Battle of Dornoch

Who Fought

History & Significance

The Battle of Dornoch took place on 20 March 1746 and was part of the Jacobite rising of 1745 in Scotland. However, although recorded in history as a "battle" there was no actual fighting between the two sides. Instead a large rebel Jacobite force advanced on a position held by a force loyal to the British-Hanoverian Government who were taken by surprise and forced into a retreat. The Jacobite advance was coordinated by James Drummond, 3rd Duke of Perth at Dornoch, Sutherland.

Lord Loudoun (John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun), supporter of the British-Hanoverian Government who was at Dornoch concluded that the Jacobites would attack from across the River Shin (which was West of his position) and that his eastern flank remained secured by the Royal Navy. This was despite warning to the contrary. He decided that the next morning he would ride up to a place called Invershin and he left Dornoch on 20 March between 7 and 8am.

At about 8 am the Jacobite Highlanders prepared to embark from the sands below Tain which is on the opposite side of the Dornoch Firth to Dornoch. One of the Jacobite commanders, Donald MacDonald of Lochgarry, later wrote that his men struggled all night to re-launch the boats that were stranded by the falling tide. The first division to embark consisted of about 500 men of the Clan Fraser of Lovat and 300 of the Clan Gregor. They landed at a place called Meikle Ferry at about 9 am and immediately marched towards Skibo Castle in an attempt to capture Duncan Forbes, Lord Culloden who was a staunch supporter of the government and who was Lord President of the Court of Session, and also Norman MacLeod, Laird of MacLeod. The alarm was raised at Dornoch and Lord Loudoun's Regiment known as Loudon's Highlanders beat to arms. Major Mackenzie of Loudoun's Regiment collected 120 men and proceeded down to the ferry where they arrived at about 10 am to find that 1500 rebels had landed. The rebel's second division which consisted of Lochgarry's regiment and also Clanranald's had already landed and the boats were going back for more men. The government-loyal Mackay guard at the boats only consisted of about 40 men and so they retired without firing a shot. Major Mackenzie of Lord Loudoun's regiment also retired without firing and the Jacobite Frasers marched off after them towards Dornoch. The rebel Jacobites had been lucky that the fog had persisted although Lochgarry claimed that it had begun to break up during the landing. The Jacobite rebels' third division consisting of George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie's regiment and the MacDonald of Barrisdale regiment landed at about 11 am. Lord Loudoun's regiment retired through Dornoch and Major Mackenzie sent the Laird of Mackintosh to ask under what terms they would be received as prisoners.

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Dornoch lies on Upper Old Red Sandstone, bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Dornoch

Earl's Cross, carved stone, Dornoch

Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

Earl's Cross is a carved stone monument located in Dornoch, Sutherland, in the far north of Scotland. The cross stands on bedrock of Upper Old Red Sandstone, a geological formation dating to the Late Devonian period, comprising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone layers. This resilien…

John Haslam / CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Drumdivan,standing stone 400m SW of

Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~1.1 mi

Drumdivan is a Bronze Age standing stone located in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. The monument comprises a single upright stone situated approximately 400 metres south-west of the settlement whose name it bears. Standing stones of this type were commonly erected across northern Scotland d…

Camore Wood, settlement

Scheduled monument · ~1.7 mi

Camore Wood settlement is a settlement site located in Sutherland, Scotland, protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. The site sits upon bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, laid down during the Middle Devonian period when this region was part of a vast continental depo…

Evelix Bridge,chambered cairn SW of

Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~2.2 mi

Evelix Bridge is a Neolithic chambered cairn situated in Sutherland, in the far north of Scotland. Built during the Neolithic period, roughly between 4000 and 3000 BCE, this monument belongs to a widespread tradition of communal burial architecture that characterised early agricultural communitie…

Grannie's Heilan Hame, chambered cairn 30m NNE of

Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~2.2 mi

Grannie's Heilan Hame is a Neolithic chambered cairn located in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. The monument sits on bedrock of Upper Old Red Sandstone, a conglomerate of sandstone, siltstone and mudstone deposited during the Late Devonian period, which would have weathered to create the st…

Proncy, hut circle 330m NNE of

Scheduled monument · ~2.4 mi

Proncy is a hut circle situated 330 metres north-north-east of Proncy in Sutherland, Scotland. The monument consists of the earthwork remains of a prehistoric domestic dwelling, likely dating to the Bronze Age or Iron Age, when such circular stone and turf structures provided shelter across the S…

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• Battle of Dornoch · Wikipedia