Clifton Moor Skirmish The Clifton Moor Skirmish took place between forces of the British Hanover ian government and Jacobite rebels on 19 December 1745 . Since the commander of the British forces , the Duke of Cumberland , was aware of the Jacobite presence in Derby , the Jacobite leader Prince Charles Edward Stuart decided to retreat north back towards Scotland . Charles began his retreat from Derby on 6 December 1745 . This is sometimes claimed as the last battle on English soil , but there are numerous other claimants such as the Battle of Graveney Marsh , fought in 1940 . Retreat from England . The Jacobite army stayed on the first night of retreat at the town of Ashbourne , Derbyshire . They reached the town of Leek the following day . However , Leek being too small to accommodate the entire army , Elcho ' s and Pitsligo ' s horse and Ogilvy ' s and Roy Stuart ' s regiments of foot , went to the town of Macclesfield where they stayed the night . The remainder of the army which had stayed at Leek came to Macclesfield the next day and those who had stayed the night at Macclesfield went on to Stockport . On the 9th both of the Jacobite divisions met on the road to Manchester and entered the city as one body . The Jacobite army left Manchester on the 10th and reached Wigan that night . The next day they reached Preston where they stayed until the 12th . James Drummond , the Duke of Perth , was dispatched with 100 horse to travel north and bring back reinforcements from Perth . The Prince and his Jacobite army arrived in Lancaster on the evening of the 13th . Charles had decided to stay and fight at Lancaster . A survey of the surrounding ground at Lancaster was carried out by the Jacobite commanders Lord George Murray and Cameron of Lochiel . They found the ground suitable for their army to fight on ; however , Murray had also received reports that a large body of General George Wade ' s dragoons had entered Preston not long after they had left . Charles changed his mind and decided to continue with their march back north . The government forces under Wade and the Duke of Cumberland had not arrived in Macclesfield until the 10th of December , the day the Jacobites had arrived in Wigan . At Macclesfield the duke received intelligence that the Jacobites had left Manchester that day . Leaving Lancaster on the 15th , Charles ' army was scarcely out of the town when some of the government horse entered it . The Jacobites formed in order of battle ; but the alarm turning out to be false , the army continued its march to Kendal The British horse followed for two or three miles , and appeared frequently in small parties , but attempted nothing . The Jacobite army entered Kendal that night , where they were met by the Duke of Perth and his party . On his way north , the duke had been attacked in this town by a mob , which he soon dispersed by firing on them ; but in the neighbourhood of Penrith he met with a more serious obstruction , having been attacked by a considerable body of militia , both horse and foot , and being vastly outnumbered , was obliged to retreat to Kendal . On the advice of Murray the Jacobite army then marched to the village of Shap where they passed the night from the 16th - 17th . On the 17th , on orders from Charles , the Jacobite army marched to the village of Clifton . Arrival at Clifton . On the morning of the 18th the Jacobite rearguard left Shap . It had not proceeded far when some parties of English light horse were seen in the distance on the eminences behind the rear - guard . Lord George Murray notified the circumstances to Charles at Penrith , but it was believed that these were militia and the information was treated lightly . On the 18th a body of between 200 and 300 horse of the Duke of Cumberland ' s forces formed in front of the rear - guard to make a stand . The government party was observed marching two and two abreast on the top of the hill . They disappeared to form themselves in order of battle behind the eminence , and made a great noise with trumpets and kettledrums . At this time two of the companies of Roy Stuart ' s regiment , which the Duke of Perth had attached to the artillery , were at the head of the column . The guns and ammunition wagons followed , behind the two other companies of the same regiment . The Clan MacDonnell of Glengarry regiment , which marched with Lord George Murray at its head , was in the rear of the column . Believing , from the great number of trumpets and kettle - drums , that the British army was at hand , the Jacobites remained stationary for a short time . It was the opinion of Colonel Brown , an officer of Lally ' s regiment , who was at the head of the column , that they should attack their enemy sword in hand , and either open a passage to the army at Penrith , or perish in the attempt . Adopting this opinion , men of the four companies immediately ran up the hill , without informing Lord George Murray . Murray , observing this movement , immediately ordered the MacDonnell of Glengarry men to proceed across the enclosure and ascend the hill from another quarter , as they could not conveniently pass the wagons which had almost blocked up the roads . The Glengarry men reached the summit of the hill almost as soon as the head of the other column . Both parties were surprised to find the only enemy in view was the light horse they had observed a few minutes before , and who , alarmed at the appearance of the Jacobites , galloped off in disorder . One of them fell from his horse , and was cut to pieces in an instant by the Jacobites . The rear - guard resumed its march , and on reaching the village of Clifton , Lord George Murray sent the artillery and heavy baggage forward to Penrith under a small escort . Being well acquainted with all the enclosures and parks about Lowther Hall , the seat of Lord Lonsdale , about the distance of a mile from Clifton , Lord George Murray , at the head of the Glengarry regiment and some horse , examined these parks and enclosures in the hope of attacking the English light horse . Although he saw several of them , he only succeeded in taking two prisoners . These prisoners informed Murray that the Duke of Cumberland himself , with a body of 4 , 000 horse , was about a mile behind him . As Clifton was a very good post , Murray resolved to remain there . On his return to the village , he sent Colonel Roy Stuart with the two prisoners to Penrith , to inform Prince Charles of the approach of the duke , and that he would remain at Clifton until further orders . In the event of the prince approving of his intention of making a stand at Clifton , his lordship requested that 1 , 000 men might be sent him from Penrith . On returning to Clifton from Lowther parks , Murray found the Duke of Perth there as well as Colonel Roy Stuart ' s men , amounting to about 200 . He also found the Clan Macpherson with their chief , Cluny Macpherson , and the Stewarts of Appin , headed by Stewart of Ardshiel . Within the enclosures to the west of the highway he posted the Glengarry men , and within those to the east he placed the Stewarts of Appin and the Macphersons . On the side of the highway and close to the village of Clifton , he placed Colonel John Roy Stuart ' s regiment . As some ditches at the foot stretched further towards the moor on the west than on the east , and as that part was also covered by Lord Lonsdale ' s other enclosures , the party on the west could not easily be attacked . This advantage meant that they could enfilade the enemy with fire when they attacked the east . The Skirmish . About an hour after the Duke of Cumberland had formed his men , about 500 of his dragoons dismounted and advanced to the foot of the moor , in front of a ditch at the bottom of one of three small enclosures between the moor and the places where Roy Stuart ' s men were posted at the village . At this time , Colonel Stuart returned from Penrith , and , after informing Lord George that the prince had resolved to march immediately to Carlisle , and that he had sent forward his cannon , he stated that it was his royal highness ' s desire that the rearguard should immediately retreat to Penrith . From the situation in which Murray was now placed , it was impossible to obey this order without great danger . The dismounted dragoons were already firing upon the Jacobites . Lord George proposed to attack the dismounted enemy . Lord George Murray went to the west , where the Macdonnell of Glengarry men were posted , and ordered them , as soon as they should observe him advance on the other side , to move also forward and keep up a smart fire until they came to the lowest ditch . He observed that if they succeeded in dislodging the enemy from the hedges and ditches , they could give them a flank fire within pistol - shot , but he gave them particular orders not to fire across the highway or to follow the enemy up the moor . After speaking with every officer of the Glengarry regiment , Murray returned to the east and placed himself at the head of the Macphersons . It was now about an hour after sunset , and the night was somewhat cloudy ; but at short intervals the moon , which was in its second quarter , broke through and afforded considerable light . The Jacobites had to their advantage , that whilst they could see the disposition of the enemy , their own movements could not be observed . The Stewarts and Macphersons marched forward at the word of command , as did the Macdonalds and MacDonnells on the west . The men on the west kept firing as they advanced , but the Macphersons , who were on the east , soon came into contact with the English dragoons and received the whole of their fire . Murray drew his sword and cried out , " Claymore ! " , and Cluny Macpherson doing the same , the Macphersons rushed down to the bottom ditch of the enclosure . Clearing the diagonal hedges as they went , they fell sword in hand upon the enemy , of whom a considerable number were killed at the lower ditch . The rest retreated across the moor , but received in their flight the fire of the MacDonnell of Glengarry regiment . Aftermath . Twelve Jacobite soldiers were killed in the skirmish . The only Jacobite officer wounded was the Macdonald of Glengarry chief . Lord George Murray had several narrow escapes . Ten Government dragoons were killed and four of their officers wounded . One British dragoon is recorded as dying in Clifton several weeks later , presumably of wounds received in the battle . The dragoons killed in the battle are buried in St Cuthbert ' s churchyard . Near the churchyard gate is a stone commemorating the skirmish . The only prisoner taken on this occasion was a footman of the Duke of Cumberland . This man was sent back to his royal highness by Charles . A skeleton wearing tartan , found in the 1920s near Stanhope , is believed to have been a Jacobite casualty of the skirmish , though this is uncertain . Most recent battle on English soil . There are at least three contenders for the claim to have been the last battle on English soil , as different historians have used different definitions for what constitutes a battle . If Clifton Moor was a " skirmish " and not a battle , and if the Battle of Preston , fought during Jacobite Rising of 1715 , was a siege and not a battle , and the Battle of Reading ( 1688 ) is discounted as a street fight , then the last pitched battle on English soil was the battle of Sedgemoor fought in 1685 , which was the decisive battle in Monmouth Rebellion . However either of the former , or possibly the Battle of Bossenden Wood ( 1838 ) , can also be considered the last battle , depending on how a battle is defined while the Battle of Graveney Marsh ( 1940 ) could also be counted as a skirmish . There is also , of course , a certain semanticism in the expression " last battle on English soil " , for it specifically excludes the subsequent Second World War air battles " over " English soil , particularly the Battle of Britain ( 10 July to 31 October 1940 ) which was fought in the skies over Kent and the winter blitz of 1940 - 1941 which is sometimes called the Battle of London . The claim to be the most recent battle site in England , for what were relatively small armed confrontations , is useful for promoting tourism at the locations .