Battle of Tullich

Who Fought

History & Significance

The Battle of Tullich, also known as the Battle of the Pass near Tullich, occurred on 10 February 1654 in Tullich, Scotland during Glencairn's rising. A Royalist force led by Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, under command of Glencairn, repulsed an attack by the numerically superior Commonwealth forces of Robert Lilburne.

After the English Commonwealth defeated King Charles II of England and his Scottish allies at the Battle of Worcester in September 1651, the Parliament of England moved to bring Scotland into the Commonwealth. In Scotland, there was significant resistance to being governed by the Commonwealth, particularly in the Highlands where there remained considerable support for the exiled King.

In early 1653, King Charles made William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn the temporary commander of Royalist forces in Scotland until Major-General John Middleton could arrive from the Dutch Republic. As the commander of the Scottish Royalists, Glencairn worked to build support among clan leaders in the Scottish Highlands and organized a guerrilla campaign against the Commonwealth.

Supporting Glencairn in the campaign against the Commonwealth was Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, the Scottish Highland chief of the Clan Cameron. At that time, Glencairn was in the Eastern Highlands campaigning against Commonwealth occupational troops. Ewen and his clansmen were encamped at Tullich protecting Glencairn’s army against a surprise attack by Commonwealth forces.

During this time, a Commonwealth army commanded by General Robert Lilburne was in pursuit of Glencairn and found their way to Tullich. When the Commonwealth troops approached, Ewen sent a warning to Glencairn and prepared to defend the pass. The fighting started shortly thereafter and the Cameron clansmen stopped the Commonwealth advance, fending off several attacks. As the battle continued, Lilburne's troops also attempted to flank the Royalists but failed.

After many hours of fighting and having inflicted heavy losses on the Commonwealth troops, Ewen was ordered to retreat, leaving the pass open. The Commonwealth army, however, were depleted and unable to continue their offensive in the harsh terrain. As the Commonwealth troops fell back and attempted to return to Inverness, the Royalists went on the offensive, taking advantage of the situation to pursue and harass them for several miles.

Ewen returned in triumph to report back to Glencairn and was hailed as "The Deliverer of the Highland Army." Later, Ewen received a letter of praise for his courage in battle from Charles II. Ian Mitchell's book On the Trail of Queen Victoria in the Highland is dedicated "to the Unknown Soldiers of Cromwell's Republic who fell in the Battle of Tullich near Ballater in 1654, overcoming bands of Royalist bandits under Locheil. Will we see their like again?"

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Tullich lies on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Late Silurian To Early Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is felsic-rock.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Tullich

Tullich Church, church burial ground and carved stones, 100m ESE of Tullich Cottages

Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~1.5 mi

Tullich Church is a medieval church burial ground and collection of carved stones located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated 100 metres south-east of Tullich Cottages. The site sits upon bedrock formed during the Early Devonian period, part of an unnamed igneous intrusion of felsic rock that da…

Braehead of Tullich, souterrain 380m SE of

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~1.6 mi

Braehead of Tullich is a souterrain situated 380 metres south-east of Tullich in Aberdeenshire. This Iron Age underground structure belongs to a class of fortified settlements characteristic of northern Scotland during the first millennium BCE. The souterrain would have functioned as a storage fa…

Old Kinord,settlements and field systems E of

Scheduled monument · Post-Medieval · ~5.3 mi

Old Kinord is a post-medieval settlements and field systems site located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The monument comprises the remains of settlements and associated field arrangements that developed on the landscape east of Old Kinord during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. These settlemen…

Heugh, homestead moat and earthworks 500m SSE of

Scheduled monument · ~5.5 mi

Heugh is a homestead moat and earthworks located 500 metres south-south-east of Aberdeenshire, protected as a Scheduled Monument by Historic Environment Scotland. The site comprises the characteristic defensive earthworks of a medieval or early modern farmstead, with a moat defining the residenti…

Monandavan,ring cairn 650m SW of

Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~5.7 mi

Monandavan is a Bronze Age ring cairn situated 650 metres south-west of Monandavan in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The monument consists of a circular arrangement of stones characteristic of the Bronze Age ring cairn tradition, built upon bedrock comprising an unnamed felsic igneous intrusion of Late…

Knockenzie,settlement and field system W of

Scheduled monument · Post-Medieval · ~6.4 mi

Knockenzie is a post-medieval settlement and field system located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The site occupies ground underlain by bedrock of the Argyll Group, a sequence of sedimentary rocks formed during the Neoproterozoic period, comprising psammite, semipelite and pelite. These metamorphic s…

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• Battle of Tullich · Wikidata
• Battle_of_Tullich · Wikipedia
• Battle of Tullich · Canmore