Battle of the Shirts
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| Battle of Kinloch-lochy (Blar Na Leine) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Clan Fraser of Lovat | Clan MacDonald of Clanranald | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Hugh Fraser, Lord Lovat | John of Moidart (Iain Moidartach) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 300 | 500 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| All but five | All but eight | ||||||
The Battle of Kinloch-Lochy, also known as the Battle of the Shirts or Blar na Léine[1], was a 1544 battle in Scotland, fought between branches of the Clan Donald, with the involvement of their allies the Clan Cameron against the Clan Fraser, led by Fraser of Lovat, who was aided by members of Clan Grant.[2] The site was on Loch Lochy.
Contents |
[edit] Background
In 1540, John of Moidart[3], Chief- or Captain- of the Clan MacDonald of Clan Ranald, fell foul of the Scottish Royal Government during King James V's visit to the Hebrides. He was imprisoned, with other Chiefs of the Isles.
A dispute arose over who would take over the Chiefship of Clan MacDonald of Clan Ranald, and the Clan Fraser and Fraser of Lovat backed Ranald Gallda (the Stranger), son of the fifth Chief of Clanranald by a Fraser wife. Ranald had been fostered by the Frasers. Many of Clan Ranald found Gallda unacceptable.
[edit] Ranald of the Hens
For some years after the imprisonment of John, Ranald managed to take control of the affairs of Clanranald. Though he proved himself to be a brave and courageous man, the traces he has left in clan tradition are far from flattering. Highland chiefs were always expected to be lavish with their hospitality. However, when Ranald saw some oxen being prepared to celebrate his inauguration as chief, he is said to remarked that chickens would have done as well, earning him the nickname of Raonuill nan Cearc-'Ranald of the Hens'. When John Moidertach reappeared in the summer of 1543, Ranald, with no local support, was forced to take refuge with his Fraser kinsmen. Lord Lovat, chief of the Frasers, at once prepared to defend his rights. True to his warlike nature, John did not wait to be attacked-he carried his own war eastwards.
[edit] John of Moidart Advances
John of Moidart summoned his kin and allies in the early summer of 1544. He was joined by the Clan Cameron, the Clan MacDonnell of Glengarry, the Clan MacDonald of Keppoch and the Clan MacDonald of Ardnamurchan (Macians of Ardnamurchan). The combined force then advanced east, carrying out an extensive raid in the districts of Abertarff and Stratherrick-the property of Lord Lovat-and the nearby estates of Urquhart and Glenmoriston, belonging to the Clan Grant. Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness was also taken. This raid was more than a simple family feud; it was a major provocation to the government, and especially to George Gordon, the 4th Earl of Huntly and chief of Clan Gordon. Gathering the levies of the north, including those of Lord Lovat, chief of Clan Fraser and the Laird of Grant, chief of Clan Grant, the Earl of Huntly advanced to meet the insurgents. Ranald Gallda came along with the Frasers.
John of Moidart, however, now showed himself to be a guerilla leader of some genius. Rather than risk a battle with a stronger enemy force, he retreated right back to his own country, the almost impregnable territory known as the Rough Bounds, the area between Loch Sunart in the south and Loch Hourn in the north, the very heartland of Clanranald. Donald Gregory, the nineteenth century historian of the Highlands, claims that Huntly managed to advance right into Moidart to restore Ranald, but there appears to be no evidence for such a contention. Surrounded by enemies, Ranald is unlikely to have felt very safe in Moidart, and he returned east with the rest of Huntly's army.
[edit] Kinloch-Lochy
No sooner had the enemy retreated than John set off in pursuit. Keeping out of sight, he shadowed Huntly as far as the mouth of Glen Spean in Lochaber. Here the enemy forces separated, with the Earl of Huntly and the Laird of Grant returning to Badenoch, while Fraser of Lovat with Ranald returned to his own country, with no more than 400 men in all.
This was the moment John had waited for. Moving fast, he crossed to the north of Loch Lochy in the Great Glen, ready to intercept the Frasers, marching along the southern bank. Seeing the danger he was in Lovat sent part of his forces to a nearby pass, which would offer some prospect of a retreat if things went wrong. He then prepared to engage the Macdonalds and Camerons.
The Battle of Kinloch-Lochy began in the age old Highland fashion with a discharge of arrows. Once the missile weapons were exhausted, both sides moved in to a terrible close-quarter engagement with battleaxes and the huge two-handled swords known as Claymores. Lovat attempted to disengage, but the men of Clanranald had taken the pass through which he intended to make his escape. The Frasers fought to the last, but only five are said to have survived, James Fraser of Foyers and four common soldiers. Only eight Macdonalds are said to have survived the conflict as well. Lord Lovat, his eldest son and Ranald Gallda were among the dead, along with several hundred others. For days after the Loch is said to have been red with blood.
[edit] Field of the Shirts?
The battle was fought in mid-July 1544. Highland armies at this time were still wearing chain-mail, as we know from a reference by an English observer in Ireland a year after the Battle of Kinloch-Lochy. This is supported in tradition by the tale that the armourers of Clanranald and the Frasers laid blows on one another to test the quality of their workmanship. It was not until the following century that Highland armies advanced into battle clad only in plaid without body armour. In August 1645 at the Battle of Kilsyth Montrose's Highland and Irish troops threw off their plaid and fought with their shirts tied between their legs, gaiving this fight a better claim to the title of Blar-na-Leine.
[edit] Fortress Moidart
Huntly appears to have been unable to mount an effective response to this humiliation. Although he wasted the lands of some of the rebels, he made no attempt to penetrate the dangerous Rough Bounds. For some considerable time afterwards he took no more part in pacifying the north, drawn off by affairs elsewhere in Scotland. This allowed John and his allies to take revenge on the Grants of Glenmoriston, Huntly's allies, and a spectacular revenge it was. In April 1545 the Captain of Clanranald, aided by Cameron of Lochiel and the chiefs of Glengarry, Keppoch and Glencoe, swept east and carried out a month-long raid in the neighbourhood of Urquhart Castle, carrying off a huge quantity of livestock and other moveable goods. What could not be removed was burned. In September John was summoned before parliament on a charge of treason. Secure in the Rough Bounds, he ignored this summons and several others like it. Faced with such intransigence the government was reduced to impotence. Some ten years later the following question was placed before parliament-'be quhat means may all of Scotland be brocht to universal obedience and how may Johne Moydart...be dantonit'. Significantly no answer was ever recorded. John finally died in 1584, defiant to the last.
[edit] References
- The Book of Clanranald, in Reliquae Celticae, vol. II ed. A. MacBain and J. Kennedy, 1894.
- Fraser, James, The Chronicles of the Frasers. The Wardlaw Manuscript, ed. W. Mackay, 1905.
- Grant, N., Scottish Clans and Tartans.Crescent Books, New York, 1987 ISBN 0-517-49901-0.
- Gregory, D., History of the Western Highlands and Islands of Scotland, 1975 reprint.
- Hill, J. M., The Distinctiveness of Gaelic Warfare, 1400-1750, in The European History Quarterly, vol. 22, 1992.T
- Lesley, Bishop John, The History of Scotland from the Death of King James I, 1830.
- MacDonald C., Moidart, or among the Clanranalds, 1889.
- Mackay, D. N., Clan warfare in the Scottish Highlands, 1922.
- Alexander MacGregor, 'The Feuds of the Clans.
[edit] Notes
- ^ The day is said to have been so hot that both sides threw off their plaids, fighting in their shirts. This supposedly gave rise to the Gaelic name for the battle of Blar-na-Leine-'the Field of the Shirts-though this may be a mistake for Blar-na-Leana-'the Field of the Swampy Meadow.'
- ^ Blar Na Leine
- ^ Iain Mùideartach, Ian Moidartach.
