Battlefields›Battle of Rhunahaorine
English Civil War

Battle of Rhunahaorine

1647
Scotland
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Royalists (Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich)
VS
Victor
Covenanters (General David Leslie)
Forces involved

Covenanters under General David Leslie

Royalists under Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich (Sir Alexander MacDonald)

Outcome
Covenanter victory.
The Battle

History & Significance

The Battle of Rhunahaorine Moss took place between Covenanters led by General David Leslie and Royalist forces led by Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich (Sir Alexander MacDonald) at Rhunahaorine Point, Kintyre, Scotland on 24 May 1647. The Covenanters defeated the Royalists.

Largie Castle at Rhunahaorine, home of the MacDonalds of Largie, was razed by the forces of General David Leslie.

McAlister, Lynn (2015). "Later 17th Century". Macalister History Timeline. Retrieved 27 August 2020.

The ground

The ground they fought on

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

Buried history

Following the Covenanter victory at Rhunahaorine Moss, General David Leslie's forces razed Largie Castle, the home of the MacDonalds of Largie, marking the thorough destruction visited upon the Royalist supporters in Kintyre in the wake of the battle.

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Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Rhunahaorine

Killean,fort NE of
Killean,fort NE of
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~2.3 mi

Killean fort is an Iron Age fort situated in Argyllshire, Scotland, commanding views across the surrounding landscape. The monument lies on bedrock belonging to the Argyll Group, a succession of metamorphic rocks including psammite, semipelite and pelite that were formed during the Neoproterozoic…

St John's Church, church, burial ground and carved stones, Killean
St John's Church, church, burial ground and carved stones, Killean
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~2.5 mi

St John's Church, Killean is a medieval church and burial ground in Argyllshire, Scotland, situated on bedrock of the Argyll Group, a Neoproterozoic formation of psammite, semipelite and pelite. The site is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. The church represents…

Ballochroy,three standing stones & cist 400m NE of
Ballochroy,three standing stones & cist 400m NE of
Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~2.9 mi

Ballochroy is a Bronze Age standing stone monument comprising three upright stones and an associated stone cist, located in Argyllshire, Scotland. The three stones are aligned in a broadly linear arrangement, a characteristic configuration of this monument type, whilst the cist—a stone-built buri…

Beacharr,standing stone & long cairn
Beacharr,standing stone & long cairn
Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~3.3 mi

Beacharr is a Neolithic standing stone and long cairn located in Argyllshire, Scotland. The monument comprises two distinct components from the early prehistoric period: an upright stone and an associated long cairn, a communal burial structure characteristic of Neolithic communities across Scotl…

Dunan Buidhe,dun,Gigha
Dunan Buidhe,dun,Gigha
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~3.4 mi

Dunan Buidhe is a dun situated on the island of Gigha in Argyllshire, Scotland. This Iron Age fortified settlement occupies bedrock composed of Argyll Group psammite, semipelite and pelite, rocks formed during the Neoproterozoic era that underlie much of the region. The dun represents a form of d…

An Dunan, dun 70m SW of Minen
An Dunan, dun 70m SW of Minen
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~3.8 mi

An Dunan is a dun situated 70 metres south-west of Minen in Argyllshire, Scotland. This Iron Age fortified homestead belongs to a class of defensive stone structures characteristic of the Scottish Highlands and Islands during the first millennium BCE and CE. Built upon bedrock of the Argyll Group…

Dun Beachaire,dun
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~3.4 miles
Red Cove, dun 215m N of Beachmenach
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~3.6 miles
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Battle of Kringen
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In the same landscape

Battles near Battle of Rhunahaorine

Battle of Rhunahaorine Moss
1647
~0.2 miles away
Battle of Largybaan 1647
1647
~3.5 miles away
Gigha, Port Mor
~4.6 miles away
Carse
~8.4 miles away
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Sources
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