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Siege of Inverness (1715)
Part of Jacobite rising of 1715
Inverness Castle in modern times. Some of the old curtain wall can be seen in the foreground, while the castle building itself was rebuilt in 1836
Date 12 November 1715 Location Inverness, Scotland57°28′35″N 4°13′31″W / 57.4765°N 4.2254°W / 57.4765; -4.2254 Result Government victory
Belligerents
Clans loyal to British Government: Clan Fraser of Lovat Clan Rose Clan Forbes Clan Munro Clan Grant	Jacobite clans: Clan Mackenzie Clan MacDonald of Keppoch
Commanders and leaders
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet	Sir John Mackenzie of Coul
Strength
Frasers: 800 Forbes: 200 Roses: 300 Munros: 400 Grants: 800	Mackenzies: 300 MacDonalds of Keppoch: 300
Casualties and losses
1 killed	None

The siege of Inverness that took place in November 1715 was part of the Jacobite rising of 1715. The town of Inverness and Inverness Castle were being held by the Clan Mackenzie, led by Sir John Mackenzie of Coul who supported the rebel Jacobite cause. Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, chief of the Clan Fraser of Lovat besieged them, supported by men of the Clan Rose and Clan Forbes.

Background

Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat had been living in exile with the prospect of his clan and lands being taken over by a Mackenzie who was married to Lady Amelia Fraser of Lovat, daughter of the 9th Lord Lovat and second cousin of Simon. Upon the outbreak of the Jacobite rising of 1715, Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat returned to Scotland and despite being a staunch Jacobite offered his services to John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll who was in overall command of British forces in Scotland in order to restore himself in Scotland. This would be a severe blow to the Jacobites and so Argyll had to give him a chance.

Lord Lovat and John Forbes of Culloden who also supported the Government met up at Kilravock Castle with Hugh Rose, chief of the Clan Rose. Rose was a staunch supporter of the Hanoverian Government.

The siege

Lovat, Forbes and Rose formed up their united forces on the side of the River Ness opposite Inverness Castle. The Inverness Burgh Council (who supported the Jacobites) sent out a messenger asking for help from the chief of the Clan MacDonald of Keppoch. The MacDonalds approached the Frasers from the rear but Lovat sent the Reverend Thomas Fraser of Stratherrick to parlay with them and as Keppoch MacDonald did not want to fight his way into Inverness he headed south through the hills. Sir John Mackenzie of Coul had also sent a message to the Clan Mackintosh chief at Moy Hall requesting that he send 500 men to reinforce the 300 Mackenzies in Inverness. In response Lovat ordered his troops to break camp and head south of Inverness threatening to lay waste to Mackintosh country. The Mackintoshes backed down and swore that they only moved to defend their lands against MacDonald of Keppoch and that they did not want to take part in the rebellion.

Lovat held a council amongst his men with the Whig lairds preferring a siege to starve out the Jacobites, but he resolved to attack the town instead. However, before he could make a move Aurthur Rose, younger son of Rose of Kilravock, along with his brother Robert and a handful of men had drifted towards Inverness in a boat. Rose of Kilravock and Forbes of Culloden had already blockaded the town from the south east. Sir John Mackenzie, on learning of the imminent attack took up position in the Tolbooth, which was a strong building in the centre of the town, and served as the guard house. Arthur Rose had taken a sentry guard by surprise with his pistol in the dark and used him to get the door of the guard house open. Rose tried to storm in but the guard raised the alarm that he was an enemy and Rose ended up being crushed in the door and was shot dead in that position by the Mackenzies. His body was crushed and was riddled with bullets. He was the only fatality of the siege.

The following day Sir John Mackenzie of Coul agreed to surrender Inverness on the condition that he could go and join the Earl of Mar, who was the leader of the Jacobite army. Sir John Mackenzie and his men immediately escaped by boats from the pier of Inverness, leaving all their baggage behind them, in a hurry to avoid contact with the approaching Frasers.

Aftermath

On 12 November 1715 the Hanoverians occupied Inverness. Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat marched into the town supported by 800 men from Clan Grant and 400 men from Clan Munro. Lovat left Inverness on 15 November 1715 after Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet had been appointed Governor of the town, and for some time the disarming of the rebels went on helped by a Munro detachment under his younger brother, George Munro, 1st of Culcairn. On 10 March 1716, George I of Great Britain signed a document that confirmed Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat as a free, lawful, British subject for the first time in twenty years.

References

1. ^ Fraser, Sarah. (2012). pp. 154.
2. ^ Fraser, Sarah. (2012). pp. 121–146.
3. ^ Fraser, Sarah. (2012). pp. 150–151.
4. ^ Fraser, Sarah. (2012). pp. 152.
5. ^ Fraser, Sarah. (2012). pp. 153.
6. ^ Mackenzie, Alexander (1896). History of the Frasers of Lovat, with genealogies of the principal families of the name: to which is added those of Dunballoch and Phopachy. Inverness: A. & W. Mackenzie. p. 337. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
7. Rose, D.M (1897). "6". Historical notes; or Essays on the '15 and '45. Edinburgh: W Brown. p. 54. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
8. Mackenzie, Alexander. (1896). pp. 337–338.
9. Fraser, Sarah. (2012). pp. 155.
10. Mackenzie, Alexander. (1896). pp. 341.
11. Mackenzie, Alexander (1898). History of the Munros of Fowlis. Inverness: A. & W, Mackenzie. p. 120. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
12. Munro, R.W. "Sir Robert Munro". clanmunro.org.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
13. Fraser, Sarah. (2012). pp. 174.

Bibliography

• Fraser, Sarah (2012). The Last Highlander: Scotland's Most Notorious Clan Chief, Rebel & Double Agent. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780007229499.
• Mackenzie, Alexander (1896). History of the Frasers of Lovat, with genealogies of the principal families of the name: to which is added those of Dunballoch and Phopachy. Inverness: A. & W. Mackenzie.
• Mackenzie, Alexander (1898). History of the Munros of Fowlis, with genealogies of the principal families of the name: to which are added those of Lexington and New England. Inverness: A. & W. Mackenzie.
• Rose, D. Murray (1897). Historical notes; or Essays on the '15 and '45. 26 Princes Street, Edinburgh: William Brown.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

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Jacobite risings	First rising (1689) Williamite War in Ireland Nine Years' War King William's War Viscount Dundee Sir Ewen Cameron Patrick Sarsfield General Hugh Mackay Battle of Killiecrankie Battle of Dunkeld Massacre of Glencoe Battle of the Boyne Declaration of Finglas Battle of Aughrim Siege of Limerick Treaty of Limerick The Fifteen (1715) …in Cornwall …in England 1715 general election Earl of Mar Rob Roy Lord Lovat Baronet Munro Battle of Preston Siege of Inverness Battle of Sheriffmuir The Nineteen (1719) War of the Quadruple Alliance Earl Marischal Marquess of Tullibardine General Joseph Wightman Anglo-French Alliance Capture of Eilean Donan Castle Battle of Glen Shiel Battle of Coille Bhan The Forty-Five (1745) War of the Austrian Succession Lord George Murray Lochiel Duke of Cumberland Battle of Prestonpans Siege of Carlisle Battle of Falkirk Muir Siege of Inverness Battle of Culloden Raids on Lochaber and Shiramore Abortive 1708 1744 1759	a Jacobite banner
Consequences and later events	Early Riot Act 1714 Clan Act 1715 Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1715 Disarming Act 1715 and 1725 Indemnity Act 1717 The Forty-Five Jurors Act 1745 Act of Proscription 1746 Dress Act 1746 Heritable Jurisdictions Act 1746 Sheriffs Act 1747 Treason Outlawries Act 1748 Traitors Transported Act 1746 Old military roads of Scotland
Jacobite succession	"James III and VIII" "Charles III" "Henry IX and I" "Charles IV" Victor "Mary II" "Francis I" "Mary III" "Robert I and IV" Albert "Francis II" Max Sophie Joseph

• Battles of the Jacobite rising of 1715
• Battles of the Jacobite risings
• Clan Fraser
• Clan Grant
• Clan MacDonald of Keppoch
• Clan Mackenzie
• Clan Munro
• Clan Rose
• Conflicts in 1715
• History of Inverness
• 1715 in Scotland
• 18th century in Inverness