A.D. FEBRUARY--SEPTEMBER, 1645.
BRITISH SOVEREIGN:--Charles I., 1625-1649.
Montrose marches to Inverness and Elgin, wasting the lands of
the Covenanters--Enters and plunders Banff--Deputation from
Aberdeen--Death of Donald Farquharson--Montrose imposes a tax of
£10,000 on Aberdeen--Enters and burns Stonehaven--Defeats Hurry’s
horse at Fettercairn--Marches to Brechin and Dunkeld--Storms
and captures Dundee--Montrose’s retreat from Dundee--Movements
of General Baillie--Battle of Auldearn--Montrose’s after-movements
--Battle of Alford--General Baillie and the Committee of Estates
retreat to Stirling--Montrose marches to Aberdeen--Montrose marches
south--Is joined by more Highlanders--Threatens Perth--Retreats to
Dunkeld--Again moves south--Baillie joined by the men of Fife
--Montrose at Alloa--Maclean burns Castle Campbell--Montrose goes
towards Stirling--Differences among the Covenanters--Battle of
Kilsyth--Montrose enters Glasgow--Submission of the nobility and
the western counties--Submission of Edinburgh--Montrose appointed
Lieutenant-governor of Scotland--Desertion of Highlanders--Battle
of Philiphaugh.
When the disastrous news of the battle of Inverlochy reached
Edinburgh, the Estates were thrown into a state of great alarm. They
had, no doubt, begun to fear, before that event, and, of course, to
respect the prowess of Montrose, but they never could have been made
to believe that, within the space of a few days, a well-appointed
army, composed in part of veteran troops, would have been utterly
defeated by a force so vastly inferior in point of numbers, and
beset with difficulties and dangers to which the army of Argyle
was not exposed. Nor were the fears of the Estates much allayed by
the appearance of Argyle, who arrived at Edinburgh to give them an
account of the affair, “having his left arm tied up in a scarf, as if
he had been at bones-breaking.”[282] It is true that Lord Balmerino
made a speech before the assembly of the Estates, in which he
affirmed, that the great loss reported to be sustained at Inverlochy
“was but the invention of the malignants, who spake as they wished,”
and that “upon his honour, not more than thirty of Argyle’s men
had been killed;”[283] but as the disaster was well known, this
device only misled the weak and ignorant. Had Montrose at this
juncture descended into the Lowlands, it is not improbable that his
presence might have given a favourable turn to the state of matters
in the south, where the king’s affairs were in the most precarious
situation; but such a design does not seem to have accorded with his
views of prolonging the contest in the Highlands, which were more
suitable than the Lowlands to his plan of operations, and to the
nature of his forces.
Accordingly, after allowing his men to refresh themselves a few days
at Inverlochy, Montrose returned across the mountains of Lochaber
into Badenoch, “with displayed banner.” Marching down the south
side of the Spey, he crossed that river at Balchastel, and entered
Moray without opposition. He proceeded by rapid strides towards the
town of Inverness, which he intended to take possession of; but, on
arriving in the neighbourhood, he found it garrisoned by the laird
of Lawers’ and Buchanan’s regiments. As he did not wish to consume
his time in a siege, he immediately altered his course and marched
in the direction of Elgin, issuing, as he went along, a proclamation
in the king’s name, calling upon all males, from 16 to 60 years of
age, to join him immediately, armed as they best could, on foot or
on horse, and that under pain of fire and sword, as rebels to the
king. In consequence of this threat Montrose was joined by some of
the Moray-men, including the laird of Grant and 200 of his followers;
and, to show an example of severity, he plundered the houses and laid
waste the estates of many of the principal gentlemen of the district,
carrying off, at the same time, a large quantity of cattle and
effects, and destroying the boats and nets which they fell in with on
the Spey.[284]
Whilst Montrose was thus laying waste part of Moray, a committee of
the Estates, consisting of the Earl of Seaforth, the laird of Innes,
Sir Robert Gordon, the laird of Pluscardine, and others, was sitting
at Elgin; these, on hearing of his proceedings, prohibited the
holding of the fair which was kept there annually on Fasten’s eve,
and to which many merchants and others in the north resorted, lest
the property brought there for sale might fall a prey to Montrose’s
army. They, at the same time, sent Sir Robert Gordon, Mackenzie of
Pluscardine, and Innes of Luthers, to treat with Montrose, in name
of the gentry of Moray, most of whom were then assembled in Elgin;
but he refused to enter into any negotiation, offering, at the same
time, to accept of the services of such as would join him and obey
him as the king’s lieutenant.[285] Before this answer had been
communicated to the gentry at Elgin, they had all fled from the town
in consequence of hearing that Montrose was advancing upon them with
rapidity. The laird of Innes, along with some of his friends, retired
to the castle of Spynie, possessed by his eldest son, which was well
fortified and provided with every necessary for undergoing a siege.
The laird of Duffus went into Sutherland. As soon as the inhabitants
of the town saw the committee preparing to leave it, most of them
also resolved to depart, which they did, carrying along with them
their principal effects. Some went to Inverness, and others into
Ross, but the greater part went to the castle of Spynie, where they
sought and obtained refuge.
Apprehensive that Montrose might follow up the dreadful example he
had shown, by burning the town, a proposal was made to, and accepted
by him, to pay four thousand merks to save the town from destruction;
but, on entering it, which he did on the 19th of February, his men,
and particularly the laird of Grant’s party, were so disappointed
in their hopes of plunder, in consequence of the inhabitants having
carried away the best of their effects, that they destroyed every
article of furniture which was left.
Montrose was joined, on his arrival at Elgin, by Lord Gordon, the
eldest son of the Marquis of Huntly, with some of his friends and
vassals. This young nobleman had been long kept in a state of durance
by Argyle, his uncle, contrary to his own wishes, and now, when an
opportunity had for the first time occurred, he showed the bent of
his inclination by declaring for the king.
On taking possession of Elgin, Montrose gave orders to bring all
the ferry-boats on the Spey to the north side of the river, and
he stationed sentinels at all the fords up and down, to watch any
movements which might be made by the enemies’ forces in the south.
Montrose, thereupon, held a council of war, at which it was
determined to cross the Spey, march into the counties of Banff and
Aberdeen, by the aid of Lord Gordon, raise the friends and retainers
of the Marquis of Huntly, and thence proceed into the Mearns, where
another accession of forces was expected. Accordingly, Montrose left
Elgin on the 4th of March with the main body of his army, towards
the Bog of Gicht, accompanied by the Earl of Seaforth, Sir Robert
Gordon, the lairds of Grant, Pluscardine, Findrassie, and several
other gentlemen who “had come in to him” at Elgin. To punish the
Earl of Findlater, who had refused to join him, Montrose sent the
Farquharsons of Braemar before him, across the Spey, who plundered,
without mercy, the town of Cullen, belonging to the earl.
After crossing the Spey, Montrose, either apprehensive that
depredations would be committed upon the properties of his Moray
friends who accompanied him, by the two regiments which garrisoned
Inverness, and the Covenanters of that district, or having received
notice to that effect, he allowed the Earl of Seaforth, the laird
of Grant, and the other Moray gentlemen, to return home to defend
their estates; but before allowing them to depart, he made them
take a solemn oath of allegiance to the king, and promise that they
should never henceforth take up arms against his majesty or his loyal
subjects. At the same time, he made them come under an engagement
to join him with all their forces as soon as they could do so. The
Earl of Seaforth, however, disregarded his oath, and again joined the
ranks of the Covenanters. In a letter which he wrote to the committee
of Estates at Aberdeen, he stated that he had yielded to Montrose
through fear only, and he avowed that he would abide by “the good
cause to his death.”[286]
On Montrose’s arrival at Strathbogie, or Gordon castle, Lord Graham,
his eldest son, a most promising youth of sixteen, became unwell, and
died after a few days’ illness. The loss of a son who had followed
him in his campaigns, and shared with him the dangers of the field,
was a subject of deep regret to Montrose. While Montrose was occupied
at the death-bed of his son, Lord Gordon was busily employed among
the Gordons, out of whom he speedily raised a force of about 500
foot, and 160 horse.
With this accession to his forces, Montrose left Strathbogie and
marched towards Banff, on his route to the south. In passing by the
house of Cullen, in Boyne, the seat of the Earl of Findlater, who had
fled to Edinburgh, and left the charge of the house to the countess,
a party of Montrose’s men entered the house, which they plundered
of all its valuable contents. They then proceeded to set the house
on fire, but the countess entreated Montrose to order his men to
desist, and promised that if her husband did not come to Montrose
and give him satisfaction within fifteen days, she would pay him
20,000 merks, of which sum she instantly paid down 5,000. Montrose
complied with her request, and also spared the lands, although the
earl was “a great Covenanter.” Montrose’s men next laid waste the
lands in the Boyne, burnt the houses, and plundered the minister of
the place of all his goods and effects, including his books. The
laird of Boyne shut himself up in his stronghold, the Crag, where he
was out of danger; but he had the misfortune to see his lands laid
waste and destroyed. Montrose then went to Banff, which he gave up
to indiscriminate plunder. His troops did not leave a vestige of
moveable property in the town, and they even stripped to the skin
every man they met with in the streets. They also burned two or three
houses of little value, but not a drop of blood was shed.
From Banff Montrose proceeded to Turriff, where a deputation from
the town council of Aberdeen waited upon him, to represent the
many miseries which the loyal city had suffered from its frequent
occupation by hostile armies since the first outbreaking of the
unfortunate troubles which molested the kingdom. They further
represented, that such was the terror of the inhabitants at the idea
of another visit from his Irish troops, that all the men and women,
on hearing of his approach, had made preparations for abandoning the
town, and that they would certainly leave it if they did not get an
assurance from the marquis of safety and protection. Montrose heard
the commissioners patiently, expressed his regret at the calamities
which had befallen their town, and bade them not be afraid, as he
would take care that none of his foot, or Irish, soldiers should
come within eight miles of Aberdeen; and that if he himself should
enter the town, he would support himself at his own expense. The
commissioners returned to Aberdeen, and related the successful issue
of their journey, to the great joy of all the inhabitants.[287]
Whilst Montrose lay at Turriff, Sir Nathaniel Gordon, with some
troopers, went to Aberdeen, which he entered on Sunday, the 9th
of March, on which day there had been “no sermon in either of the
Aberdeens,” as the ministers had fled the town. The keys of the
churches, gates, and jail were delivered to him by the magistrates.
The following morning Sir Nathaniel was joined by 100 Irish dragoons.
After releasing some prisoners, he went to Torry, and took, after a
slight resistance, 1,800 muskets, pikes, and other arms, which had
been left in charge of a troop of horse. Besides receiving orders
to watch the town, Sir Nathaniel was instructed to send out scouts
as far as Cowie to watch the enemy, who were daily expected from
the south. When reconnoitring, a skirmish took place at the bridge
of Dee, in which Captain Keith’s troop was routed. Finding the
country quite clear, and no appearance of the covenanting forces,
Gordon returned back to the army, which had advanced to Frendraught.
No attempt was made upon the house of Frendraught, which was kept
by the young viscount in absence of his father, who was then at
Muchallis with his godson, Lord Fraser; but Montrose destroyed 60
ploughs of land belonging to Frendraught within the parishes of
Forgue, Inverkeithnie, and Drumblade, and the house of the minister
of Forgue, with all the other houses, and buildings, and their
contents. Nothing, in fact, was spared. All the cattle, horses,
sheep, and other domestic animals, were carried off, and the whole of
Frendraught’s lands were left a dreary and uninhabitable waste.
From Pennyburn, Montrose despatched, on the 10th of March, a letter
to the authorities of Aberdeen, commanding them to issue an order
that all men, of whatever description, between the age of sixteen
and sixty, should meet him equipped in their best arms, and such
of them as had horses, mounted on the best of them, on the 15th of
March, at his camp at Inverury, under the pain of fire and sword.
In consequence of this mandate he was joined by a considerable
number of horse and foot. On the 12th of March, Montrose arrived at
Kintore, and took up his own quarters in the house of John Cheyne,
the minister of the place, whence he issued an order commanding
each parish within the presbytery of Aberdeen, (with the exception
of the town of Aberdeen,) to send to him two commissioners, who
were required to bring along with them a complete roll of the whole
heritors, feuars, and liferenters of each parish. His object, in
requiring such a list, was to ascertain the number of men capable
of serving, and also the names of those who should refuse to join
him. Commissioners were accordingly sent from the parishes, and the
consequence was, that Montrose was joined daily by many men who would
not otherwise have assisted him, but who were now alarmed for the
safety of their properties. While at Kintore, an occurrence took
place which vexed Montrose exceedingly.
To reconnoitre and watch the motions of the enemy, Montrose had,
on the 12th of March, sent Sir Nathaniel Gordon, along with Donald
Farquharson, Captain Mortimer, and other well-mounted cavaliers, to
the number of about 80, to Aberdeen. This party, perceiving no enemy
in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, utterly neglected to place any
sentinels at the gates of the town, and spent their time at their
lodgings in entertainments and amusements. This careless conduct
did not pass unobserved by some of the Covenanters in the town,
who, it is said, sent notice thereof to Major-general Hurry, the
second in command under General Baillie, who was then lying at the
North Water Bridge with Lord Balcarras’s and other foot regiments.
On receiving this intelligence, Hurry put himself at the head of
160 horse and foot, taken from the regular regiments, and some
troopers and musketeers, and rode off to Aberdeen in great haste,
where he arrived on the 15th of March, at 8 o’clock in the evening.
Having posted sentinels at the gates to prevent any of Montrose’s
party from escaping, he entered the town at an hour when they
were all carelessly enjoying themselves in their lodgings, quite
unapprehensive of such a visit. The noise in the streets, occasioned
by the tramping of the horses, was the first indication they had
of the presence of the enemy, but it was then too late for them to
defend themselves. Donald Farquharson was killed in the street,
opposite the guard-house; “a brave gentleman,” says Spalding, “and
one of the noblest captains amongst all the Highlanders of Scotland,
and the king’s man for life and death.” The enemy stripped him of
a rich dress he had put on the same day, and left his body lying
naked in the street. A few other gentlemen were killed, and some
taken prisoners, but the greater part escaped. Hurry left the town
next day, and, on his return to Baillie’s camp, entered the town
of Montrose, and carried off Lord Graham, Montrose’s second son, a
boy of fourteen years of age, then at school, who, along with his
teacher, was sent to Edinburgh, and committed to the castle.
The gentlemen who had escaped from Aberdeen returned to Montrose, who
was greatly offended at them for their carelessness. The magistrates
of Aberdeen, alarmed lest Montrose should inflict summary vengeance
upon the town, as being implicated in the attack upon the cavaliers,
sent two commissioners to Kintore to assure him that they were in
no way concerned in that affair. Although he heard them with great
patience, he gave them no satisfaction as to his intentions, and they
returned to Aberdeen without being able to obtain any promise from
him to spare the town. Montrose contented himself with making the
merchants furnish him with cloth, and gold and silver-lace, to the
amount of £10,000 Scots, for the use of his army, which he held the
magistrates bound to pay, by a tax upon the inhabitants. “Thus,” says
Spalding, “cross upon cross upon Aberdeen.”
When Sir Nathaniel Gordon and the remainder of his party returned
to Kintore, Montrose despatched, on the same day (March 16th), a
body of 1,000 horse and foot, the latter consisting of Irish, to
Aberdeen, under the command of Macdonald, his major-general. Many of
the inhabitants, alarmed at the approach of this party, and still
having the fear of the Irish before their eyes, were preparing
to leave the town; but Macdonald relieved their apprehensions by
assuring them that the Irish, who amounted to 700, should not enter
the town; he accordingly stationed them at the Bridge of Dee and the
Two Mile Cross, he and his troopers alone entering the town. With
the exception of the houses of one or two “remarkable Covenanters,”
which were plundered, Macdonald showed the utmost respect for private
property, a circumstance which obtained for him the esteem of the
inhabitants, who had seldom experienced such kind treatment before.
Having discharged the last duties to the brave Farquharson and his
companions, Macdonald left Aberdeen, on March 18th, to join Montrose
at Durris; but he had not proceeded far when complaints were brought
to him that some of his Irish troops, who had lagged behind, had
entered the town, and were plundering it. Macdonald, therefore,
returned immediately to the town, and drove, says Spalding, “all
these rascals with sore skins out of the town before him.”[288]
Before leaving Kintore, the Earl of Airly was attacked by a fever, in
consequence of which, Montrose sent him to Lethintie, the residence
of the earl’s son-in-law, under a guard of 300 men; but he was
afterwards removed to Strathbogie for greater security. On arriving,
March 17th, at Durris, in Kincardineshire, where he was joined by
Macdonald, Montrose burnt the house and offices to the ground, set
fire to the grain, and swept away all the cattle, horses, and sheep.
He also wasted such of the lands of Fintry as belonged to Forbes of
Craigievar, to punish him for the breach of his parole; treating
in the same way the house and grain belonging to Abercrombie, the
minister of Fintry, who was “a main Covenanter.” On the 19th,
Montrose entered Stonehaven, and took up his residence in the
house of James Clerk, the provost of the town. Here learning that
the Covenanters in the north were troubling Lord Gordon’s lands, he
despatched 500 of Gordon’s foot to defend Strathbogie and his other
possessions; but he still retained Lord Gordon himself with his
troopers.
On the day after his arrival at Stonehaven, Montrose wrote a letter
to the Earl Marshal, who, along with sixteen ministers, and some
other persons of distinction, had shut himself up in his castle of
Dunottar. The bearer of the letter was not, however, suffered to
enter within the gate, and was sent back, at the instigation probably
of the earl’s lady and the ministers who were with him, without an
answer. Montrose then endeavoured, by means of George Keith, the
Earl Marshal’s brother, to persuade the latter to declare for the
king, but he refused, in consequence of which Montrose resolved to
inflict summary vengeance upon him, by burning and laying waste his
lands and those of his retainers in the neighbourhood. Acting upon
this determination, he, on the 21st of March, set fire to the houses
adjoining the castle of Dunottar, and burnt the grain which was
stacked in the barn-yards. Even the house of the minister did not
escape. He next set fire to the town of Stonehaven, sparing only the
house of the provost, in which he resided; plundered a ship which
lay in the harbour, and then set her on fire, along with all the
fishing boats. The lands and houses of Cowie shared the same hard
fate. Whilst the work of destruction was going on, it is said that
the inhabitants appeared before the castle of Dunottar, and, setting
up cries of pity, implored the earl to save them from ruin, but they
received no answer to their supplications, and the earl witnessed
from his stronghold the total destruction of the properties of his
tenants and dependents without making any effort to stop it. After he
had effected the destruction of the barony of Dunottar, Montrose set
fire to the lands of Fetteresso, one-fourth part of which was burnt
up, together with the whole corn in the yards. A beautiful deer park
was also burnt, and its alarmed inmates were all taken and killed, as
well as all the cattle in the barony. Montrose next proceeded to
Drumlaithie and Urie, belonging to John Forbes of Leslie, a leading
Covenanter, where he committed similar depredations.
[Illustration: Dunottar Castle in the 17th century.--From Slezer’s
_Theatrum Scotiæ_ (1693).]
Montrose, on the following day, advanced to Fettercairn, where he
quartered his foot soldiers, sending out quarter-masters through the
country, and about the town of Montrose, to provide quarters for some
troopers; but, as these troopers were proceeding on their journey,
they were alarmed by the sudden appearance of some of Major-general
Hurry’s troops, who had concealed themselves within the plantation
of Halkerton. These, suddenly issuing from the wood, set up a loud
shout, on hearing which the troopers immediately turned to the right
about and went back to the camp. This party turned out to be a body
of 600 horse, under the command of Hurry himself, who had left the
head-quarters of General Baillie, at Brechin, for the purpose of
reconnoitring Montrose’s movements. In order to deceive Hurry, who
kept advancing with his 600 horse, Montrose placed his horse, which
amounted only to 200, and which he took care to line with some expert
musqueteers, in a prominent situation, and concealed his foot in
an adjoining valley. This _ruse_ had the desired effect, for Hurry
imagining that there were no other forces at hand, immediately
attacked the small body of horse opposed to him; but he was soon
undeceived by the sudden appearance of the foot, and forced to
retreat with precipitation. Though his men were greatly alarmed,
Hurry, who was a brave officer, having placed himself in the rear,
managed to retreat across the North Esk with very little loss.
After this affair Montrose allowed his men to refresh themselves for
a few days, and, on the 25th of March, put his army in motion in the
direction of Brechin. On hearing of his approach, the inhabitants of
the town concealed their effects in the castle, and in the steeples
of churches, and fled. Montrose’s troops, although they found out the
secreted goods, were so enraged at the conduct of the inhabitants
that they plundered the town, and burnt about sixty houses.
From Brechin, Montrose proceeded through Angus, with the intention
either of fighting Baillie, or of marching onwards to the south. His
whole force, at this time, did not exceed 3,000 men, and, on reaching
Kirriemuir, his cavalry was greatly diminished by his having been
obliged to send away about 160 horsemen to Strathbogie, under Lord
Gordon and his brother Lewis, to defend their father’s possessions
against the Covenanters. Montrose proceeded with his army along the
foot of the Grampians, in the direction of Dunkeld, where he intended
to cross the Tay in the sight of General Baillie, who commanded an
army greatly superior in numbers; but, although Montrose frequently
offered him battle, Baillie, contrary, it is said, to the advice
of Hurry, as often declined it. On arriving at the water of Isla,
the two armies, separated by that stream, remained motionless for
several days, as if undetermined how to act. At length Montrose sent
a trumpeter to Baillie offering him battle; and as the water could
not be safely passed by his army if opposed, Montrose proposed to
allow Baillie to pass it unmolested, on condition that he would give
him his word of honour that he would fight without delay; but Baillie
answered that he would attend to his own business himself, and that
he would fight when he himself thought proper. The conduct of Baillie
throughout seems altogether extraordinary, but it is alleged that he
had no power to act for himself, being subject to the directions of a
council of war, composed of the Earls of Crawford and Cassilis, Lords
Balmerino, Kirkcudbright, and others.[289]
As Montrose could not attempt to cross the water of Isla without
cavalry, in opposition to a force so greatly superior, he led
his army off in the direction of the Grampians, and marched upon
Dunkeld, of which he took possession. Baillie being fully aware of
his intention to cross the Tay, immediately withdrew to Perth for
the purpose of opposing Montrose’s passage; but, if Montrose really
entertained such an intention after he had sent away the Gordon
troopers, he abandoned it after reaching Dunkeld, and resolved to
retrace his steps northwards. Being anxious, however, to signalize
himself by some important achievement before he returned to the
north, and to give confidence to the royalists, he determined to
surprise Dundee, a town which had rendered itself particularly
obnoxious to him for the resistance made by the inhabitants after
the battle of Tippermuir. Having sent off the weaker part of his
troops, and those who were lightly armed, with his heavy baggage,
along the bottom of the hills with instructions to meet him at
Brechin, Montrose himself, at the head of about 150 horse, and 600
expert musketeers,[290] left Dunkeld on April 3d about mid-night, and
marched with such extraordinary expedition that he arrived at Dundee
Law at 10 o’clock in the morning, where he encamped. Montrose then
sent a trumpeter into the town with a summons requiring a surrender,
promising that, in the event of compliance, he would protect the
lives and properties of the inhabitants, but threatening, in case
of refusal, to set fire to the town and put the inhabitants to the
sword. Instead of returning an answer to this demand, the town’s
people put the messenger into prison. This insult was keenly felt by
Montrose, who immediately gave orders to his troops to storm the town
in three different places at once, and to fulfil the threat which
he had held out in case of resistance. The inhabitants, in the mean
time, made such preparations for defence as the shortness of the time
allowed, but, although they fought bravely, they could not resist
the impetuosity of Montrose’s troops, who, impelled by a spirit of
revenge, and a thirst for plunder, which Dundee, then one of the
largest and most opulent towns in Scotland, offered them considerable
opportunities of gratifying, forced the inhabitants from the stations
they occupied, and turned the cannon which they had planted in the
streets against themselves. The contest, however, continued in
various quarters of the town for several hours, during which the town
was set on fire in different places. The whole of that quarter of the
town called the Bonnet Hill fell a prey to the flames, and the entire
town would have certainly shared the same fate had not Montrose’s
men chiefly occupied themselves in plundering the houses and filling
themselves with the contents of the wine cellars. The sack of the
town continued till the evening, and the inhabitants were subjected
to every excess which an infuriated and victorious soldiery, maddened
by intoxication, could inflict.
This melancholy state of things was, however, fortunately put an end
to by intelligence having been brought to Montrose, who had viewed
the storming of the town from the neighbouring height of Dundee Law,
that General Baillie was marching in great haste down the Carse of
Gowrie, towards Dundee, with 3,000 foot and 800 horse. On receiving
this news from his scouts, Montrose gave immediate orders to his
troops to evacuate Dundee, but so intent were they upon their booty,
that it was with the utmost difficulty they could be prevailed upon
to leave the town, and, before the last of them could be induced to
retire, some of the enemy’s troops were within gun-shot of them.
The sudden appearance of Baillie’s army was quite unlooked-for, as
Montrose had been made to believe, from the reports of his scouts,
that it had crossed the Tay, and was proceeding to the Forth, when,
in fact, only a very small part, which had been mistaken by the
scouts for the entire army of Baillie, had passed.
In this critical conjuncture, Montrose held a council of war, to
consult how to act under the perilous circumstances in which he was
now placed. The council was divided between two opinions. Some of
them advised Montrose to consult his personal safety, by riding off
to the north with his horse, leaving the foot to their fate, as they
considered it utterly impossible for him to carry them off in their
present state, fatigued, and worn out as they were by a march of 24
miles during the preceding night, and rendered almost incapable of
resisting the enemy, from the debauch they had indulged in during
the day. Besides, they would require to march 20 or even 30 miles,
before they could reckon themselves secure from the attacks of their
pursuers, a journey which it was deemed impossible to perform,
without being previously allowed some hours repose. In this way, and
in no other, urged the advocates of this view, might he expect to
retrieve matters, as he could, by his presence among his friends in
the north, raise new forces; but that, if he himself was cut off, the
king’s affairs would be utterly ruined. The other part of the council
gave quite an opposite opinion, by declaring that, as the cause for
which they had fought so gloriously was now irretrievably lost, they
should remain in their position, and await the issue of an attack,
judging it more honourable to die fighting in defence of their
king, than to seek safety in an ignominious flight, which would
be rendered still more disgraceful by abandoning their unfortunate
fellow-warriors to the mercy of a revengeful foe.
Montrose, however, disapproved of both these plans. He considered the
first as unbecoming the generosity of men who had fought so often
side by side; and the second he thought extremely rash and imprudent.
He, therefore, resolved to steer a middle course, and, refusing to
abandon his brave companions in arms in the hour of danger, gave
orders for an immediate retreat, in the direction of Arbroath. This,
however, was a mere manœuvre to deceive the enemy, as Montrose
intended, after nightfall, to march towards the Grampians. In order
to make his retreat more secure, Montrose despatched 400 of his
foot, and gave them orders to march as quickly as possible, without
breaking their ranks. These were followed by 200 of his most expert
musketeers, and Montrose himself closed the rear with his horse in
open rank, so as to admit the musketeers to interline them, in case
of an attack. It was about six o’clock in the evening when Montrose
began his retreat, at which hour the last of Baillie’s foot had
reached Dundee.
Scarcely had Montrose begun to move, when intelligence was received
by Baillie, from some prisoners he had taken, of Montrose’s
intentions, which was now confirmed by ocular proof. A proposal, it
is said, was then made by Hurry, to follow Montrose with the whole
army, and attack him, but Baillie rejected it; and the better, as he
thought, to secure Montrose, and prevent his escape, he divided his
army into two parts, one of which he sent off in the direction of the
Grampians, to prevent Montrose from entering the Highlands; and the
other followed directly in the rear of Montrose. He thus expected
to be able to cut off Montrose entirely, and to encourage his men
to the pursuit, he offered a reward of 20,000 crowns to any one who
should bring him Montrose’s head. Baillie’s cavalry soon came up with
Montrose’s rear, but they were so well received by the musketeers,
who brought down some of them, that they became very cautious in
their approaches. The darkness of the night soon put an end to the
pursuit, and Montrose continued unmolested his march to Arbroath, in
the neighbourhood of which he arrived about midnight. His troops had
now marched upwards of 40 miles, 17 of which they had performed in
a few hours, in the face of a large army, and had passed two nights
and a day without sleep; but as their safety might be endangered
by allowing them to repose till daylight, Montrose entreated them
to proceed on their march. Though almost exhausted with incessant
fatigue, and over-powered with drowsiness, they readily obeyed the
order of their general, and, after a short halt, proceeded on their
route in a northwesterly direction. They arrived at the South Esk
early in the morning, which they crossed, at sunrise, near Carriston
Castle.
Montrose now sent notice to the party which he had despatched from
Dunkeld to Brechin, with his baggage, to join him, but they had, on
hearing of his retreat, already taken refuge among the neighbouring
hills. Baillie, who had passed the night at Forfar, now considered
that he had Montrose completely in his power; but, to his utter
amazement, not a trace of Montrose was to be seen next morning.
Little did he imagine that Montrose had passed close by him during
the night, and eluded his grasp. Chagrined at this unexpected
disappointment, Baillie, without waiting for his foot, galloped off
at full speed to overtake Montrose, and, with such celerity did he
travel, that he was close upon Montrose before the latter received
notice of his approach. The whole of Montrose’s men, with the
exception of a few sentinels, were now stretched upon the ground,
in a state of profound repose, and, so firmly did sleep hold their
exhausted frames in its grasp, that it was with the utmost difficulty
that they could be aroused from their slumbers, or made sensible of
their danger. The sentinels, it is said, had even to prick some of
them with their swords, before they could be awakened,[291] and when
at length the sleepers were aroused they effected a retreat, after
some skirmishing, to the foot of the Grampians, about three miles
distant from their camp, and retired, thereafter, through Glenesk
into the interior without further molestation.
This memorable retreat is certainly one of the most extraordinary
events which occurred during the whole of Montrose’s campaigns. It
is not surprising, that some of the most experienced officers in
Britain, and in France and Germany, considered it the most splendid
of all Montrose’s achievements.[292]
Being now secure from all danger in the fastnesses of the Grampians,
Montrose allowed his men to refresh themselves for some days.
Whilst enjoying this necessary relaxation from the fatigues of the
field, intelligence was brought to Montrose that a division of the
covenanting army, under Hurry, was in full march on Aberdeen, with an
intention of proceeding into Moray. Judging that an attack upon the
possessions of the Gordons would be one of Hurry’s objects, Montrose
despatched Lord Gordon with his horse to the north, for the purpose
of assisting his friends in case of attack.
It was not in the nature of Montrose to remain inactive for any
length of time, and an occurrence, of which he had received notice,
had lately taken place, which determined him to return a second
time to Dunkeld. This was the escape of Viscount Aboyne, and some
other noblemen and gentlemen, from Carlisle, who, he was informed,
were on their way north to join him. Apprehensive that they might
be interrupted by Baillie’s troops, he resolved to make a diversion
in their favour, and, by drawing off the attention of Baillie,
enable them the more effectually to elude observation. Leaving,
therefore, Macdonald, with about 200 men, to beat up the enemy in the
neighbourhood of Coupar-Angus, Montrose proceeded, with the remainder
of his forces, consisting only of 500 foot and 50 horse, to Dunkeld,
whence he marched to Crieff, which is about 17 miles west from Perth.
It was not until he had arrived at the latter town that Baillie,
who, after his pursuit of Montrose, had returned to Perth with his
army, heard of this movement. As Baillie was sufficiently aware of
the weakness of Montrose’s force, and as he was sure that, with such
a great disparity, Montrose would not risk a general engagement, he
endeavoured to surprise him, in the hope either of cutting him off
entirely, or crippling him so effectually as to prevent
him from again taking the field. He therefore left Perth during the
night of the 7th of April, with his whole army, consisting of 2,000
foot and 500 horse, with the intention of falling upon Montrose
by break of day, before he should be aware of his presence; but
Montrose’s experience had taught him the necessity of being always
upon his guard when so near an enemy’s camp, and, accordingly, he
had drawn up his army, in anticipation of Baillie’s advance, in such
order as would enable him either to give battle or retreat.
As soon as he heard of Baillie’s approach, Montrose advanced with his
horse to reconnoitre, and having ascertained the enemy’s strength and
numbers, which were too formidable to be encountered with his little
band, brave as they were, he gave immediate orders to his foot to
retreat with speed up Strathearn, and to retire into the adjoining
passes. To prevent them from being harassed in their retreat by the
enemy’s cavalry, Montrose covered their rear with his small body of
horse, sustaining a very severe attack, which he warmly repulsed.
After a march of about eight miles, Montrose’s troops arrived at
the pass of Strathearn, of which they took immediate possession,
and Baillie, thinking it useless to follow them into their retreat,
discontinued the pursuit, and retired with his army towards Perth.
Montrose passed the night on the banks of Loch Earn, and marched
next morning through Balquidder, where he was joined, at the ford
of Cardross, by the Viscount Aboyne, the Master of Napier, Hay
of Dalgetty, and Stirling of Keir, who, along with the Earl of
Nithsdale, Lord Herries, and others, had escaped from Carlisle, as
before stated.
No sooner had Baillie returned from the pursuit of Montrose than
intelligence was brought him that Macdonald, with the 200 men which
Montrose had left with him, had burnt the town of Coupar-Angus,--that
he had wasted the lands of Lord Balmerino,--killed Patrick Lindsay,
the minister of Coupar,--and finally, after routing some troopers of
Lord Balcarras, and carrying off their horses and arms, had fled to
the hills. This occurrence, withdrawing the attention of Baillie from
Montrose’s future movements, enabled the latter to proceed to the
north without opposition.
Montrose had advanced as far as Loch Katrine, when a messenger
brought him intelligence that General Hurry was in the Enzie with a
considerable force, that he had been joined by some of the Moray-men,
and, after plundering and laying waste the country, was preparing to
attack Lord Gordon, who had not a sufficient force to oppose him. On
receiving this information, Montrose resolved to proceed immediately
to the north to save the Gordons from the destruction which appeared
to hang over them, hoping that, with such accessions of force as he
might obtain in his march, united with that under Lord Gordon, he
would succeed in defeating Hurry before Baillie should be aware of
his movements.
He, therefore, returned through Balquidder, marched, with rapid
strides, along the side of Loch Tay, through Athole and Angus, and,
crossing the Grampian hills, proceeded down the Strath of Glenmuck.
In his march, Montrose was joined by the Athole-men and the other
Highlanders who had obtained, or rather taken leave of absence after
the battle of Inverlochy, and also by Macdonald and his party. On
arriving in the neighbourhood of Auchindoun, he was met by Lord
Gordon, at the head of 1,000 foot and 200 horse. Montrose crossed
the Dee on the 1st of May, at the mill of Crathie--having provided
himself with ammunition from a ship in Aberdeen harbour--continued
his march towards the Spey, and before Hurry was even aware that
the enemy had crossed the Grampians, he found them within six miles
of his camp. The sudden appearance of Montrose with such a superior
force--for Hurry had only at this time about 1,000 foot and 200
horse--greatly alarmed him, and raising his camp, he crossed the Spey
in great haste, with the intention of marching to Inverness, where
he would be joined by the troops of the garrison, and receive large
reinforcements from the neighbouring counties. Montrose immediately
pursued him, and followed close upon his heels to the distance of 14
miles beyond Forres, when, favoured by the darkness of the night,
Hurry effected his escape, with little loss, and arrived at Inverness.
The panic into which Hurry had been thrown soon gave way to a very
different feeling, as he found the Earls of Seaforth and Sutherland
with their retainers, and the clan Fraser, and others from Moray
and Caithness, all assembled at Inverness, as he had directed. This
accession of force increased his army to 3,500 foot and 400 horse.
He therefore resolved to act on the offensive, by giving battle to
Montrose immediately.
Montrose had taken up a position at the village of Auldearn,
about three miles south-east from Nairn, on the morning after
the pursuit. In the course of the day, Hurry advanced with all
his forces, including the garrison of Inverness, towards Nairn;
and, on approaching Auldearn, formed his army in order of battle.
Montrose’s force, which had been greatly weakened by the return of
the Athole-men and other Highlanders to defend their country from the
depredations of Baillie’s army, now consisted of only 1,500 foot and
250 horse. It was not, therefore, without great reluctance, that he
resolved to risk a battle with an enemy more than double in point of
numbers, and composed in great part of veteran troops; but, pressed
as he was by Hurry, and in danger of being attacked in his rear by
Baillie, who was advancing by forced marches to the north, he had
no alternative but to hazard a general engagement. He therefore
instantly looked about him for an advantageous position.
The village of Auldearn stands upon a height, behind which, or on the
east, is a valley, overlooked by a ridge of little eminences, running
in a northerly direction, and which almost conceals the valley from
view. In this hollow Montrose arranged his forces in order of battle.
Having formed them into two divisions, he posted the right wing on
the north of the village, at a place where there was a considerable
number of dikes and ditches. This body, which consisted of 400 men,
chiefly Irish, was placed under the command of Macdonald. On taking
their stations, Montrose gave them strict injunctions not to leave
their position on any account, as they were effectually protected by
the walls around them, not only from the attacks of cavalry, but of
foot, and could, without much danger to themselves, keep up a galling
and destructive fire upon their assailants. In order to attract the
best troops of the enemy to this difficult spot where they could not
act, and to make them believe that Montrose commanded this wing, he
gave the royal standard to Macdonald, intending, when they should get
entangled among the bushes and dikes, with which the ground to the
right was covered, to attack them himself with his left wing; and to
enable him to do so the more effectually, he placed the whole of his
horse and the remainder of the foot on the left wing to the south of
the village. The former he committed to the charge of Lord Gordon,
reserving the command of the latter to himself. After placing a few
chosen foot with some cannon in front of the village, under cover of
some dikes, Montrose firmly awaited the attack of the enemy.
Hurry divided his foot and his horse each into two divisions. On
the right wing of the main body of the foot, which was commanded by
Campbell of Lawers, Hurry placed the regular cavalry which he had
brought from the south, and on the left the horse of Moray and the
north, under the charge of Captain Drummond. The other division of
foot was placed behind as a reserve, and commanded by Hurry himself.
When Hurry observed the singular position which Montrose had taken
up, he was utterly at a loss to guess his designs, and though
it appeared to him, skilful as he was in the art of war, a most
extraordinary and novel sight, yet, from the well known character
of Montrose, he was satisfied that Montrose’s arrangements were
the result of a deep laid scheme. But what especially excited the
surprise of Hurry, was the appearance of the large yellow banner or
royal standard in the midst of a small body of foot stationed among
hedges and dikes and stones, almost isolated from the horse and the
main body of the foot. To attack this party, at the head of which
he naturally supposed Montrose was, was his first object. This was
precisely what Montrose had wished; his snare proved successful. With
the design of overwhelming at once the right wing, Hurry despatched
towards it the best of his horse and all his veteran troops, who
made a furious attack upon Macdonald’s party, the latter defending
themselves bravely behind the dikes and bushes. The contest continued
for some time on the right with varied success, and Hurry, who had
plenty of men to spare, relieved those who were engaged by fresh
troops. Montrose, who kept a steady eye upon the motions of the
enemy, and watched a favourable opportunity for making a grand attack
upon them with the left wing, was just preparing to carry his design
into execution, when a confidential person suddenly rode up to him
and whispered in his ear that the right wing had been put to flight.
This intelligence was not, however, quite correct. It seems that
Macdonald who, says Wishart, “was a brave enough man, but rather a
better soldier than a general, extremely violent, and daring even
to rashness,” had been so provoked with the taunts and insults of
the enemy, that in spite of the express orders he had received
from Montrose on no account to leave his position, he had unwisely
advanced beyond it to attack the enemy, and though he had been
several times repulsed he returned to the charge. But he was at last
borne down by the great numerical superiority of the enemy’s horse
and foot, consisting of veteran troops, and forced to retire in
great disorder into an adjoining enclosure. Nothing, however, could
exceed the admirable manner in which he managed this retreat, and the
courage he displayed while leading off his men. Defending his body
with a large target, he resisted, single-handed, the assaults of the
enemy, and was the last man to leave the field. So closely indeed was
he pressed by Hurry’s spearmen, that some of them actually came so
near him as to fix their spears in his target, which he cut off by
threes or fours at a time with his broadsword.[293]
It was during this retreat that Montrose received the intelligence of
the flight of the right wing; but he preserved his usual presence of
mind, and to encourage his men, who might get alarmed at hearing such
news, he thus addressed Lord Gordon, loud enough to be heard by his
troops, “What are we doing, my Lord? Our friend Macdonald has routed
the enemy on the right and is carrying all before him. Shall we look
on and let him carry off the whole honour of the day?” A crisis had
arrived, and not a moment was to be lost. Scarcely, therefore, were
the words out of Montrose’s mouth, when he ordered his men to charge
the enemy. When his men were advancing to the charge, Captain or
Major Drummond, who commanded Hurry’s horse, made an awkward movement
by wheeling about his men, and his horse coming in contact with the
foot, broke their ranks and occasioned considerable confusion. Lord
Gordon seeing this, immediately rushed in upon Drummond’s horse with
his party and put them to flight. Montrose followed hard with the
foot, and attacked the main body of Hurry’s army, which he routed
after a powerful resistance. The veterans in Hurry’s army, who had
served in Ireland, fought manfully, and chose rather to be cut down
standing in their ranks than retreat; but the new levies from Moray,
Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness, fled in great consternation. They
were pursued for several miles, and might have been all killed or
captured if Lord Aboyne had not, by an unnecessary display of ensigns
and standards, which he had taken from the enemy, attracted the
notice of the pursuers, who halted for some time under the impression
that a fresh party of the enemy was coming up to attack them. In this
way Hurry and some of his troops, who were the last to leave the
field of battle, as well as the other fugitives, escaped from the
impending danger, and arrived at Inverness the following morning. As
the loss of this battle was mainly owing to Captain Drummond, he was
tried by a court-martial at Inverness, and condemned to be shot, a
sentence which was carried into immediate execution. He was accused
of having betrayed the army, and it is said that he admitted that
after the battle had commenced he had spoken with the enemy.[294]
The number of killed on both sides has been variously stated. That
on the side of the Covenanters has been reckoned by one writer
at 1,000,[295] by another[296] at 2,000, and by a third at 3,000
men.[297] Montrose, on the other hand, is said by the first of these
authors to have lost about 200 men, while the second says that he had
only “some twenty-four gentlemen hurt, and some few Irish killed,”
and Wishart informs us that Montrose only missed one private man
on the left, and that the right wing, commanded by Macdonald, “lost
only fourteen private men.” The clans who had joined Hurry suffered
considerably, particularly the Frasers, who, besides unmarried men,
are said to have left dead on the field no less than 87 married men.
Among the principal covenanting officers who were slain were Colonel
Campbell of Lawers, Sir John and Sir Gideon Murray, and Colonel James
Campbell, with several other officers of inferior note. The laird
of Lawers’s brother, Archibald Campbell, and a few other officers,
were taken prisoners. Captain Macdonald and William Macpherson of
Invereschie were the only persons of any note killed on Montrose’s
side. Montrose took several prisoners, whom, with the wounded,
he treated with great kindness. Such of the former as expressed
their sorrow for having joined the ranks of the Covenanters he
released--others who were disposed to join him he received into his
army, but such as remained obstinate he imprisoned. Besides taking
16 standards from the enemy, Montrose got possession of the whole
of their baggage, provisions, and ammunition, and a considerable
quantity of money and valuable effects. The battle of Auldearn was
fought on the 4th of May, according to Wishart,[298] and on the 9th
according to others,[299] in the year 1645.
The immense disproportion between the numbers of the slain on the
side of the Covenanters and that of the prisoners taken by Montrose
evidently shows that very little quarter had been given, the cause
of which is said to have been the murder of James Gordon, younger of
Rhiny, who was killed by a party from the garrison of Spynie, and by
some of the inhabitants of Elgin, at Struders, near Forres, where he
had been left in consequence of a severe wound he had received in a
skirmish during Hurry’s first retreat to Inverness.[300] But Montrose
revenged himself still farther by advancing to Elgin and burning the
houses of all those who had been concerned in the murder, at the same
time sending out a party[301] to treat in a similar way the town of
Garmouth, belonging to the laird of Innes.
While these proceedings were going on, Montrose sent his whole
baggage, booty, and warlike stores across the Spey, which he himself
crossed upon the 14th of May, proceeding to Birkenbog, the seat of “a
great Covenanter,” where he took up his head quarters. He quartered
his men in the neighbourhood, and, during a short stay at Birkenbog,
he sent out different parties of his troops to scour the country, and
take vengeance on the Covenanters.
When General Baillie first heard of the defeat of his colleague,
Hurry, at Auldearn, he was lying at Cromar, with his army. He had,
in the beginning of May, after Montrose’s departure to the north,
entered Athole, which he had wasted with fire and sword, and had
made an attempt upon the strong castle of Blair, in which many of
the prisoners taken at the battle of Inverlochy were confined;
but, not succeeding in his enterprise, he had, after collecting an
immense booty, marched through Athole, and, passing by Kirriemuir
and Fettercairn, encamped on the Birse on the 10th of May. His force
at this time amounted to about 2,000 foot and 120 troopers. On the
following day he had marched to Cromar, where he encamped between
the Kirks of Coull and Tarlan till he should be joined by Lord
Balcarras’s horse regiment. In a short time he was joined, not only
by Balcarras’s regiment, but by two foot regiments. The ministers
endeavoured to induce the country people also to join Baillie, by
“thundering out of pulpits,” but “they lay still,” says Spalding,
“and would not follow him.”[302]
As soon as Baillie heard of the defeat of Hurry, he raised his camp
at Cromar, upon the 19th of May, and hastened north. He arrived at
the wood of Cochlarachie, within two miles of Strathbogie, before
Montrose was aware of his approach. Here he was joined by Hurry,
who, with some horse from Inverness, had passed themselves off as
belonging to Lord Gordon’s party, and had thus been permitted to go
through Montrose’s lines without opposition.
It was on the 19th of May, when lying at Birkenbog, that Montrose
received the intelligence of Baillie’s arrival in the neighbourhood
of Strathbogie. Although Montrose’s men had not yet wholly recovered
from the fatigues of their late extraordinary march and subsequent
labours, and although their numbers had been reduced since the battle
of Auldearn, by the departure of some of the Highlanders with the
booty they had acquired, they felt no disinclination to engage the
enemy, but, on the contrary, were desirous of coming to immediate
action. But Montrose, although he had the utmost confidence in the
often tried courage of his troops, judged it more expedient to avoid
an engagement at present, and to retire, in the meantime, into his
fastnesses to recruit his exhausted strength, than risk another
battle with a fresh force, greatly superior to his own. In order to
deceive the enemy as to his intentions, he advanced, the same day,
upon Strathbogie, and, within view of their camp, began to make
intrenchments, and raise fortifications, as if preparing to defend
himself. But as soon as the darkness of the night prevented Baillie
from discovering his motions, Montrose marched rapidly up the south
side of the Spey with his foot, leaving his horse behind him, with
instructions to follow him as soon as daylight began to appear.
Baillie had passed the night in the confident expectation of a
battle next day, but was surprised to learn the following morning
that not a vestige of Montrose’s army was to be seen. Montrose had
taken the route to Balveny, which having been ascertained by Baillie,
he immediately prepared to follow. He, accordingly, crossed the
Spey, and after a rapid march, almost overtook the retiring foe in
Glenlivet; but Montrose, having outdistanced his pursuers by several
miles before night came on, got the start of them so completely,
that they were quite at a loss next morning to ascertain the route
he had taken, and could only guess at it by observing the traces
of his footsteps on the grass and the heather over which he had
passed. Following, therefore, the course thus pointed out, Baillie
came again in sight of Montrose; but he found that he had taken up
a position, which, whilst it almost defied approach from its rocky
and woody situation, commanded the entrance into Badenoch, from
which country Montrose could, without molestation, draw supplies of
both men and provisions. To attack Montrose in his stronghold was
out of the question; but, in the hope of withdrawing him from it,
Baillie encamped his army hard by. Montrose lay quite secure in his
well-chosen position, from which he sent out parties who, skirmishing
by day, and beating up the quarters of the enemy during the night, so
harassed and frightened them, that they were obliged to retreat to
Inverness, after a stay of a few days, a measure which was rendered
still more necessary from the want of provisions and of provender
for the horses. Leaving Inverness, Baillie crossed the Spey, and
proceeded to Aberdeenshire, arriving on the 3d of June at Newton, in
the Garioch, “where he encamped, destroying the country, and cutting
the green growing crops to the very clod.”[303]
Having got quit of the presence of Baillie’s army, Montrose resolved
to make a descent into Angus, and attack the Earl of Crawford, who
lay at the castle of Newtyle with an army of reserve to support
Baillie, and to prevent Montrose from crossing the Forth, and
carrying the war into the south. This nobleman, who stood next to
Argyle, as head of the Covenanters, had often complained to the
Estates against Argyle, whose rival he was, for his inactivity and
pusillanimity; and having insinuated that he would have acted a very
different part had the command of such an army as Argyle had, been
intrusted to him, he had the address to obtain the command of the
army now under him, which had been newly raised; but the earl was
without military experience, and quite unfit to cope with Montrose.
Proceeding through Badenoch, Montrose crossed the Grampians, and
arrived by rapid marches on the banks of the river Airly, within
seven miles of Crawford’s camp, but was prevented from giving battle
by the desertion of the Gordons and their friends, who almost all
returned to their country.
He now formed the resolution to attack Baillie himself, but before
he could venture on such a bold step, he saw that there was an
absolute necessity of making some additions to his force. With this
view he sent Sir Nathaniel Gordon, an influential cavalier, into the
north before him, to raise the Gordons and the other royalists; and,
on his march north through Glenshee and the Braes of Mar, Montrose
despatched Macdonald into the remoter Highlands with a party to bring
him, as speedily as possible, all the forces he could. Judging that
the influence and authority of Lord Gordon might greatly assist Sir
Nathaniel, he sent him after him, and Montrose himself encamped in
the country of Cromar, waiting for the expected reinforcements.
In the meantime, Baillie lay in camp on Dee-side, in the lower part
of Mar, where he was joined by Crawford; but he showed no disposition
to attack Montrose, who, from the inferiority, in point of number, of
his forces, retired to the old castle of Kargarf. Crawford did not,
however, remain long with Baillie; but, exchanging a thousand of his
raw recruits for a similar number of Baillie’s veterans, he returned
with these, and the remainder of his army, through the Mearns into
Angus, as if he intended some mighty exploit; he, thereafter, entered
Athole, and in imitation of Argyle, plundered and burnt the country.
Raising his camp, Baillie marched towards Strathbogie to lay siege to
the Marquis of Huntly’s castle, the Bog of Gight, now Gordon castle;
but although Montrose had not yet received any reinforcements, he
resolved to follow Baillie and prevent him from putting his design
into execution. But Montrose had marched scarcely three miles when he
was observed by Baillie’s scouts, and at the same time ascertained
that Baillie had taken up a strong position on a rising ground above
Keith, about two miles off. Next morning Montrose, not considering it
advisable to attack Baillie in the strong position he occupied, sent
a trumpeter to him offering to engage him on open ground, but Baillie
answered the hostile message by saying, that he would not receive
orders for fighting from his enemy.[304]
In this situation of matters, Montrose had recourse to stratagem to
draw Baillie from his stronghold. By retiring across the river Don,
the covenanting general was led to believe that Montrose intended to
march to the south, and he was, therefore, advised by a committee
of the Estates which always accompanied him, and in whose hands he
appears to have been a mere passive instrument, to pursue Montrose.
As soon as Montrose’s scouts brought intelligence that Baillie was
advancing, he set off by break of day to the village of Alford on
the river Don, where he intended to await the enemy. When Baillie
was informed of this movement, he imagined that Montrose was in full
retreat before him, a supposition which encouraged him so to hasten
his march, that he came up with Montrose at noon at the distance of a
few miles from Alford. Montrose, thereupon, drew up his army in order
of battle on an advantageous rising ground and waited for the enemy;
but instead of attacking him, Baillie made a detour to the left with
the intention of getting into Montrose’s rear and cutting off his
retreat. Montrose then continued his march to Alford, where he passed
the night.
On the following morning, the 2d of July, the two armies were only
the distance of about four miles from each other. Montrose drew up
his troops on a little hill behind the village of Alford. In his rear
was a marsh full of ditches and pits, which would protect him from
the inroads of Baillie’s cavalry should they attempt to assail in
that quarter, and in his front stood a steep hill, which prevented
the enemy from observing his motions. He gave the command of the
right wing to Lord Gordon and Sir Nathaniel; the left he committed to
Viscount Aboyne and Sir William Rollock; and the main body was put
under the charge of Angus Macvichalaster, chief of the Macdonells of
Glengarry, Drummond younger of Balloch, and Quarter-master George
Graham, a skilful officer. To Napier his nephew, Montrose intrusted
a body of reserve, which was concealed behind the hill.
Scarcely had Montrose completed his arrangements, when he received
intelligence that the enemy had crossed the Don, and was moving
in the direction of Alford. This was a fatal step on the part of
Baillie, who, it is said, was forced into battle by the rashness of
Lord Balcarras, “one of the bravest men of the kingdom,”[305] who
unnecessarily placed himself and his regiment in a position of such
danger that they could not be rescued without exposing the whole of
the covenanting army.[306]
When Baillie arrived in the valley adjoining the hill on which
Montrose had taken up his position, both armies remained motionless
for some time, viewing each other, as if unwilling to begin the
combat. Owing to the commanding position which Montrose occupied, the
Covenanters could not expect to gain any advantage by attacking him
even with superior forces; but now, for the first time, the number
of the respective armies was about equal, and Montrose had this
advantage over his adversary, that while Baillie’s army consisted
in part of the raw and undisciplined levies which the Earl of
Crawford had exchanged for some of his veteran troops, the greater
part of Montrose’s men had been long accustomed to service. These
circumstances determined Baillie not to attempt the ascent of the
hill, but to remain in the valley, where, in the event of a descent
by Montrose, his superiority in cavalry would give him the advantage.
This state of inaction was, however, soon put an end to by Lord
Gordon, who observing a party of Baillie’s troops driving away
before them a large quantity of cattle which they had collected in
Strathbogie and the Enzie, and being desirous of recovering the
property of his countrymen, selected a body of horse, with which
he attempted a rescue. The assailed party was protected by some
dykes and enclosures, from behind which they fired a volley upon
the Gordons, which did considerable execution amongst them. Such a
cool and determined reception, attended with a result so disastrous
and unexpected, might have been attended by dangerous consequences,
had not Montrose, on observing the party of Lord Gordon giving
indications as if undetermined how to act, resolved immediately to
commence a general attack upon the enemy with his whole army. But
as Baillie’s foot had intrenched themselves amongst the dykes and
fences which covered the ground at the bottom of the hill, and could
not be attacked in that position with success, Montrose immediately
ordered the horse, who were engaged with the enemy, to retreat to
their former position, in the expectation that Baillie’s troops would
leave their ground and follow them. And in this hope he was not
disappointed, for the Covenanters thinking that this movement of the
horse was merely the prelude to a retreat, advanced from their secure
position, and followed the supposed fugitives with their whole horse
and foot in regular order.
Both armies now came to close quarters, and fought face to face and
man to man with great obstinacy for some time, without either party
receding from the ground they occupied. At length Sir Nathaniel
Gordon, growing impatient at such a protracted resistance, resolved
to cut his way through the enemy’s left wing, consisting of Lord
Balcarras’s regiment of horse; and calling to the light musketeers
who lined his horse, he ordered them to throw aside their muskets,
which were now unnecessary, and to attack the enemy’s horse with
their drawn swords. This order was immediately obeyed, and in a
short time they cut a passage through the ranks of the enemy,
whom they hewed down with great slaughter. When the horse which
composed Baillie’s right wing, and which had been kept in check by
Lord Aboyne, perceived that their left had given way, they also
retreated.[307] An attempt was made by the covenanting general to
rally his left wing by bringing up the right, after it had retired,
to its support, but they were so alarmed at the spectacle or _mêlée_
which they had just witnessed on the left, where their comrades had
been cut down by the broad swords of Montrose’s musketeers, that they
could not be induced to take the place of their retiring friends.
Thus abandoned by the horse, Baillie’s foot were attacked on all
sides by Montrose’s forces. They fought with uncommon bravery, and
although they were cut down in great numbers, the survivors exhibited
a perseverance and determination to resist to the last extremity. An
accident now occurred, which, whilst it threw a melancholy gloom over
the fortunes of the day, and the spirits of Montrose’s men served
to hasten the work of carnage and death. This was the fall of Lord
Gordon, who having incautiously rushed in amongst the thickest of
the enemy, was unfortunately shot dead, it is said,[308] when in the
act of pulling Baillie, the covenanting general, from his horse,
having, it is said, in a moment of exultation, promised to his men,
to drag Baillie out of the ranks and present him before them. The
Gordons, on perceiving their young chief fall, set no bounds to their
fury, and falling upon the enemy with renewed vigour, hewed them
down without mercy; yet these brave men still showed no disposition
to flee, and it was not until the appearance of the reserve under
the Master of Napier, which had hitherto been kept out of view of
the enemy at the back of the hill, that their courage began to
fail them. When this body began to descend the hill, accompanied
by what appeared to them a fresh reinforcement of cavalry, but
which consisted merely of the camp or livery boys, who had mounted
the sumpter-horses to make a display for the purpose of alarming
the enemy, the entire remaining body of the covenanting foot fled
with precipitation. A hot pursuit took place, and so great was the
slaughter that very few of them escaped. The covenanting general and
his principal officers were saved by the fleetness of their horses,
and the Marquis of Argyle, who had accompanied Baillie as a member of
the committee, and who was closely pursued by Glengarry and some of
his Highlanders, made a narrow escape by repeatedly changing horses.
Thus ended one of the best contested battles which Montrose had yet
fought, yet strange as the fact may appear, his loss was, as usual,
extremely trifling, Lord Gordon being the only person of importance
slain. A considerable number of Montrose’s men, however, were
wounded, particularly the Gordons, who, for a long time, sustained
the attacks of Balcarras’s horse, amongst whom were Sir Nathaniel,
and Gordon, younger of Gicht.[309] The loss on the side of the
Covenanters was immense; by far the greater part of their foot, and
a considerable number of their cavalry having been slain. Some
prisoners were taken from them, but their number was small, owing to
their obstinacy in refusing quarter. These were sent to Strathbogie
under an escort.
The brilliant victory was, however, clouded by the death of Lord
Gordon, “a very hopeful young gentleman, able of mind and body,
about the age of twenty-eight years.”[310] Wishart gives an
affecting description of the feelings of Montrose’s army when this
amiable young nobleman was killed. “There was,” he says, “a general
lamentation for the loss of the Lord Gordon, whose death seemed to
eclipse all the glory of the victory. As the report spread among the
soldiers, every one appeared to be struck dumb with the melancholy
news, and a universal silence prevailed for some time through the
army. However, their grief soon burst through all restraint, venting
itself in the voice of lamentation and sorrow. When the first
transports were over, the soldiers exclaimed against heaven and
earth for bereaving the king, the kingdom, and themselves, of such
an excellent young nobleman; and, unmindful of the victory or of the
plunder, they thronged about the body of their dead captain, some
weeping over his wounds and kissing his lifeless limbs; while others
praised his comely appearance even in death, and extolled his noble
mind, which was enriched with every valuable qualification that could
adorn his high birth or ample fortune: they even cursed the victory
bought at so dear a rate. Nothing could have supported the army
under this immense sorrow but the presence of Montrose, whose safety
gave them joy, and not a little revived their drooping spirits. In
the meantime he could not command his grief, but mourned bitterly
over the melancholy fate of his only and dearest friend, grievously
complaining, that one who was the honour of his nation, the ornament
of the Scots nobility, and the boldest asserter of the royal
authority in the north, had fallen in the flower of his youth.”[311]
The victories of Montrose in Scotland were more than counterbalanced
by those of the parliamentary forces in England. Under different
circumstances, the success at Alford might have been attended with
consequences the most important to the royal cause; but the defeat
of the king on the 14th of June, at Naseby, had raised the hopes of
the Covenanters, and prepared their minds to receive the tidings of
Baillie’s defeat with coolness and moderation.
Upon the day on which the battle of Alford was fought, the parliament
had adjourned to Stirling from Edinburgh, on account of a destructive
pestilence which had reached the capital from Newcastle, by way of
Kelso. Thither General Baillie, Lord Balcarras, and the committee
of Estates, which had accompanied the covenanting army, repaired,
to lay a statement of the late disaster before the parliament,
and to receive instructions as to their future conduct. With the
exception of Baillie, they were well received. Balcarras, who had
particularly distinguished himself in the battle at the head of his
horse, received a vote of thanks, and a similar acknowledgment was,
after some hesitation, awarded to Baillie, notwithstanding some
attempts made to prejudice the parliament against him. But the fact
was, they could not dispense in the present emergency with an officer
of the military talents of Baillie, who, instead of shrinking from
responsibility for the loss of the battle of Alford, offered to stand
trial before a court martial, and to justify his conduct on that
occasion. To have withheld, therefore, the usual token of approbation
from him, while bestowing it upon an inferior officer, would have
been to fix a stigma upon him which he was not disposed to brook
consistently with the retention of the command of the army; and as
the parliament resolved to renew his commission, by appointing him
to the command of the army then being concentrated at Perth, they
afterwards professed their unqualified satisfaction with him.
After the battle of Alford the army of Montrose was considerably
diminished, in consequence of the Highlanders, according to custom,
taking leave of absence, and returning home with the spoil they
had taken from the enemy. This singular, though ordinary practice,
contributed more to paralyze the exertions of Montrose, and to
prevent him from following up his successes, than any event which
occurred in the whole course of his campaigns, and it may appear
strange that Montrose did not attempt to put an end to it; but the
tenure by which he held the services of these hardy mountaineers
being that they should be allowed their wonted privileges, any
attempt to deviate from their established customs would have been an
immediate signal for desertion.
As it would have been imprudent in Montrose, with forces thus
impaired, to have followed the fugitives, who would receive fresh
succours from the south, he, after allowing his men some time to
refresh themselves, marched to Aberdeen, where he celebrated the
funeral obsequies of his valued friend, Lord Gordon, with becoming
dignity.