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Memoirs of his own Life
and Times
By Sir James Turner (1828) (pdf)
Sir James Turner
(1615–c.1686) was a Scottish professional soldier of the 17th century.
Sir James Turner (1615-1686), was a Scottish soldier and in retirement a
military writer, but is remembered mostly for his cruelty and rapaciousness
when ordered to enforce the law against the West of Scotland Covenanters.
The son of a minister in Borthwick and Dalkeith, he was educated, like so
many young men of modest background, with a view to his entering the Church.
But he preferred soldiering, joining the Swedish army. He saw considerable
service in the Thirty Years’ War, and in 1640 returned to Scotland as a
captain.
Turner was regarded by many as a good soldier, punctillious, remorseless ,
and very thorough. He was the product of an age in which men were used in
the sense that they “emasculated themselves of the higher virtues, to become
butchers of each other under a semi chivalrous code of warfare, for pay,
loot and fame”. In this respect his service on the continent turned him into
a typical mercenary. It was similarly so with other persecutors of the
Covenanters – Dalziel (The Beast of Muscovy), Middleton, Claverhouse,
Montrose, Drummond – all were a product of the Continental armies and
ingrained with a strong sense of duty, as well as callousness. Turner
himself confessed in his Memoirs
“I had swallowed without chewing in Germanie a very dangerous maxime which
milaterie men then too much followed, which was that so we serve our master
honestlie it is no matter what master we serve.”
With this background and training it only required some semblance of
authority to turn him into a merciless brigand when there was harrying to be
done – which he could be relied on to do without fear or favour. Daniel
Defoe described him thus :
“ It is impossible to give the details of the cruelties and inhuman usage
the poor people suffered from this butcher, for such he was rather than a
soldier.”
It was not long before he secured employment as a major in Lord Sinclair`s
Foot from 1642-48. This regiment has been described as “a noxious weed in
the garden of godliness which the Covenanters tried to maintain their
armies”. It gained a reputation for improper behaviour and for `quartering`
itself without authority, thus imposing financial demands on local lairds
and towns. In 1640-41 the regiment imposed itself on Aberdeen. At 8 December
1641 the `bill` amounted to £93,029..19s..4d for a total of 474 men and 84
officers. It was also credited with responsibility for “impregnating at
least sixty five honest women servandis “. The men also debauched, drank
heavily, swaggered about the streets making a nuisance of themselves, fought
and swore. In 1641 the regiment was split up, part to go with Munro to
Ireland and part, accompanied the Scottish army in its invasion of England .
Major Turner served in Ulster during 1642 -1643 and served with some
distinction. leading several troops of men in hotly contested battles
against Sir Phelim O`Neill at Anachshamry in Loughgall barony. and later at
Charlemont. In late 1643 Turner signed a truce with Col. Turlagh O`Neill and
the regiment’s service in Ulster ended. An interesting end to the stay was
that in order to recoup their expenses, the town of Newry was sold to the
Marquis of Ormond for £960. In their defence it is relevant that the
regiment had received only three months pay for their service between April
1642 and February 1644. During this time Turner showed some concern for his
men when they were quartered without adequate shelter or rations and it
would appear, financed their needs out of his own pocket. It was while in
Ireland at Newry, that he met and married his wife, Mary White.
On their return to Scotland , landing on 26 February 1644, Turner and some
other officers from the Earl of Lothians Foot, sought to join the Earl of
Newcastle`s service out of loyalty to the king. But after failing to join
Montrose’s army – to whom they would have defected given the opportunity,
Turner accompanied the Scottish army into England where he was to the fore
in clearing part of the wall at Newcastle which made it easier for other
regiments to enter the city. The Lord Sinclair meanwhile, was instrumental
in the negotiations with the French diplomat Montereuil, to receive Charles
I into the Scottish camp. The negotiations came to naught as the Earl of
Lothian placed Charles under virtual arrest when he arrived. During this
time Turner spent time with Charles and at one stage offered to help him
escape, but the offer was declined. Subsequently the regiment left England,
but not before the Covenanter commander, Alexander Leslie, specifically
banned Turner from having access to the king. The regiment was ordered to go
to Ulster but when Turner went over to arrange quarters etc he was told
there was insufficient resources available. The regiment was then disbanded
on the orders of the Estates. Turner then appears to have served for some
time as a Major in the College of Justice Foot between 1644 -1647. This
regiment was composed of 1200 writer (solicitor) apprentices, servants and
tradesmen from Edinburgh. It served at several locations in England,
including garrisoning Morpeth Castle where it surrendered to Montrose.
In 1647 Turner was adjutant to Sir David Leslie in the campaign against the
MacDonalds in the west of Scotland and was at the massacre of Dunaverty .
Leslie and Argyll with some 8000 men surprised the MacDonalds at Kintyre and
drove them back into the ruined castle of Dunaverty which was besieged on 31
May 1647. The MacDonald himself escaped by sea while some eight hundred
soldiers and camp followers were given quarter; but about half were then
slaughtered in cold blood. In this work Leslie was allegedly encouraged by
John Nevay, minister of Newmilns. Afterwards Leslie allegedly said to Nevay
” Now Mr John, have you not once gotten your fill of blood.”
Up to this time Turner had served against the king, but always with some
reluctance, he therefore welcomed the opportunity when in December 1647 the
`Engagement` took place. On 11 May 1648 the Engager parliament appointed
Turner Colonel of Holbourn`s Foot (Major General James Holbourn having
defected from the Engager cause). His appointment was greeted by a mutiny on
Leith Links, which was subdued. Turner now turned his forces into an anti
Covenanter mode, first quartering in Renfrewshire with eleven troops of
horse, then on Paisley and Glasgow where he particularly placed his men in
the homes of the principal Covenanters – to great effect. In June he was at
Mauchline Muir breaking up a Covenanter meeting where the firebrand John
Nevay was present. In the scuffles that broke out Turner was quite badly
wounded. It was while in Glasgow that Turner `convinced` ( probably
threatened) the Rev Dick not to preach against the Engagers but in a sermon
subsequently Dick preached against the king and parliament which caused
Turner and some officers who were present to get up and leave. Dick then
complained to the Duke of Hamilton and the General Assembly about Turner`s
behaviour and he was cited by the Assembly. 1 June 1648 “Major James Turner
to be cited to appeare before them the sixth day of June next; to answer for
the tumultuous going out of the Kirk of Glasgow upon the last Sabbath, being
a day of humiliation; and calling others out of the Kirk whilst the minister
was preaching, for disturbing the worship, reviling the ministers, and other
scandalous miscarriages”. Turner did not compear, and was referred back to
the Assembly. As a specific example it can be said that this perhaps mean
spirited act by the Rev Dick ( who allegedly went back on his word) was the
beginning of the ill will that thenceforth existed between Turner and the
Covenanters.
Turner and his regiment rendezvoused with Hamilton for the disastrous
campaign in England where he tried to have the horse diverted through
Yorkshire (as had Middleton) which was better going for cavalry. Hamilton,
however, had a fixation about taking the Presbyterian stronghold of
Manchester, and declined the sound advice given by his professional
soldiers. The experienced officers were overruled with the consequential
split of forces being at the heart of the debacle that followed at Preston.
On the 19th August Col. Meldrum and 131 men surrendered to Cromwell, and
Turner with the Duke of Hamilton fled only to be taken in the final
surrender at Uttoxeter. Turner blamed the disaster on Hamilton whom he
accused of leniency on the march and disregard for discipline (as well as
lacking basic military skills and constant indecision).
Turner was imprisoned in Hull but was able to ransom himself for £540 and
gained his release in November 1649. He was unable for want of means to
reach Montrose in time to join in the final venture of his campaign, but he
landed in Scotland on the day before Dunbar. The weaning of those of Engager
sympathies from the Army and the subsequent change of policy permitted
Turner, probably falsely, to profess repentance and to get an appointment
with the Covenanters.
As a colonel and Adjutant-General of Foot he was with Charles II. at
Worcester. In that battle he was captured, but regained his liberty, and
escaped to the Continent, where for some years he was engaged in various
Royalist intrigues, conspiracies and attempted insurrections. At the
Restoration he was knighted, and in 1662 he became a major in the Royal
Guards. Four years later, as a district commander in Scotland, he was able
to release some pent up venom for the Covenanters when required to deal
severely with Covenanter disturbances in the west. In 1664 he became a
member of “the Crail Court” – the High Commission set up under Archbishop
James Sharp as its President, with oversight of every ecclesiastical
offence. In this role he became inextricably linked to the persecution of
Presbyterians. In November 1666 he suffered the ignominy of capture during
the Pentland Rising and was fortunate in some ways to get away with his
life. He was well treated in fact; his singular complaint was having to
listen to the interminable `graces` delivered by the ministers at meal
times.
His dragooning methods and rapine behaviour, eventually led to his being
deprived of his command. In 1684 he was appointed a Commissioner with
justiciary powers , along with Lt. Col. Winram, and others, for the shires
of Lanark and Dumbarton. Theirs was ” to pass sentence and see justice done
accordingly, conform to law. ” It was this Commission that heard the case of
John Richmond of Knowe, James Winning a tailor of Glasgow, Archibald Stewart
a peasant lad of Lesmahagow, James Johnston of Cadder, and John Main of Old
Monkland. Charged with the usual allegations of rebellion, converse with
rebels and reset all five were sentenced to death and on 19 March were
hanged at Glasgow Cross, and bodies buried in the Cathedral Churchyard.
In 1683 he had published his Pallas Armata, Military Essayes of the Ancient
Grecian, Roman and Modern Art of War, one of the most valuable authorities
for the history of military sciences of the day. In a lighter form, Turner
is thought to have been the author of a scurrilous pasquil (an anonymous
satirical writing, often a poem) entitled Mitchell`s Ghost, that hinted at
impropriety of Claverhouse with the wife of the Lord Advocate, `Bluidy`
MacKenzie. A pension was granted to Turner by James II in 1685 but he did
not enjoy it long, dying in 1686.
The above article was copied
from
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