Covenanters lost out in 1679’ s Battle of Bothwell

IN last week’s column we saw how the Covenanters’ rebellion peaked with their victory in the Battle of Drumclog south of Glasgow on June 1, 1679.

The Royal army commander, John Graham of Claverhouse fled to the city which withstood a brief siege from the Covenanting army.

Graham and his troops then left the city to find the larger army being organised under James, Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of King Charles II, who held the Scottish titles of Duke of Buccleuch, Earl of Dalkeith and Lord of Whitchester and Eskdale through his marriage to the heiress Anne Scott, 4th Countess and 1st Duchess of Buccleuch – Monmouth also took her family name as James Scott while she was given the rare privilege of sharing all their titles.

Though the ordinary people might still have been Covenanters by nature, Glasgow’s leading figures had been traumatised by the rebellion and especially the siege after Drumclog and now they turned wholeheartedly in favour of the King and against the rebels.

We know, for instance, that Glasgow paid for Royal troops while Glaswegians spied on the Covenanters and fed information to the forces that were gathering to crush the rebellion which was concentrated south of the city having earlier camped on what is now Glasgow Green.

We can see how committed they were to their cause from the declaration made and displayed at the Glasgow camp: “We who are here providentially convened in our own defence, for preventing and removing the mistakes and misapprehensions of all, especially of those whom we wish to be, and hope are friends, do declare our present purposes and endeavours to be only in vindication and defence of the true reformed religion in its profession and doctrine, as we stand obliged thereunto by our national and solemn league and covenants, and that solemn acknowledgement of sins, engagement to duties, made and taken in the year 1648, declaring against popery, prelacy, Erastianism, and all things depending thereupon.” Their fate was being sealed by Charles II, however. He told Monmouth to crush the rebels, and the Duke was an excellent soldier and commander while his opponents were not. For whatever reason, the Covenanters’ commander Robert Hamilton withdrew to Bothwell and proceeded to get into a dispute with a more moderate wing of the Covenanters.

Now Hamilton was no sort of soldier, but he had God on his side and would prevail, or so he thought.

At Bothwell he even erected a gibbet to hang his opponents who would shortly be delivered into his hands. Except that Monmouth and Claverhouse were having none of it and in the Battle of Bothwell Bridge on June 22, 1679, pictured, the Covenanters lacked artillery to defend their position and the Royal army forced their way across the Bridge and routed the Covenanters, killing an estimated 600 and taking 1200 prisoners. You can read about the battle in Sir Walter Scott’s Old Mortality, but he does take liberties with the facts as he usually did.

The prisoners were taken off to Edinburgh rather than the much nearer city of Glasgow, probably because there was still a good deal of sympathy for the Covenanting cause around the Clyde. The Covenanters were either starved to death in the Kirkyard Greyfriars or sold into ‘ indentured servitude’, otherwise called slavery.

Glasgow’s council, as ever was concerned with the money which the city had spent on its garrison and the Royal army’s troops and officers.

A minute of the council on August 9, 1679, records one burgess being ordained to get some of their outgoings back giving him “ane warrand for the sowme of three thousand twa hundreth and alevin pundis Scotis, payit for the charges and expensses bestowed be the toune on the souldiers at the barracadis, provisioune to their horssis, and spent on intelligence and for provisioune sent be the toune to the King’s camp at Hammiltoun and Bothwell, and for interteaning the lord generall quhen he come to this burgh, and the rest of the noblemen and gentlemen with him.”

Note that last sentence: the council was always ready to join in