The Battle of Killiecrankie
July 27, 1689
The Jacobites, under John Graham of Claverhouse (known to history as Bonnie Dundee), were outnumbered almost two to one. They took position on the high ground and watched government troops form up on the slopes below. The commander of the 4,000 strong government force, Major General Hugh MacKay, a Highlander himself but with no love of the land or its people, arrayed his men in ranks three deep.
It was more usual to place musketeers six deep, but MacKay was about to use a technique newly introduced from continental Europe, called platoon firing. This would in theory allow his men to deliver a constant hail of fire. Instead of delivering fire en masse, small groups, or platoons, gave fire in a well-rehearsed order, thus allowing one group to reload while another fired.
MacKay has been criticised for stretching his lines too thin, but in truth he was a man not afraid to deploy new tactics. After several tense hours of facing one another off, the Jacobites finally charged down the hill. What nerve it must have taken to run into the face of massed musket fire.
Their blood up, the Jacobites, most of them armed with small round shields, known as targes, and double-edged broadswords, hurtled down the slope. Before they could get off more than three shots each, the government troops found themselves embroiled in hand-to-hand fighting, and the Jacobites soon had them on the run. It was a classic example of a successful Highland charge, but Bonnie Dundee was killed as he led his cavalry into the firing line. The Battle last 15 minutes
Bonnie Dundee was taken from the Battlefield and buried at St Brides Kirk Old Blair
There is a Standing Stone in the field at 56°44.864, 3°47.195 which marks where Bonnie Dundee died.