Later during the Scottish Civil War of the 17th century the Mackenzies were was still in possession of the castle. Their chief George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth supported the Scottish Covenanters and in 1646 the royalist commander, John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton, laid siege to the castle and took it from the Mackenzies after a siege of four days. In 1649, after the Siege of Inverness (1649), the leader of the Scottish Parliamentary army, David Leslie, Lord Newark, left a garrison in the castle. However, soon afterwards the Mackenzies retook the castle from the Parliamentary forces. The Parliamentary forces responded by taking the Mackenzies' Redcastle and hanged the garrison.