Siege of Inverness (1715) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Jacobite rising of 1715 | |||||||
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 | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Clans loyal to British Government: Clan Fraser of Lovat Clan Rose Clan Forbes Clan Munro Clan Grant | Jacobite clans: Clan Mackenzie Clan MacDonald of Keppoch | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet | Sir John Mackenzie of Coul | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Frasers: 800 Forbes: 200 Roses: 300 Munros: 400 Grants: 800 | Mackenzies: 300 MacDonalds of Keppoch: 300 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 killed [1] | None [1] |
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.
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat had been living in exile with the prospect of his clan and lands being taken over by a Mackenzie who was married to Lady Amelia Fraser of Lovat, daughter of the 9th Lord Lovat and second cousin of Simon. [2] Upon the outbreak of the Jacobite rising of 1715, Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat returned to Scotland and despite being a staunch Jacobite offered his services to John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll who was in overall command of British forces in Scotland in order to restore himself in Scotland. [2] This would be a severe blow to the Jacobites and so Argyll had to give him a chance. [2]
Lord Lovat and John Forbes of Culloden who also supported the Government met up at Kilravock Castle with Hugh Rose, chief of the Clan Rose. [3] Rose was a staunch supporter of the Hanoverian Government. [3]
Lovat, Forbes and Rose formed up their united forces on the side of the River Ness opposite Inverness Castle. [3] The Inverness Burgh Council (who supported the Jacobites) sent out a messenger asking for help from the chief of the Clan MacDonald of Keppoch. [3] The MacDonalds approached the Frasers from the rear but Lovat sent the Reverend Thomas Fraser of Stratherrick to parlay with them and as Keppoch MacDonald did not want to fight his way into Inverness he headed south through the hills. [4] Sir John Mackenzie of Coul had also sent a message to the Clan Mackintosh chief at Moy Hall requesting that he send 500 men to reinforce the 300 Mackenzies in Inverness. [4] In response Lovat ordered his troops to break camp and head south of Inverness threatening to lay waste to Mackintosh country. [4] The Mackintoshes backed down and swore that they only moved to defend their lands against MacDonald of Keppoch and that they did not want to take part in the rebellion. [4]
Lovat held a council amongst his men with the Whig lairds preferring a siege to starve out the Jacobites, but he resolved to attack the town instead. [5] However, before he could make a move Aurthur Rose, younger son of Rose of Kilravock, along with his brother Robert and a handful of men had drifted towards Inverness in a boat. [5] Rose of Kilravock and Forbes of Culloden had already blockaded the town from the south east. [5] Sir John Mackenzie, on learning of the imminent attack took up position in the Tolbooth, which was a strong building in the centre of the town, and served as the guard house. [6] Arthur Rose had taken a sentry guard by surprise with his pistol in the dark and used him to get the door of the guard house open. [1] Rose tried to storm in but the guard raised the alarm that he was an enemy and Rose ended up being crushed in the door and was shot dead in that position by the Mackenzies. [6] [1] His body was crushed and was riddled with bullets. [7] He was the only fatality of the siege. [1]
The following day Sir John Mackenzie of Coul agreed to surrender Inverness on the condition that he could go and join the Earl of Mar, who was the leader of the Jacobite army. [1] Sir John Mackenzie and his men immediately escaped by boats from the pier of Inverness, leaving all their baggage behind them, in a hurry to avoid contact with the approaching Frasers. [8]
On 12 November 1715 the Hanoverians occupied Inverness. [9] Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat marched into the town supported by 800 men from Clan Grant and 400 men from Clan Munro. [10] Lovat left Inverness on 15 November 1715 after Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet had been appointed Governor of the town, [11] and for some time the disarming of the rebels went on helped by a Munro detachment under his younger brother, George Munro, 1st of Culcairn. [12] On 10 March 1716, George I of Great Britain signed a document that confirmed Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat as a free, lawful, British subject for the first time in twenty years. [13]
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 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.
Sir Harry Munro, 7th Baronet was 25th Baron and the 28th chief of the Clan Munro. He was a Scottish soldier and politician. He was loyal to the Hanoverian dynasty and served as a captain in Loudon's Highlanders Regiment 1745–48.
Clan Rose is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.
Archibald Campbell Fraserof Lovat, was British consul at Tripoli and Algiers, and later colonel of the 1st Inverness local militia. Upon the death of his brother, Simon Fraser (1726–1782), Archibald became the 20th MacShimidh (chief) of Clan Fraser of Lovat, and sat in the House of Commons from 1782 to 1784.
Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, also known as Clan MacDonellof Keppoch or Clan Ranald of Lochaber, is a Highland Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald. The progenitor of the clan is Alistair Carrach MacDonald, 4th great-grandson of the warrior Somerled. The clan chief is traditionally designated as the "Son of Ranald's son".
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.
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.
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.
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 William Munro of Foulis was a Scottish Knight and Scottish clan chief of the highland Clan Munro. He is by tradition the 12th Baron of Foulis and 15th overall chief of the clan. However, he is actually only the 5th chief of the Clan Munro who can be proved by contemporary evidence.
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.
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.
Major James Fraser of Castle Leathers was a Scottish soldier who supported the British-Hanoverian Government during the Jacobite risings of the 18th-century and was an important member of the Clan Fraser of Lovat, a clan of the Scottish Highlands. He is also known for his quarrels with his clan chief, Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat who switched sides several times during the Jacobite risings.
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.
The dispute over the lands of Beauly Priory took place in about 1577-78 in Beauly, Inverness-shire, Scottish Highlands. It was contested between Colin Cam Mackenzie, 11th of Kintail, chief of Clan Mackenzie and Thomas Fraser of Knockie who was the tutor to the young Simon Fraser, 6th Lord Lovat, chief of the Clan Fraser of Lovat. Fraser was supported by Robert Mor Munro, 15th Baron of Foulis.
Lachlan Mor Mackintosh, 16th of Mackintosh was the chief of the Clan Mackintosh, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. He was also chief of the confederation of clans that was known as the Clan Chattan.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link)