The Battle of Sherramuir

"The Battle of Sherramuir" is a song written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796) about the Battle of Sheriffmuir which occurred in Scotland in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rebellion in England and Scotland. It was written when Burns toured the Highlands in 1787 and first published in The Scots Musical Museum, 1790. It was written to be sung to the 'Cameronian Rant'.

The song was written as an adaptation of a broadside by John Barclay (1734-1798), called "Dialogue Between Will Lick-Ladle and Tom Clean-Cogue". Burns knew that the Battle of Sheriffmuir had ended so inconclusively that it was unclear which side had won. That knowledge formed the basis for the theme of the song which is written as an account of the battle by two shepherds taking contrary views of the events that unfolded.

One of the shepherds believes that "the red-coat lads wi' black cockades" routed the rebels, painting a fearful picture of how they managed to "hough the Clans like nine-pin kyles". The other shepherd is just as convinced that the Jacobites "did pursue / The horsemen back to Forth, man" with the eventual result that "...mony a huntit, poor Red-coat / For fear amaist did swarf, man."