Historic Battlefield (Inventory): Glenshiel, 10 June 1719 (BTL10)

The Battle of Glenshiel was the only battle fought during the 1719 Jacobite Rising. The catalyst for the uprising was the outbreak of war between Spain and Britain in 1718. The Spanish saw the benefit of resurrecting a Jacobite uprising for increasing pressure on the British government and helped to re-ignite their cause with the offer of an alliance and assistance in war. The Spanish forces set out to invade Britain in March 1719. The fleet was wrecked by a storm and the invasion abandoned, but a small contingent of Jacobite and Spanish troops landed in Scotland. A Government force was dispatched from Inverness to counter the threat and met the Jacobite and Spanish army already in position on the steep slopes of Glenshiel. The following Government victory saw few losses on either side, with the majority of the Jacobite troops fleeing the field in the early stages of the battle. The Jacobite defeat at Glenshiel marked the end of the 1719 uprising.