The Battle of Falkirk Muir, 1746: The Last Jacobite Victory
At a glance
| Date | 17 January 1746 |
| War | The Jacobite Rising of 1745 |
| Where | Falkirk Muir, south-west of Falkirk |
| Jacobites | Lord George Murray (Prince Charles nominal) |
| Government | Lt-Gen Henry Hawley |
| Outcome | Jacobite victory — but confused and unexploited |
Background
After the retreat from Derby, the Jacobites were besieging Stirling Castle in January 1746. General Hawley — contemptuous of Highlanders — marched to relieve it and camped near Falkirk, and was famously caught off guard as the Jacobites moved for the high ground.
The battle
Both armies raced for the boggy ridge of Falkirk Muir in a south-westerly gale with driving rain that soaked the government powder. Murray’s Highlanders won the race, held their fire, loosed one devastating volley, and broke Hawley’s dragoons; the Jacobite charge routed his left. But the pursuit dissolved — men broke off to plunder, and in the storm and dark neither side knew who had won. Hawley’s right withdrew in good order.
Outcome & significance
A “hollow” victory: the Jacobites failed to destroy Hawley’s army, soon abandoned the Stirling siege, and retreated north to Culloden three months later.
The battlefield today
A stone monument (1927) marks the field, an informal Jacobite shrine; on the Inventory of Historic Battlefields.
The clans & people involved
- Jacobite front line: Stewart of Appin, Cameron, Fraser, Mackintosh, Mackenzie, and the MacDonalds; Gordon in reserve.
- Government: regular foot, three dragoon regiments, and an Argyll (Campbell) militia contingent.
Sources
- Battle of Falkirk Muir — Wikipedia; Undiscovered Scotland.
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