Lochiel, Lochgarry, Clanranald and Barisdale had all agreed at nearby Murlaggan on May 8 to rendezvous at Invermallie on May 18.
The plan is that there they would be joined by what remained of Keppoch's men and Cluny Macpherson's regiment (which had not taken part in the battle at Culloden).
However, things have not gone as planned.
After about a month of relative inactivity, Cumberland has moved his regulars into the Highlands.
Three battalions of regulars and eight Highland companies had reoccupied Fort Augustus on May 17; the Macphersons had surrendered the same day.
On the day of the planned rendezvous, Clanranald never appeared and Lochgarry and Barisdale only showed up with about three hundred combined (most of whom had immediately dispersed in search of food).
Lochiel, who commands possibly the strongest Jacobite unit at Culloden, is only able to muster about three hundred.
The following morning Lochiel is alerted that a body of Highlanders is approaching.
Assuming they are Barisdale's Macdonalds, Locheil waits until they are identified as Loudoun's by the "red crosses in their bonnets".
Locheil's men disperse without fighting.
The following week the Government will launch punitive expeditions into the Highlands that will continue throughout the summer.