Qualla: Battle of Mulroy

Battle of Mulroy: Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The pipe tune commemorating the battle is called 'MacDonald took the Brae on them,' and the title tells you everything about how it ended. In August 1688, on the Brae of Lochaber, the Clan MacDonald of Keppoch -- supported by MacMartin-Camerons who had joined without orders -- attacked downhill into a force of Clan Mackintosh and government soldiers. The Mackintoshes had a royal commission, a company of the king's troops, and the law on their side. They lost anyway. The Battle of Mulroy is remembered as the last private clan battle fought between Scottish clans, and it ended exactly the way the Highlands usually ended things: with the people who held the high ground keeping it.

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Battle of Mulroy: Two Centuries of Unpaid Rent

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The dispute was old. In the fifteenth century, the chief of Clan Mackintosh had been granted a charter for the lands of Glenroy and Glen Spean, but the MacDonalds of Keppoch had refused to leave and declined to recognize Mackintosh's title. Cattle raids, lawsuits, and thwarted in...

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Battle of Mulroy: Fire and Sword on the Brae

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In 1688, the Privy Council renewed Mackintosh's commission -- this time armed with the legal authority of 'fire and sword,' granting him the right to use lethal force. Ewen Cameron of Lochiel tried to mediate but failed and departed for Edinburgh. In his absence, the MacMartin-Ca...

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