Atlas of Battles

battle, early modern

Battle of Carbisdale

Battle of Carbisdale was a battle fought on 27 April 1650 at Culrain, in what is now United Kingdom. It was part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which ran from 1638 to 1651. The recorded result: Covenanter victory.

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Battle of Carbisdale, April 1650 - map
Battle of Carbisdale, April 1650 - map. F. S. Weller, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought27 April 1650
WhereCulrain, United Kingdom57.917N, 4.418W
OutcomeCovenanter victory
BelligerentsCovenantersagainstScottish Royalists
Casualties and lossesTwo men wounded and one drowned, "low"and450+ killed + 200 drowned; 400 plus captured
Battlefield todayBattle of Carbisdale battlefieldHistoric Environment Scotland entry BTL19, 290 ha
Part ofWars of the Three Kingdoms1638 to 1651

Where it sits in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms

Battle of Tippermuir, 1644Battle of Aberdeen, 1644Battle of Inverlochy, 1645Battle of Auldearn, 1645Battle of Alford, 1645Battle of Kilsyth, 1645Battle of Philiphaugh, 1645Battle of Annan Moor, 1645Battle of Lagganmore, 1646Battle of Aberdeen, 1646Battle of Rhunahaorine Moss, 1647Battle of Mauchline Muir, 1648Battle of Stirling, 1648Siege of Dublin, 1649Battle of Carbisdale, 1650Battle of Dunbar, 1650Battle of Inverkeithing, 1651Battle of Worcester, 1651Battle of Dalnaspidal, 1654Battle of the Severn, 165516441655Battle of Carbisdale, 1650
20 placed engagements of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date27 April 1650
PlaceCulrain, United Kingdom
57.917N, 4.418W
KindBattle, early modern
Strength300 men (five troops of cavalry and a group of musketeers); 400 clansmen (from Clan Munro and Clan Ross)50 cavalry; 1,000 infantry (from Orkney); 500 mercenaries (Swedish, German and Danish)
Casualties and lossesTwo men wounded and one drowned, "low"450+ killed + 200 drowned; 400 plus captured
Commanders
  • Archibald Strachan
  • John Munro of Lemlair
Battle of CarbisdaleBattle of Carbisdale5 km57.917N, 4.418W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. The dashed outline is the registered battlefield area (Historic Environment Scotland). Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1650

Historic Environment Scotland registers this as the Battle of Carbisdale battlefield (entry BTL19), 290 hectares, under the Open Government Licence.

Battle of Carbisdale is one of 1,470 engagements of the 17th century in the atlas and one of 695 in present-day United Kingdom.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q4087431, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Carbisdale, revision 1370108634, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Battlefield boundary and area from Historic Environment Scotland (Open Government Licence). Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.