battle, early modern

Battle of the Shirts

Name: Battle of the Shirts
Location: Laggan, United Kingdom

Battle of the Shirts was a battle fought in June 1544 at Laggan, in what is now United Kingdom. The recorded result: Clan Donald victory. Recorded strength: 300 against 500.

See it on the globe Read the article

FoughtJune 1544

WhereLaggan, United Kingdom57.030N, 4.819W

OutcomeClan Donald victory

BelligerentsClan Fraser of Lovat; Assisted by Clan Grant and Clan MackintoshagainstClan Macdonald of Clanranald; Assisted by Clan Cameron

Casualties and losses5 survivors; (295 killed)and8 survivors; (492 killed)

Battlefield todayBlar Na Léine battlefieldHistoric Environment Scotland entry BTL29, 894 ha

Record

Date	June 1544 (month precision)
Place	Laggan, United Kingdom 57.030N, 4.819W
Kind	Battle, early modern
Strength	300	500
Casualties and losses	5 survivors; (295 killed)	8 survivors; (492 killed)
Commanders	Hugh Fraser, 3rd Lord Lovat

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

Battle of Lochaber 1429, 11 km W
Stand-off at the Fords of Arkaig 1665, 14 km SW
Battle of Maol Ruadh 1688, 14 km S
Siege of Fort Augustus 1746, 15 km NE
Siege of Fort Augustus 1745, 15 km NE

Elsewhere in 1544

Historic Environment Scotland registers this as the Blar Na Léine battlefield (entry BTL29), 894 hectares, under the Open Government Licence.

Battle of the Shirts is one of 1,390 engagements of the 16th century in the atlas and one of 695 in present-day United Kingdom.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q4873013, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Shirts, revision 1370602259, 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.