BattlefieldsEdinburgh Castle sortie and city blockade skirmish 1745
Jacobite Risings

Edinburgh Castle sortie and city blockade skirmish 1745

1745
Scotland
Era
Jacobite Risings
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Forces
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Jacobite blockade guards
VS
Victor
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Edinburgh Castle garrison under General Guest
Outcome
Castle garrison conducts sorties; Jacobite blockade partially maintained but castle never taken
The Battle

History & Significance

During the Jacobite occupation of Edinburgh in September-October 1745, General Guest in Edinburgh Castle conducted occasional armed sorties into the city to demonstrate the garrison's presence and disrupt the Jacobite blockade. Government soldiers sallied from the castle gate and skirmished with Jacobite outpost guards in the Grassmarket and Lawnmarket areas below the castle esplanade. Guest also threatened to bombard the city if the Jacobite blockade was pressed too tightly. These castle sorties were small-scale but demonstrated that the government retained a military presence in the city throughout the Jacobite occupation.

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