Battle of Rullion Green 26 November 1666

Cromwell’s rule brought eight years of peace and relative stability to Scotland. In 1658, Cromwell died, and Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660. Charles displayed no desire to return to Scotland himself and appointed the earl of Lauderdale as secretary of state and John Middleton as royal commissioner. The king, who had signed the Covenant ten years before, and who promised on his restoration to protect the Church as established by law, now began to demonstrate his true feelings towards the Presbyterian Church. The Restoration Parliament of 1661 passed a Rescissory Act, nullifying all legislation since 1633. The ‘Church as established by law’ was now the Episcopalian Church. Within a year, episcopacy had been re-established and the Covenant had been declared illegal. An Act of Indemnity passed in 1662 offered pardons to hundreds of prominent Presbyterians upon payment of fines, but others were not so fortunate. The marquis of Argyll and Johnston of Warriston were put to death.

The practice of appointing ministers in the Scottish Church through congregational vote, which had been in effect since 1649, was abolished and lay patronage was reintroduced. All ministers were required, within six months, to have their appointments reconsidered by the lay patron of the local kirk and the bishop of the diocese. In February 1663, on the day by which all were supposed to have conformed to the new conditions, almost 300 ministers resigned. Their places were taken by Episcopalian ministers, but the newcomers, inexperienced and unpopular, found themselves with poor congregations. Most of the ousted clergy took their ministry into the open air, and their congregations followed. Religious meetings, or ‘conventicles’, were held in the countryside. The government’s response to this defiance was to impose fines on those who attended these meetings, or who simply refused to attend church, and to enforce payment of the fines using the military. In the southwest of Scotland, home of the Whigs, the most extreme of the protesters, the persecution resulted in uprising. Sir James Turner, leader of the dragoons who were employed in tracking down the Covenanters, was taken prisoner in Dumfries. His captors gathered a large band of supporters and, in November 1660, almost 3000 of them set out to march on Edinburgh.

The rebel force was unable to gather any more support as it moved towards Edinburgh. The long march in desperately cold and muddy conditions took its toll and soon the 3000 had dwindled to 1000. They reached Colinton, only a few miles from the capital city, but their determination had been undermined by the lack of support they had received and they were tired and weak. The decision was taken to turn and cross back over the Pentland Hills. They did not get far. Sir Thomas Dalziel was in pursuit of them with a strong body of men, and caught up with them at Rullion Green near Penicuik. Daiziel’s force outnumbered the Conventiclers and his men were fitter and better armed. In a short but bloody battle, the Conventiclers were overwhelmed. Approximately 50 were killed in battle. More than 30 of those who were cap tured were executed and many more were transported to the West Indies. Two men were tortured with the ‘boot’ before being put to death.

Battle of Drumclog 1st June 1679

Rullion Green did not put an end to the Conventicler’s protests. The earl of Lauderdale’s approach to the rebellion had two sides. On the one hand, he was willing to show moderation to those who could be persuaded to accept some compromise. In 1669, he persuaded Charles II to issue a Letter of Indulgence, which allowed ministers who had lived peaceably to return to their parishes. In 1672, a second Letter of Indulgence brought 90 more ministers back into the church, appointed to 58 selected parishes. These measures split the ranks of the Conventiclers. Those who were drawn back into the Church through the Indulgences were condemned by the more extreme protestors, who became even more defiant in their attitude. Lauderdale was unwilling to show any leniency when dealing with these persistent rebels. In 1670, a bill was passed making attendance at a conventicle treasonable. Those who preached at the meetings were liable to be sentenced to death.

Repression of the Conventiclers continued over the next few years. Landowners were held responsible for the behaviour of their tenants and penalised heavily if conventicles were held on their land, a measure that added to the unrest. In 1678, a mixed force of 9000 Highlanders and Lowlanders was moved to the southwest of Scotland, seat of the rebellion, to help with dispersing the conventicles and punishing the offenders. The Conventiclers became more determined in their defiance and more organised in their response to the persecution. On 3 May 1679, a group of Covenanters Archbishop Sharp of St Andrews from his coach and murdered him. In Rutherglen, on 29 May, in an act of open defiance, another group publicly burnt copies of the acts of government that had overthrown the Covenant. It was inevitable that the conflict would escalate.

One of the most prominent figures in the government army was John Graham of Claverhouse, a very capable military leader whose zeal in carrying out his duties in stamping outl the Covenanting revolt was to become notorious. When news reached him that a large conventicle was holding meetings at Drumclog, he set off with a body of troops to disperse them. The government troops were well armed and well disciplined, but the Covenanters, whose numbers were greater, had the advantage of familiarity with the marshy terrain. They too were well armed and they were well prepared for the attack. Claverhouse’s horsemen soon found themselves in difficulty on the soft and sodden ground, and the Covenanters laid into them ferociously, killing a great many of them and sending Claverhouse and the rest of the survivors into flight.

The victory spurred the Covenanters on to greater things. Several thousand stormed Glasgow, drove out the occupying garrison and by 6 June had taken command of the city. Their success was to be short-lived. Within two weeks the tide would turn against them.

Battle of Bothwell Bridge 22nd June 1679

The duke of Monmouth, the illegitimate son of Charles II, given command of a force several thousand strong and marching from England to deal with the insurgence. The royal army was further reinforced as it advanced towards Glasgow by troops from Scotland. Monmouth had the support of several able military leaders, including Claverhouse, the earl of Linlithgow, the earl of Airlie, Lord Mar, and the earl of Home. Although the Covenanters had the advantage of position, they were not so numerous. In addition to this, disputes had broken out between the moderates and extremists, and the differences between the two sides threatened their unity as a fighting force. The moderates were prepared to attempt to negotiate with Monmouth, and two envoys were sent out to discuss terms with him. But when they returned with Monmouth’s request for the Covenanters to lay down their arms, the extremists would have nothing to do with it. A violent confrontation was inevitable.

The two sides faced each other across the River Clyde, the Royal army, well disciplined, well armed and well organised, the Covenanters disorganised and demoralised by internal disagreement. Spanning the river between the two armies was Bothwell Bridge, which was held by a force of around 300 covenanters, most of whom were moderates. For more than two hours this gallant band of men held the bridge against the royal army, but they became exhausted with the effort and were running out of ammunition. Their pleas for reinforcements were not answered. No help came to them from the main body of Covenanters. When the order was given for them to fall back they had no choice but to obey. As soon as they fell back from the bridge, Monmouth began sending his army across. The royal artillery was moved across and from their new position on the Covenanters’ side of the river the cannons thundered out a deadly volley.

Panic broke out among the Covenanters and they began to scatter. The horsemen of the royal army moved in amongst them, hacking at them indiscriminately and pursuing them as they fled. Several hundred were killed and more than 1000 were taken prisoner. The prisoners were force-marched to Edinburgh. Two ministers were hanged in the city. Five of the prisoners were taken to Magus Moor, where Archbishop Sharp had been murdered, and hanged. The majority of the captives were herded into an enclosure in the churchyard of Greyfriars, where they were kept under guard for several months. Exposed to the elements and denied all but the most meagre of provisions, many of them died. By November, a few hundred had been freed in exchange for a promise that they would never again take up arms against the king. Some had been fortunate enough to escape. Nearly 300 were sentenced to transportation to the West Indies. They were marched to Leith and crammed into the hold of a ship. In the cramped and airless conditions below decks, it is unlikely that many of them would have survived the voyage, but the ship did not get far. It was wrecked off the coast of Orkney and most of the prisoners drowned.

It was only a relatively small number of Covenanters who kept up the armed struggle after the battle of Bothwell Bridge. These extremists, named Cameronians after their leader Richard Cameron, continued to hold secret meetings in the hills. Richard Cameron was killed in 1680, but his followers remained fixed in their purpose. In 1681, they solemnly excommunicated the king, the duke of York, the duke of Monmouth, and other government leaders. In 1684, they issued the ‘Apologetical Declaration’, in which they claimed justification for killing those who persecuted them, and as a result, faced further repression. This was the period known as the ‘killing time’, when many extremists were executed by members of the military commissioned to hunt them down. Gradually the resistance of the Covenanters was worn down.

Acknowledgment to the following book for exerpts used: Scottish Battles by Geddes & Grosset