Jacobite Wars

4 August 1746: From Horse Shoe Bay, Kerrera, Major-General John Campbell sent an intelligence report to his son, Lieutenant-Colonel John Campbell at Strontian, and the Earl of Albemarle at Fort Augustus about a reported sighting of Charles Edward Stuart in Glen Dessarry.

23 July 1745: Charles Edward Stuart set foot on Scottish soil for the first time, landing on the Isle of Eriskay between Barra and South Uist in the Hebrides. The following day, he would meet with Alexander Macdonald of Boisdale, who would advise him to return to France. Map: NLS.

18 July 1745: The Marquis of Tweeddale, Secretary of State for Scotland, wrote to Lieutenant-General Sir John Cope recommending that he 'keep a strict Look-out' and hoped that he would not do anything that would spread unnecessary alarm, as he believed there was no immediate danger.

Margaret Wemyss, 3rd Countess of Wemyss

14 July 1689: The Privy Council of Scotland instructed Margaret Wemyss, 3rd Countess of Wemyss, to "lend some of your leather gunnes to General Mackay for this present expedition to the Highlands, wher no other artileiarie can be carried."

13 July 1745: Lieutenant-General Sir John Cope informed the Marquis of Tweeddale, Secretary of State for Scotland, about the situation in the Highlands before he left for Aberdeen to review Guise's 6th Regiment of Foot, which were to garrison the Highland forts and barracks, replacing Murray's 57th.

Action between HMS Lion and Elisabeth and Du Teillay | Jacobite Wars On 9 July 1745, over 100 miles west of Lizard Point, Cornwall, His Majesty’s Ship Lion encountered the French privateers Elisabeth and Du Teillay, which were carrying Charles Edward Stuart’s Jacobite ...

On 9 July 1745, over 100 miles west of Lizard Point, Cornwall, His Majesty’s Ship Lion encountered the French privateers Elisabeth and Du Teillay, which were carrying Charles Edward Stuart’s Jacobite expedition to the Western Highlands and engaged with them in a five-hour naval action.

"A New and Correct Chart of the CHANNEL between ENGLAND & FRANCE" by Greenvile Collins, 1756

8 July 1745: Three days after departing from Belle Isle, the French privateers Elisabeth (64 guns) and Du Teillay (16 guns), which were carrying Charles Edward Stuart's expedition to the Western Highlands, sighted a Royal Navy squadron of eight warships. They changed course to avoid an encounter.

"Plan of Fort William with the country adjacent" by Robert Johnson, c.1710 / National Library of Scotland

5 July 1690: Major-General Hugh Mackay began construction of a new earth and timber fort on the site of the old Cromwellian fort at Inverlochy, to be named Fort William after the new king. Construction took 11 days, and the old Cromwellian Colonel John Hill was appointed governor. Image: NLS.

Russia and the Jacobite scare of 1725 | Jacobite Wars On 15 June 1725, Russian warships and transport vessels anchored off of the Isle of Lewis while en-route to Spain. Rumours quickly spread that they were there to land arms and men to support a Jacobit...

On 15 June 1725, Russian warships and transport vessels anchored off the Isle of Lewis while en route to Spain. Rumours quickly spread that they were there to land arms and men to support a Jacobite rising, and it was feared that this was part of a larger Russian invasion.

2 July 1690: As Major-General Hugh Mackay's Scottish government army marched through Glen Spean, they came under sporadic sniper fire from the hills, while around 200 Jacobite highlanders attacked Mackay's vanguard, but the attack was repulsed. Mackay would arrive at Inverlochy the following day.

2 July 1745: Lieutenant-General Sir John Cope, commander-in-chief in Scotland, received a report from Duncan Forbes of Culloden, Lord President of the Court of Session, that Charles Edward Stuart was expected to land in the western highlands that summer to attempt an insurrection.

27 June 1746: Flora MacDonald sailed "over the sea to Skye" from Benbecula with a disguised Charles Edward Stuart. They narrowly avoided running into Major-General John Campbell of Mamore and his Argyll Militia, who had returned from their search for Jacobite leaders on St Kilda.

21 June 1690: Major-General Hugh Mackay left Perth with a force of 3,000 Scottish government troops heading for Inverlochy, where he would establish a new fort. Mackay marched his army via Strathardle, Braemar, Nethy Bridge, Strathspey and Glen Spean before arriving at Inverlochy on 3 July.

19 June 1746: Argyll Militia under Major-General John Campbell of Mamore arrived at St Kilda. Mamore had received intelligence that Charles Edward Stuart and other prominent Jacobites were hiding there. He found nothing but a population largely ignorant of world events.

16 June 1750: The death of Jacobite Major-General John Gordon of Glenbucket in Boulogne, France. Glenbucket fought for the Jacobite cause in the risings of 1689, 1715 and 1745. During the 1719 rising, he assisted the government by reporting on Jacobite movements.

13 June 1754: Captain John Fergussone of the sloop Porcupine reported to John Clevland, Secretary to the Lords of the Admiralty, that he had observed Jacobite clan gatherings in Arisaig, Knoydart, Moydart, and on the isles of Skye and Rassay during his recent voyage.

Peter Tillemans' painting of the Battle of Glen Shiel commemorates Major-General Joseph Wightman's victory over the Jacobite forces under the Marquis of Tullibardine on 10 June 1719. It is one of the few extant oil paintings of the Highland landscape from the first half of the 18th century.

Colonel James Campbell's Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) with their distinctive mitre caps guarding Spanish and Highland captives at the battle of Glen Shiel, fought on 10 June 1719. 3 Troops of the Greys saw action under Major Patrick Robertson. Painting by Lionel Edwards.

9 June 1719: Major-General Joseph Wightman's army reached the western end of Loch Cluanie and established a camp about a mile to the west of the present-day Cluanie Inn. Jacobite outposts commanded by Lord George Murray reported back that Wightman was now within 4 miles of the main Jacobite force.

6 June 1719: After marching out from Inverness the previous day, Major-General Joseph Wightman and his army arrived at Kiliwhimen at the southern end of Loch Ness, where they encamped. Supplies were shipped down the loch from Inverness, and additional troops under Colonel Henry Harrison arrived.

5 June 1745: George II of Britain and Frederick I, King of Sweden and Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, signed a treaty that would allow Hessian troops to be used in Britain's defence. The Hessians would deploy to Britain in February 1746 to help combat the Jacobite rising of 1745.

31 May 1789: The death of Scottish soldier and politician General Alexander Mackay. During the Jacobite Rising of 1745, Mackay served as a captain in the Earl of Loudoun's 64th Highland Regiment and was taken prisoner by the Jacobites at the battle of Prestonpans.

26 May 1746: Macdonnell of Barisdale's Jacobite regiment was disbanded. The regiment joined the Jacobites at Aberchalder on 27 August 1745 and served as Macdonnell of Glengarry's second battalion. It fought at Prestonpans and Falkirk but missed Culloden as it was posted in Sutherland.

23-24 May 1692: Following their victory at the battle of Barfleur, English and Dutch warships destroyed and captured a number of French warships and transport vessels near the French port of La Hougue. The French defeat ended plans of a Franco-Jacobite invasion of England.

24 May 1719: Major-General Joseph Wightman arrived at Inverness. Inverness would be the government force's main operational base, and Wightman began organising a military expedition to march into Kintail and bring the Jacobites to battle.

24 May 1719: HMS Flamborough anchored in Leith Roads off Edinburgh. On board were the Spanish prisoners of war from Eilean Donan Castle, which was captured on 10 May. The Spaniards would be disembarked on the 28th and imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle.

24 May 1746: The Duke of Cumberland arrived at Fort Augustus at the south end of Loch Ness with 8 battalions of regular infantry and Kingston's Light Horse. From here, government forces, including pro-Hanoverian highlanders, would operate in pacifying Lochaber and the West.

24 May 1806: The death of Field Marshal John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll. During the Jacobite Rising of 1745, he was lieutenant-colonel of the Earl of Loudoun's 64th Highland Regiment and served at the battles of Falkirk and Culloden.

21 May 1746: Donald Cameron of Lochiel mustered his clansmen at Achnacarry, but due to the efforts of the pro-Hanoverian highland militias and Lord Loudoun's detachment at Fort Augustus, no other clans joined him. Lochiel ordered his men to disperse, and he went into hiding.

15 May 1689: With the Firth of Clyde secured by Captain George Rooke's Royal Navy squadron, Captain William Young's 500-strong Scottish government expeditionary force boarded hired boats at Largs and sailed across to Tarbert in northern Kintyre, where the force disembarked later that day.