Battle of the North Inch The Battle of the North Inch ( also known as the Battle of the Clans ) was a staged battle between the Chattan Confederation and the " Clan Kay " in September 1396 . 30 men were selected to represent each side in front of spectators that included King Robert III of Scotland and his court , on land that is now the North Inch park in Perth , Scotland . The Cattanach killed all but one of their opponents at a cost of 19 deaths on their own side , and were awarded the victory . It is not clear who they were fighting : it may have been their traditional enemies Clan Cameron or it may have been Clan Davidson , in an internal dispute for precedence in the Chattan line of battle in future campaigns against the Camerons . Background . According to historian Alexander Mackintosh Shaw , Clan Chattan was composed of MacKintoshes , MacPhersons , Davidsons , MacGillivrays and Macbeans , while Marshall ' s " History of Perth " states that " it is generally accepted that the Clan Chattan were the MacKintoshes , but , as always happens with the unfortunate , no sept or clan is willing to claim kindred with the Clan Kay " . Some historians identify Clan Kay with Clan Cameron , whose feud with the Chattans would last 360 years . More recent historians , however , have suggested that the battle was an internal dispute between two clans from within Clan Chattan over who should take precedence in order of battle . This dispute had almost given the Camerons victory at the Battle of Invernahavon ( 1370 or 1386 ) . At the King ' s insistence , David Lindsay , 1st Earl of Crawford and Dunbar , had attempted to get the two feuding clans to settle their differences amicably . This failed , however , which led the two chiefs to put forth the notion of a trial by combat between members of the two parties , with the monarch awarding honours to the victors and a pardon to the defeated . Battle . The clansmen agreed , and on a Monday morning in late September , the clans marched through the streets of Perth , " to the sound of the pibroch and armed with bows and arrows , swords , targes , knives and axes , " to the western banks of the River Tay . Barriers were erected on three sides of the Inch , in an attempt to keep spectators off the battlefield , with the Tay forming the natural fourth side to the north . The Gilded Arbour summerhouse of the Dominican Friary , which afforded those inside an excellent view of the Inch , was adapted into a grandstand for the King and his entourage . Immediately prior to the commencement of the battle , it was discovered that Clan Chattan were short one man with 29 . Some claim the absentee ' s courage had deserted him ; another source states he had fallen sick . Whatever the case , the Chattans refused to fight at anything but full strength , and the opposition didn ' t proffer to even up the numbers . Just when it seemed that the battle would have to be abandoned , a substitute stepped forward by the name of Henry Smith . Also known by the names " Hal o ' the Wynd " and the " Gow - Chrom " , Smith was a harness - maker and armourer in the town . " Small in stature , bandy - legged , but fierce , " he was promised half a French crown of gold and the guarantee that he would be maintained for life if he survived . The offer was accepted , and the battle was given the go - ahead . The most vivid , if not imaginative , account was written by Sir Walter Scott , in " The Fair Maid of Perth " thus : The battle resumed and continued until only eleven members of Clan Chattan ( including " Hal o ' the Wynd " ) and one of the Camerons was still alive . The latter , realising his was a lost cause , jumped into the Tay and swam to safety , handing victory to the Chattans .