On 13 November 1715 the Earl of Mar led his Jacobite forces into battle with the Duke of Argyll's Hanoverian troops at Sherrifmuir. Although both sides claimed victory, the outcome was indecisive.

In the 1715 rebellion the 2nd Duke of Argyll, John Campbell, led the government forces against the Jacobite forces. However, in this song, Burns alludes to the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots ...

John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll and 1st Duke of Greenwich, orator and soldier, was buried in Henry VII's chapel in Westminster Abbey on 15th October 1743. His grave is marked by a small lozenge ...