BattlefieldsPenrith skirmish during Jacobite retreat December 1745
Jacobite Risings

Penrith skirmish during Jacobite retreat December 1745

1745
Cumberland, England
Also known as: Penrith rearguard action 1745 · Jacobite retreat Penrith December 1745
Era
Jacobite Risings
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Cumberland, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Government cavalry
Forces
Jacobite rearguard Highlanders
VS
Victor
Jacobites (rearguard)
Forces
Government dragoons (Cumberland's advance cavalry)
Outcome
Government cavalry repulsed at Penrith during Jacobite northward retreat
The Battle

History & Significance

On the retreat from Derby northward through Penrith in December 1745, government dragoons attempted to cut off and engage the Jacobite rearguard at Penrith. The Highland rearguard turned and drove them off. The town had been passed by the Jacobites on the way south and now again on the way north — twice in a month the army marched through. The skirmish at Penrith preceded the more decisive action at Clifton Moor. Throughout the retreat, Lord George Murray demonstrated that the Highlanders could fight defensively as well as in their characteristic offensive charge.

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