The Battle of Dunaverty involved a battle and the siege of

Dunaverty Castle Dunaverty Castle is located at Southend at the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula in western Scotland. The site was once a fort belonging to the Clan Donald (MacDonald). Little remains of the castle, although the site is protected as a sched ...

in Kintyre, Scotland, in 1647. The events involved the Covenanter Army under the command of General David Leslie on one side and 200–300 Highland troops under the command of Archibald Og of Sanda on the other. After the

Battle of Rhunahaorine Moss The Battle of Rhunahaorine Moss took place between Covenanters led by General David Leslie and Royalist forces led by Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich (Sir Alexander MacDonald) at Rhunahaorine Point, Kintyre, Scotland Scotland is a Countri ...

, the remaining royalist army of

Alasdair Mac Colla Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich MacDhòmhnaill ( – 13 November 1647), also known by the English variant of his name Sir Alexander MacDonald, was a military officer best known for his participation in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, notably the I ...

fled to Kinlochkilkerran, where a fleet of

birlinn The birlinn () or West Highland galley was a wooden vessel propelled by sail and oar, used extensively in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland from the Middle Ages on. Variants of the name in English and Scots language, Lowland Scots inc ...

s transported many of the troops to Ireland, while others fled to

Dunaverty Dunaverty Castle is located at Southend at the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula in western Scotland. The site was once a fort belonging to the Clan Donald (MacDonald). Little remains of the castle, although the site is protected as a sched ...

to be transported to Ireland as well as

Dunyvaig Castle Dunyvaig Castle (, Anglicised ''Fort of the galleys'', also known as ''Dunnyveg'') is located on the south side of Islay, in Argyll, Scotland, on the shore of Lagavulin Bay, from Port Ellen. The castle was once a naval base of the Lord of the I ...

. About 200 to 300 men who could not be transported or did not wish to leave Scotland prepared to defend the castle. When the Covenanter Army arrived, they laid siege to the castle and made small raids against the forces inside. Once the attackers had captured the stronghold's water supply, the defendersby now running out of waterrequested a surrender on fair terms. After agreeing to surrender and leaving the castle, the men, women and children were put to the sword at the request of Reverend John Naves and

Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll (March 160727 May 1661) was a Scottish nobleman, politician, and peer. The ''de facto'' head of Scotland's government during most of the conflict of the 1640s and 1650s known as the Wars of the Three K ...

. More than 300 MacDonalds and followers, men, women and children, were slaughtered at Dunaverty, despite the promised quarter from the Covenanters. However, a number of people appear to have survived the massacre, including Flora McCambridge, the infant Ranald MacDonald of Sanda, James Stewart and a MacDougall of Kilmun.

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General references

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunaverty 1647 1647 in Scotland Battles of the Scottish Civil War Massacres in Scotland Conflicts in 1647 17th-century prisoner of war massacres History of Argyll and Bute Sieges involving Scotland Sieges of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms Kintyre Attacks on castles in Scotland