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MONTROSE now entertained
confident expectations that many of the royalists of the surrounding
country who had hitherto kept aloof would join him; but after remaining
three days at Perth, to give them an opportunity of rallying round his
standard, he had the mortification to find that, with the exception of
Lords Dupplin and Spynie, and a few gentlemen from the Carse of Gowrie,
who came to him, his anticipations were not to be realized. The spirits of
the royalists had been too much subdued by the seventies of the
Covenanters for them all at once to risk their lives and fortunes on the
issue of what they had long considered a hopeless cause; and although
Montrose had succeeded in dispersing one army with a greatly inferior
force, yet it was well known that that army was composed of raw and
undisciplined men, and that the Covenanters had still large bodies of
well-trained troops in the field.
Thus disappointed in his
hopes, and understanding that the Marquis of Argyle was fast approaching
with a large army, Montrose crossed the Tay on the 4th of September,
directing his course towards Coupar-Angus, and encamped at night in the
open fields near Collace. His object in proceeding northward was to
endeavour to raise some of the loyal clans, and thus to put himself in a
sufficiently strong condition to meet Argyle. Montrose had given orders to
the army to march early next morning, but by break of day, and before the
drums had beat, he was alarmed by an uproar in the camp. Perceiving his
men running to their arms in a state of fury and rage, Montrose,
apprehensive that the Highlanders and Irish had quarrelled, immediately
rushed in among the thickest of the crowd to pacify them, but to his great
grief and dismay, he ascertained that the confusion had arisen from the
assassination of his valued friend Lord Kilpont. He had fallen a victim to
the blind fury of James Stewart of Ardvoirlich, with whom he had slept the
same night, and who had long enjoyed his confidence and friendship.
According to Wishart, wishing to ingratiate himself with the Covenanters,
he formed a design to assassinate Montrose or his major-general,
Macdonald; and endeavoured to entice Kilpont to concur in his wicked
project. He, therefore, on the night in question, slept with his lordship,
and having prevailed upon him to rise and take a walk in the fields before
daylight, on the pretence of refreshing themselves, he there disclosed his
horrid purpose, and entreated his lordship to concur therein. Lord Kilpont
rejected the base proposal with horror and indignation, which so alarmed
Stewart that, afraid lest his lordship might discover the matter, he
suddenly drew his dirk and mortally wounded Kilpont. Stewart, thereupon,
fled, and thereafter joined the Marquis of Argyle, who gave him a
commission in his army. (Wishart, p. 84. — Stewart’s descendant, the
late Robert Stewart of Ardvoirlich, gives an account of the above
incident, founded on a "constant tradition in the family."
tending to show that his ancestor was not so much a man of base and
treacherous character, as of "violent passions and singular
temper." James Stewart, it is said, was so irritated at the Irish,
for committing some excesses on lands belonging to him, that he challenged
their commander, Macdonald, to single combat. By advice of Kilpont,
Montrose arrested both, and brought about a seeming conciliation. When
encamped at Collace, Montrose gave an entertainment to his officers, on
returning from which Ardvoirlich, "heated with drink, began to blame
Kilpont for the part he had taken in preventing his obtaining redress, and
reflecting against Montrose for not allowing bins what he considered
proper reparation. Kilpont, of course, defended the conduct of himself and
his relative, Montrose, till their argument came to high words, and
finally, from the state they were both in, by an easy transition, to
blows, when Ardvoirlich, with his dirk, struck Kilpont dead on the
spot." He fled, leaving his eldest son, Henry, mortally wounded at
Tippermuir, on his death-bed.—lntrod. to Legend Montrose).
Montrose now marched upon
Dundee, which refused to surrender. Not wishing to waste his time upon the
hazardous issue of a siege with a hostile army in his rear, Montrose
proceeded through Angus and the Mearns, and in the course of his route was
joined by the Earl of Airly, his two sons, Sir Thomas and Sir David
Ogilvie, and a considerable number of their friends and vassals, and some
gentlemen from the Mearns and Aberdeenshire. This was a seasonable
addition to Montrose’s force, which had been greatly weakened by the
absence of some of the Highlanders who had gone home to deposit their
spoils, and by the departure of Lord Kilpont’s retainers, who had gone
to Menteith with his corpse.
After the battle of
Tippermuir, Lord Elcho had retired, with his regiment and some fugitives,
to Aberdeen, where he found Lord Burleigh and other commissioners from the
convention of estates. As soon as they heard of the approach of Montrose,
Burleigh, who acted as chief commissioner, immediately assembled the
Forbeses, the Frasers, and the other friends of the covenanting interest,
and did everything in his power to gain over to his side as many persons
as he could from those districts where Montrose expected assistance. In
this way Burleigh increased his force to 2,500 foot and 500 horse, but
some of these, consisting of Gordons, and others who were obliged to take
up arms, could not be relied upon.
When Montrose heard of
these preparations, he resolved, notwithstanding the disparity of force,
his own army now amounting only to 1,500 foot and 44 horse, to hasten his
march and attack them before Argyle should come up. On arriving near the
bridge of Dee, he found it strongly fortified and guarded by a
considerable force. He did not attempt to force a passage, but, directing
his course to the west, along the river, crossed it at a ford at the Mills
of Drum, and encamped at Crathas that night (Wednesday, 11th September).
The Covenanters, the same day, drew up their army at the Two Mile Cross, a
short distance from Aberdeen, where they remained till Thursday night,
when they retired into the town. On the same night, Montrose marched down
Deeside, and took possession of the ground which the Covenanters had just
left.
On the following morning,
viz., Friday, 13th September, about eleven o’clock, the Covenanters
marched out of Aberdeen to meet Montrose, who, on their approach,
despatched a drummer to beat a parley, and sent a commissioner along with
him bearing a letter to the provost and bailies of Aberdeen, commanding
and charging them to surrender the town, promising that no more harm
should be done to it; "otherwise, if they would disobey, that then he
desired them to remove old aged men, women, and children out of the way,
and to stand to their own peril". Immediately on receipt of this
letter, the provost called a meeting of the council, which was attended by
Lord Burleigh, and, after a short consultation, an answer was sent along
with the commissioner declining to surrender the town. On their return the
drummer was killed by the Covenanters, at a place called Justice Mills;
which violation of the law of nations so exasperated Montrose, that he
gave orders to his men not to spare any of the enemy who might fall into
their hands. His anger at this occurrence is strongly depicted by
Spalding, who says, that "he grew mad, and became furious and
impatient."
As soon as Montrose
received notice of the refusal of the magistrates to surrender the town,
he made the necessary dispositions for attacking the enemy. From his
paucity of cavalry, he was obliged to extend his line, as he had done at
Tippermuir, to prevent the enemy from surrounding or outflanking him with
their horse, and on each of his wings he posted his small body of horsemen
along with select parties of musketeers and archers. To James Hay and Sir
Nathaniel Gordon he gave the command of the right wing, committing the
charge of the left to Sir William Rollock, all men of tried bravery and
experience.
The Covenanters began the
battle by a cannonade from their field-pieces, and, from their commanding
position, gave considerable annoyance to the royal forces, who were very
deficient in artillery. After the firing had been kept up for some time,
Lord Lewis Gordon, third son of the Marquis of Huntly, a young man of a
very ardent disposition, and of a violent and changeable temper, who
commanded the left wing of the Covenanters, having obtained possession of
some level ground where his horse could act, made a demonstration to
attack Montrose’s right wing; which being observed by Montrose, he
immediately ordered Sir William Rollock, with his party of horse, from the
left wing to the assistance of the right. These united wings, which
consisted of only 44 horse, not only repulsed the attack of a body of 300,
but threw them into complete disorder, and forced them to retreat upon the
main body, leaving many dead and wounded on the field. Montrose restrained
these brave cavaliers from pursuing the body they had routed, anticipating
that their services might be soon required at the other wing; and he was
not mistaken, for no sooner did the covenanting general perceive the
retreat of Lord Lewis Gordon than he ordered an attack to be made upon the
left wing of Montrose’s army; but Montrose, with a celerity almost
unexampled, moved his whole cavalry from the right to the left wing,
which, falling upon the flank of their assailants sword in hand, forced
them to fly, with great slaughter. In this affair Montrose’s horse took
Forbes of Craigievar and Forbes of Boyndlie prisoners.
The unsuccessful attacks on
the wings of Montrose’s army had in no shape affected the future fortune
of the day, as both armies kept their ground, and were equally animated
with hopes of ultimate success. Vexed, but by no means intimidated by
their second defeat, the gentlemen who composed Burleigh’s horse
consulted together as to the best mode of renewing the attack; and, being
of opinion that the success of Montrose’s cavalry was owing chiefly to
the expert musketeers, with whom they were interlined, they resolved to
imitate the same plan, by mixing among them a select body of foot, and
renewing the charge a third time, with redoubled energy. But this scheme,
which might have proved fatal to Montrose, if tried, was frustrated by a
resolution he came to, of making an instant, and simultaneous attack upon
the enemy. Perceiving their horse still in great confusion, and a
considerable way apart from their main body, he determined upon attacking
them with his foot before they should get time to rally; and galloping up
to his men, who had been greatly galled by the enemies’ cannon, he told
them that there was no good to be expected by the two armies keeping at
such a distance—that in this way there was no means of distinguishing
the strong from the weak, nor the coward from the brave man, but that if
they would once make a home charge upon these timorous and effeminate
striplings, as he called Burleigh’s horse, they would never stand their
attack. "Come on, then," said he, "my brave fellow
soldiers, fall down upon them with your swords and muskets, drive them
before you, and make them suffer the punishment due to their perfidy and
rebellion." These words were no sooner uttered, than
Montrose’s men rushed forward at a quick pace and fell upon the enemy,
sword in hand. The Covenanters were paralyzed by the suddenness and
impetuosity of the attack, and, turning their backs, fled in the utmost
trepidation and confusion, towards Aberdeen. The slaughter was tremendous,
as the victors spared no man. The road leading from the field of battle to
Aberdeen was strewed with the dead and the dying; the streets of Aberdeen
were covered with the bodies, and stained with the blood of its
inhabitants. "The lieutenant followed the chase into Aberdeen, his
men hewing and cutting down all manner of men they could overtake, within
the town, upon the streets, or in the houses, and round about the town, as
our men were fleeing with broad swords, but (i.e. without) mercy or
remeid. Their cruel Irish, seeing a man well clad, would first tyr (strip)
him and save his clothes unspoiled, syne kill the man." In fine,
according to this writer, who was an eye-witness, the town of Aberdeen,
which, but a few years before, had suffered for its loyalty, was now, by
the same general who had then oppressed it, delivered up by him to be
indiscriminately plundered by his Irish forces, for having espoused the
same cause which he himself had supported. For four days did these men
indulge in the most dreadful excesses, "and nothing," continues
Spalding, was "heard but pitiful howling, crying, weeping, mourning,
through all the streets." Yet Guthry says that Montrose " shewed
great mercy, both pardoning the people and protecting their goods."
It is singular, that
although the battle continued for four hours without any determinate
result, Montrose lost very few men, a circumstance the more extraordinary
as the cannon of the Covenanters were placed upon advantageous ground,
whilst those of Montrose were rendered quite ineffective by being situated
in a position from which they could not be brought to bear upon the enemy.
An anecdote, characteristic of the bravery of the Irish, and of their
coolness in enduring the privations of war, has been preserved. During the
cannonade on the side of the Covenanters, an Irishman had his leg shot
away by a cannon ball, but which kept still attached to the stump by means
of a small bit of skin, or flesh. His comrades-in-arms being affected with
his disaster, this brave man, without betraying any symptoms of pain, thus
cheerfully addressed them :—" This, my companions, is the fate of
war, and what none of us ought to grudge: go on, and behave as becomes you
and, as for me, I am certain my lord, the marquis, will make me a trooper,
as I am now disabled for the foot service." Then, taking a knife from
his pocket, he deliberately opened it, and cut asunder the skin which
retained the leg, without betraying the least emotion, and delivered it to
one of his companions for interment. As soon as this courageous mar. was
able to mount a horse, his wish to become a trooper was complied with, in
which capacity he afterwards distinguished himself.
Hoping that the news of the
victory he had obtained would create a strong feeling in his favour among
the Gordons, some of whom had actually fought against him, under the
command of Lord Lewis Gordon, Montrose sent a part of his army towards
Kintore and Inverury, the following day, to encourage the people of the
surrounding country to declare for him; but he was sadly disappointed in
his expectations. The fact is, that ever since the appointment of Montrose
as lieutenant-general of the kingdom,—an appointment which trenched upon
the authority of the Marquis of Huntly as lieutenant of the north,—the
latter had become quite lukewarm in the cause of his sovereign; and,
although he was aware of the intentions of his son, Lord Lewis, to join
the Covenanters, he quietly allowed him to do so without remonstrance.
But, besides being thus, in some measure, superseded by Montrose, the
marquis was actuated by personal hostility to him on account of the
treatment he had formerly received from him; and it appears to have been
partly to gratify his spleen that he remained a passive observer of a
struggle which involved the very existence of the monarchy itself.
Whatever may have been Huntly’s reasons for not supporting Montrose, his
apathy and indifference had a deadening influence upon his numerous
retainers, who had no idea of taking the field but at the command of their
chief.
As Montrose saw no
possibility of opposing the powerful and well-appointed army of Argyle,
which was advancing upon him with slow and cautious steps, disappointed as
he had been of the aid which he had calculated upon, he resolved to march
into the Highlands, and there collect such of the clans as were favourably
disposed to the royal cause. Leaving Aberdeen, therefore, on the 16th of
September, with the remainder of his forces, he joined the camp at Kintore,
whence he despatched Sir William Rollock to Oxford to inform the king of
the events of the campaign, and of his present situation, and to solicit
him to send supplies.
We must now advert to the
progress of Argyle’s army, the slow movements of which form an
unfavourable contrast with the rapid marches of Montrose’s army. On the
4th of September, four days after the battle of Tippermuir, Argyle, who
had been pursuing the Irish forces under Macdonald, had arrived with his
Highlanders at Stirling, where, on the following day, he was joined by the
Earl of Lothian and his regiment, which had shortly before been brought
over from Ireland. After raising some men in Stirlingshire, he marched to
Perth upon the 10th, where he was joined by some Fife men, and Lord
Bargenny’s and Sir Frederick Hamilton’s regiments of horse, which had
been recalled from Newcastle for that purpose. With this increased force,
which now consisted of about 3,000 foot and two regular cavalry regiments,
besides ten troops of horse, Argyle left Perth on the 14th of September
for the north, and in his route was joined by the Earl Marshal, Lords
Gordon, Fraser, and Crichton, and other Covenanters. He arrived at
Aberdeen upon the 19th of September, where he issued a proclamation,
declaring the Marquis of Montrose and his followers traitors to religion
and to their king and country, and offering a reward of 20,000 pounds
Scots, to any person who should bring in Montrose dead or alive. Spalding
laments with great pathos and feeling the severe hardships to which the
citizens of Aberdeen had been subjected by these frequent visitations of
hostile armies, and alluding to the present occupancy of the town by
Argyle, he observes that "this multitude of people lived upon free
quarters, a new grief to both towns, whereof there was quartered on poor
old Aberdeen Argyle’s own three regiments. The soldiers had their
baggage carried, and craved nothing but house-room and fire. But ilk
captain, with twelve gentlemen, had free quarters, (so long as the town
had meat and drink,) for two ordinaries, but the third ordinary they
furnished themselves out of their own baggage and provisions, having store
of meal, molt and sheep, carried with them. But, the first night, they
drank out all the stale ale in Aberdeen, and lived upon wort
thereafter."
Argyle was now within half
a day’s march of Montrose, but, strange to tell, he made no preparations
to follow him, and spent two or three days in Aberdeen doing absolutely
nothing. After spending this time in inglorious supineness, Argyle put his
army in motion in the direction of Kintore. Montrose, on hearing of his
approach, concealed his cannon in a bog, and leaving behind him some of
his heavy baggage, made towards the Spey with the intention of crossing
it. On arriving at the river, he encamped near the old castle of
Rothiemurchus; but finding that the boats used in passing the river had
been removed to the north side of the river, and that a large armed force
from the country on the north of the Spey had assembled on the opposite
bank to oppose his passage, Montrose marched his army into the forest of
Abernethy. Argyle only proceeded at first as far as Strathbogie; but
instead of pursuing Montrose, he allowed his troops to waste their time in
plundering the properties and laying waste the lands of the Gordons in
Strathbogie and the Enzie, under the very eyes of Lord Gordon and Lord
Lewis Gordon, neither of whom appears to have endeavoured to avert such a
calamity. Spalding says that it was "a wonderful unnaturalitie in the
Lord Gordon to suffer his father’s lands and friends in his own sight to
be thus wreckt and destroyed in his father’s absence;" but Lord
Gordon likely had it not in his power to stay these proceedings, which, if
not done at the instigation, may have received the approbation of his
violent and headstrong younger brother, who had joined the Covenanters’
standard. On the 27th of September, Argyle mustered his forces at the Bog
of Gicht, when they were found to amount to about 4,000 men; but although
the army of Montrose did not amount to much more than a third of that
number, and was within twenty miles’ distance, he did not venture to
attack him. After remaining a few days in Abernethy forest, Montrose
passed through the forest of Rothiemurchus, and following the course of
the Spey, marched through Badenoch to Athole, which he reached on 1st
October.
When Argyle heard of the
departure of Montrose from the forest of Abernethy, he made a feint of
following him. He accordingly set his army in motion along Speyside, and
crossing the river himself with a few horse, marched up some distance
along the north bank, and recrossed, when he ordered his troops to halt.
He then proceeded to Forres to attend a committee meeting of Covenanters
to concert a plan of operations in the north, at which the Earl of
Sutherland, Lord Lovat, the sheriff of Moray, the lairds of Balnagown,
Innes and Pluscardine, and many others were present. From Forres Argyle
went to Inverness, and after giving some instructions to Sir Mungo
Campbell of Lawers, and the laird of Buchanan, the commanders of the
regiments stationed there, he returned to his army, which he marched
through Badenoch in pursuit of Montrose. From Athole Montrose sent
Macdonald with a party of 500 men to the Western Highlands, to invite the
laird of Maclean, the captain of clan Ranald, and others to join him.
Marching down to Dunkeld, Montrose himself proceeded rapidly through Angus
towards Brechin and Montrose.
Although some delay had
been occasioned in Montrose’s movements by his illness for a few days in
Badenoch, this was fully compensated for by the tardy motions of Argyle,
who, on entering Badenoch, found that his vigilant antagonist was several
days’ march a-head of him. This intelligence, however, did not induce
him in the least to accelerate his march. Hearing, when passing through
Badenoch, that Montrose had been joined by some of the inhabitants of that
country, Argyle, according to Spalding, "left nothing of that country
undestroyed, no not one four footed beast;" and Athole shared a
similar fate.
At the time Montrose
entered Angus, a committee of the estates, consisting of the Earl Marshal
and other barons, was sitting in Aberdeen, who, on hearing of his
approach, issued on the 10th of October a printed order, to which the Earl
Marshal’s name was attached, ordaining, under pain of being severely
fined, all persons, of whatever age, sex, or condition, having horses of
the value of forty pounds Scots or upwards, to send them to the bridge of
Dee, which was appointed as the place of rendezvous, on the 14th of
October, by ten o’clock, a.m., with riders fully equipped and armed.
With the exception of Lord Gordon, who brought three troops of horse, and
Captain Alexander Keith, brother of the Earl Marshal, who appeared with
one troop at the appointed place, no attention was paid to the order of
the committee by the people, who had not yet recovered from their fears,
and their recent sufferings were still too fresh in their minds to induce
them again to expose themselves to the vengeance of Montrose and his Irish
troops.
After refreshing his army
for a few days in Angus, Montrose prepared to cross the Grampians, and
march to Strathbogie to make another attempt to raise the Gordons; but,
before setting out on his march, he released Forbes of Craigievar and
Forbes of Boyndlie, on their parole, upon condition that Craigievar should
procure the liberation of the young laird of Drum and his brother from the
jail of Edinburgh, failing which, Craigievar and Boyndlie were both to
deliver themselves up to him as prisoners before the 1st of November. This
act of generosity on the part of Montrose was greatly admired, more
particularly as Craigievar was one of the heads of the Covenanters, and
had great influence among them. In pursuance of his design, Montrose
marched through the Meams, and upon Thursday, the 17th of October, crossed
the Dee at the Mills of Drum, with his whole army. In his progress north,
contrary to his former forbearing policy, he laid waste the lands of some
of the leading Covenanters, burnt their houses, and plundered their
effects. He arrived at Strathbogie on the 19th of October, where he
remained till the 27th, without being able to induce any considerable
number of the Gordons to join him. It was not from want of inclination
that they refused to do so, but they were unwilling to incur the
displeasure of their chief, who they knew was personally opposed to
Montrose, and who felt indignant at seeing a man who had formerly espoused
the cause of the Covenanters preferred before him. Had Montrose been
accompanied by any of the Marquis of Huntly’s sons, they might have had
influence enough to have induced some of the Gordons to declare for him;
but the situation of the marquis’s three sons was at this time very
peculiar. The eldest son, Lord Gordon, a young man "of singular worth
and accomplishments," was with Argyle, his uncle by the mother’s
side; the Earl of Aboyne, the second son, was shut up in the castle of
Carlisle, then in a state of siege; and Lord Lewis Gordon, the third son,
had, as we have seen, joined the Covenanters, and fought in their ranks.
In this situation of
matters, Montrose left Strathbogie on the day last mentioned, and took up
a position in the forest of Fyvie, where he despatched some of his troops,
who took possession of the castles of Fyvie and Tollie Barclay, in which
he found a good supply of provisions, which was of great service to his
army. During his stay at Strathbogie, Montrose kept a strict outlook for
the enemy, and scarcely passed a night without scouring the neighbouring
country to the distance of several miles with parties of light foot, who
attacked straggling parties of the Covenanters, and brought in prisoners
from time to time, without sustaining any loss. These petty enterprises,
while they alarmed their enemies, gave an extraordinary degree of
confidence to Montrose’s men, who were ready to undertake any service,
however difficult or dangerous, if he only commanded them to perform it.
When Montrose crossed the
Dee, Argyle was several days’ march behind him. The latter, however,
reached Aberdeen on the 24th of October, and proceeded the following
morning towards Kintore, which he reached the same night. Next morning he
marched forward to Inverury, where he halted at night. Here he was joined
by the Earl of Lothian’s regiment, which increased his force to about
2,500 foot, and 1,200 horse. In his progress through the counties of
Angus, Kincardine, Aberdeen, and Banff, he received no accession of
strength, from the dread which the name and actions of Montrose had
infused into the minds of the inhabitants of these counties.
The sudden movements of
Argyle from Aberdeen to Kintore, and from Kintore to Inverury, form a
remarkable contrast with the slowness of his former motions. He had
followed Montrose through a long and circuitous route, the greater part of
which still bore recent traces of his footsteps, and instead of showing
any disposition to overtake his flying foe, seemed rather inclined to keep
that respectful distance from him so congenial to the mind of one who,
"willing to wound," is "yet still afraid to strike."
But although this questionable policy of Argyle was by no means calculated
to raise his military fame, it had the effect of throwing Montrose, in the
present case, off his guard, and had well-nigh proved fatal to him. The
rapid march of Argyle on Kintore and Inverury, in fact, was effected
without Montrose’s knowledge, for the spies he had employed concealed
the matter from him, and while he imagined that Argyle was still on the
other side of the Grampians, he suddenly appeared within a very few miles
of Montrose’s camp, on the 28th of October.
The unexpected arrival of
Argyle’s army did not disconcert Montrose. His foot, which amounted to
1,500 men, were little more than the half of those under Argyle, while he
had only about 50 horse to oppose 1,200. Yet, with this immense disparity,
he resolved to await the attack of the enemy, judging it inexpedient, from
the want of cavalry, to become the assailant by descending into the plain
where Argyle’s army was encamped. On a rugged eminence behind the castle
of Fyvie, on the uneven sides of which several ditches had been cut and
dikes built to serve as farm fences, Montrose drew up his little but
intrepid host; but before he had marked out the positions to be occupied
by his divisions, he had the misfortune to witness the desertion of a
small body of the Gordons, who had joined him at Strathbogie. They,
however, did not join Argyle, but contented themselves with withdrawing
altogether from the scene of the ensuing action. It is probable that they
came to the determination of retiring, not from cowardice, but from
disinclination to appear in the field against Lord Lewis Gordon, who held
a high command in Argyle’s army. The secession of the Gordons, though in
reality a circumstance of trifling importance in itself, (for had they
remained, they would have fought unwillingly, and consequently might not
have had sufficient resolution to maintain the position which would have
been assigned them,) had a disheartening influence upon the spirits of
Montrose’s men, and accordingly they found themselves unable to resist
the first shock of Argyle’s numerous forces, who, charging them with
great impetuosity, drove them up the eminence, of a considerable part of
which Argyle’s army got possession. In this critical conjuncture, when
terror and despair seemed about to obtain the mastery over hearts to which
fear had hitherto been a stranger, Montrose displayed a coolness and
presence of mind equal to the dangers which surrounded him. Animating them
by his presence, and by the example which he showed in risking his person
in the hottest of the fight, he roused their courage by putting them
further in mind of the victories they had achieved, and how greatly
superior they were in bravery to the enemy opposed to them. After this
emphatic appeal to their feelings, Montrose turned to Colonel O’Kean, a
young Irish gentleman, highly respected by the former for his bravery, and
desired him, with an air of the most perfect sang froid, to go down
with such men as were readiest, and to drive these fellows (meaning Argyle’s
men), out of the ditches, that they might be no more troubled with them. O’Kean
quickly obeyed the mandate, and though the party in the ditches was
greatly superior to the body he led, and was, moreover, supported by some
horse, he drove them away, and captured several bags of powder which they
left behind them in their hurry to escape. This was a valuable
acquisition, as Montrose’s men had spent already almost the whole of
their ammunition.
While O’Kean was
executing this brilliant affair, Montrose observed five troops of horse,
under the Earl of Lothian, preparing to attack his 50 horse, who were
posted a little way up the eminence, with a small wood in their rear. He,
therefore, without a moment’s delay, ordered a party of musketeers to
their aid, who, having interlined themselves with the 50 horse, kept up
such a galling fire upon Lothian’s troopers, that before they had
advanced half way across a field which lay between them and Montrose’s
horse, they were obliged to wheel about and gallop off.
Montrose’s men became so
elated with their success that they could scarcely be restrained from
leaving their ground and making a general attack upon the whole of Argyle’s
army; but although Montrose. did not approve of this design, he disguised
his opinion, and seemed rather to concur in the views of his men, telling
them, however, to be so far mindful of their duty as to wait till he
should see the fit moment for ordering the attack. Argyle remained till
the evening without attempting anything farther, and then retired to a
distance of about three miles across the Spey; his men passed the night
under arms. The only person of note killed in these skirmishes was Captain
Keith, brother of the Earl Marshal.
Next day Argyle resolved to
attack Montrose, with the view of driving him from his position. He was
induced to come to this determination from a report, too well founded,
which had reached him, that Montrose’s army was almost destitute of
ammunition ;—indeed, he had compelled the inhabitants of all the
surrounding districts to deliver up every article of pewter in their
possession for the purpose of being converted into ammunition; but this
precarious supply appears soon to have been exhausted. On arriving at the
bottom of the hill, he changed his resolution, not judging it safe, from
the experience of the preceding day, to hazard an attack. Montrose, on the
other hand, agreeably to his original plan, kept his ground, as he did not
deem it advisable to expose his men to the enemy’s cavalry by descending
from the eminence. With the exception of some trifling skirmishes between
the advanced posts, the main body of both armies remained quiescent during
the whole day. Argyle again retired in the evening to the ground he had
occupied the preceding night, whence he returned the following day, part
of which was spent in the same manner as the former; but long before the
day had expired he led off his army, "upon fair day light," says
Spalding, "to a considerable distance, leaving Montrose to effect his
escape unmolested."
Montrose, thus left to
follow any course he pleased, marched off after nightfall towards
Strathbogie, plundering Turriff and Rothiemay house in his route. He
selected Strathbogie as the place of his retreat on account of the
ruggedness of the country and of the numerous dikes with which it was
intersected, which would prevent the operations of Argyle’s cavalry, and
where he intended to remain till joined by Macdonald, whom he daily
expected from the Highlands with a reinforcement. When Argyle heard of
Montrose’s departure on the following morning, being the last day of
October, he forthwith proceeded after him with his army, thinking to bring
him to action in the open country, and encamped at Tullochbeg on the 2d of
November, where he drew out his army in battle array. He endeavoured to
bring Montrose to a general engagement, and, in order to draw him from a
favourable position he was preparing to occupy, Argyle sent out a
skirmishing party of his Highlanders; but they were soon repulsed, and
Montrose took possession of the ground he had selected.
Baffled in all his attempts
to overcome Montrose by force of arms, Argyle, whose talents were more
fitted for the intrigues of the cabinet than the tactics of the field, had
now recourse to negotiation, with the view of effecting the ruin of his
antagonist. For this purpose he proposed a cessation of arms, and that he
and Montrose should hold a conference, previous to which arrangements
should be entered into for their mutual security. Montrose knew Argyle too
well to place any reliance upon his word, and as he had no doubt that
Argyle would take advantage, during the proposed cessation, to tamper with
his men and endeavour to withdraw them from their allegiance, he called a
council of war, and proposed to retire without delay to the Highlands. The
council at once approved of this suggestion, whereupon Montrose resolved
to march next night as far as Badenoch; and that his army might be able to
accomplish such a long journey within the time fixed, he immediately sent
off all his heavy baggage under a guard, and ordered his men to keep
themselves prepared as if to fight a battle the next day. Scarcely,
however, had the carriages and heavy baggage been despatched, when an
event took place which greatly disconcerted Montrose. This was nothing
less than the desertion of his friend Colonel Sibald and some of his
officers, who went over to the enemy. They were accompanied by Sir William
Forbes of Craigievar, who, having been unable to fulfil the condition on
which he was to obtain his ultimate liberation, had returned two or three
days before to Montrose’s camp.
This distressing occurrence
induced Montrose to postpone his march for a time, as he was quite certain
that the deserters would communicate his plans to Argyle. Ordering,
therefore, back the baggage he had sent off, he resumed his former
position, in which he remained four days, as if he there intended to take
up his winter quarters.
In the meantime Montrose
had the mortification to witness the defection of almost the whole of his
officers, who were very numerous, for, with the exception of the Irish and
Highlanders, they outnumbered the privates from the Lowlands. The bad
example which had been set by Sibbald, the intimate friend of Montrose,
and the insidious promises of preferment held out to them by Argyle,
induced some, whose loyalty was questionable, to adopt this course; but
the idea of the privations to which they would be exposed in traversing,
during winter, among frost and snow, the dreary and dangerous regions of
the Highlands, shook the constancy of others, who, in different
circumstances, would have willingly exposed their lives for their
sovereign. Bad health, inability to undergo the fatigue of long and
constant marches—these and other excuses were made to Montrose as the
reasons for craving a discharge from a service which had now become more
hazardous than ever. Montrose made no remonstrance, but with looks of high
disdain which betrayed the inward workings of a proud and unsubdued mind,
indignant at being thus abandoned at such a dangerous crisis, readily
complied with the request of every man who asked permission to retire. The
Earl of Airly, now sixty years of age and in precarious health, and his
two sons, Sir Thomas and Sir David Ogilvie, out of all the Lowlanders,
alone remained faithful to Montrose, and could, on no account, be
prevailed upon to abandon him. Among others who left Montrose on this
occasion, was Sir Nathaniel Gordon, who, it is said, went over to Argyle’s
camp in consequence of a concerted plan between him and Montrose, for the
purpose of detaching Lewis Gordon from the cause of the Covenanters, a
conjecture which seems to have originated in the subsequent conduct of Sir
Nathaniel and Lord Lewis, who joined Montrose the following year.
Montrose, now abandoned by
all his Lowland friends, prepared for his march, preparatory to which he
sent off his baggage as formerly and after lighting some fires for the
purpose of deceiving the enemy, took his departure on the evening of the
6th of November, and arrived about break of day at Balveny. After
remaining a few days there to refresh his men, he proceeded through
Badenoch, and descended by rapid marches into Athole, where he was joined
by Macdonald and John Muidartach, the captain of the Clanranald, the
latter of whom brought 500 of his men along with him. He was also
reinforced by some small parties from the neighbouring Highlands, whom
Macdonald had induced to follow him.
In the meantime Argyle,
after giving orders to his Highlanders to return home, went himself to
Edinburgh, where he "got but small thanks for his service against
Montrose." Although the Committee of Estates, out of deference,
approved of his conduct, which some of his flatterers considered deserving
of praise because he "had shed no blood;" yet the majority had
formed a very different estimate of his character, during a campaign which
had been fruitful neither of glory nor victory. Confident of success, the
heads of the Covenanters looked upon the first efforts of Montrose in the
light of a desperate and forlorn attempt, rashly and inconsiderately
undertaken, and which they expected would be speedily put down; but the
results of the battles of Tippermuir, Aberdeen, and Fyvie, gave a new
direction to their thoughts, and the royalists, hitherto contemned, began
now to be dreaded and respected. In allusion to the present "posture
of affairs," it is observed by Guthry, that "many who had
formerly been violent, began to talk moderately of business, and what was
most taken notice of, was the lukewarmness of many amongst the ministry,
who now in their preaching had begun to abate much of their former
zeal." The early success of Montrose had indeed caused
some misgivings in the minds of the Covenanters; but as they all hoped
that Argyle would change the tide of war, they showed no disposition to
relax in their seventies towards those who were suspected of favouring the
cause of the king. The signal failure, however, of Argyle’s expedition,
and his return to the capital, quite changed, as we have seen, the aspect
of affairs, and many of those who had been most sanguine in their
calculations regarding the result of the struggle, began now to waver and
to doubt.
While Argyle was passing
his time in Edinburgh, Montrose was meditating a terrible blow at Argyle
himself to revenge the cruelties he had exercised upon the royalists, and
to give confidence to the clans in Argyle’s neighbourhood. These had
been hitherto prevented from joining Montrose’s standard from a dread of
Argyle, who having always a body of 5,000 or 6,000 Highlanders at command,
had kept them in such complete subjection that they dared not, without the
risk of absolute ruin, espouse the cause of their sovereign. The idea of
curbing the power of a haughty and domineering chief whose word was a law
to the inhabitants of an extensive district, ready to obey his cruel
mandates at all times, and the spirit of revenge, the predominating
characteristic of the clans, smoothed the difficulties which presented
themselves in invading a country made almost inaccessible by nature, and
rendered still more unapproachable by the severities of winter. The
determination of Montrose having thus met with a willing response in the
breasts of his men, he lost no time in putting them in motion. Dividing
his army into two parts, he himself marched with the main body, consisting
of the Irish and the Athole-men, to Loch Tay, whence he proceeded through
Breadalbane. The other body, composed of the clan Donald and other
Highlanders, he despatched by a different route, with instructions to meet
him at an assigned spot on the borders of Argyle. The country through
which both divisions passed, being chiefly in possession of Argyle’s
kinsmen or dependants, was laid waste, particularly the lands of Campbell
of Glenorchy.
When Argyle heard of the
ravages committed by Montrose’s army on the lands of his kinsmen, he
hastened home from Edinburgh to his castle at Inverary, and gave orders
for the assembling of his clan, either to repel any attack that might be
made on his own country, or to protect his friends from future aggression.
It is by no means certain that he anticipated an invasion from Montrose,
particularly at such a season of the year, and he seemed to imagine
himself so secure from attack, owing to the intricacy of the passes
leading into Argyle, that although a mere handful of men could have
effectually opposed an army much larger than that of Montrose, he took no
precautions to guard them. So important indeed did he himself consider
these passes to be, that he had frequently declared that he would rather
forfeit a hundred thousand crowns, than that an enemy should know the
passes by which an armed force could penetrate into Argyle.
While thus reposing in
fancied secufity in his impregnable stronghold, and issuing his mandates
for levying his forces, some shepherds arrived in great terror from the
hills, and brought him the alarming intelligence that the enemy, whom he
had imagined were about a hundred miles distant, were within two miles of
his own dwelling. Terrified at the unexpected appearance of Montrose,
whose vengeance he justly dreaded, he had barely self-possession left to
concert measures for his own personal safety, by taking refuge on board a
fishing boat in Loch Fyne, in which he sought his way to the Lowlands,
leaving his people and country exposed to the merciless will of an enemy
thirsting for revenge. The inhabitants of Argyle being thus abandoned by
their chief, made no attempt to oppose Montrose, who, the more effectually
to carry his plan for pillaging and ravaging the country into execution,
divided his army into three parties, under the respective orders of the
captain of clan Ranald, Macdonald, and himself. For upwards of six weeks,
viz., from the 13th of December, 1644, till nearly the end of January
following, these different bodies traversed the whole country without
molestation, burning, wasting, and destroying every thing which came
within their reach. Nor were the people themselves spared, for although it
is mentioned by one writer that Montrose "shed no blood in regard
that all the people (following their lord’s laudable example) delivered
themselves by flight also," it is evident from several contemporary
authors that the slaughter must have been immense. In fact, before the end
of January, the face of a single male inhabitant was not to be seen
throughout the whole extent of Argyle and Lorn, the whole population
having been either driven out of these districts, or taken refuge in dens
and caves known only to themselves.
Having thus retaliated upon
Argyle and his people in a tenfold degree the miseries which he had
occasioned in Lochaber and the adjoining countries, Montrose left Argyle
and Lorn, passing through Glencoe and Lochaber on his way to Lochness. On
his march eastwards he was joined by the laird of Abergeldie, the
Farquharsons of the Braes of Mar, and by a party of the Gordons. The
object of Montrose, by this movement, was to seize Inverness, which was
then protected by only two regiments, in the expectation that its capture
would operate as a stimulus to the northern clans, who had not yet
declared themselves. This resolution was by no means altered on reaching
the head of Lochness, where he learned that the Earl of Seaforth was
advancing to meet him with an army of 5,000 horse and foot, which he
resolved to encounter, it being composed, with the exception of two
regular regiments, of raw and undisciplined levies.
While proceeding, however,
through Abertarf, a person arrived in great haste at Kilcummin, the
present fort Augustus, who brought him the surprising intelligence that
Argyle had entered Lochaber with an army of 3,000 men; that he was burning
and laying waste the country, and that his head-quarters were at the old
castle of Inverlochy. After Argyle had effected his escape from Inverary,
he had gone to Dumbarton, where he remained till Montrose’s departure
from his territory. While there, a body of covenanting troops who had
served in England, arrived under the command of Major-general Baillie, for
the purpose of assisting Argyle in expelling Montrose from his bounds; but
on learning that Montrose had left Argyle, and was marching through
Glencoe and Lochaber, General Baillie determined to lead his army in an
easterly direction through the Lowlands, with the intention of
intercepting Montrose, should he attempt a descent. At the same time it
was arranged between Baillie and Argyle that the latter, who had now
recovered from his panic in consequence of Montrose’s departure, should
return to Argyle and collect his men from their hiding-places and
retreats. As it was not improbable, however, that Montrose might renew his
visit, the Committee of Estates allowed Baillie to place 1,100 of his
soldiers at the disposal of Argyle, who, as soon as he was able to muster
his men, was to follow Montrose’s rear, yet so as to avoid an
engagement, till Baillie, who, on hearing of Argyle’s advance into
Lochaber, was to march suddenly across the Grampians, should attack
Montrose in front. To assist him in levying and organizing his clan,
Argyle called over Campbell of Auchinbreck, his kinsman, from Ireland, who
had considerable reputation as a military commander. In terms of his
instructions, therefore, Argyle had entered Lochaber, and had advanced as
far as Inverlochy, when, as we have seen, the news of his arrival was
brought to Montrose.
Montrose was at first
almost disinclined, from the well-known reputation of Argyle, to credit
this intelligence, but being fully assured of its correctness from the
apparent sincerity of his informer, he lost not a moment in making up his
mind as to the course he should pursue. He might have instantly marched
back upon Argyle by the route he had just followed; but as the latter
would thus get due notice of his approach, and prepare himself for the
threatened danger, Montrose resolved upon a different plan. The design he
conceived could only have originated in the mind of such a bold and
enterprising commander as Montrose, before whose daring genius
difficulties hitherto deemed insurmountable at once disappeared. The idea
of carrying an army over dangerous and precipitous mountains, whose wild
and frowning aspect seemed to forbid the approach of human footsteps, and
in the middle of winter, too, when the formidable perils of the journey
were greatly increased by the snow, however chimerical it might have
seemed to other men, appeared quite practicable to Montrose, whose
sanguine anticipations of the advantages to be derived from such an
extraordinary exploit, more than counterbalanced, in his mind, the risks
to be encountered.
The distance between the
place where Montrose received the news of Argyle’s arrival and
Inverlochy is about thirty miles; but this distance was considerably
increased by the devious track which Montrose followed. Marching along the
small river Tarf in a southerly direction, he crossed the hills of Lairie
Thierard, passed through Glenroy, and after traversing the range of
mountains between the Glen and Ben Nevis, he arrived in Glennevis before
Argyle had the least notice of his approach. Before setting out on his
march, Montrose had taken the wise precaution of placing guards upon the
common road leading to Inverlochy, to prevent intelligence of his
movements being carried to Argyle, and he had killed such of Argyle’s
scouts as he had fallen in with in the course of his march. This
fatiguing. and unexampled journey had been performed in little more than a
night and a day, and when in the course of the evening, Montrose’s men
arrived in Glennevis, they found themselves so weary and exhausted that
they could not venture to attack the enemy. They therefore lay under arms
all night, and refreshed themselves as they best could till next morning.
As the night was uncommonly clear, it being moonlight, the advanced posts
of both armies kept up a small fire of musketry, which led to no result.
In the meantime Argyle,
after committing his army to the charge of his cousin, Campbell of
Auchinbreck, with his customary prudence, went, during the night, on board
a boat in the loch, excusing himself for this apparent pusillanimous act
by alleging his incapacity to enter the field of battle in consequence of
some contusions he had received by a fall two or three weeks before; but
his enemies averred that cowardice was the real motive which induced him
to take refuge in his galley, from which he witnessed the defeat and
destruction of his army. This somewhat suspicious action of Argyle—and
it was not the only time he provided for his personal safety in a similar
manner—is accounted for in the following (? ironical) way by the author
of Britane’s Distemper (p. 100):-
"In this confusion,
the commanders of there armie lightes wpon this resolution, not to hazart
the marquisse owne persone; for it seems not possible that Ardgylle
himselfe, being a nobleman of such eminent qualitie, a man of so deepe and
profund judgement, one that knew so weell what belongeth to the office of
a generall, that any basso motion of feare, I say, could make him so
wnsensible of the poynt of honour as is generally reported. Nether will I,
for my owne pairt, belieue it; but I am confident that those barrones of
his kinred, wha ware captanes and commanderes of the armie, feareing the
euent of this battelle, for diuers reasones; and one was, that Allan M’Collduie,
ane old fox, and who was thought to be a seer, had told them that there
should be a battell lost there by them that came first to seiko battell;
this was one cause of there importunitie with him that he should not come
to battell that day; for they sawe that of necessitie they most feght, and
would not hazart there cheife persone, urgeing him by force to reteire to
his galay, which lay hard by, and committe the tryall of the day to them;
he, it is to be thought, with great difficultie yeelding to there request,
leaues his cusine, the laird of Auchinbreike, a most walorous and brane
gentleman, to the generall commande of the armie, and takes with himselfe
only sir James Rollocke, his brother in lawe, sir Jhone Wachope of Nithrie,
Mr. Mungo Law, a preacher. It is reported those two last was send from
Edinburgh with him to beam witnesse of the expulsion of those rebelles,
for so they ware still pleased to terme the Royalistes."
It would appear that it was
not until the morning of the battle that Argyle’s men were aware that it
was the army of Montrose that was so near them, as they considered it
quite impossible that he should have been able to bring his forces across
the mountains; they imagined that the body before them consisted of some
of the inhabitants of the country, who had collected to defend their
properties. But they were undeceived when, in the dawn of the morning, the
warlike sound of Montrose’s trumpets, resounding through the glen where
they lay, and reverberating from the adjoining hills, broke upon their
ears. This served as the signal to both armies to prepare for battle.
Montrose drew out his army in an extended line. The right wing consisted
of a regiment of Irish, under the command of Macdonald, his major-general;
the centre was composed of the Athole-men, the Stuarts of Appin, the
Macdonalds of Glencoe, and other Highlanders, severally under the command
of Clanranald, M’Lean, and Glengary; and the left wing consisted of some
Irish, at the head of whom was the brave Colonel O’Kean. A body of Irish
was placed behind the main body as a reserve, under the command of Colonel
James M’Donald, alias O’Neill. The general of Argyle’s army formed
it in a similar manner. The Lowland forces were equally divided, and
formed the wings, between which the Highlanders were placed. Upon a rising
ground, behind this line, General Campbell drew up a reserve of
Highlanders, and placed a field-piece. Within the house of Inverlochy,
which was only about a pistol-shot from the place where the army was
formed, he planted a body of 40 or 50 men to protect the place, and to
annoy Montrose’s men with discharges of musketry. The account
given by Gordon of Sallagh, that Argyle had transported the half of his
army over the water at Inverlochy, under the command of Auchinbreck, and
that Montrose defeated this division, while Argyle was prevented from
relieving it with the other division, from the intervening of "an arm
of the sea, that was interjected betwixt them and him," is probably
erroneous, for the circumstance is not mentioned by any other writer of
the period, and it is well known, that Argyle abandoned his army, and
witnessed its destruction from his galley, — circumstances which Gordon
altogether overlooks.
It was at sunrise, on
Sunday, the 2d of February, 1645, that Montrose, after having formed his
army in battle array, gave orders to his men to advance upon the enemy.
The left wing of Montrose’s army, under the command of O’Kean, was the
first to commence the attack, by charging the enemy’s right. This was
immediately followed by a furious assault upon the centre and left wing of
Argyle’s army, by Montrose’s right wing and centre. Argyle’s right
wing not being able to resist the attack of Montrose’s left, turned
about and fled, which circumstance had such a discouraging effect on the
remainder of Argyle’s troops, that after discharging their muskets, the
whole of them, including the reserve, took to their heels.
Inverlochy Castle - From M'Culloch's celebrated picture in the Edinburgh
National Gallery
The rout now became
general. An attempt was made by a body of about 200 of the fugitives, to
throw themselves into the castle of Inverlochy, but a party of Montrose’s
horse prevented them. Some of the flying enemy directed their course along
the side of Loch Eil, but all these were either killed or drowned in the
pursuit. The greater part, however, fled towards the hills in the
direction of Argyle, and were pursued by Montrose’s men, to the distance
of about eight miles. As no resistance was made by the defeated party in
their flight, the carnage was very great, being reckoned at 1,500 men.
Many more would have been cut off had it not been for the humanity of
Montrose, who did every thing in his power to save the unresisting enemy
from the fury of his men, who were not disposed to give quarter to the
unfortunate Campbells. Having taken the castle, Montrose not only treated
the officers, who were from the Lowlands, with kindness, but gave them
their liberty on parole.
Among the principal persons
who fell on Argyle’s side, were the commander, Campbell of Auchinbreck,
Campbell of Lochnell, the eldest son of Lochnell, and his brother, Cohn; M’Dougall
of Rara and his eldest son; Major Menzies, brother to the laird, (or Prior
as he was called) of Achattens Parbreck; and the provost of the church of
Kilmun. The loss on the side of Montrose was extremely trifling. The
number of wounded is indeed not stated, but he had only three privates
killed. He sustained, however, a severe loss in Sir Thomas Ogilvie, son of
the Earl of Airly, who died a few days after the battle, of a wound he
received in the thigh. Montrose regretted the death of this steadfast
friend and worthy man, with feelings of real sorrow, and caused his body
to be interred in Athole with due solemnity. Montrose immediately after
the battle sent a messenger to the king with a letter, giving an account
of it, at the conclusion of which he exultingly says to Charles,
"Give me leave, after I have reduced this country, and conquered from
Dan to Beersheba, to say to your Majesty, as David’s general to his
master, Come thou thyself, lest this country be called by my name."
When the king received this letter, the royal and parliamentary
commissioners were sitting at Uxbridge negotiating the terms of a peace;
but Charles, induced by the letter, imprudently broke off the negotiation,
a circumstance which led to his ruin. |
