Clan MacKenzie

During the Jacobite rising of 1715 chief William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth led the Clan Mackenzie in support of the Jacobite rebels. However, during the Jacobite rising of 1745 the Clan Mackenzie was divided: The chief, Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose, did not support the Jacobites and raised several Independent Highland Companies from the Clan Mackenzie to support the British Government. However, during the 1745 rising a large part of the Clan Mackenzie followed the chief's cousin, George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie who was a Jacobite.

Jacobite rising of 1715
In what is known as the Skirmish of Alness in 1715 the Earl of Seaforth, chief of Mackenzie led a force of 3000 men that forced the retreat of a smaller force loyal to the British Government, which was commanded by the Earl of Sutherland and included the clans Sutherland, Munro, Ross and Mackay. Much of the Ross's and Munro's lands were ravaged, but they retaliated by raiding the Mackenzie lands in what is known as the Siege of Brahan.

The Siege of Inverness (1715) came to an end when the town, which was being held by the Mackenzies was surrendered to Simon Fraser of Lovat. Soon after this Colonel Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet of Foulis marched into the town of Inverness with 400 Munros and took over control as governor from Fraser. Government troops arrived in Inverness towards the end of February, and for some months the process of disarming the rebels went on, led by a Munro detachment under George Munro of Culcairn.

The clan rivalries which had erupted in rebellion were finding an outlet in local politics. The Mackenzie's position as Earl of Seaforth came to an end in 1716, and it seems to have been arranged that while the Clan Ross held the county seat the Munros would represent the Tain Burghs. To secure the burghs, control of three out of the five was necessary. Ross ascendancy was secure in Tain, and from 1716 to 1745 the Munros controlled Dingwall.

The Clan Mackenzie fought at the Battle of Glen Shiel in 1719 where they were defeated by Government forces and the Mackenzie chief was wounded, afterwards retreating to the Western Isles and from there to the Continent. In 1721 the Clan Mackenzie, led by Donald Murchison, defeated Government supporters from the Clan Ross at the Battle of Glen Affric. This was followed by the Battle of Coille Bhan where again, led by Donald Murchison and also his relative Kenneth Murchison, the Clan Mackenzie defeated Government forces. General Wade's report on the Highlands in 1724, estimated the clan strength at 3,000 men.

Jacobite rising of 1745
George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie led the Jacobite Mackenzies at the Battle of Falkirk (1746) where they were victorious in helping to defeat British Government forces. The Mackenzies then went on to lay waste to the lands of the Munros who supported the Government and burn down Foulis Castle. They also went on to lay waste to the lands of the Clan Sutherland and the Earl of Sutherland who also supported the Government, and captured Dunrobin Castle, although the Earl of Sutherland himself escaped through a back door. However, soon after this as the Earl of Cromartie and his forces were travelling south to meet Charles Edward Stuart they were attacked by the Mackay and Sutherland Independent Highland Companies who supported the British Government in what became known as the Battle of Littleferry and the Jacobite Mackenzies were prevented from joining the Jacobite army at the Battle of Culloden. Soon after George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie and his son were captured at Dunrobin Castle. The Earl of Cromartie's titles were then forfeited.

Other Mackenzies took the side of the British Government: the chief, Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose had in fact raised three Independent Highland Companies to support the British Government. In one of the Independent Highland Companies under Captain Colin Mackenzie it is recorded at Shiramore in Badenoch in June 1746 and it included many of them from Kintail as well as more than sixty men from the Clan MacRae.

War, France, and India
A number of famous regiments have been raised from the Mackenzie clan, including the Highland Light Infantry (raised in 1777), the Seaforth Highlanders (raised in 1778), and the second battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders, known as the Ross-shire Buffs (raised in 1793). All those regiments wore the MacKenzie tartan. Born in 1754, Chief Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, the last Lord Seaforth raised a regiment for the British Army in 1778, the 72nd, and the clan produced another the 78th in 1793. Both had distinguished records fighting against Napoleon and were later amalgamated into the Queen's Own Highlanders.

The 78th Regiment, as it was first called, was raised in 1778 from men on the Seaforth and other Mackenzie estates. The Earl of Seaforth, having raised his men, sailed with them to India in 1781, but died there a few months later. During the Wars in India, Colin Mackenzie (1754–1821) was Surveyor General of India, and an art collector and orientalist. He produced many of the first accurate maps of India, and his research and collections contributed significantly to the field of Asian studies. In 1799, he was part of the British force at the Battle of Seringapatam. He also fought in the Napoleonic Wars.

Throughout the 19th century Clan Mackenzie was without a chief that was recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. In 1979, Roderick Grant Francis Blunt-Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Cromartie, legally changed his surname to Mackenzie and was widely recognised as Chief of the clan (for example by Clan Mackenzie Societies around the Commonwealth). Although not descended from a Mackenzie in the male line (his father was born a Blunt and later changed to Blunt-Mackenzie after marrying Sibell Lilian Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Countess of Cromartie), he inherited his titles and Mackenzie descent through his mother (even she only claims a Mackenzie descent as a great-great-great-great-granddaughter of George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie).

On his death in 1990 his son John Ruaridh Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Cromartie succeeded as chief of Clan Mackenzie. The Earl of Cromartie still owns lands in clan country however, the largest remaining Mackenzie landowner by some margin is Mackenzie of Gairloch, with an estate which extends to over 50,000 acres (like the clan chief, Mackenzie of Gairloch has inherited his clan name and lands through the female line). The current chief is a member of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.

The current chief of Clan Mackenzie lives at Castle Leod, which is thought to date from the 16th century. The chief has leased the unoccupied old tower to the Clan Mackenzie Charitable Trust (CMCT) for 99 years. In 1991 it was announced that the castle was planned to be restored. The restoration was to include a clan genealogical centre that would be open to the public. During the 1990s there was extensive work done on the tower. In 2002 the Highland Buildings Preservation Trust (HBPT) was contacted, to carry out a feasibility study to investigate the potential for the re-use of the upper floor space of the tower, which deemed public funding to be sought to cover the costs of restoration. Because of concerns of physical and legal separation between the clan chief and the tower, the chief decided that the conditions of public funding were too onerous.