After an arduous trip north, Fraser finally met up with his loyal clansmen outside of Inverness, which had been occupied by Jacobite troops. The Clan Mackenzie had already declared for the Stuart King in France, and several hundred Fraser men had joined them under the Earl of Seaforth. But "when they heard I was in my country", he claimed, "they 'made a great desertion in Mar’s army. Fraser's "energy and tactical acuity" certainly reinvigorated the government's campaign in the north, and by helping ensure no reinforcements arrived, he expedited the surrender of Inverness by its Jacobite garrison on 12 November 1715.