The Battle of Dunkeld - a 16-hour 17th century street-fight
So, today I visited Dunkeld for the first time, making it the fifth battlefield I’ve been to this year - needless to say I took some pics, so thought I may as well write up a summary to go with them. Dunkeld was both bloody and pivotal, and deserves a bigger part in Scotland’s history.
The Background
In 1638 the Covenanter movement in Scotland defied Charles I’s attempts to end Presbyterianism in the country, ultimately resulting in the British Civil Wars, Charles’s execution and the Cromwellian Commonwealth. In 1660, following Cromwell’s death, Charles II was restored to the throne, and promptly set about persecting the Scots Covenanters who had helped defeat his father. This period, known as the Killing Times in Scottish history, saw the Covenanter movement driven underground.
After Charles II’s death his brother, James II, became king. This was an issue because James was both ardently Roman Catholic and absolutist - cue the Protestant Dutch Prince William of Orange, husband of James’s sister Mary, being invited to take the thrones of Scotland, England and Ireland. This he did during the Glorious Revolution of 1688. James fled to Ireland, thus triggering the first Jacobite uprisings in both Ireland and Scotland (“Jacobite” comes from the Latin name for James, Jacobus, eg. “supporter of James”). In Scotland the Jacobites defeated a British government/Williamite force at the battle of Killiecrankie, but in doing so lost their commander, James Claverhouse. Seeking a morale boost, the new commander decided to attack the small pro-Williamite garrison at the town of Dunkeld, just north of Perth on the edge of the Scottish highlands. The force of 5,000 Jacobite highlanders anticipated an easy victory over Dunkeld’ s 700 defenders.
What they failed to factor in was that said defenders were Scottish Covenanters. William of Orange had promised to defend the Presbyterian faith once he took the throne, meaning the persecuted Covenanters rose up to support the revolution of 1688. An entire regiment was raised in a single night, named “the Cameronians” after the Covenanter leader and Presbyterian preacher Richard Cameron. After nearly thirty years of executions and religious oppression, the Cameronian Covenanters were prepared to fight to the death against the supporters of James Stuart, despite the fact that they had only been issued a few hundred muskets - most of them were armed with old pikes and halberds.
The Battle
On the morning of August 21 1689 Jacobite artillery on Gallows Hill overlooking the town opened fire. The Cameronians rushed to defend the town’s houses, centering their defence on the cathedral, Dunkeld House, and the town’s market cross (pictured above). The Jacobite assault came from all sides bar the south-western flank, protected by the River Tay.
After just an hour of fighting the Cameronians’ commander, 27-year-old Colonel William Cleland, was fatally shot in the head and liver. He managed to get out of sight before dying, ensuring his men were not demoralised by his demise. The regiment’s second in command was soon killed as well. The Cameronians fought on, from house to house. Both sides began to set fire to buildings being held by the enemy, and the flames quickly spread. The Cameronians were forced back from the town cross towards the cathedral.
The view above is the area once occupied by the town, seen from just outside the cathedral. In the distance is Gallow Hill, where the Jacobite artillery was sited. The streets that once stood here were ablaze by late afternoon, with fighting raging from one street to the next.
Most Jacobites, being highlanders, were fearsome close-quarter combatants, armed as they were with broadswords and small shields. The highland charge had decimated well-armed professional forces at Killicrankie less than a month earlier. Ironically however, the poor equipment of the Cameronians likely saved their lives. While able to rush in on men struggling to reload their muskets, the comparatively lightly-armed and unarmoured highlanders found themselves unable to combat foes armed with pikes and halberds, especially when said foes had their flanks protected by narrow streets. The Cameronians were therefore able to fight hand-to-hand with the Jacobites throughout the day.
The street above is one that was defended by the Cameronians just outside the cathedral.
Despite their resistance, as the day wore on it became obvious the Cameronians were going to be overrun. The ammunition for what muskets they had was almost spent, and almost all of the town of Dunkeld was ablaze. The cathedral’s wall was riddled with bullets (some of which can still be seen in the stonework below).
Towards eleven in the evening, the Cameronians were preparing for what they assumed would be the final assault. As time went by, they were shocked to realise that it would never come - the Jacobites had withdrawn. Three reasons are given as to why they chose to retreat. Firstly, that darkness was falling, second, that they feared reinforcements were on their way to support the Cameronians, and thirdly that they had no wish to fight men they described as “mad devils” any longer. The truth is likely a mixture of all three. Regardless, the battle of Dunkeld was over. Against odds of around 6-1 the Cameronians had won.
Dunkeld was the turning point of the war in Scotland. The Jacobite rising collapsed. The same occurred in Ireland over the next to years, when William of Orange won his victories at Aughrim and the Boyne. The Cameronians had avenged the deaths of thousands of Covenanters over the previous decades, and had won the lasting victory for their cause - the maintenance of Presbyterianism in Scotland. The regiment itself became a fully-fledge part of the British Army, first as the 26th Regiment of Foot, then as the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). To commemorate their origins guarding Covenanter prayer gatherings they were the only British Army regiment allowed to carry arms in a church, and every new member of the regiment was issued a Bible as a nod to Richard Cameron.
William Cleland was buried in Dunkeld cathedral and honoured with a plaque.
