Battle of Carbisdale

April 27th, 1650 was a black day for the great Montrose, James Graham.  On that day,

the Royalist Montrose and a host of Orcadians, fighting in support of King Charles I,

lost the Battle of Carbisdale, to a Covenanter force led by the the Marquess of Argyll,

Archibald Campbell.  Montrose was supported by the Sinclair clan, and survived the battle,

escaping with the help of one of the Sinclairs.  Montrose surrendered shortly afterward to

Neil MacLeod, who sent him to Edinburgh to meet his end.

Another family name from the Battle of Carbisdale is that of Whitefoord.  In

“The Whitefoord Papers”, edited by W. Hewins, is found a description of Walter Whiteford.

‘…Colonel Walter Whitefoord, a stout and desperate man,  was one of the Scottish followers

of Montrose, many of whom were at the Hague in 1649. When the Commonwealth sent over

Dr. Dorislaus, the regicide, as their special envoy in April of that year, Whitefoord took part in

the scheme to murder him. On the evening of May 2, just as Dorislaus was sitting down to

supper, Whitefoord and five others burst into his room, and while some of them secured his

servants, Whitefoord, ' after slashing him over the head, passed a sword through his body.

He escaped into the Spanish Netherlands. He is next heard of with Montrose in Scotland,

in 1650. With Sir William Hay of Dalgetty, and 100 men, he was left in Dumbeath Castle,

when Montrose marched to Glenmtiick. After the battle of Carbisdale (April 27, 1650),

the garrison of Dumbeath Castle were forced to surrender, and were sent to Edinburgh…’

The Whitefoord family is one whose history Walter Scott drew on more than once in

his work.  The following comes from the introduction to “The Whitefoord Papers”. 

‘SIR WALTER SCOTT once apologized to the late Mr. Whitefoord for misspelling the family

name in the preface to the Chronicles of the Canongate. ' Dearly as I am myself particular,'

he wrote, ' in the spelling of my name to a " T," I had no right to treat your "O" as a cipher,'

and when he transferred the story of Colonel Charles Whitefoord, in which the mistake

occurred, from the Chronicles to Waverley, he took care to introduce the additional letter.

But the name is, in fact, spelt in at least twelve different ways in authentic documents.

Before the main branch of the family settled down to Whitefoord, the forms Quhitefurd,

Quhitefurde, Quhitefuird, and other variations, frequently occur. The first of the family is

said to have been a certain Walter, who, for his services against the Norwegians at the

Battle of Largs in 1263, received the lands of Whitefoord near Paisley, in the shire of

Renfrew. It is much more likely that Walter derived his name from the lands,

than that they were named after him.’

Battle of Philiphaugh

The date was September 13, 1645.  James Graham, representing Royalist forces, fought Covenanters, under David Leslie.  The day tilted in favor of Leslie. Sir Walter Scott collected the following ballad on this battle in his “Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border”:

THE BATTLE OF PHILIPHAUGH.

On Philiphaugh a fray began,
At Hairhead wood it ended;
The Scots out o'er the Graemes they ran,
Sae merrily they bended.
Sir David frae the border came,
Wi' heart an' hand came he;
Wi' him three thousand bonny Scotts,
To bear him company.
Wi' him three thousand valiant men,
A noble sight to see!
A cloud o' mist them weel concealed,
As close as e'er might be.
When they came to the Shaw burn,
Said he, "Sae weel we frame,
"I think it is convenient,
"That we should sing a psalm."
When they came to the Lingly burn,
As day-light did appear,
They spy'd an aged father,
And he did draw them near.
"Come hither, aged father!"
Sir David he did cry,
"And tell me where Montrose lies,
"With all his great army."
"But, first, you must come tell to me,
"If friends or foes you be;
"I fear you are Montrose's men,
"Come frae the north country."
"No, we are nane o' Montrose's men,
"Nor e'er intend to be;
"I am sir David Lesly,
"That's speaking unto thee."
"If you're sir David Lesly,
"As I think weel ye be,
"I'm sorry ye hae brought so few
"Into your company.
"There's fifteen thousand armed men,
"Encamped on yon lee;
"Ye'll never be a bite to them,
"For aught that I can see.
"But, halve your men in equal parts,
"Your purpose to fulfil;
"Let ae half keep the water side,
"The rest gae round the hill.
"Your nether party fire must,
"Then beat a flying drum;
"And then they'll think the day's their ain,
"And frae the trench they'll come.
"Then, those that are behind them maun
"Gie shot, baith grit and sma';
"And so, between your armies twa,
"Ye may make them to fa'."
"O were ye ever a soldier?"
Sir David Lesly said;
"O yes; I was at Solway flow,
"Where we were all betray'd.
"Again I was at curst Dunbar,
"And was a pris'ner ta'en;
"And many weary night and day,
"In prison I hae lien."
"If ye will lead these men aright,
"Rewarded shall ye be;
"But, if that ye a traitor prove,
"I'll hang thee on a tree."
"Sir, I will not a traitor prove;
"Montrose has plundered me;
"I'll do my best to banish him
"Away frae this country."
He halv'd his men in equal parts,
His purpose to fulfill;
The one part kept the water side,
The other gaed round the hill.
The nether party fired brisk,
Then turn'd and seem'd to rin;
And then they a' came frae the trench,
And cry'd, "the day's our ain!"
The rest then ran into the trench,
And loos'd their cannons a':
And thus, between his armies twa,
He made them fast to fa'.
Now, let us a' for Lesly pray,
And his brave company!
For they hae vanquish'd great Montrose,
Our cruel enemy.

Thomas Gainsborough

English portraitist and landscape painter Thomas Gainsborough died this day, August 2^nd, in the year 1788.  Despite his renown for painting, it is a house Gainsborough lived in, and a “doctor” that lead to a connection with Sir Walter Scott.  The house is Schomberg House, in London.  The text describing this connection comes from William Whitley’s “Thomas Gainsborough”.

‘Schomberg House, where Gainsborough lived until his death in 1788, was originally the residence of the Dukes of Schomberg. Afterwards it became the property of Lord Holdernesse, from whom it was acquired by John Astley, a painter and a fellow-student of Reynolds. According to a lengthy biography of Astley, published soon after his death in 1787, Lord Holdernesse offered him Schomberg House for £5000, and held to his offer, although he knew before the contract was signed that he could have had £7000 for it from Lord Melbourne. We are told that Astley, who had married a rich widow, spent another £5000 in altering the house. "The centre he himself inhabited, and raised that fine room where Dr. Graham, with such infamy to the police which suffered him, preceded Cosway. There, too, he built an attic story which, for the surprises of scenery in a town like London, should be seen by all who come to it."

Dr. Graham, whose lectures, with their demonstrations of the human figure unadorned, scandalised the town, was the notorious personage whose earth baths and electrical machine were tried upon Sir Walter Scott when a child in a vain effort to cure his lameness. Sir Walter, who thought that Graham had a touch of madness in his composition, remembered him at Edinburgh when he used to attend the Greyfriars Church in a gay suit of white and silver, with a chapeau bras, " and his hair marvellously dressed into a sort of double toupee, like the two towers of Parnassus. Lady Hamilton is said to have first enacted his Goddess of Health." The tradition that Nelson's enchantress posed at Graham's lectures appears to have no foundation in fact, but out of it has grown the legend that Gainsborough painted from Lady Hamilton the picture in the National Gallery, Musidora bathing her Feet. The attractions of Graham's Temple of Health included the reading of lectures by Ann Curtis —to the horror of that embodiment of propriety, Mrs. Siddons, whose sister the lecturer was—but the noisy crowds who flocked to Pall Mall were drawn there by the Goddess of Health, the Celestial Bed, and similar unedifying spectacles. These ultimately brought down upon the head of Gainsborough's next-door neighbour the wrath and the interference of the Bishop of London.’

Dr. James Graham is a subject nearly as noteworthy as Gainsborough; certainly more notorious.  Graham was an early practitioner of sex therapy, and his electo-magnetic technique was used more to promote fertility than to cure lameness.

Battle of Alford

‘After some marching and counter-marching, the armies again found themselves in the neighbourhood of each other, near to the village of Alford. 

Montrose occupied a strong position on a hill, and it was said that the cautious Baillie would have avoided the encounter, had it not been that, having crossed the river Don, in the belief that Montrose was in full retreat, he only discovered his purpose of giving battle when it was too late to decline it. The number of infantry was about two thousand in each army. But Baillie had more than double his opponent's number of cavalry. Montrose's, indeed, were gentlemen, and therefore in the day of battle were more to be relied on than mere hirelings. The Gordons dispersed the Covenanting horse on the first shock; and the musketeers, throwing down their muskets and mingling in the tumult with their swords drawn, prevented the cavalry from rallying. But as Lord Gordon threw himself, for the second time, into the heat of the fight, he fell from his horse, mortally wounded by a shot from one of the fugitives. This accident, which gave the greatest distress to Montrose, suspended the exertions of the cavalry, who, chiefly friends, kinsmen, and vassals of the deceased, flocked around him to lament the general loss. But the veterans of Montrose, charging in columns of six and ten men deep, along a line of three men only, broke that of the Covenanters on various points, and utterly destroyed the remnant of Baillie's army, though they defended themselves bravely.’

The Battle of Alford took place on July 2, 1645, with James Graham and George Gordon leading a Royalist victory over Covenanting forces under General William Baillie.  The text above is found in Sir Walter Scott’s “Tales of a Grandfather”.

Battle of Inverlochy

'It was about the middle of December that Argyle was residing at his castle of Inverary, in the most perfect confidence that the enemy could not approach him, since he used to say he would not for a hundred thousand crowns that any one knew the passes from the eastward into the shire of Argyle. While the powerful Marquis was enjoying his fancied security of his feudal dominions, he was astounded with the intelligence that Montrose, with an army of Highlanders, wading through drifts of snow, scaling precipices, and traversing the mountain paths, known to none save the solitary shepherd or huntsman, had forced an entry into his country, which he was laying waste with all the vindictive severity of deadly feud. There was neither time nor presence of mind for defence. The able-bodied men were slaughtered, the cattle driven off, the houses burnt; and the invaders had divided themselves into three bands, to make the devastation more complete. Alarmed by this fierce and unexpected invasion, Argyle embarked on board a fishing boat, and left his country to its fate. Montrose continued the work of revenge for nearly a month, and then concluding he had destroyed the influence which Argyle, by the extent of his power, and the supposed strength of his country, had possessed over the minds of the Highlanders, he withdrew towards Inverness, with the purpose of organizing a general gathering of the clans. But be had scarce made this movement, when he learned that his rival, Argyle, had returned into the Western Highlands with some Lowland forces; that he had called around him his numerous clan, burning to revenge the wrongs which they had sustained, and was lying with a strong force near the old Castle of Inverlochy, situated at the western extremity of the chain of lakes through which the Caledonian canal is now conducted.



The news at once altered Montrose's plans.
 
He returned upon Argyle by a succession of the most difficult mountain-passes covered with snow; and the vanguard of the Campbells saw themselves suddenly engaged with that of their implacable enemy. Both parties lay all night on their arms, but by break of day, Argyle betook himself to his galley, and, rowing off shore, remained a spectator of the combat, when, by all the rules of duty and gratitude, he ought to have been at the head of his devoted followers. His unfortunate clansmen supported the honour of the name with the greatest courage, and many of the most distinguished fell on the field of battle. Montrose gained a complete victory, which greatly extended his influence over the Highlands, and in proportion diminished that of his discomfited rival...'
 
The text above comes from Walter Scott's "Tales of a Grandfather" (volume 49).  The Battle of Inverlochy was a victory for Royalist James Graham over Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck.  The battle took place on February 2, 1645.

Battle of Aberdeen

'...It was owing to such causes, the slackness of the Lowland loyalists and the temporary desertion of his Highland followers, that Montrose found himself, even after the decisive victory of Tippermuir, in no condition to face the second army with which Argyle advanced upon him from the westward. In this emergency, supplying by velocity the want of strength, he moved suddenly from Perth to Dundee, and being refused admission into that town, fell northward upon Aberdeen, where he expected to be joined by the Gordons and other loyalists. But the zeal of these gentlemen was, for the time, effectually bridled by a large body of Covenanters, commanded by the Lord Burleigh, and supposed to amount to three thousand men. These Montrose boldly attacked with half their number. The battle was fought under the walls Of the city, and the resolute valour of Montrose's followers was again successful against every disadvantage...'

The text above is from Walter Scott's "A Legend of Montrose", and in a broad stroke treats the Battle of Aberdeen, which occurred on September 13, 1644.  In this battle, James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose, fighting as a royalist for Charles I of England, defeated Covenanter forces under John Balfour, Lord Burleigh.  The battle was part of the Wars of Three Kingdoms, which ran between 1644 - 1651.

Montrose

...' There is but One,' said Allan M'Aulay ; ' and here,' he said, laying his hand upon the shoulder of Anderson, who stood behind Lord Menteith, ' here he stands !'

The general surprise of the meeting was expressed by an impatient murmur; when Anderson, throwing back the cloak in which his face was muffled, and stepping forward, spoke thus :—' I did not long intend to be a silent spectator of this interesting scene, although my hasty friend has obliged me to disclose myself somewhat sooner than was my intention. Whether I deserve the honour reposed in me by this parchment will best appear from what I shall be able to do for the King's service. It is a commission, under the great seal, to James Graham, Earl of Montrose, to command those forces which are to be assembled for the service of his Majesty in this kingdom.'...
 
Walter Scott published "A Legend of Montrose" in 1819.  His named subject, James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose, was executed at Mercat Cross in Edinburgh on May 21, 1650.  The Wars of Montrose which transpired between 1639 and 1645 form a backdrop for the novel.
 
As a young man, Montrose became a Covenanter, signing the National Covenant in February 1638.  At least in part what instigated Montrose to join this cause was against the imposition of Laud's prayer book on the Scottish Kirk. 
 
Montrose is best known as a military man, and he gained his first experience leading Covenanter's troops in the First Bishop's War (1639).  After signing the Pacification of Berwick, Montrose ran afoul of Archibald Campbell, who was outwardly supportive of the Covenanters, but Montrose's suspected he had a contrary agenda.  Montrose's opposition to Campbell contributed to an invasion of England under the Second Bishop's War (1640).
 
Montrose corresponded with Charles I after the Bishop's War ended, later opposing the Solemn League and Covenant, which allied Scotland with English Parliamentarians against Charles.  He became a staunch Royalist, which is how Scott portrays him in the novel.