The Battle of Dunkeld in August 1689 was fought in the streets and buildings of the town itself with extraordinary ferocity. The Cameronian regiment under Colonel William Cleland — a regiment of hardened Covenanting volunteers — barricaded themselves inside Dunkeld Cathedral and the adjacent town houses. Jacobite Highlanders under Colonel Cannon attacked in waves, fighting through every alley and building. Cleland was killed early in the action. The Cameronians demolished surrounding houses to deny cover to the attackers and stripped lead from the cathedral roof to mould musket balls on the spot. The fighting was genuinely house-by-house, room-by-room in the narrow closes of the town. After four hours the Highlanders withdrew, having suffered perhaps 300 casualties to the Cameronians inside the cathedral and walled garden.
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