The Skirmish of Tongue, 1746

The Skirmish of Tongue, also known as the Capture of Le Prince Charles Stuart, was a significant event that took place in the lead up to the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The incident involved a group of Jacobites, who were supporters of Charles Edward Stuart and his claim to the British throne, and their ship, Le Prince Charles Stuart. The ship had been stolen by Jacobites a few months earlier in Montrose and renamed, before being sent to Scotland by Louis XV of France filled with around 160 French, Spanish, Irish and Scottish men, along with £13,000 in gold (equivalent to around £1.5 million today).

However, the voyage to Scotland was not without its challenges. The ship experienced trouble soon after leaving Dunkirk and was forced ashore by English privateers on the coast of Belgium. It suffered damage, but not enough to stop Captain Talbot from continuing the voyage to Scotland. The plan was to disembark at Portsoy, a harbour town located about 50 miles from Aberdeen, but it soon became clear that Le Prince Charles Stuart was being chased by four Government ships.

Desperate and acknowledging his lack of knowledge of the area, Talbot took aboard two local fishermen to help him escape the enemy. One of the Government ships, the 24-gunned HMS Sheerness, broke off from the others and began tailing Talbot. Eventually, Talbot sailed into the Kyle of Tongue, a narrow sea inlet in the Scottish Highlands, where he hoped that the larger Sheerness would not be able to fully enter. However, he ended up beaching his ship on a sandbank, trapping it as the Sheerness was still close enough to shoot.

After several hours of continual shots being fired between the two ships, Talbot gave the orders to unload the goods. The plan was now for the crew to carry the gold and supplies to Prince Charles’ base in Inverness. As daylight broke, the men began their trek to Inverness, but the captain of the Sheerness had by this point realised that Le Prince was what had been known as HMS Hazard, and sent out a group to look for Government supporters to help capture the Jacobite soldiers.

Before long, the Jacobites were surrounded by Government men and, after several deaths and the arrival of further opposition headed by Captain George Mackay, the Jacobites surrendered. However, they reportedly threw the gold into the water before being captured. The surviving Le Prince men were imprisoned aboard the Sheerness, preventing them from being able to fight at the Battle of Culloden.

The Skirmish of Tongue had a significant impact on the Jacobite cause. The gold and soldiers of Le Prince Charles Stuart could have made a significant difference if they had arrived in time for the Battle of Culloden. Charles would have had the money to properly feed, equip and pay the troops he already had, as well as hire new ones. Additionally, it would have been a morale boost for the Jacobites to feel that they had such support and that the confidence of the leader they had been following was not unfounded.

Furthermore, the capture of Le Prince Charles Stuart and the subsequent imprisonment of its crew was a major blow to the Jacobite cause. It prevented them from being able to fight at the Battle of Culloden, which ultimately ended in defeat for the Jacobites. The ship was later recovered and renamed HMS Hazard, before being put back into the Government navy.

The Skirmish of Tongue is an interesting event in the history of the Jacobite rebellion. It highlights the challenges and setbacks that the Jacobites faced in their attempts to overthrow the British Government and restore the Stuart monarchy.