The Battle of Auldearn, 1645: Montrose’s Masterpiece

At a glance

Date	9 May 1645
War	Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Where	Auldearn, near Nairn
Royalists	Montrose & MacColla
Covenanters	Sir John Hurry & the Earl of Seaforth
Outcome	Decisive royalist victory

Background

After Inverlochy, Montrose gained proper cavalry when Lord Gordon defected with his horse. Sir John Hurry tried to trap him near Nairn with the Earl of Seaforth’s Mackenzies and northern levies — but some of Hurry’s men fired their muskets to clear damp powder, and the shots warned Montrose.

The battle

Montrose set a trap: he posted MacColla with a small force (~500) around the village and the royal standard, making it look like the whole army, while hiding his main body — and the Gordon horse — in dead ground. The impetuous MacColla was driven into the cottages and made a famous, desperate stand; then Montrose loosed the concealed Gordon cavalry into the Covenanter flank, relieving MacColla and shattering the government army.

Often judged Montrose’s hardest-fought and most brilliant win. Royalist losses were light; Covenanter dead are reported up to ~1,500 — a royalist-sourced figure. Seaforth’s MacLennan standard-bearers were cut down almost to a man.

Outcome & significance

It destroyed roughly half the Covenanter strength in the north and confirmed the Gordon horse as Montrose’s decisive arm.

The battlefield today

On the Inventory of Historic Battlefields (BTL3); Boath Doocot (National Trust for Scotland) on the knoll is the viewpoint and interpretation spot (the doocot post-dates the battle).

The clans & people involved

Royalist: Gordon horse (decisive), MacDonald/MacColla’s Irish.
Covenanter: Mackenzie (Seaforth) and northern levies.

Sources

Battle of Auldearn — Wikipedia; Historic Environment Scotland (BTL3).

📝 Kevin’s note: a photo of Boath Doocot at Auldearn — add from our own visit.

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