The Battle of Aldy Charrish, 1487: Revenge in Strathoykel
At a glance
| Date | 1487 (some say 1486/1478) |
| War | The Mackay–Ross feud |
| Where | Strathoykel, near Rosehall, Sutherland |
| Winner | Mackay & Sutherland |
| Loser | Clan Ross of Balnagown |
| Cause | revenge for the Battle of Tarbat |
Background
After the Mackay chief was killed at Tarbat, his son led the Mackays into Ross “with fire and sword.” The Earl of Sutherland sent a contingent to help them.
The battle
A day-long, bloody fight in the upper Kyle of Sutherland ended in a Mackay and Sutherland victory. The Ross chief, Alexander Ross of Balnagown, was killed with a number of the landed gentlemen of his name — a blow that decapitated Ross of Balnagown’s leadership.
Honesty note: unusually for this set, the battle’s occurrence and the chief’s death are corroborated beyond Gordon by the Calendar of Fearn and the Wardlaw MS — but the numbers conflict badly (“17 gentlemen” in one tradition; ~70 Ross and ~150 Mackay dead in another) and should be treated as unreliable. The exact site is a name-match in Strathoykel, not a surveyed field. Note this ground sits beside Tuiteam Tarbhach and the 1650 Carbisdale battlefield.
The site today
No cairn or monument; not on the HES Inventory.
The clans & people involved
- Clan Mackay and a Sutherland contingent — victorious.
- Clan Ross of Balnagown — their chief killed.
Sources
- Battle of Aldy Charrish — Wikipedia; Calendar of Fearn; Wardlaw MS; Sir Robert Gordon.
đź“ť Kevin’s note: a photo of Strathoykel near Rosehall — add from our own visit.
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