Alasdair Mac Colla
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Sir Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich MacDhòmhnaill, 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
The Marquess of Montrose, alongside whom Mac Colla fought in 1644–45 against the forces of the Parliament of Scotland.
Highland charge
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The Highland charge was a battlefield shock tactic used by the clans of the Scottish Highlands which incorporated the use of firearms.
Alasdair Mac Colla
…Gilleasbuig) was killed at the Siege of Skipness Castle in August 1646. Mac Colla has been credited with inventing or refining the tactic of the Highland charge, which came to be a feature of several battles of the following century. In an attack, his men ran at enemy infantry, stopped to fire a coordinated…
David Morier's painting An Incident in the Rebellion of 1745 depicts the Highland charge in 1746. It shows the Highlanders wearing the plaids or kilts, which they sometimes would set aside before battle. They would fire a volley, then run full tilt at the enemy, brandishing their weapons.
Targe and broadsword from the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion
Highland Charge during the Battle of Prestonpans (from the Penicuik Drawings 1745-1746)