Scottish Clans at Culloden: Who Fought, Who Survived & What Happened Next

Culloden Moor, 16 April 1746. In less than an hour of fighting on a bleak stretch of moorland east of Inverness, the last pitched battle on British soil ended the final Jacobite rising and transformed the Highland world beyond recognition. The clans that fought on both sides of that engagement — and those that chose not to fight at all — were all changed by what happened on the moor that April morning. Understanding Culloden means understanding which clans were there, what they were fighting for, and what the consequences were for the people who survived.

The battle itself lasted perhaps forty minutes. The Jacobite army, outnumbered, outgunned, exhausted from a failed night march, and poorly positioned on ground that favoured the government artillery, was broken by a combination of devastating cannon fire and the controlled musket volleys of disciplined government infantry. The Highland charge — which had won the Jacobites their earlier victories at Prestonpans and Falkirk — failed to close the distance fast enough against the weight of fire that met it. When the left and centre of the Jacobite line broke, the battle was effectively over, though the killing continued on the moor and in the surrounding countryside for days and weeks afterward.

For the broader allegiance list, start with the clans on each side at Culloden. The sections below look more closely at the forces, their positions and the people who survived.

The Jacobite Front Line

The MacDonald regiments of Clanranald, Glengarry and Keppoch were placed on the Jacobite left. Later accounts attached significance to their preference for the traditional place of honour on the right, but this should not be treated as a complete explanation of their performance. Terrain and sustained government fire also mattered. The Keppoch chief was killed in the battle.

The Cameron regiment and Atholl Brigade, drawn from Murray country, formed part of the Jacobite centre and right. Their attack reached the government infantry, where close fighting followed before the Jacobites were forced back. Donald Cameron of Lochiel was wounded and carried from the field.

On the Jacobite right, the Clan Chattan regiment, including Mackintosh men, under Alexander MacGillivray of Dunmaglass attacked the government front line. MacGillivray was killed. The National Army Museum’s battle account describes the contrast between this attack and the MacDonalds on the left, who did not reach the government line.

The Second Line and the Reserve

Some forces associated with the rising were absent when the battle began. Cluny MacPherson’s men did not take part in the fighting at Culloden; they should not be listed as a reserve regiment that fought on the moor. The Frasers who did fight were commanded by Charles Fraser of Inverallochy. Distinguishing campaign service from participation in this particular battle is essential when researching a clan or an individual.

The Government Side: Highland Clans in Red Coats

Highlanders served on both sides of the conflict. The government army included regular infantry and cavalry alongside the Argyll Militia, recruited largely from Campbell country. The militia operated around the enclosures on the southern side of the battlefield. Government allegiance among families such as the Munros, Mackays and Grants does not by itself establish that a particular person or clan unit was present at Culloden.

Clan Gordon and the Northeast

Clan Gordon had a characteristically complex relationship with the 1745 rising. Some Gordon cadet branches committed to the Jacobite cause, while the main Gordon leadership navigated carefully. The Gordon presence on the battlefield was limited but the northeast more broadly — the heartland of Episcopalian Jacobitism in Scotland — had provided substantial support to the rising in the months before Culloden, and it suffered accordingly in the reprisals that followed.

Sinclair, Ogilvy, and the Jacobite Lowland and East Coast Regiments

Lord Ogilvy’s regiment, recruited in Angus and the northeast, fought at Culloden. Its presence helps explain why the Jacobite army cannot be understood solely as a force of western Highland clans. Sinclair involvement in the wider Jacobite movement needs to be traced to a named person or unit before making claims about presence on this battlefield.

The Reprisals: What Happened to the Jacobite Clans

The Duke of Cumberland's systematic suppression of the Jacobite clans in the weeks and months after Culloden was conducted with a thoroughness that earned him the name Butcher Cumberland across the Highland world and, eventually, in the popular memory of much of Britain. Houses were burned, cattle driven off, men shot on suspicion of having been in the rising, and the ordinary civilian population of the Jacobite glens subjected to a military presence that was intended to destroy the material basis of clan society.

The subsequent legislation reinforced disarmament, restricted male civilian Highland dress and curtailed inherited judicial powers. Estate forfeitures affected some Jacobite supporters. These measures changed Highland society over time rather than abolishing every clan relationship at once. For the wider sequence, see what happened during and after the Battle of Culloden.

Culloden Today

The National Trust for Scotland cares for Culloden Battlefield. Its visitor centre, marked battle lines, memorial cairn and clan stones offer ways to explore the history on the ground. The Trust’s guide to the memorials explains the stones and their commemorative context.

What Can a Clan Grave Marker Tell You?

A clan stone identifies a commemorated group, not a complete list of named individuals buried beneath it. Use it to understand remembrance and the battlefield; use documentary records to investigate a particular ancestor. Our guide to researching a family connection to Culloden explains the difference.

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