history
| The Jacobites
The Battle of Littleferry As locals prepare to unveil a memorial and tourist trail, we tell the story of a largely forgotten battle that took place on the eve of Culloden Words by JAMES GRACIE CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP: Dunrobin Castle, ancestral home of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland; the stone that will be used to commemorate the Littleferry battle; the stone will be displayed on the road from Golspie to Littleferry; Golspie Heritage Society sets one of the six markers for the tourist trail
T
he Battle of Culloden on 16 April 1746 ended the Jacobite hopes of placing Queen Anne’s Catholic half-brother James Francis Edward Stuart on the British throne in place of King George II of Hanover. The battle took place on a cold day with intermittent sleet and rain, a few miles east of Inverness, and is considered one of the most significant battles in Scottish history. But the day before, another battle took place – one that is barely remembered, even though it may have had a significant bearing on Culloden’s outcome. Community groups in Golspie in the north Highlands are preparing to erect a memorial stone to commemorate the Battle of Littleferry, which took place on 15 April 1746, in which 100 people were killed and twice as many injured. Fought near the hamlet of Littleferry, on the banks of the River Fleet, well north of Inverness and four miles south of Golspie, news of the outcome of the battle – a victory for Hanoverian troops – may well have encouraged the Duke of Cumberland and his men at Culloden, helping propel them to victory. The clash at Littleferry happened when Bonnie Prince Charlie ordered George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie (an ardent Jacobite), and his regiment of more than 400 Mackenzie men to join the main Jacobite force near Inverness. The prince had been hiding out close to the city since his retreat from Derby, as the Duke of Cumberland and his men closed in, and now he required reinforcements. Cromartie and his troops had themselves been hiding out after storming Dunrobin Castle, the ancestral home of the government-supporting Clan Sutherland, near Golspie. Having sacked the castle, Cromartie and his men had spent two months hiding in the nearby hills, hungry, disheartened, and exhausted. When the order came to rejoin the prince, the troops
On 29 July 1746, the Jacobite Earls of Kilmarnock and Cromartie, along with Lord Balmerino, were tried for treason 68 Scotland
would not have been looking forward to being ferried across the River Fleet in batches of no more than 10, and then the long march ahead of them once they reached the other shore. Indeed, it is doubtful whether they would even have reached Culloden in time to take part in the battle anyway. Nevertheless, the Jacobites broke their cover, reckoning that the Mackay and Sutherland troops who had survived the taking of Dunrobin had dispersed. But they were wrong. Under the command of Ensign John Mackay of Mudale (a cadet branch of Clan Mackay), the government-supporting Highland troops assembled on hillsides on the other side of the main route south, through which the Jacobites were forced to travel. Beneath them, they saw the Jacobite officers on horseback, several hundred yards behind their main troops, thus creating a gap. Mackay’s men saw their chance and charged from either side towards the gap. Leaderless, the frontline Jacobites fled, leaving the officers unprotected. Many of the troops were killed, with others throwing themselves into the freezing River Fleet to swim to the southern shore. This left the officers unprotected, and they soon laid down their arms. It was a complete rout. The officers, including Cromartie and his son John, were taken prisoner and brought back to Dunrobin, where they formally surrendered. The Jacobite dead were buried in the churchyard of Golspie Church. The Battle of Culloden, the day after the Battle of Littleferry, marked the end of the Jacobite rising, but there was still retribution to consider. On 29 July 1746, the Jacobite Earls of Kilmarnock and Cromartie, along with Lord Balmerino, were tried for treason in London, and condemned to be hung, drawn and quartered, which was later commuted to beheading. Cromartie, however, was finally pardoned, though as punishment, his lands were handed over to the Crown, and the earldom forfeited. Kilmarnock and Balmerino were beheaded on 18 August at Tower Hill. Cromartie died in poverty. Now, 276 years after the Battle of Littleferry, a huge inscribed memorial stone is to be unveiled in the area on 15 April 2022 to commemorate the battle. This will be joined by a self-guided battlefield trail, marked by six smaller stones. A new book, guiding visitors through the events that unfolded on that cold spring day in 1746 will also be released. Major General Patrick Marriott, leader of the memorial project, says: “The memorial will be very important to Golspie and the whole area, for the battle was very much fought by local people. “Many of the folk on both sides would have known each other well; some were likely to have been related. So, this memorial, which is for both sides, seeks to heal some of that. “For me, it’s about coming together, reconciling age-old differences, forgiveness, moving on, but remembering, too. The lessons from this memorial are as relevant today as they were then.” S
