Battle of Carbisdale

Who Fought

History & Significance

The Battle of Carbisdale (also known as Invercarron) took place close to the village of Culrain, Sutherland, Scotland on 27 April 1650 and was part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It was fought by the Royalist leader James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, against the Scottish Government of the time, dominated by Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll and a grouping of radical Covenanters, known as the Kirk Party. The Covenanters decisively defeated the Royalists. The battlefield has been inventoried and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009. Although Carbisdale is the name of the nearest farm to the site of the battle, Culrain is the nearest village.

Defeat in the 1648 Second English Civil War led to the Scottish Kirk Party under Argyll replacing the Royalist Engagers in government. Argyll was deeply shocked by the Execution of Charles I in January 1649 and immediately proclaimed his son as Charles II. However, it was clear that in order to exercise real power, he would be obliged to take the National Covenants of 1638 and 1643. Argyll was determined to ensure his compliance because Charles I's refusal to do so had split the Engagers and Kirk Party in 1648.

While Charles recognised that Argyll provided the quickest way back to the throne, he was anxious to avoid making any more concessions than absolutely necessary and looked for alternatives. On 17 January 1649, Irish Protestant Royalists under James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond agreed an alliance with the Catholic Confederation; after the king was executed on 30 January, they were joined by the Scots Presbyterian militia in Ulster.

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose suggested a similar rising in Scotland and on 20 February 1649 Charles appointed him Lieutenant-Governor of Scotland and captain general of all of his forces there. This was partially driven by news of Royalist risings in Inverness and Atholl, although many of Charles's advisors were sceptical about its chances and feared needlessly antagonising the Kirk Party.

The Committee of Estates had no money to pay troops with, while the burghs in the south of Scotland had been exasperated by taxes. The former Covenanter general William Baillie had been a member of the Engagers and general John Urry (or Hurry) was now a companion of Montrose. The opposing forces were led by David Leslie, 1st Lord Newark and his subordinates Archibald Strachan and James Holborne of Menstrie. Leslie had no more than three thousand foot and fourteen hundred horse who were spread out over the Scottish Highlands. Montrose had hoped to raise as many as 10,000 men in the Highlands alone to support him. However, as it transpired the local clans did not rise up in his support, he had too few foreign troops and there was no sign of any movement in the Scottish Lowlands. By April 1650, Montrose had four to five hundred Danish troops in the Orkney Islands as well as 1,000 Orcadians, mostly untrained fishermen and farmers.

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Carbisdale lies on Morar Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Carbisdale

Invershin Station,chambered cairn 400m N of

Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~1 mi

Invershin Station is a Neolithic chambered cairn located in Sutherland, Scottish Highlands, some 400 metres north of Invershin Station. The monument stands on bedrock of the Morar Group, a psammitic sequence formed during the Neoproterozoic period, which underlies much of this Highland landscape.…

Invershin Farm,standing stone 220m ENE of

Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~1.5 mi

Invershin Farm standing stone is a Bronze Age monument located in Sutherland, in the far north of Scotland. The stone stands approximately 220 metres east-north-east of Invershin Farm, occupying ground underlain by Morar Group psammite, a metamorphic sandstone formed during the Neoproterozoic era…

Drumliah,chambered cairn,hut circles & clearance cairns,Tulloch

Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~2 mi

Drumliah is a Neolithic chambered cairn with associated hut circles and clearance cairns located in Tulloch, Sutherland. The monument sits on psammite bedrock of the Morar Group, Neoproterozoic in age, which would have presented substantial challenges to the cairn's builders in quarrying and shap…

Achinduich,hut circle 900m S of,Lairg

Scheduled monument · ~3 mi

Achinduich hut circle is a prehistoric domestic structure located 900 metres south of Lairg in Sutherland, Scottish Highlands. The monument sits on psammite bedrock of the Morar Group, Neoproterozoic in age, which forms the underlying geology of this upland region. The hut circle represents a for…

Swordale, hut circle 1450m SE of, Bonar Bridge

Scheduled monument · ~3.9 mi

Swordale hut circle, 1450m south-east of Bonar Bridge, is a prehistoric domestic settlement in Sutherland, north-west Scotland. The structure sits on psammite bedrock of the Morar Group, a metamorphic rock formation dating to the Neoproterozoic era. This geology shaped the landscape where Iron Ag…

Achinduich, stone circle 950m NNE of

Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~4.1 mi

Achinduich is a Bronze Age stone circle located in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands, situated approximately 950 metres north-north-east of the settlement from which it takes its name. The monument stands on bedrock formed from Morar Group psammite, a coarse sandstone that was laid down during…

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Battles near Battle of Carbisdale

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• Battle of Carbisdale · Wikidata
• Battle_of_Carbisdale · Wikipedia
• Battle of Carbisdale · Historic Environment Scotland