Qualla: Battle of Killiecrankie

Battle of Killiecrankie: Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Viscount Dundee waited until the sun was behind his men. It was just after eight in the evening on July 27, 1689, and the Jacobite commander had spent hours watching the government army deploy below him on the floor of the Pass of Killiecrankie, a narrow defile in Perthshire where the River Garry runs between steep, wooded hills. His opponent, General Hugh Mackay, had spread his troops in a thin line only three men deep, facing uphill, to maximize their firepower. Dundee had fewer men, no artillery, and almost no cavalry. What he had was the high ground, the setting sun in his enemy's eyes, and the Highland charge -- the most terrifying infantry tactic in the British Isles.

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Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Battle of Killiecrankie: A Kingdom in the Balance

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Peter Lely (1618-1680), Public domain. The battle at Killiecrankie was a consequence of the Glorious Revolution. When William of Orange landed in England in November 1688, James VII of Scotland fled into exile, and a Convention in Edinburgh offered the Scottish crown to William and Mary in April 1689. But the transfer...

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Image: Peter Lely (1618-1680) | Public domain

Battle of Killiecrankie: Into the Pass

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Scotland_location_map.svg: Eric Gaba, NordNordWest derivative work: Uwe Dedering, CC BY-SA 3.0. The opportunity came when Mackay marched north to relieve Blair Castle, which had been seized by a Jacobite garrison. Dundee moved to intercept, assembling his forces -- roughly 2,500 Highlanders and 300 Irish reinforcements under Colonel Alexander Cannon -- on the slopes above t...

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Image: Scotland_location_map.svg: Eric Gaba, NordNordWest derivative work: Uwe Dedering | CC BY-SA 3.0

Battle of Killiecrankie: Three Minutes of Violence

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit James Grant, Public domain. The Highland charge was not a crude mob rush. It was a disciplined, rehearsed tactic designed to close the distance between attacker and defender so quickly that musket fire could not stop it. At sunset, Dundee gave the order. The Highlanders advanced in columns, absorbed three v...

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Image: James Grant | Public domain

Battle of Killiecrankie: Victory Without a Victor

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0. Dundee was shot in the final moments of the charge. The bullet struck him under his raised arm as he led the attack on horseback -- a wound that would prove fatal within hours. He may or may not have lived long enough to learn that his side had won; a letter reportedly sent under...

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Image: Unknown author | CC BY-SA 4.0