Mackay, E. 1898 The Battle of Sheriffmuir: related from original sources. Stirling.
Baynes J. 1970 The Jacobite Rising of 1715.
Brander, M & Macgregor. J. 1975 Scottish and Border Battles and Ballads. Seeley, London.
Getmapping. 2002 British Battles: Amazing Views. : HarperCollins, London.
Inglis, B. 2005 The Battle of Sheriffmuir. Stirling Council Libraries Community Services.
Pollard, T. 2006 Sheriffmuir Battlefield: Data Structure Report. GUARD 2214, University of Glasgow.
Rae, P. 1717 The History of the Rebellion. John Martin, Edinburgh.
Reid, S. 2005 Battles of the Scottish Lowlands, Battlefield Britain. Pen & Sword, Barnsley.
Seymour W. 1979 Battles in Britain and their Political Background, 1066-1746. Book Club Associates, London.
Smurthwaite, D. 1993 The Complete Guide to the Battlefields of Britain. Michael Joseph, London.
Tayler, A. & Tayler, H. 1936 1715 : the story of the rising. Nelson, SI
Tomasson, K. & Buist, F. 1967 Battles of the '45. Pan, London.
Information on Sources & Publication
Sheriffmuir is a relatively well documented battle. There are a considerable number of contemporary written accounts of the action, with information including eyewitness accounts from both sides. These sources were recently consulted in an effort to accurately locate the site of the battle (Pollard 2006).
There are also several graphic depictions of the battle. A printed plan of the battle drawn in 1715 and including very useful written annotations is lodged in the National Library of Scotland. This gives the contemporary terrain, distinguishing field from open pastures, and shows the original Jacobite deployment on Kinbuck Moor and their advance to the battlefield. However the critical other half of the plan, showing the battlefield core with deployments and action, is missing from the copy in the National Library of Scotland.
Also important here are a number of historic maps which although post-dating the battle provide important clues as to the location of the battle when used in conjunction with the written accounts, and indeed the results of archaeological investigation. These include estate survey plans for Kippendavie, drawn up in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and perhaps most importantly a Division of Common-Grounds map drawn up in 1766, which shows features such as tracks up onto the moor which may have been used in the Jacobite advance and the marsh upon which their left flank was anchored.
There is a healthy body of secondary source work relating to the battle, with several 19th/early 20th century studies ' some of which make extensive use of primary sources. The most recent thorough account and analysis of the 1715 uprising appeared in 2006 (Szechi 2006); although this is more concerned with the politics and military organization of the overall campaign than with the minutiae of the battle, it does include a cogent description of Sheriffmuir (the battle maps, based on Roy, show the lines oriented E-W; the location is some distance further to the north than that identified through archaeological analysis and indeed as proposed by most other historians).
Primary Sources
National Archives
SP 54/10/45A Mar to the Governor of Perth. Giving an account of the events of the battle of Sheriffmuir: they attacked the enemy at noon and 'carry'd the day entirely'. Also with a list of prisoners, including those wounded, and reporting the death of Strathmore and Macdonald of Clanranald 1715 Nov 13
SP 54/10/45B Account of the battle of Sheriffmuir by the Jacobite side undated
SP 54/10/47 Provost of Edinburgh, sending an account of the battle of Sheriffmuir 1715 Nov 14
SP 54/10/48 Argyll to Secretary Townshend. On the battle of Sheriffmuir, giving losses and prisoners; also asking when the Dutch reinforcements will arrive 1715 Nov 14
SP 54/10/49 Postmaster Anderson, on Sheriffmuir, '^wherein bless'd be God we had the better, and hope soon to hear, that what remain of the rebels are intirely routed' 1715 Nov 14
SP 54/10/50 Rothes, reporting that Sheriffmuir was a considerable victory for Government forces 1715 Nov 15
SP 54/10/51 Argyll to Secretary Townshend. On Sheriffmuir: inquiring into the retreat of some of the army; on those officers who deserve recognition for their actions; and reporting that the rebels are in the position they held before the advance, and are gathering their forces for another attack 1715 Nov 15
SP 54/10/95 Lord Torphichen: account of the battle of Sheriffmuir [1715 Nov]
SP 54/10/96C Andr[ew] Hume to Pringle. On the news from Edinburgh; desertions from the Jacobite army since Sheriffmuir and rumours of an offer of surrender; the ill health of Tweeddale and the hopes of Forfar's recovery; also on the plight of a rebel prisoner 1715 Nov 29
SP 54/10/97 Gen Wightman, giving his account of the action at Sheriffmuir, and contradicting the report of the bad behaviour of Lord Stair's regiment under the command of Major Otway during the battle; also recommending Col Lawrence, formerly a prisoner at Perth 1715 Dec 1
SP 54/10/104 Pollock, reporting that the clans are sending men to ensure the return of those men who deserted after Sheriffmuir, and he is in no position to stop them 1715 Dec 2
SP 54/10/115B Argyll to Secretary Townshend. Giving thanks for being granted leave; reporting that there is no news of the Pretender's landing; and giving an account of the behaviour of the left wing of his forces at Sheriffmuir, some of whom did not do their duty 1715 Dec 6
SP 54/11/72A Sutherland, on the difficulties he faces and the lack of support he is given; he has spent all the money he has got or could borrow, in the king's service; also recommending clemency for Sir Robert Gordon, who left the rebels before Sheriffmuir 1716 Jan 30
Account of the battle of Sheriffmuir: in a letter from a gentleman in Stirling to a friend in Edinburgh. [S.I.: s.n.
An account of the engagement near Dunblain yesterday the 13th instant, betwixt the King's Army under the command of his Grace the Duke of Argyll, and the rebels commanded by Mar. Edinburgh: Printed by the heirs and successors of Andrew Anderson, 1715.
Meston, W 1716 A true and particular account of the battle at Sheriff-Muir: with an exact list of all thenobility, general officers, chiefs of clans, and number of private men, in the King's army in Scotland; under the command of the Duke of Mar. To which is added, a form of prayer and thanksgiving usrd on Thursday, January 26, 1716, for the King's safe and happy landing. To the memory of the Right Honourable John Earl ofStrathmore : who was kill' d at the battle of Sheriffmuir, near Dunblain, November 13th, 1715.
Wightman, Major General. 1719 Notes of a Lecture after the Victory over the Rebels, and on the return of the honorable Major General Wightman, with the troops under his command, from the Highlands to Inverness, upon the 20th June, 1719. James McEuen & Co, Edinburgh.
Keith, J. F. E. 1759 Memoirs of Field Marshal Keith: containing the most remarkable occurrences of the wars, wherein he was engaged. G. Burnet, London.
Cartographic & Illustrative Sources
National Library of Scotland
Map of battle: 3 identical left hand parts of a printed plan showing the contemporary terrain, distinguishing field from open pastures, and showing the original rebel deployment the previous night and their advance to the battlefield. The critical eastern half showing the main battlefield with deployments and action is missing. A brief description of the action is provided in the key.
Secondary Sources
Mackay, E. 1898 The Battle of Sheriffmuir: related from original sources. Stirling.
Baynes J. 1970 The Jacobite Rising of 1715.
Brander, M & Macgregor. J. 1975 Scottish and Border Battles and Ballads. Seeley, London.
Brotchie, T. C. F. 1913 The Battlefields of Scotland: their legend and story. Dodge Publishing, New York.
Bulloch, J.M. 1911 The 2nd Duke of Gordon and the part he played at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. Dunbar, Huntly
Getmapping. 2002 British Battles: Amazing Views. : HarperCollins, London.
Hunter,T. 1883 Woods, Forests and Estates of Perthshire. Henderson, Robertson & Hunter, Perth.
Inglis, B. 2005 The Battle of Sheriffmuir. Stirling Council Libraries Community Services.
Pollard, T. 2006 Sheriffmuir Battlefield: Data Structure Report. GUARD 2214, University of Glasgow.
Rae, P. 1717 The History of the Rebellion. John Martin, Edinburgh.
Reid, S. 2005 Battles of the Scottish Lowlands, Battlefield Britain. Pen & Sword, Barnsley.
Seymour W. 1979 Battles in Britain and their Political Background, 1066-1746. Book Club Associates, London.
Shearer, J. E. 1911 The Battle of Dunblane Revised - Sheriffmuir, 1715. Reprinted from 'The Stirling Sentinel'. [With maps.].
Shearer, R. S. 1859 Shearer's Illustrated Tourists' Guide to Stirling, Cambuskenneth Abbey, Bannockburn, Bridge of Allan, Dunblane, Sheriffmuir, &c, &c. R. S. Shearer, Stirling.
Smurthwaite, D. 1993 The Complete Guide to the Battlefields of Britain. Michael Joseph, London.
Sotheby & Co. 1952 Catalogue of the well-known and important collection of Scottish weapons etc, formed by the late J. Milne Davidson: including flint-lock pistols by Murdoch, Caddell, Campbell, etc, Jacobite swords, the target of Alexander 2nd Duke of Gordon at Sheriffmuir: also armour and weapons... which will be sold at auction. Tuesday, February 26th, 1952. Sotheby, London.
Szechi, D. 2006 1715: The Great Jacobite Rebellion. Yale University Press, London.
Tayler, A. & Tayler, H. 1936 1715 : the story of the rising. Nelson, SI
Tomasson, K. & Buist, F. 1967 Battles of the '45. Pan, London.
Whyte, L. & Whyte, K. 1990 On the Trail of the Jacobites. Routledge, London.
About the Inventory of Historic Battlefields
Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.
We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.
The inventory is a list of Scotland's most important historic battlefields. Battlefields are landscapes over which a battle was fought. We maintain the inventory under the terms of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
We add sites of national importance to the inventory using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)
The information in the inventory record gives an indication of the national importance of the site(s). It is not a definitive account or a complete description of the site(s).
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Find out more about the inventory of historic battlefields and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.
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