BattlefieldsJacobite cavalry screen at Macclesfield 1745
Jacobite Risings

Jacobite cavalry screen at Macclesfield 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: Cumberland's advance cavalry scouts
VS
Victor
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Jacobite cavalry detachment under Murray
Outcome
Jacobite cavalry feint toward Macclesfield deceives Cumberland about line of march; government pursuit misdirected
The Battle

History & Significance

As the Jacobite army marched south through Cheshire in November 1745, Lord George Murray sent a strong cavalry detachment toward Macclesfield as a feint to confuse government forces about the true line of march. Cumberland, who was attempting to intercept the Jacobite advance, was deceived into thinking the main army was marching via Macclesfield while the bulk of the Highland force took a different route. The Macclesfield cavalry detachment skirmished with government militia scouts before withdrawing to rejoin the main army. Murray's use of diversionary cavalry operations was one of the more sophisticated elements of the Jacobite march south.

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