Battle of Inverurie (1745)

The Battle of Inverurie (1745) was a minor engagement in the Jacobite rising of 1745. It took place on 23 December 1745 near the town of Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Jacobite forces, under the command of Lord Lewis Gordon, defeated government troops loyal to King George II.

The Jacobite force numbered around 400 men, consisting primarily of Gordons and other local clans sympathetic to the Jacobite cause. They faced a smaller government force of approximately 100 men, mainly consisting of local militia and recruits.

The battle was a relatively brief but decisive victory for the Jacobites. The government troops were quickly routed, and their supplies and ammunition were captured. While not strategically significant in the overall context of the rising, the Battle of Inverurie boosted Jacobite morale in the northeast of Scotland and demonstrated their ability to challenge government forces in the region.

The victory allowed the Jacobites to consolidate their control over Aberdeenshire for a short period. However, it did not have a lasting impact on the course of the rising, which ultimately ended in defeat at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. The battle is remembered primarily as a local event demonstrating the complexities and localised support for the Jacobite cause in Scotland.