Siege of Inverness (1746)

The Siege of Inverness took place in February 1746 and was part of the Jacobite Rising of 1745.

By early February 1746 John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun, supporter of the British government had nearly 2000 men under his command, mostly from the Highland Independent Companies. He waited at Inverness for the Jacobites under Prince Charles Edward Stuart, however he was ordered by Duncan Forbes, Lord Culloden to quit Inverness in view of the superior size of the Jacobite force. The Independent Companies were then transported over the Cromarty Firth, then over the Dornoch Firth and into Sutherland without loss, leaving just two Independent Companies who surrendered Inverness Castle to the Jacobites without a fight. The Jacobites then blew up the castle to prevent it from being of any use if it fell back to the Hanoverians. The two Government Independent companies that had been captured were later reformed after the Battle of Culloden and carried out useful service for the government.