BattlefieldsHawley cavalry advance skirmish before Falkirk 1746
Jacobite Risings

Hawley cavalry advance skirmish before Falkirk 1746

1746
Stirlingshire, Scotland
Era
Jacobite Risings
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Stirlingshire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Government
Forces
Jacobite outpost cavalry under Lord Elcho
VS
Victor
Jacobites
Forces
Government dragoons under Hawley
Outcome
Government cavalry reconnaissances repulsed by Jacobite outposts; mutual probing before Falkirk Muir
The Battle

History & Significance

In the days before the Battle of Falkirk Muir on 17 January 1746, General Hawley's cavalry made aggressive reconnaissances toward the Jacobite positions at Falkirk. Jacobite outpost cavalry under Lord Elcho skirmished with government dragoons on the roads between Edinburgh and Falkirk. Hawley was contemptuous of the Jacobites — he had erected a gallows at Falkirk confident of victory — and his cavalry was equally overconfident, pressing close to the Jacobite lines without adequate caution. This overconfidence was punished at Falkirk Muir when the Jacobite charge routed Hawley's dragoons on the left flank before the government right could prevail.

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