Battlefields›Government search operations at Loch Arkaig, 1746
Jacobite Risings

Government search operations at Loch Arkaig, 1746

1746
Scotland
Era
Jacobite Risings
Battle Type
Campaign
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
Forces involved

Lord Loudoun's column: approximately 300 regular troops, 250 men of the Campbell of Argyll Militia, and eight Independent Highland Companies. George Munro of Culcairn's column: approximately 300 regulars and eight Independent Highland Companies, marching via Glen Garry to rendezvous at Loch Arkaig.

Outcome
Government troops conducted a sustained sweep of the Loch Arkaig area in Lochaber in the aftermath of Culloden, hunting for Charles Edward Stuart and the hidden Loch Arkaig treasure. Lord Loudoun's force nearly captured Donald Cameron of Lochiel near Loch Arkaig on 24 May 1746, forcing him to scatter his men and flee to Rannoch. Camerons subsequently surrendered arms and Achnacarry Castle was burned by Munro of Culcairn. On 31 August 1746, while marching along Loch Arkaig, Culcairn was shot dead by an unidentified assailant firing from the woods; no assassin was ever conclusively identified. Charles Edward Stuart and the treasure both evaded capture, with the prince escaping to France by September 1746.
The Battle

History & Significance

Government search operations at Loch Arkaig, 1746 was a Jacobite campaign, fought in Scotland in 1746. Government troops conducted a sustained sweep of the Loch Arkaig area in Lochaber in the aftermath of Culloden, hunting for Charles Edward Stuart and the hidden Loch Arkaig treasure. Lord Loudoun's force nearly captured Donald Cameron of Lochiel near Loch Arkaig on 24 May 1746, forcing him to scatter his men and flee to Rannoch. Camerons subsequently surrendered arms and Achnacarry Castle was burned by Munro of Culcairn. On 31 August 1746, while marching along Loch Arkaig, Culcairn was shot dead by an unidentified assailant firing from the woods; no assassin was ever conclusively identified. Charles Edward Stuart and the treasure both evaded capture, with the prince escaping to France by September 1746.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Government search operations at Loch Arkaig, 1746 lies on Loch Eil Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite.

Casualties & Losses
  • George Munro of Culcairn, a government officer, was shot dead near Loch Arkaig on 31 August 1746 by an unidentified gunman; no other casualties are recorded in the surviving sources.
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Roman Britain
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Stat Accounts
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Civil War
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Geology
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Government search operations at Loch Arkaig, 1746

Caledonian Canal, Gairlochy Locks, lighthouse and signal lamp
Caledonian Canal, Gairlochy Locks, lighthouse and signal lamp
Scheduled monument · ~6 mi

Gairlochy Locks, Lighthouse and Signal Lamp is a scheduled monument in Inverness-shire, forming part of the Caledonian Canal's critical infrastructure. The locks sit upon fault zone bedrock comprising mylonitic rock and fault-breccia, geological features that reflect the ancient tectonic disturba…

Caledonian Canal,Moy Swing Bridge
Caledonian Canal,Moy Swing Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~6.4 mi

Moy Swing Bridge is a moy swing bridge on the Caledonian Canal in Inverness-shire, Scotland. It is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland. The bridge exemplifies the engineering solutions developed for the Canal's construction in the early nineteenth century, which requir…

Caledonian Canal,Neptune's Staircase,canal locks,Banavie
Caledonian Canal,Neptune's Staircase,canal locks,Banavie
Scheduled monument · ~9.2 mi

Neptune's Staircase is a flight of eight canal locks at Banavie in Argyllshire, Scotland, forming the most dramatic section of the Caledonian Canal. Completed in the early nineteenth century, the locks descend steeply from Banavie towards Loch Eil, raising or lowering vessels by a total of 64 fee…

Eilean Loch Airceig,crannog and chapel
Scheduled monument · Iron Age–Medieval · ~3.3 miles
Caledonian Canal,Moy Bridge to Gairlochy
Scheduled monument · ~6.2 miles
Caledonian Canal,Banavie to Moy Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~7.6 miles
Tor Castle
Scheduled monument · ~8.3 miles
Tigh nan Saighdearan, barracks
Scheduled monument · ~8.4 miles
More from this era

Other Jacobite Risings Battles

Battle of Landguard Fort
1667
England
Battle of Dungeness (1666)
1666
England
Battle of Rullion Green, 1666
1666
Midlothian, Scotland
Stand-off at the Fords of Arkaig
1665
Scotland
In the same landscape

Battles near Government search operations at Loch Arkaig, 1746

Battle of Lochaber
1429
~4 miles away
Stand-off at the Fords of Arkaig
1665
~4.2 miles away
Battle of Drumlui
1330
~5.1 miles away
Mucomair Farm
~6.3 miles away
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