Battle of Falkirk (1746)
| Battle of Falkirk Muir | |||||||
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| Part of the Jacobite Rising of 1745 | |||||||
 Monument to the Battle of Falkirk Muir |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Great Britain
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 Jacobites
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Henry Hawley
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Charles Edward Stuart Lord George Murray
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| Strength | |||||||
| ca. 7,000 men | ca. 8,000 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 350 killed/wounded, 300 captured | 50 killed, 80 wounded | ||||||
Coordinates: 55°59′13″N 3°48′50″W / 55.987°N 3.814°W
During the Jacobite rising of 1745, the Battle of Falkirk Muir (Scottish Gaelic: ) on 17 January 1746 was the last noteworthy Jacobite success. The battlefield has been inventoried and protected by Historic Scotland under the Historic Environment (Amendment) Act 2011.
After turning back from Derby, for want of either any significant support from English Jacobites or a French invasion, the Jacobite Army returned to Scotland and besieged Major General Blakeney in Stirling Castle. Lieutenant General Henry Hawley led his troops from Edinburgh to relieve Blakeney. The Jacobite army was 8,000 strong, the largest assembled throughout the Rising. They were pitched against a regular Hanoverian army. The battle itself was a hectic and scrambling affair, fought in a storm of wind and torrential rain, so confusing that neither side was initially aware of the outcome.
The Jacobite army left Glasgow on 3 January in two columns. One column of six Highland battalions, led by Lord George Murray marched towards Falkirk, via Cumbernauld, to make it appear as if they were heading towards Edinburgh. Instead he turned north before reaching Falkirk and moved just outside Stirling in Bannockburn. Murray stationed Lord Elcho at Linlithgow with a detachment of cavalry to patrol the road to Edinburgh.
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Wikipedia