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.

Prince Rupert's Return to England

‘Up and comes the flageolet master, and brings me two new great Ivory pipes which cost me 32s., and so to play, and he being done, and Balty’s wife taking her leave of me, she going back to Lee to-day, I to Westminster and there did receive 15,000l orders out of the Exchequer in part of a bigger sum upon the eleven months tax for Tangier, part of which I presently delivered to Sir H. Cholmly, who was there, and thence with Mr. Gawden to Auditor Woods and Beales to examine some precedents in his business of the Victualling on his behalf, and so home, and in my way by coach down Marke Lane, mightily pleased and smitten to see, as I thought, in passing, the pretty woman, the line-maker’s wife that lived in Fenchurch Streete, and I had great mind to have gone back to have seen, but yet would correct my nature and would not. So to dinner with my wife, and then to sing, and so to the office, where busy all the afternoon late, and to Sir W. Batten’s and to Sir R. Ford’s, we all to consider about our great prize at Hull, being troubled at our being likely to be troubled with Prince Rupert, by reason of Hogg’s consorting himself with two privateers of the Prince’s, and so we study how to ease or secure ourselves…’

The text above is from Pepys’ Diary, entry dated July 19, 1667.  Samuel Pepys was not friendly with Prince Rupert of the Rhine, who served on the Tangier Committed with Pepys.  Rupert was related to the Stuarts, and returned to England from German military service with the Restoration of Charles II.  Sir Walter Scott thought of Rupert in terms of his battles with Montrose.  The following passage comes from Scott’s “A Legend of Montrose”:

‘The celebrated Sir Henry Vane, one of the commissioners who negotiated the alliance betwixt England and Scotland, saw the influence which this bait had upon the spirits of those with whom he dealt; and although himself a violent Independent, he contrived at once to gratify and to elude the eager desires of the Presbyterians, by qualifying the obligation to reform the Church of England, as a change to be executed "according to the word of God, and the best reformed churches." Deceived by their own eagerness, themselves entertaining no doubts on the JUS DIVINUM of their own ecclesiastical establishments, and not holding it possible such doubts could be adopted by others, the Convention of Estates and the Kirk of Scotland conceived, that such expressions necessarily inferred the establishment of Presbytery; nor were they undeceived, until, when their help was no longer needful, the sectaries gave them to understand, that the phrase might be as well applied to Independency, or any other mode of worship, which those who were at the head of affairs at the time might consider as agreeable "to the word of God, and the practice of the reformed churches." Neither were the outwitted Scottish less astonished to find, that the designs of the English sectaries struck against the monarchial constitution of Britain, it having been their intention to reduce the power of the King, but by no means to abrogate the office. They fared, however, in this respect, like rash physicians, who commence by over-physicking a patient, until he is reduced to a state of weakness, from which cordials are afterwards unable to recover him.
But these events were still in the womb of futurity. As yet the Scottish Parliament held their engagement with England consistent with justice, prudence, and piety, and their military undertaking seemed to succeed to their very wish. The junction of the Scottish army with those of Fairfax and Manchester, enabled the Parliamentary forces to besiege York, and to fight the desperate action of Long-Marston Moor, in which Prince Rupert and the Marquis of Newcastle were defeated. The Scottish auxiliaries, indeed, had less of the glory of this victory than their countrymen could desire. David Leslie, with their cavalry, fought bravely, and to them, as well as to Cromwell's brigade of Independents, the honour of the day belonged; but the old Earl of Leven, the covenanting general, was driven out of the field by the impetuous charge of Prince Rupert, and was thirty miles distant, in full flight towards Scotland, when he was overtaken by the news that his party had gained a complete victory. ..’

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.

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.
 

The Old Pretender Departs

James Stuart's arrived from France at Peterhead in Scotland to lead the uprising of 1715 on December 22,1715.  Approximately 6 weeks later, on February 4, 1716, he was exiting from Montrose.  The Old Pretender found life different in France when he returned, as Louis XIV had died while he was away.  Stuart ended up in Rome, thanks to Pope Clement XI.  Here he established his Roman Jacobite Court.

Scott refers to this court in Waverly:

"...Footnote: Where the Chevalier St. George, or, as he was termed,
the Old Pretender, held his exiled court, as his situation compelled him
to shift his place of residence..."