The Battle of Sheriffmuir took place during the Jacobite rebellion. John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, a leader in the Jacobite cause in Scotland, declared James Francis Edward Stuart (the “Old Pretender”) as King of Scots. This angered the British Parliament and John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll lead an army against them.

There were members of Clan Grant on both sides during this conflict.

The Earl of Mar was able to capture Perth and so controlled the northern highlands. The Duke of Argyll was based at Stirling to the south.

The Earl of Mar moved his forces southwards to meet the threat at Sheriffmuir near to Dunblane on 13th November 1715.

The Duke of Argyll was outnumbered by the Jacobite army however as the two armies clashed the Duke of Argyll’s left wing was over run as his right wing managed to make advances on the Jacobites. Both armies suffered huge losses. By that evening Duke of Argyll was able to withdraw from the battlefield.

Both sides claimed victory, however the Duke of Argyll had managed, even through stalemate, to halt the Jacobite army and this did impact on the Jacobite’s moral, who given their greater number felt they should have been able to secure a decisive victory.

The famous Scottish Poet Robert Burns wrote a song called the ‘The Battle of Sherramuir’.  Burns was aware that the battle ended inconclusively, and the words recount the different perspectives of two shepherds.  One of the shepherds states that “the red-coat lads wi’ black cockades” routed the rebels, painting a fearful picture of how they managed to “hough the Clans like nine-pin kyles”. The other shepherd states the Jacobites “did pursue / The horsemen back to Forth, man” with the eventual result that “…mony a huntit, poor Red-coat / For fear amaist did swarf, man.”