Battle of Cromdale

Who Fought

History & Significance

The Battle of Cromdale took place at the Haughs of Cromdale on 30 April and 1 May 1690. The site is on a hillside near the village of Cromdale, Strathspey, historically within the county of Inverness-shire. The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009.

After their defeat at the Battle of Dunkeld in 1689, the Highland clans had returned to their homes in low spirits. Sir Ewen Cameron assumed control over the army's remnant. Sir Ewen and the other Jacobite chiefs complained to King James over the precarious state of his support in Scotland and the necessity of sending them aid. James was occupied with preparations for resisting a threatened invasion of Ireland. To aid his supporters in Scotland, James sent clothing, arms, ammunition and provisions. He also directed a few officers from Ireland to Lochaber, among whom was Major-General Thomas Buchan, whom James made commander-in-chief of the Jacobite forces in Scotland.

On Buchan's arrival, a meeting of the chiefs and principal officers was held at Keppoch to formulate a plan of action. While some of the clans proposed to submit to the government, this proposition was resisted by Sir Ewen. The meeting unanimously resolved to continue the war, but not until the labours of the spring season were complete in the Highlands. The general muster of the clans was postponed. In the meantime, a detachment of 1,200 infantrymen was to be placed at Buchan's disposal to weaken the enemy's quarters along the borders of the Lowlands.

General Buchan advanced his men through Badenoch, intending to march down Speyside into the Duke of Gordon's country, where he expected to muster additional forces. Due to desertion, Buchan's force had dwindled to 800 men. Ignoring counsel from his Scottish officers not to advance past Culnakill, (the modern Coulnakyle near Nethybridge) Buchan marched down the Spey as far as Cromdale where he encamped on the last day of April, contrary to the advice of his officers who warned him of the dangers of camping thence. Buchan had elected to encamp in view of Freuchie Castle in the hope that by such a show of strength he could gain the support of Clan Grant.

Buchan was met at Cromdale, near what is now the town of Grantown-on-Spey, by a larger government force under Sir Thomas Livingstone, commander of the garrison of Inverness, who was accompanied by local Grant guides. As Livingstone approached with his men, on the opposite bank of the Spey, the Jacobite forces started to retreat. Livingstone's cavalry crossed the river and intercepted the Jacobites who made a brief stand at the foot of the hill of Cromdale. However, a thick fog came down the side of the mountain and enveloped the outnumbered Jacobites, compelling Livingstone to discontinue the pursuit. According to reports, the Highlanders had 400 men killed and taken prisoner. Livingstone's losses were reported as between none and 100 killed.

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Cromdale lies on Grampian Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite and semipelite.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Cromdale

Upper Port, standing stones W of

Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~2 mi

Upper Port is a Bronze Age standing stone monument located in Morayshire, Scotland. The stone rises from bedrock belonging to the Grampian Group, metamorphic deposits of psammite and semipelite formed during the Neoproterozoic era. This ancient geological foundation has anchored the monument thro…

Congash, chapel, burial ground and symbol stones, 500m SE of

Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~2.3 mi

Congash is a medieval chapel, burial ground and symbol stones located in Inverness-shire in the Scottish Highlands. The site occupies ground underlain by Grampian Group bedrock, a metamorphic sequence of psammite and semipelite formed during the Neoproterozoic era. This ancient geology provides t…

Knock,souterrain 200m NNE of

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~4.1 mi

Knock souterrain is an Iron Age underground stone-built passage located near Knock in Banffshire, north-east Scotland. Situated 200 metres north-north-east of the settlement, the souterrain represents a distinctive form of prehistoric architecture found throughout northern Britain, typically dati…

Drumin Castle

Scheduled monument · ~6.2 mi

Drumin Castle is a late medieval fortified residence located in Banffshire, in the northeast of Scotland. The castle dates to the fifteenth century and represents the domestic architecture of the Scottish landed gentry during the late medieval period. The structure survives as a tower house of mo…

Andrew Stuart / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Finlarig, chapel and enclosure 300m W of

Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~6.2 mi

Finlarig chapel and enclosure is a medieval religious site situated in Morayshire, three hundred metres west of the settlement from which it takes its name. The monument comprises a chapel structure and its surrounding enclosure, typical of the small rural sanctuaries that served local communitie…

Castle Roy

Scheduled monument · ~6.4 mi

Castle Roy is a motte-and-bailey castle situated near Nethy Bridge in Inverness-shire, dating to the early medieval period, likely the twelfth or thirteenth century. The monument comprises a substantial earthwork mound surmounted by a timber or stone fortification, typical of Norman defensive arc…

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• Battle of Cromdale · Wikidata
• Battle_of_Cromdale · Wikipedia
• Battle of Cromdale · Historic Environment Scotland
• Cromdale · Canmore