From the Ordnance Survey Name Books, which you can look at courtesy of the Scotlands Places website. This is from the Forfarshire book, recorded 1857-1861.
Hare Cairn. A prominent knoll forming the highest point of the ‘Hill of Stracathro’. There is a large remarkable stone on the top of it, which is said to have been the spot where the standard of either of the leaders was planted in the battle which took place here in 1452 [...]
After the murder of Douglas, by James 2nd, in 1452, the Earl of Crawford summoned his vassals throughout Angus, with the intention of joining the army of Douglas’ brother, who had risen to revenge his death – to march against the King’s forces. The King, desirous to cut off the communication between the armies of Douglas and Crawford, commanded the Earl of Huntly, whom he had appointed Lieutenant General, to march southwards, while he himself led a powerful army to the north, for the purpose of joining him. Crawford, equally anxious to check Huntly’s progress, met him about 10 miles from his (Crawford’s) own castle, at the ‘Hare Cairn’, about two miles northeast of the city of Brechin, on the 1st of May 1452, when a battle took place in which the valour displayed by Crawford’s party was so great that the battle had in all probability been decided in their favour, had not Collace, the laird of Balnamoon – who was offended at Crawford for refusing to comply with some demands made by him on the field – left his side, with three hundred followers, and joined the ranks of Huntly, which before long decided the battle in favour of the royalists.
The farm on which the battle was fought is still called ‘Huntlyhill’. If ever (as Mr Jarvise states) the names of Earl Beardie’s or Huntly’s stone were known to the stone on the ‘Hare Cairn’ they are now entirely forgotten.
Sir James Campbell, the proprietor, and his park keeper Alexander Howie, a very old man (who remembers it) informs me that there was a large artificial cairn of stones at this place, and that the present large monolith has been tumbled from the top of the beacon which it surmounted. The stones had become scattered in Sir James’ time and hence were removed.
J.B. Lt. Col.
You’ve got to be pretty pissed off (or just like fighting and not care who you’re fighting for) to switch sides so easily?
There is a cute little sketch of the stone on the first page.