Early on Sunday as we got into battle-order,
Many a slain banner was fixed to its mast.
We got the order to leave our plaids,
And it was not to the sermon that the Clan moved.
All the swiftest of them with blood in their cheeks
Stepping firmly up the hill:
The first people we met were
The men in cuirasses and scarlet coats.
Clan Donald and the Macleans of great bravado
Then got into order,
The Breadalbane troops with their speckled yellow banner.
That was a renowned band that Mar had.
When they unsheathed their dark blades,
Blood gushed all over the field:
Many a Spanish sword at that time
Was being thrust into a scarlet coat.

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Sheriffmuir has not changed much since 1715, when the future of Great Britain was decided on that stretch of boggy moor, a few miles north of Stirling. It is a beautiful place, with wonderful views of the surrounding hills. If you visit the site by car, the road will take you to within 100 yards of Argyll’s position. A drover’s road cuts across the battlefield from east to west. As you move to the west along it, you pass through Argyll’s position, then through the ground where the center of the government army was brushed aside by a slashing deluge of broadswords. Farther left, the path leads to the steep ascent of Stone Hill. Below lies the pretty town of Dunblane.

Sheriffmuir is one of the best preserved battlegrounds in Britain. It is within an hour’s drive of four other significant battlesites: Sauchieburn, Bannockburn, Falkirk and Stirling Bridge.

This article was written by Ashby McGowan and originally published in the August 1996 issue of Military History magazine. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Military History magazine today!

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