Where hae ye been sae braw, lad?
Where hae ye been sae brankie O?
Where hae ye been sae braw, lad?
Cam' ye by Killiecrankie O?

An' ye had been where I hae been,
Ye wadna been sae cantie O!
An' ye had seen what I hae seen,
I' the braes o' Killiecrankie.

I faught at land, I faught at sea,
At hame I faught my auntic O;
But I met the devil and Dundee,
On the braes o' Killiecrankic O.

The bauld Piteur fell in a furr,
And Clavers got a clankie O,
Or I had fed an Athole gled,
On the braes o' Killiecrankie O.

O fie! Mackay, what gart ye lie,
I' the bush ayont the brankie O?
Ye'd better kissed King Willie's loof,
Than come to Killiecrankie O!

It's nae shame, its nac shame,
It's nae shame to shank ye O,
There's sour slaes on Athole braes,
And deils at Killiecrankie O.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 brought William of Orange to the throne of England by a bloodless coup; the Scots had other plans for their throne. In pursuit of these plans, or at least in pursuit of the planners, an Anglo-Scottish army under the command of general Hugh Mackay, a veteran of the wars in Flanders and Holland found itself marching through the pass of Killiecrankie, having chased the Highland forces under the Viscount Dundee, John Grahame of Claverhouse, halfway across Scotland.

On emerging from the pass, Mackay noticed a Highland host advancing onto the right flank of his column. He turned the column to the flank and advanced up the hillside onto the plateau of Urrard House. Beyond the plateau was a boggy area, and then another ridge beyond, on which the Highland army was deployed.

The Anglo-Scottish regiments advanced up to the plateau in two waves, with one (of the two) battalions of each regiment in the first wave, and the second directly behind in the second wave. The plateau was much wider than the frontage of Mackay's line, leaving his flanks in the air, he therefore advanced the second wave and formed a single line, with the two troops of cavalry behind them. Dundee, to prevent his own flanks being overlapped, extended his own line, by leaving large gaps between each clan.

There was some desultory skirmishing, and Mackay's three light leather guns popped off a few rounds, but Dundee, who was facing west into the setting sun held his line steady for two hours, until sunset at 7pm (1) or 7.30pm (2). At this point the Highland line were allowed to charge.

In (1) the advancing Highlanders were exposed to a murderous fire before, at point blank range (1,2) they fired their own weapons and charged home. In (3) the Government forces held their own fire until point blank range, when the Highlanders received almost all their casualties from the battle.

The Highland charge then ploughed through the thin red and blue line, who, according to some sources didn't have enough time between firing their last volley and the Highlanders arriving to fix their bayonets.

After the battle, Mackay invented a socket bayonet to replace the plug bayonet then in use. George Gush, who has visited the site of the battle, tells me that the slope the Highlanders charged down is so steep that it would have been impossible to stop their charge regardless of the firepower of the Government forces.

Balfour, and one of Ramsay's battalions were swept away immedistely. The cavalry had been sent out to try and turn the flank of the Highlanders but retired, carrying away more of the Government line. According to (2), sixteen cavalrymen under the Earl of Dunfermline were responsible for defeating the Government horse. Only Hastings' regiment and one battalion of Leven's regiment remained on the field. Mackay, "having advertised the men to march off softly, retired in the best order we could" (1), keeping any unoccupied clansmen at bay with disciplined firing. Dundee himself was killed in the battle by a musket shot (there has been some dispute as to which side the musket belonged. See (1)).

In (1) the Highlanders lost a third of their number. Less than 700 Government troops reached Stirling with Mackay.

(2) gives 200 Highlanders killed, the Government losing 1,000 killed, 500 prisoners. 500 reach Stirling with Mackay.

(3) gives the same casualties as (2).

(2) gives the numbers present at the battle as 4,770 for Mackay and 2130 for Dundee's army on his map, and 4,400 v 2400 in his text

(3) gives 4,700 for Mackay and 2100-2800 for Dundee.

Sources

1. Claverhouse, Gordon Daviot (a.k.a. Josephine Toy), Collins 1937.
2. Discovering Battlefields of Scotland, John Kinross, Shire Publications 1976.
3. From Pike to Shot, C. S. Grant, W.R.G. 1988.
4. Ladybird Book of Highlanders, O. Foppington, Vasey, 1978.

Scottish Ballad

The poems are from Scottish Ballads & Songs, Historical and Traditionary, Ed. James Maidment, William Patterson, Edinburgh 1868.

Clavers and his Highland-men,
Came down upon the raw, man,
Who being stout; gave mony a clout;
The lads began to claw then,
Wi' sword and target in their han',
Wi' which they were na slaw, man;
Wi' mony a fearful heavy sigh,
The lads began to claw them.

O'er bush, o'er bank, o'er ditch, o'er stank,
She flang amang them a', man,
The Butter-box got mony knocks,
Their riggings paid for na then.
They got their paiks wi' sudden straiks,
Which to their grief they saw, man;
Wi' clinkum clankum o'er their crouns,
The lads began to fa', then.

Her skipt about, her leapt about,
And flang smang them a', man;
The English blades got broken heads,
Their crowns were cleav'd in twa, then.
The dirk and door made their last hour,
And prov'd their final la', man;
They thought the devil had been there,
That play'd them sic a paw, then.

The Solemn League and Covenant
Came whigging up the hills, man,
Thought Highland trews durst not refuse
For to subscribe their bills, then:
In Willie's name, they thought nae ane
Durst stop their course at a', man;
But hur nainsell, wi' mony a yell,
Cried, "Furich, Whigs awa', man."

Sir Evan Dhu*, and his men true,
Came linking up the brink, man;
The Hogan Dutch they feared much,
They bred a horrid stink, man.
The true Maclean**, and his fierce men,
Came in amang them a', man;
Nane durst withstand his heavy hand.
A' fled and ran awa', then.

Oh on a ril Oh on a ri!
Why should she lose King Shames, man?
Oh rig in di! Oh rig in di!
She shall break a' her banes then;
With furichninsh, and stay a while,
And speak a word or twa, man,
She's gie a straik out ower the neck,
Before ye win awa', then.

Oh fie for shamel ye're three for ane!
Hur nainsell's won the day, man;
King Shames' red-coats should be hung up,
Because they ran away, man.
Had bent their brows like Highland trums,
And made as lang a stay, man,
They'd saved their King, that sacred thing,
And Willie'd run awa' then.

* Lochiel
** Maclean of Duart

EDITOR. The Jacobite scenarios that we have published should not be seen as attempts to accurately model the actions described in the accompanying sketches, but purely as entertaining (we hope!) games which try and give a flavour of the period. This also applies to the Zenta scenario last issue and the 1775 scenario this issue. They were originally written for use in a local competition, and Dodo Books are publishing a collection of these scenarios in the near future. The Glenshiel scenario when played in the competition produced some interesting results: in one game the Highlanders charged the Government troops immediately and routed them, as the Government player had forgotten to fix bayonets; in a second game, the Highland player went into a firefight with the Government troops, not the best tactics as those of you who have read Stuart Reid's article The Military Effectiveness of Highlanders in a recent Arquebusier will know.

More Braes O' Killcrankie 27 July 1689

Battle Analysis and Scottish Ballad
Order of Battle and Wargame Scenario