Campbell vs. Sinclair

George Sinclair, the 6th Earl of Caithness, was forced to sell his estates and titles to John Campbell of Glenorchy in 1675 due to a debt he owed. Upon George Sinclair’s death in 1676 John Campbell claimed the Sinclair estates and had himself declared Earl of Caithness, which was a traditional title of Clan Sinclair.  George’s son, George Sinclair of Keiss, disputed the claim with assistance from other Sinclair families in the region.

In 1678 George Sinclair of Keiss challenged John Campbell’s claim to the land and seized control over the property.  The Campbell’s appealed to the court system in Scotland who found in favor of the Campbell’s and sent their decision to King James II. He issued a proclamation prohibiting George Sinclair from his lands and titles.  George Sinclair decided to ignore the proclamation and made it very difficult for the Campbell’s to manage the land and collect rents. He went as far as to demolish Thurso East Castle after John Campbell took possession of the property.

In 1679 the Privy Council of Scotland passed an Act requesting that allies of John Campbell of Glenorchy help him recover all lands that are being disputed by George Sinclair.  On July 13, 1680, John Campbell invaded Caithness with a force of 800 men with the goal of evicting the Sinclair’s from the lands.  George Sinclair had gathered a fighting force of 500 men who were waiting for the Campbell’s near Wick, Caithness.  The two sides came in contact at Stiroke but Campbell’s men had marched 30 miles and were too tired to fight, they decided to withdraw to the hills of Yarrow.  The Sinclair’s retired to Wick where they were said to celebrate their small victory with drink. Legend states that the alcohol was supplied by friends of the Clan Campbell with the goal of disadvantaging the Sinclair’s.

The next morning the Campbell’s marched across the river Wick. An ailing Sinclair Clan quickly gathered their force and rushed to intercept them. Many of the Sinclair leaders wanted to defer the battle until the next day to give the men time to recover but they were overruled by the clan chief.  The Clans met at the burn of Altimarlach, the Campbell Clan hid most of their force out of sight of the Sinclair’s.  The Sinclair’s seeing a group of Campbell’s rushed across the river and up the bank to attack.  When they came within a few yards, the Campbell chief ordered a counter attack.  Almost immediately the wary Sinclair’s retreated with the Campbell’s in pursuit.  It is estimated that Clan Sinclair lost up to 200 men in the Battle of Altimarlach.

Many of the Campbell troops stayed in Caithness after the battle to collect rents and taxes from the peasants. George Sinclair continued to harass the Campbell’s but had little success.  He finally had his title and lands restored in 1681 through a deal orchestrated by the Duke of York that compensated John Campbell with the title of Earl of Breadalbane.