Battle of Littleferry

Who Fought

History & Significance

The Battle of Littleferry (also known as the Skirmish at Golspie) took place near Littleferry during the Jacobite rising in 1746, just before the Battle of Culloden. Scottish forces loyal to the Anglo-Hanoverian Government defeated a Scottish Jacobite force.

Following the Skirmish of Tongue, where a significant amount of money and urgent supplies had been captured from the Jacobites by forces under Captain Hugh Mackay, a strong force of Jacobites was sent north under the command of George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie to try to recover the supplies. This force arrived too late to be of any assistance to their allies, who had been captured at the Skirmish of Tongue.

William Sutherland, 17th Earl of Sutherland was loyal to the British-Hanoverian Government, but he had not raised and armed his clan quickly enough to take action against the Jacobite Charles Edward Stuart. This led to a suspicion in London that Sutherland might be disloyal. However, the Jacobites also questioned Sutherland's loyalty, and the Jacobite Earl of Cromartie was sent with 500 men against the Earl of Sutherland. Cromartie's force stormed Dunrobin Castle; the Earl of Sutherland narrowly escaped them through a back door of the castle.

According to accounts by Angus Mackay (1906) and Peter Simpson (1996), Cromartie and his men were attacked at Littleferry as they made their way south by two Independent Highland Companies, one from the Clan Sutherland and one from the Clan Mackay, led by Ensign John Mackay of Moudale. However, according to the account written in The Sutherland Book in 1892 by Sir William Fraser this was Ensign John Mackay of the Sutherland militia.

The semi-professional independent companies are often confused with the non-professional local militia companies who also supported the Government but who were less cohesively organized. According to Patrick Marriott writing in 2022, it was not Ensign John Mackay of Moudale of the independent company who led the attack at the Battle of Littleferry but Ensign John Mackay from Golspie, who was in one of the Sutherland local militia companies and whose identity has been obscured from history. Marriott also states that although key elements of the two independent companies were present on the Government side at the battle, most of the fighting for the Government was done by three Sutherland local militia companies. The first of these was of around 80 men, captained by Robert Macallister who was a senior factor for the Earl of Sutherland and whose lieutenant was Hector Munro of Novar and whose ensign was John Mackay from Golspie. The second was commanded by Lieutenant William Sutherland of Sciberscross and included around 70 men. The third included around 80–100 men and was captained by Robert Gray who was another factor to the Earl of Sutherland. The latter militia company also included a "good number" of the independent company men.

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Littleferry lies on Upper Old Red Sandstone, bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Littleferry

Kirkton,souterrain NW of

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~1.5 mi

Kirkton souterrain is an Iron Age underground stone-built structure located in Sutherland, in the north of Scotland. The monument lies beneath Lower Old Red Sandstone bedrock, deposited during the Early Devonian period, comprising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. This geological f…

Rhives, chambered cairn 320m NNE of

Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~1.6 mi

Rhives is a Neolithic chambered cairn situated in Sutherland, on the windswept moorlands of north-west Scotland. Built during the Neolithic period, this monument represents a significant development in burial practices, when communities constructed elaborate stone chambers within cairn mounds to…

Dunrobin Wood,broch 600m NW of,Dunrobin Mains

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~2.5 mi

Dunrobin Wood is a broch situated 600 metres north-west of Dunrobin Mains in Sutherland, Highland. Built during the Iron Age, this circular stone tower represents one of Scotland's most distinctive prehistoric architectural forms. The broch stands on bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, composed…

Skelbo Castle

Scheduled monument · ~2.6 mi

Skelbo Castle is a ruined medieval fortress located in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. The castle dates from the medieval period and survives as substantial stone remains, representing an important defensive structure in the far north of Scotland. Its precise construction date and founding…

Backies, broch 300m N of Whitestone Croft

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~2.8 mi

Backies is a broch situated 300 metres north of Whitestone Croft in Sutherland, a surviving example of the distinctive circular stone towers that characterise Iron Age settlement in northern Scotland. Built on bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone conglomerate, sandstone and siltstone deposits from…

Golspie-Lairg Road,stone circle 920m NW of Mound Junction

Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~3.1 mi

Golspie–Lairg Road Stone Circle is a Bronze Age monument situated 920 metres north-west of Mound Junction in Sutherland, Highland Scotland. The site occupies a landscape of Lower Old Red Sandstone bedrock, formed during the Early Devonian period, which comprises conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone…

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• Battle of Littleferry · Canmore
• Battle of Littleferry · Wikidata
• Battle_of_Littleferry · Wikipedia