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Neil Ritchie
Neil Ritchie is the founder and editor of ScottishHistory.org. Neil has a keen interest in the military history of Scotland and in particular the military history of the Jacobite risings. He is also the editor of other online publications covering military history and defence matters. Neil can be found on Bluesky: @neilritchie.bsky.social
Scottish History Blog
The Humbie Heinkel
On 28 October 1939, a Heinkel He 111 bomber was intercepted by Spitfires of No. 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron and No. 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron and shot down near the village of Humbie...
Articles
Siege of Inveraray during the Jacobite Rising of 1715
In October 1715, the western Jacobite clans under Major-General Alexander Gordon of Auchintoul marched into Argyllshire with the intention of capturing the town and castle of Inveraray, the capital of Clan Campbell and the...
Scottish History Blog
Butter Bridge in Glen Kinglas
Butter Bridge stands in the shadow of Beinn Ime and crosses the gently flowing Kinglas Water in Glen Kinglas, Argyll. The bridge was built in 1749 as part of Major William Caulfeild's military road...
News
Discovery of coin hoard at Glencoe massacre site
University of Glasgow archaeology student Lucy Ankers discovered a hoard of coins buried in a small pot that had been placed beneath the fireplace of the summerhouse of Alasdair Ruadh MacIain MacDonald, chief of...
Scottish History Blog
Rout of Moy during the Jacobite ’45
On the night of 16-17 February 1746, a government force of around 1,500 from the 64th Highlanders and the Independent Highland Companies under the command of John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun, attempted to...
Scottish History Blog
Tummel Bridge
Tummel Bridge is situated at the western end of Loch Tummel in Perthshire and was built in 1730 to carry Lieutenant-General George Wade’s Crieff to Dalnacardoch military road across the River Tummel.
General Wade in...
Scottish History Blog
Ruthven Barracks
Ruthven Barracks (pronounced 'Riven') is situated on the south side of the River Spey overlooking the small town of Kingussie in Badenoch and was constructed between 1720 and 1724 on the site of an...
Articles
Duke of Cumberland’s ‘new’ bayonet drill
No account of the battle of Culloden would be complete without mention of the Duke of Cumberland’s ‘new’ bayonet drill that was supposedly introduced to his infantry battalions while they were in camp in...
Articles
Battle of Glen Trool: A victory for Robert the Bruce?
Bruce's Stone at the head of Loch Trool in Galloway overlooks the site where it is said that Robert the Bruce defeated an Anglo-Scottish force led by Aymer de Valance, Earl of Pembroke. Bruce's...
Scottish History Blog
80th anniversary of the Royal Marines Commandos marked at Spean Bridge
Hundreds of commandos gathered in Lochaber to mark the 80th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Marines Commandos.
The gathering took place at the Commando Memorial near Spean Bridge in the heart of Commando...
Scottish History Blog
Balfour Stone at Killiecrankie
The Balfour Stone in the Pass of Killiecrankie supposedly marks the grave and the spot where Brigadier Barthold Balfour was killed while trying to rally Scottish government troops fleeing the battle of Killiecrankie on...
Scottish History Blog
How a bad case of flatulence saw the Macleans gain the lands of Ardgour
In the 1430s, while residing at Ardtornish and ill with an upset stomach which caused him 'not to smell well', Alexander MacDonald, Lord of the Isles was visited by his barons. During the meeting,...
Scottish History Blog
James Wolfe and the Gorbals Fire of 1749
On the evening of 4 June 1749, a devastating fire raged through the Gorbals area of Glasgow. Stationed in the city was Lord George Sackville's Regiment of Foot who assisted with the fire-fighting and...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Carbisdale
On 27th April 1650, a Royalist force commanded by James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, was heavily defeated by a Scottish Covenanter army led by Colonel Archibald Strachan at the Battle of Carbisdale.
Following his defeat...
On this day in Scottish History
Jacobite expeditionary force lands in Kintail
On the 13th April 1719, two Spanish frigates carrying a Jacobite expeditionary force anchored in Loch Alsh. The troops disembarked near the derelict Eilean Donan Castle where Loch Alsh meets Loch Duich and Loch...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Falkirk Muir
On 17th January 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart clashed with Government forces commanded by Lieutenant-General Henry Hawley at the Battle of Falkirk Muir, in the largest military engagement of the 1745 Jacobite Rising.
In a blinding sleet storm,...
Articles
Wade’s Bridge at Aberfeldy
Wade's Bridge at Aberfeldy was constructed in 1733 to carry Lieutenant-General George Wade’s Crieff to Dalnacardoch military road across the River Tay. It was architecturally the finest bridge on the military road network and...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Neville’s Cross
On 17th October 1346, at the Battle of Neville's Cross, Durham, England, David II of Scotland is defeated and captured by English forces commanded by Lord Ralph Neville. The battle was part of the Second War of...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Largs
On 2nd October 1263, the Battle of Largs was fought between a Scottish army commanded by Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland, and a Norse-Hebridean force led by Haakon IV of Norway. It was the only...
On this day in Scottish History
On this day: Battle of Dunbar 1650
On the 3rd September 1650, English Parliamentarians commanded by Oliver Cromwell decisively defeat a Scottish Covenanter army led by David Leslie, Lord Newark, at the Battle of Dunbar.
Following the execution of Charles I, the...
On this day in Scottish History
On this day: Battle of the Standard
On the 22nd August 1138, the Battle of the Standard (also known as the Battle of Northallerton) was fought between a Scottish army under King David I and English forces commanded by William of Aumale....
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Bannockburn: Day Two
At dawn on the 24th June 1314, on the second day of the battle of Bannockburn, the engagement opened with an initial skirmish between both armies archers. Robert the Bruce then sent Sir Robert...
Articles
Siege of Blair Castle during the Jacobite Rising of 1745
On the 17th March 1746, a Jacobite force under the command of Lord George Murray began the siege of Blair Castle in Blair Atholl, Perthshire. Blair Castle was the home of Lord George’s pro-Hanoverian...
Scottish History Blog
Battle of Sheriffmuir
On the 13th November 1715, a Government army commanded by John Campbell, Duke of Argyll, clashed with Jacobite forces led by John Erskine, Earl of Mar, at the Battle of Sheriffmuir, outside Dunblane.
The Jacobite Rising...
Scottish History Blog
Soldier’s Leap at Killiecrankie
On the evening of 27 July 1689, Donald McBane, a Scottish government soldier fleeing the battle of Killiecrankie, is said to have jumped 18 feet across the River Garry, to escape pursuing Jacobite highlanders.
Donald...
Scottish History Blog
Crossraguel Abbey
Crossraguel Abbey sits about 2 miles south-west of the small town of Maybole, surrounded by the wonderful Ayrshire countryside.
Even in its ruined condition, Crossraguel is one of the best-preserved abbeys in Scotland. The name of...
Scottish History Blog
Lochranza Castle
The ruins of Lochranza castle stands on the shores of Loch Ranza at the north end of the Isle of Arran and enjoys views out over the Kilbrannan Sound.
The original structure that stood on...
Articles
Spanish Galleon of Tobermory Bay
Following their defeat at the hands of the English navy in the summer of 1588, the surviving ships of the Spanish Armada were forced to make their way home around the north and west...