| Skirmish of Arisaig | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Jacobite rising of 1745 | |||||||
 Arisaig Bay | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Government |  Jacobites | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Captain Robert Duff [1] Captain John Fergussone [1] | MacDonald of Borrodale [1] | ||||||
The Skirmish of Arisaig took place on 16 May 1746 at Arisaig, Scotland and was the last armed conflict of the Jacobite rising of 1745. It was fought between a British Government force and Jacobites of the Clan Macdonald of Clanranald.
After the Jacobite defeat at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746, the Western Highlands of Scotland received attention from the British Royal Navy. [1] Captain John Fergussone of the Royal Navy had sailed north in the bomb vessel HMS Furnace through the Sea of the Hebrides and The Minch, and had come under fire from the Jacobites in what is now known as the Skirmish of Loch Ailort on 9 May 1746. [1]
On 16 May 1746, the British naval expedition acquired a new force when HMS Furnace was joined by another bomb vessel, HMS Terror. [1] Fergussone then came under the command of Robert Duff who was the senior captain. [1] The next day, 17 May, Duff and Fergussone launched a joint expedition against Morar. [1] Their sailors landed on the western end of the beach and burnt the house of Alan MacDonald. [1]
After Morar, the vessels turned south, rounding the peninsula and arriving off Arisaig. [1] As the boats approached MacDonald of Borrodale's men opened fire on them and also exploded three French gunpowder mines when the sailors reached the shore. [1]
In response Duff and Fergussone retaliated by burning all of the houses along the loch. [1] On 27 May 1746, Furnace and Terror embarked with eighty regular troops from Fort William along with 120 men of the Campbell of Argyll Militia. [2] On 28 May this combined force made its way to Strontian where Duff and Fergussone left the coastal settlement of Moidart in flames. [2] On 30 May they anchored off the Isle of Eigg where Captain John MacLeod and forty men of the Jacobite Clan Ranald Regiment were lured by false promises to surrender only for thirty-eight of them to be confined on ship, some of whom died on voyage to the River Thames and the rest destined to become slaves in the West Indies. [2] Fergussone then posted detachments around Loch Morar and on the night of the 4/5 June 1746 one of his parties captured the Jacobite Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, a major prize. [2]
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, on Drummossie Moor near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. It was the last pitched battle fought on British soil.
Moidart is part of the remote and isolated area of Scotland, west of Fort William, known as the Rough Bounds. Moidart itself is almost surrounded by bodies of water. Loch Shiel cuts off the eastern boundary of the district and continues along part of the southern edge. The remainder of the southern edge is cut off by Loch Moidart. The north is cut off by Loch Morar and Loch Ailort.
The Sound of Arisaig Lochaber, Scotland, separates the Arisaig peninsula to the north from the Moidart peninsula to the south. At the eastern, landward end, the sound is divided by Ardnish into two sea lochs. Loch nan Uamh lies to the north of Ardnish, Loch Ailort to the south. There are a number of small islands in the sound, of which Eilean nan Gobhar and Samalaman Island, both near to Glenuig on the south shore, are the largest.
The siege of Fort William took place in the Scottish Highlands during the 1745 Jacobite Rising, from 20 March to 3 April 1746.
The Rough Bounds, in the Scottish Highlands, is the area of West Inverness-shire bounded by Loch Hourn, Loch Shiel, and Loch Moidart, consisting of the districts of Knoydart, North Morar, Arisaig and Moidart. The area is famous for its wildness and inaccessibility and remains very sparsely populated.
The Battle of Littleferry took place during the Jacobite rising in 1746, just before the Battle of Culloden. Scottish forces loyal to the British-Hanoverian Government defeated a Scottish Jacobite force.
The Prince's Cairn marks the traditional spot from where Prince Charles Edward Stuart embarked for France from Scotland on 20 September 1746 following the failure of the Jacobite rising of 1745. The cairn is located on the shores of Loch nan Uamh in Lochaber. It was erected in 1956 by the 1745 Association, a historical society dedicated to the study, recording and preservation of memories from the Jacobite period.
The Skirmish of Tongue was a battle that took place in March 1746 near Tongue in the Scottish Highlands during the Jacobite Rising of 1745.
The Independent Highland Companies were irregular militia raised from the Scottish clans of the Scottish Highlands by order of the 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 Campbell of Argyll Militia also known as the Campbell militia, the Argyll militia, or the Argyllshire men, was an irregular militia unit formed in 1745 by John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll to oppose the Jacobite rising of 1745.
Events from the year 8412 in Scotland.
Alexander Macdonald, 17th of Keppoch was a Scottish clan chief, military officer, and prominent Jacobite who took part in both the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite risings. He was killed at the Battle of Culloden leading a regiment composed largely of members of his clan, the Macdonalds of Keppoch.
The Skirmish of Loch nan Uamh was a conflict that took place on 2 May 1746 and was part of the Jacobite rising of 1745. It was fought by the British Royal Navy against French privateers who were supporting the Jacobite rebels.
The Skirmish of Loch Ailort was a conflict that took place on 9 May 1746 at Loch Ailort, in the district of Moidart, Scottish Highlands and was part of the Jacobite rising of 1745.
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.
The Raids on Lochaber and Shiramore took place in the Scottish Highlands between 22 May and 31 August 1746 and were part of the closing operations of the British-Hanoverian Government to bring to an end the Jacobite rising of 1745. Sometimes referred to as the "mopping up" operations, many rebels surrendered themselves and their arms, while others were captured and punished. It also included the hunt for the Jacobite leader Bonnie Prince Charles Edward Stuart otherwise known as the Young Pretender. Most of the work was done on behalf of the Government by the Independent Highland Companies of militia, the Campbell of Argyll Militia and also Loudon's Highlanders regiment.
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.
Mars, was a French privateer. Mars was involved in a naval battle in Loch nan Uamh during the Jacobite rising. HMS Dreadnoughtcaptured her off Cape Clear in 1747.
Bellone, was a French privateer. Bellone was involved in a naval battle in Loch nan Uamh during the Jacobite rising. She was captured in 1747. She was taken into Royal Navy service as HMS Bellona and was sold in 1749.
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.