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Jacobite Wars

@jacobitewars.com
79 followers 3 following 194 posts

Covering the military history of the Jacobite Risings and the wider Jacobite period from the Revolution of 1688 to the Battle of Culloden in 1746 and beyond. Posts by @neilritchie.bsky.social

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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 10/08/2026
10 August 1745: Edward Wilson, commanding Bernera Barracks at Glenelg, reported to Major Hugh Wentworth at Fort Augustus on the situation on the Isle of Skye and ships seized by a French warship. He stated that he expected the barracks to come under attack by the French or Jacobites at any time.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 21/06/2026
21 June 1690: Major-General Hugh Mackay left Perth with a force of 3,000 Scottish government troops heading for Inverlochy, where he would establish a new fort. Mackay marched his army via Strathardle, Braemar, Nethy Bridge, Strathspey and Glen Spean before arriving at Inverlochy on 3 July.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 16/06/2026
16 June 1750: The death of Jacobite Major-General John Gordon of Glenbucket in Boulogne, France. Glenbucket fought for the Jacobite cause in the risings of 1689, 1715 and 1745. During the 1719 rising, he assisted the government by reporting on Jacobite movements.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 07/06/2026
7 June 1746: Captain Dugald Campbell of the Argyllshire Militia apprehended Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, on an island in Loch Morar. Captain John Fergussone of the bomb vessel Furnace stated in a letter to Cumberland that Lovat had been found "conceal'd in the Trunk of a tree".
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 23/05/2026
23-24 May 1692: Following their victory at the Battle of Barfleur, English and Dutch warships destroyed and captured many French warships and transport vessels near the French port of La Hougue. The French defeat ended plans of a Franco-Jacobite invasion of England to restore King James.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 21/05/2026
21 May 1746: Donald Cameron of Lochiel mustered his clansmen at Achnacarry, but due to the efforts of the pro-Hanoverian highland militias and Lord Loudoun's detachment at Fort Augustus, no other clans joined him. Lochiel ordered his men to disperse, and he went into hiding.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 12/05/2026
12 May 1746: Alexander Macdonald of Glencoe's Regiment surrendered to Major-General John Campbell of Mamore at his camp in Appin. Mamore allowed the common men to return home but detained the gentlemen of the regiment. Macdonald told Mamore that he had been intimidated into joining the Jacobites.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 17/04/2026
A painting of the battle of Culloden, possibly commissioned by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, c.1748. The image has been enhanced to cut through a thick layer of varnish. Painting attributed to the Duke's military draughtsman, Thomas Sandby. 📸 © Royal Collection Trust
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 17/04/2026
Detail from George Augustus Schultz's battle map of Culloden showing the Duke of Cumberland's army moving from column to line formation just beyond Dalcross Castle on Drumossie Moor on the morning of 16 April 1746. 📸 © Royal Collection Trust
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 10/04/2026
10 April 1707: Colonel Nathaniel Hooke arrived in Scotland on his second mission from Louis XIV, tasked with meeting prominent Jacobites and reconnoitring the country to assess the seriousness of Scottish Jacobites to rise against Queen Anne Stuart. He would arrive back in France on 6 June.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 10/04/2026
10 April 1746: From Rothes, Colonel Roderick Chisholm ordered Captain John Chisholm to go to Strathglass and raise men for Charles Edward Stuart's army. Captain Chisholm was also instructed to destroy the cattle and effects of any man who refused to join the Jacobites. 📜 RA CP/MAIN/13 f.378-378b.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 06/03/2026
6 March 1708: Comte de Forbin's French invasion fleet sailed out from Dunkirk, slipping past the Royal Navy's blockade and making its way to the east coast of Scotland. James Francis Edward Stuart sailed with the fleet and planned to raise the Jacobites against his half-sister, Queen Anne Stuart.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 15/02/2026
15 February 1744: The day after the British government was informed of an imminent French invasion, King George II sent a message to both Houses of Parliament informing them that intelligence had been received that Charles Edward Stuart was in France and preparations were underway for an invasion.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 15/02/2026
15 February 1716: The last remnants of the Earl of Mar's Jacobite army dispersed at Ruthven. Mar and James Francis Edward Stuart had departed Scotland for France on 4 February, and the main Jacobite army had disbanded at Aberdeen on 7 February. 📸 The Military Survey of Scotland, 1747-1755
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 15/02/2026
15 February 1746: While on a flying visit to Edinburgh to sort out food supplies for the government army's advance to Aberdeen, the Duke of Cumberland ordered the Hessian auxiliary troops to move to Perth and Stirling to secure his lines of communication and prevent a Jacobite breakout from Atholl.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 15/02/2026
15 February 1708: The Dutch government sent a message to the British government warning them about an imminent French invasion aimed at putting James Francis Edward Stuart on the British throne. In October 1707, France had advised the Scottish Jacobites to prepare for a rising in the spring of 1708.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 07/02/2026
7 February 1716: The Earl of Mar's Jacobite army disbanded at Aberdeen, bringing to an end the Jacobite Rising of 1715. Mar and James Francis Edward Stuart had departed Scotland for France on 4 February. 📸 Slezer's Aberdeen, 1693 / National Library of Scotland
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 06/02/2026
6 February 1746: Charles Edward Stuart travelled from Weem Castle to Blair Castle during the Jacobite retreat to Inverness. This was his second visit to Blair Castle, the first being in September at the start of the rising. He would stay at Blair until the 10th before heading on to Dalnacardoch.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 17/01/2026
17 January 1746: In a storm of sleet, wind and hail, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart clashed with government forces commanded by Lieutenant-General Henry Hawley at the Battle of Falkirk Muir, the largest military engagement of the Jacobite Rising of 1745.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 18/12/2025
18 December 1745: As Charles Edward Stuart's army continued its withdrawal back to Scotland, the Jacobite rearguard under Lord George Murray fought an action against pursuing government dragoons commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Honeywood at Clifton, south of Penrith.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 12/11/2025
Map of the Battle of Preston (12-14 November 1715) by Abel Boyer / Royal Collection Trust
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 10/10/2025
10 October 1715: At Warkworth, the English Jacobites were joined by forty horse from the Scottish borders. Thomas Forster, Tory MP for Northumberland, who was now in command, proclaimed James Francis Edward Stuart as King James III of Great Britain. On the 14th, they would march to Alnwick.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 22/09/2025
A plan of the battle of Prestonpans by Paul Fourdrinier, based on a plan drawn by an officer of engineers who was present at the engagement. The identity of the engineer on whose map this published map is based is unknown. 📜 RA CP/MAIN/5 f.164-164b
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 19/09/2025
19 September 1745: In the first lift of reinforcements from the continent, 3 battalions of Hirzel's Swiss regiment landed on the Lower Thames and the following day 4 battalions of Dutch troops arrived before later being shipped up to Newcastle to serve under Field Marshal Wade.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 19/09/2025
19 September 1745: Cope marched his army from Dunbar to Haddington. He had intended to march further but a lack of water further along the route forced him to stop. A false alarm was raised that the Jacobites were coming to attack and the army lined up for battle.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 19/09/2025
17-19 September 1715: With the Jacobites occupying Perth, loyalist volunteers from Glasgow, Paisley and Ayrshire were summoned to defend Stirling. They would be commanded by Colonel John Blackadder, a veteran of Dunkeld, Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 11/09/2025
11 September 1709: The army of the Grand Alliance under the Duke of Marlborough won a costly victory over the Duke of Villars' French army at the Battle of Malplaquet during the War of the Spanish Succession. James Francis Edward Stuart was wounded while serving with the French household cavalry.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 10/09/2025
10 September 1697: The Peace of Ryswick was signed, bringing the Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance to an end. As part of the treaty, Louis XIV of France recognised William of Orange as King William III and II and pledged to end support to the Jacobite cause.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 07/09/2025
7 September 1746: Acting on instructions from the Earl of Albemarle, the Earl of Loudoun reduced the seven Independent Highland Companies under his direct command at Fort Augustus and sent orders to reduce the six companies on the Isle of Skye and the one company on the Isle of Lewis.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 07/09/2025
A commission from Charles Edward Stuart, dated 5 September 1745 at Perth, appointing William Drummond, 4th Viscount Strathallan, as Brigadier-General in the Jacobite army. Drummond had participated in the 1715 Jacobite rising and was pardoned for his involvement in 1717. 📜 RA CP/MAIN/5 f.249-249c
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 03/09/2025
3 September 1745: The Jacobite army marched from Blair Castle, through the Pass of Killiecrankie and on to Dunkeld. Charles Edward Stuart lodged in Dunkeld House, where he was entertained by local fiddler Niel Gow. The advance guard led by Lochiel and Keppoch arrived at Perth and secured the town.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 02/09/2025
2 September 1745: From Blair Castle, Charles Edward Stuart instructed Donald Cameron of Lochiel to march from Blair to Perth with an advanced guard of two hundred men and take control of the town. Once there, Lochiel was to proclaim James Francis Edward Stuart as king. 📜 RA CP/MAIN/5 f.245
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 21/08/2025
21 August 1689: The Jacobites under Brigadier-General Alexander Cannon attacked the Earl of Angus's Regiment commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel William Cleland, holding the town of Dunkeld. The brutal urban fighting would see most of the town destroyed before the Jacobites were forced to withdraw.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 04/08/2025
4 August 1746: From Horse Shoe Bay, Kerrera, Major-General John Campbell sent an intelligence report to his son, Lieutenant-Colonel John Campbell at Strontian, and the Earl of Albemarle at Fort Augustus about a reported sighting of Charles Edward Stuart in Glen Dessarry.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 23/07/2025
23 July 1745: Charles Edward Stuart set foot on Scottish soil for the first time, landing on the Isle of Eriskay between Barra and South Uist in the Hebrides. The following day, he would meet with Alexander Macdonald of Boisdale, who would advise him to return to France. Map: NLS.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 18/07/2025
18 July 1745: The Marquis of Tweeddale, Secretary of State for Scotland, wrote to Lieutenant-General Sir John Cope recommending that he 'keep a strict Look-out' and hoped that he would not do anything that would spread unnecessary alarm, as he believed there was no immediate danger.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 14/07/2025
14 July 1689: The Privy Council of Scotland instructed Margaret Wemyss, 3rd Countess of Wemyss, to "lend some of your leather gunnes to General Mackay for this present expedition to the Highlands, wher no other artileiarie can be carried."
Margaret Wemyss, 3rd Countess of Wemyss
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 13/07/2025
13 July 1745: Lieutenant-General Sir John Cope informed the Marquis of Tweeddale, Secretary of State for Scotland, about the situation in the Highlands before he left for Aberdeen to review Guise's 6th Regiment of Foot, which were to garrison the Highland forts and barracks, replacing Murray's 57th.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 08/07/2025
8 July 1745: Three days after departing from Belle Isle, the French privateers Elisabeth (64 guns) and Du Teillay (16 guns), which were carrying Charles Edward Stuart's expedition to the Western Highlands, sighted a Royal Navy squadron of eight warships. They changed course to avoid an encounter.
 "A New and Correct Chart of the CHANNEL between ENGLAND & FRANCE" by Greenvile Collins, 1756
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 05/07/2025
5 July 1690: Major-General Hugh Mackay began construction of a new earth and timber fort on the site of the old Cromwellian fort at Inverlochy, to be named Fort William after the new king. Construction took 11 days, and the old Cromwellian Colonel John Hill was appointed governor. Image: NLS.
"Plan of Fort William with the country adjacent" by Robert Johnson, c.1710 / National Library of Scotland
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 02/07/2025
2 July 1690: As Major-General Hugh Mackay's Scottish government army marched through Glen Spean, they came under sporadic sniper fire from the hills, while around 200 Jacobite highlanders attacked Mackay's vanguard, but the attack was repulsed. Mackay would arrive at Inverlochy the following day.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 02/07/2025
2 July 1745: Lieutenant-General Sir John Cope, commander-in-chief in Scotland, received a report from Duncan Forbes of Culloden, Lord President of the Court of Session, that Charles Edward Stuart was expected to land in the western highlands that summer to attempt an insurrection.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 27/06/2025
27 June 1746: Flora MacDonald sailed "over the sea to Skye" from Benbecula with a disguised Charles Edward Stuart. They narrowly avoided running into Major-General John Campbell of Mamore and his Argyll Militia, who had returned from their search for Jacobite leaders on St Kilda.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 21/06/2025
21 June 1690: Major-General Hugh Mackay left Perth with a force of 3,000 Scottish government troops heading for Inverlochy, where he would establish a new fort. Mackay marched his army via Strathardle, Braemar, Nethy Bridge, Strathspey and Glen Spean before arriving at Inverlochy on 3 July.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 20/06/2025
19 June 1746: Argyll Militia under Major-General John Campbell of Mamore arrived at St Kilda. Mamore had received intelligence that Charles Edward Stuart and other prominent Jacobites were hiding there. He found nothing but a population largely ignorant of world events.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 16/06/2025
16 June 1750: The death of Jacobite Major-General John Gordon of Glenbucket in Boulogne, France. Glenbucket fought for the Jacobite cause in the risings of 1689, 1715 and 1745. During the 1719 rising, he assisted the government by reporting on Jacobite movements.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 13/06/2025
13 June 1754: Captain John Fergussone of the sloop Porcupine reported to John Clevland, Secretary to the Lords of the Admiralty, that he had observed Jacobite clan gatherings in Arisaig, Knoydart, Moydart, and on the isles of Skye and Rassay during his recent voyage.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 10/06/2025
Peter Tillemans' painting of the Battle of Glen Shiel commemorates Major-General Joseph Wightman's victory over the Jacobite forces under the Marquis of Tullibardine on 10 June 1719. It is one of the few extant oil paintings of the Highland landscape from the first half of the 18th century.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 09/06/2025
9 June 1719: Major-General Joseph Wightman's army reached the western end of Loch Cluanie and established a camp about a mile to the west of the present-day Cluanie Inn. Jacobite outposts commanded by Lord George Murray reported back that Wightman was now within 4 miles of the main Jacobite force.
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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 06/06/2025
6 June 1719: After marching out from Inverness the previous day, Major-General Joseph Wightman and his army arrived at Kiliwhimen at the southern end of Loch Ness, where they encamped. Supplies were shipped down the loch from Inverness, and additional troops under Colonel Henry Harrison arrived.
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