BattlefieldsClifton Moor enclosure skirmish approach 1745
Jacobite Risings

Clifton Moor enclosure skirmish approach 1745

1745
England
Era
Jacobite Risings
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Forces
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Government dragoons (Cumberland)
VS
Victor
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Jacobite rearguard: Glengarry MacDonalds and Stewarts c.800
Outcome
Jacobite rearguard occupies enclosures south of Clifton; government dragoons checked in preliminary skirmish
The Battle

History & Significance

The skirmishing in the enclosed fields immediately south of Clifton village on 18 December 1745 preceded the main Clifton Moor engagement. Lord George Murray's rearguard — Glengarry MacDonalds and Stewarts of Appin — established themselves in the hedge-lined enclosures south of Clifton as Cumberland's dragoons pressed forward. The enclosed ground neutralised the dragoons' advantage. Murray's men fired from behind the hedgerows as the dragoons attempted to force the enclosures. This preliminary skirmish in the fields south of the village gave Murray time to select his ground and position his men for the main night action in the sunken lanes of Clifton.

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