Exploring history through art in association with National Galleries Scotland
The rising of 1719 was a failed attempt to restore the Stuart dynasty to the British throne. On the evening of 10 June a Jacobite army engaged with the Hanoverian forces on the slopes of Glenshiel, where the current A87 runs between Loch Cluanie and Loch Duich.
Tillemans shows the battle from the government position and is based on eye-witness accounts and contemporary plans for the deployment of forces. The figure mounted on the rearing dark horse is probably General Joseph Wightman, commander of the government garrison at Inverness.