Siege of Fort William

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Siege of Fort William
Part of Jacobite Rising

Fort William
Date March 20 to April 03, 1746
Location Fort William, Scotland
Result British Government Victory
Belligerents
Scottish clans loyal to the Government:

Clan Campbell

Clan Scott

 Jacobite clans:

Clan Cameron

Clan MacDonald of Keppoch

Clan Stewart of Appin

French Artillery men
Commanders
Captain Scott Major-General Cameron
Strength
1500 Jacobites

200 French Artillery men
 
Second Jacobite Rising
Highbridge – Prestonpans – 1st Carlisle – Clifton – 2nd Carlisle – Inverurie – Falkirk – Fort William – Culloden

The siege of Fort William, Scotland took place between 20th March and 3rd April 1746. Prior to the siege the Jacobites had forced the surrender of Fort Augustus after a siege of just two days, from where they proceeded to Fort William with cannons they had taken from Fort Augustus. They arrived with siege cannon on 20th March and both Cameron of Lochiel and MacDonald of Keppoch wrote to their Jacobite leader, Charles Edward Stuart to tell him that they had declared war on the Clan Campbell. In their letters they both claimed many war crimes had been committed against them by the Campbells, including the burning of 400 homes in a single day.

The siege began on 20th March 1746 and lasted for two weeks. However the pro-government clans who held the fort were well supplied by the Royal Navy who could send ships via Loch Linnhe, as a result the fort held fast. On the 22nd, the Jacobites sent a drummer to Captain Scott, the commanding officer, with a letter, requiring him to surrender, but his answer was, that he would defend the place to the last extremity. The bombardment was then renewed on both sides for some hours, but at last the garrison silenced the besiegers by beating down their principal battery. For two weeks the fort withstood a bombardment before sending out a force of men from the garrison who took a number of the Jacobite's guns, mortars and their shot furnace. The garrison of the fort also launched a "sally" on the 31st March which destroyed the remaining Jacobite guns and by the 3rd April the Jacobites had abandoned the siege completely.

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