BattlefieldsBattle of Sheriffmuir right wing pursuit 1715
Jacobite Risings

Battle of Sheriffmuir right wing pursuit 1715

1715
Scotland
Era
Jacobite Risings
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Forces
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Government left: Argyll's weaker foot
VS
Victor
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Jacobite right wing: MacDonald and MacGregor clan infantry
Outcome
Jacobite right pursues government left toward Stirling; government right pursues Jacobite left northward; mutual pursuit creates confused result
The Battle

History & Significance

The Battle of Sheriffmuir on 13 November 1715 produced a paradoxical result — both sides won on their right wing and lost on their left. The Jacobite right (MacDonalds, MacGregors and others) under Mar routed Argyll's government left and pursued them toward Stirling, plundering baggage trains. Simultaneously, Argyll's right (his best cavalry and infantry) routed the Jacobite left and pursued them northward. Both pursuing forces rode so far from the battlefield that neither knew the other's fate until they returned. The pursuit actions after Sheriffmuir cover miles of countryside south and north of the main battlefield, with confused fighting as both sides' pursuing units encountered each other's scattered men.

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