Battle of Corrichie

Battle of Corrichie
Part of Mary, Queen of Scots Civil Wars
The slopes of Meikle Tap where the battle was fought
Date 28 October 1562 Location Meikle Tap, Corrichie, Scotland Result Victory for Queen Mary's forces
Belligerents
Queen Mary's forces: Clan Fraser Clan Munro Clan Mackenzie Clan Mackintosh Clan Mackay Clan Forbes Clan Cameron	Earl of Huntly's forces: Clan Gordon Clan Brodie
Commanders and leaders
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray Earl of Atholl Earl of Morton	George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly
Strength
2000	500
Casualties and losses
none	120 killed 100 captured

Queen Mary's forces:

Earl of Huntly's forces:

The Battle of Corrichie, also known as the Battle of Corrichy was a Scottish clan battle fought near Meikle Tap, near Aberdeen, on 28 October 1562. It was fought between the forces of George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly, chief of Clan Gordon against the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots under James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray.

George Gordon had defeated the English twenty years earlier at the Battle of Haddon Rig, however at Corrichie he was defeated by Queen Mary's forces, and apparently he died of apoplexy after his capture. Mary had come in person to the north of Scotland intent on confronting the power of the Gordons. At Corrichie, the Gordon's tactic of charging with swords was defeated by Moray's pike drill.

George Buchanan described the events of 1562 in his History of Scotland. The Earl of Huntly had lost the earldoms of Moray and Mar, which he considered his heritage, and became an enemy of the new Earl of Moray, the half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary and Moray arrived at Aberdeen in mid August, and met the Earl of Huntly and Countess. A stumbling block in their discussions was the case of their son, John Gordon. Mary wished that he be imprisoned in Stirling Castle. (It had previously been suggested that John might marry Mary, but only in order to manipulate his father.) Mary and Huntly journeyed together towards Huntly Castle but the Queen, impatient at Huntly's refusal to hand over his son turned back. The English diplomat Thomas Randolph wrote that Mary came within four miles of Huntly Castle, but would not go there. Randolph accepted an invitation and stayed two nights, commenting that the house was "fayer, beste furnishede of anye howse that I have seen in thys countrie."

Mary and her court then travelled to Inverness Castle, but the Gordon Captain refused to give the royal castle to the Queen's representative. At this time the Clan Chattan deserted Huntly and joined the Queen, and others of what Buchanan calls the "ancient Scots" meaning the Gàidhealtachd came to her aid, with the Frasers and Munros. They easily took Inverness Castle on 9 September, and the Gordon garrison was executed (or at least, the Captain). Mary and her court returned to Aberdeen. Huntly tried to get intelligence of the Queen's intentions via his cousin the Earl of Sutherland, but Sutherland's correspondence was discovered and he was forced to flee. Huntly was now close to Aberdeen at Corrichie.

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Wikipedia