Clan Ross ( ) is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.
History
Origins
The first recorded chief of the Clan Ross was "Fearcher Mac an t-Sagairt" which in English meant "son of the priest" alluding to his Ó Beólláin descent from the hereditary Abbots of Applecross. Fearchar helped King Alexander II of Scotland (1214–1249) crush a rebellion by Donald Bane, a rival claimant to the Scottish throne. This meant that for a short time William II, Earl of Ross sided with the English but he later supported Robert the Bruce of Scotland. The earldom of Ross and the chiefship of Clan Ross were then separated.
The Rosses took part in the Battle of Verneuil 1424, against the English in France. On the death of the Earl of Buchan and Ross at that battle, James I claimed Earldom of Ross for himself though the rightful claim to the title was in Alexander of Islay, Lord of the Isles. This was followed by the Battle of Aldy Charrish where the Rosses were defeated by the Mackays and the Ross chief was killed along with many of his clan. According to 17th-century historian Sir Robert Gordon, who was a younger son of Alexander Gordon, 12th Earl of Sutherland, the Clan Sutherland joined the side of the Clan Mackay at this battle. However 19th-century historian Angus Mackay disputes the Sutherland's presence at the battle stating that it would be unlikely that the Earl of Sutherland at the time would have assisted against the Rosses as he was married to a daughter of the Ross chief of Balnagowan, and also that the feudal superiority of the Sutherlands over the Mackays "nowhere existed save in his own fertile imagination".
In 1496, the King summoned chiefs David Ross and Iye Roy Mackay. He ordered them to appear before the Earl of Argyll who was then the Lord High Chancellor of Scotland and make peace, on the understanding that should they not be peaceful that they would be fined 500 merks.
During the Anglo-Scottish Wars, John Ross, 2nd Lord Ross of Halkhead, died when leading his forces against the English at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513.
Chief Alexander Ross 9th of Balnagowan (d.1592) is recorded as being a man of violence, utterly unscrupulous, given to raiding lands and forcing his clansmen to draw out agreements in his favour with total disregard for the law. Soon he was imprisoned in Tantallon Castle. However, he became as notorious as his father and died in 1615. He later joined the royalists for a short time only to become a covenanter again and was present at the defeat of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose at the Battle of Carbisdale in 1650. He is said to have died there in 1653 and been buried in Westminster. The Jacobites were led by William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth, chief of the Clan Mackenzie.
In 1721, a small force of men from the Clan Ross, led by chief William Ross 6th of the Pitcalnie line and his brother Robert went on a rent collecting expedition into the lands of the Mackenzies. They were defeated by a much larger force of Mackenzies at the Battle of Glen Affric. General Wade's report on the Highlands in 1724, estimated the combined clan strength of the Rosses and Munros at 700 men.
War in France
thumb|right|275px|[[Balnagown Castle once seat of the chiefs of Clan Ross. It is now owned by Mohammed Al-Fayed.]]
thumb|right|200px|Ross of Bladensburg coat of arms
Col. Charles, 13th Lord Ross of Hawkhead and 15th of Balnagowan, was killed in 1745 leading some members of the clan at the Battle of Fontenoy fighting against the French on 30 April 1745. Balnagowan passed to George, 13th Lord Ross, in 1745. William, 14th Lord Ross, died unmarried, and Balnagowan then passed to Sir James Lockhard, 2nd Baronet of Carstairs.
Jacobite rising of 1745–1746
During the Jacobite rising of 1745, in the County of Ross, although from the Pitcalnie line, the nominal 18th Chief of Clan Ross was Alexander Ross of Pitcalnie. He was a staunch Protestant, somewhat more tolerant of Jacobites than his father but definitely pro-Hanoverian. In addition, Alexander's uncle, Duncan Forbes of Culloden, was Lord President of the Court of Session for King George II of Great Britain's government in London. Duncan Forbes and Alexander Ross the Pitcalnie chief raised an Independent Highland Company to garrison Inverness Castle against the Jacobites.
The McFarquhars of Redcastle brought a strong Jacobite contingent from the Black Isle to join the forces of the Earl of Cromarty and a rebel, John Ross joined them. Forays were made before the Battle of Culloden and on the day before the battle, 15 April 1746, about 200 of the McFarquhar's Jacobite force were ambushed by pro-government Scots at the Battle of Littleferry near Golspie. At most, one-tenth survived; John Ross escaped to Sutherland but was first to be put on a list of rebels. However, apart from him the Clan Ross supported the government.
The chiefship of Clan Ross devolved upon Ross of Pitcalnie, heir of David who was the last of the direct line of Balnagowan. Sir John, the 5th baronet, assumed the name "Ross" and then, after Carstairs was sold in 1762, the designation "of Balnagowan."
The Balnagowan estate itself is no longer in Ross hands. Its recent owner, Egyptian millionaire Mohammed Fayed (d. 2023), former owner of the Harrods department store, put a lot of money into improving the estate and restoring the castle. The current Chief lives in Perthshire. His son, Hugh, and grandson, Calum, are both interested and involved in the Gaelic scene across Scotland.
Chiefs
Following the death of David Campbell Ross of Ross and Balnagowan in 2024, Fiona Campbell Ross of Ross and Balnagowan has been recognised as Chief of Clan Ross by the Lord Lyon King of Arms.
Tartans
Clan Ross has three tartans:
- Ross Red tartan
- Ross Dress tartan (modern & ancient)
- Ross Hunting tartan (modern, ancient & weathered)
Castles
- Balnagown Castle, eight miles north-east of Alness was originally built in the fourteenth century but was extended in later years. Munro's ghost is said to manifest itself into women.