The Battle of Drumchatt of 1497 was a Scottish clan engagement fought at Drumchatt, also known as Druimchat or 'the Cat's Back', a ridge to the southeast of Strathpeffer. The conflict arose in the turbulent aftermath of the forfeiture of the Lordship of the Isles. In 1493, Sir John of Islay had lost his right to the title of Lord of the Isles when it was revoked by James IV of Scotland, having already forfeited the earldom of Ross in 1475. This weakening of MacDonald authority encouraged other clans to assert themselves, and in 1495 many highland chiefs, including those of the Clan Mackenzie and Clan Munro, made their submissions to King James at Glasgow. By 1497, however, Sir Alexander MacDonald of Lochalsh took advantage of James IV's preoccupation with supporting the pretensions of Perkin Warbeck to launch a fresh insurrection, invading the more fertile districts of Ross in a hostile manner, whether with the intention of claiming the earldom of Ross or of revenging himself on the Mackenzies for his earlier defeat at the Battle of Blar Na Pairce.
Sir Alexander was encountered by the Mackenzies, and possibly the Munros, at Drumchatt, where, according to the earliest account by Sir Robert Gordon, a sharp skirmish ensued. By the end of the fight, the islanders were put to the worst and chased out of Ross. The presence of the Clan Munro at the battle is noted by the early nineteenth-century historian Donald Gregory, though the late nineteenth-century historian Alexander Mackenzie observed that the Munros are not mentioned in Sir Robert Gordon's earlier account, written in the early seventeenth century. The alliance between the two clans, who were otherwise rivals, may be explained by their joint submission to James IV in 1495.
In the aftermath of the battle, Sir Alexander of Lochalsh proceeded southward among the Isles, endeavouring to rouse the islanders to arms on his behalf, but without success. MacIan of Ardnamurchan, judging this a proper opportunity of rendering service to the King, surprised Lochalsh on the island of Ornasay, whither he had retreated, and put him to death, assisted by Alexander, the eldest surviving son of John of Islay. Sir Alexander left both sons and daughters, who afterwards fell into the King's hands.
According to Sir Robert Gordon, writing in the early seventeenth century, the skirmish at Drumchatt was fought after the Battle of Blar Na Pairce and saw the Clan Donald islanders meet the Clan Mackenzie at a place in Ross called Drumchatt, where a sharp skirmish ensued; by the evening, however, the islanders were put to the worst and chased out of Ross entirely.
Not recorded in the sources
Clan Mackenzie and possibly Clan Munro versus Clan MacDonald of Lochalsh
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