Battle of Littleferry The Battle of Littleferry ( also known as the Skirmish at Golspie ) took place during the Jacobite rising in 1746 , just before the Battle of Culloden . Scottish forces loyal to the British government defeated a Scottish Jacobite force . Background . Following the Skirmish of Tongue where a significant amount of money and urgent supplies had been captured from the Jacobites by forces under Captain Hugh Mackay , a strong force of Jacobites was sent north in an attempt to recover the supplies . This Jacobite force comprised some of their best fighting men ; the MacGregors , Coll Macdonnell of Barrisdale , the Mackinnons and the Jacobite Mackenzies under George Mackenzie , 3rd Earl of Cromartie . This force arrived too late to be of any assistance to their allies who had been captured at the Skirmish of Tongue . William Sutherland , 17th Earl of Sutherland was loyal to the Hanoverian government , but he had not raised and armed his clan quickly enough to take action against Prince Charles Edward Stuart . This led to a suspicion in London that Sutherland might be disloyal . However , the Jacobites also questioned Sutherland ' s loyalty , and the Jacobite Earl of Cromartie was sent with 500 men against the Earl of Sutherland . Cromartie ' s force stormed Dunrobin Castle ; the Earl of Sutherland narrowly escaped them through a back door of the castle . The battle . The Earl of Cromartie and his force decided to re - join the main Jacobite force under Prince Charles at Inverness . However he and his men were attacked , with vigour at Little Ferry by two Highland Independent Companies , one from the Clan Sutherland and one from the Clan Mackay , led by Ensign John Mackay of Moudale . Believing that all of Sutherland ' s followers had dispersed , the Jacobite officers had allowed their men to march ahead of them , confident that they , the officers on horseback , could quickly catch up with the marching men . However , there were still some Sutherland men in the hills above Dunrobin . Led by Ensign Mackay , the Sutherland men came down from the hills near Golspie , attacking into the gap between the rebel officers and their soldiers . Most of the Jacobite officers were captured ; many of the men were killed , and the rest were driven onto the beach , where several were drowned trying to swim Loch Fleet . Most of Cromartie ' s men were either killed or taken prisoner and thus denied the Prince much needed reinforcements . An account of the Battle of Littleferry was written by Angus Mackay in his book " The Book of Mackay " : A few days before Culloden , Cromartie got orders to rejoin the Prince at Inverness with all his forces , but as he was marching towards the Little Ferry , Ensign John Mackay with a handful of men intrepidly attacked him . Mackay ' s boldness encouraged others of the Sutherland militia , who were in the hills near at hand , to take part in the affray , with the result that Cromartie was defeated and all his troops were either killed or captured . Mackay pistol in hand forced his way into Dunrobin Castle , into which Cromartie fled , and notwithstanding the efforts of the Countess of Sutherland , who was suspected of favouring the rebels and especially Cromartie , made a prisoner of the earl whom he found hiding under a bed . Aftermath and significance . Cromartie , who had been captured and detained at Dunrobin Castle was put on a vessel that carried him to London . Cromartie , along with Lord Kilmarnock , Lord Lovat , and Lord Balmerino were all impeached of high treason , tried , and condemned . Cromartie was later pardoned , but the others were executed . Despite this victory , some in the government in London were still inclined to associate the Sutherlands with the Cromartie rebels that they had defeated . The Earl of Sutherland spent several years before his death in 1750 attempting to obtain compensation from the government for the damage done to his estates by the rebels . Angus Mackay writes of the significance of the Battle of Littleferry in the " Book of Mackay " as being more than is generally realized by the fact that Cromartie ' s Jacobite force would have provided much needed help to the Jacobites at Culloden and was prevented from doing so .