The Campbell of Argyll Militia also known as the Campbell militia, the Argyll militia, or the Argyllshire men, was an irregular

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

unit formed in 1745 by John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll to oppose the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...

Formation

John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll was also the chief of the Clan Campbell and the men of the militia were raised from his clan lands of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

in the south-west of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

.Osprey Publishing. (1982). ''The Jacobite Rebellions 1689 – 1745''. p. 12. Similar in fashion to the eighteen

Independent Highland Companies The Independent Highland Companies were irregular militia raised from the Scottish clans of the Scottish Highlands by order of the Government between 1603 and 1760 in order to help keep the peace and enforce the law in the Highlands and were reco ...

that were raised in 1745 by

Duncan Forbes, Lord Culloden Duncan Forbes of Culloden (10 November 1685 – 10 December 1747) was a Scottish lawyer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1737. As Lord President and senior Scottish legal officer, he played a major role in helpin ...

in the north, north-west and north-east Highlands, also to oppose the Jacobite rising of 1745, the Campbell of Argyll militia was raised with permission from a Royal warrant. However, although the militia was raised with official permission from the government, like the Independent Highland Companies it was not considered an official regiment of the line of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Jacobite rising of 1745

On 20 March 1746 a detachment of the Campbell of Argyll militia was defeated at the

Skirmish of Keith The Skirmish of Keith was a conflict that took place on the 20 March 1746 in Keith, Moray, Scotland and was part of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Background In March 1746, Captain Alexander Campbell with about 70 Campbells and 30 of the Duke o ...

. From the 20 March to 3 April 1746, 300 men of the Campbell of Argyll militia helped in the successful defense during the

Siege of Fort William The siege of Fort William took place in the Scottish Highlands during the 1745 Jacobite Rising, from 20 March to 3 April 1746.

. Twelve companies of the Campbell of Argyll militia, led by John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, fought against the Jacobites at the Battle of Falkirk Muir but were defeated. Four companies of the Campbell of Argyll militia, commanded by the 5th Duke of Argyll, fought for the British Government at the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...

in 1746 where the Jacobites were defeated. During the battle the Argyll militia delivered devastating musket fire on the right flank of the Jacobite army. Only one member of the Argyll militia was returned as a casualty during the battle; Captain John Campbell of Achnaba, who was mortally wounded. After the Jacobite rising of 1745 was over, both the 4th and 5th Dukes of Argyll used the Campbell of Argyll militia to hunt down the Jacobites. For example, the Campbell of Argyll militia took part in the

Raids on Lochaber and Shiramore The Raids on Lochaber and Shiramore took place in the Scottish Highlands between 22 May and 31 August 1746 and were part of the closing operations of the British-Hanoverian Government to bring to an end the Jacobite rising of 1745. Sometimes ref ...

from May to August 1746. However, according to a Campbell historian the Campbell of Argyll militia had ''behaved with some compassion''. The Duke of Argyll was formally congratulated by King

George II of Great Britain , house = Hanover , religion = Protestant , father = George I of Great Britain , mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle , birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683 , birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...

on the behavior of the Argyll militia.

References

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External links

The Argyll Militia
knapdalepeople.com.

Campbell of Argyll Militia The Campbell of Argyll Militia also known as the Campbell militia, the Argyll militia, or the Argyllshire men, was an Irregular military, irregular militia unit formed in 1745 by John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll to oppose the Jacobite rising of 17 ...

Military units and formations in Argyll and Bute

Formation

Jacobite rising of 1745

See also

References

Further reading

External links