Riach, also known as a Tumult in Ross was more of a small skirmish rather than an actual battle. The disturbance is said to have taken place on 4 February 1597 at the Logie Candlemas market near Conan House between men of the Clan Mackenzie against men of the Clan Munro and the Bain family of Tulloch Castle.

Robert Mor Munro, 15th Baron of Foulis, and 18th chief of the Clan Munro was a 16th-century Scottish chief. He was known as Robert Mor on account of his large stature. He was the eldest son of Robert Munro, 14th Baron of Foulis. Although this Robert Munro is traditionally 15th Baron and 18th overall chief of the clan, he is only the 8th Munro chief that can be proved by contemporary evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth</span> Scottish nobleman and Highland clan chief

George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth was a Highland clan chief and Scottish nobleman, who played an equivocating role in Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

Colin Mackenzie of Kintail, nicknamed "Cam", was a Highland chief of the Scottish clan Mackenzie who greatly increased his ancestral estates through royal favour and a career of vigorous self-aggrandisement.

Sir Hector Munro, 2nd Baronet of Foulis was a Scottish noble and clan chief of the highland Clan Munro. He is also by tradition the 20th Baron and 23rd overall chief of the clan. However, he is actually the 13th chief of the Clan Munro who can be proved by contemporary evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Munro</span> Highland Scottish clan

Clan Munro is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically the clan was based in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional origins of the clan give its founder as Donald Munro who came from the north of Ireland and settled in Scotland in the eleventh century, though its true founder may have lived much later. It is also a strong tradition that the Munro chiefs supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The first proven clan chief on record however is Robert de Munro who died in 1369; his father is mentioned but not named in a number of charters. The clan chiefs originally held land principally at Findon on the Black Isle but exchanged it in 1350 for Estirfowlys. Robert's son Hugh who died in 1425 was the first of the family to be styled "of Foulis", despite which clan genealogies describe him as 9th baron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skirmish of Alness</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bain of Tulloch</span> Family tree

The Bain, Bane or Bayne family of Tulloch were a minor Scottish noble family.

John Munro, 2nd of Lemlair was a Scottish soldier who fought as a colonel in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. His seat was at Lemlair House.

Thomas Mackenzie of Pluscarden, also known as of Pluscardine was a Scottish soldier and member of parliament of the 17th century. He was a member of the Clan Mackenzie, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.

References

  1. 1 2 Mackenzie, Alexander (1896). History of the Frasers of Lovat, with genealogies of the principal families of the name: to which is added those of Dunballoch and Phopachy. Inverness: A. & W. Mackenzie. pp.  186-187.
  2. Munro, R.W, ed. (1955). "The Munro Levies at Carbisdale". Clan Munro Magazine. Clan Munro Association (5): 33–37.
  3. Lawrence, Alfred John (1963). The Clan Bain With Its Ancestral And Related Scottish Clans. Inverness: Highland Printers Limited. p.  65 . Retrieved 30 July 2023.

57°28′35″N4°13′31″W / 57.4764°N 4.2253°W / 57.4764; -4.2253