Battle of Dunkeld The Battle of Dunkeld ( Scottish Gaelic : ) was fought between Jacobite clans supporting the deposed king James VII of Scotland and a government regiment of covenanter s supporting William of Orange , King of Scotland , in the streets around Dunkeld Cathedral , Dunkeld , Scotland , on 21 August 1689 and formed part of the Jacobite rising commonly called Dundee ' s rising in Scotland . The battlefield is currently under research to be inventoried and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009 . Background . Following the death of Viscount Dundee in the Jacobite victory at the Battle of Killiecrankie command of the Jacobites was passed to Colonel Alexander Cannon , leader of the recruits from Ireland , as opposed to the veteran sixty - year - old Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel , one of the most formidable Highland chiefs . Cameron was so insulted he left , taking some of his clan with him . With the Scottish Privy council preparing to leave Scotland in the wake of an expected Jacobite onslaught , the council ordered the newly formed Cameronian regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Cleland , to move north from Perth and to hold onto Dunkeld at all costs . Battle . Dunkeld was not protected by a town wall , so Cleland ordered his troops to take up defensive positions in the cathedral , which was surrounded by an enclosing wall , and the nearby mansion of the Marquess of Atholl . The Jacobites , outnumbering the Cameronians by more than four to one , stormed into attack from all sides . They were initially successful , and forced the Cameronians back from all their outlying positions . However , in the narrow , winding streets there was no room for the type of Highland charge that succeeded at Killiecrankie . Thus , for sixteen hours the battle raged , and many who had barricaded themselves into houses were locked in and burned alive . Gradually the Cameronians were forced back , but at 11pm , depleted of energy and ammunition , the Highlanders decided to call it a day and withdrew , leaving 300 of their men dead or dying in the town . Having exhausted their own munitions , the Cameronians are reported to have stripped lead from the roof of Atholl House to keep up their fire . Holes dating from this battle , caused by the strikes of musket balls , are still visible in the east gable of Dunkeld Cathedral . The battle was over , and the Cameronian Covenanters could claim a war - winning victory . The Colonel , William Cleland , only 27 years old but already a veteran of the Covenanter cause , died in the first hour of battle by taking one bullet in the liver and another in the head , before dragging himself out of sight so that his men would not see him fall . The Major of the regiment was also wounded so that command fell to Captain George Munro of Auchinbowie who led them to victory . The Jacobites retreated , having lost around 300 men . Losses on the government side are unclear , but included Colonel Cleland , who is buried in the cathedral . Cameronian Regiment . The Cameronian regiment takes its name from Richard Cameron , ( 1648 - 1680 ) , a Scottish religious reformer and covenanting leader from the Scottish Lowlands , and was raised largely from the tenantry of the Marquess of Douglas , chief of Clan Douglas . The Cameronian regiment subsequently became the 26th ( The Cameronian ) Regiment of Foot , and then the Cameronians ( Scottish Rifles ) . Popular culture . The battle of Dunkeld was a key storyline in " The Real Ghostbusters " episode " Bustman ' s Holiday " when the Ghostbusters travel to Scotland to exorcise the spiritual essence of the Battle of Dunkeld .