Battle of Corrichie

Battle of Corrichie
Part of Mary, Queen of Scots Civil Wars

Monument to the Battle of Corrichie
Date28 October 1562
Location
Howe of Corrichie, near Banchory, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Result Victory for Queen Mary's forces
Belligerents
Scotland Kingdom of Scotland:
Clan Fraser[1]
Clan Munro[1]
Clan Mackenzie[1]
Clan Mackintosh[1]
Clan Mackay[2]
Clan Murray[2]
Clan Forbes[3]
Clan Cameron[4]		 Rebels:
Clan Gordon[5]
Clan Brodie[5]
Commanders and leaders
Earl of Moray
Earl of Atholl
Earl of Morton		 Earl of Huntly[5]
Strength
2,000 500
Casualties and losses
None 120 killed
100 captured[6]
Close-up of monument marking the site of the Battle of Corrichie near the Black Moss and Red Moss

The Battle of Corrichie was fought on the slopes of the Hill of Fare in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on 28 October 1562. It was fought between the forces of George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly, chief of Clan Gordon, and the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, under James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray.

Huntly 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 Gordons' tactic of charging with swords was defeated by Moray's pike drill.[7]

  1. ^ a b c d "The Clan of Gordon". The Scottish Clans and Their Tartans (Library ed.). Edinburgh and London: W. & A.K. Johnston & G.W. Bacon Ltd. 1886. p. 25.
  2. ^ a b Mackay, Robert (1829). History of the House and Clan of the Name MacKay. Edinburgh: Printed for the author, by Andrew Jack & Co. pp. 131–133. Quoting 'Scots Acts of Parliament'
  3. ^ Mackay, Angus (1906). The Book of Mackay. Edinburgh: N. Macleod. p. 100.
  4. ^ "The Battle of Corrichie - October 28, 1562". clan-cameron.org. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Bain, George, F.S.A., Scot (1893). History of Nairnshire. Nairn, Scotland: Nairn Telegraph Office. p. 230.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ casualty figures from George Buchanan's Latin account
  7. ^ for Highland sword charges, see; Cowan, Ross, 'Weapon of Deeds', Medieval Warfare 1.3 (2011)