Battle of Dunbar (1650) 1650
.jpg){kind=link}
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary. Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 3 September 1650 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1650 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Scotland | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Wars of the Three Kingdoms | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Commonwealth of England, Kingdom of Scotland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 55.9836, -2.4844 | Wikidata P625 |
| Official record | HES Inventory BTL7 | OGL v3 |
| Registered area | 1598.7 ha | OGL v3 |
About the battle
The Battle of Dunbar was fought between the English New Model Army, under Oliver Cromwell, and a Scottish army commanded by David Leslie on 3 September 1650 near Dunbar, Scotland. The battle resulted in a decisive victory for the English. It was the first major battle of the 1650 invasion of Scotland.
After Charles I's execution in 1649, the English Rump Parliament established a republican Commonwealth in England. When their erstwhile ally, Scotland, recognised his son Charles II as king of all of Britain on 1 May 1650 and began recruiting an army to support him, the English dispatched the New Model Army, under the command of Cromwell. The army crossed into Scotland on 22 July, with a force of over 16,000 men. The Scots withdrew to Edinburgh, stripping the land of provisions. Cromwell attempted to draw the Scots out into a set piece battle, but they resisted, and Cromwell was unable to break through their defensive line. At the end of August, with his army weakened through disease and lack of food, Cromwell withdrew to the port of Dunbar. The Scottish army followed and took up an unassailable position on Doon Hill, overlooking the town.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Dunbar (1650) (revision 1375910502), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Battlefield boundary: contains Historic Environment Scotland and OS data © Historic Environment Scotland and Crown Copyright and database right 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See also this battlefield on Battlefields of Britain.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Dunbar (1296) 1296 · 2 km
- Battle of Piperdean 1436 · 13 km
- Siege of Haddington 1548 · 19 km
- Battle of Duns 1372 · 25 km
- Battle of Nesbit Moor (1402) 1402 · 28 km
- Battle of Prestonpans 1745 · 30 km
Other battles of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
- Battle of Lagganmore 1646
- Battle of Rhunahaorine Moss 1647
- Battle of Mauchline Muir 1648
- Battle of Stirling (1648) 1648
- Siege of Dublin (1649) 1649
- Battle of Carbisdale 1650
- Battle of Inverkeithing 1651
- Battle of Worcester 1651
- Battle of Dalnaspidal 1654
- Battle of the Severn 1655
All 20 battles of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms →
Browse more: battles in Scotland · Europe · Early modern battles