Monument honouring 100 soldiers killed in Battle of Littleferry in the Highlands unveiled

A monument has been unveiled to honour 100 soldiers killed in the Highlands on the eve of the Battle of Culloden.

The Battle of Littleferry on April 15, 1746 also left many wounded in clashes between Jacobite forces and local pro-government militia.

The Jacobites were defeated by troops loyal to the British Hanoverian government.

They had been sent on a foraging mission and were ambushed by two companies of local militia – members of the pro-government Sutherland and Mackay clans.

It was regarded locally as “a skirmish” and, over time, became largely forgotten.

Local historians recently gathered support for revisiting the event.

A giant stone, battlefield trail and historical guidebook written by locally-based Major General Patrick Marriott feature in a community effort to commemorate those killed in four miles of running battles between Dunrobin Castle and Littleferry, in Sutherland.

Golspie Community Council chairman Ian Sutherland, who is part of the project team, said: “It was really the end game of a civil war that had raged on and off for about 100 years.

“It was the sons of two kings that were fighting by proxy for their fathers – and the Hanoverians won.”

He added: “It’s been a community project that’s brought a lot of people together.”

The prominent monument stands beside Ferry Road, southwest of Golspie Golf Club.

The organisers hope the new fixtures will attract domestic and international visitors to the area.

Trees will be planted at the site in memory of those who died.

Art and storytelling workshops are planned for July as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.

Talks are underway between the project team and managers at Culloden visitor centre about an initiative to forge a link between the two battle sites.

The project was led by the Golspie Heritage Society, backed by the local community council and a raft of volunteers.

The overriding theme of the project is that “the memorial takes no side, supported by the logic that all suffer in conflict – victors and vanquished.”