Clan Maclean History: The Battle of Inverkeithing, 20th July, 1651
The main Scots army covered the fords across the Forth at Torwood. Cromwell considered this position was too strong to attack and feinted against Fife. On 16th July after a naval bombardment a task force was sent across the Forth. By the morning of 17th July almost 2000 Cromwellian troops were ashore and had taken the Ferry Hills position at North Queensferry. The English began to dig in. They were now at their most vulnerable. However the Royalists, perhaps believing that the landing in Fife was a trick to persuade them to weaken their position covering Stirling, did not react fast enough, and it was not until 19th July that the Royalists began to arrive at Dunfermline. By this time Cromwell had sent Major General Lambert with further reinforcements across the Forth.
The Royalists established a strong position in the hills overlooking Cromwell's men. Lambert however learning that further Royalist reinforcements were on their way decided to attack. The story of battle is illustrated in the accompanying poster.
It seems likely that the Macleans reached Inverkeithing after the battle had begun, which is not surprising considering the distance they had to cover from as far as Borreray. Many of them were recruits, who were too young to have fought under Montrose. They will have been keen to prove themselves to their elder brothers. Their leader Sir Hector was also untried in battle, but he had already proved himself in his dealings with cattle-raiders. There were also plenty of veterans in the ranks of Macleans and their allies who marched to Fife, and it is probable that morale was high.