23 March 1708: A French fleet carrying James Francis Edward Stuart arrived in the Firth of Forth intending to land an invasion force of French troops in Fife and begin a Jacobite rising against James’s half-sister Queen Anne. However, bad weather and a squadron of Royal Navy warships under Admiral George Byng prevented them from doing so. They would head back to Dunkirk via the north of Scotland.
23 March 1746: The Duke of Cumberland orders the Hessian contingent under Prince Frederick of Hesse-Cassel to march from Perth and relieve the siege of Blair Castle. An advance party skirmishes with Jacobites south of Dunkeld.
