Battle of Glenshiel 1719
Who Fought
Government: approximately 1,100 troops (regular infantry regiments including Clayton's, Montagu's and Harrison's, a Dutch unit, and Highland independent companies from Clans Fraser, Ross, Sutherland, Mackay and Munro, with four Coehorn mortars). Jacobite/allied: approximately 1,000-1,440, including 300 Spanish regulars of the Regiment of Galicia and Highlanders from Clans Cameron, Mackenzie, Murray, Mackinnon and MacGregor.
History & Significance
The Battle of Glen Shiel took place on 10 June 1719 in the Scottish Highlands, during the Jacobite rising of 1719. A Jacobite army composed of Highland levies and Spanish marines was defeated by British government troops.
The Rising was backed by Spain, then engaged in the 1718–1720 War of the Quadruple Alliance with Britain. Originally intended to support a landing in south-west England, which was cancelled several weeks earlier, its failure was seen as having fatally damaged the Jacobite cause.
The battlefield is now included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland, and protected by Historic Scotland.
When the War of the Spanish Succession ended in 1713, Spain lost its Italian possessions of Sicily and Sardinia, and their recovery was a priority for Giulio Alberoni, the Chief Minister. Sardinia was reoccupied in 1717 but when they landed on Sicily in July 1718, the Royal Navy destroyed the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Cape Passaro, beginning the War of the Quadruple Alliance.
To divert British resources from the Mediterranean, Alberoni devised a plan for 7,000 Spanish troops to land in south-west England, march on London and restore James Stuart. Historians question how serious he was; since Alberoni was one of the few contemporary statesmen with experience of amphibious operations, he was well aware of how unlikely this was. Cape Passaro demonstrated the Royal Navy's power in far less favourable circumstances, which meant the Spanish fleet was unlikely to even reach England, let alone be allowed to disembark large numbers of troops. When the Spanish fleet finally left Cádiz in March, it was battered by a ferocious storm, and took refuge in Coruña, where it remained.
The plan included a simultaneous rising in Scotland, whose purpose was to capture the port of Inverness, and allow a Swedish expeditionary force to disembark. Driven by Charles XII of Sweden's dispute with Hanover, it shows the complexity caused by its ruler George I also being British monarch. Charles died in November 1718, ending any hope of Swedish support, and thus the entire purpose of the Scottish uprising.
In the end, only two frigates carrying George Keith and 300 Spanish soldiers reached Stornoway in the Isle of Lewis. Here they were joined by exiles from France, including the Earl of Seaforth, James Keith, the Marquess of Tullibardine, Lord George Murray and Cameron of Lochiel. On 13 April, they learned of the failure elsewhere; Tullibardine, who was commander of Jacobite land forces, recommended retreat, but Keith prevented this by ordering the two frigates back to Spain.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Glenshiel 1719 lies on Morar Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite.
- Government: 21 killed and about 120 wounded. Jacobite/Spanish: roughly 100 killed and wounded, though exact figures are uncertain as few bodies were left on the field and many wounded escaped.
This battlefield is listed on the Register of Historic Battlefields — a national designation identifying Britain's most significant battle sites for protection and further research. Reference: HES BTL10.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Glenshiel 1719
This page covers Battle of Glenshiel 1719. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Glenshiel 1719
Other Jacobite Risings Battles
Battles near Battle of Glenshiel 1719
Explore the landscape around Ross-shire
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the UK — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
- Battle of Glen Shiel · Wikidata
- Battle_of_Glen_Shiel · Wikipedia
- Battle of Glenshiel · Historic Environment Scotland
- Glenshiel · Canmore