Castle Leod (9)
George, 3rd Earl of Cromarty, was born in 1703 and despite his first name, was a Jacobite.  While Prince Charles Edward's army was in the process of marching all the way to Derby and back again, the Earl of Cromarty was kept busy in the north, recruiting and dealing with the pro-government northern clans - principally the Sutherlands, Munros, Rosses and Mackays.  The prince having withdrawn almost back to Inverness, Earl George and his men set off south to reinforce the main Jacobite army. 

Believing that all the Hanoverian militias had dispersed, Cromarty and his officers had allowed their men to march ahead of them, confident that they, the officers on horseback, could quickly catch up with the marching men if needs be.  

These days, the A9 crosses a modern bridge at the head of the tidal estuary of Loch Fleet, but back then, the road followed the coast to the mouth of Loch Fleet, where at Littleferry, unsurprisingly enough, there was a little ferry, that took you across and put you on the road to Dornoch.  As Cromarty's Jacobites approached Littleferry, they were ambushed by a force of Sutherland militiamen.  By accident or design, the Hanoverians attacked the gap between the officers and their men.  Most of the officers were captured and as many as 100 of the 300 to 500 men they were supposed to be commanding, were killed.  And of course Prince Charles Edward ended up with 300 - 500 fewer men under his command at Culloden.

Cromarty fled back to Dunrobin Castle, but was pursued by the commander of the Hanoverian militia.  Ensign Mackay, pistol in hand, forced his way into Dunrobin, and notwithstanding the efforts of the Countess of Sutherland, who was suspected of favouring the rebels and especially Cromarty, made a prisoner of the earl whom he found hiding under a bed!  The captive earl was put on a vessel and taken to London where he, Lord Kilmarnock, Lord Lovat, and Lord Balmerino were all impeached, charged with high treason, tried, and condemned.  Cromarty was later pardoned, but the others were executed.  Why Cromarty was pardoned is hard to understand - it was allegedly because his wife was heavily pregnant.  The reprieve was his only good news.  His property was confiscated, his title forfeited and he was reduced to extreme poverty.  In keeping with the terms of his pardon, which forbade him from travelling north of the Trent, he never saw Scotland again.
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