Battle of Glen Shiel
The Battle of Glen Shiel (
Scottish Gaelic:
Blàr Ghleann Sheile) was a battle in
Glen Shiel, in the West
Highlands of
Scotland on
10 June 1719 between the British government and an alliance of
Jacobites and
Spaniards, resulting in a victory for the British forces. It was the last close engagement of British and foreign troops on mainland
British soil. The Battle of Glenshiel is sometimes considered an extension of the 1715 rising but is more correctly a separate rebellion and was the only rising to be extinguished by a single military action.
Build up and previous events
After the
Treaty of Utrecht,
Philip V was accepted as
King of Spain in exchange for several concessions. Great Britain had received control over Spanish possessions like
Menorca and
Gibraltar, which it could defend as Britain possessed one of the the biggest navies in the world at that time.
Philip's plans to restore Spanish power would lead to a violent clash with Britain. Philip and his Italian counsellor Cardinal
Giulio Alberoni carried out a campaign in the western
Mediterranean. In 1717, 8500 infantry men and 500 cavalry men sailed from
Barcelona and occupied
Sardinia without difficulty.
Next year, 38,000 troops did the same with
Sicily.
The British response occurred on
11 August; declaring a violation of Utrecht the British navy intercepted and destroyed the fleet of
José Antonio de Gaztañeta in the region of
Cape Passaro, (near
Syracuse). Spain then declared war with Alberoni deciding to take the initiative and stir up trouble in Britain before an attack on the
Iberian Peninsula could take place.
The Alberoni Plan
Giulio Alberoni decided to meddle in the throne disputes, supporting the Jacobite claims and its Highland allies both to de-stabilise the Crown and set up a more pliant king (and Parliament) in its place.
The original plan had two phases:
- George Keith, tenth Earl Marischal would infiltrate Scotland with 300 Spanish marines to raise the Western clans and take some positions. It was a distraction manoeuvre to take defences from England.
- The main fleet, with 27 ships and 7000 men under James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde (the former Captain General of the British army, exiled in Spain), would disembark in South West England or Wales, where Jacobites were abounding. The resulting alliance would march east to siege London, depose George I and enthrone James Stuart.
Three weeks after leaving
Cadiz, Ormonde's fleet encountered a storm near
Cape Finisterre (
29 March) leaving most of the ships dispersed and damaged. Ormonde was forced to withdraw and the ships taken to several Spanish havens. (Compare with the fate of the
Spanish Armada of
1588) By then, Keith had already left the Spanish port of
Pasajes and occupied the
Isle of Lewis, including
Stornoway where he set camp. On
13 April 1719 Keith's men disembarked on the Highlands near
Lochalsh, although the Highlanders however did not join the "Little Rising" in the expected numbers (the Spaniards carried 2000 guns to distribute), mistrusting the enterprise and waiting for news from the South. Keith could not proceed to
Inverness and established his headquarter in the castle of
Eilean Donan.
The two Spanish frigates returned to Spain. The Spaniards were accompanied by
William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth (
Scottish Gaelic:
Uilleam Dubh Shìophort), who was chief of the Clan Mackenzie; the Earl Marischal; and the
Marquess of Tullibardine; and some Irish officers. They were joined by a few hundred Highlanders including members of the
Clan MacRae,
Robert Roy MacGregor, and a party of MacGregors. Some days later, the main of the troop went south to stir again the Highlanders, leaving a small garrison (40-50 men) at the castle. The Jacobite forces were to be led by the
Earl of Seaforth and also by
John Cameron of Lochiel, 18th Captain and Chief of
Clan Cameron; along with Lord George Murray. Their plan of action was to advance upon and capture
Inverness.
The capture and destruction of Eilean Donan castle
At the beginning of May the
Royal Navy sent five ships to the area for reconnaissance: two patrolling off
Skye and three around Lochalsh, adjacent to
Loch Duich. Early in the morning on Sunday
10 May these latter three,
HMS Worcester,
HMS Flamborough, and
HMS Enterprise, anchored off
Eilean Donan, where the Spanish forces had established a base.
Their first move was to send a boat ashore under a flag of truce to negotiate, but when the Spanish soldiers in the castle fired at the boat it was recalled and all three ships opened fire on the castle for an hour or more. They then shifted anchorage and waited, the wind blowing a fresh gale.
The next morning acting on intelligence from a Spanish deserter, the commanding officer, Captain Boyle of the
Worcester, sent the
Enterprise up the river to capture a house being used to store
gunpowder but, according to the naval logs, the rebels on the shore set fire to the house as the ship approached. Meanwhile the other two ships continued to bombard the castle at intervals while they prepared a landing party.
In the evening, under the cover of an intense cannonade, the ships' boats went ashore and captured the castle against little resistance. According to HMS
Worcester's log, in the castle they found "an Irishman, a captain, a Spanish lieutenant, a serjeant, one Scotch rebel and 39 Spanish soldiers, 343 barrels of powder and 52 barrels of musquet shot". Having captured the castle the British then "burnt several barns etc where they had a quantity of corn for the use of their camp".
The Naval force spent the next two days demolishing the castle (it took 27 barrels of gunpowder). The Spanish prisoners were put on board
HMS Flamborough and taken away to
Edinburgh.
Jacobite Army
The great natural strength of the Jacobites' position had been increased by hasty fortifications. A barricade had been made across the road, and along the face of the hill on the north side of the river entrenchments had been thrown up. Here the main body was posted, consisting of:
- A Spanish regiment, which now only paraded some 200 strong, under its Colonel, Don Nicolás Bolaño.
- Clan Cameron of Lochiel with about 150 men.
- About 150 of Lidcoat’s and others, 20 volunteers.
- Rob Roy, chief of Clan MacGregor with 40 men.
- 50 men of Clan MacKinnon’s.
- 200 from the Clan MacKenzie of Lord Seaforth’s, commanded by Sir John Mackenzie of Coul. The chief of Clan MacKenzie, Lord Seaforth himself was on the extreme left, up on the side of Scour Ouran, with 200 of his best men.
- Lord George Murray, son of the chief of Clan Murray was positioned on the hill on the south bank of the river, the right of the position, was occupied by about 150 men under Tullibardine cornmanded in the centre, accompanied by Glendaruel.
- Brigadier Mackintosh of Borlum was with the Spanish Colonel. Chief of Clan Keith, George Keith the Earl Marischal and a rebel Brigadier Campbell were with Seaforth on the left.
British Government Army
The government army's' right wing was commanded by Colonel Clayton and the right wing composed of:
- 150 grenadiers under Major Milburn; Montagu’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence.
- A detachment of 50 men under Colonel Harrison.
- Huffel's Dutch Regiment,
- Four companies of Arnerongen's from the Clan Fraser, Clan Ross and the Clan Sutherland.
- On the flank were 80 men of Clan MacKay led under their chief Lord Strathnaver, Ensign Mackay.
The government army's left wing, which was deployed on the south side of the river, consisted of:
- Clayton’s Regiment, commanded by Lieut. - Colonel Reading.
- On the flank were about 100 men of the Clan Munro under George Munro of Culcairn.
- The government dragoons and the four mortars remained on the road.
The Battle of Glen Shiel
After moving around for one month, the Spaniards learnt by the beginning of June that Ormonde would never come. In spite of this, they gathered clansmen for a last action summing 1,000 troops.
On
5 June, British government forces made from both English and Scottish soldiers under General
Joseph Wightman came from
Inverness to block their march. They consisted of 850 infantry, 120 dragoons and 4 mortar batteries.
They confronted the Jacobites at Glen Shiel, just a few miles from
Loch Duich, on
June 10, near the
Five Sisters hills. The Spanish took their advantage to occupy the top and the front of one of the hills while the Jacobite Scots mounted barricades on the sides.
The engagement began between about five and six o'clock when the left wing of the British government army advanced against Lord George Murray's position on the south side of the river. The position was first shelled by the mortar batteries and then attacked by four platoons of Clayton's regiment and Munro's. After some initial stubborn resistance Lord George Murray's men who were not supported were driven from their position and forced to retreat.
Once the Jacobite's right wing had been dislodged General
Joseph Wightman ordered his right wing to attack the Jacobite's left.
The detachment commanded by chief of MacKenzies Lord Seaforth was strongly positioned behind a group of rocks on the hillside. It was against them that British right wing troops of Harrison's and Montigue's regiments were directed. Seaforth was reinforced by his own men under Sir John MacKenzie. Finding themselves hard pressed by the government troops Seaforth sent for further reinforcements. Another reinforcement of men under Rob Roy went to his aid but before it could reach him his men had given way and Seaforth himself was badly wounded.
Wightman concentrated his troops on the flanks while the mortars battered the whole and kept the Spaniards in their positions. Wightman's whole force was now directed toward the Jacobite centre.
The Spanish regulars stood their ground well but found that most of their allies had deserted them so they too retreated up the hill. Rob Roy had become severely wounded and his clan MacGregor left the battle to save him. Other clans followed and left their allies retreating uphill.
At 9 o'clock in the evening, they surrendered, three hours after the start of the combat, while the remaining Jacobites fled into the fog, to escape an execution as traitors.
The Jacobites were poorly provisioned and armed, and when expected Jacobite support from the
Lowlanders was minimal, spirits fell completely. The Rising was abandoned and the Jacobites dispersed to their homes.
The mountain in Glen Shiel on which the battle took place is called
Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe, it has a subsidiary peak which was named
Sgurr nan Spainteach (The Peak of the Spaniards) in honour of the Spanish forces who fought admirably in the battle.
Aftermath of the Battle
Three of the Jacobite commanders, Lord George Murray (the son of the chief of Clan Murray), Lord Seaforth (the chief of Clan MacKenzie), and Rob Roy (the chief of
Clan MacGregor) were badly wounded. John Cameron of Lochiel, however, after hiding for a time in the Highlands, made his way back to exile in
France.
George Keith, the chief of
Clan Keith and the last
Earl Marischal, escaped the gallows by fleeing with the Jacobites, and was exiled to
Prussia, where his brother
Francis Keith wrote a narration of the battle. In spite of a later pardon, Keith never returned to Great Britain and was the Prussian
ambassador to
France and later Spain. The 274 Spanish prisoners were reunited with their comrades in
Edinburgh and by October, negotiations allowed their return to Spain.
On the Government side casualties were lighter; George Munro of Culcairn was wounded in the legs by musket shot but survived.
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